African policymakers are intensifying efforts to overhaul customs administration across the continent as implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) exposes persistent bottlenecks at borders that continue to slow cross-border commerce.
Demitta Gyang, head of AfCFTA’s Customs Cooperation, Trade Facilitation, and Transit, said customs authorities sit at the center of the agreement’s trade-in-goods framework, responsible for enforcing tariff preferences, applying rules of origin and facilitating the movement of goods across borders.
Speaking on the AfCFTA Podcast, Gyang said the agreement’s customs-related provisions are anchored in annexes covering customs cooperation, trade facilitation and transit. These, she said, are designed to ensure that goods move “in an efficient and effective way” across participating states.
Customs agencies, she noted, are tasked with determining whether goods qualify for preferential tariff treatment under AfCFTA rules, including verifying origin status and applying reduced or zero tariffs where applicable. They also oversee transit regimes for goods passing through third countries en route to final destinations.
Despite this framework, implementation remains uneven. Gyang pointed to fragmented systems, limited digital integration and weak coordination between border agencies as key constraints undermining the agreement’s objectives.
According to her, AfCFTA implementation efforts are increasingly focused on digital trade facilitation tools, including electronic tariff books and digital certificates of origin, aimed at reducing paperwork and improving transparency. The goal, she added, is to enable what she described as an “unintegrated but harmonized customs system” across Africa.
However, field assessments of major trade corridors revealed deeper structural challenges. These include inadequate border infrastructure, non-interoperable IT systems and limited coordination among customs, immigration, standards and veterinary agencies.
Gyang also cited human capacity gaps at border posts, where awareness of AfCFTA rules remains inconsistent, limiting effective implementation of preferential trade provisions.
“The agreement is only as effective as its implementation at the border,” she said, underscoring that customs administrations account for the bulk of day-to-day enforcement of AfCFTA trade rules.
The AfCFTA, which seeks to create a continent-wide single market for goods and services, is increasingly shifting from negotiation to implementation. Officials say success will depend on whether member states can translate agreed rules into operational systems that function consistently across borders.
