Politics bogs down regional integration

Southern Africa is paying nothing more than lip service to regional integration initiatives that should be getting far more attention. According to Johannesburg consultant Peter Draper, the Tripartite free trade area remains a “great idea and always will be” but he doubts it will materialise anytime soon. Draper said much hope was being pinned by the likes of SADC, EAC and Comesa on regional trade, but it was just not happening fast enough. “The core problem is that the policy spectrums across countries are not aligned. South Africa has for some time now argued that before one can properly liberalise trade, there is a need for a liberalised policy strategy for the region.