Rethinking regional integration for development and eradication of poverty in africa: The missing link

Abstract

Six decades after Africa started attaining independence its states remain distinct and underdeveloped, despite the “Africa rising” hype and the historical consideration that integration is essential to transformation and development. Why is Africa failing to integrate and subsequently achieve development and overcome poverty? This chapter attempts to answer this question through a comparative historical assessment of competing ideational explanations of and associated solutions to Africa’s perceived developmental challenges, and highlights three that have been prominent as well as exploring their inadequacies in addressing the continent’s developmental challenges. Africa’s inability to harness a bustling informal sector amidst claims of lack of funds for development and continued dependence on external technical assistance shows a failure to realize long-term aspirations to train, mobilize and effectively utilize Africa’s human resources for an African-driven, self-reliant development.