The African Union is undertaking various measures including a trade observatory and Africa intra-trade fair to boost the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) , commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission Albert M. Muchanga said.
In an exclusive interview with ENA, Commissioner Muchanga said that the Africa intra-trade fair that took place last year had a transaction of over 43.5 billion USD.
This demonstrates the extent to which African countries can unleash the exponential benefits from promoting intra-trade and further encourage investment in the continent.
‘So when those happen it means that they are going to increase investment flows across Africa and the suppliers are going to know their customers and what they need. So these are some of the activities that we are undertaking to promote the African free trade,’ he elaborated.
Stating that infrastructure is the critical thing towards accelerating the implementation of AfCFTA, Muchanga pointed out t
hat massive investment is needed to scale up the prevailing infrastructure.
Citing the African Development Bank (AfDB)’s assessment, the Commissioner indicated that Africa needs about 170 billion USD to develop the necessary infrastructure across the continent.
Furthermore, he added that capacity building of the member states is pivotal not only in building new infrastructures but also in effectively utilizing it for collective benefits.
Some of African countries have been supportive of the AfCFTA efforts in building infrastructures across the continent, he emphasized.
‘Here I can give an example, the railway between Ethiopia and Djibouti, then when go down south right now the US, UK and EU are teaming up to develop the Lobito Corridor, which is going to link Angola, DRC, and Zambia. And the Chinese are rehabilitating Tanzania-Zambia railway at a cost of about 1 billion USD,’ Muchanag said.
The AfCFTA aims to create a single market for goods and services and a liberalized market for goods and services to
enhance the movement of capital and people
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
WINDHOEK: The Windhoek High Court on Monday refused an application by Prosecutor General Martha Imalwa to appoint South African curators as administrators of assets belonging to incarcerated Fishrot suspects.
The Fishrot accused challenged Imalwa’s nomination to appoint South African curators Johan Engelbrecht and Coenraad Stander of Icon Insolvency Practitioners (Pty) Ltd.
Former justice minister Sakeus Shanghala, former fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau, his son-in-law Tamson Hatuikulipi, former Investec Asset Management Managing Director, James Hatuikulipi, Pius Mwatelulo and Ricardo Gustavo who are implicated in the fishing scandal instead want local curators, Harald Hecht and Pierre Knoetze, to be appointed.
Judge Orben Sibeya has ordered that Hecht and Knoetze be appointed as curators, replacing Ian Mclaren and David Brunei, who terminated their services.
‘The Prosecutor-General must pay the costs of the defendants’ counter-application together with the costs of the defendants for opposing her appli
cation. Such costs are to include costs of one instructing and one instructed counsel,’ Sibeya ordered.
In court documents, Imalwa however said that the two nominees, Hecht and Knoetze wrote a proposal to her in September last year, about their unwillingness to wait for years – depending on the criminal trial’s finalisation – before they can be paid for their services.
Shanghala and his co-accused were arrested in 2019 over alleged corruption in the allocation of fishing quotas in exchange for bribes.
Represented by South African lawyer Vas Soni, the suspects argued that Imalwa’s nominees will be based outside the country, causing serious operational and logistical challenges. They also argued that such an appointment has never been made in Namibia and that the fees that will be charged will be increased considerably.
‘The question arises as to why unusually a firm from outside Namibia ought to be appointed,’ Soni argued.
Imalwa indicated in court documents that she has not been able to secure a nominati
on for a Namibian curator, but ‘managed to find two suitable South African curators.’
Sibeya’s full judgment will be made available at a later stage.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency