Central Africa Says Economic Bloc Poorest, Integration Stagnant at 4%

FILE - Delegates arrive at the Unity Palace, the Cameroonian Presidential Palace, in Yaounde for the heads of state of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) member countries meeting during an extraordinary summit, Nov. 22, 2019.

The Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC, marks its 30th anniversary this week but by some measures has little to celebrate. The bloc says member countries conduct most of their trade with outside countries and have made little attempt to break down economic barriers between them, leaving CEMAC the least developed and poorest economic bloc in Africa.