Deputy President Paul Mashatile said regional economic integration in Africa would build economic resilience and growth among African countries..
Slow progress on economic integration in Africa is no longer an option as its trade and development continues to fall behind the rest of the world, and a central tenet of that is freedom of movement between its countries for goods, and people.
Delegates who gathered in Cape Town to celebrate 25 years since the launch of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) said Africa is at a nexus - it otherwise risks falling further behind a world of fast-changing trade, geopolitical and technology development as well as increasing pressures from climate change.
There are also competing interests for global aid - too many projects on the continent rely on aid funding from countries outside Africa.
There is persistent misalignment of interests between African countries that, for instance, led to a 12-year delay in the building of a 250km rail line between Kenya and Somalia, different trade, law and economic systems between African countries that stifle trade and development, and “shameful” xenophobia, as seen recently in South Africa.
