Saturday, July 18

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Africa’s role in the world economy derives from its economic importance to the rest of the world in international trade and as a destination for international investment. Africa has recently become home to the largest free trade area in the world, both by area and by the number of countries.

As economies have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) holds economic promise for the continent. The AfCFTA comprises 55 countries with a population of 1.3 billion and combined GDP of about $3.4 trillion. Business leaders and observers regard economic and regional integration as essential for accelerating Africa’s manufacturing, e-commerce, and digitization to reduce an over-reliance on imports, especially from China.

However, there is still much more to do as major components of the agreement still must be negotiated, between many countries and regional economic communities. Moreover, according to the IMF, removing non-tariff barriers could be up to four times more effective in boosting trade than tariff reductions.

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As previously noted by Afrobarometer, most citizens in at least 18 countries said things had worsened between 2019 and 2020.

Those sampled said their governments were doing too little to control corruption, with most saying they would risk retaliation should they get involved in reporting the vice. The report found that on average, across 18 countries, six in 10 Africans (59%) say that corruption increased in their country during the previous year, including 41% who say it increased.

Perceptions that corruption is getting worse are most widespread in Gabon (82%), Lesotho (79%), and Mali (74%), as well as in Namibia (74%) — even though survey fieldwork in Namibia was completed before the #Fishrot corruption scheme was exposed in November 2019.

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A road here and a railway there can never equate to bloodshed, torture endured, families separated, a history lost, a culture destroyed, a people lost. Because of colonisation modern-day Africans no longer know who they are or what their heritage is. 

They look up to the Caucasians as the embodiment of beauty, progress, of reason, none the wiser that it is their forefathers in Puntland and Ohir, in Egypt and Mesopotamia, that brought civilization to the world.

2022 Africa Day must be about recognition of Africa, re-branding Africa and re-establishing Africa’s position in the global socio-economic and political arena. On this Africa Day we must not only ask what is Africa but who is Africa. 

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