African informal trade worth $93bn annually — Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo Thursday left Abuja, on a short visit to Arusha, Tanzania, where he was expected to be received by his Tanzanian counterpart, Dr Philip Mpango.

While in Arusha, Prof. Osinbajo would visit the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR), an African Union agency, among other engagements before he returns to Abuja on Monday.

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Meanwhile, the Vice President has said that authorities across the continent must take the right policy actions to actualise limitless opportunities for the industrialisation of Africa as contained in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He said this in a message he delivered Thursday at a ‘Roundtable on Industrialisation in Africa’ themed “Positioning African Industries for Economic Transformation and Continental Free Trade”, organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to celebrate its golden jubilee.

He said such actions include the protection of local industries and improving value chains.

“We must take policy actions to create an environment in which businesses can thrive. To start with, we must adopt the right type of macroeconomic and industrial policies.

“This will go a long way in creating the desired continental payments system and also in facilitating cross-border informal trade which is estimated to be about $93 billion per annum.”