Transforming promise into reality: Reflections on Ghana-Zambia business dialogue, AfCFTA imperative
Watching President Mahama's visit to Zambia on Facebook last Thursday, I kept asking: Will this be different?
The Ghana-Zambia Business Dialogue looked impressive, with two presidents, multiple ministers and bold African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) commitments. But I have seen this before, and the ending usually disappoints.
What caught my attention was President Mahama's frank remark: “We must go beyond political dialogue into actual economic consolidation”.
That honesty resonates with anyone who has worked inside government.
We excel at signing agreements.
Implementation is where things fall apart.
The dialogue produced three commitments worth scrutinising.
First, an Enhanced Economic Development Cooperation Partnership, supposedly more substantial than usual joint commission frameworks.
Second, a visa waiver for business travellers.
Third, cooperation in fintech, agriculture, mining and transport.
Fintech
Ghana's fintech sector looks good on paper.
Mobile money transactions exceeded one trillion cedis last year, penetration topped 135 per cent and we host West Africa's only Tier IV data centre.
President Mahama launched a fifty-million-dollar fintech fund for small businesses.
Zambia needs exactly this kind of digital payment infrastructure.
But here is the problem. My doctoral research on e-procurement adoption in Ghana's public sector revealed uncomfortable truths about our digital readiness.
Yes, we have impressive infrastructure in Accra and Kumasi.
Rural internet access remains patchy. Cybersecurity threats have exploded, online fraud losses are approaching two million cedis and blackmail cases are up 254 per cent.
Our regulatory frameworks lack innovation, creating legal grey zones that scare investors.
If we cannot fix these problems at home, what are we exporting to Zambia?
A half-baked model that works in select cities but collapses when scaled?
That damages both countries and undermines Ghana's tech credibility across Africa.
The Enhanced Partnership sounds promising only if structured properly.
Traditional frameworks have been talking shops.
An effective partnership needs quarterly deliverables, dispute resolution mechanisms, actual knowledge transfer rather than conferences and transparent public reporting so businesses can track progress.
More fundamentally, this needs political staying power beyond administration changes, technical capacity within our civil service and private sector buy-in from seeing actual returns, not speeches about African unity.
Actions
Ghana should take five immediate actions. First, establish a dedicated Implementation Secretariat with real budget and authority; no unfunded mandates on overwhelmed civil servants.
Second, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) identifies companies ready for Zambia and provides market intelligence, matchmaking, trade finance, and diplomatic support.
Third, develop a proper technology transfer framework, including training for Zambian regulators and cybersecurity protocols reflecting our painful recent fraud lessons.
Fourth, establish cross-border payment settlement using the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System launched in 2022.
Fifth, align AfCFTA implementation strategies so that both countries learn from each other.
This matters beyond Ghana and Zambia.
AfCFTA cannot succeed through abstract coordination alone. It needs bilateral relationships that actually function and build trust through results.
If we cannot make this work despite favourable conditions, good relations, shared history and complementary economies, why hope for more complex arrangements?
President Mahama promised immediate implementation. Fine. Show us.
The test is not what was signed but what gets delivered: Ghanaian companies in Zambia and vice versa; trade volumes under new agreements; whether the Enhanced Partnership actually functions; whether visa waivers ease business travel and progress on infrastructure projects.
These metrics should be published quarterly, creating accountability. Transparency breeds trust.
Trust enables the private sector risk-taking that integration requires.
Having navigated Ghana's procurement and infrastructure systems for years, I know commitments do not automatically translate into action.
We suffer coordination failures between ministries, capacity constraints where initiatives founder for lack of expertise and political cycles favouring short-term visibility over institution building.
Sustained
This partnership can work through sustained political commitment, adequate resources, continuous private-sector engagement, and learning mechanisms that allow adaptation and integration with broader AfCFTA implementation rather than parallel structures.
Nkrumah and Kaunda understood that political independence without economic sovereignty remains incomplete.
Living that solidarity today means fintech companies helping Zambians access credit, Zambian copper processed for West African markets, road contractors and agricultural experts crossing borders, and students and entrepreneurs building networks that transcend colonial boundaries.
AfCFTA provides the framework. Bilateral relationships provide the substance.
History judges us not by communiqués but by the economic opportunities we create for ordinary citizens.
The promise was made in Lusaka. The test begins in Accra.
The writer is a Chief Quantity Surveyor with the Procurement Directorate at Ghana's Ministry of Roads and Highways.
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