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Eighteenth session of the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa: Statement by Abdoulaye Mar Dieye
The Eighteenth Session of the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa (RCM-Africa) was held in Dakar from the 25th to the 26th of March 2017 under the theme “UN system Support to Harnessing Demographic Dividend through investments in the Youth”.
In line with the spirit of the 2016 United Nations Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR), for the first time, part of the 18th Session of the RCM-Africa was held jointly with the Regional United Nations Development Group.
Africa’s youth represents a significant asset for sustainable growth if properly harnessed. Declines in infant mortality and longer life expectancy are contributing to an increase both in the overall population and, more importantly, in the share of the population that is of working age. Studies indicate that Africa will account for 3.2 billion of the projected 4 billion increase in the global population by 2100.
The same studies also point to Africa’s working age population, particularly the youth, rising by 2.1 billion over the period, compared to a net global increase of 2 billion. Furthermore, with mortality tumbling and fertility rates higher than in developed countries, Africa’s share of the working age population is expected to also increase from about 54 percent in 2010 to peak at about 64 percent in 2090.
The demographic transition will be significant for Africa as its share of the global working age population is expected to rise from 12.6 percent in 2010 to over 41 percent by 2100 and therefore support the structural transformation Africa’s economies have embarked upon.
First Joint Meeting of RCM-Africa and UNDG – Dakar, 25 March 2017
Statement by Mr. Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa
I am delighted to be part of this very first Joint Meeting of the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) and the UN Development Group (UNDG) in the Africa Region, which provides a platform for the United Nations and the African Union to dialogue on the continent’s development priorities.
The theme of this year’s debate, “UN System Support to Harnessing Demographic Dividend through investments in Youth”, is certainly timely, as Africa has the youngest population in the world and is determined to an inclusive implementation of the African Union Roadmap on Demographic Dividend.
This is also a moment for the UN System to implement the UN Secretary General’s approach on the “New Way of Working”. A new way that is inspired by the call in the just-adopted Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR), for UN operational entities, to work in an integrated, coherent and coordinated fashion, and with all partners, to support the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We are very fortunate to have the stars fully aligned in the continent. As shown by a recent UNDP study, the three major strategic frameworks, namely the Universal Agenda 2030, AU’s Agenda 2063, and the African Development Bank High 5s, are in full congruence. We have, then, our space clearly defined and delineated to guide us in delivering, policy-wise and programmatically, in an integrated, coherent and coordinated fashion.
It is very fitting to note, that at the very heart of the congruence of these three major strategic frameworks, lies the issue of demographic dynamics. Yes, indeed demographic dynamics, in all their multidimensionality, are the most critical parameters in determining the long-term path of development and its sustainability, as well the state of peace and security.
The African Union is then to be commended for adopting the African Youth Charter in 2006, declaring 2009-2018 the African Youth Decade, and for devoting the theme of this year, 2017, on the critical issue of “harnessing the demographic dividend through investment in the youth”.
Investing in Youth is not only a Human Rights imperative, but it is also a “sine qua non” for sustainable development, peace and security.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
By the time we conclude our sessions today, hence every 24 hours, nearly 33,000 additional young Africans will be searching for jobs; and sadly, many will be joining the morally unacceptable army of the unemployed! And 60% of that army is now composed of young people. This is a scary ticking time bomb!
This is the reality we are facing. Simply put, this is a denial of Human Rights; this is bad economics; this is a jeopardy to our collective future, and a threat to our present existence!
Our meeting of today is then a much-needed opportunity to build on the high spirit of the AU Roadmap, and to take a bold step beyond the usual rhetoric.
Indeed, our topic of today is over- studied. It is now time for tectonic action.
It is true, as advocated in classical economic theories, that strong and inclusive economic growth will lift all employment, including youth employment; but this may take time.
Yet, it is equally true that an adequately designed and actively implemented youth investment programme can create a sturdy, stable and inclusive economic growth path. It can drive the continent’s structural economic transformation. This is the way to go.
It takes foresight. It takes will. It takes a sense of urgency. It takes a resolution for pragmatism.
If 60% of our population is composed of youth (less than 25 years of age), and as the youth is one of our greatest assets, then the principle of “Equity” and the principle of “Return on Investment”, would call for sizeable public and private resources to be devoted to youth development and investment.
In that spirit, I would like our meeting to consider the following 10 Action Points, which can also be a platform to guide a cohesive UN support to the AU Roadmap:
- Governments need to devote a sizeable percentage of their budget to youth programmes.
- Establish Youth Investment Banks; and Youth Investment Windows in Development Banks, and scale up initiatives such as the AfDB- European Investment Bank joint programme, “Boost Africa”, which supports the creation of innovative and highly scalable start-ups and SMEs.
- Promote youth entrepreneurship development programmes, combined with skills development, and connecting the young entrepreneurs to funding opportunities, investors, technology and know-how. The National Youth Service Scheme in Nigeria is a good example to highlight.
- Governments need to provide incentives to private sectors for youth employment, including easing labor market entry.
- Launch vast “Youth Rural Investment” schemes. The Songhai Initiative in Benin is a successful example to scale up and emulate.
- Allocate a sizeable proportion of sovereign wealth funds to Youth programmes; in Brazil, for instance, a law was passed to allocate 75% of the royalties in new oil exploration contracts to education.
- Promote Youth political participation, by securing a minimum percentage of youth in decision-making bodies, including governments and parliaments. A new IPU report has found, that at a time when the global youth population is the largest it has ever been in history, young people continue to be chronically under-represented in decision-making processes; about only 1.5% of African parliamentarians are aged below 30, compared to an already low world average of 2%.
- Develop a Youth Entrepreneurship Portal for Africa to connect young innovators and entrepreneurs with mentors, apprenticeship, and funding opportunities. The YouthConnekt programme in Rwanda is a good example to mention. It has been fruitful in terms of connecting young people with peers and role models, skills development, access to finance and entrepreneurship. Within only 3 years, the YouthConnekt boot camp has resulted in the creation of about 1000 permanent jobs and 2700 temporary jobs.
- Support the setting up of “Youth markers “in public expenditures; and systematically review public expenditures to see if they are “youth sensitive”.
- Support the mapping and sharing of good practices in youth investment and youth development programmes, in Africa and outside.
I am convinced that our Dakar Meeting will add more practical ideas on how we can move from rhetoric to action. To harness the demographic dividend and transform youth potential into an engine for development requires that we act with a sense of urgency and constructive pragmatism.
I thank you.
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Transnational crime is a $1.6 trillion to $2.2 trillion annual “business”, finds new GFI report
Transnational crime undermines economies, societies, and governments in developing countries; national and global policy efforts needed to address shadow financial system responsible for processing these sums
Globally the business of transnational crime is valued at an average of $1.6 trillion to $2.2 trillion annually, according to a new report released by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based research and advisory organization.
Titled “Transnational Crime and the Developing World,” the study highlights that the combination of high profits and low risks for perpetrators of transnational crime and the support of a global shadow financial system perpetuate and drive these abuses.
“The international community has paid too little attention to combatting the money in transnational crime, instead preferring to focus on the materials or the manifestations of the crimes,” noted GFI President Raymond Baker, a longtime authority on financial crime. “The fight against transnational crime needs to be redirected to combatting the money the crimes generate. This means shutting down the global shadow financial system that facilitates the moving and secreting of illicitly generated funds. None of this is technically difficult. It is a matter of political will.”
Findings
Authored by GFI Policy Analyst Channing May, the study estimates that counterfeiting is the most valuable transnational crime at $923 billion to $1.13 trillion on average per year, followed by drug trafficking at $426 billion to $652 billion. The ranges demonstrate the serious magnitude of and threat posed by global transnational crime.
The revenues generated from the 11 crimes covered in this report not only line the pockets of the perpetrators but also finance violence, corruption, and other abuses. Very rarely do the revenues from transnational crime have any long-term benefit to citizens, communities, or economies of developing countries. Instead, the crimes undermine local and national economies, destroy the environment, and jeopardize the health and wellbeing of the public.
The report rankings for the illicit markets examined are:
Transnational Crime |
Estimated Annual Value (US$) |
Counterfeiting |
$923 billion to $1.13 trillion |
Drug Trafficking |
$426 billion to $652 billion |
Illegal Logging |
$52 billion to $157 billion |
Human Trafficking |
$150.2 billion |
Illegal Mining |
$12 billion to $48 billion |
IUU Fishing |
$15.5 billion to $36.4 billion |
Illegal Wildlife Trade |
$5 billion to $23 billion |
Crude Oil Theft |
$5.2 billion to $11.9 billion |
Small Arms & Light Weapons Trafficking |
$1.7 billion to $3.5 billion |
Organ Trafficking |
$840 million to $1.7 billion |
Total |
$1.6 trillion to $2.2 trillion |
“Transnational crime is a business, and business is very good,” said Ms. May. “Money is the primary motivation for these illegal activities. Linking this array of illegal goods are consistent trends in the organized networks involved in the crimes, the role of the global shadow financial system, and the negative consequences for governments, economies, and societies in developing countries. Very rarely do the revenues from transnational crime have any long-term benefit to citizens, communities, or economies of developing countries. Instead, the crimes undermine local and national economies, destroy the environment, and jeopardize the health and wellbeing of the public.”
Policy Recommendations
“The systemic nature of transnational crime calls for a broad approach to combating it,” stated GFI Program Manager Christine Clough, who contributed to the report. “Greater financial transparency has the potential to simultaneously curtail every transnational crime in every part of the world. The networks involved in these illicit markets are akin to major global corporations: they need access to finance and banking to be profitable to continue operating. They depend on the secrecy and anonymity of the global shadow financial system to launder their money and run their global enterprises successfully”
GFI recommends several steps governments and other regulatory bodies can take to increase the levels of detection and interdiction of the proceeds of transnational crime:
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Require that corporations registering and doing business within a country declare the name(s) of the entity’s true, ultimate beneficial owner(s)
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Flag financial and trade transactions involving individuals and corporations in “secrecy jurisdictions” as high-risk and require extra documentation
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Scrutinize import and export invoices for signs of misinvoicing, which may indicate technical and/or physical smuggling
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Use world market price databases such as GFTradeTM to estimate the risk of misinvoicing for the declared values and investigate suspicious transactions
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Share more information between agencies and departments on the illicit markets and actors that exist within a country’s borders
Methodology
The basis of the value estimates in this report is a compilation of numerous datasets and price statistics from governments, non-governmental bodies, law enforcement, and other experts. Each illicit market chapter briefly notes the methodology and data sources used for those goods, and a detailed description of certain methodologies, as well as tables with all of the data and sources used, are provided in the Appendix. Most of the estimates the report highlights are ranges rather than a single figure, because there is less precision in data pertaining to activities that are trying to stay hidden, such as transnational crime.
Global Financial Integrity will launch this report at an event at the OpenGov Hub in Washington, DC on Wednesday, March 29th at 9:30am local time. The event will feature a brief presentation of the report and its findings by GFI Managing Director Tom Cardamone, followed by a panel discussion with GFI Policy Analyst Channing May, former Treasury Special Agent John Cassara, and Michael Dziedzic of Pax Advisory and a question & answer period; GFI Program Manager Christine Clough will moderate.
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8th Meeting of the Continental Task Force (CTF) discusses strategies to fasttrack the establishment of the CFTA
The 8th Meeting of the Continental Task Force (CTF) on the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) commenced on Monday, 27 March 2017 in Arusha, Tanzania. The meeting is organized by the Department of Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission.
The objective of the Meeting is to review the status of implementation of previous decisions made by the Continental Task Force and consider recommendations of the CFTA Negotiating Institutions. The Meeting will also review draft agendas and documentation for the 2nd Meeting of Technical Working Groups (TWG) on the CFTA, planned to take place in Nairobi from 24 April-6th May 2017, and the 6th Meeting of the CFTA Negotiating Forum, scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa from 5th-10th June 2017.
The Meeting is attended by experts from the African Union Commission, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the African Development Bank (AfDB), The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
In his opening remarks, Mr. Prudence Sebahizi, Chief Technical Advisor on the CFTA, on behalf of Mrs. Treasure Maphanga, Director of Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission, expressed his gratitude to the Task Force for the progress made so far with regards to the CFTA negotiations. The Head of the CFTA Unit pointed out that the meeting is taking place following completion of a number of studies requested by Member States. He deplored the fact that the works on modalities for both Trade tariff liberalization and Trade in Services negotiations remain so far uncompleted.
Mr. Sebahizi recalled and highlighted outcomes of the meetings of the CFTA Negotiating Forum as well as the first Meeting of Technical Working Group on the CFTA. He encouraged the Continental Task Force to work as a team to ensure that the negotiations are effectively concluded by 2017.
The Chief Technical Advisor recalled that the next Summit in July 2017 will follow up on the Decision of the 28th Summit on CFTA. He informed the Meeting that H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger, was mandated to champion the process of the CFTA to ensure that the deadline of the end of 2017 is met and report on measures taken to the next ordinary session of the Assembly in July 2017.
“This position by the Heads of States and Governments does not leave us with any room to delay work on the substance of the CFTA Agreement. Remember that we have made promises, during our last meeting in Nairobi, that conclusion of the CFTA by end of 2017 is technical possible. Indeed it is POSSIBLE! We therefore have a duty to do all that we can do and place the ball in the court of the Member States,” he recommended.
The Head of the CFTA Unit also appealed to the RECs to share their 2017 Work Plans with the AUC for better coordination. According to him, doing so, will help reduce clashing of meetings. He stressed the importance of the AUC Team to participate in relevant RECs’ meetings as much as RECs do in the Continental Task Force, CFTA negotiations and other engagements. “AUC involvement in RECs activities will give us an opportunity to understand the Member States better and learn from best practices of RECs,” he emphasized.
Before he concluded, Mr. Sebahizi emphasized that, consultation between the RECs and Member States is an essential component of ensuring ownership of the draft and ultimately the final CFTA Agreement. “I appeal to the RECs to spur the necessary consultation, and where appropriate, the technical work at the Member State level in order to have as informed decision making at the Technical Working Group and CFTA Negotiating Forum levels as possible as the text of the agreement develops,” he said.
The CFTA Continental Task Force (CTF) is established by the African Union Assembly to coordinate actions between the African Union Commission and the Regional Economic Communities and to ensure that the CFTA negotiations are conducted within the agreed timelines.
» Further information on the negotiations towards the Continental Free Trade Area can be found on tralac’s CFTA resources page.
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Time to change US-Africa engagement approach: Kagame
President Paul Kagame has said that relations and engagement between Africa and the United States ought to shift from aid and humanitarian basis to mutually beneficial partnerships in aspects such as business, strategic development and security.
President Kagame made the case on the need to shift engagement approaches while speaking at the Atlantic Council Roundtable in Washington, D.C. yesterday.
The Atlantic Council is a think tank that encourages constructive leadership, engagement and discussions in the field of international affairs engaging leaders from both sides of the Atlantic.
The platform’s deliberations are often around navigating the economic and political changes defining the twenty-first century.
Making a case for improved engagement terms, President Kagame said that the African continent had registered growth in recent years and was keen on maintaining development trends by engaging partners on mutually beneficial terms.
He observed that for decades, the United States and other partners have adopted a one-size-fits-all approach when dealing with the continent which ought to change.
“For decades, the United States has adopted a monolithic approach to dealing with Africa. It’s time for fresh-thinking on how to approach Africa and the assumptions that underlie this thinking, no matter the administration. It is really an opportunity to shape relationships with U.S and other partners in regards to Africa's priorities,” he said.
Among the reasons for the calls for the changes is the strong economic growth across Africa, better governance, business friendly reforms, integration and growing intra-Africa trade.
This, he said, had brought forth business opportunities.
“Economic growth continues to be strong, increasingly driven by better governance, improved well-being and business-friendly reforms. Regional integration and increasing intra-African trade and investment bring new opportunities,”
“Africa is looking to future growth shaped by favorable demographics, technological innovations and increasing urbanization,” he added.
In 2016, Sub-Saharan Africa economic growth was placed at 1.6 per cent at par with advanced economies while some African countries outperformed developed nations. Rwanda for instance grew by 5.9 per cent.
Among the reasons to change the engagement approach is that the continent is now in position to deal with some of its ‘internal’ affairs such as political instability.
Giving an example of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) handling of the Gambian crisis early this year, he said are success cases that do not receive as much attention beyond Africa.
“There are examples of success that perhaps do not receive as much attention as our problems. For instance, the commendable handling of the Gambian crisis by ECOWAS leaders,” he said.
African Union reforms
The African continent has already began to lay ground for financial independence for institutions such as the African Union to make them more relevant and effect in dealing with the continent’s issues.
“The recently adopted resolutions for institutional reforms, aim to make the African Union financially sustainable independent, as well as more relevant and effective,” Kagame said.
Global uncertainty
The change political dynamics in United States and a section of Europe which have caused global uncertainty, Kagame said probably bear a silver lining for the continent and present an opportunity to shape the continent’s relations with partners based on Africa’s priorities and ambitions.
“In particular, this engagement needs to shift from aid and humanitarian focus, to building productive partnerships, especially in business, strategic development and security,” the president noted.
The change, Kagame said, also ought to be reflected in Africa’s expectations and mindsets from charity to mutual benefit when dealing with partners.
“We in African need to shift from expectation of largesse from every incoming administration, to a mind-set of what Africa and the United States can do together, that is of mutual benefit,” he said.
The revised approach in dealing with developing countries also featured recently in remarks by the World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yung Kim who was in Rwanda last week.
Dr. Kim said that private sector investment is a sure way to build resilience and maintain growth as opposed to reliance on international assistance and development aid.
Founded in 1961, the Atlantic Council provides a forum for Heads of State, military leaders, and other international leaders to discuss how to navigate the economic and political changes defining the twenty-first century.
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EAC states urged to harmonise standards for most traded goods
East African Community (EAC) partner states are being urged to expedite harmonisation of standards for the prioritised 20 most traded goods such as edible fats and oils so as to boost regional trade. Compliance with standards and market requirements are prerequisites for successful market access and for improving the competitiveness of exporters in the region.
Lilian Awinja, the chief executive of the East African Business Council (EABC), says that although partner states have done a great job on harmonising several standards, many more standards are yet to be harmonised.
According to the apex body of business associations of the private sector and corporates from the EAC, partner states also should increase adoption rate for harmonised regional standards for the 20 most traded goods.
“There is still a low adoption rate of harmonised regional standards. This has led to costly and time-consuming re-testing processes or denial of market access,” said Awinja.
According to Awinja, lack of a regional technical regulations framework contributes greatly to the application of national technical regulations, which do not have a common administrative approach neither in process nor in the list of standards declared as mandatory.
“This situation is exacerbated by a frequent misunderstanding amongst stakeholders on the different roles of regulatory authorities and national bureaus of standards and the lacking coordination among those institutions.”
Raymond Murenzi, the director general of Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), said in the case of Rwanda and other partner states – besides Tanzania – there is no misunderstanding among stakeholders on the different roles of regulatory authorities.
“In Tanzania, there is a conflict between their technical regulations and standards, which is not the case in Rwanda,” Murenzi said.
Regarding the concern on low adoption rate of harmonised regional standards, Murenzi said that in Rwanda “we have adopted 70 per cent of harmonised standards.”
The other 30 per cent are considered old standards – not in line with current industry technology but, he noted, “we do have their equivalent at national level.”
“Regarding the most traded products, we have new regional standards harmonised and adopted at 100 percent,” Murenzi said.
Harmonised standards
Recently, the EABC validated the study on Impact Assessment of the East African Harmonised Standards on the business community, during a workshop held in Kampala, Uganda.
The aim of the study, initiated in 2013, was to undertake an impact assessment of the EAC harmonised standards on six amongst the 20 most traded products in the region in terms of cost, time and trade values.
Assessed products were soaps and surface active agents, alcoholic beverages, steel and steel products, edible fats and oils, sugar confectionary, and fish and fish products.
The study results indicated that use of harmonised standards in the region to produce the selected sampled products improved their competitiveness and market access, which has contributed to increment in the intra-EAC trade values of the sampled products from $291.2 million in 2010 to $ 340.4 million in 2014, a 17 per cent increment.
The sampled selected products manufactured based on harmonised East African Standards (EAS) also contributed to the increase in extra-EAC trade values from $851.6 million in 2010 to $950.8 million in 2014, an increment of 12 per cent.
Overall, there was general increase in the trade value trend of the sampled products. The total export value (intra-EAC and extra-EAC) of the selected sampled products increased to $ 1,291 million in 2014 from $1,142 million in 2010 which was a 13 per cent increment.
“Study findings further revealed that 78 per cent of the interviewed manufacturers or exporters indicated that certification of the products with the quality marks significantly reduced standards-related delays at the borders,” reads the report in part.
The study notes that standards related to clearance time for such products has on average reduced from 10 days before standards were harmonised to two to four hours after standards harmonisation which was a 99 per cent time reduction.
As a result of reduced delays at borders because of trading in certified products based on EAS, the standards related cost due to the delays at borders have also reduced “to almost zero” compared to an average of $500 per consignment before standards were harmonised.
The study was commissioned before South Sudan joined the regional bloc.
Pelagie Mbabazi, the Private Sector Federation (PSF) liaison officer, who attended the validation workshop, said findings were general and the consultant will issue a final version after incorporating inputs from the meeting.
The report lists challenges of standards harmonisation in the EAC, including a standards harmonisation process that took long; inadequate time given to the private sector to adjust to implement harmonised standards; and inadequate funding for standards harmonisation.
“Standards harmonisation is an expensive venture that requires experts and key stakeholders to meet, deliberate and form consensus. However, study findings indicated that standardisation activities were not adequately funded both at national and regional levels,” reads the report.
Murenzi said, among others, the issue of lack of recognition of quality marks in the region and especially in Tanzania where the Tanzania Foods and Drugs Authority (TFDA) does not recognise national standard bureaus’ marks is another challenge.
He said: “Our proposal is to fast track harmonisation of quality marks procedures’ issuance so as to avoid multiple testing, registration and inspection conducted by the TFDA.”
Among recommendations, the report noted, the EAC Secretariat should fast-track the development of the EAC SPS protocol and its ratification by partner states to address issues regarding food safety regulations and harmonisation of food safety controls to lessen inconveniences to exporters to Tanzania.
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Urbanization can be a catalyst for rural development
New report looks at “quiet revolution” made of improved value chains and vibrant roles for smaller towns
Managing urbanization sustainably poses new challenges and opportunities to recast food and agriculture systems in ways that benefit both cities and the countryside, according to a new report presented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and FAO.
Meeting the rising urban demand for food can increase the incomes of the rural poor, most of whom derive their livelihoods from small and family farm agriculture, said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. “This could generate much-needed employment and development prospects for the people who will remain in the countryside of developing countries while also making healthier food easier to access in cities.”
“But growing urban demand will not automatically benefit small farmers, so we must look for solutions that can seize on the opportunities, and avoid the downside of increasing urbanization,” he added, noting the pressure the expected changes will put on nutritional needs, scarce natural resources, employment and income, migration and a host of other critical factors.
IFPRI’s Global Food Policy Report, to which FAO contributed the lead chapter, addresses a wide range of issues linked to urbanization.
Growing urban populations will be especially visible in Africa, as a majority of the continent’s fast-growing population will be living in cities by 2030. Globally, some 2.5 billion more people will be living in urban areas than do today. Africa and Asia will account for 90 percent of the increase.
“The urban poor are more vulnerable than their rural counterparts are to fluctuations in food prices and devote a higher share of their household budgets to food purchases than rural populations,” said IFPRI Director-General Shenggen Fan, Director-General of IFPRI, a non-profit research institute that is part of the CGIAR network.
Rebuild the value chain
One way to encourage mutually beneficial developments for urban and rural areas alike is to develop value chains and make food systems that are more efficient and inclusive, the report says.
Better roads, reliable and extensive electrification, refrigerated transportation and better storage facilities are all key to making that happen, Graziano da Silva said, noting that such transformation would also lead farmers to grow higher-value and more nutritious produce, which is essential for the proper nutrition of growing urban populations.
Quality concerns over locally produced food by urban residents in many developing countries often result in greater preference for imported varieties, according to the report. Better vertical integration of the domestic food value chain – requiring improved processing, milling, cleaning, marketing, bagging, branding and possibly even supermarkets - could remedy that. Such an effort would produce a host of agribusiness jobs and enhance the agricultural sector’s ability to make productivity-boosting investments.
The report shows how farmers benefit more when non-farm activities are developed close to their holdings. For that reason, fostering the role of intermediate towns, which can play a catalysing role in mediating the urban-rural nexus, should be a key consideration for policy makers, according to the report. It cites evidence that the vicinity of smaller towns tend to provide smallholder farmers with greater opportunities to market their products and share in the gains from economic growth.
Smaller towns also offer migration destinations that more likely help the rural poor escape from poverty than big cities do.
“Intermediate cities can be, and most of the time are, the effective promoter of rural development,” Graziano da Silva said. Strong rural-urban linkages also allow migrants to keep stronger ties with their family networks, whereas when the ties are broken both rural and urban areas suffer.
A quiet revolution is taking place
The report looked at rural-urban value chains bringing major staple crops – potato, rice and teff – to cities in Bangladesh, China, India, and Ethiopia and found a “quiet revolution” is taking place.
Farmers are using new inputs, and in many cases preferring higher-quality varieties over higher-yielding ones to respond to demand from urban consumers willing to pay premium prices. New techniques are proliferating in the post-farmgate segment of the value chain, such as large cold storage operations used by small farmers in India and Bangladesh - use of which is also supporting local credit systems and allowing farmers to access improved seeds and inputs, or the rapid emergence of packaged and branded rice in China.
In short, building better rural infrastructure pays off for farmers and city dwellers alike.
» Download: Global Food Policy Report 2017 (PDF, 5.95 MB)
Informal Food Markets in Africa’s Cities
Urbanization is a global phenomenon, but in Africa south of the Sahara its pace and impact are particularly notable. Africa’s urban population is the fastest growing in the world. By 2030, the continent is expected to reach a tipping point, when for the first time the majority of the region’s population will live in urban areas. These broad trends capture a tremendous degree of variation across urban Africa, ranging from the megacities of Kinshasa and Lagos, which are home to more than 10 million people, to secondary cities like Tema in Ghana and Ndola in Zambia, with populations of fewer than 750,000 people. While these demographic shifts contribute to a number of urban policy challenges, including limited housing supplies, infrastructure bottlenecks, pressure on scarce public services, and environmental degradation, the implications for food security in urban Africa are equally significant.
The urban poor are more vulnerable than their rural counterparts are to fluctuations in food prices and exchange rates. Urban residents in Africa are less likely to produce food for their own consumption and they devote a higher share of their household budgets to food purchases than rural populations. This vulnerability was evident during the 2008 and 2011 global food price spikes, when Africa experienced the highest incidence of urban food price riots. Africa’s urban centers are characterized by both a growing middle class and growing urban poverty. Significant pockets of food insecure populations can be found in even the wealthiest countries in the region. For example, food insecurity is endemic in the poorest neighborhoods of Gaborone, Botswana, and Windhoek, Namibia. More broadly, diets in African cities rely heavily on starchy staples, and this lack of diversity contributes to malnutrition.
The governance challenges to enhancing food security in urban Africa span institutional, administrative, and political dimensions. Institutionally, food security policies involve intersectoral coordination across multiple ministries, which typically occurs under the leadership of ministries of agriculture or health. When the focus is explicitly on the urban dimensions of food security, greater engagement is needed with ministries of urban and local development. National food security strategies, however, are often created parallel to, rather than in concert with, urban development strategies. This hinders full integration of urban food security into national planning. For example, Uganda’s recent national urban policy focused on water, housing, and waste management but neglected food security.
» Download: Ch 6. Informal Food Markets in Africa’s Cities (PDF, 437 KB)
Regional Developments: Africa
Measures of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition have improved steadily if slowly in Africa south of the Sahara, as has agricultural value added. But African countries continued to face low commodity prices and limited external finance in 2016. A continent-wide campaign known as “Seize the Moment” kicked off to accelerate efforts of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) to raise investments in agriculture in the region. But the impacts of severe drought, climate change, conflict, and rapid urbanization will create ongoing challenges in 2017.
» Download: Regional Developments: Africa (PDF, 1.14 MB)
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tralac’s Daily News Selection
CFTA negotiations update: The Eighth Meeting of the Continental Free Trade Area Continental Task Force kicked off today in Arusha - @AUTradeIndustry
Economic Report on Africa 2017: Urbanization and Industrialization for Africa’s transformation (UNECA): The report calls on African governments to instigate and coordinate investments in urban infrastructure, particularly in electricity and transport, both to support industrial enterprises and to meet urban populations’ needs. The 11 country case studies in the report detail practical findings on how Ethiopia, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville, Rwanda, Sudan, Mozambique, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa and Cameroon are managing rapid urbanization. Extract (Box 1.3: The Continental Free Trade Area) (pdf): The CFTA is more than a trade liberalization project, but also a tool for structurally transforming African economies and urban cities, boosting value addition and driving industrial competitiveness (and see the three thematic chapters, 3, 4 and 5 in this report). Although urbanization is crucial for facilitating agglomeration economies, enhanced cooperation at the continental level is also needed to provide the economies of scale needed to make Africa’s industrial products globally competitive. Urbanization is part of a chain of events for Africa to compete on world markets. Urban centres and agglomeration economies encourage productive local value chains, which are important for boosting national competitiveness. Competitive national industries are in turn important for developing efficient regional value chains, needed for Africa’s integration into global value chains. The economies of scale provided by urban agglomerations should not be seen as an end in themselves, however, but as a means to achieve further integration, economies of scale and competitiveness gains, all of which are needed for large-scale industrialization. The CFTA will help to maximize the gains from urban agglomerations and to stimulate further integration among African cities.
#CoM2017: Dakar talks on Africa collapse
UNECA’s 2016 Country Profiles for six southern African countries: download here
UNECA’s Stephen Karingi: Innovations for infrastructure development and sustainable industrialization
Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa: Consolidated progress report for the period April 2016–March 2017 (pdf): As in past reports, the key achievements of RCM-Africa, the main challenges that it faced and the lessons learned will be considered. Pointer: Annex I - Priorities identified for the eight newly reconfigured clusters. [RCM 18: Session documents]
One Stop Border Post Sourcebook (2nd edition, Nepad Planning Agency and partners)
The following case studies of planned or operational OSBPs were prepared: (i) Chirundu, a juxtaposed OSBP serving Zambia and Zimbabwe; (ii) Cinkansé, serving Burkina Faso and Togo, although wholly located within Burkina Faso; (iii) Mfum, an OSBP planned to serve Cameroon and Nigeria, although wholly located within Nigeria; (iv) an overview of OSBPs within the EAC; (v) Namanga and Rusumo, the former to serve Kenya and Tanzania, and the latter to serve Rwanda and Tanzania; (vi) Gasenyi/Nemba, a straddling OSBP serving Burundi and Rwanda; and (vii) Lebombo/Ressano Garcia, planned to serve South Africa and Mozambique. The case studies focus on the issues/lesson(s) to be presented, with background information provided (only) to the extent that it is relevant. The case studies were necessarily limited to available materials (which have been cited within the case studies) and inputs from cooperating partners. Certain issues/lessons recur throughout several case studies (e.g., the need for well structured institutions, laws, and procedures; the importance of training), while others are unique (e.g., the viability and efficacy of the straddling OSBP model, the possibility of improving border operating performance even without an OSBP). The case studies provided source material for (the earlier chapters of) the Sourcebook.
2017 SSATP Annual Meeting: African transport policies, aligning with sustainable development goals: The Annual Meeting of the Africa Transport Policy Program was held in Marrakech, 20-24 February. Over 150 participants attended the meeting from 30 countries. Participants acknowledged that the three thematic areas of DP3, namely integration, cohesion and connectivity, urban transport and mobility and road safety were top key priorities for Africa transport challenges and noted that they were well aligned with Africa Development Agenda 2063 adopted by AUC. Profiled presentations from the SSATP meeting:
Truck monitoring in Eastern and Southern Africa (pdf): Extract: Route idle time ‘Durban-DRC’: (i) Idle measures the time the truck is not moving, either due to intermediate stops on the links (weighbridges, rest stops, etc.), or at borders, or while crossing major urban areas (ii) Average speed is measured only when the truck is moving (iii) On the total route, the trucks are moving less than a quarter of the total route time [Idle time is 74%].
Annual Report (January-December 2016) (pdf): Extract ‘Looking ahead - tackling emerging issues’: How digitalization will impact integration and connectivity? How we can foster regional integration while mitigating globalization risks. How can we encourage transport policies which mitigate climate change? How can we encourage citizen engagement to support the fights against vested interests in the transport reforms?
Rwanda launches new Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (New Times)
Rwanda, on Friday, launched the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), connecting with Uganda and Kenya in reducing the cost of cargo transportation along the Northern Corridor. “The system will enhance security of the supply chain, especially the mineral sector, where there have been challenges beyond the borders of Rwanda,” Richard Kamajugo, the senior director for trade environment at TMEA, said. The system comes three years after a 3 July 2014, EAC Heads of States Summit in Kigali, which directed the three member states to adopt e-monitoring for seamless flow of goods. It involves fitting of an e-seal with a 60-day power capacity, monitored under the GPRS platform.
Burundi’s admission into SADC: what would this mean for the East African community? (Arcadia Law)
Nevertheless, Burundi’s desire to join a third regional body is shocking especially in light of the current negotiations for the establishment of the COMESA-EAC-SADC tripartite free trade area that is expected to deal with the challenges of overlapping memberships. Currently, a COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement has been signed by 18 out of the 26 member states and is awaiting ratification. The free trade area is expected to create a single large market with free movement of goods and services among the Tripartite Partner States. If this agreement is ratified, Burundi’s move will be pointless as there will be free trade amongst the member states of all the three regional communities. With such an important venture in motion, Burundi’s desire to create its own personal tripartite free trade by being part of all the three bodies is perplexing. If Burundi wishes to trade with SADC, a more suitable approach would be a trade agreement between Burundi and SADC pending the establishment of the COMESA- EAC- SADC free trade area. [The analyst: Jemimah Mushabe]
Go slow on push for EAC single currency - expert (The Monitor)
East African Community countries have been told to go slow on the push to have a single currency for the region if they cannot fix the basics of trading in the region. In an interview with Daily Monitor, Mr Miguel Azevedo, the head of investment Banking for Africa at Citigroup, said the countries should focus on issues that boost East Africa as a trading bloc because a single currency may be hard to attain.
EALA Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution (pdf): report on public hearing on the pastoral communities of Longido (Tanzania) and Kajiado (Kenya) on the implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol Projects
Mauritius trade policy updates:
Financial Services Consultative Council holds first meeting: The Council was chaired by the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms, Mr D. Sesungkur, is in line with Government policy to give a new boost to the global financial sector of the country. The Minister recalled that the FSSC serves as a think-tank and a platform for discussions of the latest concepts and international trends in the field of financial services and global business. The Council will be holding a series of meetings focused on accessing the African market and positioning Mauritius as a centre for enterprises of financial services.
Mauritius Export Association AGM: Referring to the exports of the Export oriented enterprises (EOE) sector, which have gone down by 0.8% in 2015 and by 8% in 2016 in the wake of the accentuated international competition and new challenges such as the Brexit, Mr Gungah said that Government has put in place a range of schemes to improve the business climate. The measures include: streamlining of business procedures to bring a highly conducive environment for both local and foreign businesses to continue investing in Mauritius; implementation of the Speed-to-Market scheme aimed at giving a new impetus to the Textile and Apparel industry; and the promotion of sectors with high potential like the jewellery sector. Mr Gungah also pointed out that the E-commerce platform, which is a major tool in the trading arena geared towards developing innovative ways to promote exports, will soon be launched.
Rwanda: Govt drafts new policy to promote Made-in-Rwanda (New Times)
The Ministry of Trade and Industry and East African Community Affairs has unveiled a Made-in-Rwanda policy in a bid to address issues of quality, prices, cost of production as well as link industries to suppliers. Minister Francois Kanimba said the policy is designed to help boost local industrial contribution to the economic growth – which increased to 17% in 2016 – ahead of the 20% target by 2020. “The initiative is playing a big role in boosting locally-made products. The trade deficit in terms of goods decreased to $1.5bn in 2016 from $1.8bn in 2015,” he said. Karenzi said, under the new policy, in order for companies receive Made-in-Rwanda brand, they will be required to have 30% of local content or value addition in their products.
South Sudan initiates move to join Afreximbank
A South Sudanese delegation led by Mou Ambrose Thiik, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of the country, met in Cairo on Saturday with an Afreximbank team led by Bank President Dr. Benedict Oramah for discussions to clear the way for South Sudan’s immediate membership of the Bank. Addressing participants during the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the meeting of the Bank’s Board of Directors, Mr. Thiik said that South Sudan was determined to accomplish its Afreximbank membership in a speedy manner and that it hoped to have a formal accession ceremony to the Bank’s Establishment Agreement during the second week of May 2017.
Tanzania: Magufuli sacks mining PS in fresh containers drama (IPPMedia)
John Magufuli yesterday dismissed the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Prof Justin Ntalikwa, just hours after the PS accompanied the Speaker of the National Assembly, Job Ndugai, on an inspection of export-bound shipping containers impounded at the port of Dar es Salaam with gold/copper concentrate cargo. Although no reason was given for Prof Ntalikwa’s abrupt removal, the senior ministry official appeared to differ with Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) director general Deusdedit Kakoko on the procedures for assaying the contents of the containers and issuing of export permits.
Chinese business community in Kenya launches Kenya Chinese Chamber of Commerce
Tanzania: Second phase standard gauge rail works tender out 19 April
African Alliance for e-Commerce: update
Ethiopian Airlines launches Vic Falls flight
The outlook for GCC trade with East Africa
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ERA 2017 launched in Dakar; calls on Africa to take advantage of rapid urbanization
The Economic Report on Africa 2017, which examines how the continent can accelerate industrialization as a vehicle for Africa’s structural transformation by harnessing opportunities arising from rapid urbanization, was officially launched in Dakar, Senegal, on Saturday.
The annual ERA is a flagship publication of the ECA. The 2017 edition is titled “Urbanization and Industrialization for Africa’s Transformation.”
Director Adam El Hiraika of the Macroeconomic Policy Division at the Economic Commission for Africa launched the report.
“The ERA as a flagship report of the ECA is expected to go a long way in helping our lawmakers on the continent to identify areas of growth that they need to concentrate on, in particular addressing the gaps for example between urban and industrial growth in a holistic manner to promote inclusive growth,” said El Hiraika.
“Implementing urban and industrial policies in a coordinated manner requires a sound institutional framework matching the structure of the policies. Many African countries still face institutional constraints for coordinating the two strands – urban and industrial – and we hope the ERA2017 will address some of those issues,” he said.
Mr. El Hiraika said evidence-based data is required to understand complexities of urbanization and its links to industrial development in order to assess policy options and trade-offs, to design good policy strategies and to measure impacts.
Most of Africa is still predominantly rural but the situation is changing rapidly, according to the report raising the need for the continent to come up with mechanisms that will lead to sustainable growth through employment creation and related projects.
It is estimated that by 2035, 50 percent of Africa’s population will live in urban areas.
ERA 2017 calls on African governments to support a more balanced national urban system as prevalence of urban primacy is constraining industrial firms.
It adds improved mobility in urban areas is key for cities to support industrial development, notably mass transit and non-motorized transport infrastructure connecting industrial firms and their workers and calls on the continent to prioritize industry in planning for local economic development.
The report calls on African governments to instigate and coordinate investments in urban infrastructure, particularly in electricity and transport, both to support industrial enterprises and to meet urban populations’ needs.
It stresses that African countries, under the right policy frameworks anchored in national development planning, can leverage the momentum of urbanization to accelerate industrialization for a more prosperous and equitable future for Africans.
The report thus examines how governments can harness the opportunities arising from rapid urbanization to speed up industrialization and accelerate structural transformation on the continent.
There are 11 country case studies in the report detailing practical findings on how Ethiopia, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville, Rwanda, Sudan, Mozambique, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa and Cameroon are managing rapid urbanization.
High level participants who attended the launch discussed and shared the key findings of ERA2017 and the case studies and the rationale of linking industrialization and urbanization processes and frameworks for the continent to achieve inclusive and sustainable structural transformation.
» Download: Economic Report on Africa 2017 (PDF, 7.61 MB)
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One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) Sourcebook, 2nd edition
While the African continent has experienced rapid growth in trade over recent decades, intra-African trade has lagged due to low levels of trade facilitation and industrialization.
Many studies have identified impediments to trade growth and competitiveness in Africa and found that while movement along major highways is relatively fast, time is lost at the ports, at borders, and at checkpoints established along corridors.
Infrastructure development is central to facilitating intra-regional trade and the movement of people, goods and services and hence to promoting regional integration as articulated in the AU Agenda 2063. In 2012, the AU adopted the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and its associated Priority Action Plan (PAP) prioritizing continental programs to address the infrastructure deficit that severely hampers Africa’s competitiveness in the global market. One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) are central to implementation of transport projects in PIDA-PAP and enhanced interconnectivity of markets as well as regional integration on the continent.
The OSBP concept refers to the legal and institutional framework, facilities, and associated procedures that enable goods, people, and vehicles to stop in a single facility in which they undergo necessary controls following applicable regional and national laws to exit one state and enter the adjoining state. Currently, more than 80 OSBPs have been planned and/or implemented in various parts of Africa as a means of reducing the time and costs of delays at border crossings along major corridors. However, as of 2016, not all OSBPs that have been constructed are fully functional.
While the 1st edition of the OSBP Sourcebook – published in September 2011 – proved to be a unique and useful tool for implementers of OSBPs, there was a need to update this reference so that implementers can learn from current knowledge, experience, and good practices rather from knowledge from a few years ago. The 2nd edition of the OSBP Sourcebook aims to meet this need.
The One-Stop Border Post Concept
Introduction
One of the modern approaches for improving border operations is the establishment of one-stop border posts (OSBPs). In the 2000s the OSBP concept began to be applied across Africa. In 2004, the East African Community (EAC) together with the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority developed the East African Transport and Trade Facilitation Project, which among other activities, called for the development of OSBPs in the region. The Chirundu OSBP – serving Zambia and Zimbabwe – is considered the first fully functional OSBP in Africa. Following the launch of the Chirundu OSBP, with the support of development partners, the concept and development of OSBPs has expanded rapidly with the support of development partners as one of the major tools to tackle impediments to the growth of trade in Africa. More than 80 OSBPs/joint border posts (JBPs) on the continent are now at the planning or implementation stage.
Definition
As a trade facilitation tool applied at borders, the OSBP concept promotes a coordinated and integrated approach to facilitating trade, the movement of people, and improving security. The concept eliminates the need for travelers and goods to stop twice to undertake border crossing formalities. The OSBP concept calls for the application of joint controls to minimize routine activities and duplications. Through a “whole of government” approach, the OSBP concept reduces the journey time for transporters and travelers, and shortens the clearance time at border crossing points.
The Four Pillars of OSBPs
The OSBP concept consists of four pillars:
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Legal and Institutional Framework: Under international law, it is generally agreed that the application of national laws is limited to the territory of a state. As a consequence, OSBPs rely on the principle of extraterritorial application of laws, which allows a state to extend the application of specific national laws outside its own territory. Implementation of OSBPs, therefore, demands that a detailed analysis of the legislative, regulatory and institutional framework governing the operations of border agencies is undertaken. At a typical border post, there are several government agencies that are responsible for border controls. For efficient and effective OSBP operations, these agencies need to operate in a coordinated manner to minimize duplications and redundancies.
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Simplification and Harmonization of Procedures: Implementing an OSBP without simplifying and harmonizing border crossing procedures renders an OSBP ineffective. Whereas users would be required to stop once in order to undertake exit and entry formalities at a border, subjecting such users to routine and redundant formalities would have little impact on reducing the time spent at the border. The process of reviewing and aligning procedures should be continuous in order to ensure that OSBPs operate with border crossing procedures that are not only effective but also facilitative and relevant to the prevailing circumstances. Joint operations and the need to observe jurisdiction in an OSBP environment require specific considerations when crafting OSBP procedures.
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ICT and Data Exchange: ICT is a critical component of collaborative single window systems, simplification of documentation, border management, and modernization of customs, immigration, and related services. The increase in the number of travelers along with increases in volumes of vehicular traffic and cargo at borders requires a strategic balance between controls and facilitation. ICT allows for the efficient use of limited resources to manage borders by facilitating intra/interconnectivity of agencies for implementing responsive risk management systems and for understanding mobility and trade patterns.
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Hard Infrastructure: This includes OSBP facilities such as offices for border officials, operational equipment, warehouses, and parking. While all border posts require physical facilities for border operations, the level of facilities required depends on the type and size of operations at a border post. In principle, facilities for OSBP operations should be appropriately functional and not unnecessarily elaborate (“gold-plated”) or inadequate.
The Rationale and Benefits of OSBPs
Corridor and Value Chain Approach to Establishing OSBPs
One important factor for evaluating the performance and determining the attractiveness of a transport corridor is the efficiency of border crossing points along a corridor. Transit-related controls along a corridor occur at three main control points: seaports or airports, land border crossing points between countries, and at inland clearance facilities. In this regard, land border crossing points serve as nodes that link different points along a corridor and are vital for international trade. By facilitating international trade and cross-border movement of people, border crossing points contribute to the growth of national, regional, and international economies. The situation is particularly acute for landlocked countries in Africa, a continent where border delays and transport costs are among the highest in the world. In addition, depending on the level of interdependence, the social and economic welfare of people living in border communities is also affected by border operations.
Selecting and Prioritizing OSBP Projects along Corridors
Linking border crossing points into global value chains can either be through forward linkages (where the country provides inputs into exports of other countries) or through backward linkages (where the country imports intermediate products to be used in its exports). In choosing border crossing points to convert to OSBPs, consideration should be given to corridors that have the potential for contributing to the economic transformation of the areas they serve. These border crossings may either be greenfield projects or existing (“brownfield”) ones that require upgrades to be efficient. Further, consideration should be given to border crossings along corridors that serve areas with significant industrial, commercial, and other economic activities and/or potential. Consideration should also be given to corridors that have high potential for traffic growth. Along a corridor, border crossings may be similarly prioritized, but considering that a multi-country corridor may operate as an integrated system, it may be necessary to develop all border crossings along a corridor, concurrently or otherwise sequentially. In addition, traffic diversion effects among complex corridors, such as the North-South Corridor in Southern Africa (which traverses eight countries), may need to be taken into account.
The Rationale for and Purpose of Establishing OSBPs
The major reason for establishing OSBPs along transport corridors is to expedite the movement of goods and people, and to reduce transport costs across national boundaries. At an OSBP, travelers and vehicles stop once for undertake border crossing formalities to exit one country and enter the other. All border formalities and the processing of documentation for goods and travel are carried out in a single clearance hall for exiting one country and entering the adjacent country. If cargo inspection is required, it is done once through a joint inspection involving all the necessary agencies of both countries at the same time.
For passenger cars and buses, the introduction of OSBP procedures almost immediately cuts border processing time in half. For example, at a traditional two-stop border, buses stop at one side of the border and the passengers go into the border facility for processing. Luggage and cargo are offloaded and inspected as needed. This may take 1-2 hours, after which the bus is driven to the other side of the border and the same processing is repeated for another 1-2 hours. In contrast, in an OSBP passengers enter one facility for exit and entry formalities. Cargo is offloaded once and is inspected jointly. In an OSBP, the clearance of passengers and their luggage is typically done in less than an hour.
Border controls for cargo in a traditional two-stop border post can take as long as 3-5 days for various reasons. Trucks used for commercial cargo have daily fixed costs of USD 200-500 (Southern Africa estimate). Therefore, delays of three to five days represent USD 600-2,500 in unnecessary transport costs. These added costs directly affect the cost and competitiveness of African commodities in international markets as well as the cost of imports to consumers and inputs to manufacturers. A second cost derived from border delays and poor facilitation along the route is high inventory costs. For goods worth from USD 2,000-5,000 per ton, the cost of increased inventory is USD 0.75-2.50 per day per ton. Manufacturers and retailers report ordering an additional month ahead to account for the lack of predictability of delivery. For a 28-ton truckload, this implies USD 630-2,100 in unnecessary logistics cost.
Legal and Regulatory Framework for OSBPs
The General Legal Environment and the Specific Legal Concept of OSBPs
OSBPs need to rely on a well-functioning legal system, nationally and regionally. It is not possible to put into place the entire national and regional legal and regulatory frameworks for the purpose of operationalizing OSBPs – only specific issues can be addressed. Thus, there are some set or given parameters for the legal/regulatory framework of an OSBP that probably cannot be changed for the purpose of establishing the OSBP. These parameters may vary from country to country and from region to region.
The OSBP concept envisaged for any border post requires additional legal authority beyond that which is provided by current legislation for two reasons. First, it will entail the performance of border controls by various officers (the core activity) of one state in terms of its national laws extraterritorially in another state. Second, a legal mandate is required for hosting arrangements of that state’s border control officers who will operate in terms of their own national laws within the territory of the other state.
Legislative/Regulatory Approaches/Formulas
Multilateral/Regional Legal Instruments
Ideally, the operationalization of an OSBP should be pursued in accordance with multilateral/regional instruments promoting the single-stop border clearance procedure. At least an overarching regional legislative basis is recommended for common OSBP subject matter, i.e., subject matter that is the same and does not differ according to the country pairs or border crossings involved. Harmonization is an important facilitation factor. In addition, a regional approach can take into account the interests of third countries located along a transport corridor.
Built on the regional legislation, national and local laws and regulations can be issued or adopted. Concrete cases of such a regional approach include: (i) UEMOA Regulation No. 15/2009/CM/UEMOA Portant Regime Juridique des Postes de Contrôle Juxtaposes aux Frontieres des Etats Membres de L’Union Economique et Monetaire Ouest Africaine; (ii) ECOWAS Supplementary Act/SA.1/07/13 Relating to the Establishment and Implementation of the Joint Border Posts Concept within Member States of the Economic Community of West African States, June, 2013; and (iii) the EAC One Stop Border Posts Act 2013 and EAC One Stop Border Posts Regulations 2013. The other RECs in Africa do not (yet) have such well-developed legal and regulatory frameworks.
Where the option is offered by the constitutional regime of a REC, secondary regional legislation, either directly applicable to the member states or not, is recommended because it harmonizes the OSBP legal framework to a large extent.
Bilateral Agreements
The approach of an MOU and National Act is recommended where two adjoining countries are involved and the focus is on establishing an OSBP at a particular border crossing. It entails the negotiation and conclusion between the two countries of a bilateral agreement in which the parameters of establishing such an OSBP are spelled out. It also requires that such arrangement be entrenched in the domestic laws of each country by way of an appropriate Act of Parliament with an overriding effect over all border control legislation so as to give legal effect to the provisions of the MOU and the principles of extraterritoriality and hosting arrangements.
Even when a regional legal regime is in place, for the unique characteristics and specific issues of particular border crossing points, the adjoining country pairs may need to conclude bilateral agreements.
National Law and Regulations
Depending on the regional (i.e., REC) constitutional regime and on national constitutional law, after the adoption of regional legal instrument(s), the implementation (or integration or reception) into the national body of law of the respective signatory/member countries may be required. In addition to the issue of direct applicability, an issue that depends on the national legal system of the country concerned is whether after signature of a treaty by the country’s representative the expressed consent needs to be confirmed (ratification), generally by an act of the country’s parliament. These requirements are relevant since they affect the speed of the practical applicability of the regional law.
Formalization of the Appropriate Legal/Regulatory Framework for OSBPs
Negotiation and Approval Process for Regional and Bilateral Agreements
A broad outline of a process that may be used during the negotiation and approval of regional and bilateral agreements for the implementation of OSBPs, including stakeholder consultation(s), development of a succession of working drafts, and plenary workshops, is set out in the main text. There are a number of critical success factors (e.g., open involvement of all key stakeholders in the public and private sectors and acceptance by both of the criticality of their partnership).
Adoption of a National OSBP Act
A national OSBP Act provides for an enabling and empowering framework for the implementation of OSBP(s) within a regional or bilateral arrangement between/among countries. Each country will need to formalize an Act to ensure that the legislative framework for the OSBP is in place.
Specific (Core) OSBP Legal Issues
Core OSBP legal issues include: (i) extraterritoriality; (ii) hosting arrangements; (iii) safety/security management in the common control zone; (iv) facility management of the common control zone; (v) dispute/conflict management/resolution arrangements; (vi) definition and delimitation of the OSBP premises; (vii) the definition of controls to be performed; (viii) definition of sequence of controls; (ix) the definition of handing over of controls; (x) the reversal of controls; (xi) the return of persons, vehicles, and goods, (xii) agreement on the use of a common language, and (xiii) data/information sharing/exchange.
Border Procedures for OSBPs – Simplification and Harmonization
Simplifying and Harmonizing Border Procedures for OSBPs
Key steps in the overall process of simplifying and harmonizing procedures for OSBPs include the (i) audit of procedures; (ii) consultations with all Border agencies and private sector operators; (iii) simplification and harmonization of procedures; (iv) training, capacity building, and sensitization; (v) rigorous baseline, mid-course impact, and endline time measurement surveys; and (vi) fine tuning of procedures.
Designing Border Crossing Procedures for Goods in an OSBP
Clearance of Goods
Customs and other border agencies have to balance their controls among various competing requirements, including trade, the economy, fiscal and budget issues, crime interdiction, environmental concerns, and transport. At OSBPs, the clearance of goods is guided by specific operating principles that require the sequencing of controls according to one of options, state-to-state control or agency-to-agency controls.
In the conduct of their controls, the adjoining countries should specify in their OSBP agreement the sequence and form the controls will take at their OSBP(s). Where practical, the adjoining countries should conduct their controls by way of simultaneous processing of documents and joint inspections and verifications, by all national agencies of the country or countries with an interest in undertaking their controls.
Specific Issues
Specific issue relate to the clearance of hazardous goods, the clearance of perishable goods, the clearance of abnormal or wide loads, and the clearance of empty returning freight vehicles.
Strengthening Security through Border Management in an OSBP
Measures to expedite the clearance of goods and movement of people should not compromise border and national security. Issues relate to (i) intelligence gathering and information sharing, (ii) cross-border crimes, (iii) risk and threat management, (iv) the protection of vulnerable groups (more details are provided on the protection of vulnerable groups, (v) joint investigations and operations, (vi) the search of freight and passenger vehicles for clandestine persons, and (vii) cargo security issues.
Physical Facilities and Traffic Flows in OSBPs
The process of designing OSBP facilities requires careful examination based on current and simulated data and consultations with stakeholders (i.e., resident border agents and users of the facilities), considering that border procedures at OSBPs cannot be streamlined if the design simply expands the layout of conventional border facilities in one country or consolidates that in two countries. In addition, examinations in the pre-construction stage are essential to determine the most appropriate capacity of the OSBP, as well as the method and scheme of construction. It may be that this assessment will find that a “no new construction” option, perhaps including the renovation of existing facilities and/or implementation of nonphysical measures, will be the most preferred solution.
OSBP Case Studies
The following case studies of planned or operational OSBPs were prepared:
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Chirundu, a juxtaposed OSBP serving Zambia and Zimbabwe;
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Cinkansé, serving Burkina Faso and Togo, although wholly located within Burkina Faso;
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Mfum, an OSBP planned to serve Cameroon and Nigeria, although wholly located within Nigeria;
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An overview of OSBPs within the EAC;
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Namanga and Rusumo, the former to serve Kenya and Tanzania, and the latter to serve Rwanda and Tanzania;
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Gasenyi I/Nemba, a straddling OSBP serving Burundi and Rwanda; and
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Lebombo/Ressano Garcia, planned to serve South Africa and Mozambique.
The case studies focus on the issues/lesson(s) to be presented, with background information provided (only) to the extent that it is relevant. The case studies were necessarily limited to available materials (which have been cited within the case studies) and inputs from cooperating partners. Certain issues/lessons recur throughout several case studies (e.g., the need for well-structured institutions, laws, and procedures; the importance of training), while others are unique (e.g., the viability and efficacy of the straddling OSBP model, the possibility of improving border operating performance even without an OSBP). The case studies provided source material for (the earlier chapters of) the Sourcebook.
