…as country marks Human Rights Day
By Eugene Davis
The South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Grace Jaenet Mason, has announced plans of more investments between her country and Ghana aimed at boosting trade volumes and intra-africa trade.
Trade between Ghana and South Africa is already in excess of US$5 to 6billion annually, and available data reveal that as of November 2022, the top exports of South Africa to Ghana were Hot-Rolled Iron Bars (ZAR294M), Organic Composite Solvents (ZAR238M), Trailers and semi-trailers, not mechanically propelled… (ZAR229M), Delivery Trucks (ZAR194M), and Machinery Having Individual Functions (ZAR176M).
Speaking with the press during the Global South Africans reception and the commemoration of Human Rights Day, on Tuesday, at her residence in Accra, she said “we can do more and we will do more, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a catalyst for us to do more, create value chains so in all sectors Ghana will find what they have as a niche in industries, economies and South Africa will also have our niche as we tend begin to collaborate, trade.
We are already trading and as you look, we have got over 200 South African companies that are all over from our mining sectors to services, banking sectors and we are bringing in more in terms of investments, infrastructures, development, more trade, more services, we are going to use precisely the reason why we do it on the backdrop of AfCFTA is because there is a blackfold and we also have instruments that makes ease of business more easier with none of the areas to trade.
As we noticed last week, Ghana and Nigeria were trading in terms of Pan African payment settlement system so that is the next opportunity for South Africa and we are going to be trading but it’s a vision our forefathers had for us; now is implementing it.
There are targets and the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area has been given out pronouncement and feedbacks from the meetings of the leaders of the elderly section of the AU and in there are the results and progress made to date. I particularly is looking forward to the protocol that we envisage to sign in July of 2023 which is a protocol on women and youth and trade.
Human Rights Day
She also disclosed that, with South Africa being a new member of the UN Human Rights Council will leverage on its membership to ensure the protection of human rights and freedoms.
March 21 is celebrated as a public day in South Africa to remember the killings committed on 69 South Africans during the apartheid era.
“In South Africa today, it is public day and a human rights day -this is a day we celebrate, as we celebrate we remember the atrocities that were committed by the apartheid era where 69 South Africans that were protesting were killed ..so this is a day we say never again and to say that South Africa has a constitutional democracy, we have a bowl of rights and enshrined in our bowl of rights is our constitution, our democracy, equal rights, right to freedom, right to education, freedom to speech.
Ideally this day is our Human Rights Day and our theme which is consolidating human rights and looking into the future and also to know that SA is part of the United Nations Human Rights Council from the 1st of January, 2023 for three years…so in these platforms and areas, are where we will be advocating for human rights”
She added that her Global South Africans are excited to be living and doing business in Ghana, indicating that over 500 South Africans are doing business in Ghana.
The Global South Africans (GSA) is a project led by Brand South Africa to enlist the talent, experience and credibility of South Africans living abroad, permanently or temporarily to help realise the promise South Africa demonstrated in the “miracle” of 1994 and the National Development Plan (Vision 2030).
