Botswana has finally submitted its instrument of ratification of AfCFTA at the 36th summit of the African Union, becoming the 45th country to come on board, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has declared.
Briefing the media last Thursday, President Masisi said the country’s late submission comes after a series of national negotiations geared toward submitting a well-rounded and comprehensive instrument that took everyone onboard, concerning Botswana’s business landscape.
President Masisi said the accelerated implementation of the AfCFTA would see the country’s ambitions of attaining an export-led economy realised, especially given the open market of 1.4 billion people presented by the opportunity.
This development also comes at a time when the country has been eager to revive its economy and to introduce its SME sector to the competitive business landscape brought about by the AfCFTA, he said.
The President said the move would also advance local businesses through potential business to business linkages developed by the robust trade deals that would comes as a result of joining the AfCFTA. He said the AfCFTA would also influence the uptake and rollout of the knowledge-based economy as one of the pillars of the Presidential Reset Agenda; one things he described as instrumental to the country’s economic diversification.
Dr Masisi said even the smallest of local companies should not be seen to be spectators in the AfCFTA, but come sharpened and well aligned to compete strongly against other businesses across the continental market. He said much progress had been made by the AfCFTA Council of Ministers, and already member states had ratified three protocols; the Protocol on Investment, Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights as well as the one on competition.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mmusi Kgafela said attributed the delay in depositing the instrument of ratification of AfCFTA to the leadership’s quest to negotiate favourable tariffs and duties for local businesses. He said the elimination of tariffs on certain products accords local businesses a fair opportunity to penetrate the African market. As such, he said Botswana would be able to trade under the AfCFTA agreement following the verification of the Southern African Customs Union Tariff Offer by AfCFTA Secretariat.
He said numerous national awareness workshops had been held for customs officials to administer entry and exit of goods to ensure that qualifying products benefit from concessions under the agreement.
He added that Botswana, with the support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa was developing a strategy to facilitate leveraging the benefits under the AfCFTA.
The strategy will identify the gaps and interventions needed for the business community to utilise and benefit from the agreement, he said.
Source: BOPA
