AfCFTA: Anambra Govt Holds Stakeholders Meeting In Awka

Anambra state government has organized meeting for key stakeholders in the trade and commerce industry in readiness for Nigeria’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA.

The meeting which took place at the Anambra state Government House, Awka, was attended by Anambra State Small Business Agency, ASBA, State Internal Revenue Services, Ministry of Trade and Commerce, that of Agriculture, among others, and aimed at discussing the benefits, implementation requirements and role of the state government in the implementation of the AfCFTA.

Correspondent, Emmanuel Okonkwo reports that African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, is driven by member states of African Union and regional economic communities such as Economic Community of West African States and others, as part of efforts towards ensuring free importation and exportation of goods and services within African countries through elimination of tariffs and non-tariffs barriers to trades in Africa

The major objectives of AfCFTA include, to create a single market for goods and services within Africa in order to deepen the economic integration of the African continent, to deliver an integrated continental market of one-point-two-seven billion consumers with aggregate Gross Domestic Product of three-point-four trillion U.S dollars, among others.

Nigeria signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in Niamey, Niger Republic, on the seventh of July 2019, to promote intra-African trade with other African countries.

Addressing the gathering, the Chairman Anambra state Action Committee on the African Continental Free Trade Area, who is also the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Nnamdi Onukwuba explained that the main objective of the initiative is to ensure ease of doing business through elimination of unnecessary interference in business amongst African countries.

In a paper presentation, a member of the committee and the Managing Director of Anambra Small Business Agency, Sir Clement Chukwuka while enumerating achievements of the Obiano administration in uplifting the state’s Gross Domestic Product through ASBA, since inception, explained that the state government is ever ready to issue assistance and loans to legitimate small and medium business owners in the state.

The meeting gave opportunity to representatives of ministries and agencies to air their views on the state of local goods production and challenges faced by industrialists in the state especially as it concern epileptic power supply and double taxation.