A FORUM of trade-based civil society organisations in Africa have kicked against proposals for a union government for Africa, which is the main agenda of the upcoming African Union (AU) Summit.

The forum was of the view that as much as a continental union government was desirable, Africa would still have difficulty in progressing economically if problems related to regional integration and trade policies with other continents remained unresolved.

The forum, organised in Accra by Global Call for Action Against Poverty (GCAP), an alliance of non-governmental organisations, trade unions and Civil Society group in Africa, and attended by over 100 representatives from those organisations, discussed the key issues of trade, economic integration and poverty alleviation in the context of the grand debate on a union government of Africa at the AU Summit.

The forum advised African governments to address the proposal for the union government with extreme caution since the continent is not ready for such a move.

It asked that instead of the creation of a government for Africa, the existing regional structures should be strengthened t o effectively help in economic integration.

"The real struggle should not be for the continent's integration, but it should be to confront the policies and foreign conditionalities that are adversely affecting our progress as a continent", Dr Tetteh Hormeku, Programmes Director of Third World Network-Africa, said in a presentation.

Although he lauded t he objective for such a union government, he said it would pose a threat to the African economy since it would be opened up for exploitation by the European Union (EU).

He was of the view that there was the need for Africa to have a stronger trade regime before attending to form a union government since without such a regime and enforceable trade policies, it cannot compete on the world market.

Valerie Traore, Pan African Programme Officer of Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD), who spoke on hindrances to trade in Africa, noted that the already difficult and complicated issues of regional integration would be compounded by the establishment of a union government for Africa.

She urged the governments to discuss the issue at the summit without making commitments that could further make the integration processes more difficult.

"Regional integration is on paper, but in reality it does not exist," she said and cited instances of difficulties Africans had to encounter moving from one African country to another.

Source: newtimesonline.com