As I have written in one chapter of my book, “Sound and Fury: The Chronicles of Healing” (which was launched last year February 25), in which I reviewed my economic diplomacy programmes in Italy during my diplomatic posting as a Consul-General from 2012 to 2016, I mentioned slotting in the itinerary of a top level delegation from the Gauteng City Region in 2015 a meeting to convince The European House Ambrosetti, a Milan-based think tank, to host their annual Italy-South Africa Summit in Johannesburg – they have such summits with major cities across the world. My arguments were simple as the golden city was in the heartland of southern Africa; the continent’s economic hub; and this strategic location meant it was easily accessible to all the SADC member states. My delegation endorsed my proposal. Ambrosetti agreed to host the event that brought over 100 Italian CEOs and key decision makers to the city.
The event was inaugurated in Johannesburg in November 2016 – preceded by the first two legs that were held in Cape Town. Five years later, in 2020, it had grown to become Southern Africa Europe CEO Dialogue. So yesterday we had the 8th edition of the event. As always, it featured high powered speakers, who are captains of the industry, from all over the world and such key stakeholders as H.E. Mr Wamkele Mene, the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat; H.E. Dr Sekai Nzenza, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Republic of Zimbabwe; Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the SA Reserve Bank; and Parks Tau, the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism, Agriculture and Tourism in the Gauteng City Region. It was a hybrid (virtual and physical) event to comply with the safety protocols intended to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this year’s instalment of the Dialogue was extra special for me when the Group CEO of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA), Ms Mosa Tshabalala, formally announced the initiative we’ve been touting on these pages: the establishment of the structured mechanism to engender bilateral relations between the CEOs of investment promotion agencies in pursuit of the cardinal objective of the AfCFTA: deepening intra-African trade. Yes, it is now official that the GGDA, which is the implementation arm of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, is our partner. It is entrusted with the mandate to lead, facilitate, enable and manage sustainable job creation and inclusive economic growth and development in the GCR through subsidiaries such as the Automotive Industrial Development Centre (AIDC); The Innovation Hub (TIH); Gauteng Industrial Development Zone (GIDZ) and Constitution Hill (ConHill).
The GGDA’s strategic mandate is to:
- Enable economic development focused of sustainable jobs
- Drive growth in provincial growth domestic products and employment rates
- Strategically position the province into a globally competitive city region.
- Facilitate partnerships and create linkages across province in order to maximize service delivery outcomes.
- Support the development of key sectors in the economy in line with established economic and industrial policies of the province.
Just as a reminder, the AfCFTA brings together 55 African Union’s member states and aims to create the largest free trade area in the world since the World Trade Organization cane to life on 1 January 1995 – although its trading system is half a century older since 1948 when the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provided the rules for the system. The AfCFTA, based on the Abuja Treaty of 1991, was implemented in January 2021, having been pushed forward due to the global COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. As stated by the AfCFTA secretariat, over 1.3 billion people with a cumulative GDP of $3.6 trillion will come together to further economic expansion. This effort will push Africa into a competitive spot in the global economy. The treaty outlines a reduction of tariff restrictions and of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) as well as a trade facilitation agreement (TFA). The AfCFTA will make vast improvements in catching intra-African trade up with the numbers of the rest of the world.
According to a report issued by World Trade Organisation in 2020, current continental exports across Africa is at about 19% of total exports, comparatively lower to intra-Asian and intra-Europe exports which make up around 60% of their total exports. AfCFTA looks to encourage a higher level of intra-
African trade by cutting all tariffs between countries in the zone by 2035, expected to increase intracontinental exports by more than 81%.
It is in this vein that GGDA took a decision to craft and implement the AfCFTA Roadmap to establish strategic partnerships within the various regions in the continent to promote intra-Africa trade and to increase exports to the continent by 15% by 2025 as outlined in the Growing Gauteng Together (GGT) 2030. The roadmap identifies anchor countries in the various countries within EAC, ECOWAS and SADC regional economic blocs, that will serve as a base for Gauteng companies to expand in those particular regions. So our relationship with the GGDA should be looked at within thus context.
“The work being implemented through the implementation of the AfCFTA roadmap is not without challenges,” asserted Mosa matter-of-factly in the Dialogue, “and it has become imperative for GGDA to establish a forum of Investment Promotion Agencies that are located in the Regions identified for the implementation of the AfCFTA Roadmap.”
She explained that the aim of the Forum is to foster and enhance closer collaboration and cooperation between the Investment Promotion Agencies located in targeted African countries by:
- Providing strategic leadership as a consultative forum for Investment and Trade promotion, generation, facilitation and expansion for domestic trade and investments into/out of the Gauteng City Region and these countries.
- Promoting and developing understanding and cooperation among IPAs.
- Prioritising targeted and viable sectors and sub-sectors to promote trade and exports and attract investments.
- Facilitating unblocking of challenges and easing red tape with the intention of increasing Intra-Africa Trade.
- Conducting joint selling webinars, undertaking inward/outward selling missions to increase trade activities.
- Advising on trade and investment policy.
- Sharing country and regional experiences in attracting FDI and facilitating Trade.
- Working in partnership with various regional economic communities such as the ECOWAS tradorganisation sections, the AfCFTA Secretariat and private sector entities to share information on trade development initiatives within the identified regions and beyond.
- Assisting with access to new markets and establishing of linkages between domestic and international businesses.
- Supporting growth into each other’s markets, invest in shared information assets, and amplify the voice of AfCFTA or becoming champions of the AfCFTA.
Engagements with a number of targeted countries has begun in earnest and I’m hoping to accelerate the process to ensure all strategic stakeholders are brought on boatd as a matter of urgency.
As a mentioned previously, this Forum differs from the many in the market since its custodianship rests entirely in the hands of the CEOs of investment promotion or economic development agencies; while in the private sector initiatives participants are charged exorbitant fees to be addressed by the CEOs of IPAs (which is their selling point), here participants are CEOs and they invite business leaders to engage with them without charging them a single cent; and practitioner experience will indeed enrich policy formulation.
As my parting shot, please be extra cautious as a new COVID-19 variant, Omnicrom, has just been discovered in a number of African countries. I’m just appealing to you to observe all precautionary measures intended to contain thus virus which is proving adamantly challenging to be contained. The responsibility to fo the right thing ultimately rests with me and you.
Do enjoy your weekend.
Saul Molobi
Publisher
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