The
organization is therefore rallying civil society groups to strongly resist the
ECOWAS signing of the pact.
The
West African economic bloc says the decision to sign the Agreement is to
protect exports from the region, following recommendations by a committee set up
to review the pact.
However,
several interest groups are worried this will lead to the collapse of most
economies in the sub-region.
FECCIWA
Secretary General and CEO, Rev. Dr. Tolbert Thomas Jallah, Jr., says the
agreement is not in the interest of local economic development.
“We
are totally against this stance by the ECOWAS Commission without consulting the
private sector, without consulting civil society and the State parties. This will
undermine the economies of Africa; it will undermine agriculture and smallscale
farmers. We will lose access to our own markets and this is not in the interest
of development,” he stated.
The
EPA allows Ghana to have 100 percent access to the European Market except
for rice and sugar, while EU countries will have 75 percent access to the
Ghanaian market duty free and quota free.
According
to the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Ghana is expected to lose 300 million
dollars in revenue every year if it signs the EPA with the EU.
“There
are huge enormous opportunities in working together and fighting for justice,
fighting against the economic partnership agreement that has been signed by the
ECOWAS Commission,” Rev. Dr. Jallah asserted.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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