Stakeholders say apart from some technical appliances that have been sold in Ghana from Cameroon (goods not even manufactured in Africa), nothing concrete can be said about trade between the two countries. But the situation might soon change as there are concerted efforts to improve trade. In a working session on Monday April 23 between a 13-strong delegation of visiting Ghanaian wood experts on a prospection mission to Cameroon led by the country’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mike Hammah and Cameroon’s Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, it emerged that all is being done to boost inter-state trade and in so doing, socio-economic development of the two countries.
“If we are able to develop a framework for greater collaboration between Cameroon in all the broad sectors of the economy, I am sure it will boost up trade between the two countries,” Mr Hammah said. Africa’s contribution to global Gross Domestic Product, he stressed, is only two per cent and “If you realise that all the natural resources are in Africa and our contribution to world trade is insignificant, it means there is a problem. It is because African countries have not developed the kind of collaborative relationship that will allow us to complement each other’s efforts in innovative clusters where there is competitive advantage. I think it is about time Africa began to look within,” he added.
Ghana’s trade and industrial policy, the delegation members said, is clear. Cocoa for instance, is a booming industry in the country. “We lay much emphasis on value addition instead of exporting raw cocoa. For now, what Ghana is doing is to add as much value as possible to its primary products to be able to absorb the expansive capacity of the economy, create more jobs for the people and accelerate economic growth. We have a lot of saw mills that do not have raw material and I have seen so many raw materials in Cameroon. If in Ghana we have excess capacity and our brothers in Cameroon have so many raw materials, why can’t we collaborate? Why can’t we have joint ventures so that at the end of the day, it is a win-win situation? Cameroon and Ghana will gain and Africa will be the winner,” the delegation leader noted.
To Cameroon’s Minister of Trade, the two countries have much in common and collaborating on a win-win basis would be a welcome relief to the economies of both countries. “I am ready for negotiations. It shouldn’t just be to exchange goods. It should be real partnership,” Mr Mbarga Atangana concluded.
