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tralac’s Daily News Selection
The selection: Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Featured tweet, infographic, @AdanMohamedCS: Kenya is leading the continent in regional integration thanks to trade and immigration reforms.
Featured global trade policy process: G20 Trade and Investment Working Group meeting concluded yesterday in Nanjing – an update, China's G20 trade policy ambitions
26th African Union Summit: the Decisions and Declarations have been released by the AUC.
AU-UNECA Conference of Ministers: report of the Joint Committee of Experts
Assessment of progress on regional integration in Africa: In the ensuing discussion, it was noted that the pace of integration in Africa was relatively slow and that increased momentum was needed to meet the milestones established in the Abuja Treaty. Participants observed that strong continental institutions were needed to enable Africa to roll out its development agenda. Experts were informed about the challenges that some countries experienced in applying Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda at the national level. An assessment of previous development agendas in terms of implementation and lessons learned could be critical to success in implementing the two agendas. Experts noted the need to implement the Agendas within national contexts, and that countries needed to adopt specific tools and mechanisms to successfully integrate the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 into their national development plans. It was recommended that a road map be developed to facilitate the integration of the two agendas into national contexts. In the light of the discussion, the Joint Committee made the following recommendations:
2016 African Business Outlook Survey (ECN)
The Economist Corporate Network surveyed over 120 Africa-based executives for the 2016 African Business Outlook Survey. The majority (69%) indicated that profit margins were the same or higher than their firms’ global averages. Well over 50% of respondents reported that their firms’ expectations of growth were realistic. However, around 47% cited their firms’ level of investment to be too low to achieve targeted growth expectations. Respondents reported that their firms’ growth and investment expectations are weighted to East, West and Southern Africa. Executives indicated that their top three markets in 2015 - South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya - would remain their key markets for at least the next six years. However, they anticipated that Nigeria would surpass South Africa as the top market by 2021. Given the near-term challenges faced in South Africa and Nigeria, the executives’ ranking suggested that they are looking through the current economic cycle, as well as seeing the commercial importance placed of Sub-Saharan Africa’s two largest economies.
John Page: 'Commodities, industry, and the African Growth Miracle' (Brookings)
The 2016 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank occur during uncertain times for the “African Growth Miracle.” Beyond supporting improvements in the “investment climate” - structural reforms by another name - and pushing its Doing Business agenda, the Bank and the larger donor community have ignored Africa’s industrialization challenge for more than 20 years. By any measure Africa’s failure to industrialize is striking. In 2013 the average share of manufacturing in GDP in sub-Saharan Africa was about 10%, half of what would be expected from the region’s level of development. Africa’s share of global manufacturing fell from about 3% in 1970 to less than 2% in 2013. Manufacturing output per person is about a third of the average for all developing countries and manufactured exports per person, a key measure of success in global markets, are about 10% of the global average for low-income countries.
New Afreximbank strategy to increase intra-African trade to $250bn by 2021 (StarAfrica)
The African Export-Import Bank is to implement a new strategy aimed at driving industrialization across Africa and increasing intra-African trade by at least 50% in the next five years. A statement by Afreximbank on Tuesday said that The Afreximbank Intra-African Trade Strategy, approved by the Board of Directors at its quarterly meeting in Johannesburg on Saturday, would see the Bank work with partners to ramp up trade among African countries to $250bn from its current level of about $170bn by 2021. It added that the strategy would involve expanding existing trading activities within Africa’s regional economic communities, integrating informal trade into formal frameworks, reducing trade barriers and minimizing the foreign exchange costs of intra-African trade.
Bankers meet to tackle Africa’s trade challenges (Moneyweb)
The International Chamber of Commerce’s Banking Commission will, for the first time, host its annual meeting in Africa, as it seeks to tackle problems around trade and supply chain finance on the continent, which hinder foreign direct investment. Under the theme ‘Trade and supply chain finance: enabling new trade corridors in and with Africa’, the conference takes place this week Wednesday and Thursday at Johannesburg’s Sandton Convention Centre.
Africa and Britain sign new deal to boost trade (Daily Nation)
UK Export Finance, the British export credit agency on Tuesday signed a deal with the African Trade Insurance, which will see the latter offer UK exporters information about growing markets on the continent. “UKEF and ATI will be able to identify and promote real business opportunities where UK and African companies can work together, and to provide the local market knowledge needed to facilitate trade,” said ATI chief executive officer George Otieno, after the partnership signing. [Mind Africa's trade finance gap]
Tanzania: Mining companies hit back at 'tax dodging' allegations (IPPMedia)
A ruling by the Tax Revenues Appeals Tribunal in Dar es Salaam last week asserted that Acacia Mining Plc (previously known as African Barrick Gold or ABG) was carrying out a "sophisticated scheme of tax evasion” that allowed it to dodge paying over $41.25 million (an estimated 90 billion/-) as withholding tax to the Tanzania Revenue Authority over a period of four years. Acacia, which is Tanzania’s biggest gold mining firm, has moved to quickly deny the accusation and said it intended to lodge an appeal against the tribunal ruling.
