That, he said, would protect Ghanaian producers and strengthen their ability to satisfy the domestic market.

“The future growth of our economy is closely linked to the growth of the domestic productive sector,” he stressed.

The President gave the charge in his address after he had inaugurated the GITC?Board at a short ceremony at the Jubilee House in Accra last Wednesday.

 He reminded the members of the board that they were selected to bring their experiences and expertise to bear on the effective administration of the GITC for the benefit of the people.

Board members

The GITC Board is chaired by Nana Adu Gyamfi, Adontenhene of Kumasi, a lawyer by profession, with Sophia Korko, Prof. Paul Kurkuk, Philip Jude Mensah and Arnold Tetteh Okai as the other members.

President Akufo-Addo told the board members that the task ahead was daunting and that the future development of the country rested on their shoulders.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to its vision of wanting Ghana’s relations with other nations within and outside Africa to be characterised by trade and investment co-operation and not aid.

“I believe that is the way to develop healthy relations and put Ghanaian products at the high end of the value chain on the global market and thereby create jobs for the teeming Ghanaian youth,” he added.

The role of the GITC, in the view of the government, was critical to the realisation of that vision, he emphasised.

Continental market

President Akufo-Addo recounted that the signing of the treaty establishing the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by 44 African nations in Kigali, Rwanda last month was set to create a single continental market for goods and services and investments and urged the GITC Board to work assiduously to ensure that Ghana benefited from that arrangement.

 He noted that with Africa’s population set to reach two billion in 20 years’ time, an African common market presented “an immense opportunity to bring prosperity to our continent through hard work, creativity and enterprise”.

 “It is vital that the CFTA works,” he said, adding: “And under my leadership, Ghana will commit to the success of the CFTA to set the stage for the accelerated development of our country, the ECOWAS region and the entire continent.”

 Nana Adu Gyamfi, on behalf of the board members, expressed gratitude to the President for the confidence reposed in them and assured him that they would be guided by the ideals and policies that led to the establishment of the commission.

GITC

The GITC was established as an agency responsible for ensuring compliance with the rules and regulations of international trade, regulate Ghana’s international trade in conformity with the rules and regulations of the world trade system and deal with related matters.

 As part of its duties, the commission is to ensure special import safeguard measures such as anti-dumping duties and tariff adjustments.

 It is also required, under the law, to monitor and advise the Minister of Trade and Industry on Ghana’s compliance with its bilateral and multilateral treaty obligations in the area of international trade, conduct studies and publish reports on the competitiveness of Ghana’s tariff structure and the impact of the tariff structure on domestic industry, market access opportunities and challenges in relation to exports from Ghana.

The GITC is expected to ensure fairness, efficiency, transparency and objectivity in the application of measures affecting international trade and the use of world trade measures.