Invest in transport infrastructure and manufacturing - AfCFTA members urged

There must be easy flow of shipment of goods among ourselves, Dr. Obeng

Establishment of the Secretariat for the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System laudable

Free tarriff is the driving force of AfCFTA, Dr Obeng

Various heads of states under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) have been advised to invest in transport infrastructure in their countries.

This is to allow free flow of movement among member countries, as well as, promote free trade.

Investment in the manufacturing of products through the identification and value addition to raw materials will create access to credit for private businesses.

Trade unionists, Dr Joseph Obeng, and Emmanuel Doni-Kwame, Secretary-General of the International Chamber of Commerce-Ghana (ICC Ghana) in separate interviews with the Ghana News agency said these measures will help achieve the free trade agenda.

They were speaking on the theme 'a year into the implementation of trade under AfCFTA, the way forward'.

Mr Doni-Kwame indicated that the most important action for African countries to take is to develop transport infrastructure in their countries.

“There is intra country connectivity; be it rail, airlines, shipping lines, and once you have that, people know they can move their goods from one country to the other,” he said.

He stated that: “Once you do this, apart from your indigenes manufacturing, you can also attract the necessary investment.”

He also lauded the establishment of the Secretariat for the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

However, Dr Obeng, President of the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA) said

“We're better with intra-Africa trade, but the means of transportation is a difficult challenge that should be dealt with.”

He, therefore, said: “It is important to ensure that there's easy flow of shipment of goods among ourselves, because trade facilitation means the cost, time and ease of doing business, and we must do our best to get these through the free trade."

“The driving force of AfCFTA is the free tariff. If the tariff fee doesn't look free, then it will be a challenge. If it has to be targeted over a period of 10 years before we can get this benefit of the tariff free, then it will not fast track the effort of the continental free trade,” he added.