Plans on course to make Africa continental trade agreement operational

Several African heads of state have informed the Assembly of Heads of State and Governments of the African Union meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that plans are on course to bring into effect the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, or AfCFTA.

Speaking during a session of the 33rd Africa Union Summit, Nana Akufo-Addo, president of Ghana, indicated that his country, after being selected as host country, is on schedule in its construction of the secretariat of the AfCFTA. He added that the secretariat will be operational by March 2020.

"The government of Ghana sponsored six different meetings of the AfCFTA in December 2019, in Accra. Thus far, a total amount of $3 million has been advanced by the government of Ghana for the establishment and operationalization of the AfCFTA Secretariat", Akufo-Addo said.

Reiterating the importance of having the necessary infrastructure ready for the ambitious agreement to take effect, Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, said developing a robust infrastructure is crucial to making the AfCFTA a success.

"The success of the AfCFTA depends on infrastructure development. We are going to drive the implementation of the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative, so that priority and high impact projects act as catalysts for the AfCFTA," Ramaphosa said in his address at the opening of the 33rd ordinary session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the AU.

Ramaphosa, who took over the one-year chairmanship of the AU from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday, pledged to promote the potential of AfCFTA during the tenure of his one-year chairmanship.

"In pursuit of this priority, we will host the Extraordinary Summit of the AfCFTA to be held back-to-back with the Extraordinary Summit on the Silencing of the Guns in May 2020," Ramaphosa said.

On Feb 5, the African Union's Department of Trade and Industry announced that the selection panel for the position of Secretary General of the AfCFTA had convened to interview short-listed candidates and the successful applicant will be announced in due course, bringing the realization of the trade agreement closer.

The agreement, which aims to allow free access to commodities, goods, and services across the continent, is expected to create a single market, deepen economic integration and aid the movement of capital and people on the continent.

"We have a determination towards establishing a strong relationship in this new vision of Africa that is emerging. It is a single market in an Africa continent with a free trade area. All the countries have a big role to play in making that a success," Akufo-Addo said.

According to Ramaphosa, the operationalization of the agreement is crucial in giving Africa leverage in the global market by giving it the muscle to trade as an equal.

"We have to level the playing field for African businesses, so they are able to operate in a large-scale market unfettered by regulatory fragmentation. This is an integral part of rebalancing global trade relations," Ramaphosa said at the AU gathering.