Uhuru Kenyatta Becomes First African President to Deliver This Deal

Kenya will next week become the first African country to deposit legal instruments ratifying the Africa Continental Free Trade Area at the African Union Commission.

This comes just a week after the National Assembly ratified the agreement that was signed in Kigali, Rwanda in March.

State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu during his weekly press briefing on Sunday revealed that the instruments are expected to be lodged with the AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki as a sign of Kenya’s commitment to the integration of all the 54 African states.

Esipisu stated: “Kenya attaches significant importance to the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement and AfCTA because of the huge market and investment opportunities that they will present to Kenya. That is why we want to be the first country to deposit our instruments of ratification.” 

[caption caption="State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu"][/caption]

President Uhuru Kenyatta was among 27 Heads of State that signed the protocol allowing for free movement of goods and services throughout the African continent during a ceremony held in Rwanda.

AfCTA, the protocol to the treaty established the African economic community, committed governments to remove tariffs on 90 percent of goods produced within the continent and eliminate the rest over time.

Additionally, the treaty targets to create the world’s largest single market of 1.2 billion people and GDP of Ksh340 trillion.

Currently, the intra-Africa trade is estimated to be around 12 percent, which is relatively low compared to other regions of the world.

Esipisu noted that the treaty will lead to the creation of wider and expanded African market with a combined population and a growing middle class, as well as a combined GDP of more than Ksh340 trillion.

[caption caption="President Kenyatta"][/caption]

“Kenya will continue to participate in the negotiations on the outstanding technical issues both at the Tripartite Free Trade Area and AfCFTA to secure its trade and economic interests and realise the dream of a single continental free trade area,” the State House spokesman maintained.