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tralac’s Daily News Selection
The selection: Friday, 2 September 2016
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Rwanda signs deal to back Kenya’s quest for free EU market entry (Business Daily)
Kenya yesterday intensified its fight to retain free access to the European market after it rallied Rwanda to sign a trade pact with Europe that its EAC partners have recently declined to endorse. Industrialisation secretary Adan Mohamed said Kenya’s products are unlikely to face export taxes at the start of next month after he led his Rwandan trade counterpart, Francis Kanimba, in signing the Economic Partnership Agreement with Europe in Brussels. Mr Mohamed said his delegation had convinced Europe to suspend the vote as they await the signing of the agreement by other EAC member states.
Uganda makes U-turn, says ready to sign EPA (The EastAfrican)
Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde said the government has since made up its mind and was ready to sign the deal irrespective of whether all the other regional countries are on board or not. Speaking at the sidelines of the 7th Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives sector review annual conference in Kampala on Tuesday, Ms Kyambadde said “The EU is our major trading bloc and we are going ahead to sign the EPAs.”
African Ministerial Conference: Ocean economy a new frontier of economic growth (GoM)
Ocean economy is a new frontier of economic growth and financial assistance and technical support as well as realistic programmes and concrete actions are necessary for the development of the sector, said the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, in his keynote address at the opening of the Africa Ministerial Conference on Ocean Economies and Climate Change which is being held at Westin Resort & Spa in Balaclava. For the Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries, Shipping and Outer islands, Mr Premdut Koonjoo, since Mauritius manages a maritime zone of 2.3 million km2, the potential for economic advancement and prosperity that this resource can generate if developed in a sustainable way could take Mauritius to the next level – that of a high-income country, with a large geographic territory and the competencies, technologies and systems to manage this territory. [World Bank feature: Africa’s New Frontier]
Uhuru orders security agencies to end illegal fishing in Indian Ocean (Daily Nation)
Speaking when he officially opened the Mombasa ASK show at Mkomani Grounds, the President said despite the huge fish resources in the Indian Ocean, there was nothing to show for it due to illegal fishing. “The potential fish production from Kenya’s Exclusive Economic Zone is estimated to lie between 150,000 to 300,000 metric tonnes compared with current production of about 9,000. The impact of the unutilized potential is clearly colossal,” Mr Kenyatta said, adding that with proper exploitation of these resources, more jobs would be available.
Africa SPS forum: Kenya eyes bigger horticulture deals at Nairobi forum (Daily Nation)
The phytosanitary conference (12-16 September) will discuss plant health and issues including pests and exports control measures that are key to Kenya’s horticultural market. The country aims to seize the opportunity to showcase procedures that it has put in place to comply with international standards. The conference will be hosted by Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, which is the body mandated with checking quality of the produce and compliance standards. Kephis managing director Esther Kimani says Kenya will use the conference to further its agenda in the export market that last year saw the country earn up to Sh100bn in foreign exchange. “Being the first conference on plant health to be held in Africa, we see it as an opportunity to grow our export market even further,” said Dr Kimani.
Mustafa O. Jibrin: Why Africa should boost regional plant surveillance (IPPMedia)
Recently, a tomato insect pest, Tuta absoluta, swept across Nigeria, devastating tomato fields, leading to immeasurable financial losses and emotional trauma. The emergence of this pest on the African agricultural landscape has rekindled pertinent questions regarding Africa’s capability to protect local agriculture and enhance international trade. Even before the WTO-SPS agreement, Africa’s protection of agriculture relied on the 1968 African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the 1985 protocol on protected areas and wild fauna and flora in the East African region. With the increasing volume of trade between the continent and its partners in an era of globalised trade, however, it is difficult to assess how national plant protection agencies have transformed to handle the unique globalisation challenges.
SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade: Malawi, SADC sugar exporters reach amicable position with Tanzania (Nyasa Times)
A Special Meeting of the SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade met last week Thursday in Swaziland as part of the SADC Summit to consider and resolve outstanding issues as regards Tanzania’s application for derogation to impose 25% and 10% duty on raw and refined sugar respectively originating from the region and 100% duty on sugar from third party countries. Tanzania had indicated that this was to enable its domestic industry adjust as it is undergoing restructuring. Ordinarily Tanzania was expected to commit itself to zero duty on sugar originating from SADC under the SADC Sugar Cooperation Agreement (Annex VII to SADC Trade Protocol). The CMT agreed that Tanzania be given a dispensation of 12 months to adjust while allowing SADC surplus producers, including Malawi, to export to Tanzania at 10 percent duty for refined sugar and 25 percent for raw sugar. The CMT urged Tanzania to adjust the duty of 10 % upwards for refined sugar originating from third parties. During the meeting, Tanzania also acknowledged the inconsistent tariff rate of 50 percent that Malawi was, in the past, subjected to. And it was reported that Zambia was subjected to an even higher import tariff rate of 100 percent for sugar exports into Tanzania. [Tanzania sorts out sugar tariff issues with SADC partners]
Second Kenyan trade and Investment Summit: pushing economic diplomacy to a new frontier (Wesgro)
South Africa is the 28th largest destination market for Kenya’s exports and the fourth largest source market for Kenyan imports. The Western Cape has had a positive trade balance with Kenya, sending R2.4 billion in exports (more than we did to China) and buying R190 million in imports during the 2013/14 financial year. In April this year Cape Town Air Access, a division of Wesgro, worked with Kenya Airways to secure a new direct flight from Nairobi to Cape Town - a route that will strengthen trade and tourism relationship between our countries and the rest of the continent. [Tweets by keynote speaker, @AMB_A_Mohammed: Trade between Kenya and South Africa has declined in the past years. The decline in trade is partly attributed to imposition of tariffs, levies and restrictive visa regimes, The Summit is an opportunity to address challenges, together exploit opportunities and form formidable friendships.]
