CEEAC : Boosting Trade
Even though they share the same geographical area, Central African countries face difficulties in doing the slightest thing necessary for living together: sharing. Whereas, according to Marie-Chantal MFOULA, Assistant Secretary-General of the Physical, Economic and Monetary Integration of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), the Community is endowed with important natural resources and despite this, it remains one of the least integrated regions of the continent in terms of intra-community trade. The 11th conference of Heads of State and Governments had created a CEEAC free-trade zone (ZLE/CEEAC) in 2004, with the perspective of having a Customs Union to take effect as from 2008.
However, cumbersome administrative procedures such as the non-transposition of community legislation in the internal legal systems of member States prevented the said free trade zone from going operational. With fresh impetus, countries of the sub-region met on Wednesday 18 October 2017 in Yaounde to discuss the coherence of the regional, continental and multilateral trade agenda.
On this occasion, the representatives of the Ministries of Trade and other customs officers from Central Africa reflected on the means of guaranteeing the free movement of goods among countries of the sub-region without customs duties. «Central Africa is one of the weakest in terms of trade volume. It is equally weak in terms of movement of persons and physical interconnection of infrastructure», Marie-Chantal MFOULA lamented.
As Emmanuel MBARGA, Sub-Director of Trade, Regional and International Relations at the Ministry of Trade explained, intra Central African trade volumes are evaluated at about 2%, against 26% in West Africa and 70 % in the European Union.
For three days, participants shall inter alia, define a perspective that will notably promote a trade agenda as a vector of development. With the meeting ending today, CEEAC discussions will give priority to trade in a manner to come up with a coherent regional action plan with a clearly outlined time scale.
(Source/ Cameroon Tribune N 11461 of 27 October 2017)