The AfCFTA, which kicked in on 1 January, is the largest free trade area to come into existence since thewas formed in 1995. Exports between African countries currently account for between 15% and 18% of total exports.
One of the market’s challenges is that Africa has been divided into regional economic communities that have historically competed with each other, Jakuja said. Converging them and ensuring their compatibility “will be a huge challenge”.“Africa’s economies are mostly made up of small, micro and medium enterprises [SMMEs]. Ensuring that this group of companies meaningfully participate and benefit from the market will be a huge challenge that has to be deliberately tackled.
In his statement at the opening ceremony, Wamkele Mene, secretary general of the AfCFTA secretariat, said if the trade agreement is implemented effectively, “we have the opportunity to lift out of poverty one hundred million Africans … It will be the opportunity to close the gender income gap, and the opportunity for SMMEs to access new markets.”
The process of reducing tariffs will take a minimum of five years, he said. The AfCFTA plans to eliminate more than 90% of tariffs by 2034. “So inevitably it is a slow and a bit of a painful process.” Jamela Hoveni, an economist at Rhodes University, said trade policy — including tariffs and trade infrastructure — would be an important factor in determining the effectiveness of the AfCFTA.
Infrastructure is one obstacle to intra-regional trade, she added. “Because, if we look at the history and what colonialism has done, it was a policy that wasn’t meant to connect African countries. It was a policy that was aimed at extracting resources.”
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