Dangote, MAN, LCCI support Nigeria on free trade agreement

Nigeria’s insistence on subjecting African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA to scrutiny has again received the blessings of Dangote  Group, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, and Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI.
They have supported the Federal Government’s delay in signing the FreeTrade agreement.
They want adequate measures to be put in place to prevent dumping of goods into Nigeria and Africa countries in general.
Speaking at the just concluded two days Africa Trade forum 2018, tagged, “AfCFTA Ratification and Implementation: A game Changer for Africa Economies” held in Lagos, Dangote said: “What is the rationale behind formation of regional economic blocs, if trade barriers still exist among African States?”.
He bemoaned the frustrations and difficulties his Group often go through in exporting products to neighbouring African countries.
“There is need to consult widely and we are supporting the government in this regard. It is not that I am opposing AfCFTA, but there are many barriers especially in our tariff system among the regions of Africa.
`We don’t want a situation where Africa will become a dumping ground. There were some trade agreement in the past . Why is it not working?
“We as a company, Dangote will benefit from AfCFTA. We need 80 percent of raw materials to be very productive; importation of raw materials is not the best for us if we must implement AfCFTA.
“We don’t want foreign goods to come and dominate our market. Just to take cement to Ghana we have to sign 38 documents. For example in Benin Republic that is 24 kilometres from us taking our products there is difficult.
“So all these and many other things need to be addressed. What we need is backward integration that will make us produce competitively.”
Construction work at the Dangote refinery and fertiliser site in Lekki Lagos Corroborating Dangote’s views, Director-General, MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, noted that MAN has consistently maintained that it is not against intra-African trade, especially one that boosts the market reach of Nigerian businesses, including manufacturers.
“We don’t want a situation where Nigeria will be a dumping ground.’’
However, when the agreement was being signed, we cautioned against signing an agreement without fully engaging the relevant stakeholders and adequately comprehending its implications for the Nigerian economy in general and the manufacturing sector in particular.
We counselled that a country specific study should be carried out to ascertain its implications for the Nigeria economy, particularly the productive sector.
A country that exports jobs, imports poverty “It is gratifying to note that the Federal Government embarked on the needed nationwide consultation and is doing the needful in reconstituting the presidential committee dealing with the matter and the private sector is called to join the process.
At the end of the day, Nigeria will take an informed decision as to what type of AfCFTA it should sign and when to sign.”
Commenting also, the President, LCCI, Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase said: “What is important in my view is to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the vulnerable sectors of the economy. He noted that there was nothing wrong with free trade, but there was need for more consultation.
Nigeria must be part of the AFCTA for numerous reasons which include the fact that it is a platform for our Small Scale Enterprises, SMEs to be integrated into the regional economy and a means of acceleration of women’s trade and economic empowerment.
“We counsels that in order to take full advantage of the AfCFTA, government needs to intensify current efforts to eradicate non-tariff and regulatory barriers to international trade such as border delays, burdensome customs and inspection procedures, as well as ensure that multiple licensing and taxes are eliminated.
A situation where it is easier to import than to export will defeat the purpose of signing the AfCFTA” he added.
 
Source: Vanguard