Nigeria Joins the Party Finally!!

[MjamaaPittsburgh]

At last, Nigeria, the last of the four geographical powers of Africa-the rest are Kenya (EA), South Africa (SA), Egypt (NA) has finally joined the African Continental Free Trade Area. If fully implemented, Africans will be able to trade, work and move anywhere across this vast continent.

We now need to work on tapping just 3 percent of all pension funds held in trust by schemes across Africa to raise funds to build massive infrastructure across each corner of the continent to make this market work.

And finally, all Africa must unite into one economic frontier, and possibly a military and political one. That way, we will dictate our own terms to the rest of the world.

Black man, arise!

"Following the recommendation of the Presidential Committee on African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which submitted its report to President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, Nigeria will sign the agreement".

https://allafrica.com/stories/201906280055.html

 

[Sambamba]

If there is one continent that can benefit from protectionism, it's Africa. We have all the minerals, the resources and what we need now is to build local capacity.

 

[Yunomi]

This African Continental Free Trade Area is a game changer and IMF knows it and that is why it is casting doubt. For example West Africa can supply East Africa with rubber, aluminium and steel while East Africa can supply West Africa with oil, coffee and spices.

 

[Pseudonyms]

Real sizes depicted in the darkened areas.

You now understand why Africans are dying crossing the sea because they look at the world map and see a small Africa and a big Europe.

 

[Mzeiya Flany]

View attachment 245359

Real sizes depicted in the darkened areas.

You now understand why Africans are dying crossing the sea because they look at the world map and see a small Africa and a big Europe.

And here I was thinking that they were dying due to using unfit marine vessels and not being able to swim to the places they're sneaking into as they seek greener pastures.

 

[Pseudonyms]

And here I was thinking that they were dying due to using unfit marine vessels and not being able to swim to the places they're sneaking into as they seek greener pastures.

I won't be surprised those vessels have always been harpooned/torpedoed.

 

[Baby Panay]

If Africa unites and dictate prices for shit then the foreigners are screwed.

 

[Nattydread]

View attachment 245359

Real sizes depicted in the darkened areas.

You now understand why Africans are dying crossing the sea because they look at the world map and see a small Africa and a big Europe.

 

[Mzeiya Flany]

I won't be surprised those vessels have always been harpooned/torpedoed.

By who? The traffickers themselves?

 

[Pseudonyms]

By who? The traffickers themselves?

Yes. Australia has been known to pay smugglers to turn back boats full of Rohingya migrants. Of course, they never get to any shore because you cannot double-cross government entities and returning the migrants to the shores they come from is not good for business because no one is going to pay a smuggler who takes money and doesn't deliver.

Or sabotaged by the wazungu. Look at the 3rd slide where the author says that the migrant crisis won't be solved by "bombing the boats or outsourcing border controls"!

Further, look at this:

 

[MjamaaPittsburgh]

This African Continental Free Trade Area is a game changer and IMF knows it and that is why it is casting doubt. For example West Africa can supply East Africa with rubber, aluminium and steel while East Africa can supply West Africa with oil, coffee and spices.

Lakini Chief West Africa wako na oil karibu most states eg Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea etc. I would however like to add avocados, flowers, dairy products, cashew nuts etc.

 

[Yunomi]

If Africa unites and dictate prices for shit then the foreigners are screwed.

African unity means free lunch is off the menu. China lakini must get credit for being the first reliable trading partner of Africa hata kama their motives are not 100% pure.

 

[GERALD9949]

This African Continental Free Trade Area is a game changer and IMF knows it and that is why it is casting doubt. For example West Africa can supply East Africa with rubber, aluminium and steel while East Africa can supply West Africa with oil, coffee and spices.

Why would we need tin or rubber from West Africa when the Congo has them and why would West Africa need oil(when it has Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast), coffee(Ivory Coast) or spices(like all of them).
One of the reasons I see this backfiring is the fact that we produce similar items, all of us and you can bet the ones trying to Industrialize will ask for exemptions.
If COMESA has not brought about all these benefits, I doubt the CFTA will bring them about either.
Mwanzo the worst thing to do was to allow Nigeria in.
Those guys have a Mediocre manufacturing sector suffering from high transportation costs and daily power cuts.
Their products are severely sub-standard. For example their Coca-Cola bottles are made with such inferior plastic that it leaches Benzene into their sodas.
Those guys will wreck the CFTA with asking for exemptions and when they will export items, it will be inferior products.
The CFTA may also kill our own manufacturing as well. The culprits being Egypt and South Africa.
Kenya's manufacturing advantage has been anchored on two areas
1.Our neighbour's were not as industrialized as we are.
2.A common external tariff of 25% on manufactured goods from outside the EAC, later COMESA.
We already are facing industrial decline in competitiveness due to Uganda and TZ industrializing to some extent.
Once tarrifs are completely removed, especially against South Africa, our industries are fucked!!
Also back to protectionism
Remember when we first created the CFTA it was SADC, EAC and COMESA. Immediately South Africa went on protectionist mode, essentially banning our horticulture products.
The very same people started lobbying that their cars be exported here(South Africa is an automotive giant), Kenya and Rwanda opposed as our Vehicle Assembly lines would have died...
In short, this thing will not work until the time comes when we are all middle income and upper middle income nations.
Most of the continent is either least developed or lower middle income. We should have focused our energies on making COMESA work first.

 

[GERALD9949]

African unity means free lunch is off the menu. China lakini must get credit for being the first reliable trading partner of Africa hata kama their motives are not 100% pure.

The United States, at least in the case of Kenya, South Africa Nigeria and Egypt is the best and most reliable trading partner.
We actually have a near positive balance of trade with the US because of AGOA.
We now export over 70 billion worth of textiles alone and we import less than 100 billion.
Compare that to China, we barely export 20 billion worth of goods to them while we import 10 times that from them!!
AGOA made S. A into an industrial powerhouse. The moment they joined Volkswagen more than tripled its capacity while Toyota, BMW and later Hyundai opened MANUFACTURING plants there.
All China has provided is debt driven economic growth and infrastructure aimed for their benefit, not ours.