Zim man elected Pan-African Chamber of Commerce VP

Mr Hlanganiso Matangaidze

Published: 12 December 2013

MUTARE businessman and Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president, Mr Hlanganiso Matangaidze, was recently elected Pan-African Chamber of Commerce fourth vice-president.

The elections were held during a three-day PACCI conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which ran from November 28 to 30 and was attended by a number of African countries.

The other elected officers were presidents of the following national chambers, Ghana (president), Ethiopia (1st vice-president), Algeria (2nd vice-president) and Congo Brazzaville (3rd vice-president). They will be in the office up to 2018.

Burundi, DRC, Morocco, Nigeria and Seychelles became council members.

The conference ran under the theme: "The Continental Free Trade matters for Africa."

Mr Matangaidze said one of the key issues discussed was the need to have effective investment policies and regulatory relief on countries facing different socio-economic challenges and transformations.

"We also looked at the need to have legal reform and amendments to trade promotion agreements for some countries under the African Free Trade Zones, to consider countries under complicated economic transformation like Zimbabwe.

"But above all it was agreed that the primary achievement of the conference should be to improve Africa's economy and improve each member state's big business and industry," said Mr Matangaidze.

The ZNCC president said through PACCI, the continent would have the opportunity to speak with one voice against the archaic models of trade, where multi-national foreign investors take away all the profits to their countries of origin outside Africa.

"That colonial system of trade has not worked for Africa and it is time we change and think outside the box

"We should make sure Africa makes the most out of its natural resources. We should not just export raw materials but add value, create jobs and linkages throughout the continent," said Mr Matangaidze.

According to a Press release by PACCI, delegates said time was ripe for Africa to realise its potential and boost intra-African trade to develop the continent.

In his opening remarks, Ethiopian Prime Minister, Ato Haile Mariam Dessalegn, said it was time Africa becomes self conscious of its potential.

"Sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing region in the world-and if current trends are something to go by, Africa will be another economic power to be reckoned with and the next important pole in its own right," he said.

During the conference, participants reviewed in six parallel meetings the Action Plan and programme of activities proposed by the African Union to address the continental constraints in the trade policy, trade facilitation, production capacity, trade-related-infrastructure, trade finance, and factor market integration.

With 35 founding national business chambers, PACCI is the most representative business organisation on the continent. It advocates for pro-business policies that create jobs and grow Africa's economy with the aim of becoming Africa's leading business lobby organisation providing a voice for business at the continental and global level.

- manicapost