THE East African Community (EAC) is now eyeing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in capitalizing trading opportunities with other regional blocs.

EAC’s Director General in charge of Customs and Trade, Mr Kenneth Bagamuhunda said here yesterday that the regional intergovernmental organization is hinging on the free trade agreement as a way of removing trade barriers on the continent.

Mr Bagamuhunda who was speaking at a panel discussion on the sidelines of the East African Business Council (EABC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) sensitization workshop on the envisaged AfCFTA, disclosed that the regional economic bloc was ready to embrace and implement the agreement in enhancing trade with other continental blocs.

According to Mr Bagamuhinda, the EAC has prerequisite provisions that could cushion the implementation of the initiative come July 1, this year.

“The EAC is the only economic bloc with provisions on non-tariff barriers and laws on standard of products, the community has taken the lead in putting in place a sound policy environment ahead of the agreement,” said the EAC official who was representing the EAC Secretary General, Ambassador Libérat Mfumukeko at the workshop.

The EAC’s Director General in charge of Customs and Trade further said that EAC had registered significant step in matters of integration, urging other Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to follow suit. “We, at the EAC have realized a deeper integration, it suffices to say that we are AfCFTA’s mini lab,” he explained.

Despite registering major strides in integration, Mr Bagamuhunda underscored the importance of using EAC integration related lessons for the purpose of leveraging its position in AfCFTA. He said:

We need to ask ourselves how to use the challenges we have in providing leverage in trade on the continental level. On the other hand, EABC Chairman, Mr Nicholas Nesbitt called on EAC member states to reduce trade barriers if they are to thrive in Af- CFTA.

He noted that most of the partner states had not diversified its goods and products, which he described as an important factor in surviving in the new initiative. “It is important to encourage regional distribution chains where entrepreneurs do more cross border trade with different goods and products,” suggested the EABC Chairperson.

Delivering an update on the Status of the AfCFTA for East Africa, UNECA Officerin- Charge for Eastern Africa, Dr. Andrew Mold said the private sector had a crucial role to play in implementing the initiative.

“AfCFTA could reinvigorate processes of regional integration, however all RECs need to be in the driving seat.” According to Dr. Mold, ECA foresees AfCFTA to have positive welfare benefits for all African countries without exception, thus boosting total Gross Domestic Product and exports of Africa.

Launched in Kigali, Rwanda on March 18 2018, the initiative is expected to be of benefit to the private sector in boosting speed and reduce the cost of customs procedures and port handling through implementation of trade facilitation measures; increasing cross border trade and investment, thus enhancing market access for goods and services produced in Africa; Increased competitiveness of African industrial products through harnessing the economies of scale of a continental-wide market; Promotion of innovation and enterprise through protection of intellectual property rights of African private sector.

Source: Daily News

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