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Industry body calls for new govt to re-set the country’s maritime agenda (Engineering News)
South African non-profit advocacy company, the Maritime Business Chamber (MBC), has called on the incoming seventh administration of democratic South Africa to re-set the country’s maritime agenda. “South Africa is yet to fully operationalise efforts to promote South Africa’s maritime interest,” affirmed the MBC.
The chamber acknowledged that there had indeed been progress since the inauguration of democracy in 1994. This progress included the creation of the South African International Maritime Institute and its seafarer development programmes, as well as investments in the country’s ports infrastructure, the promotion of maritime tourism and the expansion of maritime trade.
“New Bills, Policies and Legislations [sic] have been signed into law, but are all yet to be fully tested as we have seen 2014 Operation Phakisa becoming just a hype ‘theme’ with no concrete updates on the status report,” stated the MBC. Operation Phakisa had no real “political champion” to drive it, and thus had “failed to achieve its desired outcomes”. Likewise, the Oceans Economy Master Plan, intended to roll-out and push the Oceans Economy, lacked a clear direction. The Comprehensive Maritime Transport Policy had “also been taking a slow turn in leveraging the Maritime Industry’s potential”.
Leather/textile manufacturing sector warms up for SADC industrialisation week (The Chronicle)
Zimbabwe’s leather and textile manufacturing sector has started warming up for the upcoming Southern African Development Community (SADC) Industrialisation Week to be hosted in Harare next month, which will precede the SADC Summit slated for August.
The 7th Annual SADC Industrialisation Week will run from 28 July to 2 August, 2024 under the theme “Promoting innovation to unlock opportunities for sustainable economic growth and development towards an Industrialised SADC”. At the event, which will be hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries will assume chairmanship of the SADC Business Forum.
Preliminary indications suggest that about 150 companies from the SADC region will participate at the event, comprising private sector players in the agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, pharmaceutical, financial, consumer and capital goods, women and youth, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and infrastructure sectors.
Treasury urges MPs to pass proposals in Finance Bill (Nation)
The National Treasury wants Parliament to adopt tax measures contained in the Finance Bill, 2024 in order to raise revenue to pay Kenya’s debt that stands at Sh11.2 trillion. Treasury defended the additional taxes and an expanded tax base, arguing that Kenya’s debt situation could become worse in the medium term.
Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo told the National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee that the debt to GDP ratio stands at 72 per cent, “which is way above the 55 per cent set in the Public Finance Act”.
“Our capacity to carry more debt is not sustainable so we have to raise revenue and cut expenditure. Any further accumulation of debt would mean Kenya will have no fiscal space.” The PS appeared before the committee to defend the proposals contained in the Finance Bill, 2024 that have elicited widespread anger.
See also:
E commerce stakeholders petition government over proposed tax (Kenya News)
The position of the creative industry on the proposed Finance Bill 2024 (Mpasho)
Kenya to drop excise duty on eggs, onions from EAC (The East African)
Kenya has proposed to remove excise duty on eggs, potatoes and onions from the East African Community (EAC) in measures that could promote intra-trade within the bloc. At a pre-budget meeting in May, EAC finance ministers agreed on some custom measures to protect industries in the region, Njuguna Ndung’u Kenya’s Treasury Cabinet Secretary said Thursday.
Delivering the 2024/25 Budget speech before Parliament, he proposed to remove the 25 percent excise duty introduced on the products last year, which affected trade relations between Kenya and her neighbours. “To promote trade across the East African region, I propose the removal of this excise duty on imported eggs, potatoes, and onions originating from East African Community partner states, subject to goods meeting the EAC rules of origin,” he said.
The EAC ministers also agreed on several custom measures to boost the competitiveness of locally manufactured products by allowing stays of application of the Common External Tariff as well as adopting higher rates where necessary to encourage local production in the region.
East Africa’s failure to harmonise taxes impacting trade, says EABC (Monitor)
The East African Business Council (EABC) has expressed concern at which countries within the regional bloc have failed to harmonise domestic taxes and levies among themselves. This, EABC says, has hindered growth of intra-regional trade, which currently stands at a paltry 15 percent.
Mr John Bosco Kalisa, the EABC executive director, said that no country wants to harmonise because of the different levels of economic growth. “Countries are very reluctant, if you look at the current taxes for example in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda; it’s only Rwanda that has reduced domestic taxes while others are increasing,” he said. The reluctance to harmonise taxes, Mr Kalisa said has created skewed competition, with some investors choosing to invest in countries such as Rwanda because of favourable and predictable tax regimes.
