SA powering on with AfCFTA to boost African trade

President Cyril Ramaphosa says government is working towards the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which will tear down the barriers to trade on the continent.

“As the most industrialised economy in Africa, we are positioning ourselves to be at the centre of this new and growing market,” President Ramaphosa said.

In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered in Cape Town on Thursday, President Ramaphosa said government is harnessing the sun and the wind to make the country a leader in renewable energy and green manufacturing.  

“With an abundance of cheap, green energy, we can produce products that are competitive anywhere in the world and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the process. We are making sustainable use of the rich abundance of the South African earth.

“By supporting our farmers, improving our logistics network and rural supply chains, and opening new export markets for products we can significantly expand our agricultural sector. We want South Africa to be leading in the commercial production of hemp and cannabis. 

“We are breathing new life into the mining industry, which remains one of our most important and valuable endowments,” the President said.

The agreement establishing the AfCFTA came into force on 30 May 2019.

The AfCFTA agreement will create the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of countries participating.

The AfCFTA is the engine for African economic and regional integration. The agreement establishing the AfCFTA includes in its general objectives the creation of a liberalised market for goods and services, and laying the foundation for the establishment of a continental customs union at a later stage. – SAnews.gov.za