Download Central African Republic

Central African Republic
Economic Commission for Africa
Trade and Infrastructure
Hannah Whiteker and Francis Nwosu
Carmel High School
The Central African Republic is a developing country that relies on agriculture to fuel its
economy. Consequently the industry within the country is almost non-existent. There is a major
problem that lies within the GDP of the country. Their main source of revenue, which is
agriculture, is not counted within the internal revenue of the nation. Therefore the country’s
overall Gross Domestic Product is extremely skewed. Because the country is mainly driven
agriculturally, the industry which is supposed to be developing the infrastructure is trivial. The
CAR has less than 500 kilometers of paved road. A railway system is absent anywhere in the
nation, and there is no domestic airway service. There is little to no transport on the Oubangui
River because of rebel violence, so trade by boat is hindered greatly. Another major problem is
the illicit diamond trade that is responsible for 40-55% of the Central African Republic’s export
revenue. In order to stabilize and start a trend of upward movement for the economy of the
Central African Republic, many changes will have to be made in their current system.
There have been attempts to fix the shabby economy, which has plagued the Central
African Republic. The CAR has been working with other nations in Central Africa to promote
free trade and industry. Leaders of these nations have been working aggressively to create
networks of trade, which will eventually lead to the growth of industry. The Central African
Republic believes that with this growth of industry, they will begin to greatly change the face of
their obsolete economy. They also feel that the investment in industry will lead to the
development of their extremely lacking infrastructure.
Because this vast list of economic problems has plagued the Central African Republic,
they have been working with other countries within the regions of Central Africa to secure the
futures of these developing nations. Between Chad and the CAR, there have been several
substantial peace treaties, which slowed, but not halted illegal rebel diamond trade. This slowing
in rebel trade has helped to fuel the CAR economy in a positive way. Also, through substantial
involvement with the African Union, they have succeeded in lifting major GDP roadblocks, such
as personal “off-the-books” revenue that is derived from selling of goods. All in all, the CAR has
a ways to go in order to become the economically stable country it desires to be, but it is well on
its way with the previously stated advancements.
The Central African Republic’s government needs to take major steps in order to begin to
improve its economy. There will have to be great strives towards focusing the labor within the
nation on industry. Industrializing the country will allow for infrastructure to be developed, as
well as development and populating of cities. Free trade is also very important, and the
relationships with the CAR and its neighboring countries will need to be improved so that trade
can be more successful. Along with the improvements between the relations of the Central
African countries, regional integration programs will need to be established to help the
economies of all of these nations. These are steps that can be done with the cooperation of the
CAR’s government, as well as of the other governments of the countries in Central Africa.
Central African Republic
Economic Commission for Africa
Regional Integration
Hannah Whiteker and Francis Nwosu
Carmel High School
The Central African Republic is a landlocked territory located north of the Democratic
Republic of Congo. The country’s economy is primarily based upon the exportation of diamonds
and agriculture. Although, these products have been enough to sustain a standard of living for
those who inhabit this region, it has not been able to lift the majority of the region out of poverty.
One major problem that the Central African Republic is facing lies within its plans to expand
regional integration. There are some programs among countries of Central Africa that are
successful, but these have been greatly hindered by sectarian violence that continues to eat away
at the soul of the aligned nations. In order to improve the economy, the existing programs must
be improved, and others must be instituted.
Although the Central African Republic’s economy is troubled, there are programs and
alliances that are currently in place that improve both the relations and the trade between the
CAR and its neighboring countries. The African Union is a major organization consisting of
fifty-three African States. They have played a main role in working with governments of African
States to promote humanitarian services, democracy and sustainable economies. Another
successful program is the Community of Sahel-Saharan States. The CEN-SAD’s main goal is to
promote free-trade economic communities amongst its participating countries. They have been
working amongst their participants to allow a network of free-moving people, goods and services
to open up a network of truly free trade.
By far one of the most hindering factors on the topic of regional integration between
neighboring countries of the Central African Republic is sectarian conflict. Currently rebel
uprisings in Sudan have begun to affect the economic ties between the Central African
Countries. These types of conflicts make it difficult for trade to truly flourish. Crime and other
illegal acts have led to the crippling of attempts to truly integrate regionally. In both Libya and
Cameroon the successful trade agreements have only followed peace treaties. A result of these
actions has helped to end rebel violence in the Central African Republic. If regional integration is
truly a goal of the Central African Countries, they have to band together to end the violence that
is destroying their attempts at building substantial economies. The Central African Republic’s
government needs to push towards peace in their country, as well as in the surrounding region.
When the Central African countries can agree, they will be able to bring in more programs that
can improve regional integration. This will not be a difficult process once the countries in the
region are more stable, and these programs will work to improve the economy of the CAR and
lift the people out of poverty.