Sustainable development goals implementation in a postcolonial African State: Any future for the African Continental Free Trade Area?

Abstract

This paper examined the prospect of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in the context of the SDGs. It took its bearing from the contemporary structure of most African states, arguing that the reality of the continent's postcolonial condition could impede the implementation of the AfCFTA. Its refrain is that studies on how Nigeria and South Africa, as regional powers, have used their economic and political influence to advance the SDGs' implementation throughout Africa, using different South–South development frameworks are few. In other words, the institutionalization of a strategic collaboration agenda through a Nigeria-South Africa-coordinated African response to the new powers, in the area of timely implementation of the SDGs is lacking. This study affirms that for the AfCFTA to be successful, it is incumbent on the regional hegemons to build a suitable institutional framework and governance structure that upholds the rule of law and encourages harmonization, consistency, and predictability.