TRIFA applauds Government of Ghana for decision to re-open land borders

The Executive Director of the Trade and Investment Forum Africa (TRIFA), Bola Akinsanya has applauded the move by Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo to re-open the country's land borders since the coronavirus restrictions where relaxed.

President Nana Addo in his 28th national address on measures his government is taking to mitigate the pandemic said, “As from tomorrow, Monday, 28th March, all land and sea borders will be opened."

This follows the closure of these borders in March 2020 to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that was fast spreading across the subregion.

Speaking exclusively to MyNigeria, Mr Akinsanya said the decision by the President has restored hope to communities and persons trading across the borders. He said that despite the slow recovery of the economies in these areas, the move was the right one in the right direction as it has also encouraged the Togolese government to follow suit.

“This is to express the organization's satisfaction on the decision of the president to open the border that also prompted his counterparts (Togo) to follow suit in doing the right thing. This decision has restored the livelihood of folks living and trading across the border,” Mr. Akinsanya said.

“Even transport companies that have been closed for over 2 years has now resumed operation, though the patronage is still slow. Many employees of the transport companies plying Lagos -Accra has lost their job due to the pandemic” he added.

He concluded that TRIFA’s doors are open to relevant authorities across the region looking for ways to renew policies with the targeted aim of harnessing opportunities for business development.

“Trade and Investment forum Africa (TRIFA) is willing to work with relevant authorities in ECOWAS states in information sharing on opportunities and renew a policy that will help harness opportunities for business development and growth within the region.”

The Trade and Investment Forum Africa (TRIFA), a nonprofit networking platform established to promote trade and investment opportunities amongst small, medium, and large scale corporations in Africa was launched on Wednesday, February 23 in Ghana's capital, Accra.

The event was attended by key stakeholders, government representatives, industry practitioners, business consultants and corporate structure experts across countries in the subregion.

The three core pillars of TIFA are Trade, Investment and Advisory Services.