Sustainability in developing country trade and the role of African public administration

Abstract

To address the many and varied problems that still face African economies it is now generally accepted that they need greater access to international markets to grow in a sustainable way through trade rather than the current dependence in many cases on aid. This increased access would allow them the opportunity to develop strong and sustainable private sector enterprises that could compete effectively in world markets. It is also expected that such increased market activity would enable them to enjoy a fuller share of the myriad of benefits of globalisation. However, before this can become a reality African governments and related public administered infrastructures have to ensure that domestic manufacturers and agricultural produce providers have appropriate and affordable access to the sophisticated technical infrastructure that is required for to prove compliance to the increasingly stringent technical demands of developed country markets. Given the continuous call by developed nations for greater access to developing country markets in organisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), while simultaneously setting increasingly demanding technical requirements in both the public and private sector for granting similar access to their own, it is vital that a role for African public administration be clearly enunciated. In this article the above issue is deliberated and particular proposals are made, which may assist African governments to impose public administrative measures to facilitate processes to improve trade access and sustainability in general. Specifically, aspects relating to compliance to international standards, policy formulation and implementation and capacity building are investigated.