“This Is Your Moment”: Mahama Urges Private Sector to Drive Ghana-Zambia Trade
President John Dramani Mahama has called on business leaders to take the lead in deepening economic ties between Ghana and Zambia, saying political goodwill must translate into concrete trade and investment partnerships.
Speaking at the Ghana-Zambia Business Dialogue in Lusaka, President Mahama said, “Government will provide the enabling environment, but it is the private sector that must build the factories, take the risks, and create the jobs. To the business leaders gathered here today, this is your moment.”
He highlighted the importance of leveraging each country’s comparative advantages, noting Ghana’s rapid growth in digital finance. “When it comes to FinTech, Ghana has moved quite fast… And indeed, we’re finding it difficult to follow our FinTech companies because they are introducing new things and crossing our borders without our permission,” he said.
On the other hand, President Mahama praised Zambia’s energy and agricultural reforms. “They have open access. They have net metering. If you produce excess power and you feed it into the grid, you get money for it. We are still at the stage where we have huge state utilities that control the distribution of power,” he said, adding that Ghana could learn from Zambia’s experience in agriculture, including seed production and large-scale farming.
The President also stressed the role of regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area. “The future of Ghana-Zambia relations must be written in the language of trade, investment, innovation, and shared prosperity,” he said.
During the visit, the two countries signed agreements on visa waivers and bilateral air services, measures expected to boost connectivity, reduce transaction costs, and facilitate the movement of goods and capital.
