Gabby challenges African media to unpack free trade story

The Executive Chairman of the Africa Prosperity Network (APN), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has urged the media in Africa to unpack this free trade story of the continent to the people to fully appreciate its benefits.

He emphasised that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents perhaps the biggest project for Africans in modern history, hence the need for the media to take keen interest in it so that Africans would understand the concept of free trade and how relevant it is to their own livelihood
Mr Otchere-Darko, who is also a senior partner of the Africa Legal Associates (ALA), made the call at a webinar on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, with some seasoned journalists on the continent.
Organised by the APN, the webinar was on the theme, “What Do You Know About the AfCFTA – and Why Should the Media Care?”

Discussions

The discussions examined the role of the media in mobilising mass engagement with, and participation in the AfCFTA and the opportunities opened up by it, especially as it is of immense benefit for the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa and global Africa (the sixth region of Africa).
The participants included Ferial Haffajee (Daily Maverick), Patrick Smith (editorial director of Africa Confidential and editor-in-chief of The Africa Report), Charles Onyango-Obbo (Nation Media Group), Andrew Mwenda (Ugandan Independent), Mariama Sy Ba and Samuel Attah-Mensah (Citi TV/Citi FM).
The event comes ahead of the 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) in Ghana.
The APN and the AfCFTA Secretariat will host African heads of state, business leaders, heads of international development institutions and development finance institutions, social change-makers and other pan-African thought leaders at the next Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) in Ghana from 25-27 January 2024.

Power of media

Stressing on the power of the media, the APN Executive Chairman stated: “It took powerful media to get one country to lead a single market and we’re talking about Brexit.
“In the same day, but in a reversal, it can take powerful media of this continent to get Africans, to understand that if we come together to build this single market, it will benefit all of us for this century.”

Own AfCFTA

Mr Otchere-Darko emphasised the need for Africans to own the AfCFTA.
This is because the benefits would go to Africans .