African free trade pact kicks off despite legal hurdles, rigid systems
Streamlining procedures on Mombasa port congestion and transit cargo handling, will result in savings to the Kenyan economy of between $150 million and $250 million annually. PHOTO | FILE
January 1 has come and gone and the continent is waiting with bated breath to see how the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) pans out.
But according to the World Customs Organisation (WCO), contradictory and outdated laws and regulations, resistance to change and lack of transparency in Customs administration operations in most African countries have been identified as major challenges to ensuring free trade takes off and continues uninterrupted in the operational phase starting this month.
