For two days in the gorges of Ghana’s Akuapem mountains, government officials from across Africa, business leaders and trade policy experts discussed and agreed on terms for accelerating the trade objectives of the AfCFTA at the inaugural Africa Prosperity Dialogues.
Nearly four years since its launch, the African Continental Free Trade Area remains miles behind its target of a single major trade area although 44 countries have so far deposited their documents of ratification.
The secretary-general of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, says progress has been steady but recent geopolitical events make it an urgent imperative for hastened actions.
Africa’s challenges are opportunities… It should be a matter of concern to us as Africans that a country of 43 million people was feeding a continent of 1.3 billion people so when we are in a geopolitical context that we are in today and we are not able to import grains from this country, we suffer a food insecurity crisis,” he said.
Mene added: “The private sector creates jobs, not governments, not the AfCFTA secretariat. Collectively it is our job to establish the requisite investment climate so that African businesses can take advantage.”
Decisive actions needed
Moving forward the AfCFTA agenda towards shared prosperity on the continent will require decisive actions by state parties in the areas of free movement of people and goods, border security and management systems, and transport infrastructure development, among others.
Current value chain priorities for the AfCFTA secretariat towards job creation and industrialisation on the continent are;
