The Chief Executive Officer of the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, has asserted that the biggest obstacle to making the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) work is not money, but political commitment.
Speaking at the 2025 Citi Business Forum under the theme “The Global Tariffs Dispute: Navigating Ghana’s Recovery Strategy,” she noted that African leaders are often quick to sign agreements like AfCFTA, but slow to back them with action and local policies.
She challenged the common belief that Africa’s main problem is lack of funds.
According to her, countries in Africa are not even consistent in ensuring that large multinational companies comply with tax regulations.
“I will say political commitment. We sign the agreement, but then, when it comes to putting in place local policies and regulations to actually implement it, it becomes problematic. We like saying we don’t have money on the continent.
“The problem is we have money, but it is deployed in the wrong way. We have pension funds that are garnering very low interest rates sitting in the US. Our tax system whenever we talk about illicit financial flows, we like to talk about the money our politicians are taking out.
“We don’t fight for the money that large international corporations are taking out that we are not getting back as taxes. So for me, money is not the problem,” she said.
2025 CBF: Spio-Garbrah urges Africa to rally around AfCFTA as Trump tariffs bite
