Botswana has signed a declaration to be part of the $3 trillion continental free-trade zone in the future, despite not signing up to become part of the free trade bloc during a signing ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda on Wednesday. Chief Negotiator within the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Phadza Butale told this publication on Friday in an interview that the reason they did not sign to be part of bloc just yet was simply because of constitutional processes that have to be followed before such a decision can be taken. “This is for the private sector, therefore we have to make consultations with them first before taking up those consultations within government before Cabinet can make a decision,” Butale said, explaining that other countries that signed this week may be that their leaders have been conferred with powers to do so in the absence of any consultations. Botswana is one of the countries which stayed away from signing the agreement, along with continental heavyweights like Nigeria and South Africa. Others that stayed out of the bloc are Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia, Burundi, Eritrea, Benin, Sierra Len and Guinea Bissau. Butale said even then, the annexes of the agreement are…