25 Oct 2023

The media is a critical part in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as it can help enlighten people and open their eyes to opportunities that come with the arrangement.

This was said by deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ms Seipati Olweny at a media capacity-building workshop on AfCFTA in Gaborone on October 24.

Ms Olweny said the media could also play an important part of eliciting interest on the issue.

“It was vital therefore that we held a workshop of this nature so that we ensure the media is well informed and trained on the issue so that they would disseminate accurate information,” she said.

She, therefore, urged the media to report thoroughly on the positives of the African free trade arrangement such as tariff elimination. She said Botswana, just like other African member states, stood to benefit immensely from the free flow of intra-trade as the market would comprise about 1.2 billion people with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $3 trillion.

She added that Botswana signed the free trade agreement in March 2018 during the 10^th session of the extra ordinary session of heads of state and African Union, but only deposited its instrument of participation in February, owing to the fact that Southern African Customs Union (SACU) delayed with its consolidated offer.

For his part, Mr Batanai Chikwene from the African Policy Centre decried the low intra-Africa trade. 

However, he expressed hope that the Africa free trade arrangement would help bridge the gap.

“At the moment African countries trade between themselves only about 15 per cent of goods produced within the continent. 

In comparison, Europe’s intra-trade stands at 65 per cent while that of Asia is 50 per cent. 

We are hopeful that creating one huge market with arrangements such as tariff removals would enable free flow of goods and services between the member states,” he said.

He also said the continent was confident that the free flow of trade would help it to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce its reliance on eternal economic shocks.

He further said Botswana’s intra-trade with the rest of the continent stood as low as one per cent because the country mostly traded within Southern Africa.

Mr Chikwene, however, encouraged African countries to trade on goods produced in the continent, saying trading otherwise would not be of any benefit.

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) representative, Mr Oliver Mapinga also appreciated the role of the media, saying it provided checks and balances to help government fill up the cracks through positive criticism.

“It is, therefore, vital for the media to guard what it writes about and ensure that what it writes is truthful as its word has the potential to influence important national interests. 

The media should not fear to be critical of AfCFTA, though in a positive way,” he said.

That, he said was also the reason why it was important to enhance the knowledge of the media on the issue. ENDs