Customs Revenue Officer (CRO) Samuel Akrofi, acting Head of the Ghana Customs Laboratory, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), says Ghana is working towards harmonising trade processes under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He stated, “Regional harmonisation of trade processes is something that is going on, and Ghana is working with the West African Customs Unit to be able to harmonise our trade processes so that they are seamless.”
Akrofi made this known at a media forum powered by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) on the topic Enhancing Trade Facilitation and Security: Ghana Customs’ Commitment to Efficiency, Innovation, and Economic Growth.
He explained that harmonising the trade process would enable Customs to determine the true origin of goods arriving in the country, ensuring they come from a destination within Africa.
Akrofi emphasised that Africa, as a regional bloc, must prioritise intra-African trade to grow its industries and become a formidable force, given the continent’s abundant resources.
He further explained that AfCFTA promotes quota-free and duty-free movement of goods among African countries, with the Certificate of Origin serving as the primary document to prevent the influx of transshipped goods.
“So, the process of validating and scrutinising the Certificate of Origin is key to ensuring that the goods that we are trading among ourselves are originally originating from Africa,” he stressed.
According to him, Ghana has declared its support for the electronic certification of the Certificate of Origin, as this would help address the challenge of non-African goods being falsely presented as originating from the continent.
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