» Download: One-Stop Border Post Sourcebook, 2nd edition (PDF, 5.07 MB)
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#CoM2017: Dakar talks on Africa collapse
Talks in Dakar, Senegal, aimed at mapping out steps to be taken to confront Africa’s hydra-headed challenges have collapsed.
The talks collapsed after delegates failed to reach a consensus after three days on the interpretation of rules of procedures governing the Tenth Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialised Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
Just when experts and stakeholders were about breathing the air of relief as meetings scheduled for Saturday all appeared to have gone well without hitch, the chairman of Bureau of Committee of Experts announced the annulment of the meetings.
South Africa, Zimbabwe and Libya joined Algeria and Nigeria in voicing out disgust at the turn of events. Delegates from Morocco and Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, however, continued with accusations and counter-accusations against each other as the saboteurs of the meetings.
Billed to start on Thursday, the meetings were stalled by the sharp differences among participants on the interpretations of rules and procedures to govern them. They also shifted the blames on the principal partners of the event.
There had been palpable fears that the differences, at the event, otherwise known as African Development Week, may yet have serious adverse effect on the works and submission of ministers’ meeting billed to commence on Tuesday, 27 March .
The UN Economic Commission for Africa insisted, as an organ of the United Nations, that it would not participate or contribute to any of the joint meetings.
The key partner in the event stressed its desire to strictly adhere to the UN’s regulations.
The global body is clear on the participation of non-member entity in any of its events. Non-members are only permitted to attend on the condition no UN member country objects to such participation.
In this instance, delegates from Morocco expressed concerns over participation of delegates from Western Sahara.
The News Agency of Nigeria gathered, from diplomatic sources that the King Mohammed VI of Morocco, called heads of government across the continent and beyond on the implication of snubbing Morocco’s concern.
On Friday, the election on a new Bureau of Committee of Experts was haphazardly done, as the outgoing chairman of the Bureau, South African Lizenga Maluleka unceremoniously vacated the seat for the Senegalese chairman of the Bureau.
Indications of what was in the offing started to emerge when the press briefing earlier scheduled for Saturday was cancelled without any convincing explanation.
Despite the political uncertainties, the atmosphere at the King Fahd Hotel, venue of the events, seemed to have belied the seriousness of the crisis on the horizon. Six side events held smoothly.
At the joint Economic Commission for Africa-World Health Organization event on health financing in Africa, experts discussed ways to increase health financing and social protection as a way of ensuring that there is universal access to health on the continent. This is amid worries that commitments by most governments and stakeholders on this issue were not being translated into action on the ground.
The ECA’s Social Development Policy Division Director, Ms. Takyiwaa Manuh, said though African governments committed through the Abuja Declaration of 2001 and more recently the Tunis Declaration and others to put more money into health, many such commitments remain untranslated into concrete actions for reasons that range from inadequate resources to weak administrative and institutional mechanisms.
“In recent years, investment in health has been getting a raw deal in comparison to other sectors in the economy,” said Manuh.
African countries are on average still far from meeting key health financial financing goals of allocating 15 percent of their national budgets towards health.
By 2015, only Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Togo and Zambia had met the Abuja Declaration target.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Afro Regional Director, Ms. Matshidiso Moeti, said all efforts have to be taken to ensure health financing works for Africa.
“It is important for us to put more resources into the health sector because it is good for economic development and economic development is what we all want for the African continent and we feel that the health sector has more to contribute towards human capital which is so essential for countries to be successful in that regard,” said Moeti.
Experts have long been pleading with political leaders that people should not be dying needlessly due to preventable diseases and that health should be treated as a human right.
“Investing in health is a smart investment. We could save almost half of our GDP in future if we invest in health and if we look at how much we should invest it would be far less than what we will save in future or the trillions we will lose if we do not invest in health,” she said.
Senegal’s health minister Amarie Coll Seck gave an passionate plea to health ministers and experts present, calling on the continent to have a holistic and sustainable human development approach, to ensure greater budgetary allocations to health.
Other events that also held on Saturday include the Capacity-building for development planning; Expert group meeting on the New Urban Agenda and demographic dividend: investments for Africa’s Youth; Managing and coordinating Large-scale infrastructure projects for development planning in Africa; launching of 2017 Economic Report on Africa: Urbanisation and Industrialisation for Africa’s Transformation; and Meeting of senior officials of the Committee of Ten Ministers of Finance on the implementation of the 0.2 per cent levy on imports.
As all the side discussions went on, there were concerns about the fate of their decisions.
The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) at the event called for less emphasis on political interpretations. Instead it suggested more concentration on the fundamental developmental issues.
The political controversy, according to the CSOs, is a disservice to the people of Africa who are urgently looking forward to the continent’s technocrats and political leaders to take advantage of the meeting to chart ways out of the prevalent challenges of hunger, poverty, diseases and inequality in the continent.
“This is not the time and place to play the politics with the lives of the African people. Africans cannot afford to wait while bureaucrats and politicians play politics. We are concerned that two days of huge time and resources have been wasted while we bring what ordinarily should have been dealt with at political level to technical sessions,” they stated.
They described as a huge waste the money invested in the conference by the member states, the AU, the UN, the CSOs attending and the media.
“The economic and social cost of the conference being stalled is huge and enormous that if it was invested in the response to the current drought ravaging most member states such as Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, that would have made a greater impact on the people of Africa who desperately look forward to a solution to the state of inequality, hunger and pestilence on the continent,” it said.
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Experts discuss infrastructure development and industrializing efforts in Africa
African experts converged in Dakar on Sunday to discuss industrialization and infrastructure development on the continent with many agreeing more still needs to be done to ensure Africa is able to industrialize and create jobs for its youthful population.
In his paper delivered during a high-level meeting organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on “Innovations for infrastructure development and sustainable industrialization” during the ECA’s Africa Development Week in Dakar, Stephen Karingi, Director of the ECA’s Capacity Development Division, said Africa still faces serious infrastructure shortcomings, both in terms of access and quality, despite the important contribution it has to leverage industrial potential.
“Albeit with some regional and national disparities, the continent is broadly characterized by poor transportation network,” said Mr. Karingi. “Also the power that is needed to scale industrial plants remains grossly inadequate and access to ICTs still has a long way to go in most countries although progress has been made over the past few years.”
His presentation evolved around the nexus between infrastructure development and industrialization, state of infrastructure development and industrialization in Africa and infrastructure development and industrializing efforts in Africa.
“Well-functioning infrastructure assets contribute to increasing cost efficiency by lowering production costs, improving access to larger regional markers, through regional integration, for productive resources and industrial output thereby creating new production, trade and business opportunities,” Mr. Karingi told the high-level meeting.
He said good quality infrastructure is a key determinant of countries’ and regions’ attractiveness to foreign direct investment hence the need for the continent to come together to develop infrastructure that will enable its transformation.
“Good infrastructure assets also yield education and health outcomes that serve the industrial. Good water and sanitation facilities result in better health and increased productivity of workers; road networks improve access of patients to hospitals while well-functioning medical centers would have to rely on good electricity supply,” Mr. Karingi noted.
“On the other hand, industrial development of a country would require specific infrastructure which suggests industrialization could also be a catalyst for infrastructure development.”
Participants also discussed the state of Africa’s transport network, which remains poor as characterized by low railway density as compared to other regions, access to energy, and CTs performance, noting although the continent has made progress in the past few years, it remains the poorest performing continent in terms of ICT development.
Mr. Karingi said Africa like some other developing regions, including Latin America, has recorded a decreasing of industrial and manufacturing contribution to GDP, a situation often referred to as de-industrialization.
Calls for protectionism in the West should not scare Africa, says Abdalla Hamdok
Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Abdalla Hamdok, says there’s no need for Africa to panic as sentiments of protectionism and populism grow louder in Western Europe and America.
Speaking during the regional meeting on innovations in infrastructure development and sustainable industrialization in Africa, Mr. Hamdok said the rise of populism and protectionism in America and some European capitals should not scare Africa but give the continent an opportunity to re-think and come up with policies that shape its own future in its own way.
“It is not all doom and gloom when you hear those protectionism sentiments,” he said. “We should use the opportunity to rethink and shape our own future, developing our markets, our value chains and all that. We should look at it as an opportunity to do that and move our continent ahead.”
Mr. Hamdok said Africa needs to work tirelessly on value addition and move away from the model of selling its rich natural resources which do not generate enough financing for the development of the continent.
“We really need to rethink this outdated model of relying on exports of our raw materials where we still have commercial activities going on in villages with no running water, no clinic and all that,” said Mr. Hamdok.
He said while designing infrastructure projects that could leverage industrial potential of African countries, it remained important to benefit for value chain maximization, preferably regional value chains with ongoing efforts towards regional integration in Africa.
“We need to rethink our commodities and link the entire investment in the commodities sector to the development of the continent and be part of developing our nations and provide that much-needed financing for development.”
Mr. Hamdok said the high-level meeting should come up with concrete recommendations on how Africa should tackle the issues of innovation, industrialization and infrastructure, especially financing mechanisms, including developing, strengthening and deepening financial markets.
Speaking at the same meeting, United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) President, Fredrick Shava, said anyone who has spent significant time in Africa knows that the question of infrastructure, industrialization and innovation was not merely a technical issue.
“It is at the height of the continent’s development plan and if adequately prioritized and supported, can ensure that Africa’s potential is unleashed and that individuals and societies are able to progress and break free from the shackles of deprivation and lack,” said Mr. Shava.
He said the potential for Africa was limitless. “Nevertheless, our economies and societies are not creating the quantity or the quality of opportunities needed to meet the demands generated by our rapidly urbanizing cities, our youthful population and diverse ecosystems,” he said.
Senegal’s Industry and Mines Minister, Ngouille Ndiaye, said it was crucial for Africa to move with speed to address the challenges affecting its growth and creation of inclusive economies.
He said his country is currently implementing a number of policies in its quest to transform its economy.
This is the first of two meetings that will be held in preparation of a bigger high-level meeting in New York in May to discuss and find ways to address impediments to industrialization, infrastructure development and innovation in Africa. The second meeting will be held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in April.
Use innovation and technology to drive economic transformation, UN General Assembly President Urges Africa
Africa should take advantage of innovation and technology and use them to drive sustainable development, infrastructure and industrialization, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Peter Thomson, told the high-level meeting on Sunday
Mr. Thomson said harnessing this potential requires effective leadership to champion the necessary reforms to ensure the transformative potential of innovation and technology is enjoyed by everyone across Africa.
“The rapid pace of advances in innovation and disruptive technology taking place across our world provides an opportunity for these tools to be harnessed in Africa towards advancing sustainable industrialization, development, and growth. Importantly these advances present opportunities to leapfrog high-carbon models, spur green economic growth, and build resilient economies,” said Mr. Thomson.
“In the volatile global environment, in which we live, driving an economic transformation to secure the sustainable growth needed to eradicate poverty, build infrastructure, and support industrialization, requires a smart, innovative and integrated approach.”
He said the topic of the meeting was of particular importance for both Africa, and the international community, as governments and partners look to scale-up implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
“With the sustainable development goals serving as a universal masterplan for building a safer, more prosperous, and more sustainable future for all, the need for catalytic action could not be clearer,” said Mr. Thomson.
He said the important question, that is not new however, is how governments and partners can work together to achieve sustainable development, and to ensure that the transformative potential of the SDGs reaches all people.
He said the question of ‘how’ to achieve sustainable development is made even more difficult when the compounding challenges facing African nations are considered.
“With many African economies largely reliant on natural resource exports, economic prospects are highly susceptible to external shocks, including price volatility and falling global demand,” Mr. Thomson told the high-level meeting.
Broader global challenges, he said, add to this economic vulnerability, including peace and security threats, humanitarian crises, rising terrorism and violent extremism, the large-scale movements of people, population growth, expanding inequality, environmental degradation, extreme weather events, and the destructive impacts of climate change.
He said while innovation and technology stand to revolutionise sustainable development, and drive economic growth, capitalising on this opportunity and turning the potential into outcomes requires the creation of enabling environments, at both national and international levels, to mobilise the financing, investment, and innovation needed.
These include sustaining peace as an economic imperative, and pursued as part of integrated efforts to prevent conflict, addressing its root causes, achieve sustainable development, and guard development gains from reversing.
He said policy and regulatory frameworks should be implemented to help build resilient institutions, strengthen governance, promote gender equality, ensure economic inclusivity, increase access to markets, diversify the economy, drive enterprise development, and create the decent jobs needed to ensure that Africa’s demographic dividend benefits the economy.
Strategic partnerships need to be established to bring together key stakeholders from across government at all levels, civil society, the private sector, and grassroots organisations, to drive inclusive and coordinated sustainable development efforts, added Mr. Thomson.
“And sustained support is needed from the international community for African-led efforts, including through capacity-building, investment, and technology transfer,” he said, adding efforts to strengthen the partnerships between the UN, the African Union, and sub-regional organizations, were also critical, including the Partnership on Africa’s Integration and Development Agenda, among others.
The time to fast-track Africa’s structural transformation is now, says top UN official
Director David Mehdi Hamam of the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) told the high-level meeting that it is time to fast-track Africa’s structural transformation and create inclusive growth that will leave no one wallowing in poverty.
Mr. Hamam said Agenda 2063, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Third Industrial Development Decade of Africa, are all reviving industrialization and infrastructure development for inclusive growth and sustainable development on the continent.
“It is time to fast-track Africa’s structural transformation. As we intend to achieve the aspirations of African people and the world, it is critical to create wealth, income and employment,” he said.
“Industrialization through local value-addition and local processing offers great opportunities in this regard, particularly if it allows to build forward and backward linkages.”
Mr. Hamam said achieving industrialization requires an enabling environment which includes, among other things, sustainable infrastructure and services in energy, transport, water, sanitation, and information communication technologies. It also requires soft infrastructure such as institutions, adequate skills and technology, as well as peace and stability, he said.
“Poor infrastructure in general has been undermining the competitiveness of African economies and thereby slowing the per capita growth by two percent annually according to the ECA,” he told participants as he urged African leaders to take advantage of innovation and technology to ramp-up Africa’s industrialization drive.
“It is therefore imperative to fast-track infrastructure development and the implementation of PIDA in Africa in order to foster sustainable industrialization and ultimately leave no one behind,” said Mr. Hamam.
