the largest free-trade area in the world by the number of participating countries — came into force on January 1 2021 and is making steady progress in stitching together the institutional infrastructure and framework for intra-African trade across the five continental regions.
live in this region. Here, most households are not connected to the power grid, with many resorting to expensive and polluting diesel generators — and even though supply is intermittent the price of power remains high. On top of this, inefficient ICT infrastructure increases transaction costs and limits the productivity of firms,Improved ICT infrastructure can help reduce poverty and inequality, create economic opportunities, and address information asymmetries.
A challenge for the African infrastructure market is the tendency for investors to invest in countries that already have good infrastructure stocks. Thus, countries like SA and Egypt, which are already leading on theAfrican infrastructure development index, will attract more investment than countries at the bottom of the index, such as Senegal and Gambia.
The problem is all money budgeted and borrowed for infrastructure in Africa is always looted/pilfered/stolen way before the first sod is turned for a project. South Africa's record ander the Zuma administration is a case in point...