News
tralac Daily News
SA committed to meeting climate change undertakings (SAnews)
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister, Dr Dion George, has assured of South Africa’s commitment to meeting its undertakings under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement. George said South Africa is working on its second Nationally Determined Contribution, and the country has also committed to updating and submitting its first Biennial Transparency Report.
George was speaking at the Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) Ministerial Meeting held on Sunday, ahead of the 8th Session of the Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action (MoCA) taking place in Wuhan, China. The Ministers responsible for climate change from the BASIC countries gathered for the bi-annual meeting to discuss key issues related to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations at the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP29).
In his opening remarks, George said South Africa is focused on implementing ambitious actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including through the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP). The implementation of this plan includes actions around electricity, electric vehicles and green hydrogen and, said the Minister, South Africa is interested in partnering with BASIC and other countries towards its implementation.
Meanwhile, MoCA, which is taking place on 22 -23 July 2024, is a key moment for ministers and senior climate diplomats to gather, coming shortly after the UNFCCC intersessional in June. The meeting will be a chance to elevate sticky issues in climate negotiations to a higher political level. MoCA is one of the platforms created at the initiative of individual States in support of the UNFCCC negotiations that seeks to identify issues of convergence and divergence at a political level, with a view to bridge building and exploring potential landing zones ahead of the COP.
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), in partnership with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), and the Southern African Essential Oils Producers Association (SAEOPA), will host the 3rd South African Conference on Essential and Vegetable Oils conference, at the South African National Botanical Gardens in Pretoria from 25-26 July 2024.
Under the theme “Local to Global: East West, Home is Best,” the conference will bring together 200 oil producers and stakeholders from across South Africa and Southern Africa. The event aims to share innovative trends in the global marketplace including various applications for essential and vegetable oils and to address critical issues faced by this industry. Attendees will gain valuable insights from proven experts on the most pressing challenges, equipping them with the knowledge needed to thrive in the dynamic essential and vegetable oils sector.
The conference will feature a series of presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions focussing on: Innovative trends shaping the global essential and vegetable oils market. Addressing critical challenges faced by producers and stakeholders. Strategies for expanding market reach from local to global.
According to SAEOPA, the global essential oils market size was valued at $11 billion in 2023, It is projected to grow to $12,47 billion in 2024, and $27,82 billion by 2032. South African exports of essential oils, perfumes, cosmetics and toileteries was $679 million during 2023, according to the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics database on international trade.
Ghana’s Economic Prospects on Track Amid Reforms (World Bank)
The World Bank’s 8th Economic Update for Ghana titled Strengthening Domestic Revenue Systems for Fiscal Sustainability notes that despite recent increases in the pace of exchange rate depreciation and slower-than-expected inflation reduction, Ghana’s economic indicators remain on track for 2024 and beyond.
“Ghana’s macroeconomic crisis in 2022 has set back poverty reduction efforts, with poverty levels estimated at 30.3% in 2023. It is crucial to maintain the momentum of the reforms, while mitigating the impact on the poor, to help sustain Ghana’s economic rebound. In parallel, we must lay the foundations for more sustainable and resilient economic growth by implementing comprehensive structural reforms to foster economic diversification and promote long-term inclusive growth,” said Michelle Keane, World Bank Acting Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Algeria Trade Investment Forum (Afreximbank)
Within the framework of promoting Intra-African Investment, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with The Algerian Investment Promotion Agency (AAPI), successfully hosted Algeria Investment Forum, “Focus Algeria” in Algiers from June 25 to 26, 2024. The forum aimed at promoting investment opportunities in Algeria for African operators and brought together key Algerian partners and foreign businessmen from across the African continent, as well as officials from economic institutions, financial experts, and economists.
Omar Rekkache, Director General of AAPI, opened the forum and was joined by Hocine Zaoui, Director General of the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and industry (CACI), who represented the Minister of Trade and Export Promotion. Mr. Rekkache informed the participants that Algeria had adopted a new investment law to improve the investment system in favour of cooperation and partnership with foreign partners, notably from other African countries, saying that that law would open new horizons for investors and provide necessary facilities to transition from production to export.
He announced that, out of 238 provisional decisions, Algeria had granted 72 definitive decisions for economic land concessions to investors in ongoing efforts to streamline the investment process. Additionally, he announced several unstructured projects aimed at linking Algeria with other African countries –prioritized for Afreximbank financing to support Algerian exports of goods and services across the continent. “Algeria, the gateway to Africa, intends to fully play its role as an economic power at the service of the African continent,” he said.
