ECOWAS ‘Borderless Protocol’ and the AfCFTA: Blessing or Burden for Africa’s ‘Smiling Coast’?

Abstract

The ECOWAS’ Borderless Protocol’ is a regional arrangement aimed at fostering a seamless movement of persons and goods within the West African axis. While the ECOWAS member states are still making efforts towards the full implementation of the Protocol, the African Union (AU), in May 2019, launched the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to promote regional economic integration in furthering ‘borderless Africa’. In compliance with the terms of these borderless arrangements, The Gambia, popularly known as Africa’s smiling coast, indiscriminately opened its borders for the free flow of trade and persons from the other West African states. This chapter assessed the impact of the ECOWAS free movement Protocol vis-a-vis the implications of the recent AfCFTA on The Gambia. The authors argue that the ECOWAS Protocol, the AfCFTA, and the poorly manned borders across the West African sub-region are interconnected dynamics creating an ambience for various cross-border illegalities in The Gambia and the region at large. The study recommends that The Gambia and other ECOWAS member states take more proactive steps towards turning the regional arrangements into assets for their respective national aspirations.