AfCFTA

Lagos, July 19, 2023: Mrs Franca Achimugu, Strategy Coordinator, Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, has called for the domestication of AfCFTA provisions into Nigeria’s national law to defend against violations.

She said this at the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group (MANEG) AfCFTA Training on Tuesday in Lagos with the theme; “Exporting Under the AfCFTA”.

AfCFTA,  the largest free trade area in the world, measured by the number of countries participating, would boost intra-Africa trade by 52.3 per cent through elimination of import duties.

AfCFTA offers parties preferential access to a continental market for goods and services imports worth $504.17 billion and $162 billion respectively.

Achimugu stated that if AfCFTA provisions were not domesticated into national law, they might not be employed in defense of cases involving their violations before courts of law neither would they be used for advocacy of rights within the country.

She noted that Section 12 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 states that “No treaty between the Federation and other country shall have the force of law except to the extent to which any such treaty has been enacted into law by the National Assembly”.

Achimugu said that failure of Nigeria to domesticate AfCFTA, or lateness in doing so causes unreasonable hardship on other AU member states that intend having commercial relationship with the country.

“This is because the provisions of the treaty cannot be enforced in the domestic courts of the country.

“This would not only discourage trading with the country but also affect the flow of investments into Nigeria; and in addition, stunts the growth of the law in the country.

“The resultant effect of this is that persons and corporate entities from other African member states who transact business with Nigerian companies or are situated in Nigeria cannot enjoy the privileges and benefits of AfCFTA Treaty, as expected,” she said.

Achimugu listed Nigeria’s edge under AfCFTA to include largest economy in Africa, access to global market, large population, thriving industrial sector, improving business environment, sophisticated financial markets and availability of arable land.

She, however noted that key challenges existed in areas of infrastructure, insecurity, production and productivity issues, funding and regulatory constraints and predatory trade practices.

“Nigeria signed the agreement on July 7, 2019, ratified December 4, 2020 and the country has to be very intentional and strategic about its positioning to maximise the benefits of the AfCFTA,” she said.

Mrs Odiri Erewa-Meggison, Acting Chairman, MAN Export Promotion Group (MANEG), described the training as efforts to reposition MANEG to serve in its capacity as the leading and most recognised non-oil export promotion advocacy group in the country.

Erewa-Meggison noted that manufacturers armed with a deeper understanding of the trade bloc, its opportunities, and challenges, would be empowered to make informed decisions and formulate effective strategies for success.

“As the Nigerian government continues to take steps to ensure our full participation in the AfCFTA, MANEG is determined to build the capacity of our members to optimise understanding of AfCFTA and take full advantage of the benefits – as soon as the pathway opens.

“I enjoin every participant to be involved in the conversations, take in as much as possible information from this two-day training and ask the relevant questions so that we extract full value from the training.

“Your participation in this training exemplifies your commitment to investing in the growth and long-term success of your business.

“By the end of this training, our expectation is that your business group will be well-equipped to maximise the benefits of the AfCFTA, she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that MANEG is a subgroup of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria responsible for representing the interest of Nigerian exporters in the relevant circles.

The body is dedicated to non-oil export promotion in Nigeria and is typically at the forefront, advocating for government policies or legislation that help to boost enterprises exporting non-oil products.

Abuja, June 18, 2023: Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said it is imperative for leaders to ensure the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Jonathan made the call in a speech he delivered at the 2nd Kenneth Kaunda Memorial Public Lecture on Saturday in Pretoria, South Africa, titled ‘Kenneth Kaunda’s Lessons For Humanity’.

Kaunda was the first President of Zambia who served from 1964 to 1991, and died in June 17, 2021.

Jonathan on Sunday described AfCFTA as an ambitious economic blueprint that offered great possibilities for Africa continent’s quest for economic self-sufficiency.

Jonathan recalled how 60 years ago, African leaders met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to chart a way forward towards the complete freedom of African territories and build a consensus for a common African platform with which to attain its shared objectives of peace, unity and development.