Algeria’s Ambitious Path for Development (World Bank)
The most recent example of this was seen in the release of the World Bank’s annual income classification report on July 1st, 2024. Algeria was one of only four countries worldwide that moved across the threshold from a lower-middle income to upper-middle income classification. The remarkable aspect of this shift for Algeria is that it was primarily due to a modernization of systems to overhaul statistical capacity, which allowed a more accurate measure of the country’s GDP. While the Algerian economy grew by 4.1% in 2023, the main driver of the upward reclassification was a comprehensive revision to national accounts statistics, which included expanding investment estimates and improving coverage of the informal economy.
“The GDP rebasing finalized in 2024 made it possible to better measure the Algerian economy, and thus to reclassify the country in the category that best reflects its level of economic development” said Kamel Braham, World Bank Resident Representative for Algeria. “This underscores the importance of availability and accuracy of data to inform economic policy.”
The World Bank has supported Algeria in its quest for resilience, particularly in addressing the impacts of climate change. Algeria is exposed to a wide range of natural hazards, including floods, earthquakes, and forest fires, which threaten lives and livelihoods and cause substantial economic losses. The Bank has collaborated with Algeria’s Délégation Nationale aux Risques Majeurs (National Delegation for Major Risks), leading to a joint study on Diagnostic on Climate and Disaster Risk Management in Algeria. With forest fires particularly an ever-present threat, the Bank has worked with the Direction Générale des Forêts (General Directorate of Forestry) on knowledge, capacity, and consultative engagements, leading to a joint study on Sustainable Forest Management to Combat Forest Fires in Algeria.
Looking ahead, priorities such as energy, climate resilience and strengthening the private sector provide opportunities for further engagements in the dynamic partnership between the World Bank and Algeria.
Comoros and Timor-Leste submit WTO accession instruments, accept Fisheries Subsidies Agreement (WTO)
At a ceremony at the start of the General Council meeting on 22 July, Comoros and Timor-Leste handed over to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala their acceptance of the WTO Protocols of Accession, setting both countries on course to formally become the 165th and 166th members of the WTO in late August. Comoros and Timor-Leste also handed over to the Director-General their respective instruments of acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
Gambia, Senegal sign joint communiqué on trade cooperation (The Point)
The Trade minister of The Gambia and the Commerce minister of Senegal have agreed to the implementation of the Trade and Transit Cooperation Agreement as well as the underlying protocols, in accordance with the spirit of ECOWAS, as they signed a joint communiqué that covered a two-day meeting of experts, on the 16th and 17th of July 2024.
The communiqué was signed during the second session of the Joint Trade Cooperation Committee meeting between Senegal and The Gambia on July 19, 2024 in Saly Portudal, Senegal, under the joint leadership of Dr. Sérigne Gueye Diop, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Republic of Senegal, and Hon. Baboucarr O. Joof, Minister for Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, and Employment of the Republic of The Gambia.
The duo expressed their desire to spare no effort in strengthening trade and industrial development through the promotion of investment, in compliance with ECOWAS provisions.
EAC, Comesa, Sadc merger into seamless market begins Thursday (The East African)
At least 14 countries will trade freely within East, Central, and Southern Africa from Thursday, July 25 following the ratification of a Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement that flattens the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) into a single commerce bloc. This follows the submission of instruments of ratification by 14 out of the 29 partner states making up the Tripartite, thus meeting the threshold required for the TFTA to enter into force.
“Malawi, Lesotho, and Angola are the latest member states to ratify the agreement making it 14 countries. It takes effect on July 25, 2024,” Christopher Onyango, Director of Trade and Customs at the Comesa Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia, said. ”This means that member states can start trading. But there are technical things which have to be put in place before they can begin trading freely.” The other countries that have ratified the agreement include Botswana, Burundi, Egypt, Eswatini, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, and Zambia. Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda have ratified the tripartite, while for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, ratification is pending.
Among the key challenges hindering the operationalisation of the TFTA is the absence of a dedicated secretariat and institutional structure to coordinate and implement its programmes and activities. ”Presently, coordination is being conducted on a rotational basis among the three RECs. Therefore, the first thing the Tripartite will have to do is come up with a regional headquarters to coordinate its activities,” said Onyango. ”The other challenge has been acute financial constraints. Inadequate financing seriously slowed down negotiations of the various pillars as the RECs rely on their respective staff to facilitate these negotiations.” At the moment, only the market integration pillar is being supported by the African Development Bank.
