There is a stark gap between the effectiveness of the European Union (EU) and its African counterpart (AU) in carrying out meaningful, multilateral change to their respective constituents. While the EU has achieved cohesive unity, a single market, and is able to effectively command 38% of the world’s GDP, the African Union is regularly decried by political columnists across the continent as toothless and ineffective.

 

Their concerns shouldn’t be met with too much surprise. In almost all relevant areas the AU has been unable to use its political leverage effectively. They have been almost completely uninvolved in combating extremist presence in the Sahel, leaving the brunt of the work to state governments. They are sidelined during peace talks, with the US and Saudi Arabia leading crucial negotiations in Sudan, for instance. The continent remains unstable and regionally fractured, with an unimaginable human toll. Intra-African trade remains at 15-21% of total trade, where Asian firms and countries make up 60%, despite attempts at implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area. As the AU idles, the IMF and UN step in for loaning schemes and peacekeeping efforts. The top 10 countries with the most outstanding debt to the IMF are all

African. For every 10 shillings of tax levied in Kenya, 6.80 are appropriated to debt servicing. With development aid from the US nearly completely cut off, it is of paramount importance for the continent to break from debt traps and foreign initiatives, and take charge of its own growth.

 

It makes sense to foist blame on the AU for failing to fulfil high expectations, but the reasons for sluggishness in economic development is multi-faceted. For one, the majority of states in Africa are loath to engage in regional co-dependence, mostly due to a trend among the political and upper class towards raising foreign capital. This is demonstrated best by the fact that Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan, spent almost a month in the UAE last year to seek relief for the

extreme financial challenges his government is facing. The general policy of international lenders towards Africa, especially the IMF, is to turn a blind eye to exactly how the funds are spent, and to worry only about how the borrower can repay the debt. It need not be said that corruption and poor governance will usually ensure that any benefits are not seen by the public.

 

It is for these reasons that establishing strong intra-continental cooperation and dependence in Africa is incredibly important, and that starts via the creation of strong regional institutions. Free-trade economic zones like the EEA in Europe are starting at an area-wide level, such as those in the Economic Community of West African States and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. The main deficiency among these agreements is the lack of infrastructure and dedication to facilitating free movement of goods and services across borders. It is here that the IMF ought to step in. Rather than focusing on forcing developing nations to lower trade barriers to foreign multi-nationals, more audits should be necessary to ensure use on enhancing cross-border security infrastructure and critical public goods like roads, electricity, and sustainable infrastructure. Foreign investment should not be a tool to deepen the pockets of politicians, but should be used to kick-start the growth of regional institutions.

 

This should ideally lead to the eventual creation of an EU-like entity on the African continent that can manage regional institutions effectively, mediate and solve conflicts, ensure total security against threats, and provide the necessary funding and pilot programmes to developing countries. Co-dependence and shared infrastructure such as regional power plants or data centers augment security because countries will be both more willing to support their economic partners in conflicts and less likely to turn on those partners. Additionally, loans that come from within the continent and are not based on a commercial model will provide governments more trust and belief in their regional blocs to disburse funds reliably and efficiently for development. Because of this, they will become more motivated to work for their citizens rather than embezzle from international donors. It is a process that trades short-term, concentrated economic benefit for

wide-spread development and the uplifting of quality of life.

 

We have seen how much of an upward struggle it is to take countries in Africa to even a middle-class level when governments are fighting against corruption and enticing foreign loans. It is time instead to form an African Union that can support its 1.6 billion members and speed up the day where the continent is seen the way it should have been in the first place; a land of wealth, growth, and unity.

 

*This article draws on work presented by economist Paul Collier in his novel Wars, Guns, and Votes, as well as the cited sources.