This archive report was first published on 5 July 2019.
On Sunday, African leaders will gather in Niger to decide which nation will host the headquarters for a continental free-trade zone. The zone aims to unite the continent's 1.27 billion people and its $3.4 trillion nominal gross domestic product.
The African Continental Free Trade Area, a deal signed by 52 of the continent's 55 states, aims to remove trade barriers and tariffs between members. However, only 25 states have ratified the deal.
Leaders at the African Union summit will also set a date for trading to begin in the bloc. The deadline should allow time for firms to make adjustments and states to prepare new trade documents.
Five countries - Kenya, Ghana, eSwatini, Madagascar, and Egypt - are in the running to host the headquarters. Ethiopia and Senegal have pulled out of the race.
Kenya and Egypt already host head offices for other international bodies and are well connected by established national airlines. Kenya hosts the headquarters of the UN agencies for the environment and for urban development, while Egypt hosts the headquarters of the Africa Export Import Bank.
Hosting the headquarters would bring prestige and economic benefits to the winning country. The African Union wants to boost annual intra-continental trade to 25-36 percent of all African commerce within five years, from just 18 percent currently.
However, experts warn that the bloc must figure out how to avoid member states exporting or smuggling raw material outside the continent that was traded tariff-free under the guise of intra-African trade.
“The status quo is not good for Africa. You have got 55 fragmented states, which traditionally are small and weak in the global system,” said Albert Muchanga, the AU's commissioner for trade and industry.
