“we will oppose EPA” TWN

Story: Boahene Asamoah

THE Head of the Political and Economic Unit of the Third World Network, a non-governmental organisation, Mr Gyekye Tanoh, has said civil society organisations in Africa are ensuring that their government’s do not sign up the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP).
He said civil society groups would organise a critical mass of the population to oppose the agreement.
Mr Tanoh said civil society organisations opposed the EPA Agreement because such a deal could only impoverish the lives of people on the continent, whiles positioning the EU to take advantage of the continent’s resources.
The EPA Agreement is expected to be signed between the EU and ACP countries later this year.
Mr Tanoh made this known when representatives of civil society organisations who attended the just-ended World Social Forum were briefing media men on the significance of the forum in Accra.
He said the EPA Agreement was not part of the free trade agreement under the World Trade Organisation rules but rather were a new set of economic protocols that gave the EU certain privileges and rights but which did not extend these same privileges and rights to the ACP countries.
He said the issues of the EPA Agreement dominated most of the discussions at the just-ended forum in Nairobi, Kenya, and added that this was because of the importance of the agreement and its impact on the continent
He said the forum was able to make a lot of linkages with other liked-minded civil society organisations to further pursue their agenda of promoting social justice.
The Head of the Environment Unit of the TWN, Mr Abdulai Dramani, said issues concerning the extractive industries, especially mining, and its impact on the environment and the EPA were the two main issues that came up for discussions.
Mr Dramani stated that it had been noted that the exploitation of natural resources had rather deepened the poverty of people on the continent and warned that the continent would further be impoverished if the EPA Agreement was signed.
He said one of the focus of the EU under its proposed EPA Agreement was to further make investments in the natural resources sector, which would have dire consequences on the environment and ensure social disintegration.
He said “the agreement if signed would further lower investments standards in ACP countries” and added that civil society organisations intended to mobilise a critical mass of people to effect changes.
Mr Dramani further stated that the issue of China signing agreements with some African countries was seen as a further step to scramble for the natural resources of the continent.
A representative of the National Coalition Against the Privatisation of Water, Mr Leonard Quartey, said the coalition was against any form of privatisation, be it management contract or partial privatisation of water resources in the country.
He said the coalition was in support of total public control of water resources and would campaign against any form of privatisation.