At least 14 countries will trade freely within East, Central, and Southern Africa from Thursday, July 25 following the ratification of a Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement that flattens the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) into a single commerce bloc.

This follows the submission of instruments of ratification by 14 out of the 29 partner states making up the Tripartite, thus meeting the threshold required for the TFTA to enter into force.

 “Malawi, Lesotho, and Angola are the latest member states to ratify the agreement making it 14 countries. It takes effect on July 25, 2024,” Christopher Onyango, Director of Trade and Customs at the Comesa Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia, said.

 “This means that member states can start trading. But there are technical things which have to be put in place before they can begin trading freely.”

The other countries that have ratified the agreement include Botswana, Burundi, Egypt, Eswatini, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, and Zambia.

 “In a significant way, it addresses the problem associated with membership in multiple regional economic communities,” said Onyango.

 The Tripartite offers full liberalisation of tariff lines and elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade.

 The Tripartite configuration also presents best practices in fostering transport and trade facilitation instruments and value chain development at regional levels which are key to boosting intra-African trade.

 Among the key challenges hindering the operationalisation of the TFTA is the absence of a dedicated secretariat and institutional structure to coordinate and implement its programmes and activities.

 “Presently, coordination is being conducted on a rotational basis among the three RECs. Therefore, the first thing the Tripartite will have to do is come up with a regional headquarters to coordinate its activities,” said Onyango.