Investors have been urged to ensure that African commodities are exported as single product so that they will not attract dual taxation.
Coordinator of African Single Market World Commodities Summit and Expo, Mr Angelo Peter made this suggestion at a commodities summit held on Friday at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The summit had the theme: African Single Market World Commodities Summit and Expo 2021 with Digital Economy in Africa.
“The Africa single market started on Jan. 1, and we are commencing global awareness for it and that is why we hold this summit,” he said.
Peter stated that the movement had started with various African Heads of State signing a document that stated that products coming out of Africa needed to be single when exported.
“So, at the end of the day, there will not be a situation of duplication of taxes,” he said.
According to him, there are certain products such as textiles that are given tax waivers when exported to countries like the U.S.
“For instance, some of the textile materials that go into America do not pay a single duty.
“For this reason, we want to enhance the textile industries by ensuring that the fashion designers do the right thing from Africa and export to the world,” he said.
Peter further stated that the summit was held to improve the investment system and digital economy of Africa, stating that Africa had lots of natural resources which could be used to grow the economy.
He said that the organisation was collaborating with various government and private organisations to make sure that their goal were achieved.
He mentioned some of the organisations as Nigerian Communications Commission, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Nigerian Aviation Management Authority, Veritas University, Nigerian Export Promotion council, among others.
Executive Chairman/CEO Nigerian Communications commission (NCC) Umar Danbatta, represented by Mr Austin Nwabunna, Director Digital Economy at the NCC, stated that the commission was making efforts in improving its matrix performance through its Strategic Management Plan (SMP).
According to Danbatta, the plan runs from 2020-2024 and it aligns with the mandate of the federal government on Digital economy.
“The switch to digital is affecting all areas of life and businesses; the world has been progressing digitally but the progress became more prevalent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
He further stated that there is an expectation of 60 per cent digital literacy, 70 per cent penetration and 90 per cent coverage by 2025.
He said that the growth in the digital sector would act as catalyst to boost the economy and ultimately impact on African commodities’ penetration to the global markets.
