By Mustapha Jallow
Essa Wally, the president of the Association of Customs, Clearing and Forwarding Agencies (ACCFA) has disclosed that the Gambia is ranked among the highest in total imports from Ecowas countries, registering a percentage of 12.8%.
“Looking at the statistics of the Gambia comparatively the statistics reveals that the highest percentage of total import from the Ecowas bloc is 14% registered by Burkina Faso followed by Gambia with a percentage of 12.8 and Code Ivoire with a percentage of 12.1%,” he says.
In terms of export value within the bloc, he added Gambia registered a percentage of 56.2 followed by Togo with a percentage of 52.4% and Senegal with a percentage of 31.5%.
According to Wally, the statistics gathered by Ikechi, Chinedum, and Nwokoro provided evidence of the untapped potential in sub-regional trade because of the lack of implementation of regional agreements that were designed to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade in the sub-region.
He made this disclosure during the General Assembly meeting of the Federation of Ecowas Licenses and Customs Brokers (FELCB) held in Lome, Togo. The Federation was established in 2003 to promote efficient and effective transportation and movement of goods within the subregion. The event held in Togo brought together representatives from all member states in the region.
“We are gathered here to talk to ourselves and interrogate the existence of our very regional co-existence as ECOWAS citizens,’’ Wally said.
He added: “What exists today in our sub-region in the level of free trade between member states is not something that any of us here present can be proud of. We are now together preparing the next journey of this Organization to the regional level. Our choices will determine what this organization becomes. It is time for each of us to ensure that we take charge of the destiny of our organization and have the same sense of responsibility that we are demanding. All of us present here are coming from an ECOWAS member state and the Alliance of the Sahel state. What we are discussing is to complement ECOWAS efforts and protocols.’’
The objectives of the ECOWAS, AFCFTA, and AES, according to him, are to prepare customs officials and stakeholders to have an understanding of their protocols, agreements, and implementation guidelines. He stated that their targets are the stakeholders involved in the shipping and transport sector, customs clearing & forwarding agents in the region.
“It is therefore important that we use this meeting to take stock of the challenges confronting the sector in the transportation of goods and the free movement of persons in our sub region,’’ he said.
The statistics reveal that there is an increase in the export and re-export trade among Ecowas states.
“The total trade of the region has an average of $208.1 billion. Exports are projected at approximately $137.3 billion while imports total about $80.4 billion. The main active countries in trade are Nigeria, which alone accounts for approximately 76 percent of total trade followed by Ghana (9.2 percent) and Côte d’Ivoire (8.64 percent). The trade surplus of the region, estimated at $47.3 billion is attributable to Nigeria ($58.4 billion) and Côte d’Ivoire ($3.4 billion) when all other Countries have a deficit in the trade balance,’’ he explained.
Therefore, he added: “This association we are about to reactivate by injecting life into it again will look forward to continue collaborating with the ECOWAS, AFCFTA the AU, and other institutions in our shared mission to strengthen and sustain a thriving trade ecosystem.’’
“I am appealing to this august gathering that when this association is reactivated, we should make it a point to engage the ECOWAS, the AU, and any other institution to prioritize the promotion of coastal vessels into our waters. There has been a long conscious effort made to develop and sustain coastal shipping in West and Central Africa,’’ Wally appealed.
