PETER LEON: Economic nationalism in Africa’s giants holds back free trade

A significant milestone has been reached in the economic integration of Africa with the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area . This is the culmination of an ambitious project announced in the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action, to enhance Africa’s economic self-reliance and reduce its dependence on trade and aid from overseas.

The AfCFTA is the culmination of an ambitious project announced in the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action, to enhance Africa’s economic self-reliance and reduce its dependence on trade and aid from overseas. The AfCFTA aims progressively to remove barriers to the free movement of people, capital, goods and services throughout Africa, creating a common market akin to that in the EU’s foundational 1957 Treaty of Rome, which is based on the sanctity of these four freedoms.

In a bid to fulfil the AfCFTA’s potential, member states have undertaken to remove at least 90% of tariffs on all intra-African goods over a period of five to 15 years. This is to be coupled with the progressive elimination of non-tariff barriers, the liberalisation of trade in services, the enhancement of trade facilitation and customs efficiencies, as well as the development of regional value chains.

This is where the hard work begins. As Rwandan President Paul Kagame said when opening the agreement for signature last year, “the last mile of a race is often the most arduous”. The most daunting hurdle in this “last mile” of African economic integration is undoubtedly the spectre of resurgent economic nationalism. The establishment of the AfCFTA flies in the face of a trend that has taken root in some of the world’s largest economies.

It is unclear when, or whether, SA intends to sign up to this protocol. The government has yet to make any decisive departure from the economic nationalism of the Zuma administration and has likewise failed effectively to confront the xenophobic attitudes prevailing among many South Africans, which erupted into a spate of deadly attacks on African immigrants in September.

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