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tralac’s Daily News Selection
The selection: Friday, 18 March 2016
Report of the first session of the Committee on Gender and Social Development (UNECA)
Presenting the report on the development of national satellite accounts of household production, Mr Gonzague Rosalie, Economic Affairs Officer at the African Centre for Gender, said that the exclusion from official national accounts of most services produced by households for their own consumption led to an understatement of the importance role played in the national economy by those working in the household sector, in particular women. It was therefore important to compile satellite accounts of household production that imputed monetary values to services produced by households for their own account, in order to supplement the core national accounts and obtain a broader measure of national welfare. To that end, the report proposed a framework for constructing such satellite accounts of household production and discussed the policy implications of those accounts.
Related: SADC states lag behind in data dissemination (Mmegi), The ENACTS approach: data at the front lines of Africa’s climate crisis (World Policy)
SADC targets sustainability of regional integration agenda (Southern African News Features)
Development of the fund has been going on for a long time, albeit with challenges related to administrative and logistical issues. However, a SADC document released at the 33rd SADC Summit held in Lilongwe, Malawi in August 2013, indicated that a lot of groundwork has been made with regards to the establishment of the fund. At the time there were suggestions that member states should take up 51% of the shares in the facility, against 37% for the private sector and 12% for ICPs. It was also proposed that the fund will have seed capital of $1.2bn, with member states expected to contribute $612m while the private sector will take up $444m of the share capital and $144m will come from ICPs.
EALA set to pass omnibus law on integration (East African Legislative Assembly)
The East African Legislative Assembly has proposed enactment of an omnibus law to harmonise national laws appertaining to the Community and to institute an administration law for the Common Market Protocol. The Assembly is of the view such a move shall cure, existing challenges of harmonisation of Partner State laws appertaining to the Community. At the same time, the Assembly wants the Council of Ministers to direct the Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs to hold regular meetings and to prioritize harmonisation of laws for EAC in order facilitate integration within the set time frames.
Mobile money: lessons for West Africa (International Growth Centre)
This workshop – jointly organised and supported by the Bank of Sierra Leone and the International Growth Centre offices in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ghana – aimed to achieve this experience sharing and learning across sub-Saharan Africa. The workshop brought together government and private sector representatives from Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, and builds on previous SSA meetings over the past two years in Mozambique and Senegal. Key emerging policy areas were identified for workshop sessions to address, and the IGC identified relevant economic questions that can be addressed by the SSA experience. The workshop addressed the following topics: [Various downloads available]
Roberto Azevêdo: 'The future of the WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations and the implications for Africa’s regional integration' (WTO)
Indeed, I would say that the need for better integration across the continent is indisputable. It’s clear in the fact that intra-African trade remains just a tenth of Africa’s total trade. Or in the fact that the cost of moving goods within Africa is twice the global average. Or in the fact that an African company faces an average tariff of 8.7% when selling within Africa, against 2.5% elsewhere. We need to tackle these barriers. And I would argue that doing this will help drive Africa’s integration globally.
Different kinds of trade initiatives have always co-existed with the multilateral system. It is important that they are coherent and compatible, so that they can all help to spread the benefits of trade. The economic map of Africa today is defined by these efforts: from SADC, COMESA, ECOWAS and the EAC — to the Tripartite FTA — and, in due course, the Continental FTA. The WTO supports these efforts. And the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement provides a very practical mechanism for taking them forward. [@WTODGAZEVEDO: Great news from South Africa Trade Min Davies. National Assembly has approved ratification of WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement]
Alicia Greenidge: 'A possible development journey in a post-Nairobi WTO' (Bridges Africa)
Developing countries in the WTO might form their own clusters to refine specific elements to conclude the DDA starting from the needs of the LDCs working up the chain of developing countries in need to form tranches of practical decisions. Perhaps one WTO member’s idea offered at Davos this year for a solidarity work programme in the WTO can provoke discussions on ways to resolve areas in the DDA, particularly development. However, there may be little interest in propagating “work programmes” and more of an appetite for concrete outputs.
Does trade reduce poverty?: a view from Africa (World Bank)
This paper examines how the effect of trade openness on poverty may depend on complementary reforms that help a country take advantage of international competition. Using a non-linear regression specification that interacts a proxy of trade openness with proxies of various country structural specificities and a panel of 30 African countries over the period 1981-2010, we find that trade openness tends to reduce poverty in countries where financial sectors are deep, education levels high and institutions strong.
Export trends in Africa: an analysis of South Africa’s manufactured exports to Africa (tralac)
As the process of regional integration continues with countries in Africa now committed to establish a continental free trade area (CFTA), it is in South Africa’s interest to ensure that it remains one of the major players within this envisaged expanded market. The objective of this paper is to look at South Africa’s export profile with Africa. More specifically, we would like to analyse the performance of South Africa’s manufactured exports in this market and determine whether South Africa has been gaining or losing market share. Can we expect South Africa’s role as a major investor and trading player to continue? [The author: Taku Fundira]
Related: Namibia: SA imports skyrocket (Informante), Q4 South African fruit exports good, expected to drop (FreshPlaza), Threat to SA cement producers confirmed (IOL)
Africa’s ports: the bottleneck (The Economist)
What is true of Mombasa is true of ports across Africa. From Nigeria to Djibouti, decrepit and inefficient container ports are being expanded with money from the World Bank, governments (particularly those of China and Japan) and logistics firms such as Bolloré (a big French company which operates 14 port concessions across the continent). That offers the potential to transform African trade. Yet corruption and poor management may mean the gains will be squandered. Good ports are perhaps more important to Africa than any other region. On a continent bereft of good roads and productive factories, fully 90% of trade happens by sea. Ports also corrall trade where it can be regulated and taxed: in Kenya, for example, some 40% of government revenue is generated by the customs department. Ports are also the means by which much contraband, from drugs to ivory, escapes to the rest of the world.
Replenishment of the African Development Fund: speeches by Akinwumi A. Adesina, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Global Value Chain Development Report 2016: background paper conference (World Bank)
Finally, let me conclude with one important consideration. Fully understanding the analytics of GVC participation importantly requires further investment in enhancing the statistical capacity. It is now readily accepted across the international statistical community that a ‘whole of value chain’ approach to GVC policy making requires a similar ‘joined-up’ perspective at the statistical level, that can provide the evidence needed for a holistic perspective; one that fully articulates the role of the different actors involved. Progress is being made in this area by several institutions and by the research community and it should be fostered further. [The author, Anabel Gonzalez, is the World Bank Group’s Senior Director for Trade and Competitiveness]
France’s proposed palm oil tax threatens African small farmers (Vanguard)
Initiative for Public Policy Analysis - the Nigeria-based public policy think tank - has condemned the French Government’s proposed tax on palm oil that will be of disadvantage to Africa, and undermine efforts to alleviate poverty across the continent. The proposed taxes – a huge additional tax of 90EUR per tonne and a differential tax for palm oil produced according to rich Western standards – is purposefully discriminatory and would lead to devastating consequences for African farmers of palm oil, and throughout the rest of the developing world. Thompson Ayodele, Director of IPPA said in a statement:
Nigeria invests in tomato processing (FreshPlaza)
Nigeria is the world's 13th largest producer of tomatoes and second in Africa, yet the country continues to spend over $300 million annually on importing tomato concentrate. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development states that domestic demand for tomatoes is 2.3 million tons, while the country only produces 1.8 million tons a year. The absence of a proper agricultural value chain system means that most of the tomatoes produced in the country are wasted due to post harvest loss, poor handling system, poor distribution channels and lack of easy access to markets. [Nigerian mining chamber calls for establishment of development bank (Mining Review)]
Tanzania: Agra flags off new crop value chains (The Citizen)
The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa has launched a new initiative for the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania dubbed Inclusive Green Growth of the Smallholder Agriculture programme. The over arching goal of the initiative supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to increase incomes and food security of at least 30,000 farming households in Mbeya Region by 2020.
Zambia to launch agricultural blueprint (Shanghai Daily)
The Zambian government will launch a new agriculture policy next month that will drive the development of the sector, state media reported Tuesday. The policy, covering the period 2016 to 2021, will form part of the country's revised National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP). Minister of Agriculture Given Lubinda said the policy will help reduce poverty through increased investment, productivity and value chains in the sector. [Zambia: Cashew value chain project update (AfDB)]
Ertharin Cousin, Anthony Lake: 'Surviving El Niño' (Mail and Guardian)
Contested Agronomy 2016: imagining different futures for food and farmers (IDS)
Africa becoming Chinese enterprises' foreign investment and cooperation hotspot (Forum on China-Africa Cooperation)
"My company keeps two times - Beijing Time and Ethiopian Time", Li Weiming, Special Assistant to President of Huajian Group, disclosed to journalists at the Seminar on Investment Promotion to Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia held in Tangshan recently. He added that his company had established a subsidiary factory in Ethiopia over the past five years or so.
Premier Li Keqiang: 'Report on the work of the government' (Xinhua)
I now want to discuss the major areas of work for 2016: Third, we will improve the trade mix. We will launch trials to create innovative ways of developing trade in services, see that more cities become trendsetters in providing foreign outsourced services, and accelerate the development of foreign trade in cultural goods and services. We will further integrate and improve special customs regulation zones, and encourage processing trade to move to the central and western regions and extend to the medium-high end of the industrial chain. Fourth, we will further facilitate trade. We will see that the single window system is implemented for international trade nationwide. We will reduce the frequency of inspections for exports. Fifth, we will adopt a more proactive import policy. We will increase the import of advanced technology and equipment, key spare parts and components, and energy and raw materials in short supply in China.
Namibia misses Indian-Africa business meeting (The Namibian)
Productivity, price nexus and Zim competitiveness (The Chronicle)
Back-office blues hit India as services exports start to slow (Livemint)
Lídia Cabral: 'How Brazil missed its golden South-South co-operation moment' (The Conversation)
Sanusha Naidu: 'South-South cooperation: new wine in old bottles?' (UNA-UK)
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