The Comesa – EAC – Sadc TFTA, which was signed in 2015 comprises 29 countries representing 53 percent of the African Union Membership, more than 60 percent of continental GDP ($1.88 Trillion; 2019), and a combined population of 800 million. Under the market integration pillar, the Tripartite has a more ambitious tariff liberalisation schedule compared to the African Continental Free Trade Area-- the world’s largest free trade area bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union and eight regional economic communities to create a single market for the continent. Whereas the latter’s level of tariff liberalisation ambition is 90 percent for non-sensitive products, seven percent for sensitive products, and three percent for exclusion list, the tripartite level of ambition is 100 percent tariff liberation.
Tide changes as businesses in region make a beeline for Kenyan market (The East African)
East African Community (EAC) businesses are increasingly expanding into Kenya’s key sectors, including service, manufacturing, agriculture oil and gas, bucking a trend where Kenyan firms have long dominated forays into the region’s markets. Deep-pocketed investors in firms from EAC countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Somalia have been expanding their footprints into the country, threatening the dominance that has for long been almost exclusively enjoyed by locals and businesses beyond the region.
The growing interest of regional firms such as Amsons Group, Taifa Gas, Maziwa, Premier Bank, Yego Global, and Liptons Teas and Infusions Rwanda in the Kenyan market, comes after years of many Kenyan firms, including banks, insurers and manufacturers, expanding into the EAC market in search of new opportunities. EAC region’s economy was valued at $312.9 billion and had a population of 300.4 million people at the end of 2021, according to the trade bloc’s data.
COMESA issues recall warning on 20 car brands over faulty airbags (Capital Business)
The COMESA Competition Commission has alerted car importers in the region over the ongoing recall of vehicles from more than 20 major car brands equipped with faulty Takata airbag inflators. In a statement, the commission’s registrar, Meti Demissie Disasa, said that car manufacturers worldwide have already recalled over 100 million defective Takata airbags that were equipped in their vehicles as of January this year. These car brands include Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Ford, Pontiac, Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Infiniti, and Dodge, among others, particularly from the model years 2002–2015.
According to COMESA, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has already issued a ‘Do Not Drive’ warning to owners of these car brands. “The commission therefore wishes to alert consumers in the COMESA region on the ongoing developments regarding the Takata airbags, for their information, since there is a high importation of used cars in the region,” it stated.
SADC members urged to integrate environmental sustainability, economic development (News Ghana)
Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries have been urged to integrate environmental sustainability and socioeconomic development, an official said in a statement Thursday. Boemo Sekgoma, secretary general of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, said this is the only way countries making up the 16-member Southern African regional bloc can demonstrate their commitment to climate resilience.
“Sustainable conservation of the environment in the Southern Africa region needs the commitment of each country through the integration of environmental sustainability and economic and social development. The development is in pursuit of a wholesome natural resources governance matrix,” she said. According to Sekgoma, SADC countries must embrace transparency, scientific knowledge, and sustainable environmental practices in order to truly benefit from their natural resources.
Proposing a three-pronged approach centered on knowledge, governance, and sustainability, the secretary general underlined the need to equip governments and citizens with scientific knowledge, ensuring transparency in resource extraction and utilization, to create a win-win scenario for all regional countries and the citizenry at the community level.
Relevant Resolutions Adopted to Promote Development and Trade in the ECOWAS Space (ECOWAS)
The 4th Annual General Meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Network ended on Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Banjul, Gambia, with a series of resolutions designed to further boost trade in West Africa. To ensure better promotion of trade within the community, the participants decided to organize regular trade fairs to boost intra-regional trade. ECOWAS member states are encouraged to take an active part in these fairs, in order to foster collaboration and economic growth in the region.
They also decided on the inclusive selection of value chains with the potential to stimulate economic development, create jobs and improve competitiveness in West Africa. Another resolution concerns the implementation of measures to improve infrastructure and logistics services in the region, with particular emphasis on reducing trade barriers, streamlining customs procedures and improving transport networks to facilitate trade operations and make them more efficient.
The identification of cost-effective activities whose implementation should maximize the efficiency of resources; collaboration with the East African trade network to strengthen integration and support on a continental scale; and the payment by TPOs of their $5,300 registration fee following registration and account opening were also among the meeting’s resolutions.
SMEs in cocoa and coffee industry undergo training on exporting through AfCFTA (The Business & Financial Times)
The International Trade Centre (ITC) and African Export-Import Bank have held a capacity-building exercise for some Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the cocoa and coffee sector. The aim was to equip them with knowledge on leveraging the myriad of opportunities from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and export their products and services to other African countries. The workshop, dubbed ‘How to Export with the AfCFTA’, exposed participants to peculiarities and complexities of the African market and huge opportunities therein for makers of cocoa and coffee products.
During the training, participants were sensitised on adding value to their goods to meet demands of the African market and connect with businesses outside the country.
Divine Kutortse, the programme’s manager in charge of enterprise support and trade in finance at the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, acknowledged the existence of a huge market opportunity for Ghanaian coffee and cocoa product makers in the African market – and provided comprehensive information on how Ghanaian businesses can fully utilise this opportunity.
“If AfCFTA works properly, it should be the 8th-largest economy in the world; which means there will be huge market opportunities for us. Our focus is on how we can look within, but that has been a challenge – and the strategy is how to work on it. We have Africans who consume coffee and we produce the raw materials of coffee here, so let’s look within and put in place measures to ensure that what we are trading is of high standard and value. “We are big suppliers of coffee raw materials, so clearly we can make it work. One of the challenges for low intra-African trade is that despite our rich resources, we contribute less than 3% to global trade. One of the reasons for this is that we export mainly raw materials – and we need to change that. Our interest is in promoting value addition,” he said.
AIDA/AfCFTA Standard Assessment Guide launched (The Business & Financial Times)
A comprehensive guide for country impact assessments on Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa (AIDA) and the African Continental free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been officially in Accra.
The AIDA/AfCFTA Standard Assessment Guide is meticulously crafted to serve as a comprehensive tool for evaluating and enhancing economic policies across Africa. It aims to establish uniform criteria for assessing economic performance across member states, streamline trade processes and reduce barriers to intra-African trade, align economic practices with Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support the harmonisation of economic policies to create a cohesive continental market.
Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of AfCFTA Secretariat, while speaking at the event said: “Today, we launch an important tool to assess progress we are making in industrial development and social economic progress based on implementation of the AfCFTA”. He added that the Secretariat will continue leveraging the leadership and expertise of AUDA-NEPAD to ensure the guide becomes a successful tool in AfCFTA’s implementation. We will continue relying on AUDA-NEPAD because we are not designed to have the technical skill and capability necessary for undertaking this enormous work,” he added.
African trade unions to adopt strategies on critical transition minerals (IndustriALL)
Unions are advocating for the implementation of human rights due diligence and responsible business practices in the mining of critical minerals. Their goal is to mitigate the adverse impact of the transition on human rights and protect the rights of workers and communities. These were key issues discussed at the Just Transition and Human Rights Due Diligence forum in Lusaka, Zambia, on July 15-16.
To assist trade unions in formulating their strategies, the IndustriALL SSA regional office has commissioned research entitled: Mapping of green jobs, skills development, and the just energy transition which will look at the job creation potential in the renewable energy value chains and critical transition minerals with examples from South Africa. The research will be conducted by the Sam Tambani Research Institute (SATRI) - a research arm of IndustriALL affiliate, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
Another research, which will be conducted by the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ), will focus on: Mapping the impact of investment flows in the labour and trade union rights in transitional minerals and renewable energy sectors in Zimbabwe. There will also be a research paper on the African Mining Vision (AMV) to analyze linkages between the AMV, critical transition minerals, and Just Transition.
The critical transition minerals found in SSA include copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, bauxite, graphite, rare earth elements, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, zinc and silicon.
The African Union Commission (AUC), and the United Nations Global Compact will partner up on the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI). Through this collaboration they will seek to amplify the impact of sustainable business practices across Africa through the UN Global Compact’s Africa Strategy which aims to build a cohort of accountable and ambitious African companies to seize the continent’s opportunities.
Building on the African Union-United Nations framework for the implementation of the African Union Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030), the partnership will support the next phase of Agenda 2063’s Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan (2023-2032), a comprehensive roadmap for Africa’s development. The UN Global Compact will engage businesses across the continent to support the African Union Commission’s goals and mandate.
H.E. Ambassador Muchanga emphasized the importance of the new partnership, saying, “This collaboration marks a significant advancement in our efforts to realize the objectives outlined in the African Union Agenda 2063. By partnering with the UN Global Compact, we are reinforcing our commitment to driving sustainable business and promoting economic growth across Africa. Together, we aim to create a dynamic economic environment that supports inclusive progress and empowers African nations to achieve their full potential.”
