MARCH 22
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Inside March <strong>22</strong>, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 3/21/18 9:12 PM Page 9<br />
12<br />
DAILY<br />
Politics<br />
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH<br />
HERITAGE THURSDAY, <strong>MARCH</strong> <strong>22</strong>, 2018<br />
Ghana committed to CFTA’s<br />
success –Akufo-Addo<br />
BY WILBERFORCE ASARE<br />
THE PRESIDENT<br />
Nana Addo Dankwa<br />
Akufo-Addo, has said<br />
Ghana is fully committed<br />
to the success<br />
of the Continental<br />
Free Trade Area (CFTA), after its<br />
formal launch in Kigali, Rwanda, at<br />
an Extraordinary Session of the Assembly<br />
of Heads of State and Government<br />
of the African Union (AU)<br />
yesterday.<br />
With the CFAT described as “the<br />
largest free trade area created since<br />
the formation of the World Trade<br />
Organisation”, President Akufo-<br />
Addo noted that Ghana has already<br />
indicated her readiness to host the<br />
CFTA secretariat in Accra.<br />
The coming into being of the<br />
CFTA, according to the President, is<br />
one of the most important decisions<br />
the AU will ever take.<br />
“Fifty-five years ago, the Organisation<br />
of African Unity was formed<br />
to spearhead the struggle for liberation<br />
and de-colonisation of our continent.<br />
Its triumph ushered us into<br />
the era of the AU, our continental<br />
body, which is now the champion of<br />
our collective interests in the global<br />
community,” he said.<br />
The President continued, “The<br />
time is now right that we demonstrate<br />
strong political will to make<br />
the African Union an economic and<br />
political success, and to make the<br />
project of integration real.”<br />
With Africa’s population set to<br />
reach some two billion people in 20<br />
years time, President Akufo-Addo<br />
noted that an African Common Market<br />
presents immense opportunities<br />
to bring prosperity to the continent<br />
with hard work, enterprise and creativity,<br />
hence, the importance of the<br />
success of the CFTA.<br />
“A working, common continental<br />
market has to be a very fundamental<br />
objective of all peoples and governments<br />
on the continent. Research<br />
has shown that countries or groups<br />
of countries with the largest share of<br />
world trade are located within regions<br />
with the highest levels of<br />
intra-regional trade. It is, thus, vital<br />
that the treaty works, and that the<br />
•President Nana Akufo-Addo<br />
CFTA becomes reality,” he said.<br />
An increase in trade, President<br />
Akufo-Addo explained, is<br />
the surest way to develop fruitful<br />
relations between African<br />
countries.<br />
“An increase in trade is the<br />
surest way to develop fruitful<br />
relations between our respective<br />
countries. It will mean a rapid<br />
increase in exchanges of our<br />
agricultural, financial, industrial,<br />
scientific and technological<br />
products, which would enhance<br />
dramatically our attainment of<br />
prosperity, and the prospects of<br />
employment for the broad<br />
masses of Africans, particularly<br />
our youth,” the President<br />
added.<br />
President Akufo-Addo appended<br />
his signature to the<br />
three legal instruments namely<br />
the agreement<br />
establishing the CFTA; the<br />
protocol on free movement of<br />
persons; and the Kigali declaration,<br />
which have brought the<br />
CFTA into being.<br />
Provide us with party office<br />
• Concerned Tarkwa NDC members yield<br />
CONCERNED PARTY supporters<br />
of the opposition National Democratic<br />
Congress (NDC) in the<br />
Tarkwa-Nsuaem constituency have<br />
charged the leadership of party to as<br />
a matter urgency, provide the party<br />
with an office.<br />
In a statement issued by the leadership<br />
of the concerned party members<br />
and copied to the DAILY<br />
HERITAGE indicated that the<br />
current constituency executives prior<br />
to their elections four years ago<br />
promised the party members of providing<br />
a well-furnished office but<br />
have failed to honour their pledge.<br />
“Isn't it embarrassing and failure<br />
on the part of leadership to find a<br />
great party like NDC in the whole of<br />
