News / Local
Intra-Africa trade poorly only at 12.5%- Mashakada
27 Mar 2017 at 06:35hrs | Views
An MDC-T senior member and economic analyst Tapiwa Mashakada has said while the volume of trade between Africa and the world stands at 60% the intra-Africa trade is poorly only at 12.5%.
He said Boosting intra-Africa Trade (BIAT) and the free movement of people are prerequisites for economic integration.
"The volume of trade between Africa and the world stands at 60% yet intra-Africa trade is only 12.5%. The establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) before the end of 2017 is a big milestone for the AU. It will boost intra-African trade. By the way trade and investment, not aid is the way forward for Africa. But the free movement of goods, services and capital is overemphasized at the expense of free movement of people," he said.
"In January 2018 AU Heads of States and government will sign the Protocol on the Free Movement of People. This comes hard on the heels of the introduction and launch of the African Passport in Kigali in 2016. Linked to the free movement of goods and people is the the concept of the One Stop Border Posts. Chirundu is the first project in sub-saharan Africa."
He said human traffic, private cars and commercial vehicles only stop once on either side of the border.
"There are still teething problems like for example the ICT systems used by Zambia and Zimbabwe do not talk to each other. The other problem is the scanner which scans commercial cargo. That's where there are long truck queues. Truck drivers still spend days at the border before they are cleared. Yet another challenge is the infrastructure at Chirundu. You see the OSBP was introduced on existing infrastructure which was not built for that purpose. Redesigning is a must," Mashakada said.
"The Chirundu OSBP was commissioned in 2009 by Presidents Mugabe and Sata as a Comesa pilot project to boost intra-African trade and promote the free movement of people. It is a well managed and integrated port. But driving through Zim roads is a nightmare. Apart from bad roads there is the nuisance of road blocks. Entering Zambia brings a sigh of relief. Good roads and less police road blocks. You can see the difference."
He said Boosting intra-Africa Trade (BIAT) and the free movement of people are prerequisites for economic integration.
"The volume of trade between Africa and the world stands at 60% yet intra-Africa trade is only 12.5%. The establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) before the end of 2017 is a big milestone for the AU. It will boost intra-African trade. By the way trade and investment, not aid is the way forward for Africa. But the free movement of goods, services and capital is overemphasized at the expense of free movement of people," he said.
He said human traffic, private cars and commercial vehicles only stop once on either side of the border.
"There are still teething problems like for example the ICT systems used by Zambia and Zimbabwe do not talk to each other. The other problem is the scanner which scans commercial cargo. That's where there are long truck queues. Truck drivers still spend days at the border before they are cleared. Yet another challenge is the infrastructure at Chirundu. You see the OSBP was introduced on existing infrastructure which was not built for that purpose. Redesigning is a must," Mashakada said.
"The Chirundu OSBP was commissioned in 2009 by Presidents Mugabe and Sata as a Comesa pilot project to boost intra-African trade and promote the free movement of people. It is a well managed and integrated port. But driving through Zim roads is a nightmare. Apart from bad roads there is the nuisance of road blocks. Entering Zambia brings a sigh of relief. Good roads and less police road blocks. You can see the difference."
Source - Byo24News
