Public Agenda (Accra)
6 October 2008
editorial
The 6th African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Summit ended in Accra last Friday, at which the issue of the controversial Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) featured prominently.
The interim EPAs are free trade agreements that deal only with trade in goods. African countries signing onto the agreements must thus eliminate tariffs on basically all European goods.
Some have argued that African countries stand the risk of losing substantial amounts of revenue upon signing the final EPAs. A study has shown for instance that in Kenya, a total of $39.5 million could be lost whilst Ghana could lose up to $162 million.
Be that as it may that these objections are not well founded, events at the Accra Summit clearly indicate that a lot more remains to be ironed out if ACP countries are to benefit at all from any such agreements as matters now stand.
It was not for nothing that the Co-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Ms Glenys Kinnock, urged the EU to show flexibility and not insist on comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) because individual countries believe they would be better served by simple Free Trade Area agreements.
It was equally not for nothing that she further called on the ACP and EU to confirm their commitment to their partnership based on respect, adding that the cross-continent solidarity had to be nurtured and cherished.
Ms Kinnock reminded the EU that ACP has in its ranks the most vulnerable Least Developed Countries and said the call for special and differential treatment is absolutely justified.
There is no denying the fact that some of these ACP countries are the least developed in the world. As such, it should be very unfair and unfortunate for them to be lured into agreements that would further exacerbate their plight.
Even before the summit, Civil Society Organizations had mounted pressure on ACP countries not to rush into signing the agreements which they believed had the potential to rub farmers in these countries of the fruits of their labour.
Indeed, farming in many of these ACP countries has been on the basis of subsistence.
Events at the summit clearly indicate that indeed, the EPAs, with their seemingly alluring packages, do not after all provide the solution to the problems affecting farmers and other small scale industries in ACPs countries.
It is the considered opinion of Public Agenda that, ACP countries, particularly those in Africa, take their time to scrutinize and satisfy themselves of what they are doing before going into any agreements on behalf of their nations. In so doing, the express interest of the long suffering masses of these countries must be the guiding principle.
It is welcoming though that one of the recommendations at the end of the summit is for Heads of Governments of ACP countries to further engage in high level consultations on the EPAs with a number of EU member states.
It is the hope of this newspaper that the Heads of Governments of African countries will go into these high level consultations well armed and prepared to fight for the interest of their peoples. The people of Africa are watching. The leaders must not betray their trust.
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