Business - AfCFTA
Historic! Trading Under the AfCFTA Launched By Adam Alqali & Abdulrahman Olagunju The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in collaboration with the African Union Commission, Friday virtually hosted Start of Trading under the much-awaited Free Trade Area (FTA), which is the world’s largest free trade zone since the formation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994. TRADING UNDER THE FTA, which was earlier billed to commence July 1, 2020 but had to be postponed to January 1, 2021 due to the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic (www.undp.org/ content/undp/en/home/coronavirus.html), epitomizes the manifestation of Africa’s long-held dream of continental economic integration ever since the formation of the Organisation for African Unity (OAU www.panafricanalliance.com/organizationof-african-unity) in 1963. Thus, the FTA creates out of Africa’s current 55 balkanized economies, a single continental market of 1.3 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion. It would be recalled the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA was signed at the 10th Extraordinary Summit of the AU Assembly on the 21st of March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, and entered into force on the 30th of May 2019. The Agreement creates a single continental market for goods and services which allows for free movement of business persons and investments and will consequently expand intra-Africa trade across Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/peace/recs.shtml) as 24
November-December 2020
President Cyril Ramaphosa Sowetan LIVE well as enhancing competitiveness and supporting economic transformation. In his keynote address at the virtual launch, President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa cum current chairperson of the African Union, said the fact that 54 out of 55 AU countries had signed the AfCFTA Agreement, about 33 countries had ratified it while over 40 countries had submitted their tariff offers, was a strong signal as to Africa’s readiness to start trading on the basis of the new rules and preferences that would guarantee the One African Market. He thus urged member states that were yet to ratify the AfCFTA to fast-track the FTA process so as to ensure no one was left behind. The AU chairperson also emphasized the need for recommitment of efforts towards the AU’s overarching goal of Silencing the Guns in Africa (https://au.int/en/flagships/silencing-guns-2020) – as effective and successful intra-Africa trading would solely depend on peace, security and co-existence between African communities. “As we look forward to ushering the AfCFTA trading, we shouldn’t forget our common commitment, ‘the silencing the guns campaign’, as we can’t have a successful trading without peace. We need to fast track all pending matters and make the Agenda 2063 a priority,” Ramaphosa urged. In his opening remarks, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Wamkele Mene, underlined that the AfCFTA would not be just another trade agreement; instead, it would be a mechanism for Africa’s development by closing the gender pay gap, and creating the opportunity for African DAWN
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