African experts have spoken out on the hindrances that Africa should address as it gears towards implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA). In a meeting held at the Kigali Convention Center over the weekend dubbed the African Regional Journal Forum, African economic experts from various countries spoke about the ACFTA and the bottlenecks that governments need to tackle to implement it. One of the speakers, Victor Alewo Adoji, an Economist, Brand Marketing Expert and Market Analyst from Nigeria said there are infrastructural gaps that need to be addressed. “The first time I traveled to Europe, I was able to hit 17 countries in less than 2 days,” he said. “I started from Oxford London and ended up in Germany and flew back to London. And I used one train railway line all the way from London to Germany. Once your passport is stamped in the UK or in France, no one asks to stamp your passport anymore because they see themselves as one economic zone.” He noted that this cannot happen in Africa currently due to a number of challenges. “I don’t know if you can travel from Mali, Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa so seamlessly. Until we get the infrastructure deficit in Africa right, then we are not ready for the CFTA,” he said. He also talked about the mentality problems that are characterizing people in various parts of the continent as a challenge to the free trade area. Here, he gave examples of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, among several other undesirable circumstances like border closures and stiff business conditions that hinder Africans from working in a number of countries on the continent. He called upon Africans to start consuming what is produced on the continent, as a way of promoting the implementation of the ACFTA. “Where I come from in Nigeria, for you to be considered a big boy, you must have Gucci outfits or Louis Vuitton outfits and so on. Nobody respects you when you wear kente (kitenge). What they don’t realise is that the moment you put on kente, you are putting someone in their job in Africa,” he said. “The greatest solution to activating and achieving the spirit of the ACFTA is to begin consuming what we produce,” he added. Sylvie Potignon, a Cyber Security Investor based in the United Arab Emirates said that Africa also has a lot of work in addressing cyber-security related issues as it looks to trade under the ACFTA. “We talking about ACFTA, but how many of you are sure that your country is protecting you (in terms of cyber security)?” she asked her audience. “We have the convention of Malabo. They wrote everything that was necessary, but only 8 countries have signed it. This is not enough. You want to do free trade, but when you start, you will be using I.T, the internet, networks. These people abroad (hackers) are waiting for us,” she added. Marlon Weir, the CEO of Afrikanekt, an all-in-one platform for multiple solutions including fintech, entertainment among other things said the ACFTA agreement has made the possibility of our ancestors’ wildest dreams,” of free movement of goods and people. “The establishment of the AfCFTA presents an unprecedented opportunity for continental cooperation, promising economic development and sustainable growth,” he said. “We must be nimble – fleet of mind and foot – in order to spot opportunities and act succinctly. Furthermore, it is not enough to just move fast – we have to have a plan and forge strategic partnerships that will make us sustainable and go far… and in order to go far, we have to go together – “forward ever, backward - never!”
