ABSTRACT
Too frequently pan-African initiatives remain unimplemented and fail to live up to expectations. With expectations of the AfCFTA high, what makes it different? This chapter considers the governance of the AfCFTA. It reviews the different levels of oversight institutions for the AfCFTA, including the role of Africa’s regional economic communities. The functions of these institutions and how they have been designed to work is explained. The chapter then identifies the key implications of these institutions, the alternative options considered by negotiators, and an explanation of how the structures ended up as they have. What makes the governance of the AfCFTA different to other free trade agreements is its position within the wider and preexisting structures of the African Union. The chapter concludes by assessing the relationship between the AfCFTA and the African Union, drawing from examples of other African Union organs.