World Bank, WTO, NITDA move to enhance digital trade (Daily Trust)
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have teamed up to accelerate diversification through industrialisation and digital trade. This was made known when the DG of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, played host to a delegation from the World Bank and the WTO, led by Mr Aleksandar Stojanov at the agency’s corporate headquarters in Abuja yesterday.
The meeting was centered on fostering deep collaboration between the two organisations to enhance digital trade, cross-border data services and sharing ideas on developing regulatory policies that would accelerate economic growth through technological innovations.
Speaking on the agency’s move to review most of its regulations, Inuwa said: “We started with recrafting our Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2.0 for 2024-2027 which has eight strategic pillars, among which is Strengthening Policy Implementation and Legal Framework, and what we need to put in place to make sure we create an enabling environment for the digital economy and digital trade.”
Harnessing Diaspora Finance for Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Opportunities for Investment (UNDP)
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently engaged the Nigerian Diaspora at the 2024 Nigerian American Business Forum (NABF) conference, focusing on opportunities for diaspora investment in Nigeria. The forum highlighted lucrative investment prospects in the country and explored the potential of leveraging diaspora finance for sustainable development. Emphasizing the critical role of the diaspora, the discussions centred on how diaspora investments can advance Nigeria’s national development aspirations.
Ms. Elsie Attafuah, representing Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP’s Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa stated: “We must invest in the future of Nigeria’s development. When we invest, we are not just supporting people and their livelihoods; we are sowing seeds for the future of Nigeria, Africa, and the world. A prosperous Nigeria means a prosperous Africa, which ultimately benefits the world.”
Nigeria, with its ambitious Development Agenda, faces a formidable financing gap. Even pre-COVID estimates pegged the SDG financing need at $347 billion by 2030. In 2021, post-COVID, the IMF estimated an additional spending requirement amounting to 18% of GDP by 2030. Despite these staggering figures, public revenues in 2023 amounted to a mere 9.4% of GDP, highlighting the urgency for alternative financing mechanisms.
Supporting Nigeria’s Homegrown Reforms: New World Bank Financing for Inclusive Growth and Revenue Diversification (World Bank)
The World Bank has today approved two operations: $1.5 billion for the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation (RESET) Development Policy Financing Program (DPF) and $750 million for the Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms (ARMOR) Program-for-Results (PforR). This combined $2.25 billion package provides immediate financial and technical support to Nigeria’s urgent efforts to stabilize the economy and scale up support to the poor and most economically at risk. It further supports Nigeria’s ambitious, multi-year effort to raise non-oil revenues and safeguard oil revenues to promote fiscal sustainability and provide sufficient resources to deliver quality public services.
Confronted with a fragile economic situation, Nigeria recognized the urgency of changing course and embarked on critical reforms to address economic distortions and strengthen the fiscal outlook. Initial critical steps to restore macroeconomic stability, boost revenues, and create the conditions to reignite growth and poverty reduction have been taken. These include unifying the multiple official exchange rates and fostering a market-determined official rate, as well as sharply adjusting gasoline prices to begin to phase out the costly, regressive, and opaque gasoline subsidy.
EAC launches the first regional e-Tariff software in Africa (WCO)
On 31 May 2024, the East African Community, in partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the EU-WCO HS-Africa Programme, funded by the European Union, launched its electronic Tariff software (e-Tariff Tool) in Arusha, Tanzania. The objective of the e-Tariff tool is to make tariff information available online, contributing to increasing consistency and transparency in classification and tariff determination. While e-Tariff have been implemented in several African countries, this is the first ever e-Tariff software for a regional entity in Africa, the EAC, which includes the Duty Remission scheme.
In her opening remarks, the EAC Deputy Secretary General Ms. Annette Mutaawe Seemuwemba, highlighted the importance of the tool as a key trade facilitation enabler that will be extremely beneficial to traders and private sector operators. She stressed that the benefit of the e-Tariff Tool shall have for transparency, accountability while also reducing time for clearance and processing duty remissions, as well as ensuring coherence throughout the region. She expressed her appreciation to the excellent support and partnership with the WCO and the European Union and that she sees further achievements in prospect.
ECOWAS Holds Consultations with Member States for a Post Malabo Agenda (ECOWAS)
With the Malabo Declaration ending in 2025, ECOWAS and the African Union are developing a new 10-year agenda for the region. This process involves stakeholder consultations, research, analysis, and political mobilization, culminating in a declaration of the new agenda by January 2025. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Malabo Declaration emphasizes involving public and private stakeholders in African agricultural transformation.
In this context, the ECOWAS Commission’s Directorate of Agriculture organized a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, from June 12-14, 2024, to review the ECOWAS Agriculture Policy (ECOWAP) to ensure its consistency, relevance, and complementarity, and to avoid duplication of efforts. The meeting will also facilitate outreach, awareness, socialization, building momentum, and political buy-in for the ECOWAP/CAADP Post Malabo process and issues. Member States and Agriculture’s Regional Stakeholders will reflect and share their experiences and best practices for the last 20 years of ECOWAP/CAADP to inform the future and have a wider perspective and build consensus on key issues and technical options.
DP world plans $3bn investment in African ports by 2029 (Engineering News)
DP World plans to spend $3-billion over the next three to five years on new port infrastructure in Africa to meet long-term growth that includes surging demand for critical mineral exports. “The cost of logistics and supply chain across Africa is very high relative to other global markets,” which presents a good opportunity, Mohammed Akoojee, DP World’s CEO and MD for sub-Saharan Africa, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. The port operator is expanding in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and has recently assessed harbors in South Africa and Kenya for potential investment.
Eight of the world’s 15 fastest-growing economies will be in Africa this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. That’s luring companies including Dubai-based DP World, despite economic pain from accelerating inflation, depreciating currencies and high borrowing costs in the region. Africa’s potential should be viewed over the long term, not by short-term macroeconomics, according to Akoojee. “It’s a cycle and it certainly hasn’t impacted our appetite for growth on the continent,” he said. “We’re still investing.”
DP World’s Africa unit has 27 000 workers and covers ports, terminals, logistics and supply chain businesses. It failed in a bid to partner with South Africa’s Transnet to develop the biggest container port on the continent, losing to International Container Terminal Services Inc., which is owned by Filipino billionaire Enrique Razon. That hasn’t deterred the company from looking to continue its expansion on the continent.
African Continental Free Trade Area and the African Railway Renaissance (Railways Africa)
Soter Gatera of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) articulated a compelling vision for Africa’s railway development at the African Union Commission (AUC), Department of Infrastructure and Energy (IED) Continental Workshop, held from 7th to 10th May 2024 in Dar es Salaam. Gatera emphasised the transformative potential of what he calls an “African Railway Renaissance,” rather than just railway development.
From the AUC’s perspective, railways are the transport mode of the future for the continent. Railways can handle significant volumes of freight more efficiently and with fewer emissions compared to road transport. One locomotive pulling cargo and passenger wagons can replace more than 50 trucks, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.Given the burgeoning African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the largest market globally, the strategic importance of railways cannot be overstated.
No economy can grow without embracing digitalisation — ECOWAS Resident representative (Modern Ghana)
Mr Baba Gana Wakil, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, has underscored the critical role of digitalisation in the economic growth of member states. He said in an era where digitalization stood as a cornerstone of economic growth, young people worldwide were leveraging information and communication technology (ICT) to tackle unemployment.
Speaking in an interview during a 10-day intensive programme aimed at equipping over 200 Ghanaian youth with essential digital skills, Mr Wakil said no economy could thrive in the modern era without embracing digital technologies. This initiative, which started from 3rd June to 14th June, is expected to empower hundreds of young individuals, providing them with the tools needed to thrive in the rapidly evolving digital economy.
The programme, part of ECOWAS's broader regional development strategy, focuses on key areas such as coding, software, mobile and web development (front and backend) for the first week, and cable TV development for the succeeding week. It aims to bridge the skills gap and prepare participants for opportunities in the global digital marketplace.
China and Africa forge agricultural tech cooperation for growth (China Daily)
On June 12, 2024, the workshop on China-Africa Agricultural Science and Technology Cooperation under FAO South-South and Triangular Cooperation Framework held in Sanya, Hainan province, brought together international participants to discuss how to strengthen China-Africa agricultural technology cooperation and support the modernization of African agriculture
“Science and technology play a fundamental role in transforming agriculture and enhancing food security. With its vast innovation potential, Africa can benefit from adopting advanced agricultural technologies,” said Sun Tan, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). He added that China’s technological advancements and experiences can be references for African countries seeking to improve agricultural productivity and sustainability.
Top trade and foreign affairs officials and experts from across sectors and regions gathered on 13 June in Geneva, Switzerland, to address key challenges and opportunities facing the world economy amid multiple crises and increasing global inequality. They called for a renewed multilateralism characterized by equality and reaffirmed UN Trade and Development’s crucial role, solidifying its mandate.
The second day of the Global Leaders Forum marking the 60th anniversary of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) featured an array of voices – from government ministers to tech entrepreneurs, academics and civil society leaders – providing unique perspectives on issues ranging from disrupted global supply chains to digital economy gaps and sustainable industrial policies.
UN Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan closed the day by underscoring the collective resolve to confront these challenges and transform “hierarchical conference tables into circles of equals.” “This is the new face of multilateralism,” she said. “A multilateralism driven by our own sense of resolution.”
BRICS WBA Launches Common Alliance’s Digital Platform (BRIСS Women Business Alliance)
On June 3, 2024, at the BRICS Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum, the official launch of the key and flagship project of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance - the Common Digital Platform - took place.The general partner of the BRICS Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum is Sberbank.The project to create the Platform as the main resource of the Alliance was proposed by the Russian Chapter in 2021 and was unanimously supported by all BRICS WBA National Chapters.
The platform will contain information about the history of the Alliance, areas of cooperation, events, documents, including the declaration on establishment, terms of reference, summit declarations, strategies, reports and etc. The platform will create a database of companies owned or managed by women and will become the most important communication resource on which women entrepreneurs from the BRICS countries will be able to communicate, register their businesses, search for and establish direct contacts with partners from the countries of the association.
Call to Action: Why the G20 needs a Data20 (G20 Brasil 2024)
Data is fundamental to an increasingly digital world: from AI to digital public infrastructure, questions must be considered about data access, content and representation, conditions of its use, and governance. It remains critical to unlocking value through digital innovation, and negotiations over data governance and value creation are at the core of ongoing multilateral discussions over global cooperation in an increasingly digital world.
Through discussions and progress over the content and form of the Global Digital Compact, and looking forward to the UN Summit of the Future, global cooperation and consensus on data governance remain key points of debate within multilateral fora. These discussions reveal the importance of attention to data in multilateral forums, given its ubiquitous impacts on development globally and across sectors. Also they reveal important challenges to global data governance, given data’s distinctive economic and informational characteristics and competing values, perspectives and priorities.
The G20 has an important contribution to make in building a shared approach and understanding of global data governance, leveraging the countries/stakeholders that make up the G20. Yet, the G20 has not yet capitalised on its opportunity to push forward productive and shared discussions aimed at building consensus on global data governance.
The G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) has today unveiled a new report that provides evidence of the transformative impact of digital remittances, as a driver of financial inclusion and poverty reduction worldwide. Despite persistent gender gaps, the hard-earned money sent back home by migrant workers remains a vital lifeline for over 800 million people, particularly for women and vulnerable populations.
Authored by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with contributions from the World Bank, the GPFI report “Promoting Financial Inclusion through Digitalization of Remittances“, showcases significant strides in digitalizing remittance distribution channels.
“Digitalization reduces transfer costs, speeds up transactions, and enhances security and tracking of payments. It also broadens access to financial services like savings, credit, and insurance, especially when accompanied by proper consumer protection and financial education policies. These benefits promote financial inclusion and build financial resilience for remittance families,” says Magda Bianco, co-chair of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) and head of the Consumer Protection and Anti-Money Laundering Directorate at the Bank of Italy.
The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) – a Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity released at the 27-30th May 4th International Conference of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) calls for increased effectiveness of development finance. This is to be achieved through the establishment of a dedicated SIDS Debt Sustainability Support Service. The service aims to enable sound debt management and devise effective solutions for SIDS in relation to immediate-term debt vulnerability and long-term debt sustainability.
SDC chair and Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs of Egypt, Sherine El Sharkawy, emphasized the importance of debt sustainability and climate resilience for SIDS. “Over 80% of developing countries, including SIDS, are already forced to spend more on interest than they do on climate action,” she stated.
See also: Empowering Small Island Nations: The Path to Resilient Prosperity (Impakter)
Building Resilience in an Era of Deglobalisation (Afreximbank)
A combination of climate change, rapidly shifting geo-political sands and shifting global alliances are all conspiring to make the world of 2024 considerably more unpredictable than a generation ago,. Given the practically guaranteed nature of turbulence and instability, the smart approach is to devise and maintain systems which detect shifts before they happen, or at least before their full force is felt. African economies have, Dr Roger Ferguson, economic scholar and 17th vice chairman of America’s Federal Reserve from 1999 to 2006 contended, historically suffered because world commodity shocks and trade route disruptions have arrived as surprises, and no preparation has been undertaken as to how to insulate states from their worst consequences.
Though a much-vaunted idea in the West, Dr Ferguson challenged the characterisation of modern trade as entering a “de-globalisation” phase. Whilst this might be how the world looks from Washington, Brussels and London, the reality is rather that we have entered a period of “re-globalisation”, in which economic dynamics are being influenced increasingly by new centres of power and production: China, India, Nigeria, Indonesia, to name a few.
