The selection: Tuesday, 8 December

Key message from the AU-CFTA workshop: ‘Africa’s potential lies in trade in services’ (AU)

Despite the success stories services exports in Africa, Mr Batanai Chikwenehe indicated that there is a big gap between the awareness of government in public sector and services operators and firms in the private sector, where integration in services is happening. “Raising awareness to overcome this “perception gap” in Africa is critical at the continental level as well as at the sub-regional and national levels, where the incorporation of service sector development into mainstream economic planning and development priorities remains lagging,” he emphasized.

Key message from the CRCI workshop: 'Modernise, diversify and integrate' - African regional economies are urged (UNECA)

Using the example of agriculture, where “production and productivity is far below their potential given the richness of the land and resources”, Mr Karingi urged African countries to learn from South East Asian countries. “They turned their farmers into manufacturing workers, diversified their economies and exported a range of increasingly sophisticated goods.”

Foreign and domestic investments are needed if Africa is to achieve product integration. Mr. Karingi pointed out that investor’s perception of Africa is improving. “Africa is the second most attractive investment destination,” he said. Mr Karingi warned though “the development of regional supply chains in production will only be possible if the integration agenda is pushed forward and remaining barriers to intra-regional trade are removed.”

COMESA Council of Ministers meeting underway in Zambia

In his opening address, Hon. Shide said the meeting was taking place at a time when the global economy was experiencing slow growth that have impacted negatively on economies. “Our major exports are decreasing by more than 40%,” he said. “This has resulted in companies laying-off workers with resultant reduction in government revenues and other taxes.” He said the global economic downturn is a sharp reminder that the countries can mitigate the effects and impacts through deepening regional integration.

Regional integration workshop: ‘integration, connectivity and cohesion policies’ (SSATP)

The objective of the workshop is to seek the participants' opinion and contribution on draft concept notes for several activities of the work programme of the pillar that had been identified during the last REC TCC meeting in Nairobi and during subsequent bilateral consultations. More globally, we are expecting to collect different areas of interest where the SSATP could help improve trade logistics, especially in corridors. Input will also be required to further increase the potential development of identified development corridors. Finally, this meeting will be an opportunity to strengthen the institutionalization of REC-TCCs and corridor management groups represented.

An ODI workshop: Promoting growth and reducing poverty through regional infrastructure

Ethiopia, Kenya launch a five-year cross-border integrated programme (Horn Affairs)

The governments of Ethiopia and Kenya, in partnership with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the United Nations today launched an innovative, comprehensive and integrated cross-border initiative to foster peace and sustainable development in the northern Marsabit county of Kenya and the southern Borana Zone in Ethiopia. The $200m five year Cross-border Integrated Programme for Sustainable Peace and Socio-economic Transformation: Marsabit County of Kenya and Borana Zone, Ethiopia, was launched by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, as part of an agreement between the two countries to foster, environmental protection, trade, development and peaceful coexistence in their border regions.

Nigeria’s booming borders: the drivers and consequences of unrecorded trade (Chatham House)

According to one estimate, informal activity accounts for up to 64% of Nigeria’s GDP. This report finds that this is a result of obstacles that impede trading through formal channels. Among the key drivers of informality are bureaucratic burdens and other factors, such as:

The need for Nigerian businesses to produce at least nine documents in order to send an export shipment and at least 13 in order to bring in an import consignment; Rigid and dysfunctional foreign-exchange regulations that push most smaller traders into the incompletely regulated parallel exchange market; Corruption and unofficial ‘taxation’, especially on major border highways, which delegitimize formal channels and encourage the use of smuggling routes.

This report makes a number of recommendations for how Nigeria could encourage more formal trade, including:

Scarce dollar scuppers Uganda/South Sudan trade (The Independent)

Agenda 2063 First Ten-Year Plan: reviewing the indicators (AU)

Profiled Enterprise Survey results, infographics:

Namibia: On average, in 2013 it takes a firm about 8 days to clear direct exports through customs, more than in 2006 (2 days). Despite this increase, the average time to clear customs is still about the same as in the upper middle income economies and lower than in Africa (10 days). However, there is a wide variation across firms’ size. It takes on average 17 days for small firms to clear exports through customs, compared to around 6 days for medium sized firms and about 2 days for large firms. Clearing imports through customs is considerably faster in Namibia (5 days) than the average for upper middle income economies (11 days) and Africa as a whole (17 days).

Tanzania: A higher proportion of firms in Tanzania are exporting (directly or indirectly) in 2012 than in 2006 (14% vs 5% respectively). The proportion of total sales exported by a firm on average grew as well during the same period, from 2% in 2006 to 7% in 2012, which is close to the average for low income economies and all countries with ES data. At the same time, a higher share of firms in Tanzania are using inputs of foreign origin than previously (48% in 2006 vs. 63% in 2012). For a typical Tanzanian firm, the proportion of inputs that are of foreign origin also increased from 26% in 2006 to 33% in 2012, higher than the low income country average of 30%. [Ghana Enterprise Survey]

Companies report 1 in 7 transactions with government involves a bribe (World Bank Blogs)

In 5 charts: how corruption affects businesses around the world (World Bank Blogs)

Madagascar seeks to improve its attractiveness to foreign investors (UNCTAD)

Specific policies, targeted sectoral strategies and effective institutions to implement them are instrumental to meeting Madagascar’s development objectives, according to the Investment Policy Review of the country which was discussed at an intergovernmental meeting at the United Nations in Geneva on 3 December. The event brought together high-level representatives from the Government of Madagascar, the international community and local and foreign investors.

