Online Reporter
Mashudu Netsianda, [email protected]
BOTSWANA President Duma Boko has called for urgent and co-ordinated action to dismantle longstanding barriers to trade and investment across Africa, warning that intra-continental trade remains alarmingly low despite the establishment of frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
His remarks come at a time when regional co-operation is increasingly viewed as critical to unlocking the full potential of AfCFTA, which is the world’s largest free trade area by a number of participating countries.
During the Fifth Session of the Binational Commission held in Harare on Wednesday, Presidents Mnangagwa and Boko acknowledged the pressing need to remove these constraints and committed themselves to decisive action in line with AfCFTA obligations.
Officially opening the 66th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo yesterday, President Boko said Africa has made meaningful progress in crafting policies aimed at economic integration.
However, he noted that implementation has fallen short, with intra-African trade accounting for only about 15 percent of total trade on the continent.
“While national ambition is essential, regional collaboration is indispensable as we work towards the realisation of the full benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreements.
“We must leverage each other’s strengths in developing regional and global value chains. Africa has made a momentous stride and progress in establishing frameworks for economic integration. We must candidly acknowledge that intra-Africa trade remains at a disproportionately low level of 15 percent.
“We’re not trading with each other at all in instances or we are not trading with each other enough. There is more that we must do. We must transition from frameworks to function, from agreement to action and from word to deed.”
President Boko cautioned that Africa’s continued dependence on imported goods exposes economies to external shocks, urging countries to harness their natural resources to build competitive and resilient industries.
“We must move ourselves in this tormented passage from where we are now as a continent that belongs to 50 percent of intra-Africa trade to where we ought to be with more trade, more debt in our connections and economic affinities.
“In this increasingly volatile local environment, our underlying reliance on imported commodities renders our economy vulnerable to shocks. We must instead harness our abundant natural resources to build competitive and competitive industries that generate employment, stimulate innovation and strengthen economic resilience,” he said.
President Boko further urged the continent to shift from being primarily a supplier of raw materials to becoming a global hub for value creation.
He identified mining beneficiation, agro-processing, renewable energy, manufacturing, tourism and the digital economy as key sectors capable of driving investment, innovation and job creation.
“Innovations are a success as individual countries and the success of our continent will depend on the scope and the seriousness of innovation. We must, therefore, move Africa from being a supplier of raw material, a continent from which all is cut away raw into a global centre of value creation,” said President Boko.
He also pointed to persistent non-tariff barriers as major obstacles that continue to inflate the cost of doing business across borders.
“We must remove as a matter of urgency all non-tariff barriers such as customs and border inefficiencies, regulatory misalignment, administrative bottlenecks, infrastructure deficits that continue to inflate the cost of doing business.
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‘‘We have committed to decisive action not only within our bilateral framework but also in alignment with our obligations under the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement.”
President Boko said governments across the region are working to accelerate the development of critical infrastructure, including roads, rail networks and air transport systems, to enhance regional connectivity and facilitate seamless trade.
“The region is shifting now, is healing away from the old notion of one stop border post to the newer, the latest non-stop border post. We must move with the times, make it easy, make it funky, make it enjoyable to move across the world,” he said.
He also urged the private sector to adopt a more proactive role in shaping policy, encouraging businesses to approach governments with solutions rather than waiting for interventions.
“You must go to Government to provide answers and solutions. You are the people in the front lines of business. You must invest in vigorous, adjacent experimentation. You must innovate, you must deploy your resources in research and development. You must link up with the educational institutions and the universities.”
President Boko commended the organisers of the ZITF for successfully hosting 66 editions of the trade exhibition, describing it as a vital platform for partnerships, investment promotion and economic activity in the region.
