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tary, the shared commitment of its member States to democracy andhuman rights has led to the adoption of clear policies to resist andoppose unconstitutional changes of government. The African PeerReview Mechanism of the African Union, which is an innovative andvoluntary approach to institutionalising best practices in governanceis yet another example of the contribution that regional integrationarrangements can make to promoting good governance.The same is also true for the conduct of international relations asmembership of regional groupings gives small states greater voiceand representation in global institutions and negotiating forums. Africa’swidely hailed decision to negotiate as one in the climate changenegotiations is an example of an institutional arrangement that hasarisen out of the integration efforts of the continent. Another example,relevant to the ACP Group is the negotiation of Economic PartnershipAgreements with the European Union by different regionalgroupings. Such arrangements, give Africa a voice to help promoteglobal shared values of equity, fairness and respect for the views ofthe less powerful members of the international community.Africa’s commitment to regional integration and improved governancemust be tempered by the realisation that there is still a lot moreto be done. Take for example, trade, which is one of the pillars of regionalintegration programmes in Africa. Despite commendable effortsby African countries to significantly dismantle barriers to trade,intra-African trade is still low. The fourth report on Assessing RegionalIntegration in Africa, which was published jointly by the EconomicCommission for Africa, African Union Commission and the AfricanDevelopment Bank, finds that intra-African trade represents on averagearound 10 per cent of total exports. This state of affairs is partlydue to a lack of physical infrastructure as well as to poor governancepractices such as the existence of road blocks, legal or otherwise,and the failure to implement trade protocols.The successful implementation of policies and protocols adopted byRECs must also be matched by the continuation of efforts to reducethe cost of doing business. The evidence from Africa shows that theex-factory cost of production is not much different from other partsof the world and that its products start becoming uncompetitivewhen transport, infrastructure and regulatory barriers are factoredinto the equation. This underscores the importance of regional tradeIntegrating Africa107