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IMF revises SA’s growth outlook up to 5% (Engineering News)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upwardly revised South Africa’s growth outlook from 4% to 5%. The multilateral institution on Tuesday released its World Economic Outlook report for October 2021. Economic counsellor and director of research at the IMF, Gita Gopinath, noted that global recovery is continuing but its momentum has weakened - largely due to the pandemic and the rise of the Delta variant, which is delaying the return to normalcy. “Pandemic outbreaks in critical links of global supply chains have resulted in longer-than-expected supply disruptions, further feeding inflation in many countries. Overall, risks to economic prospects have increased, and policy trade-offs have become more complex,” Gopinath said. The outlook for low-income developing countries has also worsened due to the pandemic, and advanced economy groups will also be feeling the impact of supply chain disruptions.
However, the outlook for some commodity producers has been upgraded - mainly due to higher commodity prices.
Manufacturing sector struggling to recover to pre-pandemic output levels (Engineering News)
Manufacturing production increased by 1.8% year-on-year in August, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reports. The largest positive contributions were made by food and beverages (9.7% and contributing 2.3 percentage points); motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport equipment (17.7% and contributing 1.4 percentage points); basic iron and steel, nonferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (7.6% and contributing 1.4 percentage points); wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing (12.5% and contributing 1.2 percentage points); and furniture and ‘other’ manufacturing (19.8% and contributing 0.8 of a percentage point).
Zim dry port boon for economic growth (The Herald)
THE Zimbabwe dry port commissioned by President Mnangagwa at Walvis Bay in Namibia in 2019 to provide a strategic and cheaper gateway to the Atlantic Ocean is set to boost the country’s economy through enhanced international trade. The new development signifies the beginning of the Walvis Bay corridor road show, which was expected to have been held from June 18 to July 3 this year but was postponed indefinitely due to Covid-19.
The port allows Zimbabwean traders to be competitive in international markets by importing and exporting directly to Europe, West Africa and America using ocean cargo services. The dry port was built on an estimated 19 000 square metres leased to Zimbabwe by Namibia on a 50-year lease.
Kenya-US trade talks stall as Biden administration reviews pact (The Star)
Kenya’s trade deal with the US might not be concluded in the next two years, fresh details show. Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which commenced on July 8, last year, have however stalled according to senior government officials at the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development. It could take up to two years to have a complete FTA, according to trade experts at the ministry. This, as President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday challenged the American government to be “a reliable and predictable trading partner” for key trade initiatives to succeed.
“Reliability and predictability in a partner is something that is critical. To our American friends, I would like to say that you know you cannot start and stop a discussion with partners on the basis of one administration after another. Relationships are between countries and people not between administrations,” Uhuru said.
Kenyan cement makers suffer clinker shortfall (The East African)
Kenya’s cement manufacturing sector is grappling with a clinker shortage of 3.3 million tonnes, with 59 percent of the deficit being imported into the country duty-free from Egypt, a report by the National Independent Clinker Verification Committee released last week showed.
In a report dated September 2021, the National Independent Clinker Verification Committee noted that an increase in duty on imported clinker is likely to have a trade redirection in favour of Egypt by virtue of the two countries belonging to a common Customs union under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) free trade area arrangement. Of the 40 percent of clinker imported into the country, 60 percent originates from Egypt at zero tariff rate.
Okonjo-Iweala: Nigeria’s Trade Cost Too High to Attract Investments (This Day Newspaper)
The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has lamented that cost of Nigeria’s trade is too high to attract foreign investors. Okonjo-Iweala, a former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan stated this via a video link Tuesday on day two of the Mid-term Ministerial Performance Review at the State House, Abuja. She also spoke of the need to improve the nation’s security in order to attract foreign and domestic investments. The WTO DG said the country must cut down not only on trade cost but also infrastructure cost, linkage cost, regulatory cost, customs cost, and all costs associated with moving goods from the factory to the final consumer to complement investment facilitation. She pointed out that Nigeria’s trade cost was equivalent of 306 percent tariff, one and half times higher than the cost in high income countries.
Nigerian state woos Chinese investment in agriculture (China,org.cn)
Nigeria’s southern state of Bayelsa has invited Chinese investment in agriculture to assist the state’s development plan. In a statement issued on Monday after a weekend meeting in Abuja with Cui Jianchun, the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, the Governor of the Bayelsa state Douye Diri said the state had already identified agriculture as the main sector within which it will achieve sustainable development and growth. “We have already identified four areas to substantially invest in, which are fishing farming, rice, cassava, and plantain cultivation,” he said.
‘Nigeria should reconcile discrepancies in productive capacities (The Guardian Nigeria)
For Nigeria to achieve sustainable industrialisation, stakeholders in the productive sector have advocated business remodeling and reconciliation in the discrepancy between the country’s productive capacities and developmental consumerist culture. The Directing Staff, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, also stressed the need for Nigeria to creatively confront and resolve the country’s high consumption culture against its minimal production capacity. Olaopa noted that the country’s entire policy architecture must be redirected much more creatively and urgently, to reversing the consumption-production discrepancy. Olaopa called for greater adoption of clean, green and environmentally friendly industrial processes reliant on alternative energy sources to save the planet.
“This means focus on the Local Content Act especially the clauses on value creation, developing of private sector capacity and utilisation of local resources in industrial activities,” he said.
The Ghanaian Factory of the Future? The ‘new normal’ business environment (The Business & Financial Times)
The corporate and business world has experienced several significant events over the years. Ranging from financial crises to political events and health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In taking steps to resolve the health crisis, many have reimagined the new normal in a world that is now more inward-looking than before.
Consequently, contingency planning and incorporation of the uncertainty around future events has become a core consideration in decisions taken by companies. Productivity and efficiency have also been brought to the fore during this pandemic which presents opportunities for automation and smarter ways of working, which thrive in a virtual society.
African Development Bank: Morocco’s Tangier-Med Port is a model for Nigeria (Morocco World News)
The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, highlighted Morocco’s maritime infrastructure as an example of excellence in a phone conversation with Nigerian ministerial officials during a two-day performance retreat in Abuja on Monday, October 11. Adesina urged that Nigerian officials “should not be decongesting the seaports,” and suggested that they should be “transforming the seaports,” instead. The African Development Bank President suggested that Nigerian officials should consider looking at Morocco’s Tangier-Med Port as an example.
Africa
The African Continental Free Trade Area: An Opportunity for Boosting Women in Trade (Commonwealth iLibrary)
Women play a significant role in trade and economic development. Over the years, their activities in export-oriented sectors have typically centred around producing manufactured goods (i.e., textiles and garments), agricultural products and services (i.e., tourism and data processing) in what has been coined the “global feminisation of labour”
The AfCFTA is expected to boost intra-African trade by between 33 and 52 per cent, depending on the degree of tariff liberalisation. However, these overall figures mask the distributional impact of trade liberalisation in terms of its effect on women traders and women’s businesses in general.
According to Van der Nest (2017), firms managed by women in Africa engage less in export activities compared with similar firms elsewhere. Some of the factors that limit the participation of women in trade include poor quality of infrastructure, inefficient customs processes, harassment, inconsistent regional standards and regulations, and non-tariff barriers such as stringent food safety and traceability requirements in different African countries. While some of these constraints affect both women and men, the impact is more severe for women traders than their male counterparts
The AfCFTA gender provisions are largely limited and general in nature and less ambitious compared to gender provisions in other RTAs. As such, African countries, including those in the Commonwealth, must explore other ways to promote women’s participation in trade and economic development in general. One way of doing this is by incorporating gender perspectives in the design of schedules of concessions
SRO-SA Ad-hoc Expert Group Meeting hails AfCFTA as a game changer for the SADC region (UNECA)
The Ad-hoc Expert Group Meeting (AEGM) of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA) was held today as a prelude to the 27th Session of the Inter-Governmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE) of Southern Africa on the theme: “Agriculture value chains, linkages and transformation in Southern Africa: Opportunities from the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The official opening was followed by a presentation of the highlights from the draft study entitled, “agriculture value chains, linkages and transformation in Southern Africa: Opportunities from the African Continental Free Trade Area,” by ECA Consultant, Mr.Seth Akweshie. The report alluded to the services sector being the most dynamic and promising sector in Southern Africa. “Services is constantly gaining further weight as the key engine of any economy. While agriculture’s contribution to GDP has decreased from 17.5 percent in 2000 to 15.3 percent in 2019, the importance of the services sector is expected to continue increasing, leading both to enhanced service sector exports and increasing wealth,” he advised.
AfCFTA: Shippers Council moves to tackle transportation cost, exploitation by foreign shipping lines (Blueprint)
The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Emmanuel Jime, has said that members will not continue to remain at the mercy of foreign shipping lines to determine the fate of its trade and transport; through the imposition of unreasonable charges and surcharges on Nigerian economies.
“We cannot continue to remain at the mercy of the foreign shipping lines to determine the fate of our trade and transport through the imposition of unreasonable charges and surcharges on our economies. There is need to scrutinize details involved in determining the cost of services rendered at our ports, make scientific comparisons with other ports of the world and arrive at acceptable rates for mutually beneficial transactions. “It is time for us to rise to the occasion by leveraging on relevant technologies to increase efficiency, advice our various governments on required policies and regulations to boost our trade and transport sector and discourage the continuous implementation of processes that contribute to delays and high cost of doing business at our ports.”
2nd meeting of SACU-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement meeting concluded (Namibia Economist)
The senior trade officials of the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) held their 2nd Meeting of the Joint Administrative Committee (JAC) under the framework of the SACU-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) on 5 October. According to Executive Secretary of SACU, Paulina Elago, the JAC is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the PTA. “The SACU-MERCOSUR PTA is a limited-scope Agreement that aims to promote trade between MERCOSUR and the SACU regions. It offers tariff preferences on approximately 1000 tariff lines from each side with the Margins of Preference ranging between 10% and 100 %,” Elago said. Elago said the parties considered the procedural and customs administrative issues relating to the implementation of the PTA, assessed progress including utilisation of the market preferences, and challenges encountered by the Parties. “The parties agreed on actionable points to facilitate the effective utilisation of the Agreement and to improve trade relations between two regions,” she added.
ECOWAS considers common approach to ease migration challenges (Daily Trust)
The 15 members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Tuesday converged on Abuja for high-level consultations to forge a common ground to ease migration difficulties in the region. The three-day event is intended to find ways to ease migration and trade difficulties among the member states. The high-level consultation meeting was a kicker to the implementation of the Global Impact for Migration for the International Migration Forum 2022.
In an opening remark, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)’s Senior Regional Advisor for Sub Saharan Africa, Aissata Kane, harped on the need to use a rounded approach to the mobility continuum in West Africa. “A coherent multidimensional approach to human mobility that helps pave the way for inclusive, coherent and intersectional dynamics, where each actor has a key role to play to ensure an integrated and holistic response and sustained opportunities for safe and orderly migration [is key],” the IOM representative said.
The Twenty-Seventh Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE) for Southern Africa on the theme, “Building back better from COVID-19 in Southern Africa: Fostering commodity-based industrialization, manufacturing and regional value-chains”, begins on Wednesday 13th October 2021
Specifically, the twenty-seventh Session will focus on the reasons behind the persistent reliance on primary commodity exports and lack of manufacturing development in the sub-region; the lack of progress in addressing critical constraints to inclusive industrialization and regional value chains; the implications of Covid-19 on inclusive industrialization, manufacturing and regional value chain development in Southern Africa; emerging opportunities for industrial and private sector development in Southern Africa with attention to the potential to leveraging green, blue and digital economies; the implications of the AfCFTA on regional and national industrialization strategies and cross-border cooperation in industrial and manufacturing development including how to position and market “Made in Africa” and foster regional intra-industry trade; as well as ways of leveraging the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA to boost agricultural value chains and economic transformation in Southern Africa.
Tech majors scramble for Africa’s internet market (The East African)
Africa’s internet market is up for a major scramble as global tech corporations rush to invest hundreds of billions of shillings, in the hunt for millions of Africans expected to join the online community over the next decade. Last week, global internet giants Google and Facebook laid down their infrastructure investment strategies in plans that will see hundreds of billions poured into the continent in the coming years. As Google said it will be investing about Sh110 billion ($1 billion) in Africa over the next five years, Facebook was revealing the different technologies it has created to ensure that it reaches all corners of the continent, through its Inside the Lab programme targeting to get a billion extra users on its platforms. The pair has spent billions to create subsea cables connecting up to three continents, investments that are targeted to boost connectivity in Africa by at least three times internet quality compared to current levels, cut down prices and subsidise prices for devices used to access the web.
COMESA conducts study on formalizing the informal economy in the region (COMESA)
COMESA has conducted a study, which reviewed Member States policies related to the formalisation of the informal economy, focusing on informal trade. The study focused on the drivers of informality, the impacts of informality on the economy, including on government revenue and on productivity. It also identified the policies that Member States have instituted to address informality. The study is part of the implementation of the Small-Scale Cross Border Trade Initiative (SSCBTI) funded under the 11th European Development Fund (11th EDF). This project is intended to increase formal small-scale cross-border trade flows in the COMESA/tripartite region, leading to higher revenue collection for governments at the borders as well as increased security and higher incomes for small-scale cross-border traders.
According to the study conducted by a consultant, Dr Evarist Mugisa, all the seven Member States, including Tanzania, have a sizeable informal economy, serving as a source of livelihoods. However, the size of the informal economy was not clear due to the lack of reliable data. Estimates suggest it exceeds the official economic activity. “An important component of the informal economies of these countries is Informal Cross-Border Trade (ICBT), which involves small scale traders who carry goods across borders evading all regulatory requirements,” Dr Mugisa observed. “The immediate impact of this is that governments do not receive the tax revenues on these transactions. ICBT also distorts the trade policy in these countries.”
“Africa must not allow itself to be left behind” as it has during past industrial revolutions, Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde told heads of state and international leaders on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly. Zewde was speaking during a virtual Third Industrial Decade for Africa webinar to discuss ways to strengthen Africa’s healthcare systems and the pharmaceutical industry in order to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. In a panel discussion among African heads of state to share lessons learned from the pandemic, Zewde cited import substitution as a path to increased self-reliance. She said the Ethiopian government had earmarked $15 billion to develop industrial parks for vaccine manufacturers, which would qualify for additional incentives.
“The experience of 2020 has highlighted Africa’s vulnerability to supply shocks and underlined the need for greater self-sufficiency in production of vaccinations, essential medicines, diagnostics and other health products,” said Li Yong, UNIDO’s Director General. Participants noted the importance of scale given Africa’s fragmented markets, and both the supply and demand of medicines. “Producing countries need to have commitments from neighbouring countries to procure medicines, said Martin Friede,” WHO Coordinator for vaccine research.
Slow Covid vaccine roll-out holds back Africa full aviation recovery (Business Daily)
The slow rollout of Covid-19 vaccines is impeding on the recovery of the aviation sector in Africa even as the region is projected to book a $1.5 billion loss in 2022. International Air Travel Association (IATA) says Africa is lagging other regions on vaccines. The projected loss, will however, be narrower than the $1.9 losses that was expected to be made by African carriers at the end of this year. “Africa is lagging other regions in its vaccine roll-out, which will impact international travel recovery. Airlines in the region are expected to post a $1.5 billion net loss in 2022 on top of a $1.9 billion loss in 2021,” said IATA.
“Financial performance in all regions is expected to improve in 2022 compared to 2021. However, at the aggregated level, net losses will extend to 2022 but will be only around one fifth of losses in 2021,” said the airline lobby.
Africa risks missing out on global growth trends without pro-trade reforms (IT-Online)
The Free Market Foundation (FMF) and the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity (IATP) have called on African governments to radically speed up their implementation of pro-trade policy reforms as part of the wider Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) project. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has indicated that global trade flows will continue their rapid rebound in 2021 and into 2022. According to the WTO, Asia will see the strongest gains in exports. Unfortunately, the trade body foresees that Africa will lose out, and that poorer countries will suffer through the weakest trade recovery. However, there is room to arrest and reverse that prediction – if policymakers implement the necessary, pro-growth, pro-trade and pro-job creation reforms.
“While it is great news that global merchandise trade is above its pre-pandemic peak, once again levels of African trade are suffering,” says Alexander Hammond, director of the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity. “With the implementation of the AfCFTA at the beginning of this year, African states have a historic opportunity to have a future trading relationship based on free trade, continued trade liberalisation, and greater economic integration. While the AfCFTA could see tens of millions of African lifted from extreme poverty within 14 years, the lengthy timeline for tariff reduction under the agreement is a concern.
CDC and DP World plot billion dollar plus ports partnership (African Business)
UK development finance institution CDC Group and Dubai-based ports operator DP World have signed a partnership agreement worth more than a billion dollars to boost Africa’s ports. The partnership, covering a “long term investment period”, will support the modernisation and expansion of ports and inland logistics across Africa, starting with the ports of Dakar (Senegal), Sokhna (Egypt) and Berbera (Somaliland).
DP World is contributing its stakes in the three existing ports initially and expects to invest a further $1bn through the platform over the next several years. CDC is committing approximately $320m initially and expects to invest up to a further $400m over the next several years. The expansion in Senegal alone is expected to be the country’s largest ever onshore foreign direct investment (FDI) at nearly $1bn,
By 2035, an estimated $51bn in additional trade is forecast to pass through the ports, equivalent to 3% of Senegal’s GDP, 3% of Egypt’s GDP and 6% of Somaliland’s GDP. Ports modernisation is also intended to improve access to critical goods and staples including food; which is expected to have benefit areas further afield including the wider Horn of Africa and parts of the Sahel. The ports will also boost export industries currently stymied by logistics inefficiency.
Absa leads the pack in supports for SMEs through its Africa trade finance (702)
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are crucial to an economy such as SA’s no less so than the rest of Africa’s. The SME sector urgently requires optimal bank funding support to ensure its recovery from the pandemic and to adequately exploit the new growth opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), launched on 1 January 2021. “The AfCFTA is a new frontier and a potential game change for the continent, and one that stands to benefit entrepreneurs as much as the corporate sector,” says Doreen Fick, Head of Funded Wholesale Trade Finance products at Absa. “It is therefore vital that it in practice benefits SMEs and entrepreneurs across the continent and does not simply become the domain of big businesses. This is a massive opportunity for SMEs to grow their intra-Africa trade with the potential only limited by their access to trade finance.”
Benghazi-Kufra Transit Trade Route linking Europe to Africa to use Man-Made River unsurfaced road and offer it for investment (Libya Herald)
Benghazi’s Elmreisa Free Zone (EFZ) announced Sunday that it had agreed in principle with the Man-Made River Authority and the Ministry of Transportation to form a joint working team to lay the foundations for the presentation of the Man-Made River Road from Benghazi to Kufra as part of the International Transit Route. The EFZ said the project will be offered up for investment. Rather than construct a brand new road spanning over 1,000 km to Kufra, it was decided best to go into partnership with the Man-Made River. The existing Man-Made River service road along the route is overwhelmingly a dirt track which will need upgrading and improving.
A five-day workshop to consider the Draft Communication and Advocacy Strategy for the EAC Statistics Development And Harmonisation Regional Project (StatDHRP) is currently underway in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The objective of the workshop which is being attended by statisticians and communication officers from the National Statistics Organisations (NSOs) of the six EAC Partner States is for the Technical Working Group (TWG) to review and discuss the draft strategy and provide the inputs to strengthen the document. Speaking during the opening session of the workshop, the StatDHRP Project Manager, Ms. Vivianne Mwitirehe, who represented the EAC Secretary General Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki, said that statistical data could only be used when they are properly communicated using and following good communication standards.
African Development Bank Publications
Working Paper 357 - Impact of COVID-19 on Mining Case Studies of four African Countries
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many economies worldwide. It had diverse impacts on the African mining sector. This paper documents its impact by focusing on four major mineral-rich African countries: Ghana, Mali, South Africa and Zambia. An assessment of the impact of the pandemic on production, employment and government revenues in the selected countries is analysed in the paper. The effects of the pandemic created both supply and demand shocks, resulting in an overall decrease in most mineral prices (with the exception of precious metals such as gold). The situation persisted for much of 2020, with most prices mostly recovering only in 2021. It is also instructive to note that the pandemic is still on-going, thus the analysis is limited to the first quarter of 2021. In addition to reduced direct, indirect and induced employment in the mining sector, the pandemic shocks resulted in a decline in overall mining output across the four countries. This reduction was despite the positive effect on the price of gold. Mining revenues for the four countries also fell due to falling commodity prices and mining output. The paper provides some policy recommendations to ensure that the sector becomes resilient to possible future shocks of this nature.
Working Paper 355 - Public debt, Chinese loans and optimal exploration-extraction in Africa
Based on an optimal oil exploration-extraction model with public debts and Chinese loans, we examine analytically and empirically two theoretical propositions pertaining to the impacts of public debt and Chinese loan on economic and physical scarcity/abundance in Africa economies. First, despite a baseline independent relationship between public debt level and optimal operations, the level of public debts in an economy can have an adverse effect on the abundance measures if it breached the debt-sustainability threshold. Second, with alternative Chinese loans, the effect on optimal exploration-extraction is analytically ambiguous. To examine both propositions, we estimate endogenous binary-treatment regression models based on a panel data of 18 African economies over 2000-17. We find empirical support with regards to the adverse effect of public debt sustainability. Further, we find positive effect from Chinese loans to both abundance measures, indicating that the combined marginal benefits outweigh the marginal costs associated with the resource collateralized funding nature of these loans.
SADC countries unhappy with major new framework for relations with the EU (Daily Maverick)
EU officials believe the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is unhappy with the new deal because SADC will lose its role as the default implementer of a set amount of EU development funds. Instead, it will have to compete with other regional economic organisations and other institutions in sub-Saharan Africa for EU financing. After more than two years of hard bargaining, negotiators from both sides agreed on the Post-Cotonou Agreement between the EU and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (OACP) in December and initialled it in April this year. It is due to come into effect on 30 November, after postponements caused by Covid-19. The new deal is meant to replace the Cotonou Agreement which has governed relations between the EU and the 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) developing countries since 2000.
Why Is China Looking to Establish Banks in Nigeria? (The Diplomat)
During the commemoration of the 2021 Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Cui Jianchun announced that he was in talks with some of China’s big banks to establish operations in Nigeria. Cui talked up Nigeria and China’s growing links and spoke about the importance of banking and banking systems in the development of both countries. He then spoke about potential conversations with Nigeria’s Central Bank and the Nigerian central government in Abuja about establishing a substantial banking presence in Nigeria. This new proposal of deeper financial links is a solidification of China-Nigeria relations.
In 2018, Nigeria and China signed an initial three-year currency swap agreement that saw Nigeria move some of its foreign reserves to China. The size of the swap deal was put at 15 billion renminbi or 720 billion naira.The currency swap deal was the beginning of a change in relations between Nigeria and China, and in fact a change in relations between China and the African continent as a whole, where financial deals had long centered on loans for infrastructure and trade.
International
The G20 Meeting on Trade ended with the adoption of the Sorrento Declaration | G20
On 12 October, the G20 Ministers responsible for international trade met in Sorrento. The meeting was structured in 3 sessions covered six main topics: 1) Link between trade and health; 2) impetus to the negotiations on fisheries subsidies; 3) digital trade; 4) participation of SMEs in world trade; 5) transparency of government support interventions in the economy; 6) WTO reform. At the end of the meeting, Ministers adopted The Sorrento Ministerial Declaration.
China’s subsidies in the spotlight as G20 seeks to ensure fair competition (South China Morning Post)
G20 Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting Remarks by Mari Pangestu, Managing Director (World Bank)
G20 Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting October 12, 2021 Sorrento, Italy As prepared for delivery The main message I would like to share today is how trade and investment are the means for a greener, more resilient, and inclusive recovery and growth, which is very much in line with the G20 Trade Ministers’ leadership on this objective. Let me start with the context of the current trade recover
UNCTAD’s 15th quadrennial conference (UNCTAD15) held 3 to 7 October adopted an agreement to promote inclusive and resilient economic recovery in developing countries as they grapple with unequal access to COVID-19 vaccines, a debt crisis, the climate emergency and other unprecedented challenges.
Secretary-General Guterres pointed out four glaring challenges, which if not addressed would make any notion of prosperity for all a distant dream. “Debt distress. Systems starved for investment. Unfair trade. And a climate emergency that leaves small island developing states like Barbados perilously vulnerable,” he said.
To tackle the debt crisis, he called for an urgent four-point debt crisis action plan. “We know national budgets are being stretched thin by COVID-19, so we must push for an immediate expansion of liquidity for the countries in greatest need,” he said.
‘Profits before people’: World trade and health chiefs pressure coronavirus vaccine manufacturers (Washington Examiner)
Pharmaceutical companies must relinquish their intellectual property rights over the coronavirus vaccine and expand availability in low-income countries, or they risk being tarred as taking advantage of the pandemic, according to global trade and public health officials. “This is not acceptable,” said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday during an event broadcast as part of the IMF and World Bank Group annual meetings. “It’s in the interest of each and every country in the world to waive IP and do everything to increase production and end this pandemic as soon as possible.” Vaccine allocations have been driven by contracts between governments and the leading vaccine producers, with citizens of wealthy countries receiving two and sometimes three doses of the vaccination, even as impoverished societies worldwide remain vulnerable to the pandemic. That dynamic has prompted criticism for Western governments contemplating booster shot campaigns and pressure toward the companies at the core of vaccine supply.
South Africa protests urge US and EU to move forward on TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 vaccines and medical tools (Doctors Without Borders)
The landmark TRIPS waiver proposal was originally put forward by India and South Africa one year ago and is now officially backed by 64 sponsoring governments, with more than 100 countries supporting overall. However, despite dozens of statements by supporting governments emphasizing the waiver’s urgency and importance, the proposal has been effectively stalled by a small number of opposing governments, including many in the European Union—primarily Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden—plus Norway, Switzerland, and the UK.
