Ghana looking to TT to beef up trade

Kwodwo Filson of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) believes that Trinidad and Tobago has what Ghana needs.

TT, he says, has an abundance of energy resources and well advanced information technology (IT) that Ghana would love to get its hands on. Speaking at a one-day workshop hosted by TIDCO last week, Filson who was part of a Ghana trade mission visiting TT, said his country has not developed those sectors as yet, and can use some of the expertise that TT has in those areas. “We have not developed those sectors in Ghana as yet and so it is different for us and that is why we are interested in TT,” he told reporters.

The Ghana trade mission made up of a delegation of 10 members, were in TT for 14 days looking for trading opportunities. Initially, the delegation was supposed to comprise 20 people, but some members had visa problems with the United Kingdom government. The ten members represented various sector of the Ghana economy seeking trading opportunities in construction, cocoa processing, food manufacturing, agriculture and, more importantly, energy and IT. The Ghana Invest-ment Promotion Centre is a government facilitating agency. Filson has been with the Centre for the last eight years and his role is to facilitate business from trade missions.  

Filson said TT should be interested in establishing trading links with Ghana, noting that it is the gateway to West Africa, which, he adds, has in excess of 300 million people. “We have the most stable political environment in Africa and we offer the best opportunities by way of linking other West African countries. We are not land locked,” he pointed out. Countries, he said, in West Africa clear their goods from the Tema port in Ghana because of its regulatory environment, adding that it also had a communications systems and good roads. Additionally, he said the crime rate is very low and English is the preferred language. The time difference between TT and Ghana is four hours.

While the mission’s main aim was to seek trading opportunities in TT, it also sought to establish transportation links, especially air links between TT and West Africa or Ghana. We want to establish trading ties, but first we must establish air and other transportation links to conduct business.” He said there were no direct air links between TT, Ghana or West Africa, stressing that these must be established to build the capacity and linkages necessary to conduct trade between both countries. Currently, persons from TT wishing to travel to Ghana have to do so via the UK.  “If we can set up direct air links between Accra (capital of Ghana) and TT and the Caribbean that will be great.” 

Filson said this is not the first time that Ghana was trying to establish trading and air links with TT. He noted that in 1998, Ghana’s former government sent officials to TT to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which included agreements to discuss transportation linkages between the two countries.  “I am not sure what has been done with regard to that MOU, but still it is an initiative. It will not only take governments to do it, but private sector participation as well, to get that project going.” He said Ghana is very interested in private sector participation because the opportunities for the local private sector are very large in his country. “When we talk about Ghana, we are talking about the whole of West Africa.”

Filson said once the air links were established Ghana will be very interested in purchasing fertilisers from TT. He also expressed an interest in the food processing and manufacturing sectors of TT. When asked what Ghana can offer TT, Filson said Ghana has skilled labour at a relative competitive cost and noted that it also has very large distribution networks throughout West Africa. “So TT will have access to a very large market and we are removing all the impediments to trade to encourage more investments.”  Filson added that Ghana is concentrating on TT because they view this country as the gateway to the Caribbean. “Once we establish links with TT we believe that we will establish links with the rest of the Caribbean.”

The Ghana delegation met with Foreign Affairs Minister, Knowlson Gift;  Agriculture Minister, John Rahael; Port-of-Spain Mayor, Murchinson Brown as well as other private businessmen. The delegation also visited the energy plants in Pt Fortin and Pt Lisas and the port facilities. Vishnu Dhanpaul, vice-president, Trade and Investment, TIDCO, said there are many opportunities for trading with Ghana. “There is a huge market out there with over 300 million people which we have not tapped.”