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Ecowas: The Ideals And Practice Of Regional Economic Integration
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Throughout
the past century much has changed in the governance of the global
economy. Stemming from the increasingly complex dynamics of economic
integration, scholarly interest therein has increased almost
exponentially. In addition to improving growth rates in many parts of
the world these developments have, however, also given rise to
substantial challenges. As economic and financial markets mature and the
ramifications of globalisation become ever more apparent, underlying
economic deficiencies take their toll on actors’ competitiveness in the
global system, regardless of their economic and political standing. In
Africa, the problems stemming from this evolution are even more
pronounced. Political instability, poverty and civil unrest exacerbated
by lacking infrastructure, poorly developed human resources and a weak
private sector depict African economic realities.
Though regional
economic integration initially emerged to ease West African integration
into the world economy, the stagnation of intraregional trade brought
about increased interest in the (in-) efficiency of ECOWAS as an
economic integration scheme, having been treated with benign neglect for
the best part of the past four decades. In the Sub-Saharan region, the
outcome of integration has been far from promising. Africa’s internal
trade has remained minimal, with more than 80 per cent of exports
destined for external markets, not least due to external ‘post-colonial’
ties. Not only may regionalism therefore advance from faulty
theoretical premises, the lack of political will and internal legitimacy
as endogenous determinants of failure are particularly excruciating.
Challenges are rooted in chronic structural and institutional
weaknesses, whereby regional economic integration suffers from
duplication as well as lacking political bases, deeply entrenched in the
incompatibility of the divide between regional economic integration and
critical national priorities.
The problem of this study is whether
the present state of regional economic integration as implemented by
ECOWAS is effective in its prevalent structural form, with a specific
focus on trade, regional industrial development, food security as well
as road and railway infrastructures.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
Main Objective:
To
examine how the implementation of ECOWAS treaties and policies impacts
on free movement of goods and trade; regional industrial development;
food security as well as road and railway infrastructures among member
states in the region.
Specific Objectives:
i.
To access the impact of Free Trade Areas and Common External Tariffs on
the free movement of goods and services within the ECOWAS region.
ii.
To examine the contribution of the West African Common Industrial
Policy (WACIP) on regional industrial development in the region.
iii.
To examine the impact of the ECOWAS Regional Agricultural Investment
Programme (RAIP) on the level of food security in the region.
iv.
To establish how the implementation of the ECOWAS Programme for
Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) has contributed to the
development of road and railway infrastructures in the region.
v.
To suggest measures that should be employed by ECOWAS to deliver on its
mandate of regional economic integration for member states.
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