‘How strange it is that Zambia trades in goods from Kenya through Europe and vice versa. Really? Does that make sense? That’s what we want to fix.’
Even as Africa moves closer to finally fully implementing African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), some African countries have moved forward to improve trade. For example, Kenya and Zambia recently came to an agreement to remove trade barriers to accelerate adoption.
The move by the two states is a welcome idea that other African countries should emulate especially at a time Africa is facing a difficult situation due to growing inflation and other global factors, like the war between Ukraine and Russia.
“We have agreed to address the prevailing bottlenecks, including addressing ourselves to a few tariff and non-tariff barriers that bar our people from enjoying the freedom of trade among themselves. This visit was to reinforce and enhance the cooperation between our two countries as we seek to deepen that partnership for the mutual benefit of our respective people,” President Kenyatta said during a state banquet in honour of Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in June.
President Kenyatta also said he hoped that similar agreements could be reached with other counties to accelerate the objective of AfCFTA and improve the ease of doing business. Kenya and Zambia were among the first countries to sign and ratify the AfCFTA.
President Hichilema said there is great need for Kenya and Zambia to work together to altogether eliminate trade barriers, and underscored the need for African countries to trade directly with each other. “How strange it is that sometimes we (Zambia) trade in goods from Kenya through Europe and vice versa. Really? Does that make sense? Absolutely not. That’s what we want to fix, “ he said.
Whether the current Kenyan government will finalize the agreements before the general in August remains to be seen. Hope is that the incoming government sees the importance of intra-African trade and speeds up removing the barriers of trade that have hindered economic growth in Africa. (
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