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tralac’s Daily News selection
The selection: Friday, 12 February 2016
Yesterday, two presidential speeches:
South Africa: President Zuma's State of the Nation address
China announced investments of $50bn of which South Africa will receive $10bn for infrastructure, industrialisation and skills development. On North-South cooperation, we continued our engagements with the European Union as a bloc which is our largest trading partner and foreign investor. Over 2000 EU companies operate within South Africa creating over three hundred and fifty thousand jobs. South Africa’s relations with the USA and Canada continue to strengthen, especially in the areas of economy, health, education, energy, water, safety and security, capacity building and the empowerment of women. The renewal and expansion of the African Growth and Opportunity Act provides a platform for the enhancement of industrialisation and regional integration. All outstanding issues around AGOA are being attended to.
Kenya: President Kenyatta's closing remarks to the Governors Summit (Office of the President)
The Summit also agreed on the adoption of a policy of austerity aimed at releasing more resources from recurrent expenditure to development. In this context, the National and County Governments committed to achieve a 50 percent reduction in travel and allowance expenditure across all government organs. In addition, the Summit agreed to commission an analysis of the functions of both levels of Government, to eliminate duplication and wastage.
Mbeki Panel to meet with US officials on illicit financial outflows from Africa (UNECA)
During his visit (16-19 February), the Chair of the Panel and his delegation will be holding consultations and undertaking advocacy with various stakeholders in the United States, including: the United States government entities relevant to addressing IFF from Africa, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank officials, as well as the international Diplomatic Corps. He will also be speaking to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, as well as African Ambassadors to the UN. Subsequently, Mr Mbeki will also hold meetings with representatives of the civil society, private sector and academia.
Rwanda: Seven ministers in Senate over trade imbalance (New Times)
The government will put efforts in increasing value addition of export crops and utilise resources on the ground to maximise profitability in order to turn around trade deficit that has slumped heavily. Trade deficit for the third quarter of 2015 was at $338.95 million, 45% higher than the deficit of $233.98 million for the corresponding quarter in 2014, according to reports from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. The government has mainly faulted external factors for the slump, with ministers telling Senate yesterday that global financial crisis; regional political instability; shortage of volumes and value of export products are responsible for the imbalanced trade deficit.
Spurring global growth via a new Trade Facilitation Agreement (World Bank)
Buoying the spirits of those who hailed the broad support for TFA at December’s ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization in Nairobi, 68 countries have already ratified the agreement. The number of county-by-country ratifications is fast approaching the total of 107 required for the TFA to go into effect. [The author: Klaus Tilmes]
Understanding India’s export predicament (Livemint)
India’s commodity exports fell by 18.4 percentage points year-on-year during April-December 2015. In percentage terms, this is the worst fall in export values since 2001, and around 5 percentage points more than the previous high of 13.8 percentage points in April-December 2009. It might be tempting to put the entire blame for the fall in exports on the sluggish global economic scenario. However, it is also a fact that India’s performance on the external trade front has been found wanting even during better times. Here are some facts which can help understand India’s export predicament during the post-reform period.
Namibia, EU ready to sign EPA (New Era)
"We have finalised negotiations and are ready to sign sometime this year,” said Ambassador Raúl Fuentes Milani, Head of the EU Delegation to Namibia, adding that the cooperation, once officially announced, would “open a new page in economic relations.” "The EU and Namibia, together with other SADC countries, have been negotiating the EPA since 2007, and although initialised, Namibia is one of the countries that have not signed the EPA citing differences on key issues of export taxes, safeguarding measures on agricultural products and rules of origin. The idea is to change the current situation, based on un-bilateral concessions by the EU, into a bilateral understanding,” said Milani on the new direction of the EPA.
Mauritius: electronic certificate of origin workshop (Government of Mauritius)
The Mauritius Revenue Authority launched on 9 February 2016 a three-day workshop on SADC electronic certificate of origin implemented with the initial processing of the EUR 1 Movement Certificate in the context of ongoing Customs Reform and Modernisation Programme at the MRA. The Chairperson of the MRA Board, Mr Sateeaved Seebaluck, emphasised that the economic success of Mauritius is becoming more and more contingent upon the success of SADC, COMESA and the African continent as a whole. According to Mr Seebaluck, the automation of the SADC Certificate of Origin has been successfully implemented by the MRA and that all certificates of origin issued by the MRA are automated, namely in respect of EUR 1, IOC, Turkey Mauritius PTA and Pakistan Mauritius PTA.
Egypt: Brace for a devaluation of the Egyptian pound, say economists (Ahram Online)
Egypt will allow a sharp devaluation of its currency in the first half of this year as it has run out of options in the midst of an escalating foreign currency shortage crisis that has slowed economic activity, according to bankers and economists surveyed by Ahram Online. Since the January 2011 mass uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak, the Central Bank of Egypt has propped up the Egyptian pound, which was officially traded at 5.8 pounds to the US dollar at the time. Today, the Egyptian pound is changing hands at 8.7 to the US dollar on the black market according to traders surveyed by Reuters on Tuesday, compared to an official rate of 7.73.