Ms. Sanda Ojiambo said, “Today’s exchange of letters presents an opportunity to strengthen the long-standing ties between the African Union Commission and the UN system through a partnership with the Global Africa Business Initiative. We share a transformative vision for the continent, where a strong and inclusive African private sector helps de-risk economies, attracts investment, and creates jobs, building more prosperous and sustainable communities.”
Tinubu highlights ECOWAS achievements, challenges at AU meeting (News Agency of Nigeria)
President Bola Tinubu on Sunday in Accra, Ghana, highlighted the progress made so far by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the prevailing challenges of the region. A statement on Sunday by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s spokesman, said he highlighted the achievements of the bloc in the past one year at the Sixth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union while addressing African leaders on the status of ECOWAS. Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, said the Community had activated a Standby Force to counter terrorism and would continue to explore funding options.
Show political will in tackling challenges confronting Africa (GBC Ghana Online)
Secretary General of the East Africa Community (EAC), Veronica Nduva, has urged African Leaders to show political will in addressing challenges that face citizens on the continent. According to her, the various regional blocs on the continent must assess priorities set out in their set targets, commit to them, and take actionable steps as sovereign countries to achieve results.
The East African Community has been cited for several achievements despite its establishment barely 25 years ago. The EAC was established in 2000 after an earlier one was dissolved in 1977. The community, made up of eight countries, has established a Single Customs Territory which has reduced the time of transporting goods from 21 to seven days, while the cost has also been reduced by more than half. It has also removed visa and work permit fees for East Africans, has one common East African Electronic Passport and one Network Area (ONA) for both calls and data, which has ensured the removal of roaming charges in the region. These are feats ECOWAS and other African regional blocs have barely achieved despite being decades older than the EAC. Madam Nduva said making any significant progress will require political will from leaders.
According to Madam Nduva, “the glue that holds us together is the political will of our leaders and head of states who sit in the summits. They are the vision bearers to form a partnership and a community that is very closely knit together.” She said a major advantage the EAC has enjoyed is the political will from its leader, adding that the Community is willing to share its knowledge with other regional blocs to emulate. She explained that the EAC has shown that where there is a will, there is a way.
AU member states approve AI and Digital Compact Strategy (GBC Ghana Online)
African Union member states have approved the Union’s strategy for AI and a digital compact. The strategy will ensure that member states take advantage of the positives of AI to preserve the continents’ identity, language, and culture while preventing unethical use.
The evolution of artificial intelligence as a transformation in the digital space has, for a while, sparked conversations regarding exploring its gains and mitigating its ills. The African Union’s approved strategy for AI and a digital compact call for investment in African youth, innovators, computer scientists, data experts, and AI researchers to lead the continent’s AI development. It will position Africa as a leader in the global digital economy, promoting homegrown digital solutions through a strong talent pool and public-private partnerships. Dr Amani Abou-Zeid encouraged member states to have country specific AI strategies to derive the maximum benefit.
Brain drain: Africa must create an environment that rewards talents - Osinbajo (3News)
As part of efforts to tackle the brain drain, Former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Prof. Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, has asked African leaders to create an environment that rewards the talents of its people to prevent the movement of African labour to other continents.
Speaking at the BOMA of Africa event on the sidelines of the Africa Union’s Mid-Year Coordinating Meeting held in Accra last Saturday, Prof. Osinbajo “Labour is always going to find the place where it is best rewarded. Anywhere in the world, wherever labour is best rewarded, that’s where it’ll go. That’s why there are lots of movements all across the world. It’s, therefore, best for Africa to create the environment for rewarding talent. He said according to experts, as much as one quarter of the planet’s workforce was likely to be of African origin and of the youthful workforce in particular, as much as 42 per cent may be in Africa by 2050.
“An energetic pool of youthful talent fortified with fast-advancing artificial intelligence and the geoengineering edge of a world that is desperately in need of a new economic growth paradigm is an edge that the rest of the world ignores at great risk.” “Integrate trade, digital transaction and work together to build a resilient, rich, prosperous economy and then people will stay and people will come from everywhere in the world to Africa. There’s no other solution,” he said.
Intensify efforts to prevent illicit outflows from Africa - Akufo-Addo to peers - MyJoyOnline (MyJoyOnline)
President Nana Akufo-Addo has called on his African peers to work with a sense of urgency to stop the illicit financial outflows from the continent. He said they needed to pay serious attention to and arrest the situation, which was depriving Africa of significant resources that could be used to support its development. The President made the call at the opening of the Sixth African Union (AU) Mid-Year Coordination meeting in Accra on Sunday.
