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tralac’s Daily News Selection
The selection: Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Towards an Africa Open Data Network: an update from LDRI
Building the future: a look at the economic potential of East Africa (US-Africa Business Center)
The US Chamber of Commerce US-Africa Business Center has released a new report (pdf) on trade facilitation in East Africa, outlining the work governments in the region have undertaken to improve infrastructure and address economic challenges, and offering recommendations to address and overcome remaining trade barriers. Part one profiles six of the region’s leading economies, while part two looks at recent economic growth in these countries and its effects on trade. Part three outlines the effects of regional integration on trade and the current challenges facing the EAC. Part four outlines the main barriers and bottlenecks to trade. Part five outlines four transformational projects for East African trade and how US firms can engage in them.
William Davis: ‘Tracking regional integration in Africa’ (Bridges Africa)
Monitoring mechanisms such as the Africa Regional Integration Index are far less effective if they cannot track progress over time. That is why the index will not just be a one-off report, but a recurring publication of the three institutions. It will also facilitate further policy analysis based on the data collected for the index that can inform the integration agenda. Given that the continent is currently negotiating the CFTA, which, if achieved, would promise to revolutionise Africa’s integration, a credible monitoring mechanism is needed now more than ever, in order to ensure that what is agreed through the CFTA is put into practice. For the preparation of the second edition of the index, the three institutions behind it (AUC, AfDB and ECA) will conduct a thorough review of the methodology, including through gathering feedback from member states and other stakeholders on the first edition and how the methodology might be improved. They will then revise the methodology accordingly. In addition, the three institutions will add a system for measuring countries’ integration with the continent as a whole, as well as for comparing all African countries’ performance in this regard against that of one another. [The author is attached to the UNECA’s African Trade Policy Centre]
Trade as a tool to achieve the SDGs in Africa: full text of Bridges Africa,Volume 5-Number 8
Rethinking intra-African trade through CAADP implementation (pdf, LDRI)
In 2013, African countries imported more than $3.6bn worth of processed dairy products ranging from whole milk to dried skimmed milk. Data from FAOSTAT shows the value and volume of dairy imports by African countries continues to grow, demonstrating a growing demand for processed dairy. This is a signal for the potential of the dairy sector in contributing towards tripling of intra-African trade. A brief analysis of the effectiveness of the dairy sectors in Kenya, Ghana, and India has been undertaken in this think piece as we explore the institutions in the value chain and market aspects that determine the success or failure of dairy and livestock sectors in general. [The analyst: Kasyoka Mutunga]
Africa gets advice on pitfalls of importing poor quality items from China (CapitalFM)
Guo Ce, the office counselor [in Nairobi], says his department has dedicated Mondays to getting feedback as well as advising the business community about importing from China. Guo attributes the complaints to the low pricing of ordered goods without assurances on quality, lack of legal contracts with Chinese factories, lack of understanding of the use to which items will be put and misunderstandings between parties. "If a customer wants good quality products, he has to pay a reasonable price, but if the focus is on low cost, the standard will not be the same as for high-priced goods due to the production cost. That is the basic economic and trade rule,” says Guo. The office offers to suggest reliable e-commerce websites to importers who cannot travel to China to vet suppliers. Once importers have had a conclusive discussion with their chosen supplier, they are advised to visit the Counselor’s Office before sending any money to get suggestions on how to check the credibility of merchants. Guo says his office is in the early stages of discussions with the Kenya Bureau of Standards to come up with a database of companies doing illegal business between China and Kenya in order to compile a blacklist.
Kimberley Process chairman calls for UN body to oversee global diamond trade (The National)
The UAE, as the chair of the Kimberley Process organisation that regulates the global diamonds trade, has called for a permanent body under the auspices of the United Nations to oversee the multibillion dollar business. Ahmed bin Sulayem, who heads up the UAE’s KP chairmanship for 2016, has written to all members of the Civil Society Coalition, the group of non-governmental bodies involved in the diamond trade, asking them to back the new proposal for a UN body as a "genuine effort to bring back peace into the KP family in the interest of all stakeholders". Some civil society members representatives have been critical of the UAE’s chairmanship of KP, citing concerns about diamond valuation in the Dubai Diamond Exchange and its regulation of diamond traders in the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre free zone.
Mike Muller, Christophe Bellmann: ‘How might trade policy contribute to sustainable water management?’ (pdf, ICTSD)
The paper identifies some of the key intersections between trade policy and water management, in areas such as agriculture, hydropower generation, water services and wastewater management. While the local nature of water systems and the diversity of water management objectives is not conducive to the application of trade instruments to enforce a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all, approach to water management, the paper identifies a range of areas in which trade policy could support the sustainable management of water.
Botswana’s competition authority turns five, punches above its weight (UNCTAD)
Established just five years ago, Botswana’s competition authority has helped reinject millions of dollars into local businesses and save thousands of jobs in an economy where unemployment persists at around 20%. In sectors such as health, retail, tourism, and agriculture, it has investigated alleged cartels and bid rigging, and assessed hundreds of mergers and acquisitions. "For such a young competition authority, these are very big achievements," says Elizabeth Gachuiri, who, as an UNCTAD economist working on competition and consumer protection, helped establish the authority. "Most competition authorities in developing countries have not investigated cartels or done dawn raids like they have in Botswana," she adds, ahead of a meeting in Geneva on competition policy.
