POLITICAL INTEGRATION: AN EXAMPLE
An example of a mainly politically inspired integration project is the creation in 1963 of the Organisation of African Unity. Its primary goal was to promote unity and solidarity among African countries. Other objectives included improving the general living standards in Africa, defending the territorial integrity and independence of African states, and promoting international co-operation.
The organisation was established against the backdrop of decolonisation, while there were still a number of countries under colonial rule. The key concern of the organisation was to free the African continent of the colonial yoke. Thus, the emphasis of the Organisation of African Unity was rather on political than on economic issues. The Ghanaian president and founding father of the OAU, Kwame Nkrumah was convinced that the problems of Africa's economic development could only be solved when the continent was totally liberated and when the African states were politically united in a socialist directed All-African Union Government. Thus, political solutions had to be found before economic issues could be solved. He stated in 1963 that: "African Unity is a political kingdom, which can be achieved by political means. The social and economic development of Africa will come only within the political kingdom, and not the other way around." Already at that time he envisioned the creation of an African Parliament to shore up the process of continental integration. However, the reluctance of the member states to yield some degree of sovereignty in policy making for collective interests hampered the institutional development of the organisation. The development of the African integration was merely ad hoc and summit driven, which resulted in promising declarations but without a concomitant follow-up or implementation. This is not to say that the OAU has failed on every level, the organisation was quite successful in formulating and coordinating policies towards extra African actors and jointly engaging in the combat against colonial and racial discrimination, but in what concerns the economic and developmental issues the OAU proved incapable to deliver.
Recently, there is a wind of change blowing through the OAU. In March 2002, the African leaders agreed on the creation of an African Union, replacing the OAU with a new pan-African body. The new body, loosely modelled on the European Union, includes in the union plan a pan-African parliament, an executive council, a court of justice and a central bank. How the African union will operate in practice is not yet very clear.
In the meantime, there are several regional integration schemes already operating in various parts of the African continent, notably among West African states and also in Southern Africa. Interest in regional integration is growing all across the African continent, and regional cooperation is also being encouraged by international organisations, such as the World Bank, as well as the European Union. The EU partnersip agreement with the African, Carribean and Pacific states, known as the Cotonon Agreement, makes explicit reference to the support of regional integration schemes. African leaders have acted upon the dialogue that emerged in the wake of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). NEPAD sets out a vision for the development of the continent based on the promotion of peace and security, economic growth and rising prosperity. In essence, NEPAD is a framework for collaboration and coordination within the African Union, representing therefore both a starting point for cooperation and a signpost for future regional integration. National leaders have yet to put the vision into action, and to mobilise domestic resources for the provision of adequate, physical and technical infrastructure, the development of education and training, and the encouragement of financial capital for long-term investment.
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