South African Government Communications on approved agreement to establish Tripartite Free Trade Area

At its meeting at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on Wednesday, 9 May 2018, Cabinet approved the agreement establishing the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) be tabled in Parliament for ratification.

The Acting Director-General (ADG) of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), Ms Phumla Williams, said: “The establishment of the TFTA has been heralded as one of the most important developments in Africa. It responds to the need for Africa to overcome small fragmented markets and increases prospects of stimulating industrialisation, employment, income generation and poverty reduction. It further addresses the negative impact on industrialisation, economies of scale and competitiveness.”

“The TFTA is a key Africa-led project that is being done through the promotion of intra-African investments and attraction of more foreign investment into the free trade area (FTA). It is an important initiative in accelerating regional integration efforts aimed at improved intra-African trade,” Ms Williams explained.

The TFTA is anchored on the development integration approach that is based on three pillars: market integration, infrastructure development and industrial development. It also forms the basis for the ongoing African Continental FTA negotiations which will unlock trade and investment opportunities in the entire continent.

This is also aligned to South Africa’s National Development Plan objective of an integrated Southern African region with beneficial relations with the rest of the world. “As a result of regional integration efforts and stable economies, there has been strong growth in intra-African investments,” added Ms Williams.

Industrial Policy Action Plan

Cabinet also approved the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) 2018/19 – 2020/21. This is the 10th iteration of a rolling annual action plan aligned to successive three-year cycles of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

Minister Mokonyane said the revised IPAP summarises the achievements of the industrial policy over the past nine years.

“It provides an economic analysis of the global and domestic economy relevant to industrial policy, summarises the challenges and constraints to the optimal implementation of the industrial policy, as well as a range of transversal and sector-specific time-bound key action plans assigned to the respective departments.”

Source: tralac.org