The case for an integrated African market – the costs of ‘non-AfCFTA’
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President Yoweri Museveni in Uganda last month. EAC trade with India has soared in the past decade. PHOTO | UGANDA PRESIDENCY
The signing of the African Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA) on March 21 in Kigali by 44 countries represented a milestone towards achieving the long-standing goal of creating a unified African market. Yet we are only halfway there, for a number of reasons.
First, there is a need to achieve 22 ratifications by March 2019 for the agreement to go into force — and so far, only seven countries have done so.