Competition policy conferences hosted by UNCTAD: access the documentation : Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy (17-18 October), Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy (19-21 October)
Tanzania: No consensus yet on EAC single tourist visa (Daily News)
The EAC regional block has never reached a consensus on the issuance of the single tourist visa by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. "There has never been any agreement on the arrangement at the EAC level, as a matter of fact, the member states are still discussing the issue," Acting Director for Trade and Investment in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Bernard Haule, said yesterday. The official stated further that after recommendations by the experts, the sectoral ministers in July 2013 agreed to form another working team to propose the best ways member countries could address the issues raised by the first team. "Before the team got to work and suggest the way forward, the three countries decided to introduce the single visa on their own," he remarked. [No EAC common visa in place yet]
Linking politics to fresh COMESA extension not viable (editorial comment, Business Daily)
The latest decision by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa to extend the restrictions on duty-free sugar imports into Kenya by another two years raises pertinent issues. The industry has been surviving on extensions for more than a decade now, and the latest is one of the most intriguing. COMESA said in a statement that it was convinced that failure to allow the extension could have political ramifications given that the August 2017 General Election is around the corner and the opposition would have used it in the campaigns against the ruling coalition. There is difficulty in convincing other impartial observers as to whether politics should actually be a factor in making momentous economic decisions whose impact go beyond elections held every five years.
COMESA states urged to increase power generation for industrial use (New Times)
Dr Kipyego Cheluget, the COMESA assistant secretary general, said access to power for industrial and commercial use is a key driver of growth and job-creation. Speaking in statement ahead of the third edition of the iPAD Rwanda Energy Infrastructure Forum in Kigali, Cheluget said COMESA will fast-track implementation of key electricity generation and interconnection projects as part of efforts to support this goal. He identified some of the projects that will be fast-tracked as the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya power interconnector, and the Uganda-Rwanda, Rwanda-Burundi power interconnector projects.
Chinese firm to build Sh2.6bn power line to Tanzania (Business Daily)
Kenya has awarded a Chinese firm the contract to construct a power transmission line connecting to Tanzania to grow electricity trade with countries in East and Southern Africa for reliable supply. The 96-kilometre line will run from Isinya substation in Kajiado to the border town of Namanga. The line will be jointly financed by Kenyan government (Sh439.4 million) and the AfDB which will offer Sh2.2 billion ($22.4 million). Construction will take 22 months. The project is set to interconnect the East African power pool, comprising Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia with the southern markets.
Ghana: More focus needed on transhipment – World Bank (GhanaWeb)
Periklis Saragiotis of the World Bank says Ghana must look more seriously into shipment processes and procedures at the Tema Port if it is to become a hub for the West African sub-region. Manuel Henriques, Principal Private Sector development specialist-trade facilitation explained that while the Tema Port was a major part of one of the key trade corridor, the Tema-Ouagadougou corridor, it also represented about three quarters of the amount of time and costs it took to move goods from Accra to Ouagadougou.
African Trade Insurance Agency open for business in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe (African Business Magazine)
In both countries, ATI has a current project pipeline estimated at over one billion USD, which is expected to double in the short-term based on existing demand for its products. Prospective projects include a 400 MW solar energy plant in Ethiopia that would contribute to the country’s carbon neutral growth plan to improve the living conditions of its citizens. And in Zimbabwe, ATI is considering a line of credit targeting commercial banks that will allow them to increase their lending volumes.
Commission on Global Poverty: final report, recommendations (World Bank)
The World Bank’s Commission on Global Poverty has submitted recommendations (pdf) on how to more comprehensively measure and monitor global poverty in support of the Bank Group’s goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity. In its report, the Commission acknowledges the challenges posed by its recommendations, including the limited statistical resources available to poor countries, the need for collaboration across countries and agencies, and different national circumstances among low, and middle-income countries. In response, Paul Romer said the World Bank would now track non-monetary deprivations of poverty in three specific domains, namely: educational outcomes; access to health care; and access to basic services, such as water, sanitation and electricity. He said the Bank was particularly interested in the overlap among these different deprivations, and between them and monetary poverty.
UNGA: Second Committee meeting on globalization, interdependence (UN)
International migratory flows were increasing and well-managed migration policies and governance were essential, Member States said as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) discussed globalization and interdependence. At the opening of the meeting, three documents were introduced: the report on the New International Economic Order; the report of the Director General on the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies, 2015; the Secretary-General’s report on international migration and development (document A/71/296).
The world’s first Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) will be hosted by the UAE Ministry of Economy and UNIDO, in collaboration with the Global Agenda Council for the Future of Manufacturing of the WEF. The inaugural summit (27-30 March 2017) will offer a voice and a venue for leaders with vision to shape the future of manufacturing with a hand-selected audience of 1,200 delegates will be in attendance, including Heads of State, Government Leaders, Ministers, Policy Makers and C-Level Executives from Global 2000 Companies.
Summary of deliberations of the SADC Technical Committee on Certification and Accreditation (pdf, SAQA)
As part of providing technical support and common understanding among Member States to fast-track alignment to the Regional Qualifications Framework, the TCCA developed a set of Regional Guidelines for Aligning NQFs to the RQF. Delegates also deliberated and agreed on a comprehensive two-year Plan of Action which sets out the urgent actions that should be implemented to effectively coordinate, facilitate and expedite implementation of the RQF. The priority actions include:
Today’s Quick Links:
ECOWAS, Islamic Development Bank: update on MOU
West Africa Regional Ministerial Conference: Jobs for youth in Africa
Egypt secures 60% of finances required for IMF loan
We are borrowing more sensibly than Kufuor did - Mahama
World Export Development Forum: summary
Habitat III: input reports from 26 African countries
Kenya: Focus turns to Karigithu for enforcement of Togo pact on maritime issues
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