AGOA LOSS COST SD E600 MILLION

MBABANE – Apart from the mass job losses, especially in the textile sector, the regained access to African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) also cost the country nearly E660 million.    

The Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce (FSE&CC) Chief Executive Officer Bonisiwe Ntando has disclosed that AGOA had been severely underutilised in the past and it had been incorrectly perceived as a benefit only for the textile industry.
She said despite this underutilisation, textile and apparel imports by the USA were in the amount of approximately E661 500 000 (US$55,125, 000) in 2014 and after the loss of AGOA eligibility, they had declined to approximately E6 744 000 (US $562 000) by June 2017, which represented a 98 per cent decline in trade.

“In this regard, this textile trade should be re-established soonest and opportunities in other product lines such as timber, sugar and minerals should be explored,” Ntando advised.  
The CEO said it should be remembered that AGOA is not a magic wand that will lead to overnight success. She pointed out that it remains incumbent upon each potential exporter to find links in the US market and to identify the most reliable and cheapest transport means which requires diligent research and marketing.

Ntando said a number of countries such as Mauritius, Tanzania, Lesotho, Madagascar, Kenya, Ghana, and Ethiopia and most recently, Botswana developed a National AGOA strategy, to garner maximum returns on the available AGOA opportunities.

The CEO said Swaziland led by the ministry of commerce, industry and trade and working closely with social partners such as the business federations, the US embassy and the USAID Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub, should work together soonest to produce such a strategy.

“There still remains a large proportion of small scale business persons who would like to take advantage of these opportunities but cannot not do so because of the inability to access credit facilities as well as a general lack of awareness or understanding of the technicalities of this Agreement,” said Ntando.

The CEO mentioned that initiatives to improve access to credit and awareness on AGOA opportunities and processes ought to be strengthened by both government and the private sector.
Minister of Finance Martin Dlamini also shared similar sentiments; he said AGOA re-admission was expected to greatly improve the country’s economy. He disclosed that there had already been a number of investors that showed keen interest to inject their money into the kingdom. 

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