EU URGED TO HARMONISE PROCUREMENT LAWS (PAGE 55)

Story: Abdul Aziz

THE Government of Ghana has called on the European Union (EU) to harmonise its procurement laws to make trading with developing countries flexible.
The Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mr Andrew Adjei-Yeboah, who made the call, said developing countries such as Ghana had to meet 27 different procurement policies when dealing with EU countries.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah, who was leading a Ghanaian delegation to negotiate a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU on reforms in the timber industry in Accra, explained that because of those different procurement policies, Ghana was unable to maintain its share on the EU timber market.
He said the need for the harmonisation of procurement policies in EU member countries was critical to the sustainability of the VPA.
He suggested that EU policies on timber procurement should take into consideration the capacity of VPA partner countries to meet those different international standards.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah said in developing the VPA, the framers also ought to make provision for flexibility in order to address emerging issues as the agreement was being implemented and lessons were being learnt.
He stressed the need for adequate development assistance to meet the challenges that entry into the agreement posed, especially the attendant social implications.
He appealed to the EU to provide support and technical assistance for developing the domestic market and the restructuring of the forestry industry.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah said in providing for the activities of VPA, such as forest laws enforcement, governance and trade programme and licensing scheme, the framers needed to find a mechanism that met the requirement of their governments for the agreement to be sustainable.
The Director at the Directorate General for Development of the European Commission, Mr Luis Riera, who led the EU delegation, commended Ghana for involving all the stakeholders in the timber industry, including civil society, to fashion out reforms for the forestry sector in the country.
He said the pioneering role by Ghana had set a good example for other countries which had been queuing to have agreement with the EU on reforms and good governance in the forestry industry.
Mr Riera said Ghana was well positioned to be one of the first countries to sign a VPA with the EU to ensure that forests in the country were preserved and well managed for posterity.