He spoke in a session which examined the current status of infrastructure development and sustainable industrialisation in Africa and other developing countries, both of which are enablers for sustainable development in their own right, but whose current state of development could act as a serious drawback to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
The session examined how countries can develop policies and implement programmes that can mitigate the various constraints and fast-track the industrialisation process.
In his closing remarks to the meeting, ECA’s Stephen Karingi said it is crucial for Africa to allow for ways to support small to medium enterprises that have potential to unlock the continent’s industrial potential.
He said some issues to consider include how Africa can build an enabling environment for start-ups to grow; design urban centers of service to support SMEs; work out mechanisms to ensure SMEs do not remain in a permanent state of SMEs and informal sector but rather grow to become large-sized and or formal enterprises and create level playing fields for SMEs in national, regional and international markets.
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UN Commission on the Status of Women provides roadmap to women’s full and equal participation in the economy
UN Member States have committed to ensure women’s full and equal participation and leadership in the economy, as well as women’s right to work and rights at work, as a vital step to achieving sustainable development. This strong pledge to women’s economic empowerment came at the closing of the 61st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61), the two-week meeting that concluded on Friday, 24 March 2017.
The Agreed Conclusions from the UN’s largest gathering on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights highlight barriers that women face, such as unequal working conditions, women’s over-representation in the informal economy, gender stereotypes and social norms that reinforce women’s concentration in certain sectors, such as health and social sectors, and the uneven share of unpaid care work that women do.
Despite the long-standing existence of international labour standards on equal pay, the gender pay gap, which currently stands at 23 per cent globally, persists in all countries. Member States expressed concern over this and the persistently low wages paid to women, which are often below decent living wages. In the final agreement, they commit to the implementation of equal pay policies through social dialogue, collective bargaining, job evaluations and gender pay audits, among other measures.
At the same time, CSW members acknowledged that providing equal pay and social protection will create decent work for paid care and domestic workers. Fast developing new technologies and sectors present new employment opportunities for women, but that they need to be provided with access to relevant education and training.
“This Commission has engaged strongly, comprehensively and constructively over the last two weeks in considering the most effective ways in which to bring about change for women in the world of work,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director, in welcoming the Agreed Conclusions.
“We have heard from all quarters the accepted imperative to put this knowledge into practice. It will take action throughout society; by all those who spoke to represent the commitment of young and older, of civil society and parliamentarians, of men and women alike, to embrace the great promise of finally making space for women to thrive. There has never been any excuse for the inequality that exists. Now we are seeing a healthy intolerance for inequality grow into firm and positive change.”
This year’s Commission saw the attendance of 162 Member States, including 89 representatives at the Ministerial level. Over 3,900 representatives from 580 civil society organizations came to New York from 138 countries, attesting to the growing strength and unity of women’s voices around the world.
Underlining that women’s careers should not experience any disadvantage because of pregnancy and motherhood, the Agreed Conclusions stress the need to ensure that both women and men have access to paid parental leave and to promote men's usage of such allowances.
Measures such as increased flexibility in working arrangements; facilitation of breastfeeding for working mothers; development of infrastructure and technology; the provision of affordable and quality care facilities for children and other dependents; and adapting education systems to allow pregnant adolescents, as well as single mothers, to continue and complete their education; are highlighted by the Commission to advance women’s economic empowerment. Legal and policy frameworks must also be enforced to end sexual harassment at the work place. The Commission recognized the importance of women’s access to sexual and reproductive health-care services to enable them to participate fully in the labour force.
For the first time, the transition of informal and domestic workers into the formal economy was a key issue of discussion for the Commission, whose members agreed on the need of promoting decent work and paid care in the public and private sectors; increasing the provision of social protection and wages that guarantee an adequate standard of living; and ensuring safe working conditions for women. This comes as a matter of concern as many migrant women employed in the informal economy and in less skilled work are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. The Commission recognized the positive contributions of migrants and called for gender-responsive migration policies that promote migrant women’s economic empowerment.
The Commission calls for strengthened efforts in both public and private sectors to retain women in the workforce and seek more gender balance in managerial positions. Member States further called for an end to the practice of gender-based price differentiation, also known as the “pink tax” – whereby goods and services intended for or marketed to women and girls cost more than similar goods and services intended for or marketed to men and boys.
With the empowerment of indigenous women being the emerging theme of this session, the Agreed Conclusions urge the full inclusion and development of indigenous women in economic life, including through the establishment of indigenous-owned businesses.
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Fastest-growing region in Africa suffering from slow pace of structural transformation
Despite being the fastest growing sub-region of the continent with an economic growth rate of 6.7% – second in the world to East Asia, East Africa is lagging behind in terms of its structural transformation.
According to the Economic Commission for Africa’s Country Profiles, which were launched on Saturday during the Africa Development Week in Dakar, Senegal. The 2016 reports show the level of industrialization and transformation in Burundi, Djibouti, Madagascar and Somalia is particularly low and does not seem to have advanced over the last decade.
In Burundi, 87% of the population still depends on agriculture and the secondary sector accounts for only 14% of GDP. In Somalia, the share of the employed population in the agricultural sector has been declining steadily and is now estimated to represent 64% of the population. The secondary sector remains underdeveloped, contributing only 7.2% of GDP.
In Djibouti, structural transformation manifests itself mostly through the development of the services sector, which contributes to 89% of GDP – including the construction sector. The industrial and agriculture sectors are little developed and respectively contribute only 8% and 3% to GDP. Efforts for structural transformation in Djibouti are limited by the low levels of human capital, with only 2% of the population having had access to tertiary education.
Meanwhile, Madagascar is the country, which seems to have the most dynamic industrial sector, thanks to the boom in mining over the last ten years and to the activity in the free zones – in which mainly textile manufactures and shrimp export business operate. The free zones are one of the most dynamic sectors of the Malagasy economy, with an expected growth rate of 10% over the next few years. However, they mostly export-oriented – accounting for around 60% of exports – and not integrated sufficiently integrated with the rest of the economy.
In all four countries, demographic pressures are a major constraint. The population growth rate is 3% in Burundi, 2.8% in Madagascar, and 2.4% in Somalia. Only Djibouti sustains a slower rate of growth of 1.6%. Population growth induces pressure on land, especially in Burundi, where the already small average farm plot size (0.5 hectares) is expected to halve again over the next 30 years. Population pressures also represent a challenge in terms of training and employment for young people. In Burundi, youth unemployment is estimated at 50%. In Djibouti, 62% of the population is inactive. In Somalia, this challenge is linked to insecurity and the phenomenon of al Shabaab, who recruit from unemployed youth.
Apart from looking at macroeconomic performance and structural transformation, the 2016 Country Profiles also use indexes to review the four East African countries’ performances in the fields of regional integration, Health, Education, Poverty reduction, Inequality, Employment and Gender.
The ECA Country Profiles were originally designed in 2015 in accordance with Resolution 917 of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (Abuja, 2014), with the aim to provide African decision-makers with an independent analysis of their countries’ economic and social development including the progress made to achieve regional integration.
The country profiles are based on data provided by member States and they complement ongoing ECA efforts to improve the collection and use of statistical data in Africa.
They include various innovations such as: the African Social Development Index (ASDI), which measures human exclusion in six key dimensions of wellbeing throughout the life cycle (survival, health, education, employment, means of subsistence and the capacity to live a decent life after the age of 60), the AGDI (African Gender and Development Index) and the African Regional Integration Index, based on the five pillars of regional integration (trade integration, regional infrastructure, productive integration, free movement of people & financial and macroeconomic integration).
The 21 countries covered in the 2016 Country Profiles are Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Chad, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland and Tunisia.
The 2016 Country Profiles for six southern African countries are available to download below. For more information and to download the full set of 2016 Country Profiles, please click here.
To view the 2015 ECA Country Profiles, please click here.
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tralac’s Daily News Selection
The Africa Development Week opens in Dakar with a clarion call for policies that cater for youth
Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Sierra Leone: Youths get network for sub-regional trade
Building for success: a world trade agenda for the Buenos Aires Ministerial (ICC)
“Challenging times” call for bold trade policy initiatives at the international level, says a new report produced for ICC by the European Centre for International Policy Economy launched in London. Charting a path forward, the ECIPE report (pdf) highlights five especially important issues for the WTO to address at the organisation’s Eleventh Ministerial Conference in Argentina this December: (i) trade in non-agricultural goods, (ii) trade in services; (iii) e-commerce; (iv) improved rules on ‘new’ competition distortions regarding state-owned enterprises, local content requirements and export restrictions; and (v) investment. Digital trade policy merits particular attention from the WTO, the report argues, as new technologies are fundamentally changing the structure and functioning of the global economy.
WTO members review further proposals to ease global trade in services (WTO)
WTO members discussed five new or enhanced proposals to advance services negotiations at meetings of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation and the Services Council on 14-17 March 2017. Four of these proposals aim to ensure that domestic licensing procedures and technical standards do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade while one proposal relates to the establishment of a trade facilitation agreement for services.
Rwanda to host continental e-commerce summit in July (New Times)
This will be the inaugural YouthConnekt summit engaging the entire continent and will run under the theme, “Harnessing Africa’s Demographic Dividend.” The summit will be co-organised by UNCTAD, the UN Development Programme and the Government of Rwanda. The YouthConneckt initiative was launched in 2012 by the Government to reach out to young people across the country in multiple aspects, including access to finance, entrepreneurship, among others. The summit, slated for 21 July, is expected to attract over 2,500 delegates, including African Heads of State, the youth, global business executives and leaders from international development organisations. The meeting will also be attended by the founder and chairperson of Alibaba, Jack Ma – who is also the special envoy for UNCTAD.
A selection of postings on South African trade policy issues:
(i) The Western Cape: Africa’s trade and investment springboard (pdf, Wesgro): Trade in the Western Cape was driven by 2016 export growth to the Americas (of 25%), Oceania (of 15%) and Asia (of 10%). The products contributing to this growth were agricultural goods as well as engine parts, diodes and hot-rolled iron and steel. Imports totalled ZAR192bn in 2016, decreasing by 2.2% from 2015. Where Western Cape exports have flattened out in 2016, imports have continued to decline from 2013/2014 levels caused mainly by the decline in the value of refined petroleum imports and in part by the declining imports of alcoholic beverages and spirits. The traditional export markets such as the United Kingdom the Netherlands, and the United States are important to the Western Cape economy and are strong drivers for exports. All three of these traditional markets saw double-digit growth from 2012 to 2016, with exports to the United States growing by 23% p.a. The growth of these three markets translated into an increase of ZAR3.35bn in exports in 2016. SACU accounted for 20% of the province’s total exports, second only to the European Union which accounted for 28% in 2016. Together these two sub-regions account for almost half of Western Cape exports. The inclusion of the SACU countries in 2014 figures has provided a strong indication of the impact these countries have on Western Cape exports.
(ii) Willemien Viljoen, tralac Researcher, comments on South Africa’s expanding citrus fruit and grape export markets
(iii) Summary of challenges facing the SA poultry sector: presentation by the Department of Trade and Industry to the Portfolio Committee (pdf). The presentation covers: Status of the domestic industry, Why is there a crisis?, Why it is important to support the industry and the trade-offs?, Trade Policy instruments and measures implemented to date, Task Team: possible support measures. Extract: Domestic demand and production has increased alongside significant import penetration: (i) Poultry consumption soared in period up to 2010 (roughly coinciding with commodity boom) but levelled out from 2010, (ii) Imports climbed from 8% of total consumption in 2003 to over 20% from 2010 to 2013, (iii) From 2003 to 2010, imports rose 11% and local production 7% a year
(iv) The chickens are coming home to roost in the poultry and banking sectors (Daily Maverick): Chickens. Banks. Different sectors, same issues: transformation (radical or not), government (in)action and economic growth, or lack thereof. It’s not a case of why did the chicken cross the road, it’s why did the frozen chicken cross the ocean? Or, in the case of the banks and the broader financial services sector, who really owns whom? Two days of public hearings by Parliament’s trade and industry committee, including one alongside the finance committee, highlighted the role of foreign ownership in South Africa’s economy, transformation in trouble, and structural inequalities. [Don’t protect ‘unproductive’ chicken industry - meat association (Fin24)]
(v) SA’s Competition Commission raids fresh produce market agents for suspected price fixing: statement (pdf)
Zimbabwe: RBZ warms up to Rand adoption (Daily News)
Zimbabwe’s central bank is warming up to adoption of the South African Rand as a dominating currency following various calls from business in favour of the exchange. In an apparent u-turn from his previous stance, RBZ deputy governor Kupukile Mlambo, on Thursday, said Rand domination would benefit the country, presently battling an acute cash crisis and help alleviate cash shortages. Mlambo pointed out that the central bank would prefer for the South African currency - which firmed 0,6% against the Dollar on Wednesday just off the 20-month high reached earlier this week - to be Zimbabwe’s dominant currency, following hints by President Robert Mugabe in a recent interview that the country needed to adopt the Rand.
Botswana: Business decries slow pace of reforms (Mmegi)
During a Botswana National Productivity Centre consultative workshop held recently, members of the business community noted that the implementation of these reforms has been long talked about but to date things are still the same, making doing business difficult. The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry principal industrial officer, Tidimalo Sitang said: “The government is very aware that the business reforms will reduce the cost of doing business in Botswana hence promoting investor friendly climate and reduce frustrations businesspeople face in order to make an investment or start a business. For instance, starting a business in Botswana takes at least 48 days while in countries like Singapore that continues to be ranked the best in the Global Competitiveness Index it takes exactly one day to establish a business.”
A selection of postings on South Sudan:
(i) South Sudan: 2016 Article IV Consultation (IMF): Box 4: The Risks of a Delay in Policy Action. Without significant progress towards peace and economic stabilization, as assumed in the baseline projection, the economic trajectory for South Sudan becomes highly unstable. A downside scenario demonstrates the risks of the baseline by assuming a three-year delay in achieving peace and implementing economic stabilization policies. The underlying assumptions include (i) stagnating oil production because oil companies are unwilling to invest to rehabilitate the aging oil wells in the middle of civil war; (ii) rising instability will maintain a large number of internally displaced people and refugees, which will dampen activity in the nonoil sector; (iii) the country will continue to have no access to external financing; and (iv) budgetary spending will accelerate reflecting higher security-related expenses. Key macroeconomic indicators under this scenario will therefore deviate significantly from the baseline scenario:
(ii) South Sudan and the Eastern Africa Regional Transport, Trade and Development Facilitation Programme (pdf, World Bank): The project was approved on May 20, 2014, signed on June 12, 2014 and became effective on December 22, 2014 with closing date of December 30, 2019. All project activities are on a ‘pause’ due to renewed crisis after 8 July 2016 in South Sudan.
