The UPSA Africa Trade Roundtable VI will come off on Monday October 24, 2022.

The event which is on the topic “Infrastructure, Supply Chain systems and AfCFTA” is a collaboration between UPSA Law and ACCA with media support from Joy Business.

The speakers for the event are Dr. Daniel McKorley, Chairman and Group CEO, McDan Group of Companies; Bernadette-Nchimunya Muzeta Malilwe, a Procurement Specialist and State Advocate, Attorney General's Chambers in the Ministry of Justice, Zambia and Johnson Kilangi, CEO, Lean Africa Consulting Limited, Kenya.

They will discuss the state of infrastructural supply on the continent relative to trade and the adjustments that need to be made to the infrastructural deficits in the short to medium-term, the actual potential impact of supply chain challenges to be encountered in the wake of these deficits and whether it is time for African governments to intensify the participation of private sector entities in the provision of public infrastructure and how can this prospect be leveraged as a tool of scalability for trade actors on the continent.

Proponents of AfCFTA argues that the existence of an adequate infrastructural base is vital for the effective operationalization of a free trade zone, adding, infrastructure provides the needed facilitation for the free movement of goods and services and underpins compliance with obligations under a trade deal.

On the other hand, the lack of a sound infrastructural base distorts supply chain dynamics and undermines market fluidity under any nascent trade regime.

Consequently, Africa and for that matter the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been said to suffer significant historical deficits in infrastructure and this could potentially undermine the smooth implementation of the AfCFTA at the micro level.