Following Nigeria’s signing of the first phase of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement at the African Union summit, the former Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enalamah, speaks totake advantage of the AfCFTA and the possible potential gains of intra-Africa trade, and the role of the organised private sector in the initiative.
Part of the issues that came up was that some of our stakeholders whom we have had meeting with, did not feel they had seen the document or read it. And secondly, they didn’t understand some of these implications. My view then and now is that those concerns were legitimate and that answers were to come. And that was the way it was planned. This vision came from the top. Leaders can decide to have a vision and say we’ll carry our people along.
It’s a very good question. For the stakeholders, what they wanted was just to understand it and how it would be implemented. That’s why I said, it was a deliberate by the African Union to say let’s sign a framework. You and I can agree to agree. They agreed that they wanted intra-African trade to increase and it was also agreed in terms of framework. Remember a lot of the framework has already been spelt out by institutions and multi-lateral agencies like the World Trade Organisation.
All the other regions also had to do that. And what would happen is that all the African countries would then have to protect the market, of which Nigeria is a major part, from external threats and people, who want to undermine local production. sector should tell us where the shoe pinches or where the problem areas are, and what they’ll like to see solved. Their input and collaboration would be required. For me, the most important role –who would handle these productions? Who would make the investments? Who would set up the factories? Who would do the agro-industrial value chain? All that would require private sector participation and leadership.
To relate it to the AfCFTA, my view is that because we are going about a deliberate process now, you would see that we will overcome these challenges. You then, in effect, put in place the industrial infrastructure to receive the raw materials. You do it in partnership. I’m not saying we should be isolated from the global value chains. Let’s do the kind of negotiations others have done. It’s all about negotiation, partnership and agreement because you can make your market very attractive.
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Source: Daily Trust - 🏆 13. / 51 Read more »