43th ANNUAL COUNCIL OF PMAWCA : THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PAA SUBMITTED HIS RECIPE FOR THE SUCCESS OF AFCFTA

Activités portuaires Wednesday 17 January 2024

 Right after the opening ceremony of the 43th Annual Council of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA)which took place on 06 November 2023, the participants started the work of the 18th Conference of the Round Table of the Managing Directors  under the theme «  Ports and the African Continental Free Trade Area ( AFCFTA)»

During their introductory presentations , the PMAWCA’S Port Authorities agreed on the fact that Africa remains the Continent with the lowest level of trade among the states : Effectively ,they revealed that the intra African commercial exchanges are estimated at 15% on the average,which is very insufficient considering the ambitions of AFCFTA which expects to achieve an optimal rate of 100%.

As solutions to achieve this ambitious objective the Directors General proposed the following :

• The removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers which constitute a true obstacle to trade.
• Strengthening of cooperation on removing trade barriers
• Long term cooperation as regards investment and competition policies in order to prevent the domination of market by a small number of players, and to reinforce structural and regulatory barriers to market entry ;
• Achievement of regional integration to remove all the barriers which hinder the free movement of people, goods,services and skills ;
• Promoting regional and continental value chains
• Increasing competitiveness of African Ports through the strengthening of reception capacities,improvement of security,digitalization of processes,sustainable port environmental management in order to meet the challenges related to AFCFTA
• An increased support by governments for the port capacities development initiatives and for the whole logistic chain upon which AFCFTA is to be built.

Before concluding the first day, the Managing Directors acknowledged that AFCFTA represents a great potential capable for boosting maritime transport in Africa in view of the increase in volume of goods that the implementation of the trade agreement would give rise to. Thus, it appears urgent to raise the level of competitiveness of African ports and the whole logistic chain of transport.

It was this major issue that Mr Hien Yacouba SIÉ,Managing Director of Abidjan Port Authority has addressed on Tuesday 07 November 2023 during a panel discussion jointly moderated with his counterparts from the Ports of DOUALA ,Pointe Noire ,Cape Verde,and Equatorial Guinea on the theme ¨ Hinterland’s infrastructure to promote AFCFTA¨

The Chairman of the Abidjan Port Community in his highly appreciated presentation,firstly explained the low rate of intra African trade ( 15%) mentioned the day before,through various factors such as insufficient productivity and lack of strong agricultural policies in the African States.He also denounced under-investment in infrastructure,namely in roads and railways.

To remedy this situation and enable African Countries to take advantage of AFCFTA to move their economies forward ,PAA’s Managing Director underscored the urgent need to promote industrialization in African, a requirement which is part of the High 5 priority areas defined by the African Development Bank ( AFDB) to promote economictransformation of the continent.

In addition to the industrialization,Mr Hien SIÉ advocated for the strengthening of development and agricultural modernization policies,which would inevitably lead to the increase in productivity,a garantee of profitability for the investments to be made.

As another solution,the PAA’s Top Manager recommended the creation of logistic centers along the transport chain between the countries.This interconnection will help to create short supply chains which have the benefit of increasing speed and efficiency in port operations.

He also made a strong appeal for the harmonization of national,regional and continental policies.as regards trade and industry.

Lastly he concluded by asserting that the success of AFCFTA as an active instrument for the growth of Africa relies largely on financing needed to reinforce the private sector’s capacities and also to develop strong infrastructure capable of connecting the major trade roads on the continent.

According to Mr Hien Yacouba SIE, the few proposals he made for implementation should help to remove several major obstacles that intra-African trade is faced with presently,and to ensure the success of this important trade agreement initiated by the African Union.