28 June 2007, Accra, Ghana - Today Africans are seeking to have a common identity for themselves where they will not be divided by artificial boundaries even along the same ethnic groupings. We are seeking a common identity where the youth specially see themselves as one and promote the development of the continent together.
We have the opportunity to celebrate the independence won for us by our grandparents which serve as a platform to launch our agenda for a union government in Accra during the 9th Ordinary Cession of the head of states summit. We the youth of Africa are deeply concerned that our heads of states would throw away the hard won independence and jeopardize our future by signing onto the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) which are free trade agreements between European Union and African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries come December 31 2007.
We are conscious of the fact that the signing of these Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) will accelerate the death of our local productivity specially our sensitive sectors and undermine our pursuit and efforts towards regional integration.
We believe that healthy partnership can be effective between two economies only when they are at the same level of development. It’s regrettable that the European Union; which is a higher level of development; instead of seeking to establish effective means of helping us to develop is rather looking for the so call partnership which will only benefit them at the end of the day.
We are witnesses to the harmful effects of the current level of importation of artificially cheapened goods and services on our local productivity even at the current tariffs levels.
We believe that signing onto the free trade EPAs, which will erode all forms of tariffs on artificially cheapened European goods and services that enjoy high government subsidies, will transform into our market into virtual dumping grounds and destroy our productive capacities.
We are citizens of countries where 40% of our trade is with the European Union and about 40% of our total revenue comes from tariffs. Country assessments on the EPAs demonstrate that our economies will suffer huge revenue loss under EPAs which implies our inability to finance essential services such as health, education, security etc.
We believe that EPAs will facilitate the collapse of the critical linkages between our sectors of production such as agriculture and industries, which have ripple effects on the level of unemployment, marginalization, and political stability and escalate our level of poverty. This will impede our desire to establish regional integration and threaten African Unity.
Based on our analysis these are among other points which constitute the stakes for African youth as far as EPAs are concerned:
Decreased access to social services such as education and health because of government loss of revenue and repatriated profits and inaccessibility to goods and services which will be owned by foreign corporate interests
Increased levels of unemployment in our countries due to collapsed nascent industries and its linkages to sensitive productive sectors
Further loss of talented and energetic African youth to Europe because of lack of opportunities in Africa
We the youth of Africa are therefore looking forward to an African led integrating process that will develop intra state trading system. Free of harassment at the various boarders and checkpoints.
We strongly urge our brothers and sisters to join in solidarity to stop the EPAs by lobbying our governments, sensitizing and mobilizing others and inciting debates on this critical issue.
We further demand Africa’s leaders to consider our future and Africa’s development which is entrusted in their hands and not sign the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union.
African Youth Coalition against EPAs
ABIBIMAN FOUNDATION (Ghana) PEACE, AYCAH, RJJS (Senegal)
