but the AfCFTA represents an important ideological shift away from the socialist tendencies that have haunted much of the continent since its independence.
Unfortunately, most African nations fully embraced the socialist economic model when they were freed from their colonial rulers. As the president of the Free Africa Foundation George Ayittey notes, “capitalism was identified with colonialism, and since the latter was evil and exploitative, so too was the former.” Quite simply, socialism “was advocated as the only road to Africa’s prosperity.”
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-africa-becomes-free-trade-juggernaut-48427
