Browsing: Wamkele Mene

For historic reasons, bilateral and regional trade in Africa has been hampered by trade routes designed for export away from the continent rather than for facilitating intra-Africa trade. Obstacles include long distances, inadequate transport services, and inefficient institutional and transit regimes.

In many landlocked African countries, economic centres are located several hundred kilometres away from the closest seaport. Overcoming geographic constraints or the lack of economies of scale caused by small transportation volumes is key for all countries, particularly transit countries. A renewed focus on the efficiency of transport and logistics services is long overdue, given that many countries retain policies that favour closed, small, and inefficient services markets.

By committing to no new barriers to services trade during the progressive liberalization process, at least in the five priority sectors—business, communication, financial, transport, and tourism services, and with declining trade costs—the transport sector is bound to expand.…

AfCFTA is reshaping African markets; deepening economic integration in accordance with the Pan African Vision of ‘An integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa,’ as enshrined in Agenda 2063. The agreement established a single continental market for goods and services, making for the largest and most ambitious trade bloc in the world, after the WTO. This has created a new market of 1.3 billion consumers across Africa, accounting for a combined GDP in excess of US$3.4 trillion in 55 countries.  

According to the World Bank, AfCFTA has the potential to eradicate extreme poverty in the lives of 30 million Africans, and boost the incomes of 68 million of them, that live below the poverty line. Moreover, in the long term the continent is set to immensely reap more benefits out of the Agreement such as the diversification of Intra African trade, elimination of barriers and tariffs, job creation, increase in wages for…