According to the World Bank, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would lift tens of millions out of poverty by 2035 as it aims to build the largest trade area with over $3 Trillion net worth. However, the economic integration vision of AfCFTA looks like a vapid one. Some factors have rendered the mission counter-productive and African leaders need to address the factors.
First, protectionism is part of what brought the African economy a downturn. Tariff measures were initiated to regulate the inflow and outflow of goods, but it has become an economic clog highly detrimental to African economies.
The age of globalisation has made interdependence a necessity. Therefore, isolation only complicates the current economic stagnation, and it is expedient for African leaders to have the willpower to execute well-informed policies…..
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