AFRICAN UNION AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN AFRICA, 2010 – 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page                                                                                                i

Approval Page                                                                                                     ii

Dedication                                                                                                   iii

Acknowledgement                                                                                             iv

Table of Contents                                                                                                v

List of Tables                                                                                                     vii

List of Figures                                                                                                      viii

List of Abbreviations                                                                                            ix

Abstract                                                                                                         x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION`

1.1 Background to the Study                                                                               1

1.2 Statement of the Problem                                                                              3

1.3 Objectives of the Study                                                                               4

1.4 Significance of the Study                                                                             4

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Literature Review                                                                                      5

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Theoretical Framework                                                                                  23

3.2 Hypotheses                                                                                                     32

3.3 Research Design              32

3.4 Method of Data Collection                                                              33

3.5 Method of Data Analysis                                                                               34

3.6 Logical Data Framework                                                                          35

CHAPTER FOUR:AFRICA’S REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND THE INTRA-AFRICAN TRADE    

4.1 Overview of African Regional Integration Agreements                          36

4.2 An Overview of Intra-African Trade 1960 – 2009                         

484.3 Post 2009 Regional Integration in Africa                                               59

CHAPTER FIVE: DEMOCRATIZATION PROGRAMME OF THE AFRICAN UNION AND THE CHALLENGES OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN AFRICA

5.1 AU Democratization Process in Africa from the Constitution Act of the Union                        85

5.2 Governance Challenges in Africa and the Role of the African Union                             116

5.3 The AU/NEPAD Peer Review Mechanism and the Democratization Process in   Africa                                                                                        127

CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

6.1 Summary                                                                                       134

6.2 Conclusion                                                                                       136

6.3 Recommendations                                                                               137

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Logical data framework                                                                  35

Table 2: Value of trade within groups in millions of USD and percentage shares of Africa’s trade                                                  54

Table 3: Average per cent share of import sources between 2000 and 2009                         

Table 4: Regional Integration: Value of Goods Exported within the African

Table 6: Level of regional Integration                                                                                    74

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Intra-REC exports, 2000 – 2009 (US$ millions)                                                      50

Figure 2: Intra-REC imports, 2000 – 2009 (US$ millions)                50

Figure 3: Overall direction of exports (per cent)                        55

Figure 4: Levels of regional economic integration                           73

Fig. 5: ECOWAS Trade with Other Regional Trade Blocs for 2007-2011                           77

Fig. 6: Intra-ECOWAS Trade as % Total Imports and Exports for Period 2007-2011         77

Figure 7: GDP growth forecasts                                        60

Fig 8: Economic Growth in Africa and Emerging and Developing Countries,

2010–2016                                                                                                                  82

ABBREVIATIONS

AU African Union

AAPAfrica Action Plan

ABR Africa Business Roundtable

ACBF African Capacity Building Foundation

AfDB African Development Bank

ADF African Development Fund

ADLG Autorité de Développement du Liptako–Gourma

AEC African Economic Community

AfT Aid for Trade

AMF African Monetary Fund

APRM African Peer Review Mechanism

ASF African Solidarity Fund 

CAADP Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program

CDP Community Development Program

CET Common External Tariff

CMO Corridor Management Organization

COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

CPIA Country Policy and Institutional Assessment

CRMA Climate Risks Management and Adaptation

DFID Department for International Development (UK)

EC European Commission

ECCAS Economic Community of Central African States

ECOWAP ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States

EPA Economic Partnership Agreement

ETLS External Trade Liberalization Scheme

EU European Union

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

FTA Free Trade Area

GCI Global Competitiveness Index

GDP Gross Domestic Product

IAIM Inter-African Insurance Market

ILO International Labor Organization

ISRT Interstate Road Transit

ITU International Telecommunications Union

IWRM Integrated Water Resource Management

MCLI Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative

MDG Millennium Development Goals

MTS Medium-Term Strategy

NBA Niger Basin Authority

NCTTA Northern Corridor Transit Transport Authority

NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development

NTB Non-Tariff Barriers

RASCOM Regional African Satellite Communications Organization

REC Regional Economic Community

RIS Regional Integration Strategy

RISP Regional Integration Strategy Paper

RO Regional Operations

SADC Southern African Development Community

SAD Single Administrative Document

SCB Statistical Capacity Building Program

SFCD Strategic Framework for Capacity Development

SPC Special Purpose Company

SSA Sub-Saharan Africa

SWARIP Support to West Africa Regional Integration Program

UK United Kingdom

UN United Nations

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

WTO World Trade Organization

IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the history of regional integration in Africa, what has motivated it, the different initiatives that African governments have pursued the nature of the integration process, and the current challenges. The study posed two research questions viz did the formation of Africa union (AU) led to increase in the volume of trade and free movement of people and goods among African countries between 2010 and 2016? Secondly did the Democratization Programme of the African Union lead to increase in political integration of AU member states between 2010 and 2016. And proposed two corresponding hypotheses. It anchored its analysis on the theory of federalism and liberal intergovermentalism. Data for the study was gathered and analyzed using the content analysis technique. It found that the formation of organization of Africa Union has not led to increase in the  volume of trade and free movement of people and goods among  African countries between 2010 and 2016 but that the implementation of the AU good governance and democratic principles has somewhat enhanced democratization in many African countries.  Regional integration is seen as a rational response to the difficulties faced by a continent with many small national markets and landlocked countries. As a result, African governments have concluded a very large number of regional integration arrangements, several of which have significant membership overlap. While characterized by ambitious targets, they have a dismally poor implementation record. The quest for regional integration in Africa has seen the transformation of the continent’s premier umbrella organisation, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU). In spite of that transformation however, skeptics have continued to express doubt about the capability of the new organization to achieve improved regional integration. Whereas a number of studies have attempted an assessment of the performance of the AU in this regard, such studies have been by no means exhaustive. The current effort therefore aims to contribute to the earlier efforts in order to enhance understanding of the subject matter. Numbers of recommendations of how AU can help achieve meaningful integration and also consolidate on the gains made in the democratization project in Africa were made.

Keywords: African union, democratization, regional integration, nongovernmental, Federalism, economic diversification