adminobstacles that hinder integration, by making strong commitments to reach these goals and by providing more resources to the AU and RECs.
Energy access and security constitute one of the greatest constraints on sustainable and inclusive growth. Despite the continent’s vast energy resources, its energy access lags far behind the rest of the world.
In addition, energy supply is hampered by inefficient utilities and weak cross-border collaboration in energy trade. Hence some sub-regions need to spur themselves further in order to harness the benefits of, for example, gas and power supply pools and regional energy markets.
The multiplicity of schemes holds back integration by imposing a huge burden on countries’ inadequate administrative and financial capacities and leading to conflicting obligations.
A smooth integration process is also held up by the lack of self-financing mechanisms for the RECs, limited progress on fostering production, integration and regional complementarities, or for developing regional infrastructure (especially transport and communications) to drive market integration.
The AU Commission has adopted several policy decisions and initiatives to accelerate regional integration. The AU has accomplished or initiated the following:
l Rationalisation of the RECs which has led to the recognition of eight RECs
l Elaboration and adoption of the African Charter on Statistics (ratification by countries in progress)
l Establishment of financial institutions (Article 19 of the Constitutive Act) and adoption of the founding texts of the African Investment Bank (ratification of protocol and statutes in progress)
l Adoption of an action plan for boosting intra-African trade and a roadmap for fast-tracking the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area by an indicative date of 2017.
Inter-regional co-ordination is growing among the RECs. For instance, Comesa-EAC-Sadc held their first tripartite summit in October 2008, where the heads of state and government of the three RECs agreed to institutionalise establishing a free trade area (FTA).
This tripartite FTA brings together 26 African countries, a combined population of 530 million people, and a total GDP of US$630 billion, which together represents 50 percent of Africa’s economic output.
This initiative has indeed galvanised the interest of Africa’s policymakers in a much broader Continental Free Trade Area, resulting in the decision by the AU Summit in January to fast-track it by an indicative date of 2017 and implement a comprehensive action plan to boost African trade.
Sadc has objectives, among others, to:
l Become a customs union by 2012, accomplish a common market by 2015, monetary union by 2016 and economic union by 2018
l Improve the business and investment climate and achieve convergence on selected macro-economic indicators. Enhance industrial competitiveness and diversify Sadc economies by promoting intra-regional trade, productive investment and technological co-operation.
Sadc is drafting a competition policy model aimed at fast-tracking creation of the common market.
The policy’s objective is to create the conditions that allow markets to function competitively for the benefit of consumers and businesses. Such a policy will ensure that co-operation is undistorted, in particular by preventing or removing public and private barriers to competition.
For the customs union, it has undertaken various studies, including one on the appropriate model and one on assessing the compatability of national trade policies. These formed the basis of further work.
In the area of infrastructure and services, Sadc continues to focus on the energy crisis that has hit several of its members.
Guided by its Energy Activity Plan, it is trying to put through key regional projects to generate around an additional 44 000MW.
In the short-term, it plans to rehabilitate some generation units to provide 1 700MW. On the free movement of people, Sadc has reached the stage that: Entry of citizens from a member country to another does not require a visa for up to 90 days; and the right to settlement consists of a permit given to a citizen of another member country to undertake an economic activity or profession, either as a salaried person or an investor.
Steps towards accelerating the free movement of goods, services and capital are seen in initiatives to harmonise customs procedures and instruments (including electronic exchange of data and a single customs administrative document).
Sadc has also accelerated free movement of goods, services and capital as seen in investment in trade facilitation software.
This information has been extracted from “Assessing Regional Integration in Africa V — Towards an African Continental Free Trade Area”. That report was compiled by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the AU and the African Development Bank and was presented to the continent’s Heads of State and Government at their Summit in Addis Ababa, in July 2012.
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