ECOWAS: review of e-commerce legislation harmonization (UNCTAD)

The strong growth of electronic transactions within the Economic Community of West African States has made harmonizing e-commerce legislation a priority for the region and its vision of creating a borderless, peaceful, prosperous and cohesive community built on good governance. In 2013, ECOWAS asked UNCTAD to support it in its efforts to create a harmonized legal framework. In response to this request, UNCTAD trained 315 lawmakers from the region on the legal aspects of e-commerce. And it gathered 69 ECOWAS government representatives during 3 regional workshops in 2014 and 2015 to assess the state of e-commerce legislation in the region. The results of the assessment were published on 30 November 2015 in the Review of E-Commerce Legislation Harmonization in the Economic Community of West African States.

Structural transformation and productivity growth in Africa: Uganda in the 2000s (World Bank)

The key questions motivating the analysis reported in the paper include the following. Is there evidence that there was significant and sustained reallocation of labor to sectors of the economy where labor is more productive on average and at the margin? If there is, which were (the less productive) sectors of origin of the reallocation and which were the (more productive) destination sectors? What has triggered the reallocation? And what would make us think that the reallocation would be sustained long enough, or that it signaled the economy was taking off into a process of self‐sustaining growth? Or could it be that Uganda’s economy did not undergo any significant structural change after all, or did so, but the change was not productivity enhancing?

COP21 updates:

Carlos Lopes: 'Africa will negotiate for a new era of green industrialisation' (UNECA)

“Africa is industrialising in an environment where achieving growth is more challenging. Windows that were open for other continents, enabling them to industrialise quickly and easily, are now closed for Africa.” However, in these seemingly adverse conditions lie clear opportunities which Africa can readily harness. As a latecomer, Africa can take immediate advantage of the new technologies that have been put in place over the last ten years. Africa has, for example, asserted itself as the leader in mobile banking technologies. In the same way, the continent is well placed to capitalise on new advances in renewable energy infrastructure and technologies.

Africa pavilion at COP21 (UNECA), INDCs: Absence of data, means of implementation may affect Africa (AfDB), Financing water is key to Africa’s transformation, experts say (AfDB), Africa grasps renewable energy and adaptation financing at the COP21 (Bridges Africa, ICTSD), African Ministerial Conference on Environment: remarks by UNSG Ban Ki-Moon (UN), Emissions Gap Report (UNEP), Africa ties its agricultural transformation agenda to COP21 climate outcome (AfDB)

Nairobi MC10 update by Roberto Azevêdo (WTO)

In his report to the General Council on 7 December about the potential outcomes of the Nairobi Ministerial Conference, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo urged WTO members to “seize the last opportunity to show the flexibility and political will that we need” for a successful Ministerial Conference that is “essential to support growth and development for all members”. This is what he said:

South Africa: Deficit widens to R14bn (IOL)

South Africa’s current-account deficit widened to 4.1% of gross domestic product in the third quarter as consumers boosted imports of mobile phones and cars and dividend payments to foreign investors increased. The gap on the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, increased from 3.1% in the previous three months, the Reserve Bank said in its Quarterly Bulletin released on Tuesday in the capital, Pretoria.

African Union puts India's free trade proposal on hold (The Hindu)

India’s proposal for a free trade agreement with the African Union – made at the recent Indo-Africa Summit in New Delhi – has been rejected by the group for the time being as it wants to form its own union first and then negotiate as a bloc. “We will wait for it the countries to form a bloc, as suggested by the African Union, so that we can get into a pact with the entire region. Meanwhile we will explore independent FTAs with specific countries,” a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine.

Modeling the impact of large infrastructure projects: a case study from Niger (World Bank)

Evidence illustrates that investment in infrastructure is essential to accelerate inclusive growth. Indeed, a number of Sub-Saharan African countries have begun to devote greater resources to large-scale public investment projects. Nevertheless, while massive projects can potentially generate large benefits there are considerable risks. This paper proposes a simple, but more user-friendly model. By inputting information on the project’s construction, operation, and anticipated returns, the user is able to assess the project’s net impact on the economy and weigh up the costs and benefits of different approaches.

Kenya: Uhuru faults SGR contractor on 40% procurement quota (Daily Nation)

Direct and indirect effects of Malawi’s public works program on food security (World Bank)

Labour-intensive public works programs are important social protection tools in low-income settings, intended to supplement income of poor households and improve public infrastructure. In this evaluation of the Malawi Social Action Fund, an at-scale, government-operated program, across- and within-village randomization is used to estimate effects on food security and use of fertilizer. There is no evidence that the program improves food security, and some negative spillovers to untreated households.

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This post has been sourced on behalf of tralac and disseminated to enhance trade policy knowledge and debate. It is distributed to over 300 recipients across Africa and internationally, serving in the AU, RECS, national government trade departments and research and development agencies. Your feedback is most welcome. Any suggestions that our recipients might have of items for inclusion are most welcome. Richard Humphries (Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @richardhumphri1)