ACHIEVING THE AFRICA WE WANT THROUGH BETTER REGIONAL INTERGRATION
In May 2013, during the Golden Jubilee of the African Union (AU), member states reasserted their dedication to the Pan-African vision: that Africa’s challenges should be solved by Africans themselves in order to achieve “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena”. The very same year Agenda 2063 launched. This new strategic framework was designed to set Africa on a course for inclusive growth, sustainable development and overall transformation into a global powerhouse.
Just as the founding members of the AU agreed at the time that a united vision with an integrated approach was paramount for the continent’s socio-economic development, we must sustain this Pan-African vision today. The Ubuntu philosophy, in which we are all bound together, must play a central role in achieving the ‘Africa we want agenda’ by promoting a higher level of social inclusiveness and ownership solutions.
Africa must unite to achieve the African renaissance. The continent’s sustainable development must be seen and felt as everyone’s duty, and not left to a select few. Each and everyone must feel compelled to contribute to building the Africa we want. The concept of ownership solutions is particularly important. In order to achieve the Pan-African vision, citizens should be encouraged to play an active part in creating sustainable solutions, incentivising and significantly improving the chances of success.
Although Africa remains a continent composed of 54 diverse countries, today there is a renewed understanding that what divides us is less important than what unites us: centuries of overlapping culture and history, development challenges, quest for dignity, credibility on the world scene. Therefore, the common interests we have in promoting the closest possible political and socio-economic ties across national boundaries must be prioritised. Better regional integration is a central piece of achieving the AU’s Agenda 2063 goals.
The idea of better regional integration is not a new one, rooted in the post-colonial Pan-African movement of the 1960’s, it was already the dream of many African leaders at the time. However, for various reasons, including lack of coordination and continuous cooperation with former colonial powers, the regional integration dream has struggled to get off the ground. Whilst smaller scale attempts at furthering regional socio-economic cooperation and integration were made, such as with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for instance, there is still a lack of intra-African cooperation and coordination.
The recently implemented African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the latest attempt to achieve intra-African integration. The AfCFTA is now the largest free trade zone in the world with a combined GDP of over US$ 3.3 trillion and a population of more than 1.2 billion people. Breaking down tariff barriers alone will spur trade by at least 53% while the elimination of non-tariff barriers could double intra-African trade, according to the Africa Regional Integration Index 2019. Yet, once again the success of this endeavour will heavily depend on the implementation of free movement of people, a cornerstone of intra-African integration, which is beneficial to both traders and investors as it enables them to operate more seamlessly.
Furthermore, regional integration means more than just the movement of people, goods and services between African nations, it also means better data transmission to allow for the flow of information and tools needed for higher value-added sectors to grow.
A prosperous Africa should be an integrated one, in which each and every African has the opportunity to contribute in building the Africa we want. An integrated Africa would have a stronger voice in world affairs than a multitude of divided and weak countries. There is a great need for a more holistic approach to intra-African integration as it cannot solely be achieved simply through political initiatives or economic dynamics. Only through collective action, better coordination and robust cooperation will we be able to achieve the socio-economic goals outlined in the AU’s Agenda 2063.