President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that effort must be made to implement the finding of the Mbeki Commission on illicit financial flows from Africa, made as far back as 2011, which reported the alarming scale at which resources were being illegally siphoned out of the continent. “Despite the recommendations and the call to action, we have struggled to curb effectively these flows. The persistence of illicit financial flows undermines our ability to finance development projects, weakens governance structures and perpetuates inequality. “It is imperative that we intensify our efforts to implement the Commission’s recommendations, strengthen our legal or regulatory frameworks and enhance international cooperation to combat these illicit activities.
Africa will have independent credit ratings agency in 2025 (GhanaWeb)
The African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, Ambassador Albert Muchanga, has announced that the continent is on track to establish a credit ratings agency by 2025. Speaking with reporters in Accra on July 20, 2024, Muchanga stated that the independent agency, specifically designed to cater to Africa’s sovereign borrowers, is currently in the operationalization stage.
“The project is at its next phase of operationalization that entails coming up with the final work plan to ensure that we are able to roll it out,” he explained. He noted that the African Peer Review Mechanism, African Development Bank, African Export-Import Bank, and the AU Commission are all involved in this task. Muchanga elaborated that the agency will be independent and professional, separate from the AU regional bloc.
AU expedites efforts to secure over $100 billion for export-based companies in Africa (GhanaWeb)
Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, the Chairperson of the African Union (AU), says the Continental Organisation is working tirelessly to mobilise over $100 billion from multi-lateral financial institutions to support export-based companies in Africa. So far, he said, the AU had mobilised about $38 million and working closely with other economic blocs around the globe, including the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States and Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation to secure more funding for export-based companies on the continent. Mr. Ghazouani, also the President of Mauritania, made this known during the 6th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Accra on Sunday.
EESC steps up relations with civil society across the African Union, reinforcing EU’s strategic partnership with the African Union (European Economic and Social Committee)
On 17 July, the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Oliver Röpke signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), represented by Presiding ECOSOCC Officer Khalid Boudali. The memorandum strengthens cooperation between the EU and Afriican Union civil societies on promoting economic and social development, enhancing civil society engagement, and fostering sustainable development, reaffirming the African Union’s strategic partnership with EU and promoting renewed democratic dialogue.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the African Union ECOSOCC, President Röpke led a delegation of EESC Members (workers and civil society organisation groups) as well as Vice-President Laurentiu Plosceanu to Ghana, to meet with high representatives of the African Union ECOSOCC. President Röpke reiterated the EU’s commitment to enhancing the strategic partnership with the African Union supporting the initiative for a shared commitment to promote the values of democracy, inclusive dialogue, and sustainable development.
Röpke said: “Through this MoU, we underline our commitment to enhance civil society participation in the Africa-EU partnership, fostering the setting-up of a permanent, inclusive and representative mechanism for such engagement. It is a testament of our shared commitment to promoting the values of democracy, inclusive dialogue, and sustainable development. With 1.3 billion people, the African Union and its ECOSOC is by all means amongst our largest partners and we are glad to invest further in our joint future.”
Preparations Underway for Financing a Sustainable Future (UNECA)
Ahead of the Summit of the Future, the first session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) will review progress and gaps in implementing the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and identify actions to accelerate reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. The PrepCom session will feature a two-day ministerial segment, with a scene-setting panel to launch the preparations for the conference with a high level of political ambition. This will be followed by three days of multi-stakeholder roundtables, addressing all action areas of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. These will assess progress made and spark new ideas to bridge remaining gaps in implementation. The meeting will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 22 to 26 July 2024.
OECD launches pilot to monitor application of G7 code of conduct on advanced AI development (OECD)
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced a pilot phase to monitor the application of the Hiroshima Process International Code of Conduct for Organisations Developing Advanced AI Systems. This initiative will test a reporting framework intended to gather information about how organisations developing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems align with the Actions of the Code of Conduct and is a significant milestone under the G7’s ongoing commitment to promoting safe, secure and trustworthy development, deployment and use of advanced AI systems.
The pilot phase of the reporting framework, available until 6 September 2024, marks a critical first step towards establishing a robust monitoring mechanism for the Code of Conduct as called for by G7 Leaders. The draft reporting framework was designed with input from leading AI developers.
