PAN-AFRICANIST TANA

Oct 24 , 2020.

President Sahle-worq Zewde (right) walks the halls of Sheraton Addis last Tuesday with Yonas Adaye (PhD) (centre), director of the Institute for Peace & Security Studies, and Lettie Tembo Longwe, interim director at the Africa Peace & Security Programme, for the Tana High-level Security Forum in Africa. It was the first day of what would be a week-long event.

The President and officials of African countries who attended the event had to make do with an unfamiliar environment for the Forum, which was held in Addis Abeba instead of where it used to be, in Bahir Dar on the shores of the Lake from which the Forum gets its name. The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak also inspired a virtual dialogue that took place in September on the major theme of Tana Forum’s ninth year – the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The first day was dedicated to the prevailing issue of the year, COVID-19, and on rebuilding following the expected losses to the economy it has wrought, which could be as high as 237 billion dollars, according to the African Economic Outlook for 2020. Also on the agenda was honouring two late Africans in the Meles Zenawi Lecture Series: Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa and Thandika Mkandawire (Prof.), a Malawian economist recognised for his influence on African developmental scholarship.

But the main theme of this round of the Forum was the AfCFTA, an initiative by African Union member nations to form a trading bloc that is expected to improve trade within the continent by 52pc after becoming operational. It was discussed at the Forum as a tool for realising the idea of Pan-Africanism on a continent that has some of the most restive regions in the world, including the Horn of Africa. The ideal was described to have hit a snag as a result of artificial borders and the constraints to the movement of goods and services that have been created.

“This pandemic, and the multifaceted disruptions it has caused, have shown us the importance and value of inter-Africa trade more than ever before,” said President Sahle-worq.

PUBLISHED ON Oct 24,2020 [ VOL 21 , NO 1069]

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