Africa urged to exploit trade body for growth

African governments have been challenged to take strong steps that will enable the private sector to engage in cross border trade and investments.

Kenya Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has said there is need for African countries to make use of the Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATIA) if the continent’s development goals are to be realised.

Mr Musyoka said ATIA provides the mechanisms where the private sector could venture into high value-added exports, noting that vast opportunities exist to diversify economic activity in sectors such as manufacturing, agro-processing and tourism.

“These sectors could be another key to our “Made in Africa” solutions to our economic problems”, he said.

The Vice President was speaking Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the ninth African Trade Insurance Agency annual general meeting held at the Inter-continental Hotel, Nairobi.

He said with ATIA, the African continent has the tools necessary to protect trade, investments and exports coming into and going out of Africa.

“In this way, we can continue to promote African trade even as the rest of the world struggles to overcome the economic challenges”, said Mr Musyoka.

Since opening its doors in 2001, Mr Musyoka said the ATIA has grown into Pan African organisation supporting Sh94 billion in trade and investments across the continent, adding that the Agency continues to surpass its target and solidify its foundation.

Mr Musyoka noted that it was inevitable that ATIA member countries will be affected by the slowdown in global growth and will face major challenges in navigating their way around the global crisis.

“In the face of these circumstances, it is important that we as a region and as individual countries continue to actively engage with external multi-lateral partners to ensure that our economies are not left behind in the fiscal stimulus programs which will be necessary to assist developing and emerging market economies cope with the crisis and avoid sharp falls in growth,’’ he said.

He emphasised on the need for African governments to spend resources wisely and invest in safety nets so as to cushion the more vulnerable sections of the society and to maintain infrastructure spending so that the foundation for development was not undermined.

“We also need to learn from the ongoing crisis and put in place effective financial regulatory systems to ensure our financial markets are safe and transparent,” said Mr Musyoka.

The VP who is also the minister for Home Affairs said the most important ATIA’s objective at the moment was to help member countries diversify their economic activities.

He singled out fluctuations in world market demand prices, as well as sensitivity to drought and other natural effects on agriculture as potential hurdles.

Mr Musyoka said in the current economic downturn, failure to diversify exports and economies away from dependence on a narrow range of commodities could exact a heavy toll on the continent’s development agendas.

Trade Minister Amos Kimunya said Kenya’s economic development agenda has greatly benefited from ATIA, noting that the country was currently the largest beneficiary of ATIA’s products and services.

He lauded ATIA for its plans to open field offices in ATIA member countries, saying it will ensure benefits to other member countries were spread out evenly.

Among those who addressed the meeting included: Peter M. Jones, Chief Executive Officer ATIA, Israel Kamuzora, Chairman ATIA board, Fred Jachan Omach, Chairman of the Annual General Meeting and Sherri Archondo, World Bank representative.