Angela Normino
African countries will only benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) if the continent invests in value addition.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa wondered why Africa is still exporting raw products and importing finished goods that can be produced on the continent.
“Recently, I saw a neighbouring country that had imported bottled water from Switzerland. I said, there is still a long way to go to show that we really trade with ourselves,” President Ramaphosa said on January 31 while launching the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) in Durban.
“A continent that is so endowed with various sources of water, but we still rely on water that we import from elsewhere!”
He said the task ahead for the African countries to benefit from Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is to export value-added products.
