The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was launched across Africa in January 2021, and it’s expected to promote a single African market through the removal of trade tariffs and open up borders for the free flow of goods, services and people of the continent, with a view to enhance economic prosperity amongst Africans.
Since the launch of this massive economic and trade project, many Africans are getting involved in various ways to make sure it doesn’t become another ‘white elephant’ endeavor as it’s synonymous with many continental projects of this magnitude.
And one such young and energetic Pan-Africanist creating awareness about this ambitious trade pact, is an award-winning international filmmaker, Mr. David Akwara of Warri city, the Commercial capital city of Delta State, Nigeria, who is currently screen shooting a documentary series entitled, ‘The Rise’, a journey to Africa’s financial independence, which tries to highlight the African Single Market as part of the AfCFTA targets.
The founder and Creative Director of David Akwara Films has crisscrossed several African countries, and as a result, he’s privileged to see the need for the continent to trade or do business together to encourage the much-needed economic independence of the continent. He said lack of Africans doing business together and relying heavily on importation of goods and services from other continents, has devastating consequences such as low productive and high unemployment rates in Africa. And hearing about the AfCFTA was a dream comes true for him as that serves as the springboard to Africa’s economic independence.
“This means Africans will trade together and at least 70% of production of goods and services must come from African raw materials. That is driving serious employment and it is industrialization on the go.
“This is producing what we ‘eat and wear’ so, that is the inspiration behind our team,” Akwara told Mansa Banko Online, noting the concept behind the Africa Continental Free Trade Area is to combine the economies of all the countries on the continent into one, so as to form an economic merger which has a market of 1.3 billion citizens.
“It is an opportunity for Africa to redefine her economic independence, to decide what they will ‘eat or wear’; it is unfortunate that in all African houses you see foreign products,” the multiple award-winning filmmaker held. He further argued almost 80% of the things one sees in Africa, apart from traditional foods, are imported products, and this trade deal has the potentials to revolutionize the continent’s economy.
For him, there is no better time to be an African than this moment, lamenting he met Africans who are tired of the entire situation and are craving for a better continent; that most Africans are ready to change the narratives. “Africa has the chance to become the wealthiest continent and trade is the surest way,” opined Akwara.
The AfCFTA advocate also cited some of the challenges to the full implementation of this trade policy such as the payment systems as well as the ongoing negotiations surrounding tariffs removal and other bottlenecks, but he informed this medium that in January 2022, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) was launched. He continued that there is a 10-year plan for the full implementation of the AfCFTA, “so, I am sure by the third year, this policy will be fully implemented”.
The Africa Single Market enthusiast believes that when all negotiations are completed, individual member states will publish all the products, goods and services that are liberalized in their various countries.
However, as at now, he noted, it’s the multinational companies that are benefiting from this trade policy in Africa because it’s capital intensive to move goods, services and people across borders. He said it’s only the multinational companies that have such financial muscles, citing Dangote (Mr. Aliko Dangote, Chairman and CEO of Dangote Group–a Nigerian business magnate and Africa’s richest man), who has well-placed logistical manpower across Africa. “There can be collaboration between these giant companies and SMEs [Small and Medium-sized Enterprises] to help them move businesses easily across Africa,” he pointed out. According to the filmaker, the way forward is to simplify trade as he maintained the hassle that traders go through on the borders will not work. He highlighted that a vendor lamented her products are perishable goods and therefore she hopes for simplified trade mechanisms in place to move her products across borders.
Akwara used the opportunity of this interview, to encourage entrepreneurs to know the ‘goods and services’ that are liberalized by individual member states before embarking on exportation of goods to wrong destinations. He also posited that bureaucracy should also be reduced, while calling on techpreneurs to be innovative on this area.
“It should be a shame for the next generation of Africans to meet the same problems that are here today,” he pointedly, stressed.
