The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Friday in Abuja, said the African Continental Free Trade Area would only succeed when African countries demonstrate higher commitment that trumps the various regulatory and political trade barriers slowing free trade amongst countries.
Buhari who lamented the meager volume of intra-regional trade in Africa said only the right collaborative action will bring a much stronger pace of transformation.
“…if this new drive towards a continental free trade area is to succeed, we must demonstrate a higher level of commitment to tackling the slow pace of physical integration due to geographic and political fragmentations,” the President said at the second African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network Conference organised by the Afreximbank in collaboration with the secretariat of AfCFTA and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, at the State House, Abuja.
This is according to a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, titled ‘How Africa’s free trade area can succeed – President Buhari.’
Decrying the low-level trade among African countries, he said: ”As leaders, we must all be concerned that we are not trading enough amongst ourselves. It is a bitter reality that Intra-regional trade still accounts for a very tiny fraction of total trade in Africa.”
Buhari added ”We have to understand that if this new drive towards a continental free trade area is to succeed, we must demonstrate a higher level of commitment to tackle the slow pace of physical integration due to geographic and political fragmentations, the pace of political cooperation, and difficult tariff and non- tariff barriers that inhibit business integration.
”I am firmly convinced that with the right collaborative action, we will be able to record a much stronger pace of transformation. Through shared knowledge, innovation and creativity, we will be better able to cater for the needs of the African continent’s population of over 1.4 billion people.”
He urged the Conference to use the network and support provided by pan-African institutions as a platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and skills.
Buhari also commended the organisers of the conference for demonstrating innovative thinking by taking the AfCFTA to the grassroots, lauding the President of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, and his team for committing US$250m as seed capital towards the establishment of the AFSNET.
The President recognised the support of the Secretariat of the AfCFTA and the role of its Secretary-General, Wamkele Mene, in organising the conference in Abuja.
He highlighted the critical role of the African Union Commission in the development of Africa and expressed delight that this initiative complements the AU vision of achieving the 2063 Agenda Africa We Want.
He also commended the outgoing Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, who recently emerged as the President of the Forum of Règions in Africa, for being at the forefront of sharing and exploring opportunities that improve production and trade facilitation activities with his peers in the region.
Traveling back memory lane, Buhari said his regime has “remained particularly resilient” despite the various challenges of his seven years in office.
In separate messages at the event Fayemi, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, and the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank, Prof Benedict Oramah welcomed the need for deliberate action to remedy the continued reliance of Africa on external trade partners, noting that the AfCFTA provides the platform to do that.
Pledging the commitment of Afreximbank, Prof Oramah said the bank has disbursed over $20bn in the 5 years to 2021 in support of intra-African trade and is on the way to doubling this to $40 billion in the next 5 years.
”We have supported the AfCFTA Secretariat through current funding; launched in collaboration with the AfCFTA secretariat and AU Commission, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System to support payment for intra-Africa trade in African currencies.
”A $3bn facility for clearing and settlement is available for a continent-wide operation of the system; We have also launched the African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme to enable goods to move across borders easily,” Oramah said.
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