(iii) UNSC debate, text of Presidential Statement on South Sudan: In his briefing, Secretary-General António Guterres warned the Council not to underestimate the dangers of South Sudan’s trajectory and to act with one voice to pull the world’s youngest country “back from the abyss”. All optimism that had accompanied South Sudan’s birth some six years ago had been shattered by internal divisions and irresponsible behaviour by some leaders. Festus Mogae, Chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission for South Sudan, said that, whether by design or default, a war was being waged around the country.
(iv) South Sudan’s national dialogues: can the AU make a difference? (ISS)
East Africa’s oil ambitions tested by pipeline machinations (Bloomberg)
A decade after its first big oil find, East Africa’s emergence as a crude exporter has been hindered by security and cost concerns that left the region building two pipelines instead of one. Uganda and Kenya are developing two new basins and originally agreed to build one line to connect the landlocked discoveries to the coast. Two pipelines will test the economics of the developments. Both projects probably need an oil price of $50 to $55 a barrel to break even, while lower costs or taxes may be required to justify a final investment decision in Uganda, according to BMO Capital Markets.
ECOWAS, Mano River Union to Strengthen Trade Liberalization (FPA)
In an effort to consolidate common market and the creation of a free trade across borders in West Africa, countries in the Mano River Basin have begun creating awareness about the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme which provides opportunities for citizens trading in the region. ECOWAS Special Representative Ambassador ‘Tunde Ajisomo commended Member-States in the MRU that have commenced ETLS implementation, such as Cote d’Ivoire since 1998 with a total number of 274 approved enterprises, and 957 originating products. Ajisomo continued: “Guinea, on the other hand, commenced ETLS implementation also in 1998 with 17 approved enterprises, and 43 originating products, while Sierra Leone, on its part, commenced ETLS implementation in 1991, with 10 approved enterprises and 14 originating products. In the case of Liberia, we are delighted that it commenced the ETLS implementation at the beginning of 2017, with no approved enterprises or originating products yet.”
Public spending priorities for African agriculture productivity growth (World Bank)
Reforms in public spending would boost agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa, raising farmer’s incomes, and promoting broader economic growth, says a new World Bank report. Reaping Richer Returns: Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth explores the performance of agricultural spending in Africa, and presents a wealth of important lessons from which African policy makers and development practitioners, and academics can draw options for reform.
The impact of the trade environment on women’s employment: UNCTAD side event at Commission on the Status of Women
A decrease in the fragmentation of production across countries, a shift towards domestic demand and an increase in the use of technology are factors affecting labour markets and women’s job opportunities, said Sheba Tejani (pdf), Assistant Professor of Political Economy at The New School for Social Research. “Robots and automation are new challenges that workers will soon have to face, with sectors such as textiles and light manufacturing expected to be particularly affected. And these are the very sectors that employ many women,” Ms. Tejani said, adding that although these technologies currently affect some countries more than others, all will be confronted with this new reality in the future. [Downloads]
Today’s Quick Links:
Tanzania: Foreigners now to undergo new work permit scrutiny
Namibia: Lüderitz moots new deep water port
Zimbabwe: SMEs formalisation policy process at advanced stage
Ethiopia and Gulf countries trade relations flourishing
Validation workshop of the AU policy on business and human rights
A Brookings commentary on G-20 and trade: How worried should we be?
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Africa Development Week opens in Dakar with clarion call for policies that cater for youth
It is imperative for African governments to adopt coherent strategies and national development plans that address the continent’s challenges of growth, inequality and unemployment, Economic Commission for Africa’s deputy Executive Secretary, Giovanne Biha, said Thursday.
Ms. Biha said this in her opening speech to the Tenth Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
“The absence of decent jobs for young Africans has fuelled outward migration, both within and from Africa resulting in tragic loss of lives as young people attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search for greener pastures.”
Ms. Biha said since this year is the year of harnessing Africa’s demographic dividend through investment in the youth, more needs to be done by all stakeholders to promote investment in job creation and human capital development.
“It is the imperative for African countries to adopt coherent strategies and national development plans that promote structural transformation and address the challenges of growth, inequality and unemployment within the context of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” she said.
Ms. Biha noted that discussions on unemployment in Africa were not new, adding it was now time for action on the ground.
African Union Commission’s Economic Affairs Commissioner, Anthony Mothae Maruping, said it was symbolic that the meeting was taking place in Senegal, where Africans were forcibly taken to work as slaves in America and Europe.
“We are in the right place to come up and work on strategies to make sure our young people don’t voluntarily and involuntarily leave the continent to look for opportunities elsewhere,” said Mr. Maruping, adding growth on the continent so far has not been inclusive.
“We need to grow Africa. The time to do so is now,” he said, adding Agenda 2063 is seeking to achieve accelerated, stable, inclusive and real economic job-creating growth in Africa. Mr. Maruping said no form of poverty was acceptable as he urged the continent to work hard to eradicate all inequalities.
He said Africa is clear on what needs to be done as it deals with challenges it is facing on the ground, in particular spurring economic growth that positively impacts everyone.
“Africa knows what to do, how to do it, with what and when to do it as we target this growth and inequality,” said Mr. Maruping. “We really want to transform our economies, raise our productivity, promote integration and trade and all.”
Senegal’s Budget Minister, Birima Mangara, in his welcome address to the meeting of experts said his country was doing all it can to structurally transform its economy for the benefit of every citizen.
He said inequalities and youth unemployment were being tackled as well as other related problems that lead to poverty, adding youth and women on the continent should be prioritized in job creation.
Mr. Mangara lauded the ECA, the AUC and their partners for convening a meeting to specifically tackle growth, inequalities and unemployment on the continent.
“It is these meetings which serve as outstanding platforms to discuss Africa’s problems,” he said. “I’m convinced that the debates will lead to very important recommendations that are important for the future development of our dear Africa.”
The Tenth Joint Annual Meetings will deliberate on the theme of “Growth, inequality and unemployment”.
The conference will explore measures for reducing inequality and extreme poverty on the continent in order to achieve the targets of the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan (2013-2023) of Agenda 2063 and the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, among other issues.
Among the high-level delegates present were the newly-elected African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, President of the office of the committee of experts, Lizenga Maluleka, representatives of UN agencies, the African Union Commission, African Development Bank and civil society.
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WTO members review further proposals to ease global trade in services
WTO members discussed five new or enhanced proposals to advance services negotiations at meetings of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation and the Services Council on 14-17 March 2017. Four of these proposals aim to ensure that domestic licensing procedures and technical standards do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade while one proposal relates to the establishment of a trade facilitation agreement for services.
The Chairperson of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation Ms Katarzyna Stecz of Poland welcomed WTO members’ “hard work” and “substantial engagement” and encouraged delegations to deepen conversations, including at the informal level.
Proposed domestic regulation disciplines
Increasing the transparency of regulatory measures affecting services trade was the aim of a proposal put forward by eight co-sponsors (Australia, Colombia, European Union, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei). They are proposing enhanced transparency provisions requiring WTO members to make relevant information available to services providers and to publish draft regulation so as to allow interested parties to comment. Some developing countries highlighted their limited resources for publishing information and for setting up a system for responding to comments.
Two proposals – one submitted by Australia, Canada, Colombia, EU, Israel, Japan and Mexico and the other put forward by Hong Kong (China), Chile, Switzerland and New Zealand – concerned how WTO members should develop their regulatory measures, ensuring that they are reasonable and impartial, and are based on objective and transparent criteria. Members disagreed on whether a necessity test (ensuring that measures are not more burdensome than necessary) should feature in future disciplines on domestic regulation. Several said it was unrealistic to seek consensus on this issue.
A further proposal related to how WTO members should administer processes for the authorization of services suppliers and builds upon comments members shared during previous discussions.[1] It has ten co-sponsors: Australia, Chile, Colombia, EU, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Korea, and Chinese Taipei. Some members reiterated concerns about the proposal of a “single window” for streamlining the licensing of service businesses. The co-sponsors said they are happy to discuss this further.
Proposal for a Trade Facilitation Agreement for Services
A draft text for a Trade Facilitation Agreement for Services was submitted by India.[2] This builds on earlier submissions that New Delhi had put forward for discussion in previous meetings. The proposed agreement addresses a wider range of regulatory measures affecting services trade under the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It aims to reduce bottlenecks and streamline procedures to ease services trade and intends to strike a balance between obligations and “best endeavour language”, India said. The proposal suggests setting a transition period for developing countries to comply with the provisions and only “encourages” least developed countries (LDCs) to do so.
Several developing countries called for the proposed agreement to replicate the special and differential treatment provisions for developing countries contained within the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) for goods, which entered into force on 27 February. The African Group questioned the benefits of the proposal for African countries and said they are analysing what the proposed agreement would mean for the LDC Services Waiver.
Some WTO members expressed interest in discussing the cross-border temporary movement of professionals (also known as mode 4) but some questioned whether this was feasible given the current political climate. Others expressed concerns about immigration issues, including social security contributions and multiple entry visas. Some members expressed reservations about the provisions on cross-border information flows, facilitation of movement of health patients and insurance portability.
India said it would take members’ comments into consideration.
Members’ concerns
New concerns
Korea – tourism and distribution services
Korea claimed that some measures related to tourism and distribution services from China are directly affecting its suppliers and alleged that the measures in question are inconsistent with China’s WTO obligations. China questioned the existence of the measures.
Russia – financial services
Russia registered concerns about two measures recently enacted by Ukraine in financial services, alleging that they are inconsistent with the GATS. Arguing that its measures were WTO-compliant, Ukraine said it would come back to this issue.
Previously raised concerns
Russia – gas transportation system
Russia reiterated claims that measures related to the reform of Ukraine’s unified gas transportation system continue to violate Ukraine’s obligations under the GATS regarding non-discrimination (most-favoured-nation treatment principle) and its specific commitments under the GATS. Ukraine restated that its measures comply with its WTO commitments and obligations.
Future work on e-commerce
Members discussed four papers intended to revive negotiations on e-commerce. The debate focused on the moratorium concerning customs duties on e-commerce transmissions. WTO members have renewed their commitment not to impose customs duties on these transmissions at each Ministerial Conference. Ministers last extended the moratorium at the Nairobi Ministerial Conference in December 2015.
Members discussed making the moratorium permanent, allowing e-signatures as a means of determining the digital identity of users, electronic authentication, increasing transparency and promoting the participation of small and medium-sized businesses in services trade.
Seminars on e-commerce and mode 4
Members agreed to hold a workshop on the services-related aspects of e-commerce and a seminar on barriers that restrict access of members’ services suppliers to foreign markets through mode 4 of the GATS.
Implementing LDC Services Waiver
The LDC Group reported on the preferences notified by members, including the sectors and modes of supply for which these members will grant preferential access to services and services suppliers from LDCs. The current number of notifications under the LDC Services Waiver is available here.
The LDC Group called on members granting preferences to help LDCs enhance their supply capacity and to raise awareness of the waiver. Further background information can be found here.
Next
Discussions among WTO members on the various proposals will continue in various settings. The next regular cluster of services meetings will take place in June.
[1] The proposal was submitted by Australia, Chile, Colombia, the European Union, Mexico, Norway, Republic of Korea, and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
[2] See the following Communications from India: pdf Concept Note for an Initiative on Trade Facilitation in Services (73 KB) (September 2016) and pdf Possible elements of a Trade Facilitation in Services Agreement (144 KB) (November 2016)
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Women must play a bigger role in trade
Women must have a more prominent role in trade, experts said at a meeting in New York organized by UNCTAD and the Governments of Finland and Sweden.
The meeting, held on 17 March as part of the 61st United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, highlighted that more gender-sensitive trade policies would not only reduce gender inequalities but also make trade more inclusive and sustainable.
“Women are important players in trade,” said UNCTAD Director Paul Akiwumi on behalf of UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi. “They manufacture products, trade goods across borders, manage and own trading firms, and make up a large part of the workforce in export-oriented businesses. Yet women’s potential in trade is still too often held back by the many constraints they face.”
“This state of affairs has become even more challenging with global trade facing its slowest decade of growth in 70 years, even as globalization comes under fire for leaving too many people behind, including women,” added Mr. Akiwumi, who directs UNCTAD’s Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes.
A decrease in the fragmentation of production across countries, a shift towards domestic demand and an increase in the use of technology are factors affecting labour markets and women’s job opportunities, said Sheba Tejani, Assistant Professor of Political Economy at The New School for Social Research in New York.
“Robots and automation are new challenges that workers will soon have to face, with sectors such as textiles and light manufacturing expected to be particularly affected. And these are the very sectors that employ many women,” Ms. Tejani said, adding that although these technologies currently affect some countries more than others, all will be confronted with this new reality in the future.
Finnish Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and Gender Equality, Anne Lammila, said that an increase in protectionism would hurt developing countries and cause job loss. This would affect women in particular, she said, since women are more prone to stay home doing unpaid work when fewer paid jobs are available.
“Indeed, high unemployment rates worldwide have contributed to widening the gap between male and female work force participation,” Ms. Lammila said.
But the link between trade and gender equality is complex and much depends on national circumstances, said Andreas von Uexkull, Head of Trade and Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Sweden in Washington D.C.
“Trade and trade liberalization can affect gender equality. But the equality situation in a country may also affect its ability to trade,” Mr. von Uexkull said.
The meeting participants agreed that a more precise understanding of the specific constraints women face in the professional and private spheres is a prerequisite for finding solutions to gender inequalities. They expressed appreciation for UNCTAD’s efforts in this direction.
» Related: Without a gender perspective, trade policy may undermine women’s empowerment
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Validation workshop of the African Union Policy on Business and Human Rights
The two-day validation workshop on the Draft AU Policy Framework on Human Rights and Business co-organized by the African Union Commission’s Department of Political Affairs and the European Union (EU) kicked off on Tuesday, 21st March 2017 at the African Union.
