The Private Sector Should Drive Economic Growth in Africa
—PACCI
For Africa to join the committee of economically viable and developed economies there is the need to let the private sector be at the driver’s seat of its development plans. This is much more important with the coming into force of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA). This was the consensus at the lively seminar organised by the Pan-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) in its International Business Forum Series. Participants traded ideas and experiences on the topic: What the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) means for your business.
Moderator Kebour Ghenna, PACCI Secretary-General, spoke on various challenges facing business people on the continent including visas, standards and conflict resolution, suggesting that more would be achieved if businesses were involved in the negotiations and formulation of the provisions of the agreement. “Lack of participation (of businesses in the processes) would slow down the implementation,” he said.
Prince Adetokunbo kayode, President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce & industry agreed and lamented that “government officials, big guys in suits and ties don’t get inputs from organised private sector”. He contended that even the private sector in kigali, Rwanda, where the agreement was proposed and signed, did not know what their government was signing. He decried the recurrent a posteriori, after-the-fact consultation African policymakers resort to when things go awry.
Concurring, a participant from East Africa worried about the difficulty in harmonising all the regional economic communities currently in place, noting that COMESA, for instance, is not in tune with SADC, ECOWAS and the Maghreb Union. He projected that the AfCFTA may need upwards of 7 years to reach full implementation in spite of optimism all round.
That optimism remained though, as participants all look forward to the agreement’s full ratification by the various national parliaments. Their enthusiasm dispelled the fear that the AfCFTA may threaten SMEs in such small countries as the Comoros Islands, as submitted by Dr Abdul, Chief Adviser to that country’s chamber of Commerce President.
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.