In his capacity as Caretaker Minister for Trade and Industry, Samuel Abu Jinapor paid a working visit to the Secretary-General of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, H.E Wamkele Mene.
AfCFTA, is a flagship project of the African Union (AU) aimed at promoting intra-African trade, by removing trade barriers to create a single continental market.
The AfCFTA Secretariat, which is hosted here in Accra, is the largest AU institution outside Addis Ababa, and it’s responsible for coordinating the implementation of AfCFTA.
He assured the Secretary-General of my commitment to work with his office to realize the objectives of AfCFTA.
Later, the caretaker minister joined officials of Toyota Tsusho Manufacturing Ghana Limited (TTMG), and Suzuki Motor Corporation, to commission the first locally-assembled Suzuki Swift vehicle. After commercial production of Toyota Hilux Pick-ups in Ghana, TTMG has been working with Suzuki to locally produce Suzuki brand of vehicles, using Ghanaian engineers and technicians, under the Ghana Automotive Development Policy, 2019.
Today’s commissioning, brings to nine (9) the different brands of vehicles being assembled by the six (6) assembly plants established in Ghana.
Hon. Jinapor assured the captains of the automotive industry of the commitment of the Government of President Akufo-Addo, to work with them to make Ghana the industrial hub for the automotive industry in Africa.
Already, Government is implementing zero rating of VAT on the sale of locally assembled vehicles, to make them more affordable.
Finally, he paid a working visit to the Minerals Development Fund (MDF), the agency under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources responsible for providing financial resources for the direct benefit of mining communities and institutions responsible for the development of mining.
Since becoming operational in 2017, the Fund has embarked on several projects in mining communities across the country, including the provision of social amenities.
He thanked the Fund for the work they have been doing, and urged them to work harder to ensure that mining communities feel the impact of the proceeds of mining.
The Government of President Akufo-Addo is fully committed to unleashing the much-needed prosperity for the Ghanaian people, and we will continue to work with all stakeholders to promote policies and programmes that enure to the benefit of the people of Ghana.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com
