By: Rachel Quartey
The Leader of the Gambian delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Billay G. Tunkara, says many countries within the sub-region are not fully prepared to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement for the benefit of its citizens.
According to him, AfCFTA comes with a price and that is why there are reservations in terms of sensitive and special goods in the agreement. “One you are letting go of so many revenues that you will collect”, he said.
The Legislator, who is also the Majority Leader of the Gambian National Assembly, explained in an interview that with the coming into force of the AfCFTA, member states will be losing huge revenues, as both AU and ECOWAS are currently fostering the free movement of goods and services.
“Gambia which is a tax base economy, if you ask me to leave thirty percent of my revenue, you are putting pressure on my economy. But we as West Africans must look inward, what we have as our potential to produce and sell in the market. At the end of the day we do not want to be seen as the dumping place of the African continental market”, Billay G. Tunkara added.
He further noted that as a country, if you do not have the capacity to become an industrial economy, you will lose, “at the end of the day you become the recipient, you become the dumping ground of finished goods. As a sub-region we should be prepared to produce to send to other regional blocks not only creating the market”.
Again, the former Chairman of the Trade Committee in the Gambian National Assembly, expressed worry over some multilateral companies taking advantage of the AfCFTA though they have their origins from Europe. He said most of these companies avoid paying taxes in their home countries, and come and set up sub-factories in the sub-region or the continent at large and end up abusing the market. “If you are to export from say Germany you will pay customs fees, but if you have a factory within the African continent, you now push your goods in the name of AfCFTA, which means you enjoy certain privileges, certain waivers which ordinarily you would have paid for”, he explained.
Billay G. Tunkara said ECOWAS and AU must therefore beware of these issues as it goes beyond integration, and has some economic consequences. Asked whether the sub-region is ready to realise AfCFTA, he answered that “we will get there, let us see how it will unfold because countries do not let all their taxes out, there are certain tariffs they keep.”