Akinwumi Adesina: Africa loses $15bn annually to climate change (TheCable)
Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), says Africa loses between $7 billion to $15 billion dollars annually due to climate change. He said Africa’s economy and agriculture are adversely affected by climate change, despite contributing only three per cent of global emissions. “The AfDB has committed to doubling its climate finance to $25 billion by 2030, focusing on the African Adaptation Acceleration Programme. This programme aims to deploy $25 billion for climate adaptation, making it the largest globally. Additionally, the AfDB has created a climate action window with an initial investment of $429 million, expected to grow to $13 billion.” The AfDB president said the climate action initiative will support vulnerable countries with crop insurance, land restoration, and climate information services.
African Caribbean free trade agreement requires multi-faceted approach – Minister (The Guardian Nigeria)
Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment (FMITI), says developing the African Caribbean Free Trade Agreement will require a multi-faceted approach. Uzoka-Anite said this at a Plenary Session: “Towards An Afri-Caribbean Free Trade Agreement: The Pathway to Self-Determination” at the ongoing 31st Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2024) in Nassau, The Bahamas.
“The role of government, the private sector, international development communities, and civil society have to be defined. There has to be a multi-stakeholder engagement to address all the issues. “When we have a focused and inclusive discussion, listening to diverse opinions and considering them in negotiations, we take the first step in breaking down barriers, because we are going to see a lot of barriers.” Uzoka-Anite said strong political will from the political leaders was also needed to achieve the development of the African-Caribbean Free Trade Agreement.
Afreximbank disburses $18bn loans, aims for more refinery financing after Dangote’s (Businessday NG)
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in 2023 allocated a total of $18 billion to various projects across Africa, with a strategic goal of supporting the refining of 50 per cent of the continent’s 5 million barrels per day of crude oil production. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said that despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges, the bank increased its disbursements by 8.7 per cent in 2023, from $16.6 billion in the previous year to $18 billion. “Our goal is to support the creation of a refining capacity that will ensure that at least 50 percent of about 5 million barrels per day of crude oil produced in the Gulf of Guinea is refined in Africa,” he said
Conflict Of Interest Hinders Implementation Of AfDB’s Anti-corruption Fund – Adesina (News Agency of Nigeria)
The African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Akinwumi Adesina, says conflict of interest is hindering implementation of the bank’s anti-corruption fund. Adesina, in an interview, said the bank established an anti-corruption fund of about 55 million dollars seven years ago, which had yet to be tapped into.
“The point is, we have the funds. However, when implementing that fund, we found that there were conflicts of interest on how the fund was set up.” Adesina restated that the bank had an independent anti-corruption unit that sanctions companies with non-competitive behaviour. According to him, corruption is not unique to Africa, and there is no doubt about the need for improved governance, transparency, and accountability anywhere in the world. He said to curb the challenge of corruption, the bank established a programme called SEGA, which centred on economic governance in Africa. “It has to do with public financial management. It has to do with debt management. It has to do with reducing illicit capital flows.
Gender and Albania’s accession take centre stage at Government Procurement Committee (WTO)
Addressing the WTO Committee on Government Procurement at a meeting on 12 June, the Deputy Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Ms Dorothy Tembo, called on parties to the Government Procurement Agreement 2012 (GPA 2012) and observers to help support its recently launched global campaign aimed at improving the participation of women entrepreneurs in government procurement. “Currently, only 1 per cent of public contracts globally are going to women-led businesses,” she said.
The campaign seeks to help women overcome barriers when bidding for government contracts. Among these barriers are complex procedures, financing constraints and a lack of information and networks to grow businesses and increase exports.
Plastics Dialogue co-coordinators outline focus areas to guide post-MC13 work (WTO)
At a meeting on 13 June, co-coordinators of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) proposed a set of potential items of focus as the initiative geared towards achieving concrete, pragmatic and effective outcomes by the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14). Participants also heard updates on various international processes aimed at reducing plastics pollution, delving deep into the technical elements that align with the actions identified in the MC13 Ministerial Statement.
Regarding the promotion of trade to tackle plastics pollution, the proposed focus includes facilitating access to technologies and services, including for waste management, and levelling the playing field for non-plastic substitutes and alternatives, starting with standards. How to enhance the capacity of members to integrate trade as part of the solution to plastic pollution was also proposed as a focus under this workstream.
Quick links
How can Africa navigate increasing polycrises? (The New Times)
Africa enters into multi-country visa regime (bird)
The European Union and Africa: Towards a Strategic and Partnership Redefinition (EU Reporter)
G7 vows to drop fossil fuels faster, but activists unimpressed (Reuters)
