GHANA has been elected to occupy one of the five Vice-Chair positions of the Executive Council of the African Alliance for e-Commerce for the next four years.

The election took place at the Eighth General Assembly of the African Alliance for e-Commerce (AACE) and 14th Executive Committee Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.

Cameroon and Kenya are to assume the Chair and Presidency of the Executive Committee and General Assembly respectively.

Commenting on Ghana’s election to the Vice-Chair position, the General Manager of Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet), Mr Alwin Hoegerle, said: “GCNet is pleased to have been recognised in this massive manner having been a founding member of the AACE.

“We still remain committed to our key strategic objective to providing e-Solutions that foster trade development and ensure effective revenue mobilisation in Ghana and beyond.”

Mr Hoegerle said GCNet was consistent with its continuous innovative approach to high service delivery and would launch GCMS III later this year to expand the scope and modules of the current Customs Management Systems (CMS) which should reflect in improved revenue mobilisation for the country.

The Executive Council and Annual General Meeting provided a platform for Single Window operators in Africa to share experiences, challenges and discuss strategies to speed up the implementation processes in their various countries with the Trade Facilitation Agreement as the bedrock.

The GCNet, Ghana’s Single Window Operator, shared its experiences in implementation of the Single Window alongside other participating countries including Senegal, Kenya, Congo, Cameroun, Ivory Coast and Mauritius, among others.

Panellists at this year’s AACE Executive Council meeting rallied global support to address challenges such as lack of political will, streamlining processes of SW operations, the regulatory framework, and changes in the scope of operation while implementation is ongoing.

The AACE also pledged to support the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement whilst funding and sustaining the SW business model.

Ghana was represented by a team from GCNet comprising the Chief Technical Officer, Matthew Soputamit, Strategy and Communications Manager, Mrs Aba Lokko and Acting Trade Net Manager, Mr Eben Engmann.

The AACE is the umbrella body for Single Window Operators in Africa and organises the International Single Window Conference and Exhibition annually to create a knowledge sharing platform for other AACE members to share their experiences.

GCNet is a founding member of the Africa Alliance for Electronic Commerce (AAEC) which was formed in 2008.

The Alliance mainly seeks to step up and promote trade-related Single Window operations in Africa. Its membership is based on countries that have implemented the Single Window in Africa.

GCNet will host the 2017 edition of the International Single Window Conference and Exhibition this year to bring together operators, policy makers, government and Customs officials, representatives from global allied trade bodies, Civil Society and the media, among other stakeholders, to deliberate on developments in the trade community.