News Guide Africa

Tag: African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

  • Feature: PAPSS awareness creation; whose job?

    Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS)

     

    By Adnan Adams Mohammed

    A recent survey report indicates that about half of African businesses are not aware of the existence of the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

    The report by Future of Trade acknowledges that PAPSS holds immense potential to transform intra-African trade by streamlining payments, reducing costs, and boosting efficiency, achieving widespread adoption across the continent requires overcoming several challenges.

    “A significant hurdle lies in the diverse regulatory landscapes, financial infrastructures, and oversight systems across African nations. Central banks need to find ways to reconcile these differences to ensure PAPSS functions smoothly”, the report pointed out.

    Establishing a system for settling transactions and determining exchange rates for currencies with fluctuating values presents another challenge. This, it added will be crucial for smooth cross-border transactions.

    The report called for comprehensive campaigns to educate businesses about PAPSS and its advantages could significantly accelerate adoption.

    Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS)

    “Africa’s business leaders aware of PAPSS are strongly positive about its ability to boost intra-African trade,” the report stated.

    Furthermore, a resounding 98% of business leaders acknowledge PAPSS’ potential to positively impact intra-African trade.

    The survey also revealed that 98% of business leaders across Africa believe their central banks should expedite participation in the PAPSS network. This strong support highlights the business community’s confidence in PAPSS and their desire to see it implemented widely.

    The Report concludes that, PAPSS offered a promising solution for simplifying and enhancing intra-African trade, stating, that by addressing the challenges of regulatory differences, volatile exchange rates, and low business awareness, PAPSS can unlock the full potential of this innovative payment system.

    Our editorial team are in awe wondering whose job it is to create the awareness and publicity of the PAPSS. The team are very capable of handling any media publicity campaign and do not mind if contracted with such job for immense results.

  • The AfCFTA and what you need to know

    The AfCFTA and what you need to know

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

    About 55 African nations have signed unto the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

     

    When successful, the Trade Agreement will be the largest free trade area in the world which unites eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

     

    It has an overarching goal of establishing a single continental market with a combined GDP of around US$3.4 trillion and a population of over 1.3 billion.

     

    One of the centerpiece initiatives of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, the African Union’s long-term development plan for making the continent a worldwide superpower, is the AfCFTA.

     

    The AfCFTA is to Africa while the European Union Free Trade is to Europe. Both groups, in a nutshell, were designed to foster economic cooperation within their respective continents to reduce their reliance on other markets too far from their respective regions.

     

    According to the official agreement document between member states, the primary objective of AfCFTA is to create a single market for goods, and services, facilitated by the movement of persons to deepen the economic integration of the African continent and by the Pan-African Vision of “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa” enshrined in Agenda 2063.

     

    With that in mind, here are 5 important things to note about this pro-African business initiative.

     

    Promotion of free trade: One of the ways AfCFTA is planning on bolstering intercontinental trade with Africa is by making trade tariff-free. One of the group’s main objectives is to progressively eliminate tariffs and even non-tariff barriers to trade in goods within Africa to encourage more trade between African nations.

     

    Institutional Framework: AfCFTA administration would consist of a hierarchical system that goes from the Assembly to the Council of Ministers, to the Committee of Senior Trade Officials, and then finally, to the Secretariat.

     

    Hierarchy: The Assembly, is the highest decision-making organ of the African Union. The Council of Ministers is Ministers responsible for Trade or such other ministers, authorities, or officials duly designated by the State Parties. The Committee of Senior Trade Officials consists of Permanent or Principal Secretaries or other officials designated by each State Party. And, the Secretariat would be in charge of approving the structure and budget.

     

    General exceptions: The AfCFTA agreement has been designed such that nothing in it would jeopardize public morals, human, animal, or plant life or health, importations and exportations of gold or silver, and the criminalization of prison labor, among other elaborate restrictions listed on the official agreement.

     

    Security protocol: Nothing in the AfCFTA agreement permits the trafficking of fissionable materials, the traffic of arms, ammunition, and implements of war, and the traffic of other goods and materials used to supply a military establishment, whether directly or indirectly.

     

    The agreement, if given all needed attention and support from both the public and private players, will be a game changer for the continent.

     

    We at Economy Times is of the firm believe that this is the chance for Africa to  realise the unity and development buried for decades.

     

  • Africa still has hope – John Mahama

    Africa still has hope – John Mahama

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    His Excellency John Dramani Mahama has given an assurance that all hopes are not lost yet for the African contitnent inspite of her numerous challenges.

