Opportunities to increase trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will only be realised if corridors are developed to facilitate the smooth f low of goods.According to John Rocha, chief director, Trade Invest Africa at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), corridors play an important role in economic development, connecting African countries not only with each other but the rest of the world.Speaking during a recent Transport Forum, Rocha said while the AfCFTA created a favourable environment, much depended on successful corridors.“South Africa’s trade with Africa has continued to grow from around R9 billion in 1994 to over R300 billion. It has decreased slightly in the past year, but that has to do with the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said. “The start of trade under this agreement in January this year creates a lot of opportunity – and as South Africa it is in our best interests to position ourselves and discuss with business what we need to do to leverage the good experiences we have had developing corridors to stimulate trade.”He said the country had played a major role in identifying, scoping and developing a number of corridors in the region such as the Maputo Development Corridor, the Trans-Kalahari Corridor and the North-South Corridor.“The Trans-Kalahari Corridor is one of the most successful, connecting Gauteng via Botswana to Namibia. If one looks at what has been achieved along this corridor then it becomes clear why they play such a critical role. Major development nodes in Namibia and Botswana now fall along this very corridor, and there is still a lot of room for expansion. Namibia remains one of the countries with the largest export potential for South Africa. We estimate at least a billion dollars of untapped potential.”He said the Maputo Development Corridor was another example of what could be achieved through corridor development. Admitting that the ball had been dropped on this corridor in recent years, Roche said efforts were under way to revive the corridor and stimulate economic growth. An initiative is already under way involving several stakeholders – including government and the private sector as well as the likes of the Minerals Council, the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff ) and Agribusiness.“One of the corridors that we have struggled with is the North-South,” said Roche. “It has incredible potential and it is critical that we get this corridor right if we are serious about growing intra-African trade. Through this corridor we are linking the Port of Durban right up into Tanzania and Kenya, even Ethiopia has expressed interest in more trade if this corridor is efficient. It is the backbone of trade on the African continent, and for some reason we have just not been getting it right.” South Africa has played a major role in identifying, scoping and developing the Maputo Development Corridor, the Trans-Kalahari Corridor and the North-South Corridor.– John Rocha
