However, the same facts continued that informal and cross border trade which account for 70% of the economy in sub-Saharan Africa is a source of income for 43% of the continent’s population.
Hilarious Mugwadi, the chairperson of the Network of African National Human Rights Institute (NANHRI), said the AfCFTA agreement is a monumental turning point for the continent given its broad coverage of trade in goods and services, investments, intellectual property rights and competition policy.
Additionally, he said: “We are at the cusp of an economic revolution in Africa as it is one of the flagship projects of AU agenda 2063 envisaging the creation of a single market through the liberalisation of free movement of goods, services, capital, and natural persons.”
Moreover, the NANHRI chairperson pointed out that AU member states have shown great enthusiasm for the AfCFTA agreement, noting that within a span of four years it has been signed by 54 AU member states and ratified by 53 members.
According to him, projections show that it has the capacity to generate a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion, thus lifting approximately 30 million Africans out of poverty. He said the positive ramifications of proper implementation of the AfCFTA are thus incredible and must be lauded.
“As human rights defenders, we must be cautious as we have learned that development that is not centered on a human rights-based approach often enriches a few whilst dispossessing and exacerbating the situation of marginalised and vulnerable groups.”
The NANHRI chairman made this statement during the 5th National Human Rights Institutions’ Forum organised by his institution, the National Human Rights Commission of the Gambia (NHRC), the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other partners at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre.
