US President Barack Obama speaks during the Summit of the Washington
Fellowship for the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in
Washington, DC on July 28, 2014. The US is trying to organise a
mini-summit on South Sudan on the sidelines of the US Africa Summit this
week. AFP
While trade blocs in Africa have been emerging, the continent is yet to trade as a single entity with other regions. Carole Kimutai spoke to the deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission Erastus Mwencha on future trade prospects for the continent.
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In 2012, Heads of State of the AU decided
that Africa must establish the Continental Free Trade Area by 2017. What
is the progress on this?
Work has already started and the project will be
done in two phases. Phase I involves working with regional economic
communities like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(Comesa); Southern African Development Community (SADC); East African
Community (EAC); West Africa; Economic Community for Central Africa
States and North Africa to move towards a free trade area before 2017.
Phase II will involve bringing all these blocs together.
How far along are we in terms of integration?
When you talk of integration there are number of
schemes. There is integration where goods, labour and services move
freely. There is integration that also allows for capital movement.
There is also physical integration — unfortunately, in this area, we
have not done much.
What is the AU looking to do about physical integration?
We have developed a continent-wide framework known
as the Programme for Infrastructure Development for Africa (PIDA). The
programme is being implemented jointly with regional economic
communities; member states; the African Development Bank and the Africa
Commission for Africa.
The focus will now be on mobilising resources. We
have an annual financing gap of about $50 billion annually to close the
infrastructure deficit. We want Africa to have infrastructure that is
intra-Africa trade friendly and export friendly.
In which area is Africa lagging behind most?
We are lagging behind in the area of
infrastructure where over 40 per cent of our competitiveness is lost
because of the absence of or poor and inefficient infrastructure. The
continent only accounts for 2.5 per cent of global trade, with the
continent’s manufacturing sector only accounting for one per cent.
Our intra-African trade is the lowest in any
region at 12 per cent compared with about 40 per cent in North America
and about 60 per cent in Western Europe. Africa remains politically and
economically fragmented, with 54 small markets instead of one. Non-oil
and non-mineral exports remain low at an estimated one per cent since
1992.
What opportunities does Africa present to the rest of the world?
Africa has about 300 million middle class citizens
who provide a viable market. We now need to integrate this market so
that it turns into a powerhouse that can drive economies. Africa has
huge natural reserves. All we now need is to put in place good
governance structures to ensure resources benefit the people; that we
exploit them in a sustainable manner and also add value.
One of the roles of the AU is to promote
peace, stability and good governance as conditions for inclusive growth.
However, we are seeing a lot of intra-country conflicts.
We have set up the Africa Peace and Security
Architecture, which has five main goals: To monitor and identify trends
in society — they predict conflict. The second is the Panel of the Wise
that includes former heads of state and government.
They are able to approach any country that we feel
is harbouring conditions that could precipitate a conflict and offers
advice without being seen to interfere with a country’s internal
affairs. Those who accept the advice have been able to avoid conflict.
The third is mitigation management and conflict
resolution. At least 60 per cent of our time and effort is spent on
managing conflict within Africa. The fourth is post-conflict recovery,
where we support countries that have emerged from conflict to put
structures in place.
Do the trade agreements that individual countries have with bilateral partners affect Africa’s integration?
We must ensure the deals we are getting into are
in line with Africa’s agenda. We must make sure that what we commit to
is in the best interests of the continent.
What are your thoughts on China’s growing influence in Africa?
We have the Forum on China-Africa co-operation.
We know what Africa’s needs are and so the co-operation with China must
be based on the continent’s agenda. We need to negotiate as one
continent instead of as individual countries.
What will the next 50 years look like for the AU?
First, Africa should be one. Second, all countries
must have achieved middle income status — prosperity must spread across
the continent. Third, Africa must have a meaningful place in the global
arena. Fourth, the citizens of Africa need a peaceful continent.
We have also looked at trends that will influence
development in Africa, namely population, technology and resources. We
are developing milestones to inform us that we heading in the right
direction and at the right speed. We have reached out to all
stakeholders to help us develop the roadmap that will be adopted in the
2014 AU Summi
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