The former President of Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and now Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Kuringo, Mr. Muhammed Jagana, has commented on the key role role the private sector in Africa, especially the Gambia’s, could play in the successful implementation and realization of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, which was launched on January 1, 2021, throughout the continent.
In an interview with Mansa Banko Online at his office situated in the Kanifing Industrial Area along Jimpex road, the private sector expert, who is also the CEO of J-FIN Money Transfers–a financial services company in the Gambia–, noted that the continental free trade comes with opportunities and challenges for Africa, particularly for small countries like The Gambia. But he’s of the view that, with such a trade policy in place, the “Gambia is no longer small” in terms of its population because investors could easily reach the wider sub-regional market of hundreds of millions of people as trade barriers, customs and border challenges would be eliminated.
“The two million population of the Gambia is a political population but the economic population is more than two million,” he maintained. Jagana said the current challenge for the country is how to turn the opportunities presented by the continental free trade deal into realities for Gambians, those in the private sector, in particular. He noted also, in short and medium term, it’s well-established businesses that would benefit from such a trade protocol. Nonetheless, in the long run, as CEO Jagana is hopeful, grassroots businesses could possibly scoop their shares from the deal.
The prominent personality in the financial services market further told this medium: Theoretically, citizens from any African country should have the privilege to do business anywhere on the continent. But in reality, this is hampered by individual state protectionism by their respective governments and states. Custom regulations, trade tariffs and settlement of trade and the risk of currency exchange, the J-FIN boss posited, should have been addressed by the trade policy.
“There should be some level of stability in the prices of traded items, and the African Union could have introduced some digital payment systems because the ultimate factor that would make this deal successful or fail is trust,” Jagana asserted.
With the availability of such digital avenues, he explained business transactions would be easier because remitting payments from one corner of the continent to another would be in split seconds. But he underlined that small or medium enterprises who don’t have enough capital could find it harder to do businesses with their potential partners in other parts of the continent “if the rightful steps” are not factored into the entire process.
The former GCCI President–from October 2012-April 2019–suggested this is the right time for Gambians to buckle up, form mergers to create bigger and stronger business entities so as to massively benefit from the policy by inventing attractive avenues to get Direct Foreign Investments (DFI) as well leverage on local talents.
At the moment, the Gambia government should identify our areas of interest in terms of production and services, said CEO Jagana, citing several areas like agriculture- that is highly modernized for export to other countries on the continent. He singled out Israel as a country that has successfully made headways in high-end services and technology.
“The practical aspect of the trade deal needs to be looked into and implemented, otherwise it is just going be another political announcement and nothing would happen, while it would be gathering dust in offices too,” he cautioned.
The ex-Chamber of Commerce top official while saying it’s unfortunate that every continent has a plan for Africa, rhetorically queried: But does Africa has a plan for itself? To reinforce the afore-stated view, Jagana intimated that of late, many continents and individual countries have announced their plans for Africa such as Russia, UK, USA and China.
However, Jagana who amassed a great deal of experience in the private sector, maintained the Africa free trade deal is a fantastic idea. But he was quick to submit that, the continent doesn’t lack ideas, rather effective implementation of those ideas always becomes a mountain to climb.
Citing a case in point, he told Mansa Banko Online: “Just look at the African Continental Passport (ACP); only the elites are able to get it, and it [ACP] was meant for every citizen of the continent. “Ordinary Africans should have been also given this passport.”
As the J-FIN CEO averred, the boosting of intra-Africa (trade) and integration are the key issues that the trade deal is supposed to solve, noting that the ordinary businessmen and women who are criss-crossing these borders and spending days and weeks on custom borders, should have been given this passport. But he claimed this African Continental Passport is given to Presidents and Heads of State who need it less.
Jagana used the interview to reassure that, the Gambian private sector would always push for better services, and the sector is willing to engage Government of the Gambia to see that it takes proactive decisions on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement for a successful implementation in the country and beyond.
