Using high-profile technical expertise, the African Desk, undertake researches and development initiatives, provides technical recommendations to clients and participates in finding sustainable solutions as well as disseminate best practices to stakeholders.
We bring together stakeholders to find common solutions for common challenges. We believe in African Solutions for African Problems.
Since we are a neutral organization, we are in a better position to provide unbiased advice, notably to African governments and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as well as business communities.
THE AFRICAN TRADE FACILITATION AWARDS (ATFA)
INTRODUCTION
The Annual Africa Trade Facilitation Awards (ATFA) is one of the flagship programmes designed by the African Desk (www.africandesk.net) to stimulate efficiency in Africa’s trade facilitation as well as Transport and logistics sectors to achieve the organisations’ vision of seeing the African continent thrives through free, competitive and interactive intra-Africa trade coupled with seamless logistics & transport networks linking all regions of the continent, backed up by the ACFTA as the leitmotif of such revolution in trade.
The Douala –Bangui-Zongo Corridor is one of the main African transport axes that stretches from Cameron to Northern Democratic Republic of Congo via Central African Republic. The corridor has the potential to link trade between the West and Central Africa as well as linking the
Atlantic Ocean to Indian Ocean (East Africa). It constitutes an axis of the CEMAC community network. The 1,500 km long route is particularly essential to the trade of goods in the Central African Republic, a landlocked country. The road transport networks in the CEMAC offer difficult conditions.
Driving times from Douala to Bangui can reach 5 to 7 days. It is interspersed with numerous checkpoints and weighing stations. In October 2012, it was reported that it took 15 to 28 days to transport a container from Douala to Bangui.
African Desk is positioned to work with the ACFTA and other regional and continental stakeholders in unlocking the potential of the corridor. The intervention to this corridor includes conducting studies, undertake advocacy initiatives to bring stakeholders together, formation of the
Corridor Management Authority, provision of capacity building to experts and decision makers to be able to sustainably manage the corridor. These interventions will create some great economic benefits to the people of these countries through poverty reduction. It will also help donors
understand well the situation of the corridors for funding purposes.
The objective is to find out whether integration of DR Congo into EAC is really benefiting the members. The activities will include :
