The first shipment of top-quality beef from MEATCO, the Namibian meat producing and exporting company, has been received by Abanga Farms & Food Systems Limited, a Ghanaian agricultural firm, for distribution in Ghana.
This agreement between the SADC and ECOWAS areas is exceptional and first of its kind.
The Chief Executive Officer of Abanga Farms & Food Systems, Mr. Thomas Abanga, lauded the partnership as forward-looking with the anticipation that the benefits that would flow to both Ghana and Namibia would be vast and long-term at a ceremony at the Tema Harbour.
He urged the continent’s business sector to take the lead in advancing its development rather than relying entirely on its governments to do so.
He claimed that while the government plays a role in Africa’s underdevelopment, the private sector’s unwillingness to take chances is also a contributing factor. “It is the private sector that can propel the economic development of Africa.
It is time for the private sector to step up,” The partnership, he concluded, will strengthen the agriculture sector of both countries, particularly the livestock sub-sector whose true potential remains untapped in Ghana.
In her introductory remarks, H.E. Madam Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, the High Commissioner of Namibia to Ghana urged African nations to boost inter-trade within the continent while still dealing with the effects of COVID-19 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
She stated that Africans should stop relying on goods and products from outside the continent and start consuming what the continent produces. She expressed the hope that the alliance between Meatco and Abanga Farms & Food Systems would reach out to other African markets in addition to Ghana and Namibia.
Professor Bani, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Abanga Farms and Food Systems thanked the management of Meatco “for having confidence in us to lead this process of inter African trade.”
He also showed appreciation to the “High Commissioner of Namibia and her team for their untiring efforts to get this meat to Ghana” and assured that “Abanga Farms and Food Systems will take advantage of the provisions of the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) and its MOUs to expand trade and technology transfer between Namibia and Ghana. “Trade between African Countries has the greatest potential for achieving sustainable economic growth and integration and we must take advantage of it.” he said.