In Africa, trade has always been seen as an important driver of economic growth and development. Currently, intra-African trade is low, representing just 14.4% of total African exports, compared with 10.2% in 2012. Intra-African trade is therefore one of the solutions to the development challenges facing Africa, in particular access to infrastructure and many social services.
Intra-African trade stands at around 12%, well below intra-regional trade in Europe. While there are many reasons for the low level of intra-regional trade in Africa, the lack of infrastructure plays a key role. Africa suffers from an enormous infrastructure deficit (roads, electricity, railroads, ports, airports). According to the African Development Bank , less than a third of the African population has access to an all-weather road, while transport costs and lead times along road corridors are two to three times higher than in other regions of the world.
Our continent needs to know about the dangers of over reliance on external sources to meet its growing demand on food, medicines and essential supplies. It is clearly demonstrated that Africa needs to produce its own food and medicines to strengthen continental supply chains and to invest in infrastructure and capacitate African Institutions.
Cyril Ramaphosa, president of the Republic – South Africa
African economies can pave the way for deeper integration, provided that infrastructure networks link the continent’s production centers to its distribution hubs. To this end, the ZLECAf, the common market recently extended to the United States of America and the Caribbean, should enable the least developed countries to experience growth. The implementation of the AfCFTA, the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is intended to be one of the major factors in the continent’s development prospects, will enable an economic boom by stimulating efficiency and competitiveness.
The very fact of the action plan means a bigger contribution from the private sector. There is no better way of advancing our African continental free trade area imperatives, than consolidating this partnership between the private sector and the public sectors.
Paul Kagame, president of the Republic – Rwanda
Key findings indicate that the AfCFTA has the potential to encourage the foreign direct investment needed for Africa to diversify into new industries, such as agribusiness, manufacturing and services, and to reduce the region’s vulnerability to commodity boom and bust cycles.
Perhaps, the key demonstration of ensuring that we take our collective destiny in our hands, is the establishment of the African continental free trade agreements. The AfCFTA is a clear signal of the political will and desire to reverse the trend of external reliance and commodity dependence and to ensure that as a continent, we take our collective destinies in our hands.
KANAYO AWANI , executif Vice-president of Afreximbank – Nigeria
Selon l’Union africaine, d’ici 2035, cette intégration de la Zlecaf augmenterait les revenus de 9 %, soit 571 milliards de dollars, et permettrait de créer 18 millions de nouveaux emplois, 2,5 % des travailleurs du continent se dirigeant vers de nouvelles industries. Cela permettrait de porter à 50 millions le nombre de personnes sortant de l’extrême pauvreté.
According to the African Union, by 2035, this AfCFTA integration would increase revenues by 9%, or $571 billion, and create 18 million new jobs, with 2.5% of the continent’s workers moving into new industries. This would lift 50 million people out of extreme poverty.