“We have been saying from the start of this pandemic that governments cannot rely on voluntary measures by pharmaceutical corporations, and the molnupiravir example is a case in point,” said Felipe Carvalho, MSF Access Campaign coordinator in Brazil. “We cannot welcome a voluntary license from Merck that deliberately blocks many middle-income countries from producing and supplying this drug on their own. It is crystal clear that unless legal tools like the TRIPS waiver are adopted, many countries will continue to be at the mercy of patent-holding corporations that have the say over who gets to produce, who gets to buy, and at what price, while health ministries are already reeling from the rising costs of tackling COVID-19. We say to the remaining blocking governments: the eyes of the world are really just on you now—so you should think about what side of history you want to be on when the books on this pandemic are written.”
DDG Zhang: A successful MC12 is critical for reinvigorating the WTO (WTO)
Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, we saw many challenges. The rules-based trading system was being questioned, protectionism was dampening global trade flows, there were rising geopolitical tensions, all of this combined with the threat of climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented disruption to the global economy and world trade, as production and consumption are scaled back across the globe. Trade has been a positive force during the pandemic, indeed the resurgence of global economic activity in the first half of 2021 lifted merchandise trade above its pre-pandemic peak, leading WTO economists to upgrade their forecasts for trade in 2021 and 2022. The WTO is now predicting global merchandise trade volume growth of 10.8% in 2021— up from 8.0% forecasted in March — followed by a 4.7% rise in 2022. Clearly, it is an encouraging sign, but of course there remains a high degree of uncertainty. A successful MC12 — one that delivers concrete results for people is critical for reinvigorating the WTO and demonstrating to the world that we are back in business. MC12 is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. To deliver results, we need to show realism, pragmatism and above all flexibility.
WTO briefs members and observers on COVID-19 related initiatives and analysis (WTO)
Deputy Director-General Anabel González hosted the Virtual Information Session on Access to COVID-19 Vaccines, Collaborative Initiatives and Analysis on Supply Chains and Tariffs. She briefed participants on the Secretariat’s contributions to a range of collaborative initiatives, such as the Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19, the WHO, WIPO, WTO Trilateral Cooperation in support of capacity building, the COVAX Manufacturing Task Force and the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.
The programme included presentations on the most recent information notes prepared by the WTO Secretariat (an update of the Indicative List of Trade-Related Bottlenecks and Trade-Facilitating Measures on Critical Products to Combat COVID-19, a Joint Indicative List of Critical COVID-19 Vaccine Inputs, and a new report on COVID-19 vaccines production and tariffs on vaccine inputs) as well as comments by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
How companies can decarbonize shipping supply chains and protect human rights (WEF)
The shipping industry is responsible for the movement of 90% of all global trade. Supported by two million seafarers, the industry is the backbone of logistic supply chains, but it’s facing urgent environmental and social pressures. Currently accounting for about 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emitting around 15% of some of the world’s major air pollutants annually, it is imperative that the shipping industry decarbonizes by 2050 to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target and avoid irreversible global warming damage.
The responsibility to decarbonize and meet climate goals spans across the shipping ecosystem, including cargo owners and financiers. Many cargo owners, retailers, brands and cargo owner initiatives are increasingly demanding greener supply chains and making commitments to reduce (scope 3) emissions across their operations. As zero-emission logistics becomes increasingly sought after – and increasingly demanded by consumers – this in turn strengthens the business case for investing in zero-emission shipping.
Technological advancements to decarbonize shipping are also progressing, but must be further financed and brought to scale. BCG and Global Financial Markets Association have estimated that shipping decarbonization will require about $2.4 trillion, indicating a significant magnitude of funding to be mobilized and the critical role shipping financiers play in enabling this economic transition. Both financiers and cargo owners are being encouraged to sign the recent call to action for shipping decarbonization.
New Database Helps Track Trade Across the Life Cycle of Plastics (IISD)
Introducing the database, developed by UNCTAD and researchers at the Graduate Institute, Geneva, speakers provided a sample of key findings, highlighting how the database can support efforts by governments, the private sector, and civil society to promote more sustainable trade in plastics and develop policies and regulations to reduce plastic pollution.
The database, derived from the UN International Trade Statistics Database – UN Comtrade – and based on official sources, captures the breadth of trade across the life cycle of plastics by categorizing Harmonized Systems (HS) codes by stage of the plastics life cycle: inputs; primary plastics; intermediate forms of plastic; intermediate manufactured forms; final manufactured products; and waste.
Breakdown or breakthrough – top global thinkers weigh in on the UN plan to reboot multilateralism (United Nations)
In September 2021, top economists, global thought leaders and former Heads of State and Government came together for the second meeting of the High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs to discuss solutions to rampant inequalities, runaway climate change and other pressing challenges facing the world.
The Board examined topics such as financing for development, economic insecurity, a just transition to a carbon-neutral future and resilience-building for future crises, and zeroed in on the latest report of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, “Our Common Agenda.” Released on 10 September 2021, the report lays out the UN vision for the future of global cooperation across 12 areas that will make a tangible difference for people and planet.
“The report is an inspirational and aspirational document, tackling the most pertinent and challenging issues of our time, while providing a clear and concrete roadmap from both a content and a process perspective,” said Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, Chief Executive of the South African Institute of International Affairs.
While policy support continues to be key to sustaining the ongoing recovery, it should be tailored to country circumstances given the mixed pace of the economic recovery across countries. Central banks should provide clear guidance about their future policy stance to prevent an abrupt tightening of financial conditions. If price pressures turn out to be more persistent than currently expected, monetary authorities should act decisively to prevent an unmooring of inflation expectations. Fiscal policy should continue to support vulnerable firms and individuals. Given policy space, fiscal measures should be targeted and tailored to country characteristics and needs. In light of the possible need for prolonged policy support to ensure a sustainable and inclusive recovery, policymakers should act decisively to address the potential unintended consequences of unprecedented measures taken during the pandemic.
Emerging and frontier markets remain exposed to the risk of a sudden tightening in external financing conditions. They should, while leveraging the historic general special drawing rights allocation, rebuild buffers as appropriate and implement structural reforms to insulate themselves from the damage from capital flow reversals and abrupt increases in funding costs. To foster the growth of the sustainable fund sector and mitigate potential financial stability risks stemming from the transition to a green economy, policymakers should urgently strengthen the global climate information architecture (data, disclosures, sustainable finance classifications). Once this architecture is in place, they could also consider tools to channel savings toward transition-enhancing funds (such as financial incentives for investment in climate funds). Finally, they should conduct scenario analysis and stress testing of the investment fund sector to mitigate potential financial stability risks from the transition
International community strikes a ground-breaking tax deal for the digital age (OECD)
Major reform of the international tax system finalised today at the OECD will ensure that Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) will be subject to a minimum 15% tax rate from 2023. The landmark deal, agreed by 136 countries and jurisdictions representing more than 90% of global GDP, will also reallocate more than USD 125 billion of profits from around 100 of the world’s largest and most profitable MNEs to countries worldwide, ensuring that these firms pay a fair share of tax wherever they operate and generate profits. Following years of intensive negotiations to bring the international tax system into the 21st century, 136 jurisdictions (out of the 140 members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS) joined the Statement on the Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy. It updates and finalises a July political agreement by members of the Inclusive Framework to fundamentally reform international tax rules.
Commonwealth Small States Prioritise Financial Inclusion and Lead the World on Central Bank Digital Currencies (The Commonwealth)
Today at their annual meeting, Commonwealth Central Bank Governors explored ‘Financial Technology for Economic Recovery’ and particularly the use of Central Bank Digital Currencies, a new technology that could give the most vulnerable in societies around the world better access to financial services. Speaking at the opening of today’s virtual Commonwealth Central Bank Governors Meeting, Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC said: “As Commonwealth countries strive to rebuild our economies after COVID-19 we have an important opportunity to lay the foundation to create a resilient and inclusive future – one which helps to address the multiple challenges of climate change, poverty and income inequality. Technology has helped us weather these challenging times and equally it can help with recovery. “FinTech can support the inclusion of the most vulnerable, such as those without access to bank accounts and lending. However, for FinTech to adequately support inclusive recovery, there needs to be a regulatory environment that supports its growth and development,”
Finance Ministers hold key to COP26 success: UN Secretary-General (UN News)
Addressing members of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, he highlighted their critical role as the conference date fast approaches. “As Ministers of Finance, you hold the key to success for COP26 and beyond,” he said in a video message to their latest meeting, held from Washington, DC. “Your decisions and actions in the coming weeks will determine whether the global economic recovery will be low-carbon, resilient and inclusive or whether it will lock-in fossil fuel-intensive investments with high risks of stranded assets,” he added.
Countries must “swiftly close the emissions gap”, he said. They also must be ready to update climate commitments to get the world back on track to keeping global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Meanwhile, richer countries must also close “the finance gap” by providing, and exceeding, the $100 billion annually promised to support climate action in developing nations.
Transport transformation critical to address climate change and universal access to safe, affordable, resilient mobility: UN Report (United Nations)
New and emerging technologies, from electric cars and buses to zero-carbon producing energy sources, as well as policy innovations, are critical for combating climate change, but to be effective, they must ensure that transport strategies benefit everyone, including the poorest, according to a new United Nations multi-agency report launched today that provides a guide to achieving sustainable transport. According to the new report, there is urgent need for transformative action that will accelerate the transition to sustainable transport globally. Transport solutions exist that can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, although the report cautions that without the right policies and investments, they will not bring change to where it is needed most, particularly to people in developing countries.
“Innovations, driven by new technologies, evolving consumer preferences and supportive policy making, are changing the transport landscape,” says Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in the report’s forward. “While they hold tremendous potential for hastening the transformation to sustainability, they also come with the risk that they could further entrench inequalities, impose constraints on countries in special situations, or present additional challenges for the environment.”
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National
SA’s removal from UK’s travel red list welcomed, but concerns remain (IOL)
While industry partners and stakeholders in the tourism sector across Cape Town and South Africa welcomed news that the country had been removed from the UK’s red list, some travel associations remain concerned regarding acceptance and proof of travellers’ vaccination status. Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier welcomed the news that travel would be able to resume with one of the Western Cape’s key source markets, after the baffling diplomatic shamble that risked the economic recovery of the tourism and hospitality sector in the province. “We now look forward to welcoming visitors from the UK back to the Western Cape with the first British Airways flight between London Heathrow and Cape Town International Airport scheduled to resume from November 1,” said Maynier. To take advantage of the opportunity and the pent-up demand to travel from the UK to South Africa, Maynier said they would invite UK tourism trade and media to experience some of the key attractions in the Western Cape so the destination was front-of-mind for their clients.
Namibian infrastructure ‘ready’ for intra-Africa trade (New Era)
Trade minister Lucia Iipumbu remains confident that Namibia will reap maximum benefits from intra-African trade. This, in turn, will significantly contribute to the recovery of the struggling domestic economy which is suffering from a recession and was subsequently ravaged by Covid-19. Highlighting some of the intra-African trade initiatives poised to improve regional and local growth, Iipumbu noted that Namibia and Zambia recently conducted bilateral discussions on the establishment of a one-stop border. This seeks to improve trade facilitation by ensuring the efficient and timely movement of people, goods and services at the common borders. ”All efforts made towards harmonising border operations clearly indicate how authorities are committed to facilitating corridor economic activities. As a partner institution, the trade ministry launched an online Import and Export system (IMEX) to streamline cross-border trading,” she explained while responding to questions in parliament from United Democratic Front (UDF) president Apius Auchab last week. Auchab earlier expressed concern over the structure of corridor institutions, particularly their operations and capacity to provide tangible solutions in dealing with corridor bottlenecks, non-tariff barriers and the overall performance of the corridors.
‘Import restrictions could save Namibia’s dairy sector’ (Farmer’s Weekly)
In order to save Namibia’s ailing dairy industry the industry would have to restrict the volume of imported dairy products. This was according to Namibia’s Minister of Agriculture Calle Schlettwein, who, during a parliamentary sitting said that the envisaged restrictions could be implemented by means of import legislation. According to recent media reports, Schlettwein indicated that Namibia had experienced a 50% drop in milk production during the past four years, and feed costs now accounted for between 70% and 85% of production costs. “[Import restrictions] would safeguard the local dairy industry, [by] increasing production support, value chain development, and downstream value-addition,” he said.
Schlettwein added that restrictions on imported dairy products could be implemented through the Import and Export Control Act administered by the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade.
Namport sees 8 500 tonnes copper leave for US (The Namibian)
THE Namibian Ports Authority (Namport), last week saw 8 500 tonnes of copper being ship-loaded for the port of Panama in the United States. Namport executive for commercial services Elias Mwenyo called it a “significant milestone”, as this consignment was the second consignment of copper exported via the port of Walvis Bay in a breakbulk format as an alternative to containerised export.
“Due to the ongoing global shortage in containers, it has become a phenomenon for shippers to opt for their consignments to be carried by bulk vessels to ensure continuity of operations and less dependency on containers,” said Mwenyo.
“With Namibia’s ports strategically located along the west coast of Africa and supplemented by the country’s excellent road infrastructure, which is rated number one in Africa, the country continues to play a leading role in the facilitation of trade via our transport corridors serving hinterland markets within SADC.”
Kenya, U.S sign private sector trade agreement (The Standard)
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday witnessed the signing of a detailed private sector agreement that seeks to expand trade and investments between Kenya and the United States of America. The agreement, signed between Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), provides a framework for Kenyan and American businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to partner through information sharing, training, logistics, and financing.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in New York, on the first day of his two-day official visit to the US, the President said the Government backed pact was part of efforts to support the growth of Kenyan SME sector as a key enabler of wealth and employment creation. He noted that the agreement will create new opportunities for Kenyan SMEs saying the sector plays a key role of guaranteeing the country’s economic resilience especially in times of turbulence.
President Kenyatta noted that both Kenyan and US economies are largely driven by SMEs saying that the agreement would help accelerate Kenya’s economic recovery efforts from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic. “As we look into the future, the future where we are all focused on recovering, it will be this sector that once again will be the foundation of recovery that we all seek to see in the months and years ahead of us,” the President said.
A timely boost for SMEs (The Sun Nigeria)
The decision of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) to support the export business of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with N36 billion in 36 states is encouraging. Under the plan, the bank has earmarked a minimum of N1billion for every state. Although N1 billion is too meager to make appreciable impact in the export sector, it is good to start somewhere. However, we believe that close monitoring of the disbursement of the fund is of utmost importance in achieving the desired results. SMEs are businesses with less than N100 million in annual turnover and have less than 300 employees. According to the national survey by the Small Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), there are about 41.5 million SMEs in Nigeria. The number exceeds those in the United States, with 30.7 million SMEs. Therefore, the role of small businesses in Nigerian economy cannot be over-emphasised. SMEs account for about 84 per cent of jobs in the country.
Morocco launches its national investment and export brand (Trade Arabia)
Morocco today (October 11) officially unveiled its investment and export brand, Morocco Now, on the sidelines of the Kingdom’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai. This initiative aims at promoting Morocco as a world class industrial and export platform to accelerate foreign investment, a statement said.
Additionally, the country’s automotive cluster, the fastest growing in the world, strongly contributes to the Moroccan industrial exports growth, increasing by more than $16 billion between 2010 and 2019. In the background, the global economy is facing rapid changes requiring economic stakeholders to adapt: Environmental emergency, consumer pressure and new regulations make it essential to adopt decarbonised production; and Covid crisis has led to a global value chains reorganization towards less global dependence and more regional integration. “In this context, Morocco Now is the future-proof industrial platform to capture the opportunities of a changing world. It builds on a successful track record of economic transformation making Morocco a reliable destination and a high investment and export potential,” the statement said.
Africa
Tariffs, rules of origin new hurdles to Africa’s trade area (The East African)
The implementation phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which went live on January 1, is still bogged down by technicalities as key provisions of the agreement are yet to be concluded. The technical provisions that are proving to be a hurdle to trade are the rules of origin, the tariff offer and Customs Union. A meeting held at the AfCFTA headquarters in Accra, Ghana on September 18-19, to review the agreement nine months after its inception, found that without these provisions no trade can take place, at least not as easily as envisaged. East Africa’s private sector was represented in Accra by the East African Business Council’s (EABC) Chief Executive John Bosco Kalisa who emphasised the importance of establishing the Rules of Origin in the continent’s FTA. “So far no trading has taken place because we are still ironing out issues. Before anyone starts trading, there are a number of key components such as tariffs and Rules of Origin — the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product — which have to be agreed on. The rules of origin are basically the ‘passport for goods’ and if these rules are not yet agreed on and concluded, it is very difficult to trade. The third key component is the harmonisation of Customs Union procedures,” he said.
African Engineers commit to supporting African Continental Free Trade Area (GhanaaWeb)
The Federation of African Engineering Organization (FAEO) has pledged its support towards the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to help boost free trade across the continent.
Mrs Carlien Bou-Chedid, the President of FAEO, speaking at the end of the 7th Edition of the Africa Engineering Week and 5th Africa Engineering Conference held in Accra, said the meeting resolved to institutionalize its relationship with AfCFTA, Africa Union (AU) and the governments of all African countries “The first step is to establish a Memorandum of Understanding with AfCFTA, actively engage the AfCFTA Secretariat and Heads of Member States in the delivery of solutions to the infrastructure required to ensure free trade across Africa,’’ she said.
On Women in Engineering, Mrs Bou-Chedid said the participants resolved to encourage women to study and practice engineering by creating infrastructure, which would meet the needs of women.
Creating a Disruption-Proof Supply Chain in Africa (East African Business Week)
The impact of the pandemic on global supply chains has prompted governments around the world to look at ways to fix the broken links. Virusha Subban, Head of Indirect Tax at Baker McKenzie in South Africa, explains that there were massive breakages in key links in global supply chains during and after the pandemic, with issues including, among many other things, route congestion and blockages, manufacturing shutdowns, a deficit of skilled labour, a global shortage of key logistics components including shipping containers, a lack of space in warehouses, a spike in transportation costs and substantially increased demand for goods around the world, post-lockdown. As a result, countries have been looking at ways to relink broken chains.
Africa: Covid-19 Aid Falling Short (Human Rights Watch)
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for African governments to strengthen social protection systems and fulfill people’s rights to social security and an adequate standard of living, Human Rights Watch said today. Many African governments introduced measures like cash transfers and food assistance in response to the rising poverty and hunger occasioned by the pandemic, but most households received no support. The World Bank forecasts that the Covid-19 crisis will have pushed an additional 29 million Africans into extreme poverty by the end of 2021. “The Covid-19 crisis has wreaked havoc on the livelihoods of millions of households across Africa, leaving families hungry and desperate for help,” said Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Right Watch. “African governments should urgently invest in the social protection systems needed to ensure that Africans can endure the pandemic’s devastating economic impact with dignity.”
‘How regulations will tackle illicit financial flows in Africa’ (The Guardian Nigeria)
To check Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Nigeria and other African countries, experts have said that government needs to intensify efforts on regulatory frameworks to curb such criminal acts. The experts, who gathered at the inaugural conference of Global South Dialogue on Economic Crime (GSDEC), recommended that combating financial crimes required a contextual understanding; hence, it must be studied against ‘a deeply contested history of colonialism and post colonialism’. With the theme, ‘Financial Regulation: A global south perspective’, hosted by Aston University, Birmingham, the conference examined whether the current global financial regulatory framework is best suited to combat financial and economic crime in the Global South effectively.
Delivering his keynote speech, Viscount Bennett Professor of Law at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Olabisi Akinkugbe, emphasised the need for all African nations to identify the loopholes and implementation challenges with their regulatory frameworks, which can orchestrate IFFs.
Regulating African Fintech space: Promoting innovation or stifling growth (Daily Trust)
Over the past decade, technology innovation in finance “fintech” fueled by investments has been on the rise. Google recently announced that its Africa Investment Fund would invest up to $50 million in African growth-stage companies. Fintech has become a significant driving force in the African economy, with $180 billion projected to contribute to the continent’s GDP by 2025. The fintech innovations enabling African countries to transition from physical retail banking to online payments, remittances and other services pose new challenges for regulators. On one hand, while innovators are moving at the speed of light to develop new customer propositions; regulators are on the other hand are moving at a slow pace to issue guidelines to govern the space. When they do, the attitude is more similar to maintaining financial stability and encouraging entrepreneurship without stifling growth.
Fintech has enormous economic potential for Nigeria, with the usage of digital money expected to boost the country’s yearly GDP by $3.7 trillion by 2025. While the fintech industry in Nigeria is still nascent, industry analysts believe the continent’s most populous nation has reached a peak where regulatory bodies need to implement best practices to drive the industry to its full potential. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other major regulators have in recent times issued guidelines governing the fintech sector, particularly the payment and remittance subsector, the most active in the Nigerian Fintech industry which has long piqued the attention of investors and regulators alike. The rationale for this is not improbable as this subsector accounts for 43 per cent of the entire fintech sector.
Call to restart the regional customs programme (COMESA)
There is fresh attempt to revitalize the COMESA Customs Union agenda, which will result in the full realization of the Common Market. The COMESA economic integration timetable envisaged the attainment of the Customs Union by 2004, but this has since faced headwinds that has stalled the programme. As a result, COMESA Secretariat has called for interventions to address the implementation of the regional Customs Union agenda by including it in the Customs and Trade and Facilitation Work Programme for 2021-2023. Addressing the 7th Meeting of the Heads of Customs Sub-Committee on 6 October 2021, Assistant Secretary General of COMESA in charge of programmes, Dr Kipyego Cheluget said the attainment of this milestone has faced considerable challenges even though Member States and the Secretariat have worked hard to address the emerging challenges.
UN To Establish Industrial Compact Hub in Abuja (THISDAY)
The United Nations’ Deputy Secretary General for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Ms. Amina Mohammed, has revealed that the United Nations would establish a global compact hub for business in Nigeria that would support the country’s effort on achieving industrialisation through SDGs.
Mohammed stated this during an event organised by Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on “Industrialisation and Sustainable Development Goals,” to mark its 50th anniversary, that the United Nations is ready to support Nigeria in harnessing industry and making progress towards the goals.
She commended the MAN’s for its role in job creation and driving industrialisation in the country, and added that inclusive and sustainable industrial development were needed in achieving the SDGs.
She said: “Inclusive and sustainable industrial development plays a key role in achieving the SDGs; it lies at the heart of the economic growth and creating decent jobs in Nigeria. I applaud the essence of MAN in job creation, advocacy and result-oriented services it provides to its members who drive manufacturing in Nigeria.”
Facilitating trade and investment while mitigating risk in West Africa (African Review)
Hosted by BVI Finance and African Review, a panel of financial experts and business leaders joined moderator Anthony Osae-Brown, bureau chief at Bloomberg, to discuss how to minimise risk and maximise economic growth in West Africa
Passionately speaking about the unique opportunities posed by Africa, Akintoye Akindele, chairman & CEO of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemicals, said, “Africa is an opportunity in itself. There are 1.4 billion people in Africa in need of accommodation, food, shelter, phones, data, everything. From market point of view the case is strong as well. The market size has been opened up more by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), driven by a young population and it is scaling up globally. We have a lot of challenges but these gaps are also opportunities.”
“Over the last five years more information and data availability has meant that there is more exposure. This drives interest which, in turn, drives investment.
Olufunmi Adepoju, managing partner, PearlMutual Consulting, built on the affect AfCFTA will have. She said, “The whole world believes it will do so many wonderful things for Africa, but you have to bear in mind that there are so many countries on the continent, and they are not all on the same level. The benefits to each country on this programme will be very different. Having said that I believe there is possibility for ample gain for each country participating.
Commenting on the role of incubator funds to help develop African businesses, Adenike Sicard, managing partner of Sinclairs BVI, said, “An incubator fund is mainly used for investment managers as a low cost option to set up and also one to develop or ‘incubate’ a track record without having to comply with onerous regulations. Once a track record is developed through the use of an incubator fund they can then develop and transition into a bigger fund, get regulated and attract a higher network of investors.”
The President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, H.E. Dr. Hussein Mwinyi, has called upon EAC Partner States to develop a coordinated approach that will be instrumental in overcoming the challenges facing the tourism sector occasioned by the outbreak of COVID-19.
“It is immensely gratifying to know that the EAC Regional Tourism EXPO will play a vital role in engaging all the governments of member states of our Community and the private sector in setting the vision and direction for tourism development in the region,” said Dr. Mwinyi.
President Mwinyi told to exhibitors at the expo that an East African Legislative Assembly Report on tourists’ arrival in East Africa had proposed that Partner States’ governments should exert more in order to increase EAC’s global market share in the world tourism industry
“The report depicts that before the outbreak of COVID – 19, the EAC market share for tourist arrival In East Africa was only 8.6 percent of African Market share and 0.3 per cent of the global share,” added the president.
€100,000 worth of equipment to facilitate border trade fish trade commissioned in Zambia (COMESA)
COMESA has commissioned EUR 100,000 worth of equipment under its Green Pass (GP) Certification Scheme in Luangwa District of Zambia, to facilitate small-scale cross border trade in fish. The procurement of the equipment was funded under the 11 European Development Fund (EDF) Small Scale Cross Border Trade Initiative (SSCBTI) Programme. The equipment was commissioned on Thursday, 7 October 2021 and will support fish trade at Luangwa, bordering Mozambique and Zimbabwe at the confluence of the Zambezi and Luangwa rivers.
SADC to Convene Virtual Meeting of the Energy Sector Sub Committees (SADC)
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will from the 13th to the 15th of October 2021 convene a three-day virtual meeting of the Energy Sector Sub-committees comprising electricity, petroleum and gas to evaluate progress on the implementation of relevant decisions and directives of the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government, Council of Ministers and Sectoral Meetings of Ministers responsible for Energy and of Finance and Investment. Among the key issues to be discussed at the meeting include the draft Agreement Amending the Protocol on Energy, operationalisation of the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE), admission of Kafue Gorge Regional Training Centre (KGRTC) as regional Centre of Excellence and policy issues related to electrical energy, renewable energy, petroleum and gas sub-activities and cross-cutting issues on institutional capacity building which were approved at the 39th joint virtual meeting in October 2020 by Ministers responsible for Energy.
The objective of the GP is to reduce overall trading costs for small scale traders, through simplifying and consolidation of sanitary measures and border verification procedures. It is anchored within the framework of the COMESA Simplified Trade Regime (STR) and includes interventions such as governance structure (small border committees comprising key stakeholders under the joint border management committee) and provision of basic verification and testing equipment for the regulators.
Dubai’s bilateral trade with West Africa hits a sweet spot (Gulf News)
Despite being one of the world’s most economically vibrant and richly endowed regions with huge natural resources, economies in West Africa are challenged by poor infrastructure and weak institutions. In their efforts to strengthen the region economy collectively, two of the most important regional economic associations in the continent were formed: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), driving it towards closer regional integration.
The EU is the major trading partner of West Africa, with which many trade and investment agreements were concluded. The EU market is fully open to West African trade, as part of supporting the region sustainable development through building the trade capacity of the region. In addition, West African countries are able to produce goods for exports to Europe using materials sourced from other countries without losing the free access to the EU. Recently, economic cooperation between Dubai and West Africa has increased significantly, yet the business cooperation is below the protectional of both Dubai and West Africa.
West Africa is Africa's second largest trading region next to Northern Africa. In 2020, the region total trade reached $201 billion, second to Northern Africa with total trade value of $280.7 billion. Total exports of the region to rest of the world was valued at $86.7 billion in 2020, ranked as third exporting region in Africa after North Africa and Southern Africa. In 2020, the region’s total imports reached $114.4 billion, only second to Northern Africa.
Africa's untapped export potential at $9.7bn over next 5 years (Gulf News)
DP World, CDC Group create Africa investment platform (Trade Arabia)
DP World has created an investment platform in partnership with the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor CDC Group (CDC) to invest in ports and logistics across Africa.
The platform covers a long-term investment period. DP World is contributing its stakes in three existing ports initially and expects to invest a further $1 billion through the platform over the next several years. CDC is committing approximately $320 million initially and expects to invest up to a further $400 million over the next several years. The transaction is subject to certain final regulatory approvals.
The platform will invest in origin and destination ports, inland container depots, economic zones and other logistics across Africa to increase trade, create new job opportunities and broaden access to essential goods. It will initially be seeded with minority stakes in existing DP World assets with significant capacity expansion plans, including Dakar (Senegal), Sokhna (Egypt) and Berbera (Somaliland).
Trade enabled through the ongoing expansions is expected to create an additional 138,000 employment opportunities in the wider economy. By 2035, the ports are expected to support stable employment for around 5 million people indirectly.
COVID-19: China-Africa relations thrives, as investment hits $2.96 billion (Vanguard)
Despite the worrisome effect of coronavirus (COVID-19) which has crippled economic activities across the world, China and Africa relationship continue, as the People’s Republic investment in the continent surges to $2.96 billion. This was disclosed by Chu Maoming, China’s Consul General in Lagos at the launching ceremony of the China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) African Products Online Promoting Season & “The World’s Specialty”
“While boosting the shift of Chinese and African economy and society to digitalization and the expansion of consumption in both China and Africa, e-commerce helps African products tap the Chinese market. Not only does this allow Chinese consumers to buy African goods at a better price and increases China’s imports from Africa, but is also conducive to pulling Africa through the current anti-pandemic difficulties and fulfilling the African people’s aspirations for a better life. “Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, China and Africa have supported one another with good faith, further enriching their brotherhood. In this way, China and Africa have shown the world how a bilateral relationship can continue to thrive despite a raging pandemic. “During difficult times, China and Africa are working hand in hand in accelerating economic recovery.
International
U.N. chief urges world leaders to clinch WTO fisheries deal, document shows (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to world leaders calling on them to clinch a deal on curbing fisheries subsidies as negotiations near their final phase at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, a document showed. However, in a sign of the challenges, the head of the talks had to delay what was meant to be a series of daily meetings starting this week to finalise the wording of a draft agreement because of outstanding “macro” differences between members, a WTO spokesperson confirmed. In the letter dated Sept. 29, Guterres called on world leaders “to join me in pushing for agreement at WTO to end harmful fisheries subsidies before the end of this year” in a rare intervention of the U.N. chief in WTO matters. The WTO talks on ending harmful subsidies worth billions of dollars began 20 years ago and are now at the most advanced stage, with a deal seen as critical to confirming the relevance of the troubled body.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who began in March, is hoping to finalise a deal at a major ministerial conference at the Geneva headquarters beginning next month.
WTO issues new edition of “Trade Profiles” (WTO)
The profiles include a breakdown of exports and imports for each economy as well as its main trading partners. The cut-off point for the data included in the publication is 13 August 2021. For merchandise trade, major exports and imports are listed for both agricultural and non-agricultural products. For trade in services, a detailed breakdown is provided for transport, travel and other commercial services. Foreign affiliate statistics (FATS) and statistics on industrial property are also provided.
Raising the profile of trade in least developed countries (Trade for Development News)
Trade is key to sustainable development and growth. This knowledge can spur action from governments and businesses, but only if the word gets out.
Ministries of trade oversee and regulate trade and industry. They are responsible for the development and growth of trade within and outside a country. This is not a simple task, and one with a lot of bearing on the health of the national economy. For developing countries, especially least developed
LDC Group lobbies for trade facilities for 12 years post-graduation (The Business Standard)
The LDC Group, including Bangladesh, has requested the sub-committee on least developed countries, for presenting its proposal before the WTO’s General Council for continuation of all support measures, including unilateral trade preferences, for 12 years even after graduation.
In December 2020, the LDC group sent the same proposal to the WTO for a formal smooth transition procedure. Hafizur Rahman, additional secretary to the commerce ministry and director general of the WTO cell, told The Business Standard that the proposal was sent to the sub-committee on LDCs as per the decision made by the LDC Group. They have requested the sub-committee to recommend that the LDC Group’s proposals be implemented at the WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in December, he said.
“Given the critical importance of this topic and the need to achieve concrete deliverables at the conference, the LDC Group is proposing an interim arrangement on smooth transition by calling on developed and developing countries granting LDCs unilateral trade preferences, to establish procedures for extending and gradually phasing out their preferential market access scheme for graduated countries over a period of 12 years,” the letter read.
‘The time for action’ to support most fragile States: Guterres (UN News)
The pandemic has forced more than 100 million people into poverty and more than four billion have little or no social support, healthcare or income protection “when they so urgently need it”, he informed the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank event. “The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at a real risk of failure. Solidarity is missing in action and a sense of injustice is spreading – creating a breeding ground for violence and conflict”, the UN chief said in his keynote speech. “People living in fragile and conflict-affected States are suffering most of all. We must fulfil the commitments we have made to change course”, he added.
UNCTAD Conference Calls for New Approaches to Achieve Prosperity for All (IISD)
The 15th session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 15) presented an opportunity to reframe solutions and build solidarity on trade-related issues and to respond to new global challenges that impact sustainable development such as COVID-19. Delegates called for “greater multilateralism” and regional integration to improve developing countries’ resilience and build back better.
The World Leaders Summit held three dialogues on today’s critical issues to promote “development in motion” by “connecting the dots” between challenges, aspirations, and actions. The first dialogue focused on the theme, ‘Global Vulnerabilities: Call from a Vulnerable Place,’ and explored the role of trade in addressing the current health and climate crises. The second dialogue was dedicated to the issue of inequality, and sought to answer the question, ‘Is the COVID-19 crisis really a game-changer?’ Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, described efforts to end “vaccine nationalism” as “a crucial test for global commitments to end inequalities.”
The third dialogue explored options for building a more prosperous development path by “matching the scale of the moment.” Delegates highlighted the role of multilateralism and international cooperation in supporting more “holistic” development pathways.
Rebeca Grynspan, UNCTAD Secretary-General, said countries’ failure to act collectively had worsened intersecting and interacting inequalities and made development more difficult to achieve. “We need greater multilateralism and an increased capacity to work together,” said Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. “If it doesn’t work for all of us, it won’t work for any of us,” he added.
Are we on track to meet the SDG9 industry-related targets by 2030? (UNIDO)
A new report published by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Statistical Indicators of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization, looks at the progress made towards achieving the industry-related targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report is primarily based on the SDG9 indicators related to inclusive and sustainable industrialization, for which UNIDO is designated as a custodian agency, showing the patterns of the recent changes in different country groups. Six years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs, there has been increasing demand for information on whether the SDG targets could be reached, and what actions should governments take to accelerate progress. The UNIDO report introduces two new tools developed by UNIDO to help countries measuring performance and progress towards SDG9 industry-related targets: the SDG9 Industry Index and SDG9 progress and outlook indicators. The SDG9 Industry Index benchmarks countries’ performance on SDG-9 targets over 2000-2018 for 131 economies.
The SDG-9 Industry Index, consisting of five dimensions, covers three targets and five indicators and assigns a final score to countries. In 2018, the top ten consisted of exclusively industrialized economies, with Taiwan, Province of China, Ireland, Switzerland, the Republic of Korea and Germany making up the top five. In general, industrialized economies perform best in all dimensions of the Index.
Low-Income Country Debt Rises to Record $860 Billion in 2020 (World Bank)
Governments around the world responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with massive fiscal, monetary, and financial stimulus packages. While these measures were aimed at addressing the health emergency, cushioning the impact of the pandemic on the poor and vulnerable and putting countries on a path to recovery, the resulting debt burden of the world’s low-income countries rose 12% to a record $860 billion in 2020, according to a new World Bank report. Even prior to the pandemic, many low- and middle-income countries were in a vulnerable position, with slowing economic growth and public and external debt at elevated levels. External debt stocks of low- and middle-income countries combined rose 5.3% in 2020 to $8.7 trillion. According to the new International Debt Statistics 2022 report, an encompassing approach to managing debt is needed to help low- and middle-income countries assess and curtail risks and achieve sustainable debt levels. “We need a comprehensive approach to the debt problem, including debt reduction, swifter restructuring and improved transparency,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “Sustainable debt levels are vital for economic recovery and poverty reduction.”
Trade can play a pivotal role in addressing climate change, says UN report (UN News)
Around 16 million new jobs could be created in clean energy, energy efficiency, engineering, manufacturing and construction industries in the Asia-Pacific region, more than compensating for the estimated loss of five million jobs by downscaling industries. The Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2021 was jointly launched on Monday by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Climate-smart policies have a significant cost, particularly for carbon-intensive sectors and economies, but the cost of inaction is far greater. Some estimates are as high as $792 trillion by 2100, if the Paris Agreement targets are not met.
Sixth Ministerial Meeting of The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action (World Bank)
The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action met today as part of the 2021 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund under Co-Chair H.E. Annika Saarikko, Minister of Finance of Finland, and Co-Chair H.E. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance of Indonesia. Finance Ministers emphasized the key role of Ministries of Finance in helping tackle climate change, highlighting the critical need to mainstream climate considerations into economic and financial policies and how to make progress on this challenging agenda. Finance Ministers also discussed reforms that support a just and affordable transition to low-carbon economic growth, including carbon pricing and green budgeting.
Coalition Members and Institutional Partners also contributed public video statements as inputs into the meeting’s proceedings. “It is essential to recognize that a systemic change caused by climate change is taking place. We, Finance Ministers, must be able to understand the economic consequences of climate change and design our economic and financial policies accordingly,” said Annika Saarikko, Finance Minister of Finland and Co-Chair of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.
“Mainstreaming climate considerations into fiscal policy is a crucial yet challenging exercise. Finance Ministers have an important role to play since we have instruments at our disposal to combat climate change and facilitate the green transition in the most affordable and just way,” said Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Finance Minister of Indonesia and Co-Chair of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.
Is Climate Finance the Antidote to the Trust Deficit Looming Over COP26? (The Wire Science)
World leaders descended on New York this week for the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. The meeting is set amidst a backdrop of deep security concerns in Afghanistan, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global health, brewing tensions between economic and military behemoths US and China and, of course, the rapidly compounding climate crises.
With the crucial 26th session of the UN climate conference (COP26) around the corner, the undercurrents of this trust deficit are threatening to widen the schism between developed and developing nation blocs. While the developed world expects increased ambition from developing economies, especially large ones like India, the developing world has pointed to the chronic inadequacy of action taken so far by developed nations of the Global North. According to emerging economies, effective mitigation and climate action will require enormous amounts of capital and technology from the developed world, a promise that has seen historical obfuscation by richer nations. The shoddy rollout of the global vaccine programme in response to COVID-19 pandemic has only further fostered a sense of discrimination and created deep apprehensions regarding other inter-governmental negotiations, particularly around climate, in the Global South.
Thus far, such apprehensions seem justified. Climate finance by developed nations to the developing world have so far been grossly insufficient compared to their commitments, and remains knotted in a tangle of complicated capital flows.
Digital gender gap: Unequal access to the internet has cost low-income countries $1 trillion (WION)
As per a new research, a failure to ensure that women have equal access to the internet has cost low-income countries $1 trillion over the past decade. Also, this could mean an additional loss of $500 billion by 2025 if governments continue to not take an action. In 2020, governments in 32 countries, including India, Egypt and Nigeria, lost an estimated $126 billion in gross domestic product because women were unable to contribute to the digital economy. This highlights the digital gender gap, which is, the difference between the number of women and men who can access the internet. The report revealed that the digital gender gap cost $24 billion in lost tax revenues in 2020 This could have been invested in health, education and housing. The study, conducted by the World Wide Web Foundation and the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), analysed 32 low and lower-middle-income countries, where the gender gap is often greatest.
LDCs demand more from developed countries at the COP26 (Kuensel)
The Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group will call for increased funds and urgent action from developed countries at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) that will be held in Glasgow next month. The group adopted the Thimphu Call for Ambition and Action on Climate Change during the ministerial meeting held yesterday in the capital that points to key priorities for the LDC group.
Chief of LDC Group at the ministerial level and National Environment Commission, Dr Tandi Dorji, said that the pandemic has hit everyone around the globe but the one billion people living in the 46 LDCs are the worst hit, facing the quadruple crises of climate change, poverty, health, and economic challenges that are outpacing the disease itself. He said: “Climate change, by contrast, has no vaccine and poses a threat that is exponentially larger and far less reversible, and ultimately existential, if we do not act now.”
The call for action and ambition states: “[LDC would] call upon parties, and in particular to the G20 countries to further enhance their NDCs in line with 1.5 degrees Celsius pathways and consistent with their responsibilities and capabilities to undertake climate action, in order to reduce the emissions gap to 1.5°C.”
Transport transformation critical to address climate change: UN Report (Lokmat)
New and emerging technologies, from electric cars and buses to zero-carbon producing energy sources, as well as the policy innovations, are critical for combating climate change, but to be effective, they must ensure that transport strategies benefit everyone, including the poorest, a new UN multi-agency report launched on Tuesday said. According to the report, there is urgent need for transformative action that will accelerate the transition to sustainable transport globally. Transport solutions exist that can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Paris Agreement, although the report cautions that without the right policies and investments, they will not bring change to where it is needed most, particularly to people in developing countries.
“Innovations, driven by new technologies, evolving consumer preferences and supportive policy making, are changing the transport landscape,” says Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in the report’s forward.
“While they hold tremendous potential for hastening the transformation to sustainability, they also come with the risk that they could further entrench inequalities, impose constraints on countries in special situations, or present additional challenges for the environment.”
‘Deepening links’ Brexit superwoman Liz Truss lining up more trade and security deals (Express)
Ms Truss is expected to focus her diplomatic efforts on regions with the biggest influence on Britain’s security and commercial interests, Foreign and Commonwealth Office insiders familiar with the plans told The Financial Times. Key aspects relate to building stronger relations with smaller states.
An official at the FCO said: “Liz believes the way to challenge our adversaries and boost Britain’s global influence is to build deeper economic ties with other countries… She’s focused on deepening trade links, forging new tech partnerships, and working with allies to increase infrastructure into developing countries. “Speaking of the model in which Ms Truss is expected to follow, the official went on to say: “Her plan is to create this strategic framework based around deeper economic, development and security ties, and set a positive, energetic tone for the department’s work.”
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CYRIL RAMAPHOSA: SA must seize opportunities in move to green economy (Eyewitness News)
It is no exaggeration to say that the world is facing a climate crisis of unprecedented proportions. The latest report from the world’s leading climate scientists has warned that the pace of global warming is rapidly increasing, and Sub-Saharan Africa has been experiencing temperature increases well above the global average. Climate change presents serious health, environmental and economic risks for our country. These risks will have increasingly damaging effects on human health, water availability, food production, infrastructure and migration. Many South Africans are already feeling the effects of climate change through drought and flooding, which have an effect on their livelihoods. Several communities in the Mpumalanga, for example, are affected by high levels of pollution, which increases respiratory illness and other diseases. Those who are dependent on the ocean for a living have already seen depleted fish stocks amid changing weather patterns and changes in ocean temperature.
There are broader economic risks. As our trading partners pursue the goal of net-zero carbon emissions, they are likely to increase restrictions on the import of goods produced using carbon-intensive energy. Because so much of our industry depends on coal-generated electricity, we are likely to find that the products we export to various countries face trade barriers and, in addition, consumers in those countries may be less willing to buy our products.
The other economic risk is that investors will shy away from investing in fossil fuel-powered industries. Banks and financial institutions are already facing pressures from their shareholders not to finance enterprises that depend on fossil fuels to produce their products or services.
All these emerging trends mean that we need to act with urgency and ambition to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and undertake a transition to a low-carbon economy. Many of our peer countries have already started migrating to low-carbon economic dispensations.
Trade and services sector key for our business empowerment programme - Eskom (Politcsweb)
On 30 August 2021, Eskom launched its 2021 Business Investment Competition (BIC) and Business Connect, targeting 100%-black-owned small and medium businesses, including those in the trade and services industry sector. The BIC is a competition running until midnight on 31 October 2021 and is aimed at boosting growing businesses with financial support, whereas Business Connect aims at empowering BIC entrants with business skills, mentorships, and networking. It is also an opportunity for the BIC winners to market their products, services, and corporate brands.
According to the Small Enterprise Development Agency’s (SEDA’s) SMME Quarterly Update report (Q1, 2019), small, medium and micro enterprises have produced 10,8 million jobs, 41,3% of them in the trade and services industry. The South African economy is driven by the trade and services sector, which contributes over 22% to the gross domestic product (GDP), followed by general government services at 17%, and then the sector of wholesale, retail and motor trade, catering, and accommodation at 15% (Stats SA, 2017).
“We are mindful of the fact that, in South Africa, the vast majority of SMMEs operate in the trade and services sector. Our efforts are aimed at ensuring that these enterprises will develop and soon join the big players, and also that we contribute to their sustainability,” said Eskom Development Foundation Chief Executive, Cecil Ramonotsi. “The tourism and accommodation industries have been among those hardest hit by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy. The Business Investment Competition is but one avenue to help small businesses find their bearings,” added Ramonotsi.
Citrus growers frustrated by Transnet delays (IOL)
STATE-owned freight company Transnet is under fire from the Citrus Growers Association for shipping delays that are threatening fruit exports. According to the Durban-based association’s website, logistics development manager Mitchell Brooke flagged Transnet as the biggest threat to the fruit export industry. Brooke said in a letter dated September 27 that the poor state of Transnet’s operations is seriously compromising the South African agriculture and manufacturing industries and is a huge threat to the local economy. “Operations at the port authority and terminals division have declined so severely that we are now witnessing massive delays to ships calling across the South African ports. “Notwithstanding the disruptions from the Covid pandemic in 2020, the recent KZN looting and the cyber-attack on Transnet’s IT systems in July, the present issues go way beyond that. We now know that Transnet has been the subject of mass corruption as a result of state capture,” said Brooke.
He said businesses were losing millions of rand as manufacturing and production plants have had to stop due to the backlog in the supply of components - notwithstanding the losses the fruit export industry is facing as a result of the additional cost of logistics and quality compromised due to high dwell times.
AfCFTA Boss Allays Fears Zim Will Be A Regional Dumping Market (New Zimbabwe)
THE Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has allayed fears Zimbabwe risks being transformed into a dumping market site by highly industrialised nations following the decision to ratify the continental trade agreement.
Trading under the new agreement commenced on January 1, 2021, and Zimbabwe has since ratified the agreement. However, local market watchers are skeptical that the agreement will not augur well for the embattled nation which is still struggling to revive industrial productivity amid fears that cheape
Rwanda-Zim conference a game-changer (Sunday Mail)
The recently held Rwanda-Zimbabwe Trade and Investment conference is a game-changer set to transform the economies of the two countries if the enthusiasm displayed over the four-day meeting that ended last weekend is anything to go by. Trade between the two has been low over the past few years but activity has begun to pick up following the establishment of embassies in either country two years ago. This has given impetus to the drive to consolidate the economic ties between the two countries. Zimbabwe and Rwanda have so much to learn from each other as they seek to prop the economies.
Uganda invites Kenya team to dialogue on milk exports impasse (Daily Monitor)
Uganda has invited Kenya’s Agriculture and Trade ministerial teams to Kampala for dialogue in an overture to clear the trade tiff over Ugandan milk imports to Kenya. Two months ago, Kenya slapped a seven percent levy on milk imports from Uganda, further straining relations between the two EAC countries.
Ugandan High Commissioner to Kenya and the Seychelles Dr Hassan Wasswa Galiwango while extending the invite said; “Uganda is supposed to export milk to Kenya but there is a problem that will be resolved soon. We have invited the government of Kenya to send a delegation to inspect Uganda milk factories, to ascertain Uganda’s capacity to produce [exportable] excess.”
Small businesses urged to take advantage of EAC trade fair (The Star)
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) from Kenya have been urged to take advantage of the coming EAC trade fair in Mwanza, Tanzania. Speaking during the East African Community (EAC) regional Steering Committee meeting in preparation for the 21st EAC MSMEs trade fair, the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) director general Henry Rithaa called on Kenyans to capitalise on the event to showcase their products.
MSEA is a state corporation established under the Micro and Small Enterprise Act No. 55 of 2012. It is tasked with formulating and coordinating policies that will facilitate the integration and harmonisation of various public and private sector initiatives, for the promotion, development and regulation of the Micro and Small Enterprises to become key Industries of tomorrow.
The regional trade fair has been used to promote cross border trade, the EAC simplified trade regime and dealing with Non-Tariff Barriers. It also focuses on products value addition, Standards, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Testing (SQMT),benefits and opportunities of the EAC Integration Process to SMEs, EAC Rules of Origin, and MSMES and MSE’s development and opportunities.
Importer loses compensation bid for Sh600m seized sugar (Business Daily)
A sugar importer’s bid to be compensated Sh609 million by the government for its brown sugar seized three years ago by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has been dismissed by the High Court. Landmark Freight Services Ltd wanted the court to compel Kebs to pay damages for confiscating 400,000 bags of the product that was imported from Brazil in 2018. Kebs flagged the consignment over high yeast content and sought its destruction, but Landmark argued that the seizure was done without explanation and hence was illegal. The government agency asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the firm lost a similar application two years ago but had cleverly brought back the same case instead of appealing against the decision of July 2019.
Incorporate business and human rights into national investment legal frameworks, government told (The Independent Uganda)
Uganda needs to incorporate guiding principles on business and human rights into the national investment regulatory frameworks to strike balance between the investor rights and the state, according to Jane Nalunga, the Executive Director at the Southern and Eastern African Trade Institute –SEATINI Uganda. Nalunga, who was speaking during a stakeholder engagement in Kampala under the theme; “Harnessing Uganda’s investment laws, policies and agreements to prevent business related human rights violations,” said there are rampant human rights violations and environmental degradation mainly perpetuated by foreign investors.
Nalunga said their consultations and community engagements with casual laborers and community representatives in Kalangala, Kiryandongo, Mubende, and Buvuma where some of the large-scale investment schemes are based, unearthed numerous cases of human and environmental right violations in the communities perpetuated by corporations. She said though there are global, regional and national Investment policies including the investment code 2019, African Union large scale investment Treaty, UN Guiding principles on Business and human rights in relation to investments, violations have persisted because of the gaps. “These treaties which are best endeavors are not legally binding to the investors domestically hence leaving the human rights gap that is exploited by investors,” she added. This development comes at the time the Ugandan government is looking for all possible means including tax exemptions and no minimum wage to attract investors.
e-Naira To Increase Cross-border Trade, Tax Efficiency (Leadership Newspaper)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the ability of the digital currency E-naira to enhance tax efficiency as well as improve cross-border trade amidst the implementation of African continental free trade area (AfCFTA) are other incentives aside increasing financial inclusion. Director, monetary policy department, Dr Hassan Mahmud, speaking on ‘Trends in the Nigerian system: regulating the fintech digital playing field’ said, part of the motivation to launch the digital currency is its ability to aid cross-border trade and boost tax efficiency, amongst others. According to him, “the CBN, in partnership with Bitt Inc., an international fintech firm, is set to launch its digital currency, e-naira and this would increase cross-border trade, accelerated financial inclusion, bring about cheaper and faster remittance inflows.
“It would help with easier targeted social interventions, improvements in monetary policy effectiveness, payment systems efficiency and efficiency in tax collection.” The CBN digital currency, he said, will offer parity of value and will operate as a non-interest-bearing asset and that Nigeria’s digital currency will function under a tiered anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer (AML/KYC) structure with different transaction limits.
African Development Bank Group begins consultations for the new Country Strategy for Egypt (AfDB)
The African Development Bank Group and the Ministry of International Cooperation on Monday October, 4th launched consultations for the Bank’s new Country Strategy Paper for Egypt. As part of the consultations the Bank is ensuring its engagement with Egypt is fully aligned with national priorities and will consult with a wide group of stakeholders, including representatives of the private and public sectors and civil society who will be providing input over the coming weeks to guide Bank operations in the country for the next five years (2022-2026).
Guided by the priorities of the government’s National Development Plan “Egypt’s Vision 2030”, the Bank aims to focus its interventions on strengthening the country’s competitiveness for robust private sector-led growth and job creation; and building resilience through food and water security and energy efficiency for sustainable and green development.
“Our purpose in Egypt is to contribute to job creation and inclusive growth. At the same time, we also want to promote Egyptian companies in these sectors who we see as ‘African Champions’ and support their expansion within Africa as Egypt has a lot to offer,” said Malinne Blomberg, the Bank’s Deputy Director General for the North Africa region.
Africa
The Africa Investment Forum held a roundtable event to preview two agribusiness deals worth nearly $400 million as part of the lead-in to its upcoming 2021 Market Days. The investment opportunities, drawn from the Africa Investment Forum’s pipeline, will be presented in full during the Market Days, to be held from December 1-3 in Abidjan. The virtual roundtable, organized by the Atlantic Council, took place on Thursday 7 October, 2021.
Agriculture and agri-business is one of five priority investment sectors under the Africa Investment Forum’s Unified Response to Covid-19 pillars, in addition to energy and climate change, health, ICT/Telecoms, and industrialization and trade.
Africa Investment Forum Senior Director Chinelo Anohu said, “Agriculture is one of the pillars of the African economy: it is the key employer, and is fundamental to transforming rural areas, reducing poverty, and facilitating economic growth. As a sector, agriculture has been under-supported by investment to date, and the Africa Investment Forum’s vision is to be a catalyst for significant investment to facilitate growth over the next decade, to improve productivity and incomes in an equitable and sustainable manner..”
Entrepreneurship and Free Trade: Volume II -- Towards a New Narrative of Building Resilience (AfDB)
An additional challenge across Africa is access to data and information to power innovation and entrepreneurship. Volume II operates on the premise that ongoing investment in physical infrastructure (e.g., electricity and power, transport, information and communications technologies (ICT)) will be necessary but not sufficient. Additional to this investment, support will be required for social infrastructure (e.g., education at differing levels), regional value chains, and to link research and development (R&D) and other information dissemination platforms with startups or existing businesses. Micro-level business support will also be needed
from accounting firms and specialized vendors precisely because the startups and businesses are very small and face challenges in forming effective management teams.
This report takes a closer look at the role of incubators, accelerators, and broader legal, institutional and financial requirements to harness more “formalized” entrepreneurship on the continent. Combined with a description of initiatives underway and recommendations on how the Bank can play a constructive and pivotal role, it aims to provide a high-level road map on interventions the Bank can support from a policy and operational perspective so that African entrepreneurship grows and plays a constructive and influential role in the achievement of other economic and social goals on the continent. Attention is placed on important sectors and activities that
offer prospects for economic growth and wealth creation while also aligning with requirements for the “green economy” to account for necessary climate change action. In addition, Volume II addresses future requirements for the continent to adapt to the post-COVID 19 environment with an eye on boosting resilience and emergency preparedness on the health and food security front.
Trade Minister opens African Engineering Conference in Accra (Myjoyonline)
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, has opened the 7th edition of Africa Engineering Week and the 5th Africa Engineering Conference in Accra on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, with a call on engineers in African to position themselves to leverage the opportunities that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) present.
Mr. Kyerematen outlined three major strategic areas for the engineers to develop their capabilities in order to gain the benefits of the single African market. The areas include engineering services related to production and the installation of production infrastructure, trade related infrastructure and trade in services.
EAC Partner States lost 92% Tourism revenues due to Covid-19 pandemic (EAC)
East African Community Partner States lost 92% revenues in the tourism sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Making the disclosure, EAC Secretary General Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki said that tourist arrivals to the region fell from 6.98 million arrivals in before the pandemic to 2.25 million arrivals occasioning the losses, adding that the tourism sector was the worst hit by the pandemic. Noting that the region was now open again for business, Dr. Mathuki urged EAC Partner States governments and other stakeholders to work together to market the region’s tourist attractions and products as part of efforts to ensure speedy recovery for the sector. “Despite the fact that the pandemic has reversed the gains that we had made in the tourism sector, we are quite confident that through collective and collaborative efforts, we should be able to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels of performance and even do better within a span of less than five years,” said Dr. Mathuki.
Pan-African Open Skies Agreement Struggles To Get Traction (Simple Flying)
In November 1999, a group of African aviation movers and shakers met in Côte d’Ivoire to thrash out an agreement on integrating commercial aviation across Africa. The outcome was the Yamoussoukro Decision, a document supporting the liberalization of commercial aviation in Africa.
Twenty-two years later, there remains a way to go. One of the more recent outcomes was the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), a harmonized regulatory framework providing a unified air transport market in Africa.
“The SAATM has the potential for remarkable transformation that will build prosperity while connecting the African continent,” said IATA’s Vice President for Africa, Raphael Kuuchi, three years ago. “Every open air service arrangement has boosted traffic, lifted economies, and created jobs. And we expect no less in Africa.” IATA’s man in Africa says that if just 12 key African countries opened their markets and increased connectivity, an extra 155,000 jobs and US$1.3 billion in annual GDP would be created in those countries.
Before COVID-19 struck, IATA also forecasted 5.95% annual growth in African aviation over the next two decades. Passenger numbers are expected to increase from 100 million to more than 300 million by 2026.
Value Chain Analysis for the Oil sector (AfDB)
Africa is endowed with significant oil resources which represents strong assets for the continent socio-economic development, that could help achieve AfDB High 5s objectives, namely Power and Light-up Africa, Feeding Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. However, the oil industry is structurally complex and involves an intricate number of actors whose goals and interest are often diverging. This presents a significant challenge for policy making, as they need to weigh a wide range of factors, as they look to maximise value from their resources.
Innovative financing needed to tackle climate change in Africa (Africa Renewal)
Mr. Adam said private sector financial flows can efficiently be channeled into African investments. “The support for African countries to issue green and blue bonds will be critical, including by de-risking such vehicles, recognizing that less than 1 per cent of global green bond issuances are from Africa.” The African Union Commission’s (AUC’s) head of Environment, Climate Change, Water and Land Management, Harsen Nyambe, cited the low implementation rate of existing policies and strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change in Africa as a major challenge on the continent. “Countries must not only agree to draft policies but must also implement them to win the war against climate change,” said Mr. Nyambe.
WAMCO bounces back with US$50m export of cocoa products (The Business & Financial Times)
West Africa Mills Company Limited (WAMCO) has shipped about 20,000 metric tonnes (MT) of cocoa products out of the country, valued at US$50 million, since the re-activation begun in 2017.
The company has traditionally shipped cocoa products such as natural cocoa liquor, deodorised cocoa butter and expeller cake used as raw materials in chocolate confectionary to Europe, but has now expanded its market to Asia, the Middle East and North Africa over the past four years. Commenting on the turnaround during a visit by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Chief Executive Officer of WAMCO, Frank Bednar, explained the progress the company has made thus far.
“One of the major elements of the reactivation exercise was to find amicable solutions to labour-related issues for both active and retired staff. WAMCO is a unionised company. Together with our social partner Industrial and Commercial Union (ICU), a member of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), management agreed on the recall of workers, the conditions of service and on payment of exit packages to retired or deceased staff,” he said.
Addressing the perception premium for sustainable development in Africa (Brookings)
The pandemic downturn has heightened one of the gravest challenges facing Africa on its development path—the high costs of perception premiums—the overinflated risks perennially assigned to Africa, irrespective of its improving macroeconomic fundamentals, the global economic environment, and individual countries’ growth prospects. The global nature of the pandemic downturn offers an opportunity to scrutinize the extent to which perception premiums are shaping the distribution of sovereign risk across countries and regions; the disproportionately larger number of African nations affected by procyclical downgrades further supports the premium hypothesis.
Over 56 percent of African countries rated by at least one of the big three credit rating agencies (Standard & Poor’s, Fitch, and Moody’s) were downgraded at the height of the pandemic in 2020, while only 9.2 percent in Europe and 28 percent in Asia were—leading to a global average of 31.8 percent. The disproportionate downgrading occurred despite the fact that Africa showed greater growth resilience in the face of the pandemic-triggered synchronized global downturn, contracting by less than 2 percent, against a world average of 3.3 percent.
Still, African countries continue to face higher premiums, with long-lasting consequences. In the short term, these premiums heighten the risk of debt overhang and constrain fiscal space, undermining governments’ capacity to respond effectively to recurrent adverse global shocks—as the challenges associated with the management of the COVID-19 crisis have illustrated. While the significantly lower interest rates—negative in real terms—have enabled advanced economies to navigate the pandemic downturn effectively by extending large monetary and fiscal stimulus, the growth-crushing and default-driven borrowing rates on African assets have set the stage for a divergent recovery and are heightening the risk of debt overhang.
President Emmanuel Macron admits France owes Africa a ‘debt’ (The East African)
French President Emmanuel Macron says his country owes Africa, which it must now repay progressively. At the first-ever France-Africa Summit, that excluded politicians, the French leader said that Africa’s relations with France, one of its former colonial masters, has not always been beneficial for both sides, but said these are lessons to be taken to the future. “France owes Africa a debt, and we now must find ways of effectively paying that debt in a sustainable manner,” he said on Friday.
The European Union (EU) and its member states seek to use the attractiveness of the EU market to encourage developing country trade partners to adopt more socially and environmentally sustainable practices. However, such a strategy depends on the EU market continuing to be an important market for developing country exports. Recent developments and trends, both in the EU and globally, bring this into question. We have analysed developments and trends affecting Africa’s exports to the EU, focusing on African exports as a subset of developing country exports. We looked in particular at developments and trends in the EU market, increasing demand from emerging markets and African initiatives to boost intra-African trade. We find that the EU is likely to remain an important market for African exports, including for niche, higher-value products with potential for value addition and for promoting sustainability. Nonetheless, European measures to promote sustainability are a double-edged sword. While they promote sustainable outcomes, they also make exporting to the EU harder, especially for smaller firms. This provides a strong rationale for efforts to help small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries comply with European measures to promote sustainability.
We also find that while Africa’s trade with emerging markets is increasing, it does not provide significant opportunities to generate local value addition and promote sustainable outcomes, at least not yet. By contrast, boosting intra-African trade offers great potential for generating sustainable outcomes, particularly in terms of boosting local value addition and creating opportunities for Africa’s many small firms, and for its women.
First freight shipment to arrive on ‘Brexit buster’ Morocco to UK route (Fresh Fruit Portal)
The Port of Poole in Dorset is expecting its first delivery via a new direct shipping route from Tangier in Morocco, which was established by United Seaways. A shipment of 100 freights of organic seasonal fruit and vegetables is shortly scheduled northbound while the route will run once per week and largely comprise dry and refrigerated freight. The route cuts overall journey times on goods to and from the UK to fewer than three days, compared to more than six days via road. It will be used to encourage British importers to source fresh produce and other products directly from Africa, and export companies looking to enhance their southbound trade to Morocco and the surrounding region.
China’s BRI continues to remain popular amongst Africans despite intense backlash (Observer Research Foundation)
China’s role in African development is often contested and tends to evoke mixed feelings. Its role can be located anywhere between a provider of regional public goods, a vital trading partner—albeit enjoying an asymmetrical relationship—to a purveyor of so-called ‘debt traps’ and the largest financier of African infrastructure. China’s narrative of ‘South-South Cooperation’, which emphasises on solidarity with the ‘Global South’ and provides an opportunity for low- and middle-income countries to pursue an alternative model of development, has understandably been attractive to African nations.
This inherent need for African countries to develop their transportation networks and improve connectivity aligns with the stated objectives of the BRI. Consequently, many African countries have benefitted from China’s financing of “big-ticket” loans for large-scale infrastructure projects, albeit with collateralisation mechanisms amongst Chinese state-owned enterprises in many instances, which the Chinese have used strategically and selectively. According to AidData, a research centre at the College of William and Mary, “African countries received 42 percent of all Chinese Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) between 2000 and 2017.” This is consistent with Beijing’s official position that most of its foreign aid budget is earmarked for Africa. Ethiopia, the Republic of Congo, Sudan, Zambia, Kenya, Cameroon, Mali, and Cote d’Ivoire have been the biggest African recipients of Chinese ODA.
African leaders continue to lavish praise upon Beijing for addressing unmet infrastructural needs. However, although there is growing appreciation of the fact that, while Chinese infrastructure projects often generate short-term economic benefits, their long-term viability and risks need to be managed. Infrastructure projects under BRI may turn out to be ‘white elephant’ projects, which are deemed unnecessary or economically unviable. Rather, the money could have been judiciously invested in projects that are likely to generate revenues, create local jobs, and unlock economic transformation.
Africa-Turkey Forum to Promote Investment and Trade Under AfCFTA (Modern Diplomacy)
Amid an attempt to drive a post-coronavirus economic rebound, a number of countries in the Gulf have introduced new immigration measures to help attract skilled foreign workers. One of the major players on this front has been the UAE, which is the process of launching 50 new projects and initiatives to boost diversification efforts. The first tranche of 13 initiatives were announced in early September. Alongside measures that will expand the UAE’s tech sector – for example, the launch of a Fourth Industrial Revolution Network, and plans to train new coders – these included two new visas.
African nations, food and culture spotlighted at Expo 2020 Dubai this week (ZAWYA)
With four African countries celebrating their National Days at Expo 2020, along with the much-anticipated Global Business Forum Africa, a host of cultural performances and the opening of ground-breaking African dining hall Alkebulan, the eyes of the world will be on Africa in Dubai this week.
This week, Morocco will also be presenting its new identity, ‘Morocco Now’, and its Vision 2025, positioning itself as a business and financial hub to Africa, while highlighting investment opportunities throughout the country. Senegal’s Investments and Business Opportunities forum on 14 October at DEC will connect CEOs and investors with African government officials to gain deeper insight into their countries’ economic development strategies, while showcasing the vision of the Emerging Senegal Plan 2035, and honing in on the country’s tourism potential.
Afreximbank and Government of Barbados Enter Milestone Understanding for Africa Diaspora Trade Ties (Afreximbank)
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Government of Barbados have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand trade and investment links between Africa and the Caribbean island state. Under the MoU, the two parties will explore opportunities for joint investment and trade finance aimed at expanding economic ties between Africa and Barbados. The agreement will also facilitate knowledge sharing between Afeximbank and the Government of Barbados, providing businesses and investors on either side of the Atlantic with higher quality information with which to pursue trade and investment opportunities.
This knowledge sharing will include collaborative use of electronic platforms for customer due diligence, payments, trade exchanges, trade information, and regulatory details. Afreximbank will also consider putting in place a financial facility in an amount of US$250 million to support trade and investment exchange.
International
WTO issues papers on vaccine inputs tariffs and bottlenecks on critical COVID-19 products (WTO)
The first one is a new study that focuses on COVID-19 vaccines production and tariffs on vaccine inputs. Based on the Joint Indicative List of Critical COVID-19 Vaccine Inputs for Consultation (Version 1.0), this new report explores the most-favoured nation (MFN) tariffs and imports of these products by the 27 top vaccine manufacturing economies in order to identify possible “sensitive” or choke points. Any product group with an average tariff of at least 5% was deemed a possible “choke point”.
The second paper updates the “Indicative list of trade-related bottlenecks and trade-facilitating measures on critical products to combat COVID-19” that was previously published on 20 July 2021. This revised version is based on issues identified and suggestions made by stakeholders at various events and consultations convened by the WTO, as well as with vaccine manufacturers in the context of meetings organized by the Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19, which was established by the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the WTO.
The Trade and Climate Change Nexus: The Urgency and Opportunities for Developing Countries (World Bank)
While trade exacerbates climate change, it is also a central part of the solution because it has the potential to enhance mitigation and adaptation. This timely report explores the different ways in which trade and climate change intersect. Trade contributes to the emissions that cause global warming and is itself also affected by climate change through changing comparative advantages. The report also confronts several myths concerning trade and climate change. The report focuses on the impacts of, and adjustments to, climate change in developing countries and on how future trade opportunities will be affected by both the changing climate and the policy responses to address it. The report discusses how trade can provide the goods and services that drive mitigation and adaptation. It also addresses how climate change creates immense challenges for developing countries, but also new opportunities to promote trade diversification in the transition to a low-carbon world. Suitable trade and environmental policies can offer effective economic incentives to attain both sustainable growth and poverty reduction.
A second chance for global development (UNCTAD)
The COVID-19 crisis has generated global political momentum to alter the balance of power between the state and the market in macroeconomic management. Hopes of building back better now hinge on the emergence of a new policy paradigm to help guide a just transition to a decarbonized world. Second chances are not common in this world, but one is arriving now. The scope and scale of government support for businesses and workers during the COVID-19 crisis of the last 18 months have swept aside entrenched policy dogmas. This has generated political momentum across advanced and developing economies to change the balance of power between the state and the market, and thereby foster a new consensus for achieving more equitable and sustainable growth. By building on this impetus, we can avoid repeating the policy mistakes of recent decades.
A global economic recovery began in the second half of 2020, as countries found less draconian ways to manage the pandemic’s health risks and launched vaccination programs. Global growth is expected to reach 5.3% this year, the highest rate in almost a half-century. But the outlook beyond 2021 is uncertain, given disparities in countries’ financial resources, the prospect of new coronavirus variants, and highly uneven vaccination rates.
COVID-19: Global vaccine plan aims to end ‘two-track pandemic’ (UN News)
The Global COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy aims to inoculate 40 percent of people in all countries by the end of the year, and 70 percent by the middle of 2022. WHO had previously pressed governments to vaccinate 10 per cent of the world’s people by the end of last month. However, more than 55 countries, mainly in Africa and the Middle East, missed the target.
In remarks to the virtual launch, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who has been strongly advocating for a global plan, urged nations to unite and make it a success. “Without a coordinated, equitable approach, a reduction of cases in any one country will not be sustained over time. For everyone’s sake, we must urgently bring all countries to a high level of vaccination coverage,” he said, speaking from New York.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #113: Digitally enabled new forms of work and policy implications for labour regulation frameworks and social protection systems (United Nations)
‘Standard employment’—understood as regular, full-time, and subject to labour law—remains the prevailing form of employment in high-income countries, however, new forms of employment have been rapidly gaining ground since the early 2000s. While new forms of work enabled by digital technologies have rapidly been expanding in more advanced economies, they are also spreading to emerging economies, where the effects on the labour markets are likely to be different. For instance, studies show that platform work, one of the new forms of work, has the potential to increase employment opportunities, promote formalization, and reduce gender gaps in emerging economies. Despite the lack of harmonized concepts and definitions, digitally enabled new forms of work are flourishing and the number of people engaged in them is increasing rapidly. Advanced economies are at the forefront of this wave. A mapping by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions identified nine new forms of employment—namely, ICT-based mobile work, platform work, collaborative employment, casual work, job sharing, interim management, employee-sharing, portfolio work, and voucher-based work—and documented their increasing prevalence in European labour markets.
Digital technologies are creating new jobs and income generating opportunities, including among social groups usually disadvantaged in the labour market such as youth, women, older persons, persons with disabilities, as well as people living in remote areas. While some new forms of employment offer many workers a low-barrier entry into employment, the opportunity for skills development, and the possibility to better balance work and family life, other workers find themselves in an unwanted precarious situation due to the unpredictability of their working hours and income. Such precarious forms of employment are characterized by alternative working patterns, temporary forms of contractual relationships, alternative places of work, and irregular working hours.
UN World Data Forum closes with global agreement to improve data quality, new financing tools for data collection (United Nations)
The 2021 UN World Data Forum concluded on Wednesday with the announcement of the Bern Data Compact for the Decade of Action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a clear call for action and commitment to invest in data capacities and data partnerships to leave no one behind, build trust and fill data gaps to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Forum, held from 3 to 6 October, brought together over 700 in-person participants and more than 7,000 people joining virtually from over 100 countries around the world, including representatives from national statistical systems, international organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector. “The UN World Data Forum is a critical space for bringing data communities together, showcasing solutions, and nurturing partnerships to make ‘data for all’ a reality. Timely, open, quality data are more essential than ever,” stated UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his remarks to open the Forum.
Noting the crucial role of data to help the world recover from the devastation of COVID‑19, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin said in his closing remarks to the Forum that “the need to harness the power of data is more urgent than ever.”
UNCTAD15: Policies are critical to harnessing frontier technologies for good (UNCTAD)
Without key enabling and supportive government policies, the real benefits of new and frontier technology will remain locked away. This was the message from science, technology and innovation (STI) ministers and experts who spoke at UNCTAD’s 15th quadrennial conference (UNCTAD15) on why policy is crucial to ensuring new technologies and data are harnessed in ways that boost economic recovery, reduce inequality and foster sustainable development. Panellists of the conference’s fourth ministerial round-table discussion held on 7 October outlined actions that governments, development partners and civil society actors can take to harness the true potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, drones and gene editing, while minimizing their potential harms. “The impact of technology on the quality of economic, social and environmental outcomes is not deterministic,” said UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Isabelle Durant, who opened the discussion.
Goyal to meet trade ministers from UK, US, Brazil, Australia, S Africa, South Korea on G-20 sidelines (BusinessLine)
Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to hold a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from countries such as Australia, the UK, Brazil, the US, the EU, South Africa and South Korea on the sidelines of the on-going G 20 Ministerial Summit in Italy. This is part of the government’s efforts to achieve $400-billion export target this financial year and increase it further the next, the official added.
Goyal is likely to discuss the on-going talks on Free Trade Agreements with partners such as the UK and the EU as well as other deals and partnerships with his counterparts. Other areas to be highlighted by the Minister in his meetings are likely to include building of robust supply chains, the on-going ‘Make in India’ initiative in the country and India as an attractive foreign investment destination, the official said.
Pesticide residues: The safe trade challenge (Trade for Development News)
Pesticides are a hot topic when it comes to the intersection of agriculture, trade and food security. Pesticides often cause trade issues for developing country agri-food exports, including tropical fruits and vegetables. The first problem is that very few Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) exist for these “minor-use” crops that are so important for small-scale farmers and developing countries. The second problem is that even when MRLs exist, they often differ from international food safety standards set by the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, or Codex. When importing countries set their own lower limits, it greatly increases the costs and complexity of trade.
World Green Economy Summit 2021 concludes with 7th Dubai Declaration (AP News)
Under the theme ‘Galvanising Action for a Sustainable Recovery,’ Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and the World Green Economy Organization organised 7th World Green Economy Summit (WGES). It brought together prominent speakers and officials and was centred around four themes: Youth; Innovation and Smart Technologies; Green Economy and Policies; and Green Finance. WGES concluded with HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, MD&CEO of DEWA, and Chairman of WGES, announcing Dubai Declaration 2021.
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National
Transforming mining industry an ‘imperative’ (SAnews)
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, says despite a Gauteng High Court judgment setting aside key parts of the Mining Charter relating to transformation last month, government “remains committed to the transformation” of the industry.
South Africa’s new inland fisheries policy aims to unlock its potential (SeafoodSource)
South Africa said it is committed to taking advantage of the recently approved inland fisheries policy to unlock the country’s inland fisheries resource potential in a drive to achieve food security, job creation, and economic development goals. South African Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said, in an opinion piece in News24, that the recent approval of South Africa’s National Freshwater (Inland) Wild-Capture Fisheries Policy transforms the nation’s small-scale fishing sector by addressing several hurdles that hampered growth, leaving many fishers impoverished despite fishing playing diverse roles in their livelihoods ranging “from fishing part-time for food to it being a full-time commercial occupation.” In September 2021, the South Africa Cabinet approved the policy “to support and guide the sustainable development and management of the inland fisheries sector,” using methods including legislative reform, to empower rural communities and increase equitable access to the sustainable resource.
Red tape is choking biodiversity research in South Africa. What can be done about it? (The Conversation)
It is no exaggeration to say that science has saved humanity on multiple occasions. The most recent has been through the development of vaccines for the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Given the indisputable value of science, it would seem foolish to obstruct its advancement. Yet impediments to advancements in some fields, such as biodiversity research, have been building over several years. This is true in South Africa, where the burden of red tape has increased over the last decade, obstructing even some of the most basic forms of data collection. In a recent commentary, authored by more than 30 of South Africa’s field and biodiversity researchers, we set out the scale of the problem.
But the implementation of the legislation in terms of legitimate research has become problematic because it is applied with a broad brushstroke approach. In essence, hunters, wildlife poachers and bona fide researchers are viewed through the same legislative lens. This inclusive approach supposedly reduces risks to natural resources. But it’s also stopping, or holding back, genuine research intended to benefit conservation.
For biological research, red tape comes mainly in the form of dramatically increased requirements for permits and clearances, causing biodiversity research to be heavily regulated. The result is that the critical need to collect data that relates to the future environmental sustainability and effective conservation of our environment is now overshadowed by a minefield of regulation.
The progress of science needs to be facilitated – not hindered. The government needs to adopt a more reasonable and fair interpretation of existing legislation so that scientific endeavour is facilitated and promoted, rather than impeded and blocked.
Kenyan activist lambasts world leaders at EU green summit (EUobserver)
“COP26 is coming up - that is 26 years of talking, talking, talking,” Elizabeth Wahuti, climate activist and founder of the Kenyan NGO Green Generation Initiative, said at Thursday’s (October 7) EU summit on sustainable finance. Not enough has been done, and countries, especially in Africa, are running out of time. She implored wealthy countries to make good on their promise to invest at least €100bn annually to help poorer countries transition to a green economy. “I want to make it simple: our responsibility as adults is to make sure our childer are fed,” she told a panel of world leaders.
In a panel introduced by EU commissioner Valdis Dombrovkis, the question was asked how the EU’s sustainable taxonomy, and €1 trillion ‘green deal’ investment plan, might also become a model for Africa. Climate change ambassador and African Union (AU) commissioner for rural economy and agriculture Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko said while African nations supported the Green Deal, most African leaders “don’t have much knowledge of the plan and don’t understand what the advantage is for their country.”
Kenya joins the global Plastics Pact Network (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)
Launched today in Nairobi, the Kenya Plastics Pact (KPP) is led by the Sustainable Inclusive Business (SIB) with the support of WRAP and MAVA, and becomes the second Pact in Africa. KPP joins 11 other Pacts in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact Network, a unique platform spanning Africa, Europe, North and South America and the Pacific region, to exchange learnings and best practices across countries and regions to accelerate the transition to the circular economy for plastics.
KPP will work towards the common vision, shared by over 1000 organisations around the world as part of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and Plastics Pact Network.
Competition policy: Uganda’s missing legislation (Daily Monitor)
One of the key functions of a government is to create an enabling business environment that fosters enterprises and individuals to thrive. Such an enabling market environment can not exist in a vacuum. Markets must be organised, regulated, maintained, and or enforced. A vibrant marketplace requires an enabling legal and regulatory framework that protects market participants from the harmful competition and unfair business practices. These legal and regulatory institutions are vital in facilitating market exchange, competition, efficiency, and growth. However, unlike in other East African member states like Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, Uganda does not have an established regulatory and legal framework that provides for fair market competition, consumer protection and orderly functioning of the goods and services markets or “prevent the formation of monopolies and cartels in the markets”. Globally, markets are undergoing rapid changes which present new challenges and opportunities. The absence of competition and consumer protection policy in Uganda has created opportunities for some actors in the business community to engage in unfair business practices such as price-fixing.
Uganda targets $4 billion investments at Dubai Expo (The East African)
Uganda is banking on the ongoing Dubai expo in the United Arab Emirates to attract about $4 billion worth of investments in different sectors of its economy by next year, the country’s investment authority said. The 2020 Dubai Expo, a Universal Exhibition which started on October 1, 2021, has attracted about 200 countries and several potential investors.
Uganda is participating under the “Opportunity” theme where it is showcasing its exports and tourism attractions as well as emerging investment opportunities. According to Uganda Investment Authority, the country seeks to use this year’s expo to attract investments in infrastructure, mining, health, tourism, agriculture, real estate, energy, industrialisation, and oil and gas.
Zambia finds Sh220bn more debt on books, with China major creditor (Business Daily)
Zambia's newly elected government on Thursday said it owed $2 billion (Sh220 billion) more to foreign creditors than previously thought, with more than $6 billion (Sh660 billion) owed to China alone. The resource-rich but impoverished African nation said external debt stood at $14.48 billion (Sh1.59 trillion) at the middle of the year -- more than 60 percent of gross domestic product. Debt had ballooned under the government of Edgar Lungu, who was toppled in August elections by veteran opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema.
Of the total debt, Zambia owes China $5.75 billion -- or $6.18 billion including unpaid interest, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane told parliament.
Nigeria Grants N992.9bn Import Waivers In Two Years (Economic Confidential)
Within a two-year period covering January 2019 and December 2020, the Federal Government through the Nigerian Customs Services granted the sum of N992.9bn as waivers on imported goods, findings have shown. The N992.9bn comprises N213.1bn recorded in 2019 and N779.7bn waived in 2020, data from the 2022-2024 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper revealed. Import duty waivers, exemptions and concessions are used by governments in various parts of the world to protect local businesses and jobs but they have typically been abused in Nigeria and have become a major drain on the national economy.
A breakdown of the waivers granted in 2019 showed that exemptions on import charges stood at N127.7bn; surcharge, which consists of seven per cent import duty, was N8.6bn; and common external tariff levy, N4.6bn; Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme, N2.6bn; while exemptions under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme was N4.8bn.
AfCFTA: Central Bank Assures e-Naira Would Increase Cross-border Trade, Tax Efficiency (Thisday Newspapers)
Eromosele Abiodun, James Emejo and Nume Ekeghe In the wake of the implementation of the African continental free trade area (AfCFTA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stated that another component and incentive of the E-naira, which is slated to launch soon, would be its ability to enhance tax efficiency as well as improve cross-border trade. The Director Monetary Policy Department, Dr Hassan Mahmud said this yesterday at the 31st seminar for finance correspondents and business editors in Enugu where stakeholders converge to discuss, “Trends in the Nigerian System: Regulating the Fintech Digital Playing field.” Presenting his paper titled Implications of trends in the digital financial ecosystem for monetary policy implementation virtually, Mahmud said that part of the motivation to launch the digital currency is the ability to aide Cross-border trade and boost tax efficiency amongst others. He said: “The Central Bank of Nigeria in partnership with Bitt Inc., an international fintech firm, is set to launch its digital currency, e-Naira and this would increase cross-border trade, accelerated financial inclusion, bring about cheaper and faster remittance inflows. It would help with easier targeted social interventions, improvements in monetary policy effectiveness, payment systems efficiency and efficiency in tax collection.”
Raising foreign capital for sustainable business growth (The National)
Burkina Faso Could Boost Renewable Energy Mix with Battery Storage: IFC-supported Roadmap (IFC)
Burkina Faso could drastically increase the use of renewable energy in its power mix by developing battery storage solutions through public private partnerships, according to a roadmap supported by IFC.The roadmap was produced by Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Energy and the national utility, Société Nationale d’Electricité du Burkina (SONABEL), with IFC’s support. It outlines how Burkina Faso could reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and energy imports by taking advantage of its fast-growing solar power sector.
Battery storage systems are helping countries worldwide better integrate renewable energy into their power systems by enabling energy from solar, wind, and other renewable sources to be stored until customers need power most. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), energy storage deployment in emerging markets is expected to increase by over 40 percent annually from 2020 until 2025.
Africa
Leverage opportunities in implementation of AfCFTA ...Trade and Industry Minister urges engineers (Ghanaian Times)
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, has opened the 7th edition of Africa Engineering Week and the 5th Africa Engineering Conference in Accra on Tuesday, with a call on engineers in African to position themselves to leverage the opportunities that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) present. Mr. Alan Kyerematen outlined three major strategic areas for the engineers to develop their capabilities in order to gain the benefits of the single African market. The areas include engineering services related to production and the installation of production infrastructure, trade related infrastructure and trade in services.
Pan African Payments and Settlements Platform – an important enabler of trade (African Business)
One of the key constraints to intra-African trade has been the ability to pay for goods in local currency. A trader in Ghana wanting to purchase leather from Burundi, or an artisan in Tunisia wanting to purchase cotton from Egypt would have to go through time consuming and often onerous procedures to pay his counterpart in US dollars or euros, with the local banks having to transact through corresponding banks.
This meant extra costs, longer lead times and unwieldy administrative processes. A problem which was compounded when international banks stopped offering correspondent banking services especially to smaller African countries post financial crisis of 2008-9. The Pan-African Payments and Settlements Platform which officially launched in late September is a first step in trying to overcome the cross-border and cross-currency payments quagmire.
Importance of WhatsApp, Facebook & Instagram for African businesses (Quartz Africa)
A recent study by Caribou Data and the Partnership for Finance in a Digital Africa found that 92% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya use social commerce to carry out their businesses.
Using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp, people buy, sell and promote products and services as well as directly communicate with their customers.
A 2019 GeoPoll survey found that Facebook and Instagram ranked ahead of many e-commerce marketplaces in a list of the most used online shopping platforms in the continent. The high adoption of social media in Africa, which is enabled by increasing internet connectivity, has led to the rise of this type of e-commerce in the continent, whereby content sharing, messaging and payment come together.
Africa is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world. From 2014 to 2018, the number of online shoppers in the continent increased on average by 18% annually, against a global average of 12%, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. With its lockdowns and social restrictions, the Covid-19 pandemic is giving this growth a boost. A study by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and GSMA, an organization that represents mobile network operators worldwide, says social commerce accounts for the majority of e-commerce activity in markets such as Chad, Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Central African Republic.
Mobile technology is a key driver of social commerce in Africa, as the mobile phone is the primary tool people in the region use to access the internet and people tend to use mobile money to pay for goods and services in social commerce transactions. But the lack of access to mobile internet for large swathes of the population presents potential challenges to the ability of social commerce services to scale, Angela Wamola, the head of sub-Saharan Africa at GSMA, tells Quartz.
Call for collaboration to unlock the investment potential (SAnews)
Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele has called for private collaboration to unlock the country’s investment potential, particularly within the context of a stretched government budget and increasing infrastructure needs. Addressing the second Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA21) on Thursday, the Minister said to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and infrastructure goals, over six trillion Rand between 2021 and 2040 would be needed. “We estimate that the finance gap that needs to be closed will be just over two trillion Rand. In this regard, we have operationalised the Infrastructure Fund, a blended finance platform that packages projects and ensures they can leverage private sector finance. “An initial project pipeline has been approved and will transform the way economic and social infrastructure projects are delivered in the country,” the Minister said.
Trevor Manuel: Africa offers great investments thanks to urbanisation, free-trade agreement (News24)
Core to the post-Covid-19 recovery is vaccination, says former finance minister Trevor Manuel. Manuel was speaking in his capacity as chairperson of Old Mutual, during a virtual conference hosted by the international organisation Global Steering Group (GSG). GSG promotes investment that is beneficial for the environment and society. In his address, Manuel noted the economic impact of the pandemic, especially on the poor. “… [M]ost contributing economic sectors were devastated as the economy shut down. Mining ground to a halt a similar fate a way to trade and the massive demand slump. In so many countries, tourism receipts reduced to zero, and remittances dried up completely. Governments had virtually zero tax revenue,” he said.
In contrast to other parts of the world, most countries in Africa lacked the social safety nets to support their populations, he said. The African economy effectively shrunk 3.3% during 2020, compared to growth of 3.8% in the prior year. According to the African Development Bank’s African Economic Outlook Report for 2021, the continent’s economy during 2020 suffered its worst recession in 50 years, Fin24 previously reported.
“We need to focus on the post Covid recovery. And essential part of this is vaccination rollout,” said Manuel. Manuel however highlighted that Covid-19 was not continent’s first exposure to epidemics, and therefore the health system had developed its own resilience after being hit by Ebola, TB, HIV and AIDS and various waterborne diseases. Manuel also lauded the innovations on the continent with regard to digital finance - in the form of M-Pesa in East Africa. “These have held up remarkably, but these are often the product of very small but successful and high impact investments,” he said. Manuel noted further opportunities for investment on the continent, given its youthful population - 60% under the age of 25 - as well as the African continental free trade agreement.
Africa is ripe for investment (IT-Online)
Ahead oft he German Africa Investment Conference taking place next week, the South African Department of Trade and Industry met with SEW-Eurodrive to discuss its R200-million investment into the country on site at the organisations new head quarters in Aeroton, Johannesburg. According to Deputy Minister Fikile Majola, a dynamic manufacturing base is critical for increasing the economic multiplier in an economy and helps to expand its technological base, creating jobs that foster inclusive growth. South Africa has implemented a number of policies and interventions aimed at growing its manufacturing base away from a mere provider of raw materials and unprocessed products to the rest of the world to becoming a manufacturing hub on the African continent. “This cutting edge SEW-Eurodrive expansion is a testament to the progress we have made and the opportunities present in this market.” Despite being considered a hopeless continent by The Economist a little more than two decades ago, today Africa is widely regarded as the world’s next growth market. Home to 17% of the global population in 2020, the continent is expected to account for 26% of the world’s population by 2050 and an estimated $16,2-trillion of combined consumer and business spending.
The reality is that foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Africa in the last two decades have increasingly diversified away from extractive sectors into manufacturing, IT services, logistics, communications and renewable energy. In 2004 southern Africa – and South Africa in particular – received 70% of all FDI in the region. By 2018 this had reduced to 30% as a growing proportion of FDI was directed towards Nigeria and East Africa.
The Covid-19 pandemic, however, had a significant impact on FDI flows into the continent. The World Investment Report estimates that in line with declining FDI figures globally, FDI to Africa reduced by 16% in 2020 to $40-billion from $47-billion in 2019.
Germany pledges US $116M for renewable energy in Africa (Pumps Africa)
Germany has pledged to contribute US $116M to the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to support private investments in renewable energy in Africa. The funds will be injected into the Fund for Sustainable Energy in Africa (SEFA) which aims to unlock private sector investments that contribute to universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services in Africa.
At a public event held on 7th October in Gaborone, the European Union and Germany (@Team Europe) have handed over a grant of EUR 100,000 (BWP 1,3 million ) to the company Cally Clothing & Corporate Gifts of Botswana.
Cally Clothing & Corporate Gifts is one of 12 companies in the SADC region that have received support from the SIPS programme (Support towards Industrialization of the Productive Sectors), a programme co-funded by the European Union and the Government of Germany and managed by the SADC Secretariat. Cally Clothing’s core business focuses on manufacturing branded clothing and other promotional material. With the EUR 100,000 received from the SIPS programme, the company will expand its core business to a new production line of personal protective equipment for health workers in the form of re-usable unisex scrubs and surgical gowns in response to the shortages of protective equipment and material in the Southern Africa market since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Is the resource curse hard-baked into African economies? China’s approach hints that it may not be (The Conversation)
Countries with abundant natural resources – gold, diamonds, crude oil– often fail to transform that advantage into favourable development outcomes. This is known as the natural resource curse. Countries like Nigeria, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo are often cited as examples. Several explanations have been offered for the resource course. These include the lack of government accountability usually associated with large windfalls from natural resources relative to other sources of tax revenues. Others are an increase in the local currency against major currencies such as the US dollar, which makes it difficult for other sectors of the economy to compete globally.
A related problem, but one that has received less attention, is the fiscal resource curse. It refers to the inability of a country well endowed with natural resources to generate domestic revenue from other sectors of the economy. For example, between 2000 and 2010, resource revenues in Angola stayed above 20% of GDP compared to a non-resource tax level of about 7% on average.
China has been offered bilateral infrastructure investment deals to resource rich countries. For instance, China “pays” for some of the commodities by investing in the supplier country’s infrastructure. This has been a common approach in several African countries, including Angola, Sudan, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
Our study investigated whether natural resource revenues displace non-resource tax revenues in developing countries. Its novel contribution is that it explores the impact of China. This is specifically about China’s extensive involvement (as a buyer) in the natural resource trade since joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001.
Covid-19 effects in sub-Saharan Africa increase modestly (Prensa Latina)
Afrexim, Gateway establish business fund for Africa (The Herald)
AFREXIMBANK through its development impact-oriented subsidiary, Fund for Export Development in Africa has entered into a partnership with Gateways Partners in co-establishing a fund that offers financing solutions to business across the continent. Gateway Partners is a leading emerging markets-focused alternative investment manager with offices in Dubai and Singapore. In a statement, AfreximBank said the fund, which is called the Africa Credit Opportunities Fund (ACOF) is intended to widen the bank’s support for the continent beyond traditional trade finance products.
“This partnership, a first of its kind between an African Development Finance Institution and an alternative investment manager, is intended to broaden and strengthen AfreximBank’s support for the continent, by enhancing the bank’s scope of intervention beyond its traditional trade finance products,” it said.
ACOF is a unique platform that brings together the institutional expertise and relationships of AfreximBank and Gateway to provide much needed financing solutions to businesses across Africa.
All set for the 1st EAC Regional Tourism Expo (EAC)
Tourism players are upbeat of the sector’s recovery in the region, with the upcoming 1st EAC Regional Tourism EXPO already attracting over 2,000 visitors from across the globe and 100 exhibitors confirming their participation at the TGT grounds in Arusha, Tanzania. The expo set for 9th to 11th October 2021, aims at creating awareness on tourism investment opportunities amid the pandemic and promote EAC as a single tourism destination. Currently, EAC Partner States’ Ministers of Tourism and Government officials from Botswana, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed their participation.
“In respect to the tourism sector, these sub-themes will revolve around aspects such as tourism resilience and crisis management, digital tourism marketing, development of multi-destination tourism packages and tourism investment opportunities and incentives. On the other hand, wildlife-related sub-themes will include Combating Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade and economic value of wildlife in the region,” said Hon. Mathuki.
Africa Is Changing—and U.S. Strategy Is Not Keeping Up (Foreign Affairs Magazine)
Africa has never been a top priority for the United States. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all launched impactful initiatives there—helping advance trade, health, and energy, among other things—but their administrations devoted only limited, episodic attention to the continent. President Donald Trump gave it even less thought: he was the first U.S. president since Ronald Reagan not to travel to Africa, and his Africa policy, to the extent it could be discerned, focused on the narrow goals of competing with China, reducing the U.S. military footprint, and expanding private-sector engagement. President Joe Biden’s administration has been similarly slow out of the blocks on Africa. Aside from its focused diplomatic response to the horrific civil war in Ethiopia and a few hints about other areas of emphasis, such as trade and investment, Biden has not articulated a strategy for the continent. Yet powerful demographic, economic, and political changes are sweeping across Africa, expanding the opportunities for positive U.S. engagement there and underscoring the need to elevate Africa on the list of U.S. foreign policy priorities. In the coming months, the Biden administration should set out a bold strategy that reframes American thinking about Africa from a focus on the sub-Saharan region to a wider look at the continent as a whole and from an overemphasis on U.S.-Chinese competition to a broader engagement with Africans themselves. Doing so will require lengthening the time frame for U.S. objectives, especially those concerning democracy and human rights, and focusing more on bolstering institutions than on preserving relationships with individual African leaders.
African Presidents, Business leaders, UAE Royal family affirm support for Africa-UAE trade and investment forum (Premium Times)
President Ramaphosa of South Africa, President Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Nigeria’s Trade and Investment minister, Adeniyi Adebayo and the His Excellency Sheikh Tahnoon Al Nahyan have all confirmed attendance for the FIN Africa-UAE Trade and Investment Forum and the Forbes Best of Africa Energy Award sessions that will hold on November 21st, 2021 at the prestigious 7-star Burj AL Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The event is a two-pronged package. The theme of the International Energy Forum is “The future of oil and gas in Africa” while the theme of the Trade and Investment Forum is “The road to a prosperous Africa”. The FIN Africa-UAE Trade and Investment Forum and the Forbes Best of Africa Energy Award sessions will hold on November 21st, 2021 at the prestigious 7-star Burj AL Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The second part which is the conference and the exhibition will hold on November 22nd – 23rd, 2021 at Shangaria Hotel, Dubai. The Trade and Investment Forum will aim at stimulating of wider inclusiveness between countries to speed up actualization of prosperous Africa; act as an advocacy machinery for the development of job creation incubation system for African youths at the grassroots and impact on the participants improved know-how on available opportunities for trade, investment and tourism.
According to Olayinka Fayomi, Chief Executive, Foreign Investment Network (FIN), “it is estimated that the impact of COVID-19 would drag African economies into a fall of about 1.4% in GDP, with smaller economies facing contraction of up to 7.8%. So, it is time to turn to trade and investments help to build better bilateral trade and investment platforms and boost the economy as well as increasing productivity and export capacity.”
Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Development Cooperation between Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and the AUC. Mahamat visited TİKA and had a meeting with Serkan Kayalar, TİKA’s President. In the meeting, Kayalar stated that Turkey has deep-rooted relations with Africa and that the improvement in these bilateral and multilateral relations gained momentum in every field with Turkey’s declaration of 2005 as the “Year of Africa”. Kayalar said, “As the strategic partner of the African Union, Turkey ensures sustainable cooperation in every field based on mutual trust.” He added that the number of Turkish Embassies in Africa, which was 12 in 2002, reached 43 in 2021. Kayalar noted that African countries were not indifferent to Turkey’s interest in the continent and that the number of the embassies of African countries in Turkey, which was 10 in 2008, reached 37. He added, “Today, Turkey is a major trade partner of many African countries. All our institutions are carrying out important activities in Africa as a result of the improving diplomatic relations under the strong leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the national leader who made the highest number of official visits to Africa. As TİKA, we opened our Ethiopia Office, our first office on the continent, in 2005. Now, we have 22 offices in Africa.”
Atlantic Council’s Africa Center to host high-level international summit on African creative industries (Atlantic Council)
The Atlantic Council’s Africa Center will host the inaugural Africa Creative Industries Summit on Friday, October 15, 2021. The summit will feature senior government officials, cultural icons, and business leaders advancing innovative solutions to unlock the extraordinary potential of the African creative industries, including visual arts, design, and fashion; film, television, and radio; music and performing arts; and literature and publishing. Speakers will appear from locations across Africa and from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC.
According to UNESCO, the creative economy generates $2.25 trillion in global revenue, employing nearly 30 million people. Yet, Africa accounts for less than 3 percent of total revenue and 8 percent of creative industries jobs, leaving room for significant growth. Nigeria has served as a case study for the continent’s potential, as it is now home to the fastest growing music and entertainment industries in the world. PWC estimates the creative industries market in Nigeria has risen to US$6.4billion (up from US$3.6billion in 2016).
International
General Council chair briefs members on work towards MC12 outcome document (WTO)
“Work towards a possible MC12 outcome document is a member-led process,” the chair declared. “As always, it is the members that decide what goes into any agreed outcome document.” Ambassador Castillo has been assisting WTO members in his capacity as General Council chair with work on the first part of the outcome document, which would cover: (i) the context in which MC12 takes place; (ii) broader political messages; and (iii) guidance from ministers on additional elements members may agree on. Work has taken place in a small group format broadly representative of the membership and comprising all group coordinators and several other delegations, he noted. Transparency is being ensured through group coordinators who keep their members up to date on the ongoing discussions and feed their views and suggestions back into the process, as well as through the chair’s regular reports at informal General Council meetings.
The new order of trade (The Economist)
For over 200 years, economists have largely accepted such arguments, although some politicians have displayed an atavistic fondness for protection. But after 1945, most leaders around the world converged on support for freer trade. Taken by the idea that more open markets promote innovation, competition and growth, they pursued them, first in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), founded in 1948, and then after the GATT was transformed into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995. The WTO was an extraordinary achievement. For the first time—and almost uniquely for international institutions—the system included binding dispute settlement, so that victims of rule-breaking could win redress. No longer could big countries throw their weight around and assume that any injury to others was consequence-free. Such was the faith placed in the new institution that, when China belatedly joined it in 2001, many in the West hoped that it would lead to economic and political convergence with rich democracies.
Between 1990 and 2017 the trade-weighted average global tariff applied under WTO rules fell by 4.2 percentage points. The drop was greatest in poorer countries
This system supported an explosion of global trade as a share of gross output, from around 30% in the early 1970s to 60% in the early 2010s. Over the same period complex global supply chains grew from around 37% to 50% of total trade. The stunning collapse in transport costs boosted international commerce.
Evolving freight situation continues to disrupt Asia-to-West Africa rice trade (Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide)
Rising freight rates and the shift away from container shipments have continued to make waves in the Asia-to-West Africa rice trade in recent weeks.
A Singapore-based trader for the region said: “Container shipments are not workable so we have all switched to breakbulk shipment.” “[shipping in containers] makes no sense,” a Europe-based trader said, who historically shipped almost exclusively in containers.
However, shipping in breakbulk is not without its own set of issues, which traders are finding out as more and more breakbulk ships loaded with rice arrive in West Africa. Delays are increasingly commonplace amid clogged ports. Additionally, current Asia-to-West Africa freight rates of between $130-$150/mt are significantly higher than the cost of delivering the rice which is arriving in destination markets now.
Devex CheckUp: Could an IP waiver have averted millions of deaths? (Devex)
A year has passed since India and South Africa submitted a proposal to the World Trade Organization to temporarily waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 products. But despite the support of over 100 countries, including the United States, the proposal has yet to be adopted. COVID-19 has caused 3.5 million deaths since the waiver was put forward at the WTO. We wondered: What might have happened if the proposal had been quickly approved?
UNCTAD15: Vaccine inequity is bad for global business (UNCTAD)
The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to undermine global and regional supply chains – and the world’s economy – unless vaccine access is boosted in developing countries given that production systems are interconnected. This was the message from various speakers at UNCTAD’s 15th quadrennial conference (UNCTAD15) on 6 October, during the second ministerial round-table discussion on reshaping global and regional value chains. They said care needs to be taken to ensure the substantial COVID-19 recovery programmes adopted by many governments and the resilience strategies of the private sector generate sustainable and inclusive growth that benefits all countries, particularly the most vulnerable.
International Chamber of Commerce’s secretary-general, John Denton, warned that the global economy stood to lose as much as $9.2 trillion, with developed countries shouldering half the cost, if governments failed to ensure developing countries’ access to COVID-19 vaccines. On the fragility of value chains, Mr. Denton sounded a positive note, lauding the agility and robustness of businesses in the wake of the pandemic. He warned that nationalism and protectionism were counterproductive to the efficient functioning of international production networks. “Reshoring is impractical and doesn’t make business sense,” he said.
At UNCTAD15 leaders count the cost of not fixing the global debt crisis (UNCTAD)
Even before the pandemic, debt levels were dangerously unsustainable, especially for developing countries and the world’s poorest nations. COVID-19 has accelerated this challenge exponentially. Reform is the only way forward, world leaders and a Nobel laureate said at the first ministerial round-table discussion of UNCTAD’s 15th quadrennial conference (UNCTAD15). Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley gave her “report from the frontlines” as a nation at the intersection of debt and climate vulnerability. She said the international economic system faces its biggest task since the establishment of the Bretton Woods institutions “because the front line of trade dependency crosses the front line of the climate crisis.” The rise in developing country total debt – public, private, domestic and external – is at its highest level on record, at 193% of combined developing country GDP in 2018. “We are either going to find ourselves servicing debt or servicing people. We have to make the choice,” she said, adding her nation could not do both.
DG Okonjo-Iweala on World Cotton Day: Cotton is crucial for sustainable development (WTO)
This year’s event is the first occasion since the United Nations General Assembly decision on 30 August, to officially recognize 7 October as World Cotton Day as proposed by Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. The UN resolution acknowledges cotton’s economic and social impact around the world. DG Okonjo-Iweala stressed the far-reaching impact of the UN resolution. “First and foremost, the UN’s official recognition of an international day for cotton is a recognition of all the women and men who derive their livelihoods from cotton production, processing, transformation, and commercialization,” she said. The DG also underscored the relationship between the cotton sector and sustainable development. “Today, the sector faces new challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of climate change, and changing consumer preferences. In this context, the cotton sector has a crucial role to play in making a concrete contribution towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” she noted.
Here’s Why Cotton Stands Out in a World of Change (Sourcing Journal)
It’s World Cotton Day 2021. And while that sounds like a great reason to break out the hoodies and denim jeans, the celebration plans go so much further. The theme for this year’s event is “Cotton for Good,” and the focus will include sustainability, women in cotton, and brand and retailer partnerships. Begun two years ago by the World Trade Organization (WTO), World Cotton Day (WCD) recognizes the importance of cotton as a global commodity. When it hosted the first celebration, the WTO’s aim was to give exposure to farmers, processors, researchers and businesses, and their contributions to the cotton value chain.
Today, as then, events will be held around the globe and the general public is invited to tune in to see cotton’s enduring, positive impact. The regions that will be represented include North America, Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Activities will include in-person field visits, parades through communities, webinars, and research discussions. This year, cotton’s sustainability comes to the forefront as climate change threatens not just the plant itself, but the communities and industries that surround its farming, milling, and textile and food production.
Worldwide 26 million (metric) tonnes — the equivalent of 28.66 million U.S. tons — of cotton are produced every year, according to the Bremen Cotton Exchange. The organization estimates 150 million people are involved in its production and further processing.
Outrageous: Infrastructure Costs Increasing $2.3 Billion in a Crisis (IATA)
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that planned increases in charges by airports and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) will stall recovery in air travel and damage international connectivity. Confirmed airport and ANSP charges increases have already reached $2.3 billion. Further increases could be ten fold this number if proposals already tabled by airports and ANSPs are granted.
“A $2.3 billion charges increase during this crisis is outrageous. We all want to put COVID-19 behind us. But placing the financial burden of a crisis of apocalyptic proportions on the backs of your customers, just because you can, is a commercial strategy that only a monopoly could dream up. At an absolute minimum, cost reduction—not charges increases—must be top of the agenda for every airport and ANSP. It is for their customer airlines,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
MENA Economic How Economic and Health Fault Lines Left MENA Ill-Prepared (World Bank)
This edition of the World Bank MENA Economic Update estimates that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s economies, which contracted by 3.8% in 2020, will grow by 2.8% in 2021. Overall, the output cost of COVID-19 so far in MENA is almost $200 billion, a number estimated by comparing the region’s forecast GDP level with a scenario where there was not any COVID.
The report predicts that the economic recovery will be both tenuous and uneven, with per capita GDP, which is a more accurate measure of people’s standard of living, increasing by only 1.1% in 2021 after declining an estimated 5.4% in 2020. The report estimates that 13 of 16 countries covered in the macroeconomic forecasts will have lower standards of living than prior to COVID. The region’s recovery will also depend on a rapid and equitable rollout of vaccines, while for some countries additional growth risks are posed by ongoing political uncertainty.
4 things to expect for the upcoming #12WCC (ICC)
Chambers of Congress from over 100 countries are expected to participate in the 12th edition of the World Chambers Congress next month. The Congress, which takes place in Dubai from 23-25 November is a headline event in the chamber calendar and is set to look at the evolving role of chambers in the digital age. As over 1,000 delegates from around the world prepare for the biennial event, here are four things they can expect from the largest chamber connection of the year.
1. A pioneering programme to drive a forward-leading action plan
2. A top-notch lineup of speakers and visionaries
3. Access to the much-anticipated Expo 2020 Dubai
4. Participation from over 100 countries, including least developed countries (LDC)
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Growth in South Africa is projected to rebound from -6.4 percent to 4.6 percent –World Bank (IOL)
The World Bank has revised South Africa’s growth forecast for 2021 as gross domestic product (GDP) would be supported by a favourable global environment and base effects. In its biannual Africa Pulse report, the World Bank said growth in South Africa was projected to rebound from -6.4 percent in 2020 to 4.6 percent in 2021. This is a significant GDP outlook from the 4 percent projection the bank forecast in July at the height of civil unrest and riots in South Africa, and more so from its 3 percent April forecast. The World Bank said the R38.8 billion relief package to support businesses and the R350 monthly payment to households that were affected by the pandemic as well as by riots and lootings, respectively, had boosted economic activity. However, the World Bank warned that South Africa was facing numerous challenges going forward, including a record unemployment rate of 34.4 percent.
Infrastructure projects get the greenlight (SAnews)
Infrastructure investment in South Africa has made significant strides in the current financial year, with four projects worth a collective R21 billion getting the green light for implementation, the Infrastructure Fund (IF) has revealed.
Unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018, the blended finance R100 billion fund was expected to provide catalytic finance over 10 years, leveraging as much as R1 trillion in new investment for strategic infrastructure projects. In relation to the four projects, the IF had already gone through the Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) processes to get the projects approved. “What we’re excited about is that even in the first year of the operation of the IF, there was commitment from Treasury under the current constrained fiscal environment, R4 billion in the current year, R6 billion and 8 billion in the following years. So we’re talking about R24 billion of the R100 billion. We’re excited about that because there’s always this trust gap that we make commitments, but we don’t follow up.”
Troubled South Africa sugar industry pushes for biofuel subsidy (Engineering News)
South Africa’s sugar industry is in talks with the government over a potential subsidy that could see it convert more than a third of its annual output into biofuel, according to a group representing companies in the sector. Currently 800 000 tons of the industry’s annual output of 2.1-million tons is being exported at a loss, according to the South African Sugar Association.
SA firms won’t invest cash as long as there’s heightened uncertainty - Kganyago (Eyewitness News)
South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago told a webinar hosted by the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) on Wednesday night that there was uncertainty about policy and also the way forward with regards to COVID-19.
Current account deficit narrows slightly (Namibia Economist)
Stronger exports outweighed the adverse impact of weak investment incomes and lower Southern Africa Customs Union receipts, resulting in a slight narrowing of the external deficit. The current account deficit narrowed to N$3.1 billion in the second quarter of 2021 compared with a larger deficit of N$3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2021, according to the Bank of Namibia’s latest Quarterly Bulletin.
Namibia’s goods trade deficit narrowed to N$6.3 billion in the quarter under review, compared with a deficit of N$8.8 billion in the first quarter.
Ministry moves to save dairy industry (Namibian)
A TASK force set up by the agriculture ministry recommends a number of measures to save the dairy industry from collapse, including introducing quantitative controls on imported dairy products, said minister of agriculture, water and land reform Calle Schlettwein in the National Assembly recently. The Namibian highlighted the plight of dairy producers and the threat to 1 500 jobs in the sector, early last month. Schlettwein said restrictions on imported dairy products were the only viable short-term measure that would safeguard and support the industry, spur production and support value chain development. “It is a domestic measure that can be imposed, similar to what is happening in the horticultural industry through the Market Share Promotion scheme managed by the Namibia Agronomic Board,” he said. “However, this measure can only be implemented through the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade as the custodian of the Import and Export Control Act, 1994.”
Kenyan Startup Seeks to Raise $100 Million for Africa Growth (Bloomberg)
Kenyan startup Sendy Ltd. seeks to raise $100 million by 2022 to fund the digital logistics platform’s plan to expand in western and southern Africa. The Nairobi-based company, which facilitates door-to-door deliveries between individuals and businesses, will use the funds to commence business in the new markets, including Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana and South Africa, co-founder Malaika Judd said in an interview. Sendy, backed by Toyota Tsusho Corp, is seeking growth and partnerships amid the continent’s push to boost trade through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. The World Bank forecasts the accord will increase trade within the region by 80% to $532 billion by 2035, partly helped by improved technology-driven efficiency. “The long-term plan is to consolidate logistics in Africa,” Judd said. “The way to turbo-charge our growth is not necessarily to do it ourselves, but to partner with the entrepreneurs in the market who want to do the same things we want to do,” she said.
Banana deal promises bright future for farmers (The Citizen)
A Kilimanjaro-based Mackjaro yesterday became the first beneficiary of the newfound banana trading partnership between farmers and export-oriented buyers. Kenya-based Twiga Foods, which distributes 100 tonnes of fresh fruits and vegetables across Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu daily, has already promised to start buying at least eight tonnes of raw bananas through the Kilimanjaro-based firm. This was revealed here yesterday by Mr Kevin Remen, a business environment manager of the Taha Group. “This is one of the measures taken by the Group to open the export markets for bananas”, he said, noting that Kenya was one of the potential markets for the crop. He said banana growers in the northern zone regions will benefit from the new market for one of their food staple as well as cash crop. The opening of the market follows a recent meeting of banana stakeholders held in Moshi during which the minister for Agriculture, Prof Adolf Mkenda, called for deliberate efforts to market the crop locally, regionally and abroad.
Kenya seeks new aviation routes to the Caribbean (The East African)
Kenya is seeking new aviation partnerships that will see Nairobi reach out to the Caribbean market, as President Uhuru Kenyatta argued for more trade, debt relief and vaccine equity for pandemic recovery. On Wednesday, Kenya inked bilateral deals on aviation cooperation, environmental conservation and trade and investment, on his second day of his visit to the Caribbean island. The arrangements touched on bilateral air services agreement, the first step for the two countries to allow airlines to enter cooperation and connections, and ease travel between the two regions.
Kenyans to participate in virtual China-Africa Expo (The Star)
China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China International Exhibition Center Group Corporation, and China Association of Trade in Services have jointly organised the 2021 China- Eastern and Southern Africa International Trade Digital Expo to start on October 13. The exhibition is expected to help Chinese foreign trade companies break through the epidemic barriers and quickly match supply and demand with buyers from Eastern and Southern Africa countries, promote Sino-African economic and trade and capacity cooperation.
Competition agency warns professionals against fixing prices (Business Daily)
The competition watchdog has warned professional bodies against colluding to set prices following attempts by engineers and accountants to prescribe client fees. The Treasury is reviewing regulations that will set the minimum fees charged by accountants to curb price under-cutting and boost professionalism. Engineers have also published a notice proposing new rules to set minimum charges and prevent undercutting in the professional body. Competition Authority of Kenya said the moves are akin to fixing prices and will kill competition and make services expensive. “It is important to note that “the envisaged arrangements of setting minimum rates/fees, highlighted in the media recently, are only meant to extinguish competition among members of the professional associations to the detriment of clients/consumers,” said Wang’ombe Kariuki, CAK director-general. “Further, Article 227 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 provides that the government should procure goods and services through a system which is, among others, cost-effective.
Agro, manufacturing sectors raise job cuts alert on rising costs (Business Daily)
The prospects of a recovery in employment have dimmed, with agriculture and manufacturing firms expecting to shed more jobs this year due to higher fuel and power costs, drought and shipping delays for industrial goods. The two sectors are the most relied on to generate a high number of jobs due to their long value chains that include input suppliers, producers, transporters and retailers. Respondents from the two sectors told the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in a survey ahead of last week’s monetary policy committee meeting that they will also be cutting jobs to control costs, now that demand has gone down due to reduced purchasing power among Kenyans during the Covid-19 period.
“Agricultural sector respondents reported expected decline in the number of employees in 2021 citing reduced production activity and the need to cut production costs,” said the CBK in the market perceptions survey report published yesterday.
“Players in the manufacturing sector expected reduced numbers due to reduced production activity, interruptions due to shipping delays caused by the pandemic, cash flow challenges, unmet revenue targets and stagnation in business activities.”
Rwanda, Mozambique ink trade, investment pact (The New Times)
Rwanda and Mozambique have signed an agreement that will boost their economic development through trade and investment activities. The two countries through their respective institutions in charge of development, Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and APIEX of Mozambique signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 6. According to Zephanie Niyonkuru, Deputy Chief Executive at RDB, the signed MoU is expected to facilitate private sectors to implement different investment projects in both countries. Some of the highlighted potential areas of interest include Agriculture and Agro-processing, infrastructure, energy, and tourism among others.
Revenue allocation review not meant to change Nigeria’s fiscal structure – FG (Nairametrics)
The Nigerian Government has said that its recent move to begin a revenue allocation review between the three tiers of government is not intended to change Nigeria’s fiscal structure through restructuring.
Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Engr. Elias Mbam said: “Whether we are devolving power or going into complete system of federalism or we are restructuring, is not the concern of this review. The review of the mobilisation and revenue allocation is a product of law and an Act provided by the 1999 Constitution as amended,’.’
FG task insurers to leverage AfCFTA, innovation to boost income (Daily Sun)
The Federal Government has urged the Nigerian insurance industry to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and technology to lift millions of Nigerians out of extreme poverty. The move according to the Federal Government will also help to raise the income level
AGI advocates dedicated AfCFTA implementation fund (The Business & Financial Times)
The country needs a dedicated fund to enable it implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) fully and in a manner that accrues to the benefit of industry, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has advocated. The AfCFTA – the single largest untapped continental market available for trade and immediate investment – commenced in January this year; but the AGI fears the absence of a dedicated fund, given the current economic climate due to the pandemic, might negatively impact its execution.
“We need to have a dedicated fund for AfCFTA implementation to empower industry to take full advantage of the agreement,” AGI’s Vice President Humphrey Dake said.
Liberian Import Taxes (2.5% To 25%) Versus Export Taxes Of 0% (Global News Network)
This is an appeal to the Liberian Government, especially our Liberian Lawmakers to reduce the import tax rate (ranging from 2.5% to 25%) and remove the 0%tax rate and re-institute the 10% tax on goods sold to buyers outside of Liberia. Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf replaced the 10% with 0% tax rate on exported goods on December 5, 2016. This is also an appeal to the Liberian Revenue Authority to request ArcelorMittal Steel and Liberian Firestone Rubber Plantation, to file the Withholding Tax Returns to report export taxes that they should have collected based on goods sold to buyers outside of Liberia before December 5, 2016, if there is no Liberian Tax Law that exempts and/or prohibits (for example, Liberian Law on Statute of Limitation) the two Liberian taxpayers.
“Export taxes are taxes on goods or services that become payable when the goods leave the economic territory…the taxes are a credible policy, yielding the government some revenue,” says Mr. Roberta Piemartini, ERSD, World Trade Organization.
Mr. Piemartini added that “…Export taxes are mainly used by developing and least-developed countries (LDCs). Of the 15 LDCs reviewed in the context of the WTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism, 10 impose export duties, while only 3 of 30 OECD countries use them. The research shows that Ghana and Sierra Leone do not impose tax on export, yet Ghana, according to Figure 6 of Natural Resources Revenue (2000-2013 and 2014-2017), percent of Gross National Product, collected more revenue than revenue collected by South Africa, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, or Liberia.
Africa
Experts: Customs procedures must be in place to ensure AfCFTA is operational (The New Times)
Latest assessments show that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can assist with Covid-19 recovery but expected benefits from the agreement will not be automatic as countries must first put in place relevant customs procedures, a trade expert noted on Monday, October 4. While presenting and discussing current trends of commodity prices and their implications for African economies during a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) webinar for the media, Stephen Karingi, ECA’s Director for Regional Integration and Trade, among others, shed light on supporting Africa’s transformative agenda through effective AfCFTA implementation. He explained that member states must first pursue the ratification of the agreement as well as implement the agreement effectively.
Africa’s Free-Trade Area to Get $7 Billion in Support From AfDB (Bloomberg)
Coca-Cola VP calls for the catalysation of women entrepreneurship for AfCFTA success at COMESA Conference (Technology Zimbabwe)
Coca-Cola Vice President for East and Central Africa, Debra Mallowah has emphasised the critical contribution and participation of women in the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and called for the identification of opportunities that will catalyze their entrepreneurship.
“Women will need to be supported to exploit these opportunities in diverse ways, and importantly, they also must be intentional in leveraging opportunities that AfCTA provides” Speaking at the virtual Womens’ Empowerment Conference on AfCFTA organised by the COMESA Business Council (CBC) in partnership with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), Mallowah lauded the new trade opportunities that the trading area will provide especially in priority economic sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and services where women can play.
Google to invest $1 bn to lift internet access in Africa (Eyewitness News)
Google on Wednesday said it will invest $1 billion over the next five years to allow for faster and more affordable internet access and support entrepreneurship in Africa. Internet reliability is a problem in Africa where less than a third of the continent’s 1.3 billion people are connected to broadband, according to the World Bank. But the continent, where nearly half the population is under 18, is a promising market. According to Google and Alphabet boss, Sundar Pichai “huge strides” have been made in recent years, but more work is needed to make “internet accessible, affordable and useful for every African”.
Diasporans urged to fully engage with Africa (East African Business Week)
The organisers of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021) hosted a virtual roadshow event in partnership with the Africa Center for the African diaspora under the theme “Building Bridges between Africa and the Diaspora to realize opportunities under African Continental Free Trade Area”. The objective of the event was to raise awareness of how the Diaspora can connect to markets and businesses across the continent through the IATF 2021.
In her Keynote speech, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Managing Director, Intra-African Trade Initiative, Afreximbank, said that Afreximbank’s “long-held view is that a diaspora programme must be a two-way street, not so much about what they can do for us but equally importantly, what we can do for them. While the African Diaspora has grown and become a significant source of development finance and skilled human capital, we must, nonetheless, create systems and build institutions that connect in a sustainable manner the Diaspora to the continent of Africa; IATF 2021 offers one such platform.”
African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) Welcomes Cameroon as its 19th African Member State (Africanews)
Cameroon has joined ATI (www.ATI-aca.org) as the 19th African Member State with a subscribed capital contribution of EUR 11.37 Million, with the financial support of the European Investment Bank (EIB); Cameroon’s membership in ATI will enable the Central African nation benefit from ATI’s Guarantees to support increased exports, attract more foreign direct investments, and boost regional and international trade; ATI’s membership drive is supported by EIB, which to date has provided a combined EUR 94.11 Million (approximately US$110 million) in concessional lending for the membership expansion of ATI in Central and West African States.
Commodity markets to remain volatile: ECA (UNECA)
Commodity markets in Africa are expected to remain volatile in the coming months following the persistence of Covid-19 constrains in the supply chain and other global economic pressures, says Stephen Karingi, Director of Regional Integration and Trade Division at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Mr Karingi was speaking at the ECA Price Watch session with African finance ministers on ‘Commodity prices amid COVID-19: prospects and policy implications for African economies.’ This is the 5th in the series of presentation sessions of price development in a specific sector compiled and disseminated by the ECA Price Watch Centre for Africa. He said that African economies remain largely dependent on primary commodities exports and that although the commodity sector in most African economies is a significant source of national revenues, high dependence on the sector means high vulnerability to the vagaries of international markets and volatile prices passed on to local markets.
Council Post: What Business Leaders And Investors Need To Know About The AfCFTA Treaty (Forbes)
AfCFTA is the single largest untapped continental market available for trade and immediate investment. With 1.3 billion people across Africa and a combined $3.4 trillion GDP, 55 countries in Africa have ratified the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, thus making this treaty the most significant single treaty ever to be solidified by a collective group of countries in the world. This treaty makes Africa, for the very first time, united on one front.
What should the focus be for foreign investors interested in trading within this new African Union Member States?
The immediate economic growth from this treaty is glaring within two specific industrial revolutionary spaces: Infrastructure capital investment development projects and agricultural projects are first on the priority list of the ambassadors of the AfCFTA Treaty. The implementation and adoption of the treaty look to accelerate the establishment of the Continental Customs Union, achieve sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development and transformation of the member countries, improve the competitiveness of member countries and drive industrialization, regional value chain development, agricultural development and food security.
I believe the AfCFTA Treaty must establish a Trade Code of Conduct Policy to help Fast-Track Borders and Custom limitations impeding regional trade, especially for agricultural goods with a short shelf-life. A Fast-Track Permit can increase delivery time and increase demand for products, which would, in turn, increase revenue. A Code of Conduct Fast-Track Permit could include: mandates on gender equality adoption and a maintenance clause for both suppliers and traders to not employ under-aged workers and pay at least the legal minimum wage for their home country. In addition, suppliers and traders should not make employees work excessive overtime and adhere to basic safety standards for staff.
Uhuru feted for promoting global trade, Africa-Carribean ties (The Star)
The president added that the award also signifies the work he and Prime Minister Mia Mottley have been doing to strengthen the ties between Africa and the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) region. “Our desire and objective are to see all people of African descent come together, be able to stand together, and be able to fight for our respective rights, freedoms, and our space in global affairs. “This, I believe, is the spirit that has brought me to Barbados, it is the spirit that continues to encourage me to continue with the work that we have started. It is really my hope and prayer that as a result of the engagements we have had, we will see the strengthening and re-establishment of the Pan-Africanism – the spirit that brought us our independence.”
EXPO 2020 DUBAI a chance to explore potential partnerships required for Africa’s socio-economic transformation- AUC Chairperson (African Union)
To mark the official opening of the Expo 2020 Dubai and the African Union Pavilion located in the Opportunity District, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat congratulated the Government of the UAE on the inauguration of the first world expo to be hosted in the MENA region, and added that the African Union welcomes the opportunity to share its vision and the aspirations of the African people on this global platform . “We plan to share not only our dynamic heritage, but give the world an opportunity to engage with Africa as an investment partner” he remarked. The Chairperson also expressed his well wishes to the AU team in the United Arab Emirates, who are assigned to represent the Commission and the continent at the world Expo.
“Africa is ready to do business and we want to position the continent as the place to be for all our international investors as well as those interested in the continent’s future. This is the perfect time for us to not only be a part of the conversations, but lead the conversations, as a continent beaming with a lot of untapped potential and resources” said Dr. Madueke.
President Ramaphosa of South Africa, President Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Nigeria’s Trade and Investment minister, Adeniyi Adebayo and the His Excellency Sheikh Tahnoon Al Nahyan have all confirmed attendance for the FIN Africa-UAE Trade and Investment Forum and the Forbes Best of Africa Energy Award sessions that will hold on November 21st, 2021 at the prestigious 7-star Burj AL Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates A letter from His Excellency Sheikh Tahnoon Al Nahyan in confirmation of His support as Patron and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, reads “We endeavour to use our esteemed office to Invite UAE Investors and Key speakers to the event, as it will further strengthen the business relationships and UAE”. This move is in continuation of its bid to promote emerging economies in Africa and serve as a platform for Africa’s linkage to the world.
According to Olayinka Fayomi, Chief Executive, Foreign Investment Network (FIN), “it is estimated that the impact of COVID-19 would drag African economies into a fall of about 1.4% in GDP, with smaller economies facing a contraction of up to 7.8%. So, it is time to turn to trade and investments help to build better bilateral trade and investment platforms and boost the economy as well as increasing productivity and export capacity.”
Africa-Turkey economic forum to promote trade, investment: Envoy (Daily Sabah)
The upcoming Africa-Turkey Economic and Business Forum in Istanbul will boost trade and investment between Ethiopia and Turkey, Ankara’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union (AU) Yaprak Alp said on Tuesday. Alp made the remarks during the signing of a framework agreement between Turkey and the AU to organize and manage the third Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum on Oct. 21-22.
During the signing of the agreement at the AU’s headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Alp told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Turkey maintains a variety of long-standing relations with Africa. “But the issue of economy and trade is the most important part of our relationship with Africa,” she said, adding that the meeting will be a huge gathering of more than 30 African ministers and businesspeople from the continent and Turkey.
COP26: African countries stand to gain from climate change conference (Out-Law)
Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), countries are classified as ‘industrialised’, ‘economies in transition’ and least-developed countries (LDC). The 49 LDCs, which include 33 countries in Africa, are given special status under the treaty, given their limited capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change. More developed countries are required under article 9 of the UNFCCC to provide financial and technical support to EITs and LDCs to assist them in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. Under article 4, developed countries are expected to take the lead by undertaking economy-wide reduction targets while developing countries should instead continue to enhance their mitigation efforts while being encouraged to move towards economy-wide targets over time. To facilitate the provision of climate finance, the UNFCCC established a financial mechanism to provide financial resources to developing countries. The mechanism is accountable to the parties to the convention which decide on its policies, programme priorities and eligibility criteria for funding. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has served as an operating entity of the financial mechanism since the entry into force of the UNFCCC in 1994.
African governments want climate finance to hit $1.3tr by 2030 (Engineering News)
African nations believe financing to help developing countries deal with climate change should be scaled up more than tenfold to $1.3-trillion per year by 2030, a key African climate negotiator told Reuters. Such an amount would mark a dramatic increase from the current goal of $100-billion annually that developed nations have struggled to meet.
The Republic of Gabon deposits the instrument of ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) (African Union)
The Republic of Gabon became the fourteenth (14th) member state deposited the instrument of ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) to the AU Commission on 4th October 2021 after ratifying it on the 1st October 2021 in Libreville, Gabon. H.E. Amira Elfadil Mohammed, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, at the AU Commission received the instrument from the Ambassador of Gabon to Ethiopia and the African Union Amb. Hermann Imongault. AMA aims to provide support for the improvement of weak regulatory systems. AMA will, among other functions, coordinate and strengthen ongoing initiatives to harmonize medical products regulation and enhance the competence of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) inspectors to do so. The Agency will further coordinate the collection, management, storage and sharing of information on all medical products including substandard and falsified medical products, with all its States Parties and globally.
To date, eighteen (18) member states have ratified the AMA Treaty and fourteen (14) of these have deposited the instruments of ratification to the Commission. The AMA Treaty will enter into Force 30 days upon the deposit of the 15th instrument of ratification at the Commission.
International
International trade is back, but not for all (UNCTAD)
International merchandise trade is booming. Exports of many countries are growing at double digit rates and global trade has already surpassed the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. However, the global trade recovery hides an important asymmetry: small economies and the poorest countries are falling behind. Their recovery is not yet in sight.
In April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the global economy to a standstill. Production and consumption quickly scaled back across the world and international trade appeared to be on its way to a lasting decline. However, by the summer of 2020, global merchandise trade began to recover, fueled by exports of COVID-19 related goods - largely from East Asian economies. By the end of the year trade was strongly rebounding for many countries and sectors. Global trade continued to grow in the first half of 2021, as global value chains recovered and demand in advanced economies increased.
Global trade is expected to continue growing during 2021. Preliminary data for the first half of 2021 indicates an increase in the value of merchandise trade of about 30% compared to 2020 and of about 15% compared to 2019. UNCTAD projects trade to further recover during the second half of 2021. Overall, for 2021 the value of global trade is forecasted to be about 20% and 28% higher than 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The COVID-19 pandemic has produced significant impacts on global trade, driving a c. 10% drop by value in 2020, comprising a c. 8% fall in goods trade and a substantial steeper c. 19% in services trade. Over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, its sustained consequences are becoming clearer, both from an activity perspective – where we expect trade volumes to reach 2019 levels by 2022 after a constrained recovery in 2021 – as well as from a credit risk performance perspective. The ICC Trade Register continues to be the global authoritative source for default rates in trade and supply chain finance with its exclusive data set representing c. 30% of all global trade finance transactions.
ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said: “Access to cost-effective trade credit is of vital importance to millions of small businesses across the world. We hope that the continued evolution of the ICC Trade Register will enable a collaborative dialogue with governments to rethink the regulatory treatment of this essential asset class – in a way that unlocks fresh capital for entrepreneurs, without risking the stability of the financial system.”
Regional integration offers path to resilient future, UNCTAD15 hears (UNCTAD)
With the international trading system failing to deliver to developing countries the goods they need to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, regional integration has become more critical than ever, UNCTAD’s 15th quadrennial conference (UNCTAD15) heard on 6 October. The glaring example of this failure has been the shocking asymmetries in vaccine distribution, panellists at a high-level round table said. About 75% of COVID-19 shots have so far gone to high and upper-middle-income countries, with low-income countries receiving less than half of 1%, according to the World Health Organization. “The current international trading system has so far failed to provide many developing economies with the opportunity to build back better,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said as she opened the discussion. “In this light,” she added, “it is critically important to conceive regional integration and cooperation arrangements as part and parcel of an enabling environment for a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future.”
In search of resilience (The Economist)
WHEN COVID-19 led to a scramble for face masks, Lloyd Armbrust saw America’s shortage as “a really dumb problem to have”. But after his company’s first face mask came off the production line in Austin, Texas, he faced problems of his own. A small sensor went down, halting operations, and he realised that a replacement would take five days to arrive from Taiwan. He found himself competing for American customers with Chinese companies selling masks for less than they cost to ship. Without government intervention, he warned that America would again face shortages of crucial protective equipment. “We need to make some of this locally,” he says. “We just do.”
Mr Armbrust is not alone in thinking supply chains warrant government intervention. The virus came with a flurry of export restrictions on medical products and a plunge in Chinese exports that raised doubts over whether its production clusters had exposed the world to excessive risk. The private sector promises to adapt. Jacob Wallenberg of the European Round Table for Industry reports more plan Bs in place than two years ago, as well as supply-chain issues appearing on boardroom agendas. But inflation has now popped up as often as logistics, so the emphasis on just-in-case rather than just-in-time may prove fleeting.
The rhetoric around greater resilience is further advanced than any concrete action. And over time, some will turn out to be little more than hype, or window-dressing for policies that were planned already. Many poor countries worry that the pandemic has exposed long-standing vulnerabilities that are hard to fix, most obviously their dependence on tourism. But in richer places the policy responses will involve a grab for three things: facts, friends and fortification.
Mr Evenett worries that these behind-the-border measures will further distort trade. Places already comfortable with the idea of localising production may be emboldened. Trudi Hartzenberg of the Trade Law Centre, a South African think-tank, says the pandemic has bolstered the resolve to develop productive capacity in South Africa, which is linked to the government’s push to waive intellectual-property provisions in WTO rules. In April 2020, as part of its resilience drive, India introduced “production-linked incentives”, first for large-scale electronics manufacturing and pharmaceutical ingredients, and from November for ten other industries, including textiles, car parts and solar modules. If qualifying companies increase sales by a certain amount, they receive cash equal to 4-6% of the gain.
If governments successfully foster critical industries, their alliances will go from nice to necessary. For when supply shoots up, prices crash and everyone tries to export the same subsidised products, trade tensions quickly increase. That was the lesson from Mr Armbrust’s complaints about Chinese competitors, and indeed from the fight between America and the EU over aircraft subsidies. And if conflict seems likely over supply-chain reshoring, it is even more inevitable from another source of strain on the trading system: the wish to fight human-rights abuses.
Uhuru: Debt relief and vaccines crucial for recovery of developing countries (The East African)
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday reiterated his call for supportive debt relief and vaccine access for poor countries, arguing they will be the two most important areas to help the world beat back the Covid-19 pandemic. The President told an audience in a pre-recorded statement that the world must learn from the “flawed” multilateral system that has largely failed to bring on board everyone, but argued developing countries will bank on reduced debt burdens, more vaccines, and easier channels of trade to recover. “As tax revenues have dipped due to the contraction of economic activities, and the increase in the debt burden, the fiscal space to provide a safety net to vulnerable groups in many of our countries has, equally been significantly constrained,” the President said in a pre-recorded statement.
New financing model could help Africa’s COVID-19 recovery and tackle debt (Africa Renewal)
To boost economic growth without hiking the already precarious debt burden, for the first time in history the leaders entertained the possibility of the advanced economies donating their quotas of IMF reserves known as Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to developing economies, most of which are in Africa.
On 23 August, the IMF announced allocations of SDRs worth about $650 billion—an unprecedented amount almost three times the $250 billion worth of SDRs that were allocated to countries in 2009 following the global financial crisis. “The [latest] allocation will benefit all members [as they] address the long-term global need for reserves, build confidence, and foster the resilience and stability of the global economy. It will particularly help our most vulnerable countries struggling to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis,” states the IMF on its website. It is “The largest [allocation] in our history”, according to IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. However, of the $650 billion worth of SDRs, only $33.6 billion are assigned to Africa, an amount many believe falls short of what the continent needs, underscoring the need for reliance on the economic powers’ SDRs.
Liberia Participates in First-Ever UN LDC Future Forum: Addresses Panel On Peace And Development (FrontPageAfrica)
The first-ever Least Developed Countries (LDC) Future Forum opened on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, in Helsinki, Finland, with Liberia participating. The forum is being held on the theme: ‘Achieving Sustainable Development in the Least Developed Countries’ and will contribute to the Fifth United Nations
Poverty index reveals stark inequalities among ethnic groups (UNDP)
Disparities in multidimensional poverty among ethnic groups are consistently high across many countries and in nine ethnic groups more than 90 percent of the population is trapped in poverty, according to new analysis on global multidimensional poverty released today. The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative measures poverty by considering various deprivations experienced by people in their daily lives, including poor health, insufficient education and a low standard of living. Today’s report examines the level and composition of multidimensional poverty across 109 countries covering 5.9 billion people and presents an ethnicity/race/caste disaggregation for 41 countries with available information. The report finds that, in some cases, disparities in multidimensional poverty across ethnic and racial groups are greater than disparities across geographical subnational regions. Indeed, when the MPI is disaggregated by ethnic group, the range in values is greater than that across all 109 countries and all other disaggregations tested.
Less Overseas Coal Is Good, But Developing Countries Still Need More Electricity (Inter Press Service)
President Xi announced last month that China is stopping its financing for new coal-fired power plants overseas. With this announcement from Beijing, the governments of the world’s largest economies have now achieved a consensus to halt their overseas funding of coal plants in developing countries, thereby advancing global efforts to reduce future carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Energized by this success on climate, these governments should now turn their efforts to mobilizing the massive financing required to build the clean power projects that the developing world still needs to fight poverty. Globally, nearly 30% of the energy sector’s CO2 emissions come from coal-fired power plants. Even as various developed countries moved to reduce their own coal use to lower emissions domestically, new coal power plants were being proposed across the developing world, often with financing from China under its massive Belt and Road Initiative.
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SA can't only rely on commodities for economic recovery - Reserve Bank (Fin24)
It is risky for the South African economy to rely so heavily on higher commodity prices for its recovery, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has warned. The bank on Tuesday released its Monetary Policy Review for October 2021. Commodity prices had increased strongly since 2020. This helped support tax revenues- mainly corporate income tax off gains made by mining companies.
Commodity exports - particularly of rhodium, palladium and iron ore - had also bolstered the trade account and assisted in lifting the current account from a deficit to a surplus during the third quarter of 2020. During the second quarter of 2021, South Africa's current account surplus widened to its largest on record at R343 billion, Fin24 previously reported. The current account balance has been in a surplus for four consecutive quarters - and this is the longest sustained surplus in nearly two decades, the review read. The Reserve Bank expects the current account to revert to a deficit in 2023. Higher commodity prices also supported South Africa's growth performance, according to the SARB.
Investment in mining crucial to ensure continued contribution to economy – PwC (Engineering News)
Investment in the mining industry is crucial to ensure its continued contribution to the South African economy, says PwC in its thirteenth edition of SA Mine 2021, a series of publications that highlights trends in the South African mining industry. In a year of doom and gloom on so many fronts, the mining sector delivered a sterling performance with value delivered to all stakeholders, PwC Africa energy, utilities and resources leader Andries Rossouw stated.
Namibia exports improve in August (Namibian)
NAMIBIA recorded an increase in the value of exports during August 2021, which grew by 41,5% to N$7,1 billion up from its July 2021 level of N$5 billion. The country's import bill, on the other hand, amounted to N$10 billion (up by 18,5% on a monthly basis), resulting in a trade deficit of N$2,9 billion. This is contained in the August issue of the Namibia Trade Statistics released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).The agency, however, said when compared to the N$7,5 billion level of August 2020, exports had declined by 6,2% year on year. On an annual basis, imports had recorded growth of 12,1% from their August 2020 level of N$8,9 billion, the NSA stated. The N$2,9 billion deficit recorded in August 2021 was lower than the deficit of N$3,5 billion recorded in July 2021, the decline emanating from increases in the imports of copper, petroleum oils, motor vehicles, ores and concentrates of base metals; and the manufacture of base metals and telecommunication equipment, NSA added.
Drop in SACU revenue leads to budget deficit (The Voice Newspaper Botswana)
A sharp drop in Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenue will see Botswana recording a massive P8.50 billion in the budget deficit for the next financial year. This is according to the 2022 Budget Strategy Paper (BSP) prepared by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The BSP serves as a precursor of upcoming government financial years and makes projections on budgets taking into consideration prevailing conditions. The 2022/2023 fiscal deficit is anticipated to reach P8.50 billion or 4.0 percent of GDP, compared to P7.22billion or 3.7 percent of GDP in 2021/2022. The main reason for the reversal is the sharp drop in SACU revenues, which was expected due to the overpayment in 2020/2021; however, this drop is anticipated to be a once-off.
Lorries crisis talks ongoing: minister (The Citizen)
The government said yesterday that discussions were in progress to end the stalemate involving hundreds of lorries from Tanzania that had been seized in Zambia over illegal logging. However, lorry owners said yesterday that they were immediately suspending the transportation of cargo to the DRC via Zambia until their vehicles and drivers are released. Transporters say about 400 Tanzanian registered lorries had been seized in Zambia since June over illegal logging claims. In 2016, Zambia banned the felling and transporting of a tree known locally as mukula - Pterocarpus chrysothrix, a relative of rosewood - in a bid to curb its rapid loss fuelled by growing demand in Asia. Authorities in Zambia say the lorry drivers get the logs in their country (Zambia) but they use falsified documents to claim that they [the logs] had been obtained in the DRC. But the Minister for Industry and Trade, Prof Kitila Mkumbo, told The Citizen that the government was aware about the issue, and that discussions were at an advanced stage,
High freight fees amplify calls to raise local clinker capacity (Nation)
Increased freight charges slapped on importing coal and clinker have reinforced the case for local production to shield cement manufacturers from steep costs that have kept cement prices on the roofs. Onset of Covid-19 elevated charges as importers of commodities such as coal, clinker and steel compete for airline spaces with transportation of health essentials such as personal protective equipment, masks and vaccines. Bamburi Cement is among companies that have felt the impact of increased freight charges and expects them to remain high going into next year. “We have seen costs increase on input products such as coal and imported clinker mainly driven by higher freight charges,” said Seddiq Hassani, Bamburi Cement chief executive in an earlier interview with Smart Business. “There is very high demand for freight services, especially for Covid-19 supplies and so the rates for freight have increased,” he said.
Ghana’s Busiest Port Presses Ahead With $1.5 Billion Expansion (Bloomberg)
Ghana is positioning its busiest port to become a hub in West Africa with a $1.5 billion expansion project. The project to nearly quadruple the container capacity from 2017 of the port of Tema, which now handles more than 70% of Ghana’s container traffic, was spearheaded by Meridian Port Services, a joint venture between Bollore, APM Terminals and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority. The Port of Tema aspires to overtake regional peers such as the Port of Abidjan, providing a point of transshipments for cargo, Mohamed Samara, MPS Chief Executive Officer told journalists last month. The expansion is set to leverage an Africa-wide trade deal, which came into effect in January and seeks to boost intra-continental commerce from the current 14.5% of trade, according to the African Export-Import Bank. That share compares with more than 50% in Asia and 72% in Europe. The Africa Continental Free Trade Area is creating the world’s biggest free trade zone by area, encompassing a combined economy of $2.5 trillion and a market of 1.2 billion people.
‘Fed Govt at implementation stage of AfCFTA’ (The Nation Newspaper)
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adebayo Adeniyi has said the government is at the implementation stage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Adebayo made this known at the 16th Abuja International Trade Fair, with the theme, ‘Exploring opportunities of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area’. He said there was the need for collaboration among relevant agencies while reaffirming the readiness of the ministry to partner the Abuja Chamber for Commerce and Industry to ensure that Nigeria benefits optimally in trade.
AfCFTA: ACCI embarks on activities for active participation (Vanguard)
The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) says it has embarked on activities to strengthen capacity of the Organised Private Sector to participate actively in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Dr Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, ACCI President, on Monday in Abuja at the opening of its 16th Abuja International Trade Fair, described it as a major gathering platform for businesses all over Africa. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the fair, holding at Abuja Trade and Convention Centre has its theme as “Exploring Opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and will end on Oct. 9.
“The private sector must be ready to capitalise on the readiness of the government to deploy all state apparatus in support of Nigeria’s participation in AfCFTA. “The importance of AfCFTA is underscored by the full support of government towards preparing the nation to exploit the opportunities the
“Nigeria Operates Port System That Negates Growth” (Thisday Newspapers)
The President, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLA), Mr. Lucky Amiwero has said the nation operates a port system that is negative to growth. This, according to him is because the various charges and rates paid across ports in the country remain highest in the world as governments do not sell their port or concession it to private entities.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos on the sideline of activities to mark his 68th birthday, the astute technocrat noted that Nigeria is fast losing its position in the industry to Cameroon, Benin, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire who are deliberately positioning themselves to take the advantage of the lack of favourable maritime business activities in the sub region.
“In regulation, the economy and the nation’s interest is not taken into cognizance. If you look at the rates we are paying in the ports you do not pay that anywhere in the world. If you look at the days you spend in the ports you do not do that anywhere in the world. So you have a system that is negative to growth and a port system that is negative to growth.
“There is no regulation in Nigerian ports, nobody regulates; so the economic interest is not covered. It is the importers and agents that are paying the cost and if you look at the cost in Nigeria it is quite high and huge, everyday you see it goes up which is because of the kind of system we operate within the port,” he said.
Nigeria is languishing in the GDP stakes compared to other African countries (Pulse Nigeria)
Although GDP grew by 2.7% in 2021 compared to a -2.18% contraction in 2020 in the first few months of 2020, if we look at it quarter by quarter, Nigeria’s economy slowed by nearly 1%. The trade sector, of course, can take a lot of credit for the economic recovery, but Nigeria isn’t out of the woods yet. Indeed, the real GDP figure shows they are still quite a way off meeting future GDP targets. Inevitably, there will be a note of caution sounded over GDP figures. There has been a catalogue of poor business errors made over the past few years, which has stunted economic growth. Among these included a border closure that stymied cross-border trade between Nigeria and their West African neighbours. Also, there is an increased fear among business owners will be double taxed, as the government seeks to recoup VAT in what is still a challenging economic climate.
Nigeria Must Improve Ease Of Doing Business To Remain Biggest Economy – ACCI (Leadership Newspapers)
Nigeria has been asked to improve its ease of doing business record to be able to maintain its prime place as the country with the largest economy in Africa with the advent of the famous African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) Dr Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, gave the advice during the opening ceremony of this year’s Abuja international trade fair, holding at the Abuja convention centre. The fair is titled: ‘Exploring Opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area.’ While the agreement has the potential to reduce poverty, create significant opportunities for member countries, there are concerns that unprepared countries could lose positions to others considering the fact that it is a competitive venture for all. Dr Abubakar said the private sector must be ready to capitalise on the readiness of the government to deploy all state apparatus in support of Nigeria’s participation in AfCFTA.
IMF Staff Completes 2021 Article IV Consultation Mission to Algeria (IMF)
"Like other countries, Algeria has been hit hard by the Covid-19 global pandemic. The IMF mission would like to express its solidarity with Algerians affected by the health crisis and those who have worked tirelessly to support the population. The mission is pleased to see that timely sanitary measures and an accelerated vaccination campaign since July have helped to recede the third wave that hit the country last summer.
The pandemic and concomitant decline in oil production and prices have seriously impacted the economy last year, leading to a sharp contraction in real GDP of 4.9 percent in 2020. In addition to measures to stem the spread of the pandemic, the authorities have implemented a comprehensive set of actions to cushion the impact on the economy, including tax deferrals, increased health spending, allowances for the unemployed, a one-off transfer to low-income households, reductions in the central bank policy rate and reserve requirement ratio and relaxation of prudential rules for banks.
“These measures have helped protect the economy, but the pandemic has further exposed the vulnerabilities of the Algerian economy.
Africa
Experts call for green trade under the AfCFTA to tackle impacts of climate change (UNECA)
Senior experts and high-level policy makers expressed confidence that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can and should be implemented so as to maximize the achievement of environmental objectives through adoption of relevant environment-friendly policies and enforcement of environmental standards. At a virtual session convened on the sidelines of the WTO Public Forum on 1 October 2021, the experts considered how AfCFTA implementation strategies can support the development of green and blue economy value chains and deliberated on the actions required by African policymakers and businesses to fully harness the AfCFTA and further the environmental agenda. “The AfCFTA provided the continent with an opportunity to tackle climate change by supporting a shift in production patterns away from a reliance on extractives and commodities,” Mr. Stephen Karingi, Director of the Regional Integration and Trade Division at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said.
What will it take to fill Africa's growing infrastructure deficit? (Africanews)
The Covid-19 pandemic has both exposed and made worse the critical infrastructure deficit in developing countries. At the Paris Infraweek on Monday, African leaders, investors, lenders, multilaterals, and other players of the infrastructure finance community from around the world made a case for investment in the continent's economic and social infrastructure. "Communications, telecommunications, energy, water, these are very high priority areas for us and obviously the social aspect of health and education," said Abdel Aziz Ould Dahi, the Mauritanian Minister for Digital transition and Innovation. But there's also climate change. With severe weather events expected to become more frequent in the coming years, countries face a race against time to invest in resilient and bankable infrastructure.
Havas-ECA study: 84.9% of international investors express optimism about growth in Africa (UNECA)
Three days to the Africa-France Summit to be held on 8 October, Havas Horizons - the Havas group’s service dedicated to new emerging countries – is publishing the 5th edition of its annual barometer in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
“International investors are embracing the establishment of AfCFTA, a larger and more integrated African market whose trade barriers will ultimately disappear. It will boost intra-African trade and should serve as a springboard for the continent’s industrialization as well as for the much desired diversification of its economy.” Vera Songwe, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa “International investors remain confident about the continent’s future and, throughout our study, they reaffirmed their commitment to keep supporting growth in Africa over the long term. Such renewed confidence, in a period of uncertainty, is above all a recognition of the underlying economic dynamics that have driven African markets for nearly two decades, a conviction that Africa is today resolutely committed to the path of prosperity.” Antoine Hillion, Associate Director, Havas International Consulting
The top three most attractive countries this year are Rwanda (48%), Nigeria (24.3%) and Ethiopia (21.6%). Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya are out of the top three compared with the studies of 2015 and 2018. Worthy of note is Rwanda’s meteoric rise from the 12th position in 2015 to the 1st in this edition.
Be transparent and accountable on Covid-19 pandemic funds – IMF (Daily Monitor)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked African governments to be transparent and accountable on the financial resources they are receiving from the institution to help them mitigate the negative impacts of Covid-19 pandemic. The managing director of IMF Ms Kristalina Georgieva, over the weekend met with African Ministers of Finance and representatives from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to discuss Africa’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the efforts for a sustainable, green, and inclusive recovery. After the meeting, Ms Kristalina said financial support to African countries reached an unprecedented SDR 26.2 billion ($36.5 billion), of which low-income countries received SDR 12.8 billion ($17.8 billion), during this period, adding that the IMF has recently boosted its capacity to provide financial support to Africa. It has increased the capacity for concessional financing under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).
An African Development Bank delegation led by Abdul Kamara, Deputy Director General of the East Africa Region, is taking part in a validation workshop for the African Union's (UA) second Biennial Continental Report on Agenda 2063, held from 20 September to 6 October in the Zimbabwean capital Harare. The aim of this meeting is to monitor, examine and consolidate national reports on Agenda 2063 for preparation and finalization of the report, which will be presented to Member States and the next AU summit, in February 2022.
Agenda 2063, adopted in 2015, pursues the objective of a "prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development", with agriculture that contributes to collective food security, with natural endowments valued and preserved and with climate-resilient economies and communities. It is strongly aligned with the Bank's High 5 strategic priorities. According to the United Nations Development Programme, implementation of the High 5s will contribute to achievement of around 90% of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The African Development Bank has played a major role in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), in operation since January 2021, for an intensification of intra-African trade in goods and services with a potential market of 1.2 billion consumers. In 2021, the Bank increased its investments in climate adaptation to 63%. It is the executing agency of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, led by the AU Commission, the NEPAD Secretariat and the Bank. In 2019, 1,417 kilometres of roads, including 974 kilometres in low-income countries, were built, renovated or maintained with African Development Bank support. Lastly, at the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bank mobilized a fund of $10 billion to strengthen the resilience of African economies and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on populations.
African agri incentives coming (Namibian)
THERE is an emerging trend across Africa, where special agro-industrial processing zones are being set up, however, Namibia is still absent from this hype. The dream is to see more incentivised value addition to agricultural produce. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), if rolled out well, incentives in agriculture can trigger a fundamental change in Africa's economic transformation
“The value of the agribusiness sector is expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2030… Those of us working in the economic zones sector will work closely with the African Development Bank initiative on this huge opportunity,” said Ahmed Bennis, secretary general of the Africa economic zones organisation.
KEPSA, EABC plans to issue EAC vaccination certificates to SMEs (Capital Business)
The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) in conjunction with the East African Business Council (EABC) Tuesday announced plans to roll out East African Community (EAC) vaccination certificates which will aid Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have easier access to other countries while trading. The decision was reached during a National Focal Point Roundtable meeting held at KEPSA offices where the two bodies listed the certificates alongside other recommendations, it said would support the quick recovery of the region’s economy which is still reeling from the effects of the coronavirus. KEPSA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carole Kariuki said the vaccination certificate will be handed out to countries in the EAC region, by December subject to approval by the respective governments. “EABC has direct interaction with EAC so it can take the proposal to the council of ministers and heads of state. However, we are hoping it is something that can be solved by the council of ministers and our timeline is that we hope it is out by December, “she added.
African Development Bank President Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina has said that a concerted effort to change the narrative on Africa in the United States is necessary to attract increased investments into the continent. He said the need for advocacy in the United States made having an African Development Bank office in Washington a matter of importance, and that he would be pursuing approval with the Board of the African Development Bank Group. Meeting with African ambassadors at the chancery of the Embassy of the Republic of Congo in Washington on Friday 1 October, Dr Adesina said: “We are a responsive and solutions bank at the heart of Africa's development, and at the core of our work as a multilateral development bank, there is a very clear strategy to fast-track Africa's development.”
