Tuesday, May 27, 2025
28.9 C
Lagos

African Free Trade Body Laments Low Regional Integration

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) marks a momentous milestone for Africa but preliminary findings of the upcoming 2019 African Regional Integration Index, released at the on-going Conference of Ministers in Morocco on Saturday, indicate that regional integration in Africa remains low.
The Index, known as ARII, was set up to monitor and evaluate the status of economic integration among African countries and provides a basis for member States to track their progress.
The findings reveal that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is the most integrated region in terms of trade, with South Africa as the most integrated country on the continent.
In the five areas that were analysed – trade integration, regional infrastructure, productive integration, free movement of people and macroeconomic integration – South Africa topped the ranking; with South Sudan as the least integrated mainly because of its modest performance in regional infrastructure and financial integration.
Meanwhile, integration in services, contributed more than 53% of the continent’s GDP, but ratification of the protocol on the free movement of people has been slow, despite the 2016 launch of the Common Electronic Biometric African Passport, and the AU Protocol on Free Movement of Persons. The Continent’s large infrastructure deficit remains a major hindrance to intra-regional trade.
“It is up to Africans themselves to ensure that the initiative benefits them through hard work and efficient implementation of the mechanisms of the CFTA,” says David Luke, Co-ordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre, Regional Integration and Trade Division of Economic Commission of Africa (ECA).
Leila Mokadem, Country Manager and Resident Representative in Morocco for the African Development Bank (AfDB) added that despite the “tremendous” political support for the AfCTFA, there are still major challenges ahead in terms of implementation and pushing the agenda forward to meet the goal of increasing intra-African trade to 25% by 2023 from between 15% and 18% currently. She cited weak productive capacity in Africa, high production costs, large infrastructure deficits and other challenges that affected Africa’s competitiveness. This is compounded by the number of small markets and 16 landlocked countries.

“We cannot gloss over the challenges, but it is important to underscore the fact that it cannot be business as usual if Africa is to progress.”
The final ARII and the accompanying Assessing Regional Integration in Africa IX Report will be released later in the year.

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

P+ Measurement CEO, Philip Odiakose Launches Book on PR Measurement, Evaluation

Philip Odiakose, one of Africa’s leading media intelligence experts...

Leadway Group Champions Literacy for 10,000 Children with Third Edition of ‘Pages to Places’ Initiative

Leadway Group, one of the foremost non-banking financial services...

Digihub Launches Hackathon for Nigerian Innovators, Tech experts, Others to Develop Solutions to Real-World Challenges

  Winners to receive cash rewards, mentorship, others Digihub Technology...

#NoNoiseJustSigns: Access Bank Unveils N200m DiamondXtra Season 17 Program to Reward Customers

L–R: Echezona Ezeuko, Regional Sales Manager, Festac Region, Access Bank...

Stanbic IBTC Insurance Achieves ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Recertification

Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC...

Topics

IDC: Cloud Tech is Top Investment Priority in Next 5 Years

The potential for cloud technologies to break down silos...

NCC Donates Four CBT Centres to JAMB

In order to augment facilities for smooth conduct of Computer Based Tests (CBT) by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has built and donated four of such centres to the examination board. This was disclosed recently by Acting Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, when JAMB officials paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja. The four centers are located in Kano, Niger, Bayelsa and Oyo states. The centres are equipped with computers, printers, other accessories and Internet connectivity.

Global Airlines Financial Monitor: December 2016

The latest round of financial results from Q3...

NDIC’s Achievements on Financial Inclusion Showcased at 2022 International Confab

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) plays a critical...

Stanbic IBTC Reports N83bn Profit in 2020, Holds AGM May 27

In its audited financial statements for the period ended...

Leadway Capital & Trusts Targets Leadership Position in Trusteeship Industry

L-R: Risk and Compliance Officer, Leadway Capital and Trusts...

NNPC Admits PMS Supply Crisis Due to Alleged $6bn Financial Strain

NNPC Limited has acknowledged recent reports in national newspapers...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img