THE Consumer Unity Trust Society (CUTS) says the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will boost Zambian’s access to a variety of goods and services.

CUTS Programmes Officer Jane Zulu notes that it is important for the consumer to understand their rights in order to protect themselves as they interact in the various trading spaces.

On January 1, 2021, the AfCFTA was launched with the goal of increasing intra- African Trade by over 50 percent and allow Africa to create its own value chain.

The AfCFTA aims to create a single market for goods and services with the anticipation of boosting trade amongst the nations.

“CUTS is pleased with the launch of the AfCFTA and is looking forward to the implementation of the AfCFTA. Consumers have the right to a variety of goods and services,” Ms. Zulu has said.

She further adds that CUTS’ role in the AfCFTA agenda is to sensitize consumers on their consumer rights to ensure that there are fair trading practices in the trading spaces.

Ms. Zulu says despite the benefits the AfCFTA has to offer there are some consequent challenges that the CFTA poses, adding that specific to Zambia, some of the challenges include, the lack of modern and efficient infrastructure.

Other encounters are unclear information about the process, restrictions for women-led businesses, and the economic disturbance brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic.

Ms. Zulu highlights, “It is therefore important for the government to put policies in place that will protect the local trade to ensure that both local traders and consumers are protected from unfair trading practices”.

She explains that it is imperative that information of the process is clarified to avoid corrupt practices and the smuggling of goods in and out of the country.

The agreement aims at working towards an African continental customs union, gets rid of tariffs on 90 percent of intra Africa goods, allows for the movement of capital goods and human resource between countries, flexible non-tariff barriers, and to enable external investment.

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