The validation workshop brought together close to 50 participants composed of representatives from the AU Member States, EU, RECs, National Human Rights Institutions, Businesses, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Academia, Media and Human Rights Experts. Plenary sessions were held in working groups done in English and French to facilitate greater participation and experience sharing.
In his welcome statement, Mr. Mbari Calixte Aristide, Acting Head of Democracy, Governance, Human Rights and Elections Division of the AU Department of Political Affairs welcomed the distinguished participants on behalf of the new commissioner of the Department of Political Affairs, H.E Samate Cessouma Minata. He equally extended words of appreciation to the Director of the department, Dr. Matlosa Khabele, the EU delegation and other stakeholders for honouring the invitation to the validation workshop.
He underlined that the AU is committed to the promotion of human rights in the continent through its Developmental roadmap, Agenda 2063 which envisages “an Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law”. This further explained why the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government at Kigali summit, declared 2017-2026 as the “Human and Peoples’ Rights Decade in Africa”.
He also stated that Africa has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and as such has the potential to attract even greater economic investments on the continent. There is therefore a need for a business and human rights policy that can address some of the problems that come with fast growing economies particularly the disregard for human rights by businesses. He concluded by reiterating AU’s continuous engagement and commitment with the EU and other stakeholders to the realisation of this new initiative on incorporating human rights in business.
Mr. Luca Zampetti, Head of Political Section, EU Delegation to the AU, in his keynote remarks, restated EU’s willingness to promote Business and Human Rights in Africa by working closely with the AU and other stakeholders. He also highlighted that one of core principles at the EU is human rights and business which remains their area of interest.
Mr. Luca welcomed the AU’s intention to launch its own policy on Business and Human Rights which according to him is a necessary tool in the promotion of sustainable development in Africa. The policy will be a stepping stone in the role played by states and businesses to the attainment of Africa’s aspirations rooted its Agenda 2063.
He further underlined that ownership is vital in the promotion of business and human rights in Africa and the world at large and recommended that the exercise be in that direction. In his conclusion, Mr. Luca Zampetti wished the participants a fruitful and productive deliberation but also commended the efforts of the two consultants who drafted the AU Policy on Business and Human Rights.
The outcome of the working sessions during the workshop will serve as input to finalize the AU Policy Framework on Business and Human Rights which will be presented to the AU Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Justice and Legal Affairs to discuss the final draft by the 8th of May 2017 as well as its adoption by the policy organs of the AU.
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Tools to enhance operations at One Stop Border Posts being developed
The East African Community is developing a Regional Training Curriculum to support the operationalization of One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) within the bloc. The training curriculum is a major capacity building tool for OSBPs in the region.
In a 20th-24th March meeting, with the support of GIZ-African Union Border Program (AUBP), currently underway in Kigali, Rwanda, Partner States’ experts from the Revenue and Immigration Authorities are developing the tool, which aims at training the OSBP officers on the rules and ways to operate in their different positions at their different posts in cooperation and coordination with their different counterparts.
The Regional Training Curriculum looks at how best to allow the different agencies to play their role and work together so as to enhance and accelerate the smooth operationalization of the OSBPs. The curriculum will be based on the existing instruments adopted by the EAC including the OSBP Act, Sourcebook and Manual. It will also take into account the already existing instruments of sensitization and capacity building availed by the other Development Partners of the EAC such as the IOM, JICA and TMEA.
According to the Ag. Director General of the EAC Directorate of Customs and Trade, Mr. Kenneth Bagamuhunda, the development of the curriculum commenced in December 2016 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the Kigali meeting is a continuation of the process, which comes at a time when the Community had successfully developed the OSBP Regulations and OSBP Manual.
“In order to have hands on experience on what happens in an OSBP, prior to the meeting, the delegates’ visited two functioning OSBPs, at Cyanika and Kagitumba/Mirama Hills. The output of the visits to the border posts greatly enhanced the curriculum development process,” noted the Ag. Director General, adding that the Partner States Experts who played a central role in the development of the OSBP Manual were also assisting in the development of the Training Curriculum.
Background
The operationalisation of OSBPs in the region is not without challenges. Some of the challenges relate to inadequate infrastructure at many of these border posts including housing for staff, amenities such as schools and hospitals, holding grounds for quarantined animals, insufficient water resources and in some cases unreliable power supply and not the least human capacity and skills shortfalls in a number of critical areas.
In order to realize the goal of African integration, there is need to ensure smooth management of borders allowing swift and hustle-free movement of goods, persons, workers and services. This initiative will need to be bolstered by strengthening security measures that halt cross border criminal activities. Moving towards these goals the African Union, through its Border Program (African Union Border Program (AUBP) has encouraged/urged its member states to embrace a smoother management of border crossing points through installation and implementation of One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs).
There are 77 borders in Africa that have been earmarked for OSBP construction with 15 of them being in East Africa Community (EAC). The OSBPs are therefore becoming more popular at the regional level. They are seen as a modern approach towards facilitating movement of goods, persons and services across national borders. The OSBP concept promotes simplification of controls at borders through a one-time check at the border between two countries. In practice, OSBP is achieved by placing the border officials of two adjoining countries at each other’s adjoining border post so that border control checks will be jointly conducted by relevant officers from the two neighbouring countries at once on the side of the entry country. Once such a check has taken place on one side of the border, no other check will follow. Operating OSBPs requires a tight coordinated cooperation between the agencies present at borders including immigration, police, customs, health etc.
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tralac’s Daily News Selection
Featured tweet, by AUC Deputy Chairperson, Amb. Kwesi Quartey: Conference of Ministers is going to be a heavy but interesting agenda for the next couple of days,with frank conversations amongst ourselves
Profiled submissions to 2017 AU-ECA Conference of Ministers, starting today: Pan-African Investment Code
(i) Pan African Investment Code (PAIC) and the African Inclusive Market Excellence Centre: minutes of member states experts: Dr Rene Kouassi N’Guettia (Director of Economic Affairs Department, AU) pointed out that the development of the PAIC is based on the idea that national, regional and continental dimensions must be taken into consideration in order to propose a conducive legal environment to promote the flow of investments in Africa and facilitate intra-African trade and promote cross-border investment. The development of the PAIC forms part of a broader continental framework, namely Agenda 2063, based on a coherent strategic framework for development whose foundation is the promotion of a more inclusive and sustainable growth, the engine of structural transformation on the continent.
(ii) Draft Pan-African Investment Code: table of contents (pdf): Chapter 1: General provisions, Chapter 2: Standards of treatment of investors and investments, Chapter 3: Development related issues, Chapter 4: Investors obligations, Chapter 5: Investment-related issues, Chapter 6: Dispute settlement, Chapter 7: Procedural issues and institutional arrangements
African Capital Markets: Africa in a changing global environment (KPMG)
The Report documents how Africa, as a continent, regionally and by individual country, compares to its main Developing and Transition Economy competitors as an investment prospect for the limited available foreign direct investment. The Report further suggests (pdf) the areas over which individual African countries have control and can work towards improving in order to increase their attractiveness as an FDI inflows destination and their competitiveness in order to best position themselves to cope with and take advantage of the economic benefits offered by the fourth industrial revolution.
Sanlam acquires majority stake in PineBridge East Africa (Sanlam)
Sanlam Emerging Markets Chief Executive Officer, Mr Junior Ngulube, says the acquisition will increase Sanlam’s asset management presence and capability in the region and enable the Group to build a leading position in institutional, affluent and retail investment management across East Africa. The Sanlam Group is one of Africa’s largest financial services providers, with a market capitalization in excess of $11bn and operations in 34 African countries.
OLAM Africa investment programme: project summary note (pdf, AfDB)
Consistent with the leveraging and crowding in approach through large corporates to deliver on the Feed Africa and Industrialize Africa mandates, a $107m corporate loan has been approved to finance part of OLAM’s operations in Africa. This is part of a $200m investment program (OAIP II) that covers two sub-projects, one for creation of industrial scale palm oil refineries in Central and/or West Africa and another for development of 600,000 tons per annum of high quality poultry and fish feed mills in Nigeria. The program will further consolidate OLAM Group’s agricultural value chains on the continent. The programme is fully aligned with the Feed Africa and Industrialize Africa and Improving quality of life for Africans, initiatives under the High 5s. The program also promotes integration through supply chains of Olam Group within Africa. [Backgrounder: OLAM in Gabon]
Tanzania: Mauritius investors to boost sugar production, venture into tourism (Daily News)
Mauritius-based investors Alteo International plans to boost sugar production in Tanzania by increasing sugar estates under its subsidiary, TPC Limited and diversify investments to tourism. According to a statement from Prime Minister’s Office, the investors have asked the government to avail them with opportunity to invest in tourism sector in Kilimanjaro Region which has many tourists attractions including Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
SADC: Food Security Update - January - March 2017
First round crop production estimates for Malawi show an increase in the production of most crops including the staple food, maize. Maize production is estimated at 3.2 million tonnes, up by 36% from 2.4 million tonnes last season. First round crop production estimates for South Africa show an increase in the production of most crops including maize. Maize production is estimated at 13.9 million tonnes, up by 79% from 7.8 million tonnes last season. Fall armyworm outbreak affect crops including maize, the staple food, in DRC, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Efforts to control the pest were compromised by heavy rains experienced in some of these areas. However, the impact of the pest attack is expected not to be very significant.
Rwanda eyes cross-border markets to enhance exports (New Times)
According to James Tayebwa, the in charge of regional integration (cross-border trade) at Ministry of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs, a total of eight cross-border markets will be constructed by the government at different crossing points to facilitate trade between Rwanda and neighbouring countries – DR Congo, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania. Tayebwa was giving an update on the ongoing works of the Rubavu Cross-border Market that is being built by government and TradeMark East Africa. Funds for Nyamasheke, Kagitumba and Rusumo cross-border markets have also been secured and construction is expected to start in August, according Tayebwa. [Kenya: Farmers complain over influx of cheap Tanzania produce at border market]
Is East African integration slowing down? (IPPMedia)
The question of the spirit and pace of East African integration was prominent at the just-ended sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly in Kigali. The members were clearly exasperated by what they considered starvation of funds to the Community by partner states which had severely crippled its activities. This prompted members to ask: “Are we really serious about integration?”
Peter Fabricius: Burundi keeps knocking at SADC’s door (ISS)
Kenya: Understanding the Standard Gauge Railway (pdf, KEPSA)
KEPSA and Kenya Railways organized an SGR status update meeting and a site inspection of various SGR-related facilities at the Nairobi SGR terminus at the Syokimau on 2nd March 2017. The objective of the meeting was to appraise the private sector on the status of the SGR as well as inspect locomotives and coaches already shipped from China. Members enquired about the difference or similarities between Kenya’s SGR and Ethiopia SGR. This was highlighted as follows: that the cost for Kenya’s project are not comparable to those of Ethiopia for a number of reasons which include: [Related: SGR presentations (i) SGRR Project Brief (by Eng. Waititu), (ii) About SGR consortium (by Kevit Desai), SGR to be upgraded to electric railroad in four years]
Central Corridor: Tanzania gets Sh110bn Kuwait loan for Nyahua-Chaya road
Malawi: IMF staff complete Review Mission (IMF)
Discussions also focused on the broad parameters of the FY17/18 budget. In so doing, the team emphasized the need consolidate recent improvements in revenue mobilization to contain current expenditures and reorient the budget toward development spending in order to improve resilience and to address critical infrastructure gaps. The team also underscored the need to clear past arrears, implement expenditure commitment controls to prevent their re-emergence and to safeguard debt sustainability in light of the increase in the level of domestic debt.
Ivory Coast: Cocoa slump threatening is deja vu for 80s traders (Bloomberg)
Slumping cocoa prices are testing to the limit top producer Ivory Coast’s efforts to ensure stability for farmers, heightening risks for the domestic economy and world markets. Authorities have warned they’ll have to cut payments to growers. That follows a wave of defaults by local exporters who’d bet on higher prices, costing the government more than $300 million and pushing cocoa futures even lower.
South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea begin collaboration on oil and gas (Premium Times)
The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Gabriel Lima, and South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum, Ezekiel Gatkuoth. The two nations will use the new partnership as a basis for exchanging information on policy and regulation; promoting upstream, downstream and infrastructure projects; and collaboration between the national oil companies, Nilepet and GEPetrol.
Global distribution of revenue loss from tax avoidance: re-estimation and country results (UNU-WIDER)
International corporate tax is an important source of government revenue, especially in lower-income countries. An important recent study of the scale of this problem was carried out by IMF researchers Ernesto Crivelli, Ruud De Mooij, and Michael Keen. We first re-estimate their innovative model, and then explore the effects of introducing higher-quality revenue data from the ICTD–WIDER Government Revenue Database. Our findings support a somewhat lower estimate of global revenue losses of around $500bn annually and indicate that the greatest intensity of losses occurs in low- and lower middle-income countries, and across sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia. [The analysts: Alex Cobham, Petr Janský]
European FTA pushes for tougher IPR rules under ongoing trade talks with India (Mint)
The position is stated in a leaked note on the proposed IPR chapter of the negotiations published by non-profit body Knowledge Ecology International at a time negotiations on the chapter are underway in New Delhi. Switzerland proposes that India agree to broader patentable principles, particularly on biologic products; adopt exclusive rights in data used to support the registration of new drugs and vaccines; and eliminate its requirements for local manufacturing of patented inventions. Indian exports to EFTA region grew 13.7% to $1.5bn in 2015-16 while imports contracted by 14% to $19.9bn during the same period.
The latest research in economics on Africa: the CSAE round-up
Examining results and accountability at the World Bank: evidence at yesterday’s Financial Services Committee hearing (US House of Representatives)
Burundi joins Afreximbank as participating State
Mauritius: Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions workshop
IMF hopes for Mozambique audit in next 2 weeks
Chile looks at Africa for trade and investments
West Africa: NEPAD-IPPF, ECOWAS PPDU discuss infrastructure project preparation collaboration
Why India needs a new logistics network
Robert J. Shiller: Robotization without taxation?
Brazil meat exports plunge 99.9% as more countries add curbs
Trump’s trade pick to pursue stronger relationship with Taiwan
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