AfCFTA agreement to be implemented soon

With just 4 countries left to the enforcement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, Amelia Martha Nakitimbo asks about readiness of member states to implement the deal.

The reluctance of AU member states to ratify this agreement points to one of the challenges that will likely slow the implementation. For instance, there is need for economic infrastructure to ease the said movement of people and goods from country to country. That means connecting roads, railway networks, and reducing the exorbitant air transport costs.

The new AU President has pledged to continue some of the reforms advanced by his predecessor including the AfCFTA. In the meantime, Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria remains defiant about even signing the agreement but the pressure is on.

“We warned against too many AU institutions being set up. And also, we are … insisting, actually, that the AU should be more prudent in the management of financial resources. But otherwise we support the initiatives being taken,” asserted Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Jideofor Kwusike Onyeama on the sidelines of the 32nd AU Summit in Addis Ababa.

52 out of 55 countries have signed the agreement, 18 out of the required 22 have ratified the agreement.