Aku Harps on Regional Integration for Africa’s Devt

The Managing Director, EcoBank Nigeria, Mr. Jibril Aku has stressed that in order to achieve rapid development in Africa, there is a need to improve trade relations, share data and harmonise financial services in the continent.

He said this yesterday in a lecture titled: “Regional Integration and Sustainable Development,” at a public policy dialogue forum organised by Hallmark Newspapers in Lagos yesterday.

Speaking on the way forward for African integration, he said: “Development, harmonisation and integrating of national and regional financial markets, including elimination of barriers and reducing risks affecting the free movement of labour and capital, e.g. cross-border and foreign direct investment could be another step.”

Aku also said there was need to deepen human capital in the continent.

He added: “Data availability and credibility and other information requirements should also be addressed. This is where African sub-regional and regional institutions, complemented by targeted and regionally coordinated international expertise that cross- pollinates regional capacities, can play a meaningful role.”

Aku, also urged policy makers in African countries to create the enabling legal, institutional, socio-economic and political environment that supports and attracts financing for integration, saying that member countries should pay fully the agreed financial contributions punctually.

Speaking on African trade he said: “Africa’s trade performance recovered in line with global trends in 2010, with its share in world trade constant at average 3.2 per cent over the last six years. In recent years, Africa has maintained its share of traditional export markets while expanding its share of emerging economies’ import markets.

“Despite good post-crisis recovery prospects, rising commodity prices explain around two thirds of recent export growth given the persistent commodity concentration of exports in the continent. Africa’s exports are driven by strong commodity prices and grew faster than any other region in the world in 2012 at 6.1 per cent.

“However, in the same year Africa accounted for just 3.5 per cent of world merchandise exports, and this has remained low over the years. Intra-African trade with value-added manufacturing grew faster than exports to the rest of the world. The share of African suppliers in the continent’s imports has been falling compared to imports from outside Africa. Imports have grown twice as fast as exports, averaging 13.8 per cent per year.