Africa’s integration project risks stalling unless national legislatures translate African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) commitments into domestic law, Ghana’s Deputy Minority Leader Patricia Appiagyei has said. Speaking at the closing session of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2026 in Accra, Ms Appiagyei urged parliaments across the continent to take a more active role in ensuring practical implementation at home rather than relying on declarations.
The three-day forum, held from 4 to 6 February under the theme Empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Women and Youth in Africa’s Single Market, brought together heads of state, policymakers and business leaders at the Accra International Conference Centre. Ms Appiagyei delivered her remarks at the Presidential and Business Leaders’ Dialogue on the final day, representing Minority Leader Osahene Alexander Afenyo Markin.
Treaties Do Not Implement Themselves
Ms Appiagyei argued that while Africa has built extensive legal architecture for integration, execution has lagged behind ambition. She said parliaments must ensure domestic trade laws, administrative systems and institutions are aligned with AfCFTA obligations, while holding executives accountable for compliance.
She noted that the continent’s integration will ultimately be decided not by treaties signed in Addis Ababa or Accra, but by the actions of national legislatures. According to her, parliamentary domestication, budget approvals and sustained oversight are what give continental commitments legal force within national jurisdictions.
The AfCFTA, which seeks to create the world’s largest free trade area by number of participating countries, promises to boost intra-African trade, strengthen regional supply chains and reduce dependence on raw commodity exports. Yet non-tariff barriers, inconsistent customs procedures and regulatory bottlenecks continue to hamper cross-border commerce.
Dispute Settlement Central to Investor Confidence
Ms Appiagyei singled out the AfCFTA’s dispute settlement mechanism as central to building confidence in the single market. Without a credible, rules-based system to resolve trade disagreements, she warned, investors and businesses would remain cautious. She described the mechanism as the backbone of the agreement, noting that a market of this scale can only function if its rules are predictable and enforceable.
Beyond trade disputes, she called for renewed efforts to operationalise the long-proposed African Court of Justice, arguing that a functioning supranational judicial authority would help ensure uniform interpretation of continental obligations and reduce legal uncertainty.
Analysts say such legal clarity is critical if Africa is to attract long-term manufacturing and logistics investments. While intra-African trade has historically hovered below 20 per cent of total trade, far lower than in Europe or Asia, supporters of the AfCFTA say improved enforcement and harmonisation could unlock new regional value chains in agro-processing, pharmaceuticals and light industry.
Shared Rules Strengthen Collective Bargaining Power
For countries such as Ghana positioning themselves as commercial and logistics hubs, smoother borders and predictable rules could lower transaction costs for businesses and encourage exporters to scale up operations across the continent. Ms Appiagyei rejected suggestions that deeper legal integration would erode national sovereignty, arguing instead that shared rules would strengthen collective bargaining power.
She pledged the support of Ghana’s Minority leadership for the Make Africa Borderless Now campaign, committing to legislative oversight and domestication of continental frameworks through Parliament. The campaign, launched at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2026, aims to secure over 10 million signatures from across the continent and diaspora calling on African leaders to implement treaties and protocols they have already adopted.
Her message to African leaders was blunt. She said the continent has already agreed on the framework and the task now is delivery.
