By Buertey Francis BORYOR
The West Africa Regional Director of CUTS International, Appiah Kusi Adomako, has called on Ghana’s ambassadors and high commissioners to focus more on helping the country grow its trade and exports instead of spending time on only ceremonial activities.
The trade expert stressed that, it is important for the country’s foreign missions to work harder to attract business deals and support local exporters.
“Our ambassadors and high commissioners should not be drinking tea and taking selfies- and instead act as “agents of trade” tasked with delivering measurable economic impact. They should be actively seeking new markets for the country’s goods and bringing trade and investment opportunities back home.
“The embassies can also set in some sort of market intelligence and be able to identify where the markets are. They should be able to also take it upon themselves to do that,” Mr. Adomako elaborated.
According to him, the nation spends between US$10 to US$15 million annually on rent for embassies and official residences abroad, making it unacceptable for ambassadors not to contribute directly to trade and investment promotion.
“We need to make use of our embassies as engines of growth. The U.S. ambassador is here always fighting for U.S. companies. We should be doing the same,” he added.
He contended that ambassadors should be held accountable with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) linked directly to their ability to increase the country’s trade volumes.
“Ambassadors should be given clear targets and their performance should be measured based on how much they help grow exports. If you are not able to do that, then you may have to be brought back home. We are paying so much money on our Ghanaian expats abroad, but yet there is little utility from these civil servants. We need to demand more from them,” he said.
Also, he called on the government to revise the job description for diplomatic postings, and added that the newly appointed ambassadors should be trained to understand how they can facilitate trade.
He moreover said the country’s products such as cocoa, shea butter, textiles, and processed foods could do better in foreign markets if its embassies made trade promotion a top priority.
The Eye on Port programme– powered by the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority (GPHA) where Mr. Adomako made these comments explored the implications of the recently introduced 10 percent tariff by the United States on certain imports, including products from Ghana.
He noted that while the nation’s exposure is relatively small compared to others facing 25 to 40 percent tariffs, the situation is still a wake-up call to rethink its trade strategy.
