Is African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the solution to Africa's development?
Africa, has after a very long time operationalized its African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), aimed at easing business across the continent.
whereas its general objectives to ''create a single market for goods, services, facilitated by movement of persons in order to deepen the economic integration of the African continent and in accordance with the Pan African Vision of “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa” enshrined in Agenda 2063, create a liberalized market for goods and services through successive rounds of negotiations, contribute to the movement of capital and natural persons and facilitate investments building on the initiatives and developments in the State Parties and RECs, lay the foundation for the establishment of a Continental Customs
Union at a later stage, promote and attain sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality and structural transformation of the State Parties, enhance the competitiveness of the economies of State Parties within the continent and the global market, promote industrial development through diversification and regional value chain development, agricultural development and food security; and resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships and expedite the regional and continental integration processes'' are laudable, it remains to be seen how its overall implementation and support from all states will be done.
Historically, Africa as a continent has for long overly depended on external markets for its raw materials and importation of refined goods. By establishment of AfCFTA, Africa has a pole position of dictating the direction the fourth industrial revolution will take as the continent is well endowed with sufficient raw materials, enough development spaces, young, favorable climatic conditions and well trained work force among other factors.
However, historically, most African states are known to over-depend on Europe, USA and currently middle east to develop their economies, and therefore, it will not be surprising to witness such Nations frustrate the implementation of this initiative.
However, if well positioned, the initiative is capable of strengthening African states' economies through sustainable trading, protection from exploitation, controlled prices for raw materials and utilization and exchange of the vast well trained but un-employed populations.
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