“ Africa needs a single passport to make the AfCFTA effective ”

Economic news for Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Source: Business 24

2021-01-27

African leaders and stakeholders behind the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) have been urged to develop a common passport to facilitate trade on the continent.

According to Benjamin Acheampong, executive director of the consultancy group Wealth Masters, the notion of “Africa Rising” will remain a misnomer unless the conditions for doing business easily on the continent are created.

He was speaking ahead of a virtual event hosted on January 29 by Wealth Masters Group, under the theme “Righting the Wrongs of Doing Business in Africa”, where organizers intend to provide ideas and solutions to improve the climate business in Africa and take advantage of the AfCFTA initiative.

He said governments must focus on improving internet, communications and transportation services to ensure smooth implementation of the AfCFTA.

“When all of this infrastructure is in place, we are on the right track to pull this initiative out of the AfCFTA.”

Trade under the AfCFTA started on January 1, and Ghana has already shipped its first shipment under the deal.

As a continental common market, the objective of the AfCFTA is to facilitate the movement of goods, services and people, and to promote industrial development and sustainable and inclusive socio-economic growth in Africa.

It is estimated that the Single Market will increase intra-African trade by nearly $ 35 billion per year, harnessing the purchasing power of the continent’s 1.2 billion people.

However, “we must have a passport; you cannot move goods and services without people, ”Acheampong said.

The Wealth Masters Group is a leading UK-based business development and solutions provider.

The next virtual summit is a precursor to the main event on the business climate of the continent and the AfCFTA scheduled for March 8-12.