Africa Prosperity Network: Infrastructure gap hurting trade and free movement, experts at high-level dialogue say

At a high-level virtual dialogue hosted by the Africa Prosperity Network (APN) in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat, industry leaders and infrastructure experts emphasised the urgent need to improve Africa’s infrastructure and mobility to unlock the continent’s trade and economic potential.

Themed “The Africa We Want: How Should Africa Fund and Build the Infrastructure for Trade, People Movement and Prosperity?”, the webinar on Wednesday (9 April) spotlighted instances of real-world frustration faced by businesses seeking to operate across Africa and travellers exploring the continent.

Obstacles at borders hinder movement goals

Gideon Asare, the chief executive officer of Adansi Travels, drew attention to the everyday barriers facing travellers within the region.

Sharing a case study involving a West African road trip from Ghana to Nigeria via Togo and Benin, he recounted how bureaucratic and logistical hurdles at border crossings disrupted what should have been a straightforward journey.

“Despite putting in all required documentation, you get to the border and it’s like you didn’t do anything,” Asare said. “There’s no harmonised protocol and the standards vary wildly.”

He lamented that West Africans travelling within their own region – with valid passports and Ghana Cards – face more difficulty than when travelling in Europe, where they enjoy seamless movement between cities such as Berlin and Paris.

Connectivity and aviation: effects on intra-African travel

Beyond road travel, Asare regretted the poor state of air connectivity between African countries.

He cited a case where travellers from Cameroon had to transit through Istanbul to reach Ghana because of the lack of direct flights.

“How do we do business among ourselves when the connectivity is so bad?” he asked. “And if you don’t want to deal with the stress of road travel, air travel comes with high costs and heavy taxes.”

Asare called for strategic investment in infrastructure that can reduce travel time, attract investors and enable easier movement of goods and services. He also advocated streamlined visa processes to encourage tourism and business travel.

Tourism potential

Asare argued that tourism alone could significantly boost African economies, as evidenced by Morocco, where the sector contributes roughly 7.5% to GDP.

However, he warned that bureaucratic hurdles are pushing would-be African tourists and investors to opt for destinations such as Dubai, where visas and processes are considerably simpler.

“There are African countries where you have to send your documents to the court for verification before even applying for a visa. It’s just too stressful,” he said.

Infrastructure planning must be continental

James Amoo-Gottfried, the director of urban roads at Ghana’s Ministry of Roads and Highways, called for deliberate planning and co-ordination across African states to address current infrastructure gaps.

“A prosperous Africa must be built intentionally. Our independent states have been planning separately, and this has led to disconnected systems,” he said.

He pointed to initiatives such as the Trans-African Highways under the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), championed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), as opportunities to connect the continent.

However, he stressed that national governments must align their infrastructure development plans with continental goals.

Strategic road networks key to growth

Amoo-Gottfried highlighted the strategic role of road infrastructure in promoting trade, reducing post-harvest losses in agriculture and enhancing access to essential services such as health care and education.

“The cost of doing nothing is far greater,” he argued, citing the $300 million Kwame Nkrumah Interchange project in Accra, prompting fierce debates about cost at the time of construction.

Amoo-Gottfried told the webinar that a retrospective study carried out in 2012 found that the project, though seemingly expensive, had helped reduce traffic congestion and delays at that road juncture alone which previously cost the Ghanaian economy approximately $185 million each year.

The cumulative loss to Ghana over the decade since the project was delivered would have been in excess of $1.8 billion if the interchange had not been built, vastly outweighing the expenditure.

Financing: beyond textbook solutions

On the question of funding, Amoo-Gottfried spoke in favour of more sustainable and locally relevant financing strategies.

While conventional public-private partnerships (PPPs) offer some solutions, he emphasised that governments must play a more active role in sourcing and guaranteeing funds for infrastructure projects.

“It’s time we see infrastructure as a government business,” he said. “Local contractors should not bear the financing burden alone.”

To support the drive towards public-private partnerships, Amoo-Gottfried proposed that African governments do more to explore infrastructure banks, performance-based contracts and value-capture financing models, tailored to the African context.

Such new sources of funding can secure payment for the local contractors who execute most road projects in countries such as Ghana and also prefinance much of the work, he said.

Security implications

Amoo-Gottfried concluded by warning that inadequate infrastructure funding and poor planning pose grave risks to African nation states.

These include spiralling unemployment and social instability if local construction firms collapse under the financial strain of delivering projects.

He urged greater private sector involvement and integration of infrastructure projects into broader economic and security strategies across the continent.

Call to action

Both Asare and Amoo-Gottfried voiced the urgency of AfCFTA member states reorienting their approach to expanding travel and transport infrastructure.

Africa must act now to realise the promise of the AfCFTA and unleash the continent’s economic potential, they said.

Harmonising policies, improving connectivity and finding sustainable financing models are critical steps towards building the Africa that Africans want – and deserve.

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