Give Africans Fair Trade Terms — Ossei Aidooh

The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Abraham Ossei Aidooh, has expressed concern about the effects of globalisation on the economies of African nations and called for fair terms of trade to enable African countries to reap the benefits of their sweat.

He made the call when the German Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Marius Haas, paid a courtesy call on him to discuss bilateral issues and how effectively the parliaments of Ghana and Germany could co-operate for their mutual benefit.

Mr Aidooh, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema East, said African countries would remain impoverished if the current unfavourable trade terms were not improved.

He, however, commended Germany for its financial and infrastructure assistance towards the development of the country since independence.

Mr Aidooh mentioned in particular German non-governmental organisations such as Fredrich Egbert and Konrad Adenuer foundations which were supporting political parties in the country.

Touching on the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Aidooh said the ministry had been in existence since 1957 to facilitate and co-ordinate parliamentary oversight activities to build an effective and vibrant parliamentary structures for the enhancement of democracy.

For his part, Dr Haas said Ghana was among the few African countries that were developing fast because of good governance and gave the assurance that Germany would negotiate with the European Union (EU) and sub-regional bodies such as ECOWAS to address the issue of unfair trade practices.

He, however, advised the government to strengthen the private sector and focus on small- scale agricultural industries.

Mr Haas said Germany would continue to support Ghana to improve upon inter-party relations, and praised Parliament for not being partisan during its deliberations, saying that the vibrant Minority in Parliament was a sign of good governance and stable government.

Story by Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah