Nationalism in East Africa could derail the AfCFTA

The economies of East Africa are experiencing unprecedented growth, but experts warn that strong nationalist and protectionist positions could weaken the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

A new report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca) indicates that increasing trade tensions among some member states of the East African Community have resulted in a decline in trade intraregional, the block only having half of its potential.

The report bases its conclusions on recent events, including Tanzania's decision in August to ban imports of sugar from Uganda and Burundi's ban on Rwandan exports in 2016.
"Protectionism is increasing and global demand is moderating in the world. It is therefore important for African countries to focus on their regional links, which are more resilient and dynamic.

In this way, strong regional blocks will enable companies to tap the fast-growing markets of other parts of Africa through the CFTA, "said Andrew Mold, Acting Director of Uneca's Office for the United States. 'East Africa.

However, while the business experts who lead the AfCFTA negotiations are conditioned by their past experience, they tend to be more cautious about the treaty than the heads of state supposed to lead the project.

Politicians are criticized for not being able to deliver the speech, even though the majority of people in the region are integrated into the community and support free movement and liberal trade.

"How can we implement the AfCFTA while politicians in some EAC countries attach to protectionism and nationalism? They think that they will lose their power if they let themselves go. I hear them at regional meetings that talk about nationalism and not about a region, "Ugandan Trade Minister Matia Kasaija told a regional summit in Kigali last week about the implementation of the CFTA. in East Africa.

Kasaija said protectionism had undermined cross-border trade and could slow down growth.

"We play as CAE but not as planned. The biggest problem is non-tariff barriers. Some states do not recognize the essence of trading with each other, even when they constantly talk about the need to do so, "he added.

"For example, Uganda has a surplus of sugar and corn of about five million tonnes, but some of our EAC partners will import sugar from outside the region. If this can be curbed, true integration and CFTA are possible. "

Rwandan Foreign Minister Richard Sezibera shared his sentiments. He shared his experience of protectionist tendencies among the Member States during his tenure as Secretary General of EAC from 2011 to 2016.

"One of the frustrations at EAC is that we knew that every year we would have famine. We also knew that at the time of the shortage, we had excess production elsewhere. But it was impossible to move agricultural products from one country to another, "said Dr. Sezibera.

"Countries had banned exports of agricultural products during their period of abundance, and then lifted the ban in case of famine.

"For example, Kenya experienced a shortage at one point and Tanzania a surplus. Tanzania has banned exports of maize and rice. It did not make sense; so when we asked them why, they said that Kenyans had also banned seed exports, even though Tanzanians imported 70% of their seeds. "

It is these policies that make it difficult to establish a functional common market in the region, he said.

"What we need is a political will to define the term 'domestic' to mean East Africa. Without allowing people to move freely and trade more freely within the EAC, the CFTA will be even more difficult, "said Dr. Sezibera.

The EAC's economy recorded an average annual growth of 6.7% between 2013 and 2017, the strongest of all blocks on the continent.

According to estimates by Uneca, the region is expected to grow by 6.0% in 2018 and by 6.2% in 2019.

This strong performance is attributed to improvements in agricultural production and sustained investment in infrastructure.

The prospects for regional growth have also been strengthened by the resolution of the long-standing political conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, which is expected to provide a substantial boost to growth in the Horn of Africa.