     

    Delivering a lecture organised by Chatham House on the topic “Africa’s strategic priorities and global role”, the former President of the Republic of Ghana called on regional blocs to have a firmer grip with effective leadership on their various nations to help address challenges.

     

    “All hope is not lost for Africa”, Mr Mahama said. “Africa, including my country Ghana, has strategic priorities and is ready and willing to play its role in the global community.”

     

    “It is also of critical importance that regional bodies like the ECOWAS, SADC, EAC, CEMAC, the Arab Maghreb Union and African Union must be empowered to have a firmer grip on their member nations to address regional/ continental/ global challenges. Other international bodies like the European Union and the TANA High-Level Forum for Security in Africa, which I chair, must provide the needed support, including oversight and scrutiny of activities likely to lead to serious consequences.”

     

    The former president stressed on this point of oversight because we observe that the laxity in supervision and oversight has given free reins to some leaders on the continent to wreak constitutional tyranny on their people with some changing their country’s constitution so they could run for extended terms.

     

    “No single country in Africa can on its own attain the highest level of development when it is

    surrounded by neighbouring countries engaging in full scale-conflict. It is therefore important

    that there is stability and sustainable development in Africa, which will help lead to global

    security and prosperity.

     

    “With the right steps and visionary leadership as well as a willingness to dig deep and find

    innovative solutions to the decades-old challenges, we must emerge a stronger force to reckon

    with.”

     

    Full Statement Below:

    [pdf-embedder url=”https://newsguideafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/John-Mahama-on-Africas-strategic-priorities-and-global-role_Chatham-House_Media.pdf” title=”John Mahama on Africa’s strategic priorities and global role_Chatham House_Media”]

  • List on local stock exchanges – mining coys told

    List on local stock exchanges – mining coys told

    Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has challenged mining companies operating in Ghana and the entire West African sub-region to work with governments and regulatory bodies to establish a mining index on local stock exchanges to allow both the owners and investors in the minerals to benefit from its exploitation.

    The benefits of a mining index on the local bourse are enormous, enabling both the State, Mining Companies, beneficiary communities and investors to attract the necessary capital and built-in incentives for all involved, Dr Bawumia indicated.

    Speaking at the opening session of the three-day West African Mining and Power Exhibition and Conference (WAMPOC/WAMPEX) in Accra, last week, Dr Bawumia urged African countries to hasten the development of the capacity to interact with the world’s natural resources banks, fund managers and the leading stock exchanges in the world to allow locals to benefit more from the minerals bequeathed to them by nature.

    “In this regard, let me sound a clarion call on the big mining companies operating here in Ghana and indeed, the West African sub-region, to work towards the emergence of a mining index on our Stock Exchanges and thereby accelerate their growth and significance in African mining.

    “This will require deep collaboration among the local stock exchanges, their regulators, as well as mining firms to incentivize Ghanaians to own listed greenfield exploration projects as the upside on such investments tend to be higher”, he noted.

    While acknowledging the enormous resources found on the African continent, the Vice President called for a careful balance between the profit-seeking needs of investors, and the sustainable living needs of the communities within which the minerals are found.

    “Yes, Africa is endowed with many mineral resources but while the availability of the resources is important, the over-riding aim for all parties should be the evolution of a carefully balanced mechanism to ensure that the resources of the state benefit the owners of the resource and at the same time extend benefits to investors to ensure that the State is able to sustainably attract the needed capital, investment and technical know-how from a world which has come to the realisation that Africa is the continent of the future.

    “Significantly, the African Union has been reassessing critically the real significance of mining to host country economies over the years. As a result of these efforts, the African Mining Vision (AMV) emerged as far back as 2009. In essence, the African Mining Vision seeks to ensure the transparent, responsible, equitable and optimal exploitation of Africa’s Mineral resources for broad-based sustainable socio-economic development for the host Governments and its citizenry,” he disclosed.

    He challenged African countries and mining companies to collaborate on a sub-regional and even regional basis to derive the most benefit from the exploitation of Africa’s mineral resources.

    “We need a strategy to enable us to pool the mineral resource-rich countries in West Africa and beyond together to assume the mantle in the transformation of our economies with a greater awareness of mining as a more comprehensive and transformational economic activity and as a key backbone for our country.

    “Given the paucity of the size of stand-alone countries, it is only proper that we consider regional dimensions to local content since individual African Country Markets may be too small to elicit the much-needed investments. Investors desire economies of scale to justify such investments and it is necessary that we consider the regional economic blocs in Africa as sub-markets which can then collectively constitute the building blocks of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”