From 1963 to 2019, Africa has witnessed a steady stream of activities for economic unity. Year 1963, is important since in that year only the first summit of the Organization of African Unity was held. It is not to take away the importance of 2019, when the African Continental Free Trade Area was inaugurated to give a further fillip to the economic integration concept. All these landmarks are important pointers to the evolution of African Union envisaged in 2063.
Importantly, the business calendar for the bygone year was full and edifying no matter how it would impact in achieving unity within the stipulated time. Of course, there are imponderables to be addressed, the latest being the West African monetary union. The new currency for the Franco African nations augurs well since that indicates the determination of the countries in the Union to distance from its erstwhile colonizer -France. More than the economic significance of the move, it is the sentimental detachment from its colonial hangover.
How does it roll out in the future is to be seen? Yet it has become a political tool to express African solidarity and a challenge thrown to the past colonial powers amplifying that Africa can stand on its own feet and do not need any crutches from outside? It all started from the stipulation of putting 50% of their reserves into the Bank of France, conceived as a buffer for addressing the foreign exchange crisis. But ended as a perpetration of a sort of colonial hegemony, to put it bluntly. However, the road to a complete monetary union of the West African countries is still a far cry, since some countries have yet to join the Union. They can be motivated to join the group only if Eco performs and delivers goods to people. It is not that there is no flipside to the monetary union. What purpose would serve if countries in different regions form their own groupings and monetary union? Will it be a harbinger of unity or an anti-thesis of the 2063 agenda only time can tell?
Elsewhere in Africa the economic landscape has been lacklustre, whether it is financial squeeze in Central Africa or deepening economic crisis in the Southern bloc. The severe power crunch in the Southern bloc is yet to peter out. Early signs of green shoots of the economic recovery of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho etc are still to be noticed.
The fag end of the year 2019 was politically significant since some of the rulers have affirmed their faith in the democratic institutions and said that they would not contest in the next elections. These long serving heads of states, one may hope, would stick on to their promises and pave the way for a choice of their successor through the ballot, rather than imposing their generation next into the saddle.
While the process of integration is going on, there are anti-integrationist activism let loose irrespective of the region. What that is happening now on the borders of Nigeria or Ethiopia and Eretria, or the recent skirmishes between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Renaissance Dam across River Nile can easily precipitate into burning issues that can hamper the peaceful co-existence of the countries in the continent, which boast of 54 sovereign countries, with common cultural legacy and historical background Will the political leadership rise above the petty issues is the trillion dollar question being asked by experts, notwithstanding this year’s Nobel Prize was bagged by an Africa head of state -Abiy Ahmed -of Ethiopia? If development process is denied to the continent, the other emerging scenario would be chaos triggered by various militant groups that are waiting for an opportune time to convolute the peace process.
With uncertainty over the commodity prices particularly oil, which has contributed to grooming up several home spun billionaires, the big question mark is whether fuel -leveraged growth would be possible in the future. Of course, Africa should move towards harnessing other resources to stay in the development path. In the growing number of avenues to be exploited include agriculture, food processing, mineral processing, manufacturing and the list goes on.There is gainsay in telling that as the world is getting geared to embrace a new decade of development, technology driven by artificial intelligence , Africa has great opportunities and challenges, which can make or break it.
