Why AfCFTA must not be allowed to fail – Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the need to increase intra-Africa trade currently put at 15% and its potential to raise the continent’s GDP are some of the compelling reasons why the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement must not be allowed to fail.

The Vice President spoke at a breakfast event with African Heads of State to launch the Action Plan for AfCFTA on the sideline of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

He expressed optimism that AfCFTA would help galvanise GDP growth on the continent, just as he said based on the World Bank projections, AfCFTA will increase Africa’s GDP by $450 billion in 2035, and exports by more than 81 percent.

He said, “African trade is to be boosted by 52.3% by 2025. We should increase these targets and look at the trillions of dollars. African countries need to move quickly to iron out whatever agreements and impediments are remaining to ensure free and smooth trade. Issues around rules of origin negotiations must be completed.”

To achieve set objectives, VP Shettima suggested that “Information sharing with private sector players must be optimised and prioritised,” even as he said trade is a private sector imperative, which governments only facilitate

He further noted that “Negotiations have turned out to be too slow, with clashes between national and continental priorities, leading to too few consummated deals between countries since January 2021 to date.

“Looking ahead, there is a need for speed and cohesion among African countries. The idea of AfCFTA must not fail, and there is no room for mediocrity in today’s world,” the VP added in a statement on Thursday by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha.

The Vice President, while citing examples of trade unions in Europe, the Americas and Asia, said, “African trade cannot continue to be externalised even though we have increased intra-Africa trade from a mere 7% a decade ago, to about 15% today.”