Vera Songwe – The Commerce Africa https://thecommerceafrica.com African Reneissance Mon, 04 Jan 2021 13:13:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.9 African Leaders Optimistic as Trade Begins Under AfCFTA https://thecommerceafrica.com/african-leaders-optimistic-as-trade-begins-under-afcfta/ https://thecommerceafrica.com/african-leaders-optimistic-as-trade-begins-under-afcfta/#respond Mon, 04 Jan 2021 13:13:17 +0000 http://thecommerceafrica.com/?p=3029 African leaders have expressed hope for economic prosperity under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as trades started among 34 member countries which had ratified the agreement.

The single African market was declared operationalised on Januray 1, 2021 following the approval by the African Union at a virtual meeting.

For the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to deliver on its promises, the private and public sectors on the continent must work together, said the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Ms. Vera Songwe.

At the virtual launch of trading on the AfCFTA, Ms. Songwe said if done properly, AfCFTA “will be the plan that turbo charges investment, innovation and ultimately growth and prosperity for Africa.”

Ms. Songwe was one of the speakers at the event who included three African heads of state and the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Mr. Wamkele Mene, who praised the ECA and other development partners who supported the AfCFTA to see the treaty become a reality. Apart from the ECA, other development partners included the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Afreximbank.

Three heads of state from South Africa, Ghana and Niger also spoke at the ceremony.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, the Chairman of the African Union, said while the start of trading represented a milestone for the people, member states should ensure the creation of a conducive environment for the continent’s young people and women to benefit from the opportunities presented by the agreement.

President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger congratulated African leaders who helped to shape the agreement, saying the commencement of trading was “one of the best new year’s gifts for the whole continent.”

In his own remarks, President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose country is hosting the secretariat, described the launch as an important step towards realizing the goal of continental integration.

According to Mr. Mene, “Today Africa is trading under the AfCFTA; this is Africa’s time.”

With 54 member states signing it of which 34 had ratified, the agreement was a strong signal that Africa was ready to commence trading on the basis of new rules and preferences that would ensure an integrated African market, said Mr. Mene.

The AfCFTA is the largest trading agreement in the world since the creation of the World Trade organization (WTO) with the potential to unite more than 1.2 billion people in a $2.5 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development. It has the potential to generate a range of benefits through supporting trade creation, structural transformation, productive employment and poverty reduction.

The agreement entered into force on 30 May 2019 after the treaty was ratified by 22 countries — the minimum number required under the treaty.

Trading was initially scheduled to start on 1 July 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the date to be moved forward by six months.

Eritrea is the only country which has yet to make any commitment to the continental body.

The ECA through its African Trade Policy Centre has been working with the AU to deepen Africa’s trade integration through the effective implementation of the agreement by supporting the AfCFTA ratification process through policy advocacy.

The ECA is also assisting the member-states to develop national strategies for the implementation of the AfCFTA in partnership with the AUC, International Trade Centre (ITC), UNCTAD and a selection of independent trade experts with the financial support of the European Union (EU).

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AfCFTA Tool for Regional, Economic Integration -ECA https://thecommerceafrica.com/afcfta-tool-for-regional-economic-integration-eca/ https://thecommerceafrica.com/afcfta-tool-for-regional-economic-integration-eca/#respond Wed, 08 Jul 2020 09:57:38 +0000 http://thecommerceafrica.com/?p=933 Africa possesses a more powerful tool in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for accelerating regional and economic integration, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has said.

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations body, Ms Vera Songwe (picture), stated this on Tuesday in a virtual panel discussion to mark the inaugural Africa Integration Day set aside by the African Union to mark the implementation of AfCFTA.

According to Songwe, Integration was key for Africa’s growth and attainment of Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and the continent’s development aspirations as contained in Agenda 2063.

“We need to talk about Africa and the AfCFTA. Our Marshall Plan is the AfCFTA. The AfCFTA is our plan, so let us take it and run with it,” she said.

Songwe said with the AfCFTA, Africa had collectively penned its own blueprint for growth.

“The Marshall Plan for Europe was about 160 per cent of their GDP traded to bring back growth after the war.

“What happened to us is that we were all waiting for a health crisis but we got an economic crisis first which was very steep, very deep, not just for us but for the rest of the world,” she said.

She added that the ECA had estimated that economic growth in Africa in 2020 would drop from 3.2 percent to -2.8 percent to about zero percent growth as a result of COVID-19.

According to her, this situation is disastrous.

“COVID came and has taken us quite far behind because we need to reassess where is it that we want to go and how we want to go.

” We definitely need to do things differently,” she said.

The Executive Secretary added that it was crucial for Africa to integrate its financial systems to create a mutualised system of financial stability that works for the continent or regional monetary cooperation as in East Asia.

“The Afreximbank Exchange Facility is an excellent step in the right direction. But more is needed to integrate our economies and financial sectors,” she said.

” When there is a crisis, we come together and we pool and mutualise our resources so that those who are the most hit get some resources.

“So, we do not need to go the long distance of common currency to get a mutualised system of financial stability that works for the continent.

“We need to ensure that as we build the AfCFTA and trade integration, we begin to build stronger, much more robust monetary and fiscal systems that can ensure that as a continent we actually can work with each other in a more effective way,”Songwe said.

She shared with the panel what the ECA had been doing since the crisis began in helping African nations, the private sector and civil society to understand and draw strategies to contain the pandemic as well as prepare for the future.

Songwe said COVID-19 had given Africa an opportunity to assess its weak health delivery systems with countries like South Africa, Ethiopia and Morocco among others building new health infrastructure.

“Africa must produce internally. The continent imports $14.7 billion worth of drugs, over 95 percent of its demand.

“Countries like Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia and Cameroon can produce drugs for the continent.

“What needs to be worked on are Intellectual Property Rights issues,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Songwe was joined on the panel by Mr Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD and Mr Benedict Okey Oramah, the President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Others were Mr Wamkele Mene, first Secretary-General of the AfCFTA; Mr Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, Secretary-General COMESA; and Mrccy Paolo Gomes of AfroChampions.

The panelists agreed that AfCFTA was the best stimulus for Africa to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They also agreed the crisis was a great opportunity the continent should not waste, using lessons learned for Africa’s industrial development by producing its own drugs and saving billions of dollars in the process.

They further agreed that digital inclusion was paramount in addition to working closer together as one united continent with the private sector.

NAN

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