Poor Infrastructure Hindering Intra-African Trade — Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has underscored the urgent need for African governments to place a high priority on the development of quality road and rail infrastructure as a critical step toward reducing the cost of doing business and enhancing intra-African trade.
According to the president, the absence of efficient transport and logistics systems across the continent continues to hinder economic integration, limit trade among African countries, and inflate the cost of moving goods and services.
He stressed that without deliberate investments in interconnected infrastructure, Africa’s ambitions under frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would remain difficult to fully realise.
Speaking in an interview at the end of his three-day state visit to Zambia, President Mahama emphasised that African countries must move beyond policy discussions and channel substantial financial resources into building transport networks that link nations directly.
He noted that while African leaders often speak of boosting trade among themselves, the reality on the ground is that poor infrastructure makes it cheaper, in some cases, to trade with Europe or Asia than with neighbouring African countries.
“The logistical infrastructure for trading among ourselves is a problem, and that is why we must leverage the money to be able to put in that infrastructure. There must be trains running between Zambia and Ethiopia, and there must be trains running everywhere, so that we can carry heavy cargo more cheaply.
“There must be roads interconnecting our countries, and if we can put in that infrastructure, the trade networks will develop so that it is no more expensive to trade among ourselves.”
The president’s visit to Zambia focused on strengthening bilateral relations and discussing broader continental issues, including trade, infrastructure development, and regional integration.
