The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has said Africa
cannot continue to be defined as a big market while offering little or nothing
in terms of trade among the countries of the continent.
The Minister, who described the services rendered by Customs
organizations as driving forces for regional integration and trade facilitation,
called on the Directors General of Customs agencies in Africa to ensure
significant increase in the volume of trade among countries in the continent.
She said: “We need an Africa focus. We cannot continue to be the world’s biggest market for anybody who wants to sell anything.“We need to come to the trade-table book as equal partners selling as well as buying. That is trade. And we must correct some of these historical imbalances that have made our economies very vulnerable.”
Similarly, Chairman of the Senate committee on Customs,
Senator Hope Uzodimma, urged the service to look into the issues that affected
the poor trade volume of the continent.
“I equally assume that you shall into the very poor showing of African countries in global trade which the world trade organization (WTO) currently puts at about three percent compared to the 10 percent it was in 1950.“The WTO also ranks intra-African trade as the least in the world compared to other regions. Intra-African trade is put at about 12 percent, which is not only the lowest in the world but also the most stagnant,” he said:
Uzodimma further called for the digitization of Customs
services to enable them discharge their mandate better and contribute to a more
conducive business environment.
According to him, lack of automation and marginal use of
information technology was yet a major bane of trade facilitation in Africa.
He stressed that the waste of time and money at customs
clearing point does not facilitate trade.
In his remarks, the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian
Customs Service (NCS) Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) said it has become necessary for
Customs organizations in Africa to forge a united front in removing the
barriers of trade, and promoting economic development in the continent.
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