MENA Economic Brief: The economic effects of war and peace (World Bank)
Growth in the Middle East and North Africa is revised downward to 2.6% in 2015 and the short term prospects remain “cautiously pessimistic”, according to the latest issue of the Quarterly Economic Brief for MENA. The report examines the different ways in which civil wars affect the economies of the region, including the important channel of forced displacement, which has become a crisis. It also explores how economic fortunes will turn around if there is peace.
South Africa: Daimler unit to expand from SA base (Business Day)
German motor company Daimler has made SA the regional base for its new global truck and bus strategy — a decision expected to bring significant business to Mercedes-Benz SA (MBSA) and eventually new investment to its East London assembly plant. MBSA’s Daimler Trucks and Buses arm was already responsible for the local market and for Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho. Daimler’s global board member for trucks and buses, Wolfgang Bernhard, said on Thursday these countries had been joined by Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. Until now, the newcomers had been serviced mainly from Germany, but also from Japan, where one of Daimler’s brands, Fuso, is based.
Other SA trade news: Strained trade conditions (SACCI), @martinslabber: Bilateral trade between South Africa and the Philippines up by 36% to US$222 million in 2015, Spazas are pulling in the shoppers (City Press)
Kenya: Thousands of jobs at stake as new team moves in to reform Mombasa port (The Standard)
The ripple effects of the drastic changes at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) continued to be felt in Mombasa yesterday. It emerged that at least 90 senior and middle level managers would be investigated for a series of crimes. There was panic at the port after the 7,500 workers learnt that some of the managers would be investigated over insider trading, manipulation of information systems and graft. Others are being investigated for malpractice in procurement and tenders including the concession to operate the Second Container Terminal and implementation of two vessel tracking systems.
Transport CS James Macharia orders safety review of RVR operations (Daily Nation)
Uganda: Kagina warns Chinese firms on road delays (Daily Monitor)
Uganda National Roads Authority executive director Allen Kagina has vowed to revoke contracts awarded to some Chinese companies undertaking roads construction in the country over delays to complete works. While on a one-day visit to Agago, Pader, Kitgum and Lamwo districts on Wednesday, Ms Kagina said some Chinese contractors were reluctant on beating deadlines since they lack certain equipment and have unregistered engineers.
Kenyan firm expects more Chinese airlines in Africa to boost trade (Shanghai Daily)
Kenya's Astral Aviation CEO Sanjeev Gadhia told Xinhua in Nairobi that currently only two Chinese airlines fly to Africa. In 2015, Astral signed an agreement with China Southern Airlines. Under the agreement, Astral will transport Chinese goods that arrive in Nairobi from China Southern Airlines to the rest of East and Central African states. "Our role is to provide last mile logistics to Chinese goods headed to the hinterland countries such as Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan," he said. Astral has also signed an agreement with the Chinese Customs whereby Astral airlines will be allowed to consolidate Kenyan bound cargo in Guangzhou.
WB ranks Kenya last in agricultural markets survey (Business Daily)
Kenya has been ranked last in sub-Saharan Africa in regulation of agricultural markets in a survey by the World Bank. A requirement that agricultural exporters pay annual licence fees pushed up the prices of Kenyan products in the global market hurting the country’s competitiveness and ranking in the survey, said the WB. Globally, Kenya ranked only ahead of Myanmar and Sri Lanka in the survey of 40 countries.
South Africa: Policy brief on the 2015/16 drought (BFAP)
This report evaluates the impact of the current drought on the South African economy, on commercial and smallholder producers, and on consumers. Whilst the impact of the drought on current prices in undeniable, the effect of the depreciation in the value of the Rand also remains undisputed. It not only shifts the level of the import and export parity price band, but also impacts on every stage of the food value chain. [The human cost of the hottest year on record (UNISDR)]
Financing rural structural transformation in the Least Developed Countries (UNCTAD)
The performance of the agricultural sector in LDCs is unsatisfactory. Agricultural labour productivity in LDCs between 2011 and 2013 was 19 per cent of that in other developing countries and just 1.8 per cent of that in developed countries. Given the concentration of the labour force in agriculture in LDCs, this broader productivity gap is the major cause of poverty in these countries and of the income divergence between LDCs and these other country groups. The total food trade deficit of LDCs has widened dramatically, from $2 billion in 1995–1997 to $21.8 billion in 2011–2013.
African states pledge co-operation to combat wildlife crimes (Coastweek)
Jaindi Kisero: 'We have abandoned domestic manufacturers' (Business Daily)
West Africa Trade & Export Finance Conference 2016: highlights (The Insider)
US officials warn of chaos in DRC if President Kabila declines to surrender power (The East African)
Brazilian states promote construction of Transoceanic Railroad (MacauHub)
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