Zimbabwe: Government to widen imports ban (Financial Gazette)
Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister, Chiratidzo Mabuwa, said controls were necessary to nurse a growing list of failing industries, thrown into crisis by a switch in consumer preferences towards cheap imported products. “We are still looking for more items so that we have another SI to protect our market,” said Mabuwa. “We want to lubricate the local market so that you increase your capacity utilisation and productivity and make money. Then you will lubricate the fiscus,” she added.
West Africa's Cheetah ICT platform: pilot project to facilitate transportation of goods (B&FT)
CHEETAH is an acronym for the Chains of Human Intelligence towards Efficiency and Equity in Agro-Food Trade along the Trans-Africa Highway - which is a dynamic new smart device application which aims to tackle trade obstacles, post-harvest losses and poor road conditions by collecting real time information, including non-tariff barriers and road conditions, such as potholes, as a person moves along the trade corridors. The Cheetah ICT platform consists of two components. The first focuses on food intelligence, entitled CHEETAH Food, which models post-harvest decay in vegetables and fruits during transport and displays this information to users of the app to increase awareness of postharvest losses. The second module, CHEETAH Infra, collects road conditions data and shares this in real-time with fellow road users. The data is, amongst others, used to enhance the accuracy of postharvest loss information as cargo transported over rough roads generally also deteriorates quicker. [Abridged Activity Appraisal Document (pdf)]
ECOWAS and China Development Bank explore areas of greater cooperation (ECCOWAS)
ECOWAS and China Development Bank have set machinery in motion to explore areas of greater cooperation with a view to realizing set integration targets across specific sectors which include transport infrastructure, maritime, energy, agriculture and health. Conferring with a delegation from the CDB, the ECOWAS Commission, President Marcel de Souza drew attention to the fact that West Africa currently enjoys just about 12% of inter community trade whereas road, rail, air and sea infrastructure are needed to fast track economic cooperation in the region. Specifically, the president cited the 1,028 kms Lagos-Abidjan road project linking five of the region’s 12 coastal countries and solicited for the help of CBD in the $15m feasibility studies being carried out while the total cost of the project is put at $8bn.
Chinese finance institutions immerse into Egypt’s economy, pump dollars into market (Daily News)
The Egyptian General Authority for Investment announced that China is ranked 24th in terms of investments in Egypt. There were 1152 Chinese companies making investments in Egypt in 2015—compared to 35 companies in 2005. The size of investments totalled approximately $506m. Daily News Egypt highlights the potential projects in Egypt that would be financed by main Chinese finance institutions, including China-Africa Development Fund, the Export-Import Bank of China, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.
Corridors of trade and power in Somali East Africa (DIIS)
This seminar (5 September) provides preliminary insights into everyday economic activity and its linkages to state formation in Somali East Africa, which is the topic of the GOVSEA research programme run by Roskilde University and DIIS. Somali business is marked by strong, transnational dynamics. The seminar focuses on the distinct patterns of trade and power along three transnational corridors in the broader Horn of Africa region. The seminar also launches the publication of the first four Working Papers published in the GOVSEA Paper Series. Three are now available for download: (i) A gateway to recognition (ii) How to study economic governance in areas of limited statehood (iii) Collecting taxes in Somaliland.
Djibouti: 2015 Article IV Consultation (IMF)
Faced with scarcity of resources, Djibouti has pursued a strategy of developing infrastructure to exploit its strategic geographic location so as to foster rapid growth, reduce poverty and create much-needed jobs. Djibouti has had to resort to non-concessional financing, which has raised its external debt. Reform is crucial to generate the revenues needed to return to a sustainable external debt and fiscal path, achieve higher growth, and reduce widespread poverty and unemployment. [Selected Issues report]
East Africa: Regional police chiefs adopt tough measures against transnational crimes (New Times)
The three-day 18th AGM of the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO) ended yesterday with delegates taking a tough stance to deepen cooperation to effectively counter cross-border crime. Yesterday’s 16th Council of Ministers issued a 12-resolution communiqué that rotated mainly around strengthening cooperation between police forces in addressing security related challenges. [New regional cyber security centre set for Rwanda]
Structural and rural transformation in Africa: challenges, opportunities and implications for policy and investments (World Bank)
Comprehensive rural transformation in agriculturally dependent countries is constrained when not led by technical dynamism. With few exceptions, such dynamism is weak in African agriculture despite recent acceleration. In addition, mobility of factors (especially land) among alternative uses constrains rural transformation. So growth has not been as effective in reducing poverty, as it would have been had agricultural productivity grown faster. The impediments to structural and rural transformation are particularly hard on the young people who are, and will continue, entering the labour force in record numbers. Public policy and investment must focus on two elements: leveraging burgeoning demand emanating from urbanization and dietary diversification to deepen employment in the rural nonfarm economy, and developing inclusive food supply chains to provision ever-increasing numbers of consumers. Rural suppliers need to sell to sources of dynamic, growing demand, especially to domestic urban markets.
Nigeria: How N215bn import waiver was disbursed in 4 years, mostly during ‘night visits to President’ (Premium Times)
A total N215 billion in import duty exemptions was granted in four years, between 2011 and May 2014 under the leadership of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, PREMIUM TIMES can report today. Most of the waiver deals, it was gathered, were sealed during midnight visits to the presidential villa. Data obtained from the Budget Office of the Federation detail a fiscal policy recklessness that made duty waivers in Nigeria synonymous with cronyism, racketeering, political patronage and outright brigandage.
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