President AFREXIM Bank, Oramah said barriers to trade have kept African economies in limbo as trade walls have prevented economic growth and social distancing of people and cultures.
Presenting a key note paper at the fourth edition of the Centre for Financial Journalism’s Bullion Lectures, Professor Benedict Oramah, President of AFREXIM Bank, noted that, to get Africa’s economies running ahead at decent economic paces, the various barriers to intra-African trade need to be lowered and eventually brought down.
According to Oramah, “Africa must break down 84,000km of barriers that tear them apart which will allow for investments and infrastructure to flourish and commodities to trade successfully.”
READ ALSO:Mangoro residents on rampage as police shot dead another youth in Lagos
Oramah believes that freer African trade would serve as a symbol of continental progress, adding that by increasing trade among African economies, GDP growth rates across the continent would increase and by translating into higher disposable incomes, both the standards of living and levels of development would rise.
He, however, noted that intra-African trade increases would not necessarily mean a decline in trade with non-African economies. The multiplier effect of higher African disposable incomes, he said, would rub off on non-African economies alike.
Oramah argues that if African countries come together, the continent would form a strong bloc to negotiate with Europe, China and America.
He asserted that through the African Countries Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), there will be free movement of goods and services with several jobs created.
He said that signing the ACFTA agreement would be advantageous to the country as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), would likely grow.
According to him, signing the agreement would lead improvement in the Ease of Doing Business across borders, improve infrastructure, enlarge markets beyond Nigeria and increase volume of exports.
Professor Oramah identified some of the efforts of Afrexim in the area of promoting trade in Africa as investing $25 billion from 2017 – 2021 and the launching of export trading company initiative in Africa.