The Federation of Employers Associations of West Africa (FWAEA) has ended a regional workshop in Accra aimed at assessing the role of the private sector in regional integration and economic development.
It was attended by about 30 heads of employers� associations in the sub-regional and other business executives who took advantage of the event to study a report on the third phase of threats posed by the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
Opening the two-day workshop on Thursday, Lakoun Quattara, Head of the FWAEA Project, which is geared towards studying ways to position the association to be able to respond to challenges in the private sector, said they needed the efficient action of all employers� associations to be able to succeed.
He said regional integration of the private sector is lagging because of the lack of the appreciation for the private sector as the engine of growth and development, adding �that is why we have to work hard to level the ground and build capacity of FWAEA and other member organizations�.
Mr. Quattara said if FWAEA is able to build the capacity of members it would give them the advantage to be able to strategize properly to address problems that arise from the sector.
Diallo Oussein, Executive Secretary of FWAEA, said they are holding several consultations to enable them derive satisfaction or otherwise from the EPA and regional integration.
He noted that there was the need to deepen public/private sector partnership in member countries so that they can harness the resources of the sub-region for the benefit of the people
�The level of utilization of our resources in the sub-region is low but if we develop the private sector effectively, it would assist in the utilization of the resources for wealth creation.�
Victor Atta-Amponsah, Head of Human Resource Development at the Ghana Employers� Association (GEA), said the time has come for employers in the sub-region to strengthen their networks and help break the barriers for regional trade to flourish.
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