The Chairperson of the Gender Sub-Committee on Trade (GSCT) under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), Ms Naah Ayitteh Densua, has assured Cross Border Women Traders (CBWT) in the country that efforts are being made to address the challenges confronting them in carrying out their business activities along Ghana’s borders.
Ms Densua said issues such as security problems at the borders, lack of easy access to financial support, lack of infrastructure, including markets and health facilities at the borders remained as some of the problems facing CBWT in the country.
Speaking at the maiden annual general meeting (AGM) of Cross Border Women Traders Association of Ghana (CBWTAG) under the theme: ‘Unleashing the Power of Cross Border Women Traders: Innovation, Security, Compliance, Resilience and Sustainability,’ at Aflao in the Volta Region, Ms Densua emphasized the inmense contributions of women to the economic growth of the country which required that they be supported to carry out their businesses and trades effectively.
She said the CBWTAG had complained about the personnel of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) of harassment in the pursuit of their lawful activities, saying it was important for security agencies such as the Customs Division of GRA and the GIS to regularly educate CBWT on matters regarding security at the various borders.
Ms Densua appealed to security agencies at the borders to introduce modern communication methods in pictorial form, and placed at vantage areas at the borders which would easily be understood by the women traders.
According to her, majority of CBWT could not read and pictorial form of communication would prevent the security personnel from communicating directly to individual women traders.
She announced that as part of efforts to promote the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA), a digitalised payment system would soon be introduced to help traders, particularly CBWT to pay for their goods in any country they found themselves within the sub-region without difficulties.
The Principal Operations Officer of the Ghana Shippers Council (GSC), Mrs Adelaide Nyamekye-Addo, commended Trade Mark Africa, an international non-governmental organization, for supporting CBWTAG to organise it’s first general meeting.
