Industrialisation secretary Adan Mohamed. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
Parliament has approved the continental free-trade zone pact,
making Kenya the first African country to offer legal backing to the
continental trading bloc.
The National Assembly
endorsed the report of the Defence and Foreign Relations committee that
recommended ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA) after it was tabled in the House by Industrialisation secretary
Adan Mohamed early this month.
The MPs at the same
time approved the ratification of the Common Markets for East and
Central Africa (Comesa), East Africa Community (EAC), Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC) AND Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA)
agreements.
“The committee recommends that, pursuant to
Section 8 of the Treaty Making Ratification Act, the House approves the
ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and
the Comesa-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA) as they are
in Kenya’s national interest,” Katoo ole Metito, who chairs the Foreign
Affairs committee said in the report that was unanimously approved.
The
AfCFTA pact is expected to establish a single market with duty-free
access among traders in order to spur industrialisation, infrastructure
development and economic diversification across Africa that is home to
more than 1.2 billion people.
Similarly, the TFTA deal
seeks to provide an expanded market for both manufactured and primary
goods for Kenyan products within a single economic space of the three
regional economic communities with a population of 625 million people.
“The
implementation of the TFTA agreement will resolve the challenges faced
with multiple memberships to regional economic communities,” Mr Katoo
said in the report.
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