Jonathan described formation of the Organization of Africa Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU), as the product of that endeavour.

He, however, said that 60 years after the first Pan-Africanist multilateral institution was formed, the continent needed to remobilise itself as a people to confront its contemporary problems.

“We need to demonstrate solidarity to address our shared problems of insecurity, poverty, and unity among our people.

“It is time to forge partnerships across the continent that will guarantee unity and enhance its developmental prospects.

“It is within this context that the advocacy for the full implementation of the AfCFTA becomes very imperative.”

Jonathan said that the need to chart a way forward towards attaining economic freedom for African territories could not be overemphasised.

He added that building and strengthening a common African market would help Africans attain their shared objective of peace, unity, prosperity and development.

“The initiative offers the prospect of eliminating some of the artificial political and commercial boundaries and barriers created by the colonialists that have, over the years, impacted the unity and growth of Africa.

“AfCFTA, an African Union initiative, is considered the world’s largest free trade area bringing together the 55 countries of the AU and eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to create a single market for the continent.

“All stakeholders must wholeheartedly commit to and work towards implementing AfCFTA to leverage the economic prospects within our continent towards mutual prosperity and progress.

“AfCFTA, when fully implemented, would connect millions of Africans across the continent and foster unity and trade among the people.

“It is an ambitious economic blueprint that offers great possibilities for our continent’s quest for economic self-sufficiency.”

He, however, said that to make AfCFTA a reality, sustainable and of maximum benefit to Africa, the continent leaders needed to address Africa’s infrastructure gaps especially transportation, air and rail networks, in order to ensure easy movement of goods and services within the continent.

“Also our leaders need to work towards having a common medium of exchange to better optimise the gains of AfCFTA in the long term.

“More than ever, we need to demonstrate solidarity towards leveraging the benefits of this initiative for the good of our people. Through unity and cooperation, we can build a prosperous and united continent,” Jonathan said.

Also speaking on “Good Governance and Stability of African States” Jonathan urged African leaders to harness some of the virtues of leaders such as Kaunda to address some of the contemporary challenges facing the continent.

The former Nigeria president said that currently, there were major conflicts and undemocratic governments in a number of African States including Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya, Chad, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso as well as tensions and attempted coup d’etat in a number of others.

“As Africans, we must ask ourselves what is the cause of all these crises.”

Jonathan said that scholars may adduce a number of reasons but three were clearly outstanding: greed, tribalism/ nepotism and incompetent leadership.

“Nation-building is often described as a marathon, a process that requires the active participation of every citizen to contribute to the fulfilment of the shared dream of the community.

“This assertion is true in the light of our lived reality as Africans as a continent that is confronted with many developmental issues. Citizens need peace, justice, and security.

“They want to be shielded from hunger, poverty, and deprivation.

“Citizens want accountable leadership, a system of government that guarantees their basic rights.

“We need to harness some of the virtues of leaders like Kaunda to solve some of our contemporary challenges,” he said.

Jonathan added that today, the major issues confronting Africa continent were insecurity, disunity, poverty, climate change, and poor governance.

He said that leadership has become a major source of conflicts and wars in most of Africa countries.

“The leadership recruitment process and our inability to effectively manage political transitions have resulted in avoidable conflicts.

“Elections in some countries have become a source of instability, largely reflecting the kind of leaders we have in authority.

“My charge to my fellow brothers and sisters in the continent is for us to seek to redefine leadership and governance in the continent.

“We need a leadership process that guarantees the fundamental freedoms and rights of the citizens and delivers a good life to them.

“We need to build and protect our political systems to serve the best interest of our people. We must learn how to manage our diversity and build an inclusive society,” he said.

Jonathan described late Kaunda as a man larger than life and a man that would forever remain one of the Africa continent’s towering heroes.

