Remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Ghana- South Africa business forum during the State Visit in Accra, Ghana

Programme Directors,
His Excellency the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Akufo-Addo,
Honourable Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of Ghana, Mr Alan Kyerematen,
Honourable Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition of South Africa, Mr Ebrahim Patel,
Secretary-General of the African Continental Trade Area Secretariat, Mr Wamkele Mene,
Honourable Ministers from South Africa and Ghana,
Her Excellency High Commissioner Grace Mason,
Members of the diplomatic corps,
Leaders of business from South Africa and Ghana,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Two years ago to the day, we hosted an interactive business round table in this same hotel.

It was a frank and robust engagement with the business community of Ghana and South Africa.

We made an undertaking to meet annually to take stock in our endeavour to build sustainable business ties.

At that time none of us anticipated that the world would be struck by a disaster of the magnitude of COVID-19.

The pandemic brought unprecedented disruptions to Africa, reducing earnings and increasing poverty and food insecurity.

A number of countries have experienced economic recession.

I salute the resilience of the business community and your ability to sustain your businesses through these difficult times.

A critical condition for the recovery of our economies is the successful roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines and the continued adherence to the health protocols.

While more than 220 million vaccine doses have been administered on the continent, only 6.7 per cent of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated.

This is simply not enough if we are to revive and rebuild our economies.

Equitable access to vaccines is the best way to mitigate the economic, social and health consequences of the pandemic.

That is why South Africa together with India has co-sponsored a proposal to the WTO for a temporary TRIPS waiver to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

As African countries, we should rally together behind this proposal, because the fastest and most effective way to vaccinate our populations is if we are allowed to manufacture our own vaccines, and at the same time build our own domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities.

As African leaders we have to adopt strategies for a resilient recovery.

These strategies must ensure economic sustainability and faster industrialisation of our respective economies.

The task before us is to actively seek out trade and investment opportunities beyond our borders – not in Europe, Asia or the Americas, but with our neighbours and on the continent.

One sector with growth potential is pharmaceuticals.

We have learnt from this pandemic that a reliance on imported medical supplies is not sustainable for African countries.

We have already seen progress in the South African pharmaceutical sector, which has commenced with the local production of vaccines.

We have observed the same trends in Ghana, as local businesses switched to production of personal protective equipment.

Ample opportunities exist to build automotive value chains.

Our endowment of raw materials positions us perfectly, especially for the manufacture of electric vehicles.

South Africa has over past decades built robust automotive and component manufacturing hubs and is now part of the global value chain.

Ghana has made remarkable progress and has developed an automotive policy which has led to investment in local vehicle assembly plants.

The global recovery will increase demand for a variety of industrial and consumption products.

We are fortunate to have the requisite raw materials for these products, ranging from oil, to gold, diamonds, bauxite, timber, cocoa and arable land for agriculture.

We call on industrialists to invest in the beneficiation of these natural resources.

We call on investors, banks and development finance institutions to partner in projects such as gold and oil refineries, aluminium smelters, renewable energy, information and communications technology and agro-processing.

Let us intensify efforts to build strong industrial bases and expand our exports to create more employment opportunities.

Bilateral trade between South Africa and Ghana is growing.

In 2020, the trade volumes between Ghana and South Africa reached just over R14 billion.

However, South African exports to Ghana are dominated by industrial products while South Africa imports are largely minerals and unfinished products.

To correct this imbalance, we need to develop the manufacturing capacities of both our economies.

South African investors continue to show confidence in the enabling business environment of Ghana.

We welcome the USD 242 million investment made by South African companies in 2020, and I challenge the business delegation here today to invest even more.

The large presence of South African investors in the Ghanaian economy bears testimony to the investor-friendly environment created by the government.

There are over 200 South African companies registered in Ghana, employing nearly 20,000 Ghanaians and around 500 expatriates.

Over the past ten years, South African companies have undertaken over 170 projects in Ghana with a capital investment valued in excess of USD 1.4 billion.

We are now in a better position to trade with one another through the African Continental Free Trade Area.

We congratulate the 42 member states that have ratified the AfCFTA agreement and call on all AU member states to do so.

We are waiting with keen interest for the finalisation of the outstanding rules of origin in order to commence with inter-continental trade.

The protocols on intellectual property rights, digital trade and women and youth in trade are important milestones for the Secretariat.

The inclusion of women and youth in intercontinental trade is vital for inclusive economic growth and for the creation of decent jobs opportunities.

The speedy adoption of the investment protocol of the African Continental Free Trade Area will boost intercontinental investments.

An investment protocol for the continent will provide policy certainty and is important for investor attraction and protection.

We are impressed by the enthusiasm and interest expressed by private businesses and multilateral banking institutions in cross-border infrastructure projects.

These are an important enabler of industrial development and intra-continental trade.

This is a forum of opportunity and promise.

It brings together the businesses that will drive the recovery of our two economies and will help to shape the growth and development of Ghana and South Africa in the years to come.

We look forward to the partnerships, deals and many commercial opportunities that will emerge from this gathering.

I thank you.

Source: The Presidency Republic of South Africa