Brookings: Conversation with Secretary-General, African Free Trade Agreement

 The Hon. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Tree Area, was the welcomed speaker at a Brookings Institution online event, November 29, 2021 10 AM, last Monday.

Questioners and discussants were H.E. Landry Signe, Brookings and the moderator, Aloysius U. Ordu, also of Brookings on the topic "The State of African free trade agreement and strategies for greater integration."

 As each contributed to the discussion, I felt the rush of enthusiasm emanating from the monitor!  This new organization bringing together as many African nations that wish to participate in a free trade arrangement of its members for African states only!  Of course there are many organizations around the globe that espouse reduced or free trade: notably, the World Trade Organization, the TPP organization of Asian countries, and NAFTA for North American countries under its new name.  But this one is for African nations to benefit from and among themselves.

Off to one side is China's current incursion into the African Continent, bringing much needed investment and loan money, and technical expertise onto its shores.  And there's yet the European nations who have spread their cultures onto African soil and made trading partners of the African nations they had colonized in previous centuries but now have become significant equals in trade and commerce with their European "progenies."  

But now there's a coming of a business enterprise geared to bring together the whole Continent of nations whose rules and regulations are established ways trading partners are to act.  Its rules may be  extended to nations each trades with abroad.  Mr. Mene noted that nearly all the countries that are to participate in this trade organization have agreed upon the multitude of rules they have formulated among themselves.  

Hopefully, there will be many benefits that accrue to its participants.  1)  improved governance procedures at home; 2) reduced or no tariffs upon goods in trade; 3) gradually, bring citizenries out of poverty;

4) prevent undue, perhaps unwelcome, foreign influences; and 5) establish a groundwork for subsequent projects among these cooperating African nations.  But each will lose tax money generated by the several tariffs the countries will no longer collect.

Ultimately, the free trade organization should reduce the costs of doing business and engaging in commerce wherever.  Be it noted, many countries are woefully in debt, which makes the Chinese partnership model beyond the realm of practicality for some African nations suffering already from poor GDP numbers.

Good luck!