By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Minority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament and 3rd Deputy Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has called for fair trade, lower port costs, and stronger regional integration among ECOWAS member states.
Addressing participants at the Crans Montana Forum in Morocco, the 3rd Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament painted a vivid picture of the obstacles stifling intra-African trade, including exorbitant port charges, logistical inefficiencies, and the lack of a coordinated industrial policy across the continent.
Recounting a real-world example from a trade delegation he led to Morocco three years ago, the Ghanaian lawmaker revealed how a promising bilateral venture between Moroccan poultry exporters and Ghanaian agribusinesses collapsed due to port-related costs.
“Initially, it was more cost-effective to import poultry from Morocco than from Brazil or the Netherlands. But when the port charges and tariffs were added, the cost tripled, and as a result, the Moroccan investors pulled out, and the opportunity was lost,” he said.
That missed opportunity, he argued, is emblematic of a broader structural problem affecting Africa’s trade corridors and supply chains—one that repeatedly pushes African businesses to favor external markets over intra-continental ones.
Mr. Afenyo Markin lamented that many landlocked nations, like Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, continue to depend heavily on coastal neighbors for access to global markets. However, inefficiencies in port management, infrastructure, and security risks along key corridors such as Dakar, Abidjan, Lomé, Tema, and Cotonou render regional trade uncompetitive.
“We talk about regional integration, yet transport networks between Ghana and Lagos remain underdeveloped. Modern rail connections are poor, and roads are riddled with inefficiencies, red tape, and sometimes insecurity,” he said.
He noted that while Africa boasts various regional blocs and frameworks—ECOWAS, SADC, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—their success hinges on proactive infrastructure planning and policy harmonization. Unfortunately, high costs, tariff mismatches, and poor corridor governance continue to undermine the continent’s potential.
According to Mr. Afenyo Markin, Africa’s internal inefficiencies make it easier and cheaper to trade with Europe or Asia than with neighboring countries.
This dynamic, he explained, discourages local production, deepens dependency, and stifles industrialization.
The ECOWAS Parliament’s 3rd Deputy Speaker called for a renewed commitment to: streamline port charges and customs procedures; invest in cross-border transport infrastructure; promote regional industrial policies to reduce destructive competition; and foster trust and policy coordination across the continent.
He cautioned that the exit of some Sahelian countries from ECOWAS complicates regional trade policy even further, introducing uncertainty around free movement, trade rules, and customs protocols.
“If we cannot build a fluid, predictable, and cost-effective regional trade system, then we leave our people with no choice but to look beyond Africa for trade,” he warned.
Mr. Afenyo Markin’s call is seen as an urgent and sobering reminder to member states to move from rhetoric to reform, especially in trade and infrastructure.
