Kenya loses bid to host African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat – KBC

Kenya has lost the bid to host the African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat to the West African nation of Ghana.

Kenya had offered free office space for the secretariat and pay for other amenities during a meeting with AU’s evaluators in May this year.

In settling for Ghana the review committee said though Nairobi had superior amenities and extensive experience in hosting major global meetings, Ghana was favored to enhance regional balance since the African Union headquarters are based in neighboring Ethiopia which borders Kenya to the North.

The review committee made the announcement following the African Union Heads of State summit held in Niger over the weekend.

Kenya which was bidding against Ethiopia, Egypt, Madagascar, Senegal, and the kingdom of Eswatini had offered to accommodate the secretariat in prime locations while offering staff working for the secretariat diplomatic treatment.

The secretariat will be in charge of coordinating and implementing the agreement by member states. 52 African nations have already signed the agreement to form a single market.

Following the announcement Ghanaian President Nana Akufo pledged to give donate 1 billion to the African Union to support various activities of the secretariat.

Kenya was one of the first countries to ratify the free trade area agreement that seeks to create the largest trading bloc in the world. The bloc seeks to eliminate intra Africa trade barriers.