Experts have called for the formation of the African Corridor Management Alliance to boost Intra Africa Trade According to the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); the alliance will play a critical role in coordinating the sharing of best practices and other strategies in support of the development and management of economic corridors on the continent.

Held against the backdrop of promoting corridors as vehicles for economic transformation and boosting intra-African trade, experts are confident the alliance will help the continent contain the effects of global economic meltdown.

Stephen Karingi, the Director of Capacity Development Division at ECA, highlighted in a statement released yesterday, the role of the alliance in regional integration and intra-African trade particularly in the area of trade facilitation.

According to Andrew Mold, a UN Economic Commission for Africa senior economic affairs officer for eastern Africa based in Rwanda, the establishment of ACMA is timely in view of the 2017 deadline and will play a key role in the negotiations on how to establish the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA).

David Luke, the Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) drew attention to ECA’s historic role in helping to create specialized institutions to enhance economic integration on the Continent.

"The African Regional Standards Organization and the African Alliance for Electronic Commerce are examples of ECA’s contribution to institution building in this regard,” he said. He expressed hope that the establishment of ACMA as an umbrella organisation can become a channel through which ECA’s engagement with the CMIs can be further strengthened.

According to World Bank, regional trade integration has long been a strategic objective for Africa, yet despite some success in eliminating tariffs within regional communities, the African market remains highly fragmented.

Barriers to trade continue to limit the growth of trade throughout all African regional groupings. By imposing unnecessary costs on exporters these barriers raise prices for consumers, undermine the predictability of the trade regime, and reduce investment in the region.

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