Africa committed to implement WTO trade facilitation agreement: officials

Sub-Saharan African countries have prioritized establishment of domestic structures to facilitate implementation of WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), officials say.

Senior African custom officials said on Wednesday domestication of TFA had gone into overdrive in order to position the continent as a hub for trade and investment.

"The ratification of TFA is in top gear in many African countries with the realization it heralds more benefits to us in terms of increased trade and investments," Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner General John Njiraini said.

Njiraini was speaking at a forum organized by KRA and World Customs Organization on the sidelines of the ongoing 10th WTO ministerial conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

The FTA is endorsed in December 2013 in Indonesia -- the first WTO multilateral trade agreed on by all member states since the creation of the Geneva-based global trade body in 1995.

African custom officials, policymakers and trade experts agree that full implementation of the accord would promote economic growth through improved revenue collection and conducive investment climate.

Njiraini said Kenya was among an estimated 30 African countries that had ratified TFA.

He said African countries had initiated "joint programs" for the implementation of TFA, adding regional blocs were harmonizing policies and legislation to fast-track the process.

"We have already established TFA working groups whose membership is drawn from state agencies and the private sector in the region. The working groups are discussing ways to speed up a smooth and progressive implementation of TFA," he said.

African custom authorities have in the last two years invested in technology and personnel to enhance efficiency in border procedures and facilitate smooth trade in goods and services.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) director of regional integration and trade department, Moono Mupotola, said a partnership between governments and the private sector was key to speeding up the implementation of TFA.

"African customs and the private sector must cooperate to facilitate smooth implementation of TFA since it promises benefits to both sides-in terms of improved revenue collection and ease of doing business," Mupotola said. Endit