Kinshasa, April 3rd, 2021 (CPA) .- The Senate adopted, Friday, at the People’s Palace, the bill authorizing the ratification, by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of the agreement establishing the Free Trade Zone Continental Africa (ZLECAF), as adopted by the National Assembly on January 22nd, 2021, during its plenary chaired by its president, Prof. Modeste Bahati Lukwebo. Seventy-five senators present out of 109 who make up the Upper House voted yes, one no and two abstained. Minister Lucien Bussa reassured senators about the framing measures taken by the Congolese state so that the Congolese industry does not sink as a result of continental trade. Among these measures, there is the establishment of a commission to monitor this agreement.
As a reminder, the African Continental Free Trade Area (Zlecaf, ZLECA or ZLEC) is a free trade area project on the entire African continent. It brings together the tripartite free trade area, which includes the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) , with on the other hand, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Arab Maghreb Union and the Community of Sahelian States -Saharans. The objective of the project is to eventually integrate all 55 States of the African Union into the free trade area.
The decision to launch the continental free trade area project was taken in January 2012, during the 18th ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union. The year for the creation of this free trade area was set for 2017, but the negotiation process was launched in June 2015 in Johannesburg during the 25th. Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union. It was during this session that the objectives, the principles, the roadmap to create the AfCFTA were set.
In February 2016, the first Continental Free Trade Area Negotiating Forum took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The same month, a meeting was held in Abidjan to prepare for this forum, bringing together, in addition to the regional communities listed above, members of the United Nations, the African Union, the African Development Bank and members of the civil society. In May 2016, the second Continental Free Trade Area Negotiating Forum was held in Addis Ababa.
It aims to define the contours of the AfCFTA, all in collaboration with the United Nations and the African Union. On March 21st, 2018, 44 countries signed up at a summit in Kigali. A few other countries that have reservations do not join the project, such as Nigeria, Burundi, Eritrea, Namibia and Sierra Leone At the end of December, there remained only the ratification of 7 states out of the 22 necessary for its implementation.
On April 29th, 2019, the 22 state thresholds is reached with the ratification of Western Sahara and Sierra Leone On July 7th, 2019, the President of Nigeria, Muhamma du Buhari, and the President of Benin, Patrice Talon, sign the free trade agreement at an African Union summit in Niamey, Niger, bringing to 54 the number of signatory countries. Eritrea becomes the only African country not to have joined the AfCFTA On December 15th, 2019; Algeria approves the ratification of the free trade agreement.
On February 10th, 2020, after several days of debate, the South African Wamkele Keabetswe Mene was elected Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area. On November 11th, 2020, Nigeria approves the ratification of the free trade agreement On November 30th, 2020, Tunisia and Lesotho sign it in turn; the next day, Cameroon approves the ratification in turn. Morocco initiated a legislative process in 2019 to allow ratification of the agreement, but until December 2020, ratification had not yet taken place. In August 2020, the secretariat of the free trade area is inaugurated in Accra, Ghana. On January 1st, 2021, the AfCFTA is put in place for countries that have ratified the agreement, while this implementation was initially scheduled for July 1, 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