Tony Watima: 'Regional trade agreements, not WTO, are the future' (Daily Nation)
Unfortunately the good old days, when WTO was unquestioned as the world body to liberalise trade are behind it, for three reasons.
Chinese factories to be blueprints of future African deals (ecns)
Although three countries (Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania) already have been chosen for the Chinese factory-relocation pilot project, Paul Jourdan said that the success of the move will depend largely on how fast African governments will implement policies to speed up regional integration. "A continental free trade area will flatten border barriers, hence making transportation between countries cheaper, and (it) opens a bigger consumer market," he said. Jourdan applauded export taxes imposed by countries such as Ethiopia, which encourage investors to move to the next step of value-addition.
Mozambique: Limit truck overloading (SPEED Programme)
Cornelder de Moçambique, operator of the Beira Port, has recently taken such a positive step by requiring that trucks entering the port comply with legislation which limits their weight and dimensions. If all ports and terminals, every major border crossing, all major industrial complexes, and other logistical operators took direct responsibility for ensuring that all trucks leaving their premises were compliant with load and other vehicle regulations, a significant reduction in overloading might result. Another group that would actually welcome the ability to control loads are the operators of road concessions such as TRAC and Estradas de Zambezi. Overloading is a serious and costly problem for them, but the authority to control overloaded vehicles remains out of their direct control. [The author, Larry Herman, is a development and transportation economist]
Shippers’ lobby says trials on new cargo clearance system impressive (Business Daily)
A new regional cargo clearance system, presently being piloted at the Mombasa port, has raised hope in the fight against undervaluing of goods and illegal imports. A shippers’ lobby termed the initial results from the ongoing trials on the Advance Cargo Shipment Information System as impressive. “We will use the information that we are receiving from shippers to analyse their experience. If positive responses outweigh the negatives we will lobby to have Kenya adopt it,” Mr Gilbert Langat, the CEO of the Shippers Council of East Africa, told Shipping & Logistics.
Mwai Kibaki: 'It is time to rethink strategy to conserve Africa’s water sources' (Daily Nation)
The recently launched United Nations World Water Development Report 2016 themed, 'Water and Jobs' marks a turning point in global viewpoints on water governance and international water politics. According to the report, globally, 78% of jobs are water dependent in varying degrees. This lends a whole new meaning to the oft-quoted, yet hackneyed dictum “water is life”. Africa has vast unexploited water potential. So, what are we doing with this resource to improve Africa’s lot? I believe Africa has what it takes to overcome her water predicament, but we need to ask ourselves a few questions.[The author is UNESCO's special envoy for water in Africa]
Jose Graziano da Silva: 'Acting now to end hunger in Africa by 2025' (New Times)
The next few years will thus be crucial for Africa if we are to go down in history as the Zero Hunger Generation. Under the theme ‘’Transforming African Agri-food systems for inclusive growth and shared prosperity,” FAO will meet with the continent’s agricultural leaders during its biennial regional conference taking place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on 4-8 April 2016. This is a timely event, for a number of reasons. [The author is the Director General of the FAO]
South Sudan: Food gap widens – new UN assessment (FAO)
Civil strife and unfavourable rains have further reduced crop production in South Sudan, contributing to a cereal deficit of 381,000 metric tons – 53% greater than in 2015 – and aggravating the already severe food shortages, two UN agencies have warned. Cereal prices have shot up nearly five-fold since early last year, making it increasingly difficult for people to get enough to eat, according to a new joint Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission report by the FAO and the WFP.
Rwanda: Comprehensive food security and vulnerability analysis (WFP)
Chronic malnutrition in Rwanda have fallen significantly in the last three years, but still remain stubbornly high, especially in rural areas, finds a new study conducted over three years by the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture with support from the World Food Programme. The Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis report in Rwanda found that levels of stunting among children aged under five dropped to 36.7% in 2015, down from 43% at the time of the last analysis in 2012.
Rwanda: IMF completes review mission (IMF)
Over the medium term, growth prospects remain in line with Rwanda’s high potential, and the mission welcomes ongoing initiatives to promote export diversification and encourage local production of what Rwanda currently imports, in order to improve Rwanda’s resilience to external shocks. These policies will, however, take time.
Payment aspects of financial inclusion: seven guiding principles (World Bank)
The Payment aspects of financial inclusion report builds on a document that underwent public consultation in late 2015 and seeks to tackle barriers to the adoption and usage of transaction accounts, which sit at the heart of retail payment services. The seven guiding principles are:
Tanzania inches closer to oil discovery on Lake Tanganyika (IPPMedia)
Imports of cheap crude palm stifle Uganda’s oilseed farming (The EastAfrican)
Mbeki panel ramps up war against illicit financial flows (Africa Renewal)
Guinea-Bissau government ready to host China/CPLP trade cooperation meeting (Macauhub)
AFRITAC South: update (IMF)
China’s Great Transition: what it means for Canada (Bank of Canada)
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