At the 55th CPA Africa Region Conference in Lilongwe, Malawi, Ghana's delegation, led by the First Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor, moved a motion arguing that signing the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement was the easy part, and that parliaments must now hold governments accountable for turning its promises into results. The agreement covers all 55 AU states, roughly 1.4 billion people, and a combined GDP of about US$3.4 trillion. World Bank projections suggest it could raise regional incomes by up to 9 percent, create 18 million jobs, and lift 50 million people out of poverty by 2035, gains the delegation stressed are conditional on implementation, not automatic. The address noted that African countries still trade more outside the continent than with each other, due to high transport costs, weak infrastructure and non-tariff barriers. Five questions for oversight The delegation proposed that parliaments hold oversight by asking five questions of any AfCFTA commitment: what was promised, who is responsible, what resources were allocated, what has been achieved, and what corrective action follows when implementation stalls. This should be backed by legislative review, budget tracking, and mandatory annual government reports on implementation. Barriers still limiting trade Key barriers cited included border delays, documentation and certification burdens, and gaps in digital infrastructure, cybersecurity and cross-border payments that limit the Protocol on Digital Trade. The delegation urged that tax incentives and industrial policy be judged by real outcomes, enterprises established, local content used, and jobs created, rather than announcements. Ghana's own record Ghana's own record was presented as a case study: hosting the AfCFTA Secretariat, issuing 105 certificates of origin by October 2024, up from one in 2022, and leading Africa in digitally delivered services exports at about US$6.2 billion in 2022. The country has also built institutions such as the National AfCFTA Coordination Office and an AfCFTA digital trade hub. Free zones employed over 35,000 people and generated nearly US$973 million in export earnings in 2025. Six resolutions The address closed with six resolutions: strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of AfCFTA laws, budgets and institutions; require annual implementation reports; set up mechanisms to monitor customs and non-tariff barriers; secure sustained, targeted budgets; promote inclusion of SMEs, women, youth and informal traders; and deepen inter-parliamentary cooperation through SoCATT and other networks.