The African Continental Free Trade Agreement is the world’s largest free trade zone, bringing together 55 African Union (AU) member countries and eight Regional Economic Communities. The AfCFTA’s mandate includes reducing trade obstacles and promoting intra-Africa trade to stimulate commerce in value-added products across the whole service sector of the African economy.
The AfCFTA assists Africa in developing regional value chains, with the potential to encourage industrialization, job creation, and investment, enhancing Africa’s long-term competitiveness.
JIC Holdings CEO Mark-Anthony Johnson outlines why Africans should take AfCFTA seriously, touching on how implementation committees are pushing the African free trade agreement from words to action.
“A fully implemented AfCFTA would transform economies, increase African GDP by 9%, and reduce poverty by 50 million people. It might also serve as a catalyst for further transformation and attract investment from within and outside of Africa,” Johnson highlighted.
He did, however, state that the benefits are contingent on the conclusion of the discussions, which, in comparison to past trade deals, have acquired significant traction, as well as the full implementation of all articles and accompanying instruments.
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The CEO further stated that the African Union (AU) Assembly has designated 2023 as the year of expedited implementation of the AfCFTA.
“In accordance with the decision of the AU Assembly’s 31st Ordinary Session, held on July 1-2, 2018 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, AU member states committed to establish NICs to facilitate the implementation of the Agreement,” he stated.
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He went on to say that a recent AfCFTA Secretariat-ODI document specifies appropriate institutional structures for NICs, as well as ten essential functions that such committees must perform in order to function effectively. It also offers five AfCFTA template features for effective NIC setup and operation.
“There is a lot of excitement in Africa about NICs; some NICs have been around since the agreement was signed and have collaborated with the private sector to make trade under AfCFTA rules a reality,” he added.
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