Njack Kane
African governments have been charged to chart a united front to harness its vast resources in order to have a shared prosperity for the continent.
Acting CEO of Africa Prosperity Network (APN), Njack Kane, who made the call at the second edition of the Africa Prosperity dialogues 2024, said Africa could harness its limitless resources available to accelerate inter Africa trade in the continent.
According to him, efforts such as unleashing Africa’s food and Agricultural business potential, getting Africa to be truly part of the global value chain of its natural resources, enhancing transportation and logistics among others cannot be achieved if African leaders were not committed.
He, therefore, charged them to be architects of change, committed to take actions through government policies, board rooms, classrooms in order to contribute to a legacy of shared prosperity for generations.
Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), Wamkele Mene, for his part said since the establishment of the secretariat in Accra, it has made some significant strides towards achieving its vision.
That, he stated, include the development of a tariff book that determines the certainty of the tariffs on the product they have applied for, to the product they have to export.
He said AFCFTA has also identified sectors such as agriculture, automotive, pharmaceuticals, transport and logistics to help develop its value chains.
He said his outfit has also established protocols in areas such as investment, women and youth in trade, while it works towards concluding on protocols on trade this month.
He explained that protocols on digital trade places AFCFTA to harness the benefits of Africa’s digital economy to ensure inclusion especially young Africans who are at the cutting edge and require regulatory support to enable them to thrive in the digital market.
The 3-day event which started on Thursday January 25 to Saturday January 26 brought together some heads of states across the continent, representatives of heads of state, Ministers of state, representatives of African Union and the United Nations.
Others include members of the diplomatic corps, business executives, captains of industries, entrepreneurs, civil society organisations among several others.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah