AT least, four African countries are in the race to host the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) scheduled to formally take off in July 2019. The countries are Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, and Senegal. It is understood that the AU Commission has set up a panel to evaluate the preparedness of each of the countries applying to host the secretariat.
However, Egypt’s chance of getting the nod of other member states to host the secretariat appears narrow. Egypt’s head of state, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, is the current AU chair. Moreover, Egypt is also the host country of the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank).
In the same vein, hosting the secretariat may elude Ghana since Cote d’Ivoire, a neighboring West African country, is the host of the African Developing Bank (AfDB). It might be viewed as concentrating Africa’s major economic institution in one region of the continent. For now, the odds appear to favor Kenya, an East African country. It is one of the first batches of countries to ratify the free trade agreement.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.