Ahead of the AU ministerial meeting on May 5-6 that will be discussing trade response to COVID-19 and state of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), several business leaders have signed a joint letter calling Ministers and Heads of State to ensure they abide by the deadline of July 1 for the Agreement to come into force.

The letter has been written in response to rumors in international media that the AfCFTA date of July 1 will be postponed until next year. The signatories say that there is no legitimate reason to postpone the AfCFTA even if they understand that a staggered approach can be used given current circumstances.

One of the signatories to the letter is Paulo Gomes, former Executive Director of the World Bank and Chair of Executive committee of AfroChampions. The AfroChampions network has been mandated by the African Union to coordinate private sector discussions around the AfCFTA. He said the ministers meeting next week had a duty to respect the current deadline. We understand certain parts of the AfCFTA are sensitive. The rules of origins and tariffs need time, but we can start with the trading of essential goods. Send a strong message to the world we are serious about the AfCFTA and to African businesses. With the private sector, the biggest beneficiary of the AfCFTA, with supply chains being disrupted globally is more urgent we have a functioning system within the continent to create continental supply chains.

In the letter, the signatories acknowledged that governments had been right to ensure that the immediate response was a health-related one. But the looming crisis in economics. 'The AfCFTA is an important tool to help stimulate investment and to create African value chains.'

There is no reason why the negotiations can't be virtual with the world in lockdown. We've seen scientists come together virtually to develop a cure against the virus, which 'shows that negotiations and talks can take place virtually.'

They also call for the work of the Secretariat which includes the recruitment of its staff can also continue to ensure the Secretariat is operational soon as lockdowns are effectively over.

The signatories are part of the AfroChampions network featuring some of the biggest names in Africa's private sector and whose patrons include Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo, former Presidents of South Africa and Nigeria respectively.