The African Union Special envoy for finance, Donald Kaberuka, has allayed fears of some of the African countries that were hesitant to ratify the African Continental Trade Area (AfCTA) agreement. He made the remarks during the third national congress of the Pan African Movement, the Rwandan chapter held at the Parliamentary Building in Kigali on Saturday, February 26. “Once we integrate the economies, we can then create a large zone of opportunities for jobs to attract investments, so to get one investment space requires to bring down as many barriers as we can,” noted Kaberuka who is also the former President of the African Development Bank. “Even though some people fear that when we come together, some will be the losers, but in the long run, you realize that we are all winners”. He added that some countries feared ratifying the agreements over fear that they would lose more taxes and customs charges whereas others feared a tighter industrial competition. Kaberuka also exemplified that working together as Africans is at the centre of survival. “If three giant countries like the US, Canada and Mexico have resolved to create the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), do you think the 55 African countries are better off alone?” Kaberuka wondered. The former AfDB boss also exemplified that the same unity and cooperation goal was achieved by the European countries since the end of the Second World War, and are currently at the level of competing the American, Asian and African continents. The average GDP of most African countries is around $ 10 billion, but expected to increase once economies are integrated. The Rwandan economic expert also lauded the Pan African Payment scheme, which he said is a crucial tool for this agreement. “A Rwandan resident can now purchase some merchandise from a Zambian national without using the Zambian currency, unlike being required to convert the currency in dollars and then to the Zambian which was costly,” he recalled. 4 On his part, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, urged policy makers especially the youths to adopt more digital tools in their daily interventions. “Thanks to the technology that has transformed the world, we should base it on our development so that our continent can develop too, you must vanquish this stereotype that Africa is a place of poverty and hunger. We have all that it takes to develop and what we are yet to achieve is effective decision making and its implementation,” he expressed. The Chair of the Pan African Movement, Rwanda chapter, Protais Musoni also noted that self-reliance is critical if the continent is to achieve the goals of agenda 2063. “Kwigira, a strong moral value owned by many Rwandans has made strong, civic, public and private partnerships, hence Africa also needs to embrace it ahead of its 2063 targets,” noted Musoni who was re-elected for the third term to head this movement in Rwanda. The AfCFTA, the largest in the world in terms of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization, was brokered by the African Union (AU) and was signed in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018. It covers 54 African countries, 43 of which have already ratified the agreement, with 39 state parties officially recognized, including Rwanda. On July 30, 2021, Rwanda initiated a process to domesticate the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) trade tariffs in the country’s trade laws.
