Let’s remove trade barriers, harmonise movement rules

Africa is richly endowed with all wealth imaginable: Pristine flora and fauna, young agile population, immense natural resources and a burgeoning population. The huge potential must be tapped to improve quality of life.

Central to optimising the immense potential is liberalising the borders to ease the movement of people to do trade, knowledge exchange and explore markets for their produce. The impediments to that, including numerous official and unofficial border points, must be looked into to cut man hours wasted on the roads negotiating exit or entry. The points have become a hotbed of corruption and wastage as a result of fresh produce on transit going bad.

With the 54 states recognised by African Union (AU) committing to bolster trade and remove non-trade barriers under African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Africa stands to expand market share for its produce through regional and national value chains. AfCFTA data show the ready market is buoyed by a 1.3 billion people in nations that have deposited instruments for ratification.

Robust network

Key to that is having a robust network for interconnection to aid intra-Africa trade and spur digital trade for long-distance traders. The systems include standardisation of industries, predictable and fair tax regimes and rules for business establishments across various jurisdictions and sovereignties.

But the people are beset with multiple hurdles in their quest to cross borders to trade. The onus is now on AfCFTA to take a leaf from Europe, where structures are elaborate for unrestricted movement in 27 Schengen member states. Let it abolish inhibiting internal artificial borders and adopt common rules for controlling external borders and areas of cooperation for security and the judicial system to fight criminality.

Visa hitches are cited as the most menacing of the encumbrances, stunting the growth of enterprises as layers of bureaucracy occasioned by mistrust and decades-long colonised mindset.

It is galling to see thousands of migrants die every other day on their dangerous sojourn across the Mediterranean in search of a better life in Europe. What if AfCFTA incentivised, facilitated and engaged the private sector to break the stubborn ceilings and thrive? And governments establish critical infrastructure, which is crucial for access to markets and a key enabler for rapid urbanisation?

Predictable weather

The immense natural resources, predictable weather for agriculture, young energetic population, expansive coastline for marine and blue economy and the explosion of technological innovations are essential pointers to the renaissance of “Mother Africa”.

The political instability has a material effect on how it records its successes or catastrophic failures. Sordid reports of coups and violent regime takeovers have done grave damage to the efforts to recalibrate trade. The upheaval in Sudan, civil unrest in Senegal, terror attacks in Uganda and DR Congo with its restive eastern region and the volatile Horn of Africa due to terrorism must be permanently exterminated for trade to thrive.

With the peoples of the continent roaming about, the beautiful continent will triumph over niggling vicissitudes that had dogged it for decades. ‘Africanacity’ will be achieved when there shall be an established pan-African payment and settlement system for local currencies.

Indeed, Africa is the new diaspora on the cusp of an economic revolution.

Mr Cheruiyot is the Senator for Kericho and Leader of Majority in the Senate. @AaronCheruiyot