Reaping the benefits of African economic integration

ABIDJAN: When Kwame Nkrumah, under whose leadership Ghana became the first African country to claim independence in 1957, was overthrown by a military coup in 1966, few of his fellow citizens shed a tear for his regime. But one aspect of his legacy remains relevant to this day and merits careful consideration.

Nkrumah was a visionary and charismatic leader whose focus was on modernising Ghana and on campaigning for Africa’s political unity. His most brilliant idea was to integrate the continent and create the United States of Africa. But he favored the development of costly, capital-intensive projects, which led to unsustainable foreign debt and deficits while creating few employment opportunities. Economic contraction led to widespread unrest and to a loss of credibility for the idea of African integration, and to fallout with his famous economic adviser, the future Nobel laureate W. Arthur Lewis.