He said that Kaunda served his people as a humble giant, and gave tangible support to liberation movements across Southern Africa.

“He proved so committed to the liberation struggle of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia that he allowed them to establish their headquarters in Zambia, which put his own people at risk given the violent retaliation and destabilisation campaign of the apartheid regime.”

He described Kaunda as a specimen of the highest level of patriotism, a strong promoter of Pan-Africanism, an idea that has now attained maturity with the realisation of the AfCFTA.

“Kaunda’s life was a pattern of good works, and his post Presidential humanitarian work of providing relief for HIV/AIDS patients and promoting practices and measures to curb the spread of the virus will ever be remembered,” Jonathan said.

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has reiterated the need for African countries to accelerate economic transformation through effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The commission Director, Regional Integration and Trade Division, Stephen Karingi,  said this in a statement.

Karingi made the call while addressing participants at the opening of the third African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) Steering Committee Meeting (SCM) in Accra, Ghana.

He said Africa would mull its next steps toward a common market with AfCFTA.

“Thanks to AfCFTA, the continent is no longer a helpless bystander as developed countries pursue their own strategic interests at Africa’s expense,” he said.

“AfCFTA now offers the perfect platform for Africa to pursue policies of strategic autonomy just like everyone else is doing,” he added.

According to Karingi, AfCFTA is a development tool that can help Africa tackle many challenges, such as food insecurity, joblessness, marginalisation and health insecurity, among others, if fully implemented.

“The key to succeeding in this endeavour lies in our ability to use AfCFTA as a platform for Africa’s industrialisation.

“To this end, ECA is supporting several initiatives, including developing the electric battery value chain in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia,’’ he said.

The ATPC Coordinator, Melaku Desta, while welcoming the members of the committee, thanked the Government of Canada for its long-standing support to the ATPC for nearly 20 years now.

Desta appreciated AfCFTA Secretariat, AU Commission, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), representatives of the organised African private sector and civil society, and other Committee members for supporting the work of the ATPC.

He described the Steering Committee as ATPC’s principal governance mechanism that provided oversight and guidance for its overall direction and strategic priorities.

Similarly, Miss Marjorie Cheron, Co-Chairperson of the Steering Committee and representative of Global Affairs Canada, reiterated the importance of AfCFTA.

Cheron described AfCFTA as a game changer that promised to create a stable business environment with common rules that would establish a single market of significant size.

Cheron informed the committee that Canada was working on an economic cooperation strategy with Africa, which would set the vision for the future of the economic partnership.

According to her, this will establish a robust, long-lasting, and collaborative trade and investment framework for Africa’s inclusive economic growth.

Chéron said in a few weeks, Canada would host the AU Commission to engage in the first Trade Policy Dialogue to focus on trade policy topics and investment issues.

The Director of Institutional Matters and Programmes Coordination at AfCFTA Secretariat,  Prudence Sebahizi, applauded the ATPC’s role as an African think tank on trade policy and related matters.

According to Sebahizi, the ATPC provides an indigenous voice on some of the most pressing regional, continental, and global trade policy issues that determine Africa’s future in the world.

“ATPC can assist the continent in the need to interrogate the different reports that are released by a host of institutions globally.

“It can develop a harmonised methodology to assess the likely impact of AfCFTA on intra-African trade, continental GDP, the welfare of citizens, industrialisation and similar parameters,’’ he said.

Sebahizi outlined a list of issues that should guide the work of the ATPC.

He said this included a continued search for an explanation as to why Africa, in spite of its endowment with abundant natural and human resources, remained far behind all other parts of the world.

Sebahizi said the centre should also find out what AfCFTA could contribute to change this reality, maximise the positive impact of the AfCFTA and expedite Africa’s transformation.

The Steering Committee applauded the relevance, quality and volume of work being done by the ATPC, approved its narrative and financial report for 2022 and the work plan and budget for 2023.

It also commended ECA for its continued role in championing Africa’s social and economic development.