A new board for the Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC) has been sworn into office to guide the Commission’s operations towards building resilient value chains and fostering conducive environment for investment.

Sworn into office by Madam Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, the new board has Mr Felix Tawia Yaw Akyea as its chairperson.

The members are Messers George Kobina Fynn, Barima-Agyekum Hinneh, Kin Hussein Ibn Alhassan, and Madam Elizabeth Essie Boadu-Mantey.

The minister said the board played a pivotal role in guiding the operations of the Commission towards fostering an environment conducive to both local and foreign investment.

“I encourage you to uphold the principles of fairness and transparency while safeguarding Ghana’s development in international trade negotiations and practice,” she said.

“You are to ensure that the GITC becomes a beacon of excellence in trade regulation, helping to unlock new opportunities for growth, employment, and sustainable development for our nation.”

Mr Akyea, the chairman, on behalf of the board members, expressed gratititude to President John Dramani Mahama for the appointment and pledged to do their best.

He noted that the GITC had a daunting task of ensuring fair trade due to recent complexities in international trade.

“When the GITC law was being passed, almost everybody in the world agreed that we shall all operate under the WTO rules. But recently, we can see what is happening across the world. Some countries have ignored, some have even declared that they will leave the WTO,” Mr Akyea said.

“Even though they were the very ones who were behind the setting up of the WTO. So we are going to be facing some headwinds along the way. But I know and I have confidence that with you as the Minister and His Excellency behind us, we shall succeed.”

The GITC was established under the Ghana International Trade Commission Act 2016 Act 926, an Act of Parliament that creates a corporate body charged with regulating Ghana’s international trade.

The Act mandates the Commission to ensure compliance with international trade rules and the World Trade Organisation Agreements to protect the country’s domestic market from unfair trade practises.

It is also to promote transparency, efficiency, and fairness in the application of trade measures.