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The paper makes a desk review of the status, challenges and innovative ideas in the implementation of temporary labour immigration in African Regional Economic Communities, accompanied by an analysis of the underlying issues and challenges. Salient data are provided. African Regional Economic Communities are confronted with social, economic, political and security challenges which delay the ratification of relevant protocols and decisions. National high unemployment rates and low economic growth could make policy makers reluctant to potentially exacerbate their socio-economic situation by allowing the temporary entry of unskilled labour from neighbouring countries. There is lack of harmony and common standard in the education system, coupled with the concern that citizens of some states may dominate host country's labour market. In this situation, they are committed to limited mobility of only certain categories of workers in the communities. A number of innovative ways of overcoming these challenges adopted by African Regional Economic Communities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the Cold War, the notion of regionalism in Africa has undergone, and is still undergoing, a process of transformation that includes reassessing its role, capabilities and design. However, the slow pace of continent-wide integration resulted in the creation of a new framework to address Africa's challenges. As the building blocks of regional integration, the Regional Economic Communities will need to contribute significantly to deepening regionalism. The geographical proximity with Europe has also played an important role in the integration of Africa. It has influenced (by virtue of imitation and also through specific inter-regional policies, mainly concerning development) institution-building, trade and other issues of common interest and concern. This article explores the drivers of regional integration as a form of multilateralism in Africa amid the strengths and weaknesses of African Regional Economic Communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the association between the African Union (AU), African regional economic communities (RECs) and the African Economic Community (AEC). According to the author, there seems to be a lackadaisical way to the legal areas of the economic integration being conducted under the protection of the AEC. He believes there has been a link between economic integration and political unification.

Since the end of colonialism and the emergence of independent nation states in Africa more than five decades ago, regional integration was embraced by the African leadership as the best way to overcome the debilitating effect of the balkanization of the continent into a large number of mostly nonviable national states. The notions of pan-Africanism, African Unity (AU) and African fraternity inspired, legitimized and underpinned the various efforts towards the integration goal starting with the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), its successor the AU and the subsequent establishment of eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in African sub-regions. In spite of the logic and imperative force of the ideal, the transformation in Africa from interstate cooperation to supranational integration has not yet been made in any of the applicable areas or levels of interaction. The main stumbling block in this process was and still is 'nationalism', the nation state, a colonial creation in Africa. The question thus arises whether integrative cooperation, which characterizes intrastate relations in Africa, will at some point metamorphose into the creation of a "United States of Africa" (USAf), or whether other regional and sub-regional permutations of African integration, like a Union of African States will become possible, or, finally, will Africa simply muddle along the same road as before. This paper explores the possibilities in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the establishment of regional economic communities (REC) and the barriers to its collaboration with the African Union (AU). It is said that the presence of 14 regional economic organizations in the region complicates the establishment of cooperation, as the same nation intends to move towards integration. Also emphasized is the need for the AU to adopt measures that would promote harmonization of regionalism in Africa.