posted on 2024-09-05, 22:30authored bySoumana Sako
The concern for regional cooperation and integration in Africa predates independence.
The period 1960-1980, however, witnessed the emergence of the major regional
integration schemes that pushed forward the Continent’s economic integration agenda.
Post-independence regional economic integration and cooperation efforts resulted in a
variety of initiatives with overlapping membership and mandates, making Africa the
region with the highest density of economic integration and cooperation arrangements.
Yet, these arrangements failed to impact positively on the Continent’s economic
performance. Inadequate political will and commitment to the process; high incidence
of conflicts and political instability; poor design and sequencing of regional integration
arrangements; multiplicity of the schemes; inadequacy of funding; and exclusion of key
stakeholders from the regional integration process are factors accounting for the
ineffectiveness. Despite Africa’s unsatisfactory track record in regional integration over
the decades, the case for cooperation and integration has become much stronger in recent
years, due to the fact that the continent is facing a number of major challenges, notably
globalization and the changing global economic and political environments, to which
enhanced cooperation and integration constitute an appropriate response. With the
emergence of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Africa’s regional economic
communities now have a more prominent role to play on the Continent’s integration
process. Enhanced regional cooperation and integration will provide the Continent
with a platform for effective participation in international negotiations. Regional
bargaining power and pooling of expertise are crucial to Africa in terms of a meaningful
contribution to reshaping the global economic order and protecting the interests of its
peoples. This is a challenge with significant capacity dimensions that need to be
addressed.