‘AfCFTA potential game-changer for Zimbabwe’

ZIMBABWE should take advantage of its membership of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which aims to create a single continental market for goods and services with potential to boost industrialisation and development, a senior official has said.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Cde Sheillah Chikomo said this recently while addressing delegates attending the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) organised AfCFTA conference in the capital.

The conference sought to facilitate the sharing of update towards the implementation of the continental agreement. Zimbabwe signed the agreement establishing free trade, on 21 March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, becoming the 23rd member on the continent to do so.

The AfCFTA seeks to create a single continental market, with a population of about 1,3 billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product of approximately US$3,4 trillion.

It is one of the flagship projects of African Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, the long-term development strategy for transforming the continent into a global powerhouse.

The AfCFTA will be the world’s largest new free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994.

Chikomo urged Zimbabwe to take seriously the opportunities in the agreement that could bolster trade.

“The AfCFTA is referred to as a game changer and expectations from across Africa are high. It is a public secret that intra-Africa trade at 12 percent as of 2022, is actually lagging behind other continents, which have immensely benefitted from intra-continental trade.

“This means we still have a lot of work to do,” said the Deputy Minister.

She said a lot of reasons contribute to the present low intra-continental trade, with the major one being that Africa’s trade infrastructure is designed to mainly be a source of raw materials for other countries.

The agreement establishing the AfCFTA is therefore, a package of legal instruments constituting a framework agreement for the establishment of protocols being negotiated in phases, she explained.

Zimbabwe, said the Deputy Minister, has been moving to set up other trade facilitation programs, to improve competitiveness in preparation for trade under the AfCFTA.

She commended Zimra for successfully implementing policies where the Government and stakeholders actively participate, as it ensures that no one or no place is left behind.

Zimra acting commissioner general, Mr Misheck Chigova told delegates that it was a worthwhile investment to be able to unpack the agreement and set for its implementation.

“With the support of development partners, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority has also begun its transformative journey, to be able to effectively facilitate trade under the Agreement. The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority is thankful to the Government of Zimbabwe and the African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat ,for ideas behind this conference,” he said.babwe-chronicleoc.zw