In a new episode of Connecting Africa, CNN’s Eleni Giokos and Victoria Rubadiri explore the impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) so far.
The AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade agreement and 54 of Africa’s 55 countries have signed up to the deal, covering a market of 1,3 billion people. Established in 2018, it aims to boost economic growth, intra-African trade, and investment across the continent.
Giokos speaks to Wamkele Mene, the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, about the agreement’s successes and what can be improved. He responds to criticism that the implementation of the AfCFTA has been slow, “We are overcoming 60 years of market fragmentation. It's not going to happen overnight. And we know this from the experience of the European Union, the market integration, which is arguably the most successful market integration model in the world.”
Mene discusses the challenges posed by the various visa processes to travel around the continent, “It's a significant barrier and constraint to intra-Africa trade and intra-Africa investment. There are only four countries that to date have ratified the African Union's protocol on movement of persons, only four countries. There is an emotional instinct to allowing movement in some countries. In some countries they're legitimate, very, very legitimate national security concerns. And so, we have to work hard to make sure that we convince countries about the importance of moving in the same direction on free movement of persons whilst at the same time addressing the national security concerns.”
Looking ahead to the future, Mene discusses his hopes for the AfCFTA, “I think that what I've learned over the last four years in this position is that you have to be extremely patient. You have to be extremely patient in the face of the high level of ambition of what Africa has to achieve. I think if in five years’ time we can demonstrate that we have moved intra-Africa trade from let's say 15% to 25% or 30%, five years from now, that will be a very important step forward.”
Investment in big infrastructure projects is seen as key to the AfCFTA’s success. In South Africa, two mega bridges are under construction on the N2 Wild Coast Road that should boost trade and economic growth. Reginald Demana, CEO of SANRAL, talks about the importance of the project, “It's probably the only part of the country without a rail connection, which means that you don't even have an alternative of moving freight except on the road. Secondly, we have also seen an explosion of freight moving into Durban and also related congestion issues. So naturally, once you have the route that is able to connect Durban and other Eastern Cape ports, safer, shorter, flatter route will certainly lead to, route efficiency that will certainly reduce the cost of travel.”
Demana says they hope the construction will be completed by 2027, with the Mtentu Bridge set to be the highest in Africa. SANRAL’s Regional Manager Mbulelo Peterson explains the benefits the development will open up, “The construction of this road will actually result in time savings, especially for trucks. Anything from one and a half hours to three hours. It is more economical, less toxic in the emissions, and it is opening up the most important area of the Eastern Cape.”
