APA-Cape Town (South Africa) Africa needs to improve the quality of its infrastructure if the dream of a single continental market is to become a reality, South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile has said.
Addressing delegates during the African Continental Free Trade Areas’ (AfCFTA) Business Forum in Cape Town on Tuesday, Mashatile said infrastructure issues in Africa needed to be addressed to assist in accessing markets continent-wide.
“There exists continental-wide consensus on the need for Africa to reduce structural and regulatory barriers to market entry, and to invest in the necessary infrastructure to facilitate intra-African and global trade – moreso road and maritime infrastructure,” he said.
He added: “The quality of much of the continent’s maritime, road and railway infrastructure are less than satisfactory.”
He noted that there were few road links, generally poor road infrastructure maintenance and limited regional road linkages throughout the continent’s five regions.
Mashatile, however, noted that the continent was moving in the right direction towards a single African market and progress was being made.
“We are well on our way to creating the world’s largest single free trade area, with 1.3 billion people and a GDP of $3.4 trillion,” Mashatile told the delegates.
To date, 54 of the 55 countries on the continent have signed the agreement,” he said.
He noted that by February this year 47 of the 54 signatories had deposited their instruments of ratification with the continental body.
NM/jn/APA