Tarkwa-Nsuaem just a year and a<br />
month in opposition without an office?<br />
If the current leadership of the<br />
party at the constituency level has<br />
forgotten about the promise they<br />
made to party prior to their election<br />
into leadership positions then, they<br />
should as a matter of urgency visit<br />
their archives.<br />
“Or perhaps, we humbly remind<br />
them that, they promised in their<br />
verbal manifesto to acquire ‘a befitting,<br />
well-furnished office for the<br />
party in the central business district<br />
of Tarkwa’ should they be elected as<br />
executives.<br />
“Almost four years down the line,<br />
“Almost four years down the line, after the people<br />
falling in love with their juicy promises and voting<br />
them into respective leadership positions, the inability<br />
to maintain the party office bequeathed unto them by<br />
the previous leadership, left the owner of that facility<br />
with no option than to eject the party from the office",<br />
the statement emphasised.<br />
after the people falling in love with<br />
their juicy promises and voting them<br />
into respective leadership positions,<br />
the inability to maintain the party office<br />
bequeathed unto them by the<br />
previous leadership, left the owner<br />
of that facility with no option than<br />
to eject the party from the office",<br />
the statement emphasised.<br />
The concerned members also revealed<br />
that the party has asked to<br />
leave the rented office and according<br />
to them, seeing this development as<br />
a total embarrassment to a great opposition<br />
party like the NDC.<br />
They also added that due to this<br />
situation, accessing basic information<br />
has become very difficult for<br />
them.<br />
Below is the full statement<br />
Grass-root members are not<br />
happy with Constituency Executives<br />
- Concerned party members<br />
We have observed with much astonishment<br />
the state in which our<br />
beloved party is, and the<br />
direction it is being headed to. Indeed,<br />
one would have expected to<br />
see more action-driven approach by<br />
a party in opposition looking forward<br />
to wrestling back power in a<br />
shortest possible time. However, it<br />
appears persons charged with leadership<br />
responsibilities to ensure the<br />
success of the goal above have<br />
rather developed a lackadaisical attitude<br />
and unconcerned about the<br />
state the party finds itself.<br />
Isn't it embarrassing, and failure<br />
on the part of leadership, to find a<br />
great party like NDC in the whole of<br />
Tarkwa-Nsuaem just a year and a<br />
month in opposition without an office?<br />
If the current leadership of the<br />
party at the Constituency level has<br />
forgotten about the promise they<br />
made to party people prior to their<br />
election into leadership positions<br />
then, they should as a matter of urgency<br />
visit their archives. Or perhaps,<br />
we humbly remind them that,<br />
they promised in their verbal manifesto<br />
to acquire" a befitting, well-furnished<br />
office for the party in the<br />
central business district of Tarkwa”<br />
should they be elected as executives.<br />
Almost four years down the line,<br />
after party people falling in love with<br />
their juicy promises and voting them<br />
into respective leadership positions,<br />
the inability to maintain the party office<br />
bequeathed unto them by the<br />
previous leadership, left the owner<br />
of that facility with no option than<br />
to eject the party from the office.<br />
The party as we write is under reorganization<br />
with a nationwide registration<br />
of its members. "We have no<br />
party office" as said by the constituency<br />
chairman in one of the recent<br />
party meetings. Where to access<br />
basic information, with regards to<br />
the ongoing re-organization in the<br />
constituency has turned nightmare<br />
to us, and to all concerned party<br />
members, we believe.<br />
We, therefore, by this release,<br />
calling on leadership to as a matter<br />
urgency, secure a party office where<br />
members could go and transact<br />
party businesses on daily basis, especially<br />
in this hour of re-organization<br />
exercise.<br />
God bless Tarkwa-Nsuaem!