The EPA Secretariat will oversee the implementation of the Action being proposed, with the support of a Technical Assistance Team as well as Thematic Working Groups. The Secretariat will report to the EPA Advisory Council. The Secretariat will also organise the meetings of the national advisory council and of the EPA joint committee in Ghana
The Director, Foreign Trade Directorate of MoTI will be the Project Director and Head of the EPA Secretariat, to be assisted by a Deputy Project Director. The Project Director will act as supervisor of the project and will oversee and supervise activities of the EPA Secretariat, which essentially entails implementation of Ghana’s iEPA. The Secretariat will be staffed with a core group of professionals to include in addition to the Director and Deputy Director, Trade in Goods Specialist, Investment Specialist, Trade Information Specialist, Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, Finance/Accounts/Administrative Officer. The EPA Secretariat will essentially function as the “engine” that powers the iEPA Implementation.
The scope of the Secretariat’s mandate is proposed to include:
- Liaising and interacting with public and private sector institutions to identify EPA-related needs and possible sources of development assistance to address those needs.
- Organizing, in cooperation with other public or private sector institutions, workshops and presentations on the provisions of the EPA and the potential opportunities for Ghanaian economic operators.
- Working with public institutions to incorporate the opportunities and challenges implied by the iEPA into their policies and strategies so as to create synergies in support of development goals.
- Working with Government Ministries and other agencies in developing or strengthening the country’s regulatory and enabling environment in order to facilitate the exploitation of EPA related opportunities by the private sector.
- Liaising and interacting with DPs and potential sponsors involved in managing and/or disbursing resources, which could be used for EPA-related projects.
- Continuous monitoring, together with a yearly comprehensive review to enable Ghana to determine, based on actual experience, whether or not the objectives of the EPA are being met and, if necessary, to make appropriate adjustments. The Secretariat will play a key role in facilitating this continuous monitoring and in helping policy makers to determine whether the EPA is ‘on track’ to meet its objectives.