Reimagining Pan-African economic integration by addressing legal impediments to institutional coordination

Abstract

The economic integration of Africa is crucial for the continent’s growth and development. To achieve the integration, the use of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) has been identified as a foundational building block. However, ineffective coordination of main integration institutions poses a significant challenge to the approach of using RECs to integrate Africa’s economy. This paper aims to analyse the legal frameworks for the African Union/African Economic Community (AU/AEC) and RECs relation. Through a qualitative doctrinal method, it has identified some of the legal impediments to effective institutional coordination and provided a means for overcoming them. Accordingly, the paper presented recommendations to address the legal challenges by addressing critical legal issues through legal reform anchoring on the strengthened political will of member states and embracing Pan-Africanism in the process.