‘Africa is Open for Business, Based on a Single Rule-Book for Trade and Investment Official Handing Over and Commissioning of the AfCFTA Secretariat Building 9th September, 2020 Ghana, Accra
put by the president of Ghana, “urge Member States to put in an extra effort to conclude all outstanding implementation issues, for their adoption by the AU Assembly in the next Extraordinary Summit scheduled for December 2020, to pave way for the smooth commencement of trading from 1st January, 2021.” In his Statement, H.E. Moussa H.E. Moussa Faki Faki Mahamat, Mahamat, Chairperson, Chairperson of the African Union Commission AU Commission noted that this was ‘a historic milestone in the road to fullfil the vision of our Founding Fathers for Continental Integration, that dates back to the inaugural session of the OAU in 1963.’ He stressed that ‘while the operationalization of the Secretariat was postponed due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the same pandemic has also magnified the urgent need for speed to accelerate economic integration on the Continent.’ H.E. Moussa Faki concluded with the words of Dr. Kwame Nkurumah calling for determination and courage to pursue the task ahead: “the courage to believe, the courage to dare, the courage to do, the courage to fight, the courage to achieve.” The AfCFTA seeks to provide a stable, predictable
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and improved environment for trade facilitation, which has the ability to put in place means to tackle a lot of non-tariff challenges frustrating intra-African trade. A lot of African Countries will still conduct their trading with other global trading partners, however while the AfCFTA does not necessarily guarantee trade, it however hugely makes the incentive to conduct trading with fellow partners to the agreement, more appealing and also accessible. In the exact words of Wamkele Keabetswe Mene, the Secretary-General of AfCFTA, “The AfCFTA is therefore a critical response to Africa’s developmental challenges. It has the potential to enable Africa to significantly boost intraAfrica trade and to improve economies of scale through an integrated market.” He went further to explain that “It also sends a strong signal to the international investor community that Africa is open for business, based on a single rule-book for trade and investment.” This is indeed a change and growth Africa Hon. Wamkele deserve. Keabetswe Mene All 55 member states Secretary-General, of the African Union will AfCFTA be brought together by AfCFTA which allows for market covering of see page 10
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www.africabusinessassociation.org
