President Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks on the occasion of the South Africa-Ghana Business Forum

12 March 2024

Your Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana,
High Commissioners, 
Honorable Ministers, 
Business Leaders,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
Let me begin by warmly welcoming President Nana Akufo-Addo and his delegation. 
 
South Africa and Ghana share a long and rich history defined by our struggle for freedom of our people.
 
This history provides a firm foundation to forge closer economic ties that can spur growth and development in both countries.
 
We are pleased to host this Business Forum to explore business opportunities that enhance our bilateral economic relations.
 
For a long time, Africa has been at the lower-end of global value chains. We have abundant natural resources, but limited productive capability to process them for higher value capture.
 
However, the need for a global transition to a low-carbon future offers the continent new opportunities to upgrade and diversify into technology-intensive global value chains.
 
Our two countries are in a strategic position to benefit from the rapid growth of key clean energy manufacturing industries.
 
Most of the minerals critical for the manufacturing of clean energy technologies, such as battery storage and electric vehicles, are held in Africa.
 
This means that we need to improve manufacturing capacity and scale up production and export through the building of domestic and regional linkages and value chains.
 
It is important to explore practical cooperation between key players in industry to foster effective and mutually beneficial collaboration between our countries to promote green industrialisation.
 
This will help to build on the strong trade and investment links between our economies. 
 
South Africa is already the largest purchaser of Ghanaian exports in Africa, and the third largest importer of Ghana’s products globally. 
 
South Africa and Ghana have untapped economic potential and much more needs to be done, both with regards to growth of total trade and the diversification of products to high value manufactured exports. 
 
There is great potential to unlock economic opportunities through investment-led trade initiatives that are aimed at increasing trade of value-added products between our two countries.
 
As the host of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Ghana is at the heart of Africa’s transformative regional integration. 
 
We were therefore delighted that Ghana was one of the first destinations of South African exports at the start of preferential trade under the AfCFTA on the 31st of January 2024. 
 
The AfCFTA is a critical platform to enhance both trade and investment relations with a view to promote industrialisation and build competitiveness. 
 
We need to move beyond trade in commodities and on to the purchase of job-creating agricultural goods, advanced manufactured and value-added products. 
 
The importance of Ghana to South Africa as an anchor partner country within West Africa is affirmed by the many South African trade missions to explore business opportunities in the form of investment-led trade. 
 
There have been outgoing trade missions focusing on construction, rail and others over the years. This is in addition to individual missions that have been undertaken by South African government entities, including our state-owned enterprises.
 
On the investment front, South African companies have invested in 53 projects across Ghana with an estimated value of US$ 1.4 billion in capital investment between January 2003 and January 2024. 
 
South Africa has invested in communications, financial and business services, automotive, manufacturing, metals, retail, property development, transportation and others.
 
South African firms have raised concerns regarding regulatory matters and we are keen to have these resolved so that we can increase investment from our country to Ghana. 
 
We also wish to welcome Ghanian companies to invest in South Africa and we invite the private sector in Ghana to send a delegation to the 6th South Africa Investment Conference to be held later this year. 
 
The Bi-National Commission that has just concluded its second session is mandated to give effect to the many bilateral agreements that will facilitate increased trade between the two countries.
 
The deliberations of the Bi-National Commission and the engagements at this Business Forum have provided new impetus to the growth of investment and trade between our two countries.
 
I thank you.

Issued by The Presidency, 12 March 2024