I have signed off on my African Union Commission Chair application documents, with a focus on securing the seat for Kenya and serving the African people. Mr Odinga said in a recent LinkedIn post
Raila Odinga has officially signed his application documents for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairmanship, expressing his commitment to advancing Africa's economic integration and development.
Odinga, a prominent figure in African politics, underscored the urgent need for deeper integration across the continent to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063 and realize the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) boss stated that despite having numerous regional economic organizations, Africa remains the least integrated region globally.
He highlighted the historical context of colonialism shaping the continent's regional blocs, such as the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Community of Sahelian Countries (CENSAD) and the Arab Maghreb Union.
While fostering good relations, he pointed out that these regional alliances often face obstacles like inadequate infrastructure, political instability, and lack of institutional support.
“Africa is yet to reap the full benefits of economic integration and a lot more effort needs to be galvanized to mobilize the necessary political goodwill to hasten it,” said Odinga.
“While the regional blocs have over years promoted good relations among African countries, the integration process in the continent has been hindered largely by; Inadequate infrastructure both within and among countries, political instability in some cases, lack of requisite support institutions and disruptions in regions where member states sometimes experience wars.”
The former Prime Minister articulated two critical areas that require immediate attention to propel Africa towards greater integration: enhancing intra-African trade and establishing a unified monetary system.
He cited the European Union as a thriving economic and monetary integration model. He called for removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to boost internal trade.
“There are studies that show the full implementation of the AfCFTA would increase intra-African trade by 52% or by $450 billion by 2035 according to a World Bank study. To achieve this will require implementation of coherent and efficient policies at all levels of national, regional and continental that are specifically focused towards promotion of intra-African trade,” added Odinga.
Odinga also praised the efforts of the Afreximbank and AfCFTA in developing the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which aims to reduce transaction costs and pave the way for an African Monetary Union.
“The Pan African Payment and Settlement System facilitates instant cross-border payments in local currencies between countries. More importantly the platform eliminates the burden of sourcing hard currencies to support transactions and enhances the role of African currencies. This is a complimentary effort as Africa pursues a single currency to facilitate trade within the continent,” he stated.
He urged African nations to embrace supra-national authority and the long-term benefits of integration, aligning with the pan-African ideals of self-reliance, solidarity, development, peace, and unity.
