Pan-African Private Sector Committee set up to drive AfCFTA

Africa’s leading private sector institutions have established a Pan-African Private Sector Trade and Investment Committee (PAFTRAC) to ensure implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Prof. Benedit Oramah, the President of African Export -Import Bank (Afreximbank), said in Abuja that the committee would also enhance Africa’s private sector participation in trade and investment policy formulation, including trade negotiations.
He said that PAFTRAC would also galvanise the views of the African private sector, mainstreaming them into trade and investment policy making.
“By providing a framework for effective public-private partnership in the promotion of African trade, PAFTRAC will enhance the integration of Africa into the global economy.
“It will also contribute to the transformation of African economies in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want,’’ he said.
Oramah reiterated the importance for Africa’s private sector to play a more active role in shaping the parameters of trade and investment policy at the national, regional and continental levels.
He said this would aid the transformation of African economies.
He quoted Amb. Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, as saying that, “PAFTRAC is an important stepping-stone towards the establishment of the African Business Council provided for under the AfCFTA Framework’’.
Prof. Patrick Utomi, the Founder of the Centre for Value in Leadership, Nigeria, was elected as the first Chairperson of PAFTRAC for a two-year term.
He will be supported by vice-chairpersons drawn from different regions of the continent.
The PAFTRAC Secretariat will be hosted by Afreximbank.