SA walking the talk on African free trade as first exports depart

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa officiated at the launch of South Africa’s first shipment and preferential trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) at the Port of Durban this week.

The president signed the SA Revenue Service (Sars) products certification of origin, flanked by Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, Transnet Acting Group Chief Executive Michelle Phillips and Sars regional director, Dan Zulu.

The successful implementation of the AfCFTA will lead to diversification of exports, increased productive capacity, acceleration of growth, increased investment, increased employment opportunities and incomes and broaden economic inclusion in South Africa and the rest of the continent, according to a statement by government.

Ramaphosa said AfCFTA would accelerate the development of regional and local value chains and this, in turn, would offer investors access to a population of 1.7 billion people and a continent with a fast-growing GDP.

Specifically, the hope is that this trading agreement would provide South African exporters with new market access opportunities to key markets on the continent and could unlock growth.

Ramaphosa, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and other dignitaries witnessed the first shipment of Proudly South Africa products to Ghana, Rwanda, Tunisia and Egypt.

The African Continental Free Trade Area is a free trade area encompassing most of Africa and was established in 2018 by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

It includes 55 countries of the AU and eight regional economic communities to create a single market for the continent.

This is the second largest free-trade area by number of member states, after the World Trade Organization.

According to the agreement, AfCFTA member states are committed to eliminating tariffs on most goods and services over a period of five, 10, or 13 years, depending on the state’s level of development.

AfCFTA is expected to increase the size of Africa’s economy to $29 trillion (about R540 trillion) by 2050.

| REUTERS DANCERS perform at the launch of South Africa’s first shipment of Proudly South Africa products to Ghana, Rwanda, Tunisia and Egypt at the Port of Durban this week. The launch was done within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement.