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Multimedia: Rwanda’s Paul Kagame – ‘All Africans want integration’ (Wall Street Journal)
State of Women’s Right in Africa (AU)
In Africa, women continue to be denied full enjoyment of their rights in every country, according to a new report released yesterday entitled Women’s Rights in Africa. It is the first in a planned series about women’s human rights on the continent that will address various thematic issues. There have been great strides in realising women’s rights in Africa – for example, female participation in African legislatures surpasses that of many developed countries. There are now provisions on sexual and gender-based violence, economic, social and cultural rights and non-discrimination in constitutions and policies across the continent.
ILO-Gallup report: Towards a better future for women and work: voices of women and men. The poll, which was conducted in 142 countries and territories, is representative of 98% of the global population. [Regional tables and country/territory dashboards (pdf)]
IORA Business Summit: joint declaration (FICCI)
Extract: We agree to increase private sector’s role in advancing economic growth and sustainable development in IORA countries through the following joint actions: (i) Strengthen collaboration and partnership in expanding and diversifying trade as well as investment flows in both directions commencing with prioritized sectors, focusing on the involvement of small and medium enterprises. (ii) Promote mutually beneficial trade cooperation among IORA countries by encouraging governments to eliminate trade barriers, refrain from the use of non- tariff barriers to trade, enhance trade in goods and services, and improve trade facilitation in general within an open, fair and rule based international trading system. (iii) Call upon governments, chambers of commerce and Industry, business associations and private sectors in general to take necessary and appropriate measures to increase direct trade between countries in the IORA region.
Profiled IORA commentaries: Hasjim Djalal: Collaborative capacity building in the Indian Ocean (Jakarta Post), C Rajah Mohan: Choppy waters, unsure navigator (Indian Express), A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi: Indonesia’s chairmanship and future of Indian Ocean (Jakarta Post)
UK trade options beyond 2019 (International Trade Committee)
In the report we consider the UK’s relationship with the WTO; the Free Trade Agreement the government plans to strike with the EU; the implications of the UK falling back on trading with the EU under WTO rules alone; and the UK’s future trading relationship with non-EU countries.
Patricia Scotland: Commonwealth advantage boosts prosperity for league of 52 countries (Business Day)
Nevertheless, recent research by the Commonwealth secretariat (Revitalising world trade: issues and topics for the Commonwealth, to be published on Friday) shows that most of the Commonwealth’s 52 members were hit by the global slowdown in trade: in 2015, world trade growth shrank 12%. So at a time of increasing protectionism, it is all the more important for Commonwealth and other countries to speak out for a free, fair and inclusive multilateral trading system that supports attainment of the sustainable development goals. The Commonwealth trade ministers meeting is one opportunity to do so.
China posts first monthly trade deficit in three years as imports soar (Reuters)
China’s imports surged 38.1% from a year earlier, the biggest increase since February 2012, official data showed on Wednesday, while exports unexpectedly fell 1.3%. That left the country with a trade deficit of $9.15bn for the month, the General Administration of Customs said.
Nigeria: Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017-2020 (pdf, National Planning Commission)
3.2.1 Industrial and trade policy: Industrial policy is key to transforming Nigeria’s economy. In its application, the role of government is not to micro-manage the economy, run businesses or select winners. Rather, it is to establish an environment in which market-determined public private partnerships are established, with the goal of having the market efficiently allocate finite resources to achieve greater productivity, competitiveness and growth. Best practice industrial policy funds research, fosters innovation, and integrates domestic value chains (backward integration programmes) to benefit regional and global value chains. It encourages the emergence of “industrial commons”, aggregating suppliers’ networks with a base of industrial knowledge with positive spin-offs and multiplier effects. The ERGP aims to correct market failures and counter the type of internal and external shocks produced by economic and financial crises and negative business cycles. It will identify and support the sectors critical for growth and employment and consistent with the rules-based global economy. It will coordinate industrial and trade policy according to the Nigerian economy’s trade rules and economic priorities, and reflect these priorities in bilateral, regional, continental and global trade negotiations.
3.2.2 Digital-led strategy for growth: To modernize the Nigerian economy and make it competitive in the 21st century global economy, its industrial policy must be linked to a digital-led strategy for growth. The Smart Nigeria Digital Economy Project led by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (MITI) in partnership with the Ministry of Communication is designed to do just this. The Project’s objective is to increase the contribution from ICT and ICT-enabled activity to GDP by an estimated 10 per cent and create 2.5 million new jobs between 2017 and 2020.
Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey 2015-2016: data, documentation now available (World Bank)
The Central Statistical Agency, in collaboration with the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study team, launched the third wave (2015–16) of the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey panel data, on 22 February. The ESS is a nationally representative survey administered every 2 years that covers a range of topics including demography, education, health, savings, labor, welfare, and agriculture, food security and shocks. The data is collected in two visits: post-planting and post-harvest seasons. The survey follows the same households over time and collects a rich set of information, to allow for comprehensive panel data analyses that can help shape policies for a wide array of development sectors. Here are some interesting findings from the ESS 2015–16 survey:
Kenya: Sh60bn Lamu-Isiolo highway a landmark on Lapsset stretch (Business Daily)
Amid electioneering, we may be failing to notice a number of critical news items. Last week the Ministry of Transport announced a Sh60 billion funding for a 580 km bitumen road from Lamu to Isiolo. The funds are from the DBSA. I will explain why committing this road project is a very important and timely milestone. For Lapsset corridor completeness and effectiveness, there are three missing pieces requiring urgent implementation. [The author: George Wachira] [Doubts over Kenya, Uganda rail funding as China snubs meet (Business Daily)]
Song Wei: China must address African rail project risk (Global Times)
Given the risks, the launch of high-speed rail projects in Africa is currently unfeasible. But transport infrastructure projects are still a priority in Sino-African cooperation. At the same time, some African countries have begun worrying if US aid might shrink under President Donald Trump. This will make financial support from China to Africa even more important. Therefore, China could help Africa build more railways such as the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, which links the capital cities of Ethiopia and Djibouti and was launched last year, and promotes regional integration. To minimize risks, Chinese firms should focus on risk assessment: [The author is an associate researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.]
Hassan El Houry: ‘How flying donkeys will boost trade in Africa’ (WEF)
In the past, the world was clearly split into developing and developed countries – with the latter boasting the most advanced logistics ecosystems. Today, the emerging markets of Africa are challenging this divide in the fields of transportation and logistics, and in some cases leapfrogging ahead of more mature markets. From a connectivity perspective these developments are giving rise to a new image of the future for Africa – one which is very different from today. Let’s explore three key highlights from a transportation and supply chain perspective and the implications for Africa in 2030.
Harnessing mobile technology to address the challenges faced by cross-border traders (pdf, SAUTI)
Sauti gained qualitative information from traders in open-air markets by conducting the following: (i) Surveys from a pool of 200 and then over 100 randomly selected traders. In total, over 150 from each side of the Busia border were interviewed in both surveys; (ii) Administering surveys one-on-one, targeting traders with experience in clearing commodities. Following data entry and analysis of the qualitative research, many of the key findings validated the initial assumptions that led Sauti to engage in this process of customer discovery:
Tanzania succeeds in African Mining Vision implementation (Daily News)
This is according to a new Introductory Guidance for Tanzania’s Mining Sector (pdf). The AMV wants the countries to achieve poverty reduction through improved mining regimes, tax revenue optimisation and the integration of mining into development policies at local, national and regional levels. The document, launched recently in Dar es Salaam by Minister of State in the Vice- President’s Office for Union Affairs and Environment, January Makamba, says the country has placed itself in a good position in implementing this initiative by the AU with a number of projects that had been launched in line with it. Developed by the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature, the document includes another document entitled ‘Capacity Development in the Energy Sector and Extractive Industries’ .
Kenya: Lack of clear policy dims prospects of mining industry (Business Daily)
Mining Cabinet Secretary Dan Kazungu told the Business Daily that while the country may have been badly exposed previously due to lack of capacity to administer the industry well, efforts are underway to fix any costly loopholes. “It is true we have been exposed because we have not had adequate resources to properly monitor the royalties and these are chances people may have taken advantage of. We did not even have a policy until recently,” Mr Kazungu said after announcing the licensing of another Chinese firm to mine diatomite in Baringo County. We are soon coming up with an automated revenue management system, which will calculate royalties to minimise that exposure because without proper system then we are exposed. By next quarter, we should be done with that so that we don’t get cheated.”
LPI launches project to track progress in implementing the AU Declaration on Land (UNECA)
The AUC-ECA-AfDB Land Policy Initiative has launched a pilot project to track progress in the implementation of the AU Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa. In collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute, the project will assess progress made in implementing the key decisions and commitments of the AU Declaration on Land at continental, regional and national level, beginning with ten pilot countries.
West Africa: Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement Phase II (World Bank)
The development objective of the Second Phase of Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE) Project for Africa is to strengthen national and regional cross‐sectoral capacity for collaborative disease surveillance and epidemic preparedness in West Africa. The project comprises five components:
WTO Members debate intellectual property and e-commerce, innovation and access to medicines (WTO)
Discussions centred on four proposals put forward by WTO members. Brazil introduced a paper on electronic commerce and copyright which was co-sponsored by Argentina. “Recent advancements in technology enable the ‘intellectual goods’ to be transferred in the digital environment,” Brazil said, suggesting that WTO members could stress the increased importance of transparency in the remuneration of copyright for authors and performers in the digital environment. The paper also proposes to maintain an appropriate balance between the interests of right holders and users of protected works in the digital environment, and to apply national copyright legislation in the territory where protected content is accessed across borders.
A paper put forward by Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay shares their experience of digital solutions for ensuring authenticity, integrity and privacy of online transactions within MERCOSUR, a Latin American regional trade bloc. Brazil said that a mutually recognized “electronic signature” could greatly facilitate trade across borders, especially for services trade. The European Union highlighted how trade-policy issues have an impact on e-commerce. The EU paper, co-sponsored by Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Korea, Mexico, Montenegro, Paraguay, Singapore and Turkey, identifies four clusters of issues relevant for e-commerce: regulatory frameworks, policies to ensure open markets, government initiatives facilitating the development of e-commerce and information sharing on e-commerce policies at the WTO. [Various downloads available]
Mitsuhiro Furusawa: ‘Strengthening the International Monetary System’ (IMF)
India: Cabinet approves accession to global TIR customs convention (Business Standard)
Facilitating Asia-Latin America trade linkages (Inter-American Dialogue)
Margaret Myers, Kevin Gallagher: Chinese finance to LAC in 2016 (pdf, Inter-American Dialogue)
Revisiting the paradox of capital: the reversal of uphill flows (IMF)
OECD: Global Interim Economic Outlook, March 2017
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Women’s progress uneven and facing backlash, UN rights chief warns ahead of International Day
The United Nations Human Rights Office launched a joint report with the African Union and UN Women on 7 March 2017, detailing the progress and challenges to women’s struggle for human rights in Africa, while the UN rights chief warned that the women’s movement around the world is facing a backlash that hurts both men and women.
“We need to be alert – the advances of the last few decades are fragile and should nowhere be taken for granted,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement ahead of International Women’s Day, marked annually on 8 March.
The UN High Commissioner added that it is “extremely troubling” to see recent roll-back of fundamental legislation in many parts of the world.
Such roll-backs are “underpinned by the renewed obsession with controlling and limiting women’s decisions over their bodies and lives, and by views that a woman’s role should be essentially restricted to reproduction and the family,” he said.
While such pushbacks are carried out in the name of tradition, Mr. Zeid noted that they are often a response to segments of society calling for change.
Among examples he gave, Mr. Zeid pointed to recent legislation in Bangladesh, Burundi and the Russian Federation, which weakens women’s rights to fight against child marriage, marital rape and domestic violence, respectively.
He noted also the “fierce resistance” in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to political and civil society efforts to open up access to sexual and reproductive rights.
“With the world’s young population concentrated in developing nations, retrogressive measures denying women and girls access to sexual and reproductive health services will have a devastating effect,” Mr. Zeid said, noting more maternal deaths, more unintended pregnancies, fewer girls finishing school and the economic impact of failing to fully include women in the workforce.
“In short, a generation without choices and a collective failure to deliver on the promises of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he added, referring to the internationally agreed action plan for eradicating poverty while assisting all people and maintain the health of the planet.
Meanwhile, Mr. Zeid praised women’s movements in countries such as Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia, where women and men took to the streets to demand change, but warned that “it is time to come together to protect the important gains of the past and maintain a positive momentum.”
Women’s rights in Africa
Women as active agents of change
In Africa, women continue to be denied full enjoyment of their rights in every country, according to a new report released yesterday entitled Women’s Rights in Africa. It is the first in a planned series about women’s human rights on the continent that will address various thematic issues.
There have been great strides in realising women’s rights in Africa – for example, female participation in African legislatures surpasses that of many developed countries. There are now provisions on sexual and gender-based violence, economic, social and cultural rights and non-discrimination in constitutions and policies across the continent.
But in every country in Africa, as around the world, women continued to be denied full enjoyment of their rights.
Among some of the report’s statistics: in six African countries, there is no legal protection for women against domestic violence. In 2013, African women and girls accounted for 62 percent of all global deaths from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. An estimated 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation, mainly in Africa. If current trends continue, almost half of the world’s child brides in 2050 will be African.
According to the report, however, in Africa – as around the globe – when women exercise their rights to access to education, skills, and jobs, there is a surge in prosperity, positive health outcomes, and greater freedom and well-being, not only of women but of the whole society.
“Human rights are not a utopian fairy-tale – they are a recipe for sound institutions, more sustainable development and greater peace,” Mr. Zeid wrote in the Foreword to the report.
“When all women are empowered to make their own choices and share resources, opportunities and decisions as equal partners, every society in Africa will be transformed.”
In many countries, gaps in protecting women’s rights are compounded by political instability and conflict. The report stresses that women should not be seen only as victims but, for example, as active agents in formal and informal peace building processes.
Among its recommendations, the report calls on African governments to encourage women’s full and productive employment, to recognize the importance of unpaid care and domestic work, and to ensure women can access and control their own economic and financial resources.
International Women’s Day 2017
The 2017 theme for International Women’s Day, 8 March, focuses on “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”.
The world of work is changing, with significant implications for women. On one hand, technological advances and globalization bring unprecedented opportunities for those who can access them. On the other hand, there is growing informality of labour, income inequality and humanitarian crises.
Against this backdrop, only 50 per cent of working age women are represented in the labour force globally, compared to 76 per cent of men. What’s more, an overwhelming majority of women are in the informal economy, subsidizing care and domestic work, and concentrated in lower-paid, lower-skill occupations with little or no social protection. Achieving gender equality in the world of work is imperative for sustainable development.
The United Nations observance on 8 March will call upon all actors to Step It Up for Gender Equality towards a Planet 50-50 by 2030 by ensuring that the world of work works for all women.
The upcoming sixty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61), from 13-24 March, at UN Headquarters will deliberate on “Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.”
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How flying donkeys will boost trade in Africa
In the past, the world was clearly split into developing and developed countries – with the latter boasting the most advanced logistics ecosystems. Today, the emerging markets of Africa are challenging this divide in the fields of transportation and logistics, and in some cases leapfrogging ahead of more mature markets.
From a connectivity perspective these developments are giving rise to a new image of the future for Africa – one which is very different from today. Let’s explore three key highlights from a transportation and supply chain perspective and the implications for Africa in 2030.
Open skies
Owing to current aviation infrastructure in Africa (or the lack thereof), what should be a three-hour journey between Algeria and Cameroon, in fact takes 24 hours, with the flight touching down in Istanbul and Turkey en route.
A single air transport market for Africa is key to unlocking the opportunities the continent presents. Today, transporting goods in and out of Africa, as well as within the continent, is prohibitive in terms of both time and cost. The restrictions it places on the movement of people also makes for a highly fragmented continent.
A study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast that if another 12 African economies opened their skies to each other, fares would become 35% cheaper, enabling 5 million more people to take to the skies, creating 155,000 new jobs and adding $1.3 billion to GDP. The benefits have been clearly witnessed in South Africa, where an agreement to open skies with Kenya saw a 70% increase in the number of passengers, and a similar agreement with Zambia resulted in a reduction of air fares by 40%.
After close to two decades of delays to a pan-African agreement to liberalise the skies, today that goal is within reach. The Yamoussoukro Declaration is set to remove the trade restrictions on air cargo that are in place today, and enable easier travel between African nations. In just five years, the size of the aviation industry is expected to double.
Full steam ahead
Africa’s current railway infrastructure is largely a legacy of colonial times, with many tracks no longer in use, and many parts of Africa left unconnected. As with the liberalisation of Africa’s skies, a developed railway network will give rise to greater connectivity, significantly reducing transportation times, which in turn would boost trade and the economy.
Just last month, people celebrated the completion of Africa’s first standard-gauge international railway between Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa and the Red Sea port of Djibouti. This electric railway line cuts the journey between the two cities – which takes three days by road – down to 12 hours, reducing costs by a third. The new connection will therefore bring considerable economic benefits to both nations and the near region.
Yet the ambition for this railway line is much greater, as African politicians and businessmen view it as the seeds for a pan-African railway network which would boost inter-African trade. And its realisation appears to be increasingly within reach as governments across the continent are driving the development of rail forward.
Nigeria’s own railway project has seen the nation connect Abuja to Kaduna with a 190 km (118 mile) track, intended to be part of a larger 830 km track connecting Lagos to Kano; and Kenya is set to open a 485 km line running between the port of Mombasa and Nairobi, with plans underway to extend the line to Uganda.
Donkeys in the sky
In Rwanda, the government is approaching the continent-wide lack of connectivity in a novel way, leapfrogging the issue of a void of traditional transportation methods through the use of drones – or “flying donkeys”, as one Kenyan farmer put it.
Since the end of last year, drones are being used to transport blood supplies to patients in remote areas of the country. Talks are already underway between the developers of the Zipline drone technology and the Bill Gates foundation to explore the possibility of delivering medicines and vaccines in the future. Drones offer revolutionary opportunities in healthcare, with huge socio-economic benefits for the people of Africa, as well as multiple other industries.
With the time and investment needed to improve roads and build rail infrastructure, drones have enabled accessibility to the most remote areas of the country overnight. It does not take a huge leap of imagination to envisage how a service like Amazon Prime could use this technology to deliver consumer goods, from perishable to non-perishable items. While drones do not replace the need for critical infrastructure, they can help overcome a lack of connectivity and boost trade.
This leapfrogging of technologies has been seen before in Africa, where mobile penetration helped overcome a lack of ICT infrastructure. Mobile technology connected people to the internet, driving e-commerce. Adding drones into the equation, means e-commerce could overcome the current challenges it is facing in transportation, enabling further growth in trade.
Unlocking Africa’s future
With Africa today representing seven of the world’s 10 fastest growing emerging markets, such developments could not be timelier. Business spending is expected to grow from $2.6 trillion in 2015 to $3.5 trillion by 2025. By 2034, the region is expected to have a larger workforce than either China or India, and by 2025 Africa could nearly double its manufacturing output from $500 billion today to $930 billion. These are just a few statistics that highlight the current opportunities the continent presents to businesses everywhere – both within and outside of Africa. Today Africa is a global powerhouse in the making.
It will, however, take the integration of countries across Africa for the continent to fully reap the benefits these opportunities present. Following on from the trends we have just explored, Africa 2030 will be considerably more connected, both as a continent and within global trade patterns, than it is today.
The statistics highlighted above also make Africa ripe ground for a case study on the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With the manpower and resources to drive Africa as a global manufacturing hub, it will be interesting to see how the latest technological developments, from AI to robotics, Internet of Things and 3-D printing, are rolled out in line with the growth of industry.
Technology is providing Africa with the opportunity to leapfrog its lack of traditional infrastructure, as was the case with access to mobile connectivity in place of broadband, and as is the case of drone delivery in place of quality roads or railway in Rwanda. In some instances it may be the very lack of such infrastructure that propels the Fourth Industrial Revolution forward, in place of other solutions.
The questions remain whether Africa has the will to disrupt or be disrupted. Current indicators suggest it is ready to disrupt.
Hassan El Houry is Chief Executive Officer, National Aviation Services. This article is part of the Forum’s Africa 4.0: Scenarios for Africa in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
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WTO Members debate intellectual property and e-commerce, innovation and access to medicines
The intellectual property (IP) aspects of electronic commerce, access to medicines, and the role of IP in promoting the participation of small businesses in trade were discussed by WTO members at a meeting of the Council for Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on 1 and 2 March.
Intellectual property and e-commerce
WTO members discussed a range of issues regarding the intellectual property aspects of electronic commerce.
“Such a discussion would be an opportunity to create a clearer, more inclusive factual picture of the current state of affairs as the foundation for informed dialogue between members,” said Ambassador Alfredo Suescum of Panama, who acted as interim chair for the Council.
“The debate would constitute a sound basis to provide input for the General Council report to the next Ministerial Conference,” he added, recalling that the WTO 2015 Nairobi Ministerial Conference asked WTO members to continue the work on electronic commerce “based on the existing mandate and guidelines and on the basis of proposals submitted by members in the relevant WTO bodies”.
Discussions centred on four proposals put forward by WTO members. Brazil introduced a paper on electronic commerce and copyright which was co-sponsored by Argentina. “Recent advancements in technology enable the ‘intellectual goods’ to be transferred in the digital environment,” Brazil said, suggesting that WTO members could stress the increased importance of transparency in the remuneration of copyright for authors and performers in the digital environment. The paper also proposes to maintain an appropriate balance between the interests of right holders and users of protected works in the digital environment, and to apply national copyright legislation in the territory where protected content is accessed across borders.
A paper put forward by Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay shares their experience of digital solutions for ensuring authenticity, integrity and privacy of online transactions within MERCOSUR, a Latin American regional trade bloc. Brazil said that a mutually recognized “electronic signature” could greatly facilitate trade across borders, especially for services trade.
The European Union highlighted how trade-policy issues have an impact on e-commerce. The EU paper, co-sponsored by Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Korea, Mexico, Montenegro, Paraguay, Singapore and Turkey, identifies four clusters of issues relevant for e-commerce: regulatory frameworks, policies to ensure open markets, government initiatives facilitating the development of e-commerce and information sharing on e-commerce policies at the WTO.
Singapore introduced a paper highlighting the potential of e-commerce to help small enterprises expand “beyond their own backyards” and the challenge of digital connectivity in many developing countries.
Many WTO members said they are encouraged by the energy in the discussions on electronic commerce. Some cautioned about the duplication of work between the WTO and other organizations, and stressed that WTO members should seek to find areas where WTO rules and guidelines can make a difference. Some members also stressed that the discussion on e-commerce should be bottom up, drawing on members’ experiences, and that the experience sharing should not be intended as trade negotiations.
Access to medicines
The Council continued its discussion of the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel Report on access to medicines, and on the issue more generally. Many WTO members said they were committed to ensuring access to medicines.
Some WTO members reiterated the Report’s recommendations, including the call for rigorous definitions of criteria for granting pharmaceutical patents, and the need to preserve the right of WTO members to use flexibilities allowed under the WTO’s intellectual property rules. While recognizing that this was not only an IP issue, some members showed support for continuing a constructive discussion of IP rights and access to medicine at the next TRIPS Council, covering issues such as patentability criteria, flexibilities, and exceptions and limitations to patent rights.
Some WTO members reiterated their concerns about the narrow scope of the Report focusing on “policy incoherence”. A few members said they need more time to consider the recommendations. In the meantime, they encouraged members to focus work on how to effectively implement the revised TRIPS Agreement to ease access to affordable medicines.
Amendment to the TRIPS Agreement
Oman became the latest WTO member to accept the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement, the chair informed members. Oman deposited its instrument of acceptance with Director-General Roberto Azevêdo on 1 March, making it the first member to do so since the revised TRIPS Agreement entered into force on 23 January 2017.
At the Council’s meeting in January, the call by the previous chair of the Council, Ambassador Mero of Tanzania, for members “to look into how to make this new procurement tool work effectively so that it delivers concrete results in practice” was echoed by many delegations. As a first step, the Council heard a presentation by the WTO Secretariat on the notification process to be followed by members who are seeking to export generic medicines produced under the special compulsory licensing mechanism. More information can be found on a dedicated webpage.
Intellectual property, innovation and small enterprises
Members shared experiences on how intellectual property protection plays a critical role in boosting collaboration-based innovation and competitiveness in small businesses. The discussion stemmed from two papers, both jointly submitted by Australia, the EU, Japan, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei and the United States.
Members stressed that small enterprises made up a major share of their economies, and in their view, transparent and predictable rules on intellectual property were needed to foster partnerships between small businesses and other parties.
A wide range of members shared information on government initiatives to raise awareness of intellectual property rights and to foster collaboration between small enterprises and other companies, universities or government entities.
Some delegations cautioned that intellectual property rights protection, if poorly designed, could potentially impede innovation and learning. It was important to create the appropriate enabling environment to foster innovation.
“Triplets” issues
On the issues of biodiversity, traditional knowledge and patenting of life forms – known as the “triplets” issues – members repeated their longstanding positions. The chair noted that while constructive discussion took place, positions have evolved neither in terms of substance nor procedure. The substantive issues covered included whether patent applicants should be required to disclose the origin of genetic resources and any traditional knowledge used in inventions, and whether life forms should be patentable.
Members also continued to disagree over two procedural issues, on whether the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity should be invited to brief WTO members on developments regarding the convention, and whether the WTO Secretariat should update the three factual notes on the triplets.
Non-violation
As a follow-up to the instruction given by ministers at the Nairobi Ministerial Conference in 2015, the TRIPS Council continued its discussion of “non-violation and situation complaints”, on whether members can bring cases against each other if they feel that another government’s action or a specific situation has deprived it of an expected benefit, even if no obligation has been violated. The TRIPS Council has been requested to make recommendations to the next ministerial conference in December this year.
Opinions continued to differ among WTO members on whether such complaints should also apply to intellectual property. The United States and Switzerland argued such complaints be allowed. Other members reiterated their position as outlined in a May 2015 proposal that non-violation complaints should not be allowed under the TRIPS Agreement; some also referred to the proposal a number of members had made in 2015 for a ministerial decision that would exclude such disputes permanently as a suitable way forward.
Information sharing
To improve understanding of legislative developments, a number of members shared information about new or amended intellectual property rights legislation. The Council also concluded the review of Saint Kitts and Nevis implementing legislation, as well as that of the Republic of Seychelles, a newly acceded member.
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UK Government still unclear on trade after Brexit
The International Trade Committee’s first report identifies central issues for the Government to resolve as it prepares to trigger Brexit negotiations.
The Committee says the Government must act quickly to bolster confidence and put the UK in the best position to forge new trading relationships after 2019.
Chair’s comment
Committee Chair Angus MacNeil commented:
“The Government is about to embark on a process that will transform our trading relationships in Europe and across the globe. They must set out their vision for UK trade after Brexit – and provide reassurance that contingency plans will be in place for the eventuality that we don’t get an agreement with the EU.
We are entering uncharted waters. The trading relationship we have had with Europe for almost 50 years will be transformed. World trade is often in a state of change, for example from 1948 to 1973 UK-Commonwealth trade fell from 38% to 18% of both parties’ total trade; that trading network was in decline long before the UK joined the EU.
We are now in a very new phase and the Government has to give us more information on what this means for UK trade and the economy.
Key industries will want to know as soon as possible what the likely outcomes are and their consequences. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders predict that, under WTO tariffs, the price of an imported car would rise, on average, by £1,500. The National Farmers Union foresee a possible fall in farm incomes of €17,000 a year, if combined with the full abolition of direct support.”
Future trade possibilities
Re-joining EFTA
The Committee calls on the Government to publish a White Paper about the possibility of the UK re-joining the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
This is a group of countries outside the EU to which the UK belonged before it became a member of the EU’s predecessor in 1973. EFTA has 27 Free Trade Agreements, covering 38 countries, which the UK might stand to benefit from if it were to re-join the Association.
The Committee was impressed by the potential benefits of EFTA membership, given the close alignment between the UK’s economy and those of EFTA members, although the Government has not proposed this as an option.
Free Trade Agreement with the EU
The Government aims to negotiate a “comprehensive, bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement” with the EU during the two years of “Article 50” negotiations up to 2019, but opinions are mixed on how achievable this is.
The Committee sets out some of the terms that the Government should be seeking in negotiations with the EU over trade. In addition, it calls on the Government to clarify what exactly it means when it says that it doesn’t want a customs union with the EU but is looking for a “customs arrangement”.
Even with a Free Trade Agreement, key businesses, such as the car industry, could still face costly and cumbersome rules at the EU border in some scenarios. Above all, the Committee says, businesses need certainty to allow them to plan ahead.
World Trade Organization rules
The Government says that “no deal for the UK is better than a bad deal for the UK”. This means that, if the Government doesn’t get the agreement it wants from the EU, the UK will default to trading with the remaining EU members under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules at the point of Brexit in 2019.
The Committee points out that this will mean certain industries (such as car-making and agriculture) facing steep tariffs and many goods exporters facing non-tariff barriers. In addition, service providers (including the crucial financial services sector) will face significant regulatory barriers.
The Committee urges the Government to set out as clearly as possible the likely consequences of this scenario – and to ensure it makes contingency plans for that eventuality.
Free Trade Agreements with the rest of the world
The Government is also seeking to conclude Free Trade Agreements as soon as possible with a range of non-EU countries – although it remains unclear how far it can go in this direction while the UK is still an EU member. The Committee calls on the Government to clarify this situation.
Another key aspect of the Government’s trade policy is to try and seek “grandfathering” arrangements in respect of the EU’s Free Trade Agreements – so that the UK can continue to benefit from these even after Brexit. Here too, however, there is legal uncertainty and the Committee calls on the Government to clear this up as soon as possible.
Establishing the UK’s position at the WTO
As part of leaving the EU, the UK will have to establish its position as a member of the World Trade Organization in its own right. Some aspects of this may prove to be complex and the Committee calls on the Government to report regularly on progress.
» Find out more in the first inquiry report: UK trade options beyond 2019
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There are many challenges in the IORA; businesses should see these as opportunities
Digitalisation and globalisation have democratised business, especially for SMEs, said Indonesian President Joko Widodo in his opening Keynote Address to the first IORA Business Summit held in Jakarta on 6 March 2017.
He said that even though there are many challenges in the IOR region, businesses should see these as opportunities. Government, he said, should minimise their involvement in business activities and restrict themselves to creating an enabling policy environment and infrastructure – both physical and digital.
Speaking on the occasion, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa called to strengthen the blue economy in the IOR and that oceans, as a unifying force in IOR and a significant source of food and energy security, should be safeguarded and used sustainably for economic development. The President of Mozambique highlighted the potential for tourism as a catalyst for economic development in IORA.
The 21 member IORA completes its 20th anniversary this month. On this occasion, Indonesia, as the current Chair of the IORA, organised the first Leaders’ Summit on 7th March 2017. The Senior Officials Meeting, Council of Ministers’ Meeting and the Business Summit preceded the Leaders’ Summit during which the IORA Concord was announced.
As a run up to the Jakarta Concord, the IORA business community prepared the following Joint Declaration that was submitted to the Leaders by the President of the Indonesian Chamber.
Joint Declaration on the IORA Business Community to Build Partnerships for a Sustainable and Equitable Economic Growth
Jakarta, 6 March 2017
We, the representatives of business delegations of IORA countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen), gathered on March 6, 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia for the Indian Ocean Rim Association Business Summit under the theme “Building Partnerships for a Sustainable and Equitable Economic Growth”, held in conjunction with the Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the IORA organization.
We are fully aware of the increasing globalization and rapid advancement of information and communication technology that have dramatically brought about significant changes in the world economic development, posing challenges as well as presenting opportunities for IORA countries.
We firmly believe that both immediate and longer term development challenges require correct policy responses in order to achieve a stronger, more equitable, and sustainable growth in the IORA countries. Greater actions must be taken to foster development and transform countries into prosperous societies. In this regard, we reaffirm the important role of the private sector as a complementary partner of the governments in identifying solutions and taking actions to promote development effectiveness.
We highlight the need to enhance BLUE Economy as part of the development platform and accord all that is required to safeguard the natural ecosystem for our future generations.
We emphasize that the private sector’s economic dynamism has great potential to drive growth and sustainable development, as well as to promote inclusive economies by developing inclusive enterprises, empowering small and medium enterprises, creating jobs, providing goods and services, generating income and profits, and contributing to public revenues, which are critical to increasing countries’ self-reliance and people’s decent livelihood. While acknowledging the differing objectives and priorities of the private and public sectors, we are cognizant of the vital role played by governments and other development actors in enabling and leveraging private sector’s role in these areas.
We stress the importance of building up closer collaboration between private sectors and governments in various forms, including investment, capacity building, knowledge sharing and innovation through on-going public private dialogue. We underscore the importance of such engagement in developing a more conducive environment for entrepreneurship, domestic market growth, participation in international trade, and the realization of the full potential of IORA countries.
We agree to increase private sector’s role in advancing economic growth and sustainable development in IORA countries through the following joint actions:
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Strengthen collaboration and partnership in expanding and diversifying trade as well as investment flows in both directions commencing with prioritized sectors, focusing on the involvement of small and medium enterprises.
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Promote mutually beneficial trade cooperation among IORA countries by encouraging governments to eliminate trade barriers, refrain from the use of non-tariff barriers to trade, enhance trade in goods and services, and improve trade facilitation in general within an open, fair and rule based international trading system.
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Call upon governments, chambers of commerce and Industry, business associations and private sectors in general to take necessary and appropriate measures to increase direct trade between countries in the IORA region.
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Encourage IORA countries to work more closely to promote policies and coordination for a more inclusive and conducive investment climate in line with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals.
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Mobilize both foreign and domestic private sector investments by increasing investment promotion, developing more inclusive business models, improving product quality, marketing and human capital development that are crucial factors to boost investment and equitable growth.
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Give particular attention to boosting trade and investment in priority sectors that make vital contribution to improve the livelihood of people in the IORA countries, such as food security and related businesses, manufacturing, infrastructure development, maritime cooperation, youth development, women’s empowerment, tourism, renewables, recycling, and access to market and finance.
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Initiate new modalities to develop better connectivity in the region, encourage more efforts to mobilize private sector investment in infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, air and sea ports, railway, energy, transport and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
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Foster collaboration in the fields of education, training and apprenticeship, as well as in research and development to improve skills and entrepreneurship and facilitate the movement of skilled and semi-skilled labor.
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Empowering women and youth entrepreneurs, as well as small and medium enterprises to become an integral part of the global value chain by IORA companies by encouraging governments to address their challenges in accessing markets, finance, technology, and identifying the appropriate skill-sets by conducting entrepreneurship, education and training program with the private sectors and other stakeholders.
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In supporting private sector development, in particular the small and medium enterprises, call upon governments in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to improve policies, programs, and instruments by encouraging public support policies in various areas, including innovation promotion, entrepreneurship support, vocational training, credit guarantees and private sector productivity.
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Encourage public-private sector partnership to further promote more cooperation among IORA countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit by advancing technical cooperation and capacity building as well as empowering small and medium enterprises.
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IORA Summit outcome: The Jakarta Concord (pdf, IORA)
We commit ourselves to...Enhancing Trade and Investment cooperation in the region by: (i) encouraging greater intra-IORA flow of goods, services, investment, and technology as a stimulus to further develop and grow our economies sustainably; (ii) exploring ways to improve the production capacity, competitiveness, and value addition of products from the region; (iii) promoting public-private partnership in infrastructure development; (iv) strengthening the involvement of the private sector, in particular SMEs, through regular dialogues and interactions between Governments and businesses, including women owned businesses; (v) continuing regulatory reforms to encourage competitiveness and innovation and promote ease of doing business; (vi) improving connectivity (institutional, physical, and people-to-people) in the Indian Ocean region, including facilitating the movement of businesspersons; (vii) recognising the importance to regional economic growth and skills development of producing value added goods and increasing participation in global value chains; (viii) promoting shipping, ports, transport and logistic alliances within the region and with other regions in the world; and (ix) encouraging the development of standards suitable to IORA Member States, taking into account international and national standards.
Indonesia offers its ‘Maritime Axis’ template to IORA (Jakarata Globe)
Indonesia wants more trade exposure with Indian Ocean Rim Association member countries, which could be achieved by leveraging the country’s so-called “maritime axis” ambition to spur economic growth in the region, President Joko Widodo said during the IORA Business Summit on Monday. But even though at least 70% of the world’s trade is being transported through the Indian Ocean — including oil and gas — trade between IORA countries had only grown to $777 billion in 2015 from $233 billion in 1994. [IORA Business Summit: address by President Jacob Zuma]
Looking west: PM Turnbull attends the first IORA Leaders’ Summit (ASPI)
It’s been difficult to get region-wide cooperation given an all-embracing concept of an Indian Ocean region which comprises up to 51 very different states - the IOR countries range from two of the most developed countries (Australia and Singapore) through to some of the least developed (such as Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Ethiopia and Mozambique). As such, there’s been no real background in regional cooperation. While IORA remains an essential part of Indian Ocean region-wide cooperation, it’s still evolving to become more effective on soft security issues and beefing up trade and investment flows in the region. But partly due to a small contingent staffing IORA’s secretariat in Mauritius—the headcount was 9 in 2014, compared to its peer APEC, which had a staff of 49—the Association’s had fairly narrow project-focused agendas. [The analyst: Anthony Bergin]
Mahiga: Here comes SADC without frontiers (Daily News)
The Southern African Development Community is working on the region’s new passports acceptable across the SADC bloc, aiming to rekindle its economy through improved movement of its people. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Augustine Mahiga: “These passports will be a better catalyst of ending challenges arising from movement of people.” He said it will also create a borderless region and continent. “It will significantly boost regional trade,” he stressed. Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East Africa Cooperation, Ambassador Ramadhani Mwinyi, told the ‘Daily News’ in Dodoma that SADC member states were “formalising the process and will soon have a single passport.” “They are working to ensure that an individual only uses one passport as an international travel document across the globe.” He said the current work between member states was to integrate systems to ensure an East African national who is also a member of SADC carries only one travel document. “It will also spell an end to immigration challenges facing neighbouring countries,” he added.
President Kagame’s address at the special sitting of the EALA
Of particular note for the EALA is the decision to direct more responsibility for the implementation of Africa’s common development agenda to the Regional Economic Communities. To that end, the Heads of State decided that the annual July summit of the African Union will be transformed into a coordination meeting with Regional Economic Communities. This means that greater contributions will be needed from all of you as East Africa’s legislators, both as strong advocates for the imperative of reform and as champions for closer cooperation between the East African Community and the African Union Commission. However, whether at the continental or the regional level, our goals will not be attained if we get lost in counterproductive divisions and prioritise narrow interests over the common good, as we keep seeing in various contexts. It is really about working together to advance everybody’s interests. There are two parts of this to keep in mind:
Rwanda: New report outlines roadmap to bolster manufacturing sector (New Times)
The study by Enabling Environments Development, a Mauritius-based consultancy firm, calls for increased access to affordable and reliable electricity by industrial players, review some of the tax laws and creation of a pool of skilled personnel to drive growth of the country’s manufacturing and export sectors. The survey conducted between December 2016 and February 2017 cited high electricity tariffs and supply woes as one of the biggest bottlenecks affecting industrial sector players in the country. It also identified high cost of transport, as well as taxes on some raw materials as some of the major challenges faced by Rwandan manufacturers, which it said were making the sector less competitive compared to their counterparts in the EAC region. Angelo Musinguzi, the KPMG tax manager and one of the experts that conducted the research, said the objective of the study was to ‘cost benchmark Rwanda manufacturers against other EAC sector’. He added that, according to the findings of the survey, Rwandan manufacturers were spending most of their profits paying electricity bills compared to their counterparts in the EAC bloc.
South Africa’s economy shrinks in the fourth quarter of 2016 (StatsSA)
A fall in mining and manufacturing production in the final quarter of 2016 pulled South African economic growth into negative territory, according to preliminary figures of GDP released by Stats SA. South Africa’s economy contracted by 0,3% quarter-on-quarter (seasonally adjusted and annualised). The mining industry’s 11,5% drop in production was the main contributor to the economy’s slowdown, brought about by a fall in production of coal, gold and ‘other’ metal ores, such as platinum and iron ore. Adding to the slowdown was manufacturing, contracting by 3,1% in the same quarter. This was largely a result of slower production in manufacturing sectors related to food and beverages, petroleum and chemicals, and transport equipment. All industries in the tertiary sector recorded positive growth rates, led by an increase of 2,6% in transport and communication services and an increase of 2,1% in trade, catering and accommodation services.
Nigeria: Merchandise Trade Intensity Index/Re-exports (National Bureau of Statistics)
The export intensity index compares the share of exports to each country in Nigeria’s total exports, with the share of world exports going to that country, and therefore gives a measure of the importance of that country to Nigeria as an export destination. A higher number denotes a stronger relationship, and an index of one indicates that exports to that country are what would be expected given global trade patterns. What does it tell us? Nigeria’s export intensity in the months of October, November and December 2016 was highest for South Africa with export intensities of 8.9, 7.3 and 4.1 respectively. Export intensity in Q4 2016 was also intense with India with export intensities of 5.8, 5.8 and 1.7 for the last three months of 2016. Spain and Netherlands also had high export intensities with export intensities of 4.8, 2.9 and 2.0 for Spain and 2.2, 1.5and 2.2 for the Netherlands. Although United States was one of Nigeria’s major trading partners, its export intensity was low with 0.6, 0.6 and 0.2 for the last three months of 2016.
CMG wants to make African port of Djibouti ‘new Shekou’ (China Daily)
Li Xiaopeng, president of CMG, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily: “Making full use of Djibouti’s geographical advantages, we are in the process of making the country the ‘Shekou of East Africa’-a hub for regional shipping, logistics and trade. We will use our experience in Shekou and adjust the model to local conditions. We will put this model into practice in countries such as Djibouti.” The group wants to use model of Shekou, dubbed “Port-Park-City” or PPC as a template to build an industrial park and subsequently a city to supplement the initial development of a port. With the majority of its port project in areas along the Belt and Road Initiative, the group owns a network of 46 ports in 18 countries and regions. CMG’s investment in overseas ports has reach $2 billion, with major projects in Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Nigeria, Togo, Turkey and France.
Zimbabwe: Ease of Doing Export Business rectified (The Herald)
The Government is amending at least 16 export regulations identified as impediments to ease of doing export business under the Ease of Doing Export Business Rapid Results Initiative, an official has said. Chairperson of the thematic group on export regulation Mr Benison Ntini told the review meeting that overall milestones made so far were at 82%. He said export regulations affecting each sector were identified. For instance, Statutory Instrument 8 of 1996 which lists the number of products that require export permits. “Draft amendments to the SI were completed by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, only four strategic goods are now left on the list,” said Mr Ntini. In line with the amended SI, only four goods remain and these are fertiliser, raw and refined sugar, timber and timber products. [Choppies Zim basks in profit]
Alleged Toyota cartel makes South Africa ‘uncompetitive’ says Competition Commission (Times Live)
The Competition Commission on Monday referred a car carrier company‚ Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd‚ for prosecution to the Tribunal for colluding on a tender for transportation of Toyota vehicles. “K-Line” is a Japanese company operating in South Africa. The commission believes action must be taken against it for price fixing‚ market division and collusive tendering involving the transportation of Toyota vehicles from South Africa to Europe‚ North Africa (Mediterranean Coast) and the Caribbean Islands via Europe‚ West Africa‚ East Africa and Red Sea (Latin America) by sea. “South Africa is a strategic hub for the trade of goods in and out of the Southern African region. Any cartel by shipping liners in this region results in inflated prices for cargo transportation‚” said the Commissioner of the Competition Commission Tembinkosi Bonakele.
AfDB engages stakeholders on suitable regulatory environment for investment in power sector
Officials of the AfDB and the African Forum for Utility Regulators held discussions with some 50 power regulators from across Africa during the 13th Annual AFUR and Annual General Assembly Conference, which took place from 27 February to 2 March 2 in Abidjan. The meetings focused on the regulatory environment required for the development of power infrastructure, the improvement of quality service and supply, and the promotion of access to energy in Africa. The meetings were timely as global investors are showing strong interest in burgeoning African power sector, but with very small investments being realized due to transparency and regulatory environment issues.
Measuring digital trade: towards a conceptual framework (pdf, Working Party on International Trade in Goods and Trade in Services Statistics)
The growing importance of what is commonly referred to as ‘digital trade’ and the emergence of new (and disruptive) players has resulted in increased interest from within the statistics community and amongst policy makers for the development of a statistical framework that captures these phenomenons. This paper aims to address these various policy demands, building on existing efforts to advance the development of a conceptual and measurement framework for digital trade; with explicit reference to key policy questions surrounding digital trade; drawing in particular from the OECD WPTGS 2017 Stocktaking Questionnaire.
Afreximbank to intensify trade finance support to Tunisia
World Export Development Forum 2017 (25-26 October): update
Museveni roots for dialogue among River Nile Basin countries
West Africa can serve as a model for preventive diplomacy – UN political chief
Global Africa Spheres of Interaction conference: Africa – Japan – Europe
OECD: Economic Survey of India 2017
India’s manufacturing opportunity
Boosting productivity in Mexico through integration into Global Value Chains
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President Paul Kagame addresses EALA in Kigali
Assembly should enhance oversight role to ensure integration process is on course
President Paul Kagame yesterday addressed Parliament at the commencement of the Fifth Meeting of the Fifth Session of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Kigali, Rwanda.
The President maintained that Rwanda’s commitment to the regional bloc, ten years after acceding to the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC was stronger than ever before, he said, lauding the Partner States for their significant contribution to the EAC and for working together to deepen regional integration.
“Much of this is as a result of political will in responding to the needs and the aspirations of our citizens of the region,” H.E Kagame said.
The President said a united Africa was key and took the opportunity to inform the regional legislators of reforms aimed at strengthening the African Union by ensuring it is sustainably financed by Africa’s own resources.
“We need an African Union that is fit-for-purpose. Our continent must also have a strong and unified voice that clearly communicates the aspirations and positions of Africa on the global stage,” President Kagame said.
The President said the Heads of State had agreed to transform the annual July Summit of the continental bloc into a co-ordination meeting with the Regional Economic (RECs).
“This means that greater contributions will be needed from all of you as the region’s legislators, both as strong advocates for the imperative of reform and as champions for closer cooperation between the EAC and the African Union Commission,” he added.
President Kagame further challenged the regional Assembly to enhance its oversight role in ensuring the EAC meets its desired objectives.
The President took the opportunity to speak a few words in Kiswahili much to the applause of the legislators.
In attendance were Members of the Senate, Chamber of Deputies and high ranking government officials from the Republic of Rwanda.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon Daniel F. Kidega in his remarks reiterated the need for the region to collectively address and find solutions to the challenges it faces citing some of them as pursuit for peace and security, drought, climate change and the unemployment bulge.
“Ideally, time has come for the EAC to draw on its collective economic, social and intellectual resources to address the imminent challenges it faces,” Speaker Kidega said.
“Excellency, of equal importance is tolerance by Partner States within the framework of the integration process, to tackle the region’s pursuit for peace and security, drought, Climate Change, the unemployment bulge and other pressing issues,” he added.
The Speaker called for concerted effort towards the industrialisation process of the region.
“There is need to embrace industrialization by instituting supportive trade related policies and frameworks that grant Partner States the right to nurture nascent industries in order to develop their competitiveness and grow economies,” Speaker Kidega noted.
He said the EAC was looking towards greatly benefitting from the operationalization of the Single Customs Territory resulting in increased intra-regional trade. In this regard, Rt Hon Kidega called for emphasis on investor confidence, enterprise and creation of a conducive environment to spur trade.
The Speaker appealed to President Kagame and his colleagues at the Summit of EAC Heads of State to ensure the funding situation which he deemed as dire, is speedily addressed.
The Speaker hailed President Kagame for his selfless commitment to the integration process.
In his remarks, the President of the Rwanda Senate, Rt Hon Makuza Bernard hailed the rotational sittings noting it had enabled regular interactions with citizens of the Partner States. He said it was therefore necessary to reflect on the developments over the last five years at the Assembly and at the EAC while calling for the intensification of the integration process.
In her vote of thanks, Hon Nusura Tiperu hailed Rwanda for taking the lead in implementing decisions agreed upon at the region level. She hailed Rwandans as hardworking people, committed to duty of serving their motherland and the region.
At this sitting, which is the last for Kigali under the principle of rotation before the 3rd Assembly winds its tenure, three key Bills are on the agenda. These are the EAC Gender Equality and Development Bill, 2016, the EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill, 2016 and the EAC Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Bill, 2016.
The EAC Gender Equality and Development Bill, 2016 makes provision for gender equality, protection and development in the Community. The Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC in Article 121 recognises the significant contribution that women make towards progress of socio-economic transformation and sustainable growth and the importance of full participation of women and men in the economic and social development of the Partner States.
The EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill, 2016 moved by Hon. Patricia Hajabakiga, aims at providing a legal framework for the preservation of a clean and healthy environment through the prohibition of manufacturing, sale, importation and use of polythene materials. The Bill was re-introduced during the Sitting held in August 2016 in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Bill, 2016, on its part, anticipates provision of legal framework for matters relating to sexual and reproductive health, to protect children, adolescents and young children from sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation and to provide for assisted reproductive technology and for related matters.
Also to be deliberated on during the two week period are reports from various Committees of the House, including that of the Communications, Trade and Investment Committee on the status of the Railway Infrastructure Development in the Partner States and another on the oversight activity on the One Network Area in the EAC.
A report on the newly established EAC Institutions and another one on the Pastoral cross border Communities of Longido, Tanzania and Kajiado in Kenya shall also be tabled and debated. The latter report follows an oversight activity carried in the Kenya-Tanzania border by the Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution while the former is as a result of an oversight activity by the Assembly’s Committee on Accounts.
President Paul Kagame’s address to the East African Legislative Assembly, 6 March 2017
Good afternoon, and I wish to start by welcoming you back to Rwanda.
Karibuni sana. Please feel at home.
Honourable Speaker, thank you for the invitation to address this special sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly.
Rwanda’s commitment to the East African Community, ten years after we acceded to the treaty, is stronger than ever.
East African Community members have worked together to significantly deepen regional integration. Much of this progress was the result of political will, responding to the needs and aspirations of our citizens.
People move more freely than ever before and communication within the region has become more affordable and convenient. It is easier to trade and do business with each other and we are collaborating to expand energy and transportation infrastructure.
All this has generated a good deal of excitement among our citizens and in the markets as well. East Africa is increasingly perceived as a region on the move.
We have to continue to meet these high expectations. We therefore count on you, in the oversight role of our regional legislature, to help ensure we maintain momentum and stay on course.
The work before you in this sitting reflects issues of concern to all East Africans, such as gender equality, protecting children from abuse, and providing appropriate reproductive healthcare.
I also commend your work on the Polythene Materials Control Bill, among others, currently under consideration. A clean and healthy environment is a priority for all our countries. Prohibiting plastic bags is a policy that has worked well for us in Rwanda.
Collective action and harmonised policies will help us to manage the consequences of economic growth as we work to stimulate the manufacturing sector.
I am happy, as has been mentioned, that Rwanda has adopted Kiswahili as an official language, in line with one of the key resolutions of the East African Legislative Assembly.
This is a logical move which brings Rwandans closer to our brothers and sisters in East Africa. More and more Rwandans are using Kiswahili and the subject is being introduced in our schools.
I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the recently adopted decision to complete the institutional reform of the African Union and ensure that it is sustainably financed from Africa’s own resources.
We urgently need an African Union that is fit-for-purpose. Our continent must also have a strong and unified voice that clearly communicates the aspirations and positions of Africa on the global stage.
The reforms agreed upon will bring us much closer to this goal if they are implemented without delay.
Of particular note for the EALA is the decision to direct more responsibility for the implementation of Africa’s common development agenda to the Regional Economic Communities.
To that end, the Heads of State decided that the annual July summit of the African Union will be transformed into a coordination meeting with Regional Economic Communities.
This means that greater contributions will be needed from all of you as East Africa’s legislators, both as strong advocates for the imperative of reform and as champions for closer cooperation between the East African Community and the African Union Commission.
However, whether at the continental or the regional level, our goals will not be attained if we get lost in counterproductive divisions and prioritise narrow interests over the common good, as we keep seeing in various contexts.
It is really about working together to advance everybody’s interests. There are two parts of this to keep in mind.
First, when the good progress made internally by each country is aggregated, the benefits are even better for everybody in our region.
Second, there is no disadvantage from minding each other’s business, which simply means taking our respective needs and interests seriously and indeed adopting them as common objectives.
This is because integration is not a zero-sum game. When we work together, we are all better off. When we work against each other, everyone is worse off and a loser.
So let’s empower our institutions to do what they are supposed to do in support of our collective prosperity. The East African Legislative Assembly clearly has an important role to play.
Napenda kumalizia kwa kuwakaribisha tena Rwanda, na kuwatakia kila la heri katika majadiliano yenu wakati wote wa kikao hiki cha Bunge la Afrika Mashariki kinachoanza rasmi leo.
Asanteni sana. Nashukuru.
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IORA leaders sign Jakarta Concord
The leaders and representatives of the 21 member countries of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) have signed the Jakarta Concord at the IORA Leaders’ Summit held at the Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC) today.
The document titled “Promoting Regional Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous Indian Ocean” aims to lay the foundation and set the course for cooperation for the organization of Indian Ocean states in the coming years.
In the document, the IORA states declared their commitment to promoting maritime safety in the region, enhancing trade and investment cooperation in the region, promoting sustainable fisheries management and development, enhancing disaster risk management in the region, strengthening academic, science and technology cooperation, fostering tourism and cultural exchanges, Blue Economy, and empowering women in the economy.
At this morning’s opening, President Joko Widodo affirmed that the Indian Ocean is the region of the future.
“The Atlantic Ocean used to be the centre of the world in the last three years it has focused on the Pacific and Indonesia believes that the Indian Ocean is poised to assume greatness,” said President Jokowi.
The President reminded that each country can further its own national interests. Nationalism, however, cannot grow without internationalism.
The presence of the IORA leaders and representatives at the Leader' Summit shows the strong commitment of international cooperation to find various solutions and making use of opportunities.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated that in order to implement various priorities contained within the Jakarta Concord, the IORA states have also agreed on an Action Plan for 2017-2021 which outlines various activities related to the aforementioned priorities for the coming years and consist of various short-term, medium-term, and long-term initiatives.
In addition, the members of IORA have agreed on a Declaration on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent extremism. The declaration strengthens the commitment for cooperation in combating the threat of terrorism and violent extremism, including through cooperation and coordination, dialogue, exchange of information best practices as well as combating terrorist ideology and extremism. Countries will also disseminate positive values such as tolerance and diversity as norms for interaction in the region.
Jakarta Concord
The Indian Ocean Rim Association:
Promoting Regional Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Indian Ocean
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We the Heads of State/Government, and other representatives, of the Member States of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA): the Commonwealth of Australia, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Union of Comoros, the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Madagascar, Malaysia, the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of Mozambique, the Sultanate of Oman, the Republic of Seychelles, the Republic of Singapore, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of South Africa, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Kingdom of Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Yemen on the occasion of the Leaders’ Summit held in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the IORA held in Jakarta, Indonesia;
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Recalling the fundamental principles and objectives of the IORA Charter;
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Adhering to the rights and obligations under international law including those under the Charter of the United Nations and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS);
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Recalling also the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2832 (XXVI) on the “Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace” to maintain peace and stability in the region and to establish the Zone of Peace;
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Emphasising our commitment to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on strengthening our cooperation that no one will be left behind in the achievement of sustained growth and sustainable development in this strategically vital region;
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Noting the historical and cultural bonds among our peoples and the diversity of the peoples in the region, which offer vast opportunities to enhance various areas of economic cooperation;
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Respecting the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference in internal affairs of other states, peaceful co-existence and mutual benefit guiding relations and interactions among IORA Member States;
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Recognizing the achievements of the past 20 years of IORA and the opportunities we have to build on these and to address common challenges facing the Indian Ocean, for the welfare of our future generations;
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Affirming our commitment to build a more peaceful, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean region through enhanced cooperation, including but not limited to the six priority areas: maritime safety and security; trade and investment facilitation; fisheries management; disaster risk management; academic, science and technology cooperation; tourism and cultural exchanges; and the cross-cutting issue of women’s empowerment;
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Recognising the importance of moderation as an approach to counter all forms of extremism and promote dialogue, mutual respect, understanding, and social harmony, thereby contributing towards the achievement of sustainable and inclusive development, equitable growth, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean Region;
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Convinced of the significance of the Blue Economy as a driver of inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development in the Indian Ocean region;
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Acknowledging that the coastal areas and maritime waters of the Indian Ocean bind the region together and link it to other regions of the world, and that it is therefore essential to maintain maritime safety and security for peace, stability and sustainable economic growth and development in the region;
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Reaffirming that gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are central to realising inclusive and sustainable economic growth;
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Recognising the importance of Dialogue Partners to advance the objectives of the Association; and
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Underscoring the importance of regional synergies and cooperation to promote peace, stability and prosperity.
OBJECTIVES
16. We commit ourselves to:
a. Promoting Maritime Safety and Security in the region by:
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enhancing cooperation in preventing and managing accidents and incidents at sea and promoting effective coordination between IORA member states’ aeronautical and maritime search and rescue services;
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encouraging the sharing of expertise and resources to reduce substandard shipping and manage risks to the safety of vessels and the marine environments of the Indian Ocean region;
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strengthening regional cooperation to address transboundary challenges, including piracy, armed robberies at sea, terrorism, trafficking in persons, people smuggling, irregular movement of persons, illicit drugs trafficking, illicit trafficking in wildlife, crimes in the fisheries sector, and environmental crimes; and
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ensuring that countries in the region can exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS, as constitution for the Oceans.
b. Enhancing Trade and Investment cooperation in the region by:
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encouraging greater intra-IORA flow of goods, services, investment, and technology as a stimulus to further develop and grow our economies sustainably;
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exploring ways to improve the production capacity, competitiveness, and value addition of products from the region;
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promoting public-private partnership in infrastructure development;
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strengthening the involvement of the private sector, in particular SMEs, through regular dialogues and interactions between Governments and businesses, including women owned businesses;
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continuing regulatory reforms to encourage competitiveness and innovation and promote ease of doing business;
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improving connectivity (institutional, physical, and people-to-people) in the Indian Ocean region, including facilitating the movement of businesspersons;
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recognising the importance to regional economic growth and skills development of producing value added goods and increasing participation in global value chains;
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promoting shipping, ports, transport and logistic alliances within the region and with other regions in the world; and
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encouraging the development of standards suitable to IORA Member States, taking into account international and national standards.
c. Promoting sustainable and responsible fisheries management and development by:
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enhancing science-based management and conservation of marine living resources, including through supporting and strengthening the work of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), and enhancing regional and international mechanism to combat IUU fishing;
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promoting environmentally sustainable practices in aquaculture, marine capture fisheries, and post-harvest technology.
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increasing technical assistance and capacity building in fostering and strengthening protection and preservation of the coastal and marine environment; and
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supporting measures to increase the capacity of small-scale fishers in line with sustainable fisheries practices so as to promote and facilitate trade in fish and fisheries products as well as the access of this products in global markets in order to improve their livelihoods.
d. Enhancing disaster risk management in the region by:
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acknowledging the vulnerability of coastal and Small Island Developing States due to climate change and ocean acidification and working together to implement the provisions of the Paris Agreement on climate change;
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strengthening regional disaster preparedness, community resilience, and disaster risk management in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction;
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improving geodetic data-sharing, methods and infrastructure and further developing integrated early warning systems in the region for forecasting and communicating disaster-related risks and hazards; and
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Enhancing cooperation with stakeholders in addressing issues related to disaster and climate change through capacity building including sharing of information, experiences and best practices to improve community resilience to minimize disruption of economic activities.
e. Strengthening academic, science and technology cooperation by:
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increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, among research and development institutions and academics;
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increasing opportunities for accessible and affordable scholarships and capacity-building to further human development, with a particular focus on the challenges of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS);
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promoting sharing and collaboration in technology and innovation and in the implementation of e-Government and other Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) solutions in the region; and
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strengthening the IORA-Regional Centre for Science & Technology Transfer (IORA-RCSTT) and the Fisheries Support Unit (FSU) to better perform their mandates.
f. Fostering tourism and cultural exchanges by:
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increasing people-to-people interaction to promote regional economic growth;
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encouraging the sustainable development of community-based tourism and eco-tourism;
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promoting cultural heritage and harnessing the economic potential of this heritage, including World Heritage properties and sites; and
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cooperating and sharing experiences for the sustainable development of tourism
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Augmenting regional connectivity by encouraging direct flights and shipping services including cruises by encouraging investment in requisite infrastructure.
g. Harnessing and developing cross cutting issues and priority objectives by:
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developing the opportunity of the oceans by promoting the Blue Economy as a key source of inclusive economic growth, job creation and education, based on the evidence-based sustainable management of marine resources;
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promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, ensure women’s rights, access, and opportunities for participation and leadership in the economy and to eliminate violence and discrimination against women and girls in all its forms as the prosperity of the region will only be realised fully by investing in the empowerment of women and girls.
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enhancing cooperation in promoting the culture of democracy, good governance, combating corruption, promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
h. Broadening IORA’s external engagement by:
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enhancing and deepening cooperation with Dialogue Partners, including sharing of technical expertise and other resources for mutual benefit;
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expanding collaboration with countries outside the region and relevant regional and international organizations based on mutual interest to increase the profile of IORA at international fora; and
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expanding and deepening engagement with non-government stakeholders, including civil society, chambers of commerce, media and youth of the region in order to enhance people-to-people interaction for mutual understanding, trust and community-building in the region.
i. Strengthening IORA’s institutions by:
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providing adequate resources to the IORA Secretariat; and
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enhancing and strengthening the role of IORA specialized agencies.
We do hereby acknowledge:
17. The contribution of the Secretariat to managing, coordinating and implementing the policy decisions and work programmes of IORA.
18. The IORA Action Plan that was welcomed by the Council of Ministers Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia in March 2017 which is in the spirit of the IORA Concord.
19. The Government of the Republic of Indonesia, as the current Chair of IORA, for the leadership and initiative to hold the First IORA Leaders’ Summit and the excellent hospitality and arrangements for the 20th Anniversary Celebrations.
Signed by the Heads of State/Government of the IORA Member States in Jakarta, Indonesia, this seventh day of March in the Year Two Thousand Seventeen, in a single original copy, in the English language.
South Africa: Economy shrinks in the fourth quarter of 2016
A fall in mining and manufacturing production in the final quarter of 2016 pulled South African economic growth into negative territory, according to preliminary figures of gross domestic product (GDP) released by Stats SA. South Africa’s economy contracted by 0,3% quarter-on-quarter (seasonally adjusted and annualised).
The mining industry’s 11,5%[1] drop in production was the main contributor to the economy’s slowdown, brought about by a fall in production of coal, gold and ‘other’ metal ores, such as platinum and iron ore.
Adding to the slowdown was manufacturing, contracting by 3,1% in the same quarter. This was largely a result of slower production in manufacturing sectors related to food and beverages, petroleum and chemicals, and transport equipment.
All industries in the tertiary sector recorded positive growth rates, led by an increase of 2,6% in transport and communication services and an increase of 2,1% in trade, catering and accommodation services.
Expenditure on GDP decreased by 0,1% in the fourth quarter of 2016 following an increase of 0,4% in the third quarter. There were increases in consumption expenditure (household and government) as well as fixed investment, but a decline in inventories pulled the total growth rate into negative territory. Large inventory drawdowns were reported for the mining industry (lower production but higher exports of precious metals and mineral products); these were partly offset by inventory build-up in the manufacturing sector.
Other quick GDP facts are:
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The unadjusted real GDP increased by 0,7% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2016.
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The South African economy grew by 0,3% in 2016 compared with 2015.
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All provinces recorded positive economic growth rates in 2015 compared with 2014, with the exception of Free State and Mpumalanga which both experienced a decline in economic activity.
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Nominal GDP in the fourth quarter was estimated at R1,1 trillion.
[1] Unless otherwise stated, growth rates are quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted and annualised.
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Global harvests strong but hunger persists amid chronic conflict zones
Food security emergencies are likely to increase
Global food supply conditions are robust, but access to food has been dramatically reduced in areas suffering civil conflicts, while drought conditions are worsening food security across swathes of East Africa, according to the new edition of FAO’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation report.
Some 37 countries require external assistance for food, 28 of them in Africa as a result of lingering effects of last year’s El Niño-triggered droughts on harvests in 2016. Yet, while agricultural production is expected to rebound in southern Africa, protracted fighting and unrest is increasing the ranks of the displaced and hungry in other parts of the world.
Famine has been formally declared in South Sudan and the food security situation is of grave concern in northern Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen.
“This is an unprecedented situation. Never before have we been faced with 4 threats of famine in multiple countries simultaneously,” said FAO Assistant Director-General Kostas Stamoulis, head of the Economic and Social Development department. “It demands swift action which should consist of immediate food assistance but also livelihood support to ensure that such situations are not repeated.”
In South Sudan, 100,000 people were facing famine in Leer and Mayendit Counties, part of former Unity State, while there was an “elevated risk” that similar conditions existed in two nearby counties. Overall, about 4.9 million people across the country were classified as facing crisis, emergency or famine. That number is projected to increase to 5.5 million, or almost half the country’s population, at the peak of the lean season in July.
In northern Nigeria, 8.1 million people are facing acute food insecurity conditions and require urgent life-saving response and livelihood protection. That comes despite the above-average cereal harvest in 2016 and reflects the disruption caused by conflict as well as the sharp depreciation of the Naira.
In Yemen, 17 million people or two-thirds of the population are estimated to be food insecure, while almost half of them are in need of emergency assistance, with the report noting that “the risk of famine declaration in the country is very high.”
In Somalia, the combination of conflict, civil insecurity and drought have resulted in more than double the number of people – now estimated at 2.9 million – being severely food insecure from six months ago. Drought has curtailed fodder for pastoralists and the third consecutive season of poor rainfall is estimated to have reduced crop production in southern and central regions to 70 percent below average levels, leaving food stocks depleted.
Conflicts and civil unrest in Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Myanmar and Syria are also exacerbating food insecurity conditions for millions of people as well affecting nearby countries hosting refugees. In addition, the drought in East Africa in late 2016 has heightened food insecurity in several countries in the sub-region.
Worldwide trends
Cereal production made quite strong gains in the world overall in 2016, with a record recovery in Central America, and larger cereal crops in Asia, Europe and North America.
Looking ahead, FAO’s first global wheat production forecast for 2017 points to a 1.8 percent decline from last year’s record level, due mostly to a projected 20 percent output drop in the United States of America, where the area sown to winter wheat is the lowest level in over 100 years.
Prospects are favourable for the 2017 maize crop in Brazil and Argentina and the outlook is generally positive for coarse grains throughout the Southern Hemisphere. Prospects for rice are mixed, but it is still too early to make firm predictions for many of the world’s major crops.
Maize harvests in Southern Africa, slashed by El Niño, are forecast to recover this year, with South Africa’s output expected to increase by more than 50 percent from 2016, with positive trends likely in most nearby countries. However, an outbreak of armyworms, along with localized flooding in Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, could limit larger production gains in 2017.
The 37 countries currently in need of external food assistance are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
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tralac’s Daily News Selection
Featured infographic: 50 years of containership growth
Starting today: In Mombasa: Stakeholders workshop validation of Tripartite Harmonized Documents; In Dar es Salaam:Committee on Fiscal Affairs reviews implementation of the EAC Roadmap on Harmonization of Fiscal Policy Framework
Diarise: @SADC_News – a ministerial retreat themed #TheSADCwewant will be held on 12-14 March [ahead of the SADC extra-ordinary summit of Heads of States]
Tunisia prepares to join COMESA in October (COMESA)
Tunisia is preparing to join COMESA during the next Summit in October 2017. According to the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Mr Yousef Achahed, his country was ready to conclude the negotiations early in readiness for the accession to the COMESA Treaty. The PM made the remarks when he met a COMESA delegation led by the Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya. The Secretary General briefed the Prime Minister on COMESA and explained that the membership of Tunisia will be a single undertaking. “What this means is that it will require Tunisia to simultaneously join COMESA financial, technical, semi-autonomous and autonomous institutions,” the SG told the Prime Minister. COMESA has nine institutions, two specialized agencies and a judicial arm all located in different member states. Tunisia first applied for observer status in COMESA in 2005 but the matter was not concluded. Once successfully concluded, Tunisia will become the 20th member of COMESA.
ECOWAS: Stepping-stone for Morocco to conquer Africa (MWNews)
Professor El Moussaoui Ajlaoui sees that the “death of the Maghreb Union” (AMU/UMA), which was created to unify north African countries including Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania, has pushed Morocco to consolidate its relationships with west African countries. “The issues in the north of Africa might not be over within the upcoming ten years,” Ajlaoui said. “The political future in Algeria is at stake,– no one can predict what will happen, not to mention the difficulties that Tunisia faces to reach a democratic transition – while Libya has become a black hole.”
Analysis of Morocco’s trade policy: two-volume analysis from the AfDB
Volume 2: Impact of Morocco’s tariff policy on its position as a hub for the rest of Africa (pdf): The report begins by reviewing existing trade agreements and customs duties between Morocco and the African countries. It then analyses the trend of trade between Morocco and African countries and identifies how Morocco’s and Africa’s trade policies influence Morocco’s capacity to position itself as a hub for Africa. Finally, the report shows how the renegotiations of certain tariff agreements could be carried out to the advantage of Morocco and the other countries of the African Continent. [Volume 1: Impact of Morocco’s Tariff Policy on its Competitiveness (pdf)]
Tanzania among least contributors to EAC budget (IPPMedia)
So far, the country - which is also the chairperson of the EAC Heads of State summit that sits here next month, has contributed only 30% of its commitment to the community’s budget in the 2016/17 financial year. According to a financial breakdown on the partner states contribution made available to The Guardian at the weekend, Tanzania had by 31 January 2017 managed to contribute a meagre 30.47% of her stake. The figures show that five member states were each required to contribute to the EAC coffers $8,378,108, but Tanzania managed to dish out only $2,553,203. Tanzania is only ahead of Burundi, a country that has been plunged into chaos ever since the incumbent embattled President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his intention to run for a third term in April 2015.
Related: Tanzania backs Comoro on SADC membership (Daily News), Burundi’s flirtation with SADC exposes East Africa’s political skeletons (The Standard)
Bruce Byiers: ‘Is the Nile Basin Initiative a ‘regional sailboat’ in choppy geopolitical waters?’ (ECDPM)
Should NBI therefore branch out into regional agricultural trade? One of the challenges of many regional organisations has precisely been ‘agenda inflation’ and on paper COMESA has the mandate – both on agriculture through CAADP, and on trade. While COMESA may be too large to focus on specifics, the best impact may come from NBI engaging with COMESA to ensure that concerns about water use, and energy production can be made part of a wider grand-bargain – think the European Coal and Steel Community. While there is a tendency to think that overlapping memberships is a constraint to effectiveness, de Waal and Ibreck recently cited the need in the Horn of Africa for “not only a multilateral approach, but also an approach of multiple and overlapping multilateralisms.” Multiple flotillas of sailboats may sound messy but perhaps that is the way to ensure that at least some can set sail while others founder or sink.
Open Letter to African Economic and Trade Ministers: ‘There’s a Trump in your future, like it or not’ (Daily Maverick)
But this will be hard work for representatives of the nations in Africa to go toe to toe with the Americans on trade. And it will be much more difficult than at previous times when the prevailing views in America on globalisation and trade were profoundly supportive of such things. Now, any potentially successful agenda for the continent in dealing with America on trade must take into conscious consideration and demonstrate the real potential for tangible, mutual benefits, rather than those useless, flaccid geopolitical payoffs that have just been derided in that most recent USTR report. [The author: J Brooks Spector]
10 Commonwealth policy priorities for trade and development (ODI)
Ahead of the 2017 meeting of Commonwealth trade ministers (9-10 March), ODI and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trade Out of Poverty put forward 10 policy priorities for trade ministers to consider. [Download (pdf)]
Customs valuation and transfer pricing: East and Southern Africa workshop (WCO)
The topic of customs valuation and transfer pricing was the theme of a WCO Workshop for the East and Southern Africa Region (20-24 February, Harare). 22 participants from 17 ESA region countries took part in the event, funded by the China Customs Cooperation Fund and hosted by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. Representatives of the South African Revenue Service, Uganda Revenue Authority and ZIMRA gave interesting presentations on their experiences regarding the themed topics.
South Africa: Why the Treasury and Malusi Gigaba are ‘still at odds over bill’ (Business Day)
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has ruled out any further compromise with the Treasury on the Border Management Authority Bill that is in the process of being finalised by Parliament’s portfolio committee on home affairs. His statement on Sunday that all concerns had been resolved conflicts with a statement by a spokesman from the office of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa that there was still a window of opportunity for the Treasury to reserve a role for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in customs and excise collection at ports of entry. Treasury is concerned that the incorporation of the customs and excise function into the border management agency, which will fall under the Department of Home Affairs, will mean a fragmentation of the role played by SARS and will undermine revenue collection at a time when SARS is having difficulty in meeting its revenue targets. [Related: Justice, Crime Prevention & Security Cluster: post-SoNA media briefing]
Edible oils now on EAC list of sensitive goods (The EastAcfrican)
The import duty will be increased gradually over three years, to allow partner states to develop the capacity to meet the demand for raw materials. In 2017-2018, the rate will go up to 30%, in 2018-2019 to 35%, and up to 40% in 2019-2020. The decision follows recommendations by experts from the EAC partner states, who carried out a verification exercise from October 31 to November 6, 2016 in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, to establish how much oil was being imported within and outside the region from 2011 to 2015.
Tanzania: Acacia hit as gold, copper ore exports are banned (Daily News)
Acacia Mining’s shares fell as much as 19% on Friday after the company said it had stopped gold and copper concentrate exports from Tanzania following a ban by the government on unprocessed ore. Acacia, majority owned by Barrick Gold, has three gold mines in Tanzania that also produce copper. “At this stage, Acacia has ceased exports of gold/copper concentrate and is urgently seeking further clarification from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals,” Acacia said in a statement.
EA maize exporters to facilitate cross border trade in the region (IPPMedia)
Sellers of maize and other commodities from Ethiopia and buyers of the staple from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe will gather in Addis Ababa today for grain buyer mission to enhance economic cooperation and integration among the countries. Eastern Africa Grain Council Country Manager (Tanzania), Ikunda Terry, told ‘The Guardian’ on Friday that the grain buyer mission has been organised by the council in partnership with the East Africa Trade and Investment Hub.
SADC Protocol on Forestry: consultancy to undertake regional assessment of implementation
An Agenda for the Future of Global Business (Harvard Business Review)
To achieve those ends, we propose that business leaders support a new agenda, comprising seven areas of opportunity. The agenda goes far beyond political activism; it attacks root causes by committing to sustaining an inclusive model of economic growth. This action will entail making unfamiliar and uncomfortable choices, including balancing short-term returns with supporting economic and societal progress to strengthen enterprises for the long term. These are the seven areas: [The authors: Martin Reeves, Johann Harnoss]
Digital remittances and global financial health (World Bank)
A recently published Xoom/PayPal research paper compares the costs associated with digital remittance services with World Bank data on traditional global remittance prices. The study reveals that sending money overseas digitally cuts costs by nearly one-half. Moreover, because digital remittances are linked with existing banking systems in each country, money is transferred and received securely throughout the process. Other study findings include:
Botswana targets Namibia, Zimbabwe to boost trade
Harare-Beitbridge highway dualisation project: IDBZ engages Canadian firm as co-transaction advisor
Africa Research Institute: The “silent crisis” of food price inflation in Africa
Operationalization of Trade Facilitation Committees: Côte d’Ivoire (7-9 March, Abidjan), Senegal (14-16 March, Dakar)
COMESA promoting projects worth $500m in Malawi
Mauritius, Jersey sign Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement
Nagy K Hanna: ‘How can developing countries make the most of the digital revolution?’
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German Government unveils Marshall Plan with Africa at the AfDB
Africa is a continent of opportunity facing many challenges that the Plan can help resolve
The German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller, has unveiled his Government’s proposed “Marshall Plan” with Africa at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), saying the Plan can help resolve some of the challenges facing Africa.
Briefing the Bank’s leadership in Abidjan on Thursday, Müller noted that while Africa remains a continent of opportunity with very dynamic development and a strong and promising youth, it faces many challenges.
The Minister and his delegation arrived in Côte d’Ivoire from Burkina Faso on the second segment of an African tour which includes Tunisia and Egypt.
The continent, he said, would have to create 20 million jobs per year and expand training and education facilities for a growing population expected to reach 2 billion by 2050.
This scenario, he said, calls for a new initiative with the dimensions of a “Marshall Plan with Africa (not for Africa),” a term, which, he said, underlines the strong concerted efforts from Africa, its partners and the global multilateral system.
With the African Union’s 2063 Agenda as the framework, the Minister said the plan will focus on economic mobilization, education, training and entrepreneurship programmes that would give millions of Africans better prospects that are vital for Africa’s future and for Europe and the world.
The blueprint proposes a “new level” of equal cooperation between Africa and western countries in areas such as education, trade, business development and energy.
It also calls for better and more equitable market access for African exports, an end to illicit financial flows from Africa and tax evasion by multinational companies. The plan, he said, would further support the development of agricultural value chains within African countries to enable them derive appropriate benefits from the products, citing cotton in Burkina Faso and cocoa and coffee in Côte d’Ivoire as examples.
“If you do not invest in development, if you do not reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, you will not have peace,” Müller said, noting that misery, poverty and hunger are often the triggers of terrorism and radicalization.
African governments also have a role to play by fighting corruption, ensuring good governance and improving the situation for women. Müller said his Ministry would increase German development support for Africa by 20% in countries that undertake necessary reforms.
Noting that public funding would not create jobs in the long term, just as government measures were not likely to produce sustainable economic development; increased private investments and more entrepreneurship would be required to replace subsidies and state support, he said.
“Our aim is to provide clear incentives for creating an enabling environment for private investments. We are seeking to establish reform partnerships with African countries based on shared values of accountability, transparency and binding commitment,” he said.
According to the Minister, good governance and anti-corruption efforts will play a substantial role in determining the distribution of the country’s Official Development Assistance funds with the greater part benefitting reform-oriented countries.
Reform partnerships will be the contribution of Germany’s development cooperation to the Compacts with Africa laid out by the G20. Together with international partners and the private sector, Germany will provide substantial support for countries willing to be Agenda 2063 champions, he said, citing Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda as potential beneficiaries.
The Plan supports fair trade rules, an efficient framework against tax avoidance and illicit financial flows and clear rules and strong incentives against land-grabbing and the exploitation of resources. This would help to increase the amount of domestic funds African governments would need to meet reform-oriented goals.
On the Bank’s operations, Müller advised that it should endeavour to improve its reserves to increase its loan portfolio and scale down budget support operations.
He said the German Government would contribute significantly to AfDB’s general capital increase, noting the Bank has considerable comparative advantage on the continent. “We see your Bank as the voice of Africa, a depository of knowledge and experience on the continent’s development,” he added.
Contributing to the debate, the Executive Director for Morocco, Togo and Tunisia, Abdelmajid Mellouki, who stood in for the Board’s Dean and other Board members who are on mission, suggested that the Plan be embellished with data to give a clearer picture of its objectives.
In closing, the Bank’s Senior Vice-President, Frannie Léautier, who represented President Akinwumi Adesina, thanked the Minister for sharing the plan, which she said, proposed a high level of ownership and placed Africa at an equal level with partners among other issues that are central to the Board’s continuous dialogues. She underscored the close alignment of the Plan’s four foundations with the African Development Bank’s High 5 priorities.
“We are all in the same boat. We sink and swim together. Africa has a chance to achieve real transformation,” Léautier said.
Related: Africa and Europe – A new partnership for development and peace
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Tunisia preparing to join COMESA in October
Tunisia is preparing to sign the COMESA Treaty during the next COMESA Summit in October 2017. The signature will herald the admission of Tunisia to the regional economic community as its 20th member State.
Tunisian Prime Minister and Head of Government His Excellency Mr Yousef Achahed told a visiting COMESA delegation that his country was ready to conclude the negotiations early in readiness for the accession to the COMESA Treaty.
The COMESA delegation led by the Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya is in Tunisia this week to discuss with the government the steps towards joining the largest regional bloc in Africa.
The mission is in fulfillment of the decision of the 19th COMESA Heads of State Summit held in Madagascar in October 2016 that mandated the Bureau of the Council of Ministers to enter into negotiations with the Republic of Tunisia on the terms and conditions of accession to the COMESA Treaty.
The bilateral talks focused on the activities to be undertaken by Tunisia as part of the preparations to accede to the COMESA Treaty. The Secretary General briefed the Prime Minister on COMESA and explained that the membership of Tunisia will be a single undertaking;
“What this means is that it will require Tunisia to simultaneously join COMESA financial, technical, semi-autonomous and autonomous institutions,” the SG told the Prime Minister. COMESA has nine institutions, two specialized agencies and a judicial arm all located in different member States.
As part of the preparations for launching the negotiations between the Bureau of Council and Tunisia, the COMESA delegation held separate discussions with the Minister of Trade and Industry HE Zeid Ladhari and with the Minister of Development Investment and International Cooperation HE Mohamed Fadhel Abdelkefi.
The two Ministers reiterated the readiness and commitment of Tunisia to contribute to the realization of the objectives of COMESA, once the country is admitted.
The COMESA delegation which includes the Director of Trade and Customs Dr Francis Mangeni and Director of Legal Affairs Mr Brian Chigawa will be meeting with other Ministers and private sector representatives in the coming days.
Tunisia first applied for observer status in COMESA in 2005 but the matter was not concluded. In February 2016, the country formally wrote to the Secretary General making inquiries on joining COMESA. This set in motion the current process towards its admission. Once successfully concluded, Tunisia will become the 20th member of COMESA.
Article 4 of the Treaty provides that the COMESA Authority may admit a country which is an immediate neighbour of a Member States upon fulfilling conditions set forth including acceptance of the COMESA aims and objectives, compliance with the general undertakings and fundamental principles and wishing to co-operate with COMESA
According to the procedure, the application are communicated to the Member States, and then tabled before the Council of Ministers to make appropriate recommendation for the attention of the Authority of the COMESA Heads of State and Governments.
A new member, upon admission, is bound by the provisions of the Treaty and shall within six month thereafter deposit the instruments of acceptance and accession with the Secretary General.
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ECOWAS: Stepping-stone for Morocco to conquer Africa
With King Mohammed’s VI current tour of African countries and the ongoing reverberations from Morocco’s re-admission to the African Union (AU) in late January, Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation revealed on February 24 that Morocco has sent a request to the current President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), informing her of Morocco’s interest in joining the organization as a full-fledged member.
Founded in 1975 following the Treaty of Lagos in Nigeria, ECOWAS is a 15-member regional group, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
Promoting the “ideal of collective self-sufficiency for its member states,” the overriding concern of ECOWAS is to create a single, large trading bloc through economic cooperation. This will have the effect of reinforcing security and peace on the continent by creating a borderless region, whereby African citizens will benefit from the abundant resources of the continent.
ECOWAS aims to offer stable commercial activities so that Africans will be able to live in dignity and peace. This goal echoes the statement of Moroccan Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister, Salaheddine Mezouar who said, prior to Morocco’s return to the AU, that the Kingdom’s helping hand is outstretched to everyone. Morocco’s goal as a leading nation is for each African citizen to be able to hold his or her head high, free of the insults and injustice they now experience.
Morocco’s Pragmatic Diplomacy
Following Morocco’s decision to join ECOWAS, Moroccan Professor-Researcher at Mohammed VI’s Institute of African Studies in Rabat, El Moussaoui Ajlaoui, told Morocco World News that the decision goes hand in hand with Morocco’s return to the AU. “Morocco’s diplomacy [in Africa] attempts to penetrate all of Africa’s geographic and economic bloc,” which includes the ECOWAS in the west of Africa.
Ajlaoui went on to say that the current list of African nations forming Morocco’s core social and economic relationships is located in the west due to the “difficult” status quo the Maghreb and North Africa are experiencing.
RIP Maghreb Arab Union
Ajlaoui sees that the “death of the Maghreb Union” (AMU/UMA), which was created to unify north African countries including Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania, has pushed Morocco to consolidate its relationships with west African countries.
“The issues in the north of Africa might not be over within the upcoming ten years,” Ajlaoui said. “The political future in Algeria is at stake – no one can predict what will happen, not to mention the difficulties that Tunisia faces to reach a democratic transition – while Libya has become a black hole.”
“North-West Africa”: Earthquake in Africa
Nigeria, Ghana, and Guinea represent three of the 15 member countries currently making up ECOWAS. Over the course of three months, King Mohammed paid official visits to each of these nations.
During his visit to Nigeria’s Abuja, the King and President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, signed a bilateral cooperative gas pipeline project, which represents one the most important bilateral agreements to have been signed between the two countries yet.
While in Ghana, a longtime supporter of the Polisario, the King turned his visit into a springboard for Morocco to court the nation and to further strengthen a South-South partnership. This will be achieved by revamping ties with the rest of the continent and by tightening the grip on the self-proclaimed Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
Overall, Morocco and Ghana signed 25 governmental and public-private partnership agreements in different sectors of cooperation.
This forward expansion of Morocco’s diplomacy into the rest of the African continent and into ECOWAS, is viewed by Ajlaoui as efforts which will create a new “North-West Africa” geographical bloc.
“This bloc follows several factors, including geopolitical bilateral cooperative relations with the member states of ECOWAS,” Ajlaoui told MWN. “Morocco’s entry into ECOWAS will be an earthquake in the African continent.”
Morocco’s Leadership in Africa
When asked if Morocco could curb South Africa’s influence on the rest of the continent, Ajlaoui brought up the outbreak of xenophobic and violent attacks against Nigerian communities in South Africa.
Ajlaoui stressed that “Morocco’s dominance in Africa will follow its adherence to all the African blocs,” including the Southern African Development Community in Africa’s south, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Economic Community of Central African States and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, in addition to the East African Community and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
“If Morocco wants to be strong and a leader in Africa, it should become part of [the continent’s] communities,” Ajlaoui underlined. “Therefore, its request to join ECOWAS is a future preparation to join other communities.”
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10 Commonwealth policy priorities for trade and development
Ahead of the 2017 meeting of Commonwealth trade ministers, ODI and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trade Out of Poverty put forward 10 policy priorities for trade ministers to consider.
Foreword by the Co-Chairs
It is remarkable that 2017 should see the first ever formal meeting of Commonwealth trade ministers. Trade is the most potent driver for growth and development, and it also binds countries together. Happily, Commonwealth countries – no doubt because of their historic links – already tend to trade more with each other than do otherwise similar countries.
But that is not a reason for complacency so much as an indication of the potential to achieve more. We need to focus on how best to do so. That is why this 10-point plan is so valuable.
Moreover, it could not be more timely:
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The World Trade Organization Bali agreement on facilitation of trade, if implemented, could substantially increase the volume between member states and with other countries too. Cooperation and a joint commitment by Commonwealth countries to implement it would set an example to the world.
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Brexit provides an opportunity to rebuild old ties of trade and investment and to make trade policy as pro-development as possible – while taking care to avoid potential negative impacts on less developed countries.
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The slowdown in global trade makes renewed emphasis on promoting international trade imperative.
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The Commonwealth is uniquely well placed to provide a positive lead to promote trade and cooperation to counter the risk of populism leading to a return to protectionism and division. With a population of 2.3 billion, a combined economy of more than $10 trillion and annual GDP growth in excess of 4%, the Commonwealth has a huge opportunity to help member countries rise to these challenges.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trade Out of Poverty and the Overseas Development Institute have come together to set out a positive agenda for Commonwealth countries which we commend to trade ministers as they gather in London for what we hope will be the start of a fruitful collaboration.
» Download: 10 Commonwealth policy priorities for trade and development
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tralac’s Daily News Selection
This week’s tralac newsletter is posted. The lead article is written by Taku Fundira: Implementing the SADC EPA – challenges and impact
The SWAC/OECD weekly West Africa Brief is also posted (pdf)
Ahead of the First IORA Leaders’ Summit (5-7 March, Jakarta): selected postings
Rajiv Bhatia: ‘Blue Diplomacy’ to boost Blue Economy (Gateway House): Indonesia’s historic decision to convene the first ever summit of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, in March 2017, will heighten awareness about the Blue Economy, a subject that has generated some buzz, even if it has been muted so far. The event makes it imperative for India and other like-minded states to focus more purposefully on giving substance to the Blue Economy, a phenomenon of the current decade. It’s for years that a handful of diplomats and scholars have been pointing out the value of holding this summit to reinvigorate the 20-year-old IORA, but it took a strongly motivated leader, President Joko Widodo, with his conviction about the vital importance of oceans, to host it. A key endeavour at the Jakarta Summit will thus be to develop for the member states a roadmap for cooperation relating to the Blue Economy. [Companion analysis by Rajiv Bhatia: sharing commonalities]
SA Presidency statement on IORA Summit: South Africa serves as the current Vice-Chair of IORA, and is preparing to take over the Chair from Indonesia during the latter part of 2017. South Africa views the IORA as the pre-eminent organisation linking Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australasia via the Indian Ocean.
Industry upbeat to expand business with IORA, says FICCI survey (Indian Express): As a run-up to the Summit, FICCI, in its capacity as the Business Secretariat of IORA in India, conducted a perception survey to understand the current sentiment within the Indian industry on the economic potential of India’s engagement with the Indian Ocean region. The companies surveyed share deep trade and investment linkages with the IOR region. Responses were received from respondents across India and from participants of regional stakeholder consultations organized by FICCI in three metropolitan coastal cities including Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. [Download FICCI’s IORA survey: Industry perception survey: doing business with Indian Ocean neighbours (pdf)]
Gavin van der Nest: ‘The Blue Economy: opportunities for Africa’s sustainable development agenda’ (tralac): The Blue Economy has untapped potential and could possibly be at the forefront of African regional integration particularly due to the fact of the blessed abundance of oceans, seas and freshwater systems in the African continent. This Trade Brief introduces the Blue Economy, as well as discusses the pitfalls, benefits, and opportunities available within the Blue Economy. It will also discuss progress made on the African continent and will offer guidance and ideas for future policy direction.
Diarise: Third IORA Blue Economy Core Group: Environmental sustainability and the Blue Economy (10-11 April)
Commonwealth Trade Ministers meeting (9-10 March, London)
The Ministers Meeting will discuss areas where the Commonwealth can work together to strengthen trade and investment links between member countries and develop a policy agenda ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. At present there is no inter-governmental coordination to help unlock the trade and investment potential of the Commonwealth – something that the meeting of Ministers seeks to address.
Overview of recent economic and social developments in Africa (AU)
Private consumption and investment as key drivers of growth: The positive economic growth performance in Africa was largely underpinned by the positive contributions of private and government consumption, and also by investment. Government consumption declined slightly, by 0.2 percentage points from 0.6% in 2015 to 0.4% in 2016 (figure 2). Similarly, growth of gross capital formation declined by about 0.5 percentage points, from 1 to 0.5% (mostly because of lower oil prices, slowing demand across the world especially in China, persistent pressures on currencies and import restrictions). The net contribution by exports to GDP growth declined from 0.6% in 2015 to -0.3% in 2016, because of lower export revenues as a result of low commodity prices and subdued external demand. The contribution by private consumption also declined, from 2.7% in 2015 to 1.0% in 2016, because of lower agricultural production resulting from adverse weather conditions, increase in inflation and a rise in interest rates, such as those experienced in Nigeria and South Africa.
Continued decline in African trade performance: Despite achieving a 17.1% increase in 2011, since then the growth rate of exports from Africa has continuously slowed, declining by 29.6% in 2015 to the lowest rate of all the regions (figure 7). This has come about after the vigorous recovery since 2010 of exports from Africa, which rebounded to their pre-2008 crisis levels mainly thanks, among other factors, to increased agricultural output in most of the countries in East and Southern Africa, increased investment in the mining sector in countries such as Mozambique, the Niger, Sierra Leone and Zambia, and increased demand by China for primary commodities, in particular base metals. Exports by Africa to the world remain poorly diversified and largely dominated by primary commodities, specifically crude oil, gas and petroleum. Indeed, over the period 2010-2015, 55% of African exports to external partners consisted of fuels, with manufactured goods accounting for only 18%. Manufactured goods continue to dominate African imports, however, mainly comprising heavy machinery, automobiles and chemicals. They also continue to constitute the largest share of intra-African trade, averaging some 43% of such trade between 2010 and 2015, although the intra-African trade share is only 16%.
Regional dimensions of recent weakness in investment drivers, investment needs and policy responses (World Bank)
Section VII. Sub-Saharan Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for a modest 2% of global investment, on average, during 2010-15. However, it suffered the sharpest investment growth slowdown among EMDE regions despite large-scale public investment efforts until recently. Investment growth slowed from nearly 8% in 2010 to 0.3% in 2015, on average - well below the long-term (1990-2008) average of about 6%. The investment growth slowdown in Sub-Saharan Africa is concentrated in South Africa and oil exporters. It reflected domestic political tensions, a sharp terms of trade deterioration and, in some economies, domestic policy tightening. Investment needs remain sizable in agriculture, infrastructure, and health and education. Section VII.1. How has investment in the SSA region evolved? [Companion paper: Weakness in investment growth : causes, implications and policy responses]
Understanding intra-regional transport: Competition in road transportation between Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (UNU-WIDER)
In addition, there has in the past five years been a clear shift towards the transportation of goods for Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe via Beira, which is having a direct impact on loads carried via South Africa - though, while the majority of exports from these countries may be directed via ports in Mozambique, certain goods such as consumer products are still imported from South Africa. The net effect is that the problem of a lack of return loads will likely be enhanced over time. We summarize the major findings and insights below: [The analysts: Thando Vilakazi, Anthea Paelo]
Multimedia: A Two-way Street. This UNU-WIDER mini-documentary explains why supermarkets in southern Africa often stock imported goods from another continent – even when the goods are made cheaply in the region.
Abidjan-Dakar Highway construction in sight (Daily Observer)
Phase II of the ECOWAS experts meeting to construct a six-lane road to connect seven coastal countries in West Africa will end today in Monrovia. The meeting, which began 1 March, expects experts to give an update about implementation status of the highway. The experts are also expected to present a draft architecture design of the road outlook and adopt a final report, which they will take to a ministerial meeting at a later date. The highway referred to as “Dakar-Abidjan Road Corridor” is estimated at $13bn.
Vale Mozambique ends 2016 with a loss of $105m (MacauHub)
Coal transported along the Sena and Nacala lines totalled 8.8 million tonnes in 2016, more than double the 4.1 million tonnes carried in 2015 and the coal shipped at ports totalled 8.7 million tonns, also more than double the 3.7 million tonnes recorded in 2015.
South Africa: Significance of SONA for the dti Mandate (pdf, dti)
Presentation by Trade and Industry Minister, Rob Davies: Invest SA will be formally launched on 17 March 2017. It will be involved in active promotion and improved facilitation of investments. Cabinet identified pipeline of approximately 40 projects that are capable of being brought to fruition before the end of this term of government. [Impact of the Foreign Service Bill: presentation by Trade and Investment South Africa to the Portfolio Committee (pdf)]
Rwanda: Local producers urged to promote Made-in-Rwanda at EAC summit (New Times)
The 2nd edition of the summit will be held in Kigali during the first week of May 2017 under the theme “Harnessing the Manufacturing Potential for Sustainable Economic Growth. The trade and exhibition summit offers a platform where investors, enterprises, researchers and academia can collectively showcase new products and services as well as latest innovations in manufacturing, particularly those with relevance to small and medium enterprises. It is expected to bring together more than 500 top industrialists, policy makers and experts to discuss strategies to expedite regional industrialisation. The high-level conference is co-hosted by the Rwanda Association of Manufacturers and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and EAC Affairs. It is also supported by all national Manufacturers Associations from the EAC partner states.
Tanzania: Mineral sand exports banned (Daily News)
President John Magufuli yesterday banned investors from exporting mineral sands, directing the Energy and Mineral Minister, Prof Sospeter Muhongo, to fully enforce the sanction. Dr Magufuli earlier outlawed the export of mineral sands in July last year during his tour of Kahama District. But, it seems, the order was not fully executed, prompting the head of state to reissue the directive afresh. “I believe this event is beamed live and the minister (of energy and minerals) is following it closely...no more exports of sand from the country is allowed because these people have stolen from us for many years,’’ the President said here on his first day of a working tour of three regions -- Coast, Lindi and Mtwara -- that kicked off at Mkuranga-based Goodwill Tanzania Ceramic Company Limited.
Preventing conflict in Africa: March UNSC work programme (UN)
The Security Council would organize its work in March around the theme “Preventing conflict in Africa”, Matthew Rycroft (UK), its President for March, said. Outlining the Council’s priorities, he said it would first dispatch a mission to the Lake Chad Basin area, where members would visit Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria from 2-7 March. The objective was to examine the threat posed by Boko Haram and the humanitarian crisis in the subregion, he added. On 23 March, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs would preside over a meeting on South Sudan.
Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development (IGC)
The commission is chaired by David Cameron together with Donald Kaberuka and Adnan Khan (IGC/LSE). Tim Besley (LSE) and Paul Collier (Oxford) serve as its Academic Directors. It will run from March 2017 to June 2018. It will draw on evidence given in public sessions by policymakers, academics, business leaders, and other practitioners with expertise in fragile and conflict situations. Running throughout 2017, the evidence sessions will cover the following five key dimensions of fragility: (i) Building legitimate government, (ii) Generating effective state capacity, (iii) Promoting private sector development, (iv) Establishing security and reducing conflict, (v) Building resilience to shocks. The Commission is sponsored and fully funded by the LSE and Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford. [Commissioner profiles]
Today’s Quick Links:
Standard Bank’s African operations contributes 30% of income
Chinese construction giant picks Nairobi for Africa offices
Tanzania to send 160-man team to Berlin international travel trade show
IGAD Centre validates regional strategy for preventing and countering violent extremism
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E-cargo tracking system to save costs on Northern Corridor
Business owners in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda are expected to save on the cost and time of transporting cargo on the Northern Corridor following the launch of a joint electronic cargo tracking system.
The $4.4 million Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTs) will enable the three countries to track movement of goods along the Northern Corridor from the port of Mombasa to Kampala and Kigali.
The system is expected to reduce transit time, cargo theft and diversion of goods in transit, which will then reduce the cost of doing business along the corridor.
RECTs will also eliminate the need for physical escorts and monitoring of sensitive cargo, such as batteries, fuel and cigarettes.
The system was officially launched by revenue authorities of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda in Kampala and will be free as the tax bodies will meet all operational costs.
“The system will help us monitor goods from end to end; it will ease cargo handling, improve revenue collection and reduce diversion of untaxed goods into the market. It will lead to improved fair trade as goods that have not been taxed will not be diverted to distort the market. This will benefit our traders and assure potential investors of a level playing field in our region,” said Uganda Revenue Authority Commissioner-General Doris Akol.
The system comprises tracker satellites, central command centres in each of the revenue authorities in Nairobi, Kampala and Kigali, smart gates and rapid response units.
An electronic seal is attached to transit cargo vehicles and gives real-time updates such as vehicle location and speed, and if the container is tampered with or not.
Importers, transporters, and the revenue authorities will be able to access this information. Rapid response units are stationed along sections of the Northern Corridor identified as notorious for diversion of goods.
They will respond to alerts received from the command centres about suspicious behaviour like diversion from the designated route, unusually long stopovers, or attempts to open a container. The rapid response units will investigate and resolve such issues immediately.
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID) financed the joint project through TradeMark East Africa.
“The launch of RECTs marks an important milestone towards our shared goal of reducing by a third the time it takes to import and export goods from Uganda,” said DfID in a statement
Frank Matsaert, TMEA CEO, said the efficiency of RECTs will ingrain fair terms of trade by creating a level playing field for both importers and local industries as it helps in eliminating diversion of cargo.
The system will also help seal loopholes that cause losses in revenue through suspected under-declaration of the value of exports or theft of cargo.
Uganda was the first country to launch the electronic cargo tracking system in 2014. It has since helped traders in the country reduce the time of transporting cargo from Mombasa from six days to a one- and-a-half days.
It costs transporters from $200-$250 per day when trucks are delayed along the transit routes. Part or all of this cost is passed on to the owner of the goods. As a result, the cost of transport tends to increase the farther inland the destination of the cargo, not only because of distance but also the number of stops along the way.
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Edible oils now on EAC list of sensitive goods
Manufacturers of edible oils in the EAC have been shielded from competition from other countries.
Regional trade ministers have included edible oils manufactured in the EAC on the list of sensitive products, paving the way to increase the import duty levied on them.
“The refined edible oils manufactured from locally sourced raw materials now qualify for preferential tariff treatment, and thus should be accorded preferential treatment when transferred to other partner states,” the EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment said.
The import duty will be increased gradually over three years, to allow partner states to develop the capacity to meet the demand for raw materials.
In 2017-2018, the rate will go up to 30 per cent, in 2018-2019 to 35 per cent, and up to 40 per cent in 2019-2020.
The decision follows recommendations by experts from the EAC partner states, who carried out a verification exercise from October 31 to November 6, 2016 in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, to establish how much oil was being imported within and outside the region from 2011 to 2015.
The manufacturers that were covered by the study included A.K Oils & Fats Uganda Ltd, Nile Agro Industries, Oil Palm Uganda Ltd a subsidiary of Bidco Uganda, Kapa Oil Refineries Ltd in Kenya, and East Coast Oils and Fats Ltd of Tanzania.
The experts found that the number of oil manufacturers in the region is increasing, and that existing manufacturers are expanding their factories, with a total investment of approximately $550 million.
Manufacturers import crude palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia because the local supply cannot meet the demand.
Other manufacturers source crude sunflower oil from Ukraine and Argentina.
Under the current Common External Tariff regime, palm oil is imported as a finished product and subjected to a duty of 25 per cent.
Under the current rules of origin, only goods produced wholly from local inputs are allowed to cross national borders without attracting Customs taxes.
The EAC member countries were concerned that regional manufacturers were losing out by paying 25 per cent duty on some imported products, which should have ordinarily attracted zero per cent or 10 per cent duty.
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Overview of recent economic and social developments in Africa 2016
Document prepared for 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, taking place in Dakar from 23-25 March 2017
Introduction
In 2016, overall economic growth in Africa declined drastically, dropping to 1.7 per cent, lower than the developing country average of 3.8 per cent. This growth performance was influenced greatly by outcomes in the six largest African economies and masks the remarkable growth, by at least 3 per cent, achieved by 32 countries in 2016. The resulting positive growth was generally underpinned by private consumption and investment (in infrastructure in several countries), made possible by improvements in the business and investment environments in many countries.
Even though commodity prices started to recover from the beginning of 2016 after falling for the previous two years, they still remain below their 2014 levels. This notwithstanding, growth in all the economic groups (oil-exporting, oil-importing and mineral-rich economies) slowed, registering 0.8, 2.5 and 2.2 per cent respectively in 2016. This slowdown led to uneven growth performance among the subregions, with East Africa recording the highest growth.
At the social level, the poor in Africa live much further below the extreme poverty threshold than in other regions, with an average consumption at about 60 per cent of the international poverty line. Despite numerous gains, inequality remains a key development challenge in Africa. The average within-country inequality levels in Africa are high and hamper the poverty-reducing effect of economic growth. Although significant progress has been made on the continent in terms of gender, gains have been uneven across countries and subregions and gender inequality remains a key development challenge in Africa.
The continent’s medium-term prospects remain positive, buoyed by strong domestic demand and investment (particularly in infrastructure), a robust service sector, recovery in commodity prices and the focus placed by oilexporting countries on non-oil sectors. Downside risks remain, however. The slower recovery in the global economy, consequences of the decision by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to leave the European Union, or “Brexit”, on the European Union and other major global economies, uncertainty in the policy orientation of the new United States administration, the continued economic slowdown in China, and also weather-related, political and security risks, continue to pose a challenge for African countries. The longterm growth outlook for Africa is still promising, however, as its underpinnings remain relatively strong.
African economic performance and prospects
Growth in Africa declined from 3.7 per cent in 2015 to 1.7 per cent in 2016 as a consequence of weak global economic conditions, persistent low oil prices and adverse weather conditions. Among the developing economy regions, Africa’s growth rate surpasses only that of the Latin American and Caribbean region, which contracted by 0.5 per cent in 2016.
Private consumption and investment as key drivers of growth
The positive economic growth performance in Africa was largely underpinned by the positive contributions of private and government consumption, and also by investment. Government consumption declined slightly, by 0.2 percentage points from 0.6 per cent in 2015 to 0.4 per cent in 2016. Similarly, growth of gross capital formation declined by about 0.5 percentage points, from 1 to 0.5 per cent (mostly because of lower oil prices, slowing demand across the world especially in China, persistent pressures on currencies and import restrictions). The net contribution by exports to GDP growth declined from 0.6 per cent in 2015 to -0.3 per cent in 2016, because of lower export revenues as a result of low commodity prices and subdued external demand. The contribution by private consumption also declined, from 2.7 per cent in 2015 to 1.0 per cent in 2016, because of lower agricultural production resulting from adverse weather conditions, increase in inflation and a rise in interest rates, such as those experienced in Nigeria and South Africa.
Continued decline in African trade performance
Despite achieving a 17.1 per cent increase in 2011, since then the growth rate of exports from Africa has continuously slowed, declining by 29.6 per cent in 2015 to the lowest rate of all the regions. This has come about after the vigorous recovery since 2010 of exports from Africa, which rebounded to their pre-2008 crisis levels mainly thanks, among other factors, to increased agricultural output in most of the countries in East and Southern Africa, increased investment in the mining sector in countries such as Mozambique, the Niger, Sierra Leone and Zambia, and increased demand by China for primary commodities, in particular base metals (IMF, 2015).
Exports by Africa to the world remain poorly diversified and largely dominated by primary commodities, specifically crude oil, gas and petroleum. Indeed, over the period 2010-2015, 55 per cent of African exports to external partners consisted of fuels, with manufactured goods accounting for only 18 per cent. Manufactured goods continue to dominate African imports, however, mainly comprising heavy machinery, automobiles and chemicals. They also continue to constitute the largest share of intra-African trade, averaging some 43 per cent of such trade between 2010 and 2015, although the intra-African trade share is only 16 per cent.
It is worth noting that, whereas emphasis on the industrialization of Africa is skewed towards the manufacturing sector, the sector’s share in total world manufacturing exports remains less than 1 per cent and has been marginally declining since 2010. Similarly, the sector’s share in the continent’s GDP has been slightly but steadily declining since 2010, despite the relative increase in its production. This calls for strategic diversification of the region’s export base with increased value addition, to enable it to benefit more from its accrued engagement with emerging markets such as those in Asia.