TANZANIA GOVT EXPLAINS ON DELAY TO RATIFY AFRICA TRADE PACT0

 

Tanzania will ratify the protocol on Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) once it is approved by the Parliament.

The process to have the document formally sanctioned will be completed anytime this year, a senior government official hinted in Dodoma last week. 

"The protocol will be tabled in Parliament any time this year",said the acting director of Trade, Investments and Productive Sector in the Foreign Affairs ministry Bernard Haule.

He said in an interview that Tanzania's delay to ratify the key document has nothing to do with the country's commitment to the pact.

"Tanzania is fully committed to Africa's free trade bloc and was among the 54 countries which signed it in Kigali, Rwanda in March 2018", he said.

However, he said to date the country has not ratified the protocol because it was yet to pass through various stages, including approval by the  Parliament. 

According to him, to date the protocol has been ratified by a total of 34 of the 55 African Union (AU) member states, well above the 22 benchmark.

Within the six nation East African Community (EAC) bloc, the protocol has been ratified by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, leaving Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan outside. 

But he stressed that whereas in other countries such approval was the prerogative of the Cabinet, in Tanzania the trade protocol has to be endorsed by the Parliament.

"The Parliament has to discuss and see how it will benefit the country and the existing opportunities", he said in an exclusive interview.

However, Mr. Haule, who has been among the senior officials in the negotiation teams, could not say exactly when the ratification process would be finalized.

"We have just come from the election period. But at least we can have a rough picture as to when by later next month", he pointed out.

He brushed aside claims of Tanzania's foot dragging on the continental trade pact, affirming the country's commitment to boost trade with the  African continent and the world at large.

"Tanzania is keen in trading with the outside world. There are huge opportunities for export of our food crops. We can become a food basket for the continent", he said.

He noted that with the upgrading of the railway, roads and marine transport infrastructure, the country was now better placed to serve the land-locked states.

Mr. Haule said AfCFTA would serve as a platform to raise Tanzania's trade with Africa which currently stands at only 15 per cent. 

"About 80 percent of our trade is with countries outside Africa.This is a similar case for the majority of the African countries", he explained.

The free trade area intends to create a bigger inter-Africa trade market for 1.3 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.4trillion.

Trade within the world's second largest continent will be improved largely through cutting down of tariffs and elimination of border barriers.

AfCFTA permanent secretariat,based in Accra, Ghana, was launched in August last year through the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Its operationalization was, however, extended to January this year due to the outbreak of Covid-19. The pandemic also delayed enforcement of the trade pact to this month.