Developmental regionalism and the success prospects of Africa’s continental free trade area (CFTA): lessons from Africa’s early integration experience

ABSTRACT This paper argues that Africa needs to adopt a more pragmatic approach to its regional integration agenda in order to increase the prospects of the objectives of the Continental Free Trade Area. The paper examines the political economy realities of Africa’s integration and highlights certain contextual challenges that have created a gap between the continent’s regional integration stated intentions and objectives as contained in the Abuja Treaty forming the African Economic Community (AEC) and the attainment of the identified integration milestones within the identified timeframes. The disparity between identified objectives and implementation realities requires that Africa should evaluate its chosen approach to integration before embarking upon another project like the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) in order not to repeat the failures of the past. Such an evaluation should bring the continent to revisit its current disproportionate emphasis on market integration and pursuit of a trade liberalization agenda in favour of a developmental regionalism approach to integration. A developmental regionalism approach is one that seeks to promote mutually beneficial trade amongst African Union member states while placing an equal amount of emphasis on industrial development and the upgrading of regional value chains that are a prerequisite for transformative industrialization. For the CFTA to succeed, Africa would need to place much emphasis on cooperation on cross border infrastructure investment and development, while continuing its efforts aimed at the harmonisation of standards and related trade facilitation measures. This change of emphasis to adopt a developmental regionalism approach it is argued would yield greater developmental benefits and increase the success prospects of the CFTA.