Last weekend African leaders all over the continent in some way or the other celebrated the establishment of the OAU 50 years ago. The emphasis in public speeches was on the theme of unity – the concept of a united Africa going back to the iconic Ghanaian Kwame Nkrumah’s original Pan-African concept. So, for example, former South African President Thabo Mbeki wrote on Sunday that the “unequivocal message that emerges from the last 57 years since the independence of Sudan is that we have failed to build the cohesive, critical and Pan-African movement to which Nkrumah referred."  But while the chant may be African Unity, expressed in terms of a United States of Africa which right now is nothing more than a pipe-dream, little was said in the celebrations about something more practical, essential and achievable, namely regional integration, which is vital to continued economic growth in Africa.

There is no question that perceptions of Africa have changed dramatically over the past few years or so. There is a much better understanding of Africa's diversity and Africa's circumstance. It is not just seen as one homogenous continent.  There are after all 54 independent countries in Africa and all of them are different, all of them aspire for recognition, all of them want to attract foreign investment, foreign tourists and foreign business. One further observation, whereas ten years ago South Africa was the gateway to Africa, with Johannesburg as the equivalent of “the big apple” that New York is to the US. That has changed.  Nairobi, Lagos, and Abidjan are as important as Johannesburg in coming into Africa.

While a strong case can be made for Africa’s changing perceptions in the world and its enhanced economic performance, the fact is that one critical need in Africa is for greater regional integration.   In fact Ernst & Young in their excellent Africa report for 2012 Reaching Out concluded that the single biggest priority as far as Africa is concerned over the next decade should be the acceleration of the regional integration process.  It goes on to say that:  “Simply put, if this process does not intensify, Africa will remain structurally marginalised in the global economy and African countries will struggle to attract a greater share of foreign investment.”  This view is confirmed by Omega’s business clients in Africa.

African integration is needed for some very cogent reasons

• To foster inter-African regional trade and manufacturing.
• To encourage infrastructural projects of scale between different countries.
• To facilitate investment of scale across borders; and
• Generally to project a more inviting image to the world and to international investors.

In building regionalism it is not a case of starting from scratch.  A regional integration process has been on the agenda for many years.  The 1991 Abuja Treaty divided the continent into five regional areas. North Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa and central Africa.  This was in preparation for establishing the combined African Economic Community (AEC) in six phases over thirty-four years.  The ultimate result ambitiously envisaged would be an economic union with a common currency, full mobility of factors of production and free trade among all countries on the continent.  Achieving something like the EU was obviously very ambitious; and while some progress has been made in creating regional blocs, much more needs to be done.

Incidentally, the most advanced regional economic community is the east African community, which includes Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, with Burundi and Rwanda joining in 2007 to complete its current membership of five countries.  The east African community has established its own customs union, a common market, and according to reports good progress has been made towards implementing the free movement of labour, capital goods and services. This therefore is a market of close to 150 million people, with a combined GDP approaching US$100 billion and an economic growth rate in excess of 6% over the past decades.

The East African community therefore sets a standard that challenges other regions in Africa.  But much more can be done with bilateral agreements between different countries.  In this way, the foreign investor interest in Africa will significantly increase.