By Nathaniel Nartey
The Secretary-General of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area HE. Wamkele Mene has pledged to ensure the equitable distribution of the gains of the AfCFTA as the Secretariat continues with moves to fully implement the agreement. This according to HE. Wamkele Mene is the sure way of Sustaining the Secretariat.
He said, “if the AfCFTA is perceived to be benefiting only a handful of relatively industrialised countries in Africa, and a handful of African Multinational Corporations, it shall be rejected by Africans”.
HE. Mene who was speaking in Turkey for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on Corporation with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, is of the view that ensuring that no group, sector or country feels marginalised or excluded from the benefits of the AfCFTA, “will help to address the root causes of conflicts, give hope to our citizenry and set us on the road towards prosperity, seizing this century as ours.”
If fully implemented, the agreement will boost regional income by 7% or $450 billion, speed up wage growth for women, and lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035. Wages for both skilled and unskilled workers will also be boosted by 10.3% for unskilled workers, and 9.8% for skilled workers.
