This epistle is to reiterate our clarion call to the African leaders to unity “Africa Must Unite” to fight against the common enemy in order to make progress for the common good of the African people”. There are too many wars in the continent. There are so much killing of Africans especially the innocent youth, women and children. All in the hands of fellow Africans in the pursuit of tribal, ethnic, religious, social or political differences etc.
Furthermore, the incidents of coups and constant toppling of governments poses a great threat to any hopes for progressive alliance within the region. Without the evidence of stable governments and peaceful socio-political climate, especially within the boarders, there can be no hope of economic growth. Trading in goods and services are replaced with trading in bullets and Red Cross services for rehabilitation of the casualties.
These rifts are dividing Africa the more to the advantage of the colonial maters who are the architects of imperialism which is our common enemy. Africa is a land of Hope, Faith and Will power dating back
to our forefathers. Africa is a land of inspiration, expectation and exploration. Africa is a vision of beautiful dreams gradually materialising in real time. Africa is emerging into the global market place. It is daunting though, that Africa as the second largest continent in the world; yet Africa is not counted as a formidable force in the global economy. That is about to change through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement AfCFTA.
The path to success is to take massive, determined actions. Successful leaders that embark on successful projects are never deterred by anxiety, fear nor failure but by authentic will and unwavering determination.
The question then is – when we call at remembrance; what do we see? Do we see authentic will? Or do we see abject leadership failure? African leaders must embark on socioeconomic development strategies that are sustainable in order to create a sustainable future for Africa and the African people.
On the quest for building into the future, Mark Zuckerberg the successful CEO of famous Facebook once said
You may be thinking- I don’t know how to build a dam, I don’t know how to get a million people involved in anything. Well, let me tell you a secret: No one does when they begin, ideas don’t come out fully formed, they only become clear as you work on them. You just have to get started
Mark Zuckerberg
Currently, Africa lags behind other regions of the world in terms of continental trade. According to the African Development Bank (ADB), intra-Africa exports amount to only 16.6% of total trade. Unfortunately, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) did not kick off on 1 July as originally scheduled, due to the coronavirus crisis in addition to other reasons responsible for the stalling. The good news is that the tide is gradually shifting positively. African leaders from 44 African nations gathered at the African Union Summit from March 17th to 21st 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, and signed the Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) treaty to create the world’s largest single market. By the summer of 2022, 54 out of the 55 nations of the African Union (AU) had duly signed the agreement. This will be the largest trade agreement in history since the creation of theWorld Trade Organization (WTO).
The pact aims to boost intra-African trade by making Africa a single market of 1.2 billion people and a cumulative GDP over $3.4 trillion. The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) estimates that the implementation of the agreement could increase intra- African trade by 52% by 2022 (compared with trade levels in 2010) and double the share of intra-African trade (currently around 13% of Africa’s exports) by the start of the next decade.
Objectives of the Continental Free Trade Area are:
- To establish a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business professionals and investments, accelerating theestablishment of the Continental Customs Union and the African customs union.
- To expand intra-African trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade liberalization and facilitation across Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and across Africa.
- Resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships and expedite the integration processes.
- Enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level by exploiting opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources.
According to a research paper published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in February 2018, the CFTA offers many opportunities for sustainable development and economic growth in the African economies.
As African Leaders work together to realise these objectives, Africa would no longer be missing in action. Africa will command their rightful position on the global stage. As the second largest economy in the world, the dividends of trade would project Africa in a new dimension so far unimaginable by any trade forecast.
Most of the benefits of further trade integration (i.e. welfare benefits from lower import prices, production efficiency and increase in outputs, higher value-added jobs and exports, technological specialization, etc.) will materialize in the long term, while most of the associated costs of adjustment and integration (i.e. loss in trade tariff revenue, local SME’s vanishing in front of stronger competition, adjusting unemployment, required investment in infrastructure, political and regulatory reforms, etc.) will be incurred in the short term. African trade growth is estimated at 33% and the continent’s trade deficit is expected to drop by 50.9%. UNCTAD also estimates the employment effect of the agreement by sub-sector.
The agricultural sector is extremely relevant for the African economies since it employed about 53% of the continent’s labour force in 2016. Governments are worried about possible adverse impacts of the CFTA on the agriculture sector’s economic growth, which would
Aliquam erat volutpat
Pellentesque elit diam, mattis ut dolor eu, sagittis scelerisque ligula. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Vestibulum quis ligula tempor, consectetur urna et,
faucibus enim. In aliquam tempus porta. Mauris vel finibus risus. Maecenas egestas mi sed neque finibus, nec faucibus ipsum aliquet. Duis scelerisque at odio vel tempus. Morbi a tincidunt nunc, id rutrum erat. Fusce egestas quam vel facilisis tempor.Morbi non orci elementum, sollicitudin mauris laoreet, luctus est. Donec in mi lorem.
Vestibulum at ligula odio. Nam posuere commodo ligula, et tincidunt tellus.
Aenean mattis eu velit vitae placerat. Etiam suscipit, erat sit amet rhoncus efficitur, lectus augue egestas ante, non malesuada lectus sapien ullamcorper nulla
Vestibulum ante ipsum primis
Pellentesque accumsan nunc elit, eget facilisis nunc facilisis malesuada. In ut justo at diam vulputate posuere sed non mi. Suspendisse mollis ipsum eget orci pulvinar, sit amet accumsan nibh fermentum. Vivamus auctor eleifend mi, ac lacinia sapien ornare pulvinar. Suspendisse finibus eu turpis vel porttitor. Maecenas blandit tincidunt magna vel semper.
nteger non commodo purus. Aliquam vel mauris vitae turpis volutpat lacinia ut id nulla. Curabitur lobortis nibh eu nunc pharetra, ut fermentum tellus cursus. Sed ultricies enim ac tortor porttitor iaculis. Donec laoreet accumsan magna, sit amet pulvinar nibh bibendum eu. Morbi eget orci non magna lobortis porta ut ut lacus. Aenean commodo ante sit amet ante finibus hendrerit. Aenean mattis eu velit vitae placerat. Etiam suscipit, erat sit amet rhoncus efficitur, lectus augue egestas ante, non malesuada lectus sapien ullamcorper nulla.
