World Economic Forum New Infrastructure Program to Boost Intra-Africa Trade

The World Economic Forum has released a new infrastructure program to accelerate intra-Africa trade.  The report on managing transnational infrastructure programs in Africa, was released at this year’s WEF on Africa in Abuja.  The document could potentially make a huge contribution to social and economic welfare by boosting intra-regional trade, connecting landlocked countries to world markets and improving access to electricity by linking large power plants with neighboring countries.

“Infrastructure is essential for integrating regions, realizing socio-economic potential and fast-tracking development in Africa,” said Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, chief executive officer (CEO) of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency.

He added that the report is an important contribution to identify best practices that will help facilitate and coordinate the implementation of regional priority programs.  According to WEF, infrastructure projects in Africa face a high number of challenges, including financial, technical, regulatory, as well as governance and human relations issues.

Historical differences between countries, such as a legacy of mistrust and past conflict have also had a negative impact on African governments’ relations with each other, as well as on public-private partnerships.  Jay Ireland, CEO of General Electric Africa, added that coordinating processes across various governments makes the regional integration process more complex even though its payoff will benefit all countries.

Ireland explained, “Africa’s growth will accelerate through success in building intra-African trade. Coordinating actions across multiple Governments inevitably makes the process more complex, costly and bureaucratic.  But the payoff from regional integration, building more efficient and reliable infrastructure for energy, logistics management, and movement of labor across borders, is high and will have a strong multiplier effect on growth, entrepreneurship and employment.”

Source: CNBC Africa