AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene has underscored the need to make rules of origin practical and effective, stressing that they must function both in production facilities and at border points.
“We must keep borders efficient, reduce non-tariff barriers, and make rules of origin work at the factory and at the border. And we must ensure women, youth, and small businesses are not left out of the AfCFTA market,” Mene said.
He was speaking in Accra at a farewell lecture for Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of Afreximbank, where he noted that building an integrated African economy requires tackling long-standing hurdles that limit cross-border trade.
Beyond rules of origin, Mene pointed to border efficiency and the removal of non-tariff barriers as urgent priorities. Delays at checkpoints, excessive bureaucracy, and hidden trade restrictions, he said, continue to stifle intra-African commerce and weaken the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
He also highlighted initiatives such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), the Adjustment Fund, and the MANSA due diligence platform, which he described as practical measures already helping to lower transaction costs and build trust across borders.
“These are more than programmes. They express a single vision: a self-reliant Africa that trades with itself, invests in its own potential, and shapes its future with purpose,” Mene remarked.
Rules of origin, a key component of AfCFTA, set the criteria for determining whether a product qualifies as African-made and can benefit from preferential tariffs.
Mene stressed that making them work in real production and border processes will protect the integrity of Africa’s single market and strengthen regional value chains.
