Lusaka | Thursday
AFRICA’S first free trade area (FTA), launched a year ago by some nine countries of the 21-member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), has been a success, an official said on Wednesday.
”Trade and investment has increased in the Comesa region after the FTA came into effect,” said Sebiso Ngwenya, Comesa deputy secretary general, adding that trade within the Comesa-FTA had risen by more than 500% compared to previous levels.
Fears had been expressed when the FTA was launched last year that it would destroy economies of member countries and encourage dumping of low quality goods.
”But not a single firm has collapsed as a result of the FTA in the last year,” Ngwenya told reporters at the first anniversary of the Comesa-FTA.
Some countries that did not join the Comesa-FTA for fear of losing revenue have now started showing interest in participating, Ngwenya said, naming Namibia, Swaziland, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Leaders of Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe signed the Comesa-FTA protocol on October 31 last year, to remove trade barriers and tarrifs on goods manufactured within the member states. -Sapa