Gen.
William Ward, former Commander of the United States Africa Command
(AFRICOM), delivering the third Babacar Ndiaye Lecture in Washington,
D.C., recently
To
ensure effective implementation of the African continental Free Trade
Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, African countries must address corruption
and abuse of power in the security sector as they could impede
and raise the cost of trade, Gen. William Ward, former Commander
of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), said in Washington
D.C. today.
Delivering
the third Babacar Ndiaye Lecture, which was organised by the African
Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on the sidelines of the Annual
Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund,
Gen. Ward said that corruption and abuse of power in the security
sector could become significant non-tariff barriers to trade and to
the success of the AfCFTA.
“Reforming
the security sector, particularly in countries that experience
conflict or serious security challenges, is a critical element of
conflict management, peace, and security and can provide a safe and
stable environment for political and economic growth,” he told
guests at the lecture.
Gen.
Ward also highlighted the importance of respect for the rule of law
in the implementation of the AfCFTA, saying that it would provide
traders and investors with the confidence to engage in cross-border
trade in the knowledge that legal commitments undertaken by countries
would be enforced and respected and that, should challenges arise,
they would have recourse through robust legal systems.
He
recommended regional approaches to dispute settlement and to ensuring
the quality of goods traded under the AfCFTA. “Failure to do so
could see rise in tension and could undermine integration efforts as
traders or consumers feel aggrieved by arbitrary restrictions or
sub-par or risky products entering their markets from other African
countries. These can lead to border closures or to an increase in
interstate tensions, especially if no legal avenue for recourse is
provided,” he added.
Gen.
Ward said that international investment into Africa and allowing
African economies to diversify and move up the technology frontier
would mitigate some of the global security challenges emanating from
migration as people seek opportunities outside the region.
“The
opportunities provided by the AfCFTA, coupled with investment by
development partners, could shift the patterns of migration from one
driven by security concerns to one driven by entrepreneurial spirit,
creating growth opportunities for receiving countries,” explained
Gen. Ward.
He
described security and development as two faces of the same coin and
said that robust and long-run economic growth rates were required to
narrow income gaps with between Africa and the world’s advanced
economies.
Earlier,
Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said that, while
Africa was not the theatre of instability or the source of current
global uncertainty, some parts of Africa had been the epicentre of
raging conflicts and insecurity which were undermining cross-border
trade. Those conflicts were increasingly triggered by geopolitical
dynamics.
Understanding
the sources and causes of conflicts and insecurity was, therefore,
important for creating a protective shield against crises and
episodes of war which had magnified risk perception across Africa, he
said. Those perceptions raised costs and undermined prospects for
long-term investment and regional integration in Africa.
Prof.
Oramah commended the vision of Dr. Babacar Ndiaye in identifying and
working tirelessly to establish institutions, such as Afreximbank, as
strategic instruments for accelerating economic development in
Africa.
“About
26 years later, the African Export-Import Bank—the Trade Finance
Bank for Africa, has become an important instrument in the quest for
Africa’s development and its effective integration into the world
economy as envisioned by Dr Ndiaye when he conceived the idea; it has
stepped in to correct market failures; filling trade finance gaps
when markets panic and being a partner of choice to international
banks wary of African risks,” he said.
“Since
inception, Afreximbank has disbursed over $60 billion in support of
African trade and attracted about $70 billion into strategic sectors
of the African, economy using various instruments,” stated Prof.
Oramah. “Through the effort of Afreximbank, many African
entrepreneurs are now able to win and execute major public sector
projects across the continent.”
Dr.
Leila Ndiaye, daughter of Dr. Ndiaye, read a tribute to her father.
The
Babacar Ndiaye Lecture series recognises and immortalises Dr. Ndiaye,
who was President of the African Development Bank from 1985 to 1995,
for his many important contributions to Africa’s economic
development, in particular, his critical role in the creation of
Afreximbank.
Dr.
Ndiaye, who died in July 2017, was also behind the creation of
several other continental institutions, including Shelter Afrique and
the African Business Roundtable. He is credited with fostering the
emergence of many young entrepreneurs who are helping to build Africa
today.
The
event was attended by about 250 participants from African and global
banks, development finance institutions, the business community, the
diplomatic community, policy making institutions, the academia,
African and non-African ministries of finance, economy and
development, central banks, and global and African corporates
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