A two-day Workshop organized by the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) on
African Union (AU) theme for 2023, “Accelerating the African Continental Free
Trade Area (AfCFTA): The Strategic Significance of the PAP” ended on Tuesday
with recommendations on the establishment of legislative framework and
institutional mechanism to accelerate the domestication and implementation of the Agreement establishing
the AfCFTA.
The AfCFTA is a flagship project of the AU’s Agenda 2063 which aspires
to transform the African continent into a future powerhouse.
The workshop
also recommended the mobilization of institutional processes in Member States
for the ratification of the Protocols that are critical to the implementation
of the AfCFTA
and more particularly the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Right of
Residence and Right of Establishment.
Performing the closing ceremony, the Fourth Vice President of the PAP, Hon. Francois Ango Ndoutoume, noted
that although the African continent has many challenges, “What we may see as
Africa’s weaknesses today, will grow to be its strengths tomorrow.” He stated that the workshop ended with a clear
understanding by Pan-African Parliamentarians of what is required of them to
ensure the successful implementation of the AfCFTA.
Hon. Ndoutoume emphasized that the AfCFTA is intended to encourage fair trade
competition, promote industrial relations, investment and movements of goods,
products and people on the African continent and that it will encourage
commerce, business and help in the eradication of poverty on the continent.
A member of the PAP Committee on Trade Customs and Immigration matters, Hon. Wavel Woodcock, summarized the
outcomes and recommendations of the Workshop observing that the PAP must play a
crucial role towards the realization of the continental integration through the
AfCFTA.
This, according to Hon. Wavel
Woodcock includes ensuring that all member states ratify the AfCFTA
agreement to participate in intra-African trade.
“During the past two days, we also discussed the development of African
products that are standardized, that are of good quality, competitive, well
packaged and harmonized. Emphasis was placed on the need of the African nations
to process and manufacture our own raw materials and minerals to create more
jobs for our people instead of having our resources and minerals being
exploited by other continents with impunity,” Hon. Woodcock said.
The workshop affirmed the need for one currency for Africa to allow for
fairness in trade, instead of using European or American currency to trade on
the continent. To this end, PAP will engage in robust advocacy in
Member States to achieve full ratification of the African Continental Free Trade
Agreement (AfCFTA) as well as establish a
platform to articulate coherent guidelines for implementation of the
operational instruments that will govern African Continental Free Trade
Agreement (AfCFTA) such as Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS) and
aadjustment Facility
to respond to the challenges of short-term negative impact of the
liberalization process on State Parties’ fiscal capacities.
It was also noted that the implementation of AfCFTA depends on the
African private sector which requires an enabling environment to drive the
process including requisite policies and legislation especially when it comes
to the movements of goods and people.
Other recommendations include:
1. Sensitize Member States on the benefits of accelerating
the implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), emphasize
the long-term recovery and growth in member states, the impact on deeper
integration in boosting incomes, increasing job creation and expedite
investments;
2.
Establish institutional mechanisms in Member States on
value addition and encourage the development of an integrated and complementary African
value chains to support the commitment to transform Africa from a raw materials
exporter to a producer of market-competitive value added products;
3. Deliberately facilitate youth, women and people with
disabilities’ access to trade information, services, affordable finance, ICT
and markets opportunities;
4. Encourage the use of the African Trade Observatory to
enhance the efficacy of the trade market and information intelligence on the
continent and facilitate the transfer to the AfCFTA Secretariat;
5. Ensure that trade-related information from Member States and other
sources, analysis focusing on emerging issues such as regional value chains and
e-commerce, data obtained on the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation
process and impact of the AfCFTA and the BIAT, trade-related information
transmitted to the private sector and a database established for African trade
and market access that is used to publish and disseminate information on intra-African
trade are retained and owned by the African Union through the AfCFTA
Secretariat;
6.
Put in place a trade marketing framework which shall
encourage and increase the local production and trade of goods produced in
Africa; Set up mechanisms and strategies to put in placea trade related
infrastructure to encourage the development of innovative, legal and financial
mechanisms for multi-country infrastructural development projects;
7.
Adopt legislation to ensure the implementation of a
40% procurement of goods and services in all AU member states in private sector
development and resource mobilization;
8. Establish a platform that will facilitate the
integration of the private
sector in accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade
Area (AfCFTA), develop institutional mechanisms for an improved private sector
engagement, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as women and
youth;
9.
Encourage
a collaborative engagement with the Africa Business Council as an appropriate
platform for policymakers, business and industry leaders, private sector
stakeholders and investors to lay and consolidate the foundations for
meaningful intra-African trade as well as stimulate intra-Africa investment.
This is in recognition
of the fact that while trade agreements were negotiated by governments, the
private sector is the primary beneficiary and implementer of trade agreements;
10.
Emphasize the need to implement a dedicated continental
infrastructure network to facilitate free movement of goods, services and
capital on the continent for the purpose of enhancing efficiency of -trade and
transportation of goods;
11.
Enforce
the of harmonization measures pertaining toproducts and commodities within the Member
States, such that the requirement for registering a given product across all
African nations can be obviated upon its development;
12.
Establish
a continental fund for the purpose of interconnecting infrastructure throughout
the African continent, with the primary objective of facilitating seamless
transportation and fostering enhanced trade activities across the region;
13.
Allocate a budget towards the establishment of an integrated high-speed
rail network spanning the entirety of the African continent, with the express
objective of expediting trade and transportation efficiency and regional
integration;
14. Adopt an
action plan aimed at ensuring comprehensive connectivity, within the digital transformation
framework across the African continent in line with the AU Digital
Transformation Strategy adopted by the AU Summit. This strategic initiative is
imperative due to the pervasive nature of work that transcends the prevailing
digital divide;
15.
Enhance
the capacity for legislative development with a focus on expedited
implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement,
while also identifying and addressing any existing regulatory gaps.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Disclaimer: Comment expressed do not reflect the opinion of African Parliamentary News