The Daily IIJ

The message of the 2009 UNCTAD report that Africa must pursue regional integration as a panacea for growth and poverty reduction in these financial  crunch times, confirms that ECOWAS countries must not rush into signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

Coordinator of Third  World Network (TWN) Africa, Dr. Yao Graham has observed, and warned against countries in the sub-region such as Ghana that are considering signing individual EPA agreements with the European Union (EU).

The report titled ‘Strengthening Regional Economic Integration for Africa’s Development’ said  Africa must pursue regional integration as a means to building stronger and more resilient economies that can weather the impacts of the global recession.

It made reference particularly to the troubled exports of the region, owing to demand declines coming through from low international purchasing power as well as newly emerging protectionism, that will make it difficult for Africa to sell abroad. Another is potential price collapses of staple exports.

Speaking at the launch of the 2009 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report on Africa in Accra last week, Dr. Graham said the EPAs when signed on individual basis, would doom the prospects of regional integration.

He pointed to the danger in Ghana and Cote d I’ Voire turning around the regional front to initial individual interim EPAs and cited the blow Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland dealt to the Southern African Customs Union when they ignored mutual regional confidence to initial the EPA with the EU.

Whilst Nigeria, singularly holding about 60 percent of the ECOWAS market continues to kick against the current regional EPA,  Ghana, one of the three developing countries in the region is planning to sign a solo comprehensive EPA with the EU.

Dr. Graham warned against such moves and charged Ghana’s parliament to dispassionately and in a non-partisan manner take a well informed stand on the EPA, should the document be placed before it for adoption.

“Individual EPAs will make ECOWAS’s dream of a customs union fiasco while a regional EPA will erode development policy space from ECOWAS governments.

“The EPAs are essentially supposed to be development policies and until ECOWAS is sure about that, it would be suicidal and betrayal of future destinies if the EPAs are signed in their current form,” Dr. Graham said.

Mrs. Shirley A. Botchwey, Member of Parliament for Weija and former Deputy Minister of Trade, pointed out that the country will continue to joggle around for the right trade policy regime unless it had a clearly defined foreign policy that gives direction on engagements with the rest of the world.  

“What Africa needs is increased trade and investment  within its borders. Regional economic blocs are key to this.

“Africa’s voice is weak  in the international arena because we do not have one voice. We can only have one voice when we are one economic power,” she added.