Francisca Tatchouop Belobe, the new African Union Commissioner in charge of economic development, tourism, trade, industry, and mining, succeeds Albert M. Muchanga at a time when the Union is seeking to convert the institutional reforms initiated under the presidency of Paul Kagame into concrete achievements.
A major political figure in Equatorial Guinea, former Minister of Economy, former Second Vice President of the National Assembly for the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), and the first woman to hold the vice presidency of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), she brings a strategic political and diplomatic experience to a portfolio whose stakes go beyond mere technical scope. At the heart of her action plan, Francisca Tatchouop Belobe advocates for the effective establishment of financial and economic institutions provided for in the Constitutive Act of the African Union – the African Monetary Fund, the African Central Bank, the African Commodities Exchange, among others – in order to bridge the gap between political ambition and operational implementation.
The former minister emphasizes that the success of this continental project depends on the ability to finalize, harmonize, and have the Protocols and Statutes governing these institutions ratified by the member states, particularly those of the African Monetary Fund and the mandate of the future African Central Bank. The essence of her mandate lies in defining the capitalization needs – mandatory contributions, voluntary contributions, multilateral partnerships – to make these institutions truly functional. Their governance should be based on autonomous boards of directors and technical committees, equipped with rules of transparency, control, and macro-prudential supervision capable of ensuring the credibility of financing allocation mechanisms, reserve management, and market stabilization. By pointing out that trade between African countries and the rest of the world far exceeds their intra-African trade, she stresses the urgency of standardizing economic and banking standards, reducing transaction costs, mitigating risks related to monetary volatility, and accelerating the effectiveness of the AfCFTA through integrated financial instruments.
According to the commissioner, the establishment of African financial institutions is not a symbolic act but a concrete response to the challenges of development, economic independence, and strategic positioning of the continent in the global economy. Africa remains constrained to resort to the IMF, the World Bank, and other external donors, often at the cost of strict conditionalities generating dependency and political constraints. African financial instruments, on the contrary, would allow for locally defining priorities, adjusting macroeconomic policies to African realities, and reducing exposure to external shocks. The commissioner emphasizes that Africa is rich in strategic resources – cobalt, gold, gas, oil, lithium, rare earths – too often exported in raw form, with prices determined outside the continent and value chains captured by external actors. Regional financial institutions could finance local transformation, stabilize prices through dedicated mechanisms, create sectoral sovereign funds, and strengthen the continent’s capacity to negotiate from a position of strength in international markets. African economic integration, still below 20%, could be enhanced by common financial instruments supporting cross-border infrastructure, energy interconnection, logistical corridors, and monetary policy convergence.
For Francisca Tatchouop Belobe, having strong African financial institutions is also a prerequisite for influencing global economic governance. With its resources, demography, and geostrategic position, Africa can become a major player; but to defend its interests, it must have a unified financial voice capable of financing its own priorities, setting its own standards, and negotiating on an equal footing with major powers. Emerging challenges – energy transition, digital economy, artificial intelligence, sustainable infrastructure – require massive and strategic investments. A robust continental finance system would attract more foreign capital, secure structuring projects under African governance, and allow for more effective preparation for global economic changes. Ultimately, the commissioner insists, the issue is not just about institutional prestige: having African financial instruments is a strategic requirement for managing the continent’s resources, financing its growth, consolidating its economic autonomy, and asserting its status as an essential player in the global economy.
