By Mustapha Jallow
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MOTIE) with its local partners on Tuesday engaged 15 reporters from various media houses, 10 representatives of NGOs, and CSOs about the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTFA) protocols.
According to the ministry, the Gambia government has shown commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) negotiations and is well-prepared for the effective implementation of the Agreement.
In this connection, on 16th April 2019, the country ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and has recently expressed interest in joining the second pilot of the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) to facilitate trade between the AfCFTA member states.
To maximise the benefits of AfCFTA, the ministry believes it is crucial to ensure that all stakeholders, including Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and media organizations, are adequately informed and sensitized about the AfCFTA protocols and their implications.
The objectives of the national sensitization workshop include raising awareness and understanding of AfCFTA protocols among NGOs, CSOs, and media organizations in The Gambia, as well as building the capacity of NGOs, CSOs, and media organizations to effectively advocate for and monitor the implementation of AfCFTA protocols, to promote collaboration among various stakeholders to ensure inclusive and equitable benefits from AfCFTA and to promote active engagement and participation of these stakeholders in the implementation process of AfCFTA.
While declaring the one-day session open, Abdoulie Jammeh, the deputy permanent secretary for the trade ministry told participants that the AfCTFA aimed to boost intra-African trade to promote economic growth, structural transformation, and industrialization of the African economies, leading to increased productivity, job creation, and higher value-added exports among African countries.
He added that the Gambia thus continued to participate effectively in the negotiations organized both at the ECOWAS and AfCFTA levels, to address outstanding issues relating to the Protocol on Trade in Goods and the Protocol on Trade in Services, saying as well as phase two related protocols on Investment, Competition and Intellectual Property Rights.
Jammeh adds that “the AfCFTA is to make it easier for African businesses to integrate regionally and tap into global and regional supply chains. This includes, he says the formulation of the AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy through the technical support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
A representative from TANGO speaks on the importance of the role of NGOs, which he added gives them the power to advocate with the government to ensure that the AfCFRA is operationalized in the Gambia, especially in the sub-region in West Africa.
Journalist Yusef Taylor alias ‘Flex Dan’, proprietor of Askanwi – a newly established online media talked about the importance of free trade and how it is strengthening the economies of other countries. He further views the engagement as timely and thanked the trade ministry for the imitative.
“We want to see a close relationship between the media, CSOs, and government in working towards having a stronger economy for the Gambians,’’ he added.
