Home

About RATES

Partners Fund

Newsletters

Photo Galleries

Useful Links

Cotton Program > Highlights

African Cotton and Textile Industries Federation Formed in Johannesburg South Africa

History was made on June 14th, 2005 when Sub-Saharan Africa textile industries' top executives agreed to form the "African Cotton and Textile Industry Federation (ACTIF) at a meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The meeting was organized with the assistance of the RATES that has agreed to act as the interim secretariat for the new entity.

This meeting followed the unanimous decision by industry executives to form an African cotton and textile industry body at the inaugural Regional Cotton & Textile Executive Summit held recently in Nairobi in April 2005. For the first time, this region now has the opportunity of becoming a unified and recognized voice in both regional and global trade affairs. ACTIF will serve as a nationally, regionally, and internationally recognized trade body established by the cotton, textile and apparel sectors. It will provide for effective regional representation at international forums and promote improved competitiveness of the industry in the global market place. The association will initially include East and Southern Africa covering the COMESA, SADC and EAC "blocks". However the new entity is not designed to be restrictive geographically and will subscribe to an "Africa wide" view that stresses private sector "ownership." It will be built on a strong allegiance of nationally based trade institutions that will form the constituency base. The association will strive to be inclusive of all sectors in the value chain, with a focus on trade issues. During the Johannesburg meeting, an Executive was elected together with four action committees: Global Trade Initiatives; Investment and Finance; inter-regional trade and supply chain; and production, ginning and lint trade.

Countries represented at the historical meeting included Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, and Swaziland. Other African countries will co-opt as the alliance builds on a permanent structure. Members present elected the interim executive committee chairman, Mr. Jas Bedi of Kenya. Executive committee members include Igsaan Salie of South Africa, Kersley Ramdoss of Madagascar, Okello Ocero of Uganda, P. Rajeswaran of Botswana, and the RATES Secretariat representative, Barry Fisher. The new organization will be represented at the forthcoming Corporate Council on Africa's US-Africa Business Summit in Baltimore, USA and at the Fourth AGOA Forum to be held in July in Dakar, Senegal.