Africa-Press – Tanzania. The East African Business Council Vice Chairman Mr Denis Karera has urged the EAC Partner States to finalize and submit tariff offers under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to enable the EAC bloc to tap into the 1.3 billion continental markets with a Gross Domestic Product of 3 trillion US dollars.
The AfCFTA is set to boost Eastern Africa manufactured exports to the rest of Africa, in particular, textiles & clothing exports will increase by 100 per cent, heavy manufacturing by 63 per cent, light manufacturing by 61 per cent, Processed food by 54 per cent while livestock & meat products by 39 per cent.
“Political will to duly implement the agreed commitments of the AfCFTA is a cornerstone to actualize the benefits of the continental agreement,” said Mr.
Karera, EABC Vice- Chairman during the Webinar on the African Continental Free Trade Area – Opportunities for the Private Sector, organized by EABC in partnership with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Sub Regional Office for Eastern Africa.
The webinar explored and charted out priorities set to reposition the East African private sector in order to benefit and drive the implementation of the AfCFTA. Mr. Karera elaborated that protectionism and Non-Tariff Barriers can block the growth of intraAfrican trade and called for the embracement of the Pan-African mindset to push the AfCFTA agenda.
The Vice-Chair urged for the involvement of the private sector in the negotiations and elaborated that EABC is committed to harmonizing private sector positions to hasten the execution of the AfCFTA. Mr. John Bosco Kalisa, EABC CEO appreciated the United Republic of Tanzania for ratifying the AfCFTA Agreement.
He stated that the EAC bloc will soon start trading under AfCFTA and build back better the regional economy amid the Covid-19. On her part, Mama Keita Director of UNECA Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa said, “AfCFTA is a game-changer for economic growth, food security, poverty reduction, underemployment, unemployment, decent jobs, deepening and organizing value chains, improving investments, exports & imports in the African continent.”
Dr. Rodgers Mukwaya, Economic Affairs Officer of ECA said, “Eastern Africa region recorded 0.7 per cent growth in 2020, the highest growth in Africa amid the Covid-19 pandemic.” Complex negotiations, poor inter-country transport infrastructure or insufficient networks, Excessive red tape and NTBs at the border, protectionism, and reluctance to liberalize certain sectors are among challenges to AfCFTA implementation.
The AfCFTA is a gamechanger set to create 14 million decent new jobs in manufacturing, 52 per cent increase in intra-regional trade, create a 450 billion US dollars boost to continental GDP, increase trade diversification and improve livelihoods of women cross border traders and SMEs.
Among the insights and recommendations from the deliberations include rolling out of private sector sensitization campaigns on the AfCFTA, need to push the EAC governments to raise their Political will on AfCFTA implementation, improving competitiveness regional private sector.
The Reducing the cost of doing business in the EAC, create innovative support to Youth and Women to partake in the AfCFTA, improve productive capacities of SMEs, need to improve physical and digital infrastructure to facilitate trade.
EAC to prioritize specific value chains that are crucial to the regionals development agenda, need to leverage on the African Diaspora to start investing in the continent, increasing production capacity and focus on niche export markets.
Need for the private sector to start active Private 2 Private and Public- Private Dialogues engagements to create strategic synergies to drive the economic agenda.