Africa: US announces renewed Prosper Africa trade initiative (ICLG)
Virusha Subban of Baker McKenzie looks at the Biden administration’s approach to Africa and its shift away from concerns about Russia and China, towards shared interests. The United States administration announced in July 2021 that the Prosper Africa initiative, launched in 2019 under the Trump administration, would be renewed and reinvigorated to increase reciprocal trade. The initiative will focus on improving trade and investment in sectors such as infrastructure, energy and climate solutions, healthcare and technology. An additional USD 80 million will reportedly be requested to support its projects. The 17 US government agencies working as part of this initiative have a mandate to, among other things, empower African businesses, offer deal support and connect investors from the US with those in Africa. Also noted at the renewed Prosper Africa launch is the intention to focus on trade projects that support women, and small and medium enterprises in Africa.
The winding road to renewed Europe-Africa partnership in post-COVID world (EURACTIV)
Once the dust of the COVID-19 crisis settles, it will be time to build a new foundation for Europe-Africa relations. As the EU searches for allies in a post-COVID world, a group of seven European think tank leaders looks at how to build a stronger Europe-Africa axis in the multilateral system.
In the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September, European Council President Charles Michel called for effective multilateralism in tackling today’s global problems. He stressed the EU’s role in building back better after COVID, contributing to a safer world and leading the race against climate change. But how credible is the EU on the global scene, particularly when it comes to the partnership with Africa, our “closest neighbour” and key to our future? On paper, the EU disposes of a wide range of political, diplomatic and financial instruments to play a prominent role. It is well equipped as a global norm setter and advocate of a rules-based international order and offers an attractive model of regional integration, democracy and social market economy. In practice, however, the complex, slow and divided EU often fails to meet the high expectations it raises. Nowhere is this clearer than with Africa, where ambiguities on both sides damage mutual trust and the scope for cooperation among “equal partners”.
Sub-Saharan Africa Exits Recession in 2021 but Recovery Still Vulnerable (World Bank)
Sub-Saharan Africa is set to emerge from the 2020 recession sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic with growth expected to expand by 3.3 percent in 2021. This is one percent higher than the April 2021 forecast according to the latest edition of Africa’s Pulse. This rebound is currently fueled by elevated commodity prices, a relaxation of stringent pandemic measures, and recovery in global trade, but remains vulnerable given the low rates of vaccination on the continent, protracted economic damage, and a slow pace of recovery. According to analysis in the Pulse, the World Bank’s twice-yearly economic update for the region, growth for 2022 and 2023 will also remain just below 4 percent, continuing to lag the recovery in advanced economies and emerging markets, and reflecting subdued investment in SSA. “Fair and broad access to effective and safe COVID 19 vaccines is key to saving lives and strengthening Africa’s economic recovery. Faster vaccine deployment would accelerate the region’s growth to 5.1 percent in 2022 and 5.4 percent in 2023—as more containment measures are lifted, boosting consumption and investment,” said Albert Zeufack, Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank.
Tax Avoidance in Sub-Saharan Africa's Mining Sector (IMF)
Africa is home to much of the world’s mineral resources, which are mostly exploited by multinationals. Governments in Sub-Saharan Africa need to attract foreign direct investment, but they also need to capture a fair share of the value of those mineral resources to support revenue collection and fund development goals.
But there is growing concern that aggressive tax planning by multinationals results in the erosion of the tax base and lower tax revenue. This event will focus on mining in sub-Saharan Africa, its contribution to fiscal revenues, and how tax arrangements by multinationals could be undermining countries’ much-needed revenue mobilization efforts. A recently published IMF paper suggests profit shifting in African mining suggests the loss in tax revenue could be between $470 and $730 million per year.
This event brings together some key actors who are dealing with the loss of tax revenue due to tax planning and also by a member of civil society intimately familiar with the issues this raises.
International
President Kenyatta says multilateralism key to addressing global challenges (Capital News)
President Uhuru Kenyatta has called for enhanced multilateral cooperation in addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change, financial crises and global security. At the same time, the President expressed his misgivings on the unequal access to Covid-19 vaccines saying true multilateralism should fully embrace the principles of inclusivity and equality applied on the basis of the uniqueness of every nation. “We, therefore, need more multilateral cooperation that includes everyone because none of us is safe until all of us are safe. But as the Covid vaccine distribution experience has demonstrated, simply saying everyone is included is insufficient to guarantee inclusivity,” the President said.
He underscored the need for more cooperation at the regional level, saying when people sharing common challenges and similar aspirations come together, the impact is greater. “Region specific issues such as the impact of climate change on small island states are more effectively addressed through regional cooperation frameworks. Such cooperation helps to create economies of scale for smaller nations on issues such as trade and investment, and amplifies their voice at the global level,” President Kenyatta said.
UNCTAD's quadrennial conference, UNCTAD15, opened on 4 October in Bridgetown, Barbados, with calls for vaccine equity and greater solidarity to tackle trade protectionism, debt distress, the climate crisis and other pressing global challenges. UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the conference as the “Olympics of trade, development, investment, policy and technology discussions” and reiterated his call to world leaders to tackle “the cascade of crises” facing humanity. He said the COVID-19 pandemic had wreaked havoc across the global economy, disrupting the three powerful economic engines of trade, manufacturing and transportation. Mr. Guterres decried the uneven economic recovery unfolding across the world. “In all, more than eight out of every ten dollars in recovery investment is being spent in developed countries — not in the countries in greatest need,” he said. He warned that the uneven recovery was leaving much of humanity behind. “And until we get serious about vaccine equity, recovery will be stuck at the starting gate,” he said.
Secretary-General Guterres pointed out four glaring challenges, which if not addressed would make any notion of prosperity for all a distant dream. “Debt distress. Systems starved for investment. Unfair trade. And a climate emergency that leaves small island developing states like Barbados perilously vulnerable,” he said.
Rich countries fall $10bn short in climate finance pledges (Engineering News)
Rich countries are racing to close a climate-finance shortfall of at least $10-billion, with a handful of European nations planning to increase their pledges this month ahead of crucial talks in Glasgow, Scotland, according to people familiar with the plans. Over a decade ago, developed countries promised to mobilize $100-billion a year by 2020 to help poor countries deal with the worst impacts of global warming and invest in green energy sources. But they almost certainly missed their goal last year amid a pandemic that upended economies and as former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris accord.
Covid-19 to cost the global airline industry just over $200bn in losses – Iata (Engineering News)
At its seventy-seventh annual general meeting this week, the global representative body for the airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (Iata), reported that its latest calculations indicated that the world’s airlines would, over the period 2020 to 2022, suffer total net losses of $201-billion. These losses would be the result of the Covid-19 pandemic and attempts by the governments of the world to contain it. However, the trend has been an improving one, even though Iata has revised its estimates of total global net losses for airlines in 2020 upwards from the previous $126.4-billion to the latest figure of $137.7-billion. Net loss estimates for 2021 have also been revised upwards, from the previous figure, released in April, of $47.7-billion, to the current $51.8-billion – either way, a significant reduction on the losses for 2020, although still severe. For next year, Iata expects net losses to again reduce significantly, to $11.6-billion.
Cross-border opportunities: Leveraging e-commerce for business growth (Global Banking And Finance Review)
As many parts of the world begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is certain: e-commerce is here to stay. In fact, reports have shown that by the end of this year, global online sales may reach upwards of $4.2 trillion. As such, many retailers the world over have naturally switched focus to online channels since the onset of the pandemic. But in order to truly leverage the boom in e-commerce, retailers must ensure that digital solutions remain at the heart of any growth strategy.
Control of trade routes simmers as reason for the next all-out global conflict (Gulf News)
China’s ‘Belt and Road’ ambitions have escalated the conflict to gain control of global trade routes in ways that will have consequences for all. A few years after the work began on China’s transnational project, aspects of this simmering conflict have taken shape. The ferocity has become apparent after investments by large funds and the joining of dozens of countries in the Chinese project. While other countries and blocs are not standing by and letting the Chinese dragon has its way, what we see is the China firming up its influence to take control. This has created sharp differences even between allies, as in the case of the US and France over a submarine deal the US struck with Australia. The US sees that the Belt and Road initiative is turning into the cornerstone of Beijing’s foreign policy strategy. The initiative guarantees China an abundance of raw materials, access to preferential trade routes and ample political influence. In Pakistan alone, China is investing $60 billion into the project, compelling the Biden administration to compete head on with China.
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National
Clear understanding between govt, business needed to boost economic recovery – Mavuso (Engineering News)
Little can be done to drive an economic recovery without a clear understanding between business and government, says Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso, who joined other business representatives in a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa and his senior colleagues at the end of September. The meeting served to discuss what was needed to get South Africa’s economy back on track, with Mavuso saying it revealed a “close alignment on diagnosing the problems”.
Localisation master plan will hobble economic growth, says FMF (IT-online)
While increased industrialisation and manufacturing can spur economic growth and create jobs, the Free Market Foundation (FMF) maintains that enforced localisation master plans will only drive away the investment required for more manufacturing capability, and will subject both local and international businesses to more arbitrary, unpredictable government edicts and interventions. A 2021 study by Intellidex found that conditions in most industries are not yet right for blanket localisation and that input costs could be pushed up by 20%. To attain government-decreed localisation and designation goals of certain products, increased import tariffs will need to be imposed. These increased costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers, who are already under immense pressure, the study found. Further, localisation will not attain the 5% to 8% per annum growth that South Africa requires to alleviate the unemployment crisis. It is imperative that government not place yet more pressure on consumers by pursuing localisation at this time, the FMF believes.
IATA Proposes Three Interventions To Rebuild South Africa’s Tourism Industry & Create Jobs (IATA)
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on the South African government to step up its support for the air transport industry amid the COVID-19 crisis to facilitate the recovery of industries supported by aviation such as travel and tourism and unlock the job opportunities and other economic benefits they provide. “South Africa’s air transport and tourism sector’s contribution to GDP all but evaporated with the COVID-19 crisis which coincided with the closure of one airline and the deep restructuring of two others. In 2019 aviation supported 364,000 jobs in South Africa. Because of COVID-19, about 298,000 of those jobs have been put at risk. It’s a significant impact for over 80% of jobs to be lost if connectivity is not restored. As South Africa’s foreign trade and tourist markets begin coming back online, it is crucial that steps are taken to ensure no more jobs or opportunities are lost,” said Kamil Al Awadhi, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and Middle East.
Kenya, Uganda third border post to boost trade (Business Daily)
Kenya and Uganda have endorsed the establishment of the third point of entry and exit at their common land boundary to boost cross-border trade. The neighbouring countries’ major crossings are Busia and Malaba borders along the Northern Corridor that links the Mombasa port in the Kenyan coast to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Nairobi and Kampala officials Thursday consented to the setting up of a border post at Muluanda in Samia, Busia County to ease the movement of goods and persons.
US tech giants to profit from Kenya data in trade deal (Business Daily)
US tech giants are likely to increasingly mine and monetise data from Kenya if the proposed trade deal between Nairobi and Washington is successfully concluded, a United Nations agency has suggested. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says the proposed free trade agreement between the two countries includes digital economy as one of the key issues for negotiations. The objective, analysts at UNCTAD say in a fresh report, is to negotiate for inclusion of “state-of-the-art rules” in the trade deal which will not allow Nairobi to impose restrictions on cross-border data flows. The US is further pushing for removal of hurdles which require digital firms use or install local computing facilities.
Come and invest in Uganda, Museveni tells world (Daily Monitor)
The Dubai Expo is a globally recognised trade event and is this year expected to attract more than 190 countries, 12 months after it was beaten back by the Covid-19 outbreak.
The theme of Expo 2020 Dubai is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” with three (3) sub-themes of “Mobility”, “Opportunity” and “Sustainability.” Uganda is participating under the “Opportunity” sub-theme. Speaking at the event yesterday, President Museveni rallied investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to take advantage of the resources and market the county’s beauty and potential in a bid to invite investors into the country.
Unexploited opportunities in Moza (Sunday Mail)
AS we enter the last quarter of the year, statistics that have been compiled so far show that Zimbabwe is witnessing an increase in exports. A recent trade outlook assessing and comparing the countries’ exports from January to June this year indicated that the month-on-month exports have grown by 3,2 percent, while year-on-year exports recorded a 35 percent increase. Available figures released by ZimStat show the country’s exports stood at US$2,52 billion, compared to US$1,86 billion recorded during the same period in 2020. Although there is a huge growth, exports are still dominated by minerals, an indication that more needs to be done to grow external trade of value-added products.
Nigerian insurers, others to increase involvement in AfCFTA (Nairametrics)
Nigerian insurers have stated their willingness to participate more actively in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). This is according to a consensus reached at the recent installation of Tope Smart, the Group Managing Director of NEM Insurance Plc, as the president of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO) at the organization’s annual conference, according to Punch.
Smart stated that he will spend his first year in office focusing on five primary goals aimed at repositioning the African insurance market. Increased awareness, digitalise action adoption, collaboration with other markets, partnership with government and regulators, and establishing customer trust are among the issues he mentioned.
AfCFTA: Rising shipping cost threatens Nigeria’s stake in $3.4trn continental market (Daily Sun)
Rising cost of importing goods especially raw materials for local production of goods meant for the African market may hobble Nigeria’s chances of maximising the potential of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. This is because beyond the high import cost freighting manufactured goods from Nigeria to other parts of Africa may still pose significant challenges with the absence of indigenous carriers. Presently, the cost of shipping 40ft container from China to Nigeria has doubled from $7,200 to about $14,700. This will definitely put Nigeria to disadvantage and could threaten its commitment to play a leading role in $3.4 trillion continental market.
Nigeria’s petroleum imports exceeded exports by $43.56bn –OPEC (Hellenic Shipping News)
The amount spent on the importation of petroleum products into Nigeria in 2020 is $43.46bn higher than the revenue which the country earned from the export of petroleum products in the same year. In its 2021 report on the latest values of cs and imports of member nations of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries obtained in Abuja on Friday, OPEC stated that Nigeria exported $27.73bn worth of petroleum products in 2020. It also revealed that the value of the country’s petroleum imports in 2020 was $71.285bn, which indicated that Nigeria’s petroleum imports exceeded its exports by $43.56bn during the review period. Further analysis of OPEC’s latest petroleum imports and exports’ figures showed that Nigeria’s imports of petroleum products consistently exceeded the nation’s exports for five years.
Djibouti Country Partnership Framework (CPF) (World Bank)
The World Bank Group’s 2022-2026 Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Djibouti reflects the evolution of the WBG’s support to Djibouti toward a more selective engagement in line with the government’s development strategy. It aims to help Djibouti achieve its goal of reducing poverty through promoting inclusive private sector-led growth, job creation, and human capital; and strengthening the role and capacity of the state. Drawing on the analysis of the Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) and based on previous achievements, lessons learnt and consultations with a broad range of national stakeholders, the CPF looks into the country’s challenges and opportunities to support Djibouti’s potential for sustainable growth and meet the aspirations of its population.
Africa
African Free Trade Area Presents Opportunity and Obstacles Ahead (Global Trade Magazine)
The African continent is on the cusp of long-term economic opportunity thanks to the inception of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect in January 2021. The AfCFTA could boost Africa’s growth potential as the agreement intends to liberalize trade across Africa over the next few years. It provides optimism for a region that has been hit hard by the pandemic. The impact of the pandemic has been uneven across African economies, with some suffering from severe economic contractions, while others managed to record small growth rates. The post-pandemic outlook differs from country-to-country, but most are subject to high uncertainty due to the rise in infections and the slow vaccination process. In the long run, the AfCFTA could be pivotal in Africa’s growth potential as the agreement foresees fundamental freedom of trade in Africa in the next few years. The agreement has the potential to accelerate African growth rates after the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent economic outlook report for the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region from trade credit insurer Atradius.
How We Can Support African Countries – Afreximbank President (Leadership)
The President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Oramah has said that the Bank has developed innovative products and means to support member countries in their diversification of sources of growth and trade, both at national and state levels. Afreximbank President had earlier outlined the new parameters of engagement with its member countries in a virtual presentation at the sixth edition of Kaduna Investment and Economic Summit (KADINVEST) which held on September 23. He listed ‘‘the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS) to facilitate the payment for cross-border trade in African currencies and reduce the costs of intra-African trade.” He also said that member countries can access ‘‘the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) to address the equity and long-term funding gap and attract FDI into Africa to accelerate the emergence of SMEs in supply chains.
The Private Sector’s Key Role In Accelerating The Implementation Of The AfCFTA (iAfrica)
Trade finance was already going through a digital transformation before the COVID-19 crisis. However, this trend accelerated as the digitisation of trade flows became essential to the continuity of the business. The crisis could be a catalyst to reshape the industry more quickly and profoundly than could ever have been anticipated, with implications for entire trading ecosystems. Digitisation is also a critical component to unlock the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Reinforcing the capacity of African firms and entrepreneurs to trade easily within Africa’s borders and reach a global marketplace requires significant progress in Africa’s digital infrastructure, as well as a focus on regulations that protect and enhance digital trade.
Overcoming the deficit of infrastructure, which has been a major constraint to both economic growth and intra-African trade expansion, will become ever more critical during the implementation of the AfCFTA. Such an effort will include both physical and digital infrastructure, which, in the current fragmented African markets, have been major constraints to economic transformation and industrial production, as well as to the distribution of goods.
Big appetite for infrastructure needed to open up SA-African trade and investment, say experts (IOL)
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will succeed only if there is a huge appetite for infrastructure investment to drive industrialisation, technological developments and large-scale manufacturing. This was among sentiments expressed by various speakers on Friday at the inaugural Africa Trade South Africa (ATSA) 2021 virtual conference. The conference was aimed at exploring South Africa-Africa trade and investment opportunities in relation to the AfCFTA. South Africa has historically been seen as an African powerhouse, and is poised to become a key player in the AfCFTA. However, Africa’s infrastructure investment gap has widened over time, and the Covid-19 pandemic made things worse in 2020, in spite of high demand for projects and a sufficient supply of capital and investors.
The fourth edition of the African Development Bank’s Africa Resilience Forum took place 28-30 September, with the theme ”Covid-19 and Beyond: Working Together for a Resilient Continent”. The Forum is a flagship African Development Bank platform that brings together thought leaders from government, civil society, the private sector, development partners, and academia, to promote state-building and peace initiatives across the continent.
During the opening ceremony of the Forum, African Development Bank President Akinwumi A. Adesina summed up the “hydra-headed challenge” confronting the continent: Covid-19, conflict and climate change. Over the three-day conference, sessions focused on various topics, and offered possible solutions. Themes included vaccine access, women’s entrepreneurship, youth unemployment, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Coronavirus delays ECOWAS Regional Electricity Market Phase II implementation - ERERA (GhanaWeb)
The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the implementation of Phase II of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Market by two years, Professor Honoré Bogler, Chairman, ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), has said. He said, as a result, the Authority was working hand-in-hand with the West African Power Pool (WAPP) Secretariat, a cooperation of the national electricity companies in Western Africa, to try to launch the second phase of the project by the end of 2022 or at the beginning of 2023. “Because what COVID-19 brought to us is a delay of about two years and we are trying to catch up by fast-tracking things to get it done within the space of one year or one and half years,” Prof Bogler stated. He explained that the implementation of Phase II of the project would also depend on other conditions that were under COVID-19 consequences. Prof Bogler said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of ERERA’s workshop on Fundamentals of Regulation and Introduction to the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Market for its network of communication experts at Akosombo in the Eastern Region.
Gas for Good: How Gas Can be Used for the Social and Economic Good of Africa (Proshare Nigeria)
Natural gas is increasing its share in Africa’s energy portfolio, with environmental ambitions, energy security and accessibility, as well as domestic energy independence comprising key drivers of growth. Despite global stakeholders and environmentalists negative perception of the resource, natural gas holds significant, and even critical, benefits for Africa, as energy poverty continues to be a major hinderance of meaningful economic growth. Speaking at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) workshop on promoting natural gas demand on Wednesday, Akinwole Omoboriowo II, Chairman of the board of directors, Genesis Energy Holding, provided valuable insight into the role of gas in Africa. During his presentation, Omoboriowo II explained how natural gas can be used for the social good of Africa. With over 600 million without access to electricity across the continent, and with 13 million more people actually losing access in 2019-2020 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, any resource that can increase access and reduce energy poverty should be utilized. “In Africa we have two problems: the access problem and the availability problem. About 50% of African countries have electricity output levels that are below 50% of demand,” stated Omoboriowo II.
Yet, Africa has significant natural gas resources that, if leveraged, could sufficiently meet demand, increasing access to electricity and driving associated socio-economic growth.
The Republic of Mauritius deposits the instrument of ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) | African Union (African Union)
On 30 September 2021, the Republic of Mauritius became the thirteenth (13th) member state to deposit the instrument of ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA). The country signed the Treaty on the 21 September 2021 in Addis Ababa and ratified the same day in Port Louis, Mauritius. The Ambassador of Mauritius to Ethiopia and the African Union H.E. Mr. Dharmraj Busgeeth deposited the instrument of accession to H.E. Amira Elfadil Mohammed, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, at the AU Commission. The Commissioner underscored that establishing the AMA was an urgent matter due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “AMA will play an important regulatory role, encourage local production of medical products and align regulatory policies on the continent, taking advantage of the opportunities brought about by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” the Commissioner added.
China’s trade with Africa grows to record highs (Africa Feeds)
According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, trade between China and Africa increased by 40.5 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2021, and was valued at a record high of USD 139.1 billion. The Ministry noted that African products were increasingly being recognised in the Chinese market, and that imports from Africa into China increased by 46.3% between January and July 2021. Further, the import of agricultural products, such as rubber, cotton and coffee from Africa into China doubled when compared to the first seven months of 2020. Data from the Ministry further revealed that over the last 20 years, China’s trade with Africa has risen 20-fold, showing that China is Africa’s biggest bilateral trading partner.
International
Global trade rebound beats expectations but marked by regional divergences (WTO)
The WTO is now predicting global merchandise trade volume growth of 10.8% in 2021—up from 8.0% forecasted in March—followed by a 4.7% rise in 2022 (Table 1). Growth should moderate as merchandise trade approaches its pre-pandemic long-run trend. Supply-side issues such as semiconductor scarcity and port backlogs may strain supply chains and weigh on trade in particular areas, but they are unlikely to have large impacts on global aggregates. The biggest downside risks come from the pandemic itself. Behind the strong overall trade increase, however, there is significant divergence across countries, with some developing regions falling well short of the global average.
This is the current state of global trade (World Economic Forum)
International trade is the lifeblood of the world economy, providing the goods and services that are traded across borders to bring wealth and prosperity to nations. But how exactly does it work? Emerging economies have seen their share of total global trade rocket in recent years. China, for instance, is now responsible for 15% of all world exports. Unfinished goods, components and services account for 70% of all trade. While trade in services accounts for two-thirds of global GDP, COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on trade patterns.
Public Forum reflects on need to strengthen collective action towards sustainable trade (WTO)
In a session organized by the Pew Charitable Trusts and International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), participants discussed what a potential WTO fisheries subsidies deal would mean to sustainable development and why it matters for the oceans and for trade. A successful WTO agreement on curbing subsidies for overfishing could pave the way for a stronger multilateral trading system and open discussions of how its implementation will be a catalyst for sustainable trade and a sustainable future.
IEA implores countries to help lower the production cost of hydrogen (Engineering News)
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports in its ‘Global Hydrogen Review 2021’ report, released on October 4, that although investment is increasing in hydrogen projects to support a clean energy transition, further efforts are needed to reduce costs and encourage wider use across sectors. As such, the agency says governments need to move faster and more decisively on a range of policy measures to enable low-carbon hydrogen to fulfil its potential to help the world reach net-zero emissions, while also supporting energy security.
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Sars releases preliminary trade statistics for August 2021 (African Reporter)
These statistics include trade data with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN). The year-to-date (January 1 to August 31) preliminary trade balance surplus of R332.13b is an improvement from the R134.95b trade balance surplus for the comparable period in 2020. Exports increased by 21.1% year-on-year whilst imports increased by 27.9% over the same period. The R42.40b preliminary trade balance surplus for August 2021 is attributable to exports of R158.92b and imports of R116.52b. Exports increased by R14.06b (9.7%) between July and August 2021 and imports increased by R8.68b(8.0%) over the same period.
South Africa Needs Concessional Climate Finance, Pershing Says (Bloomberg)
South Africa will need a mix of grants and concessional loans to help effect a transition from coal to cleaner energy, Jonathan Pershing, the U.S.’s deputy special envoy for climate, said.While South Africa, as a middle-income nation, is not usually eligible for concessional finance, Pershing said at a press
SA opens super logistics centre (The Southern Times)
Global logistics company DSV has officially opened its new South African headquarters near Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport. The logistics complex is built on a piece of land totalling 390,286 square-metres in size, equivalent to 54 soccer fields Its perimeter fence stretches 6.3km and its 79,000 square-metre warehouse can fit more than 300 Olympic-size swimming pools. DSV says DSV Park Gauteng is Africa’s largest integrated logistics centre. It’s taken roughly two years for DSV to build its newest and largest facility on the continent, combining several smaller hubs in Gauteng into a single, centralised head office. Work on the logistics complex – featuring a warehouse, cross-dock facility, and offices – started with a site visit in 2019. The new facility became fully operational in September and was inaugurated at a virtual ceremony last week.
Airlines’ entry into Entebbe bound to spur growth of hub (The East African)
Entebbe is stirring from slumber as two new carriers, SA Airlink and Air Arabia, launch routes here at a time national flag carrier, Uganda Airlines, is scheduled to commence flights to Dubai October 4. Aviation officials are upbeat on this development and say, rather than feel that they are being crowded out by foreign careers, they see this as a revival of the aviation sector, which had a 71.5 percent tumble in 2020. Vianney Luggya, the manager for public affairs at the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority says the experience had shown that new airlines tend to grow their own traffic. “That is what we saw when Air Uganda entered the market in 2007. Within five years, they had grown into the biggest operator out of Entebbe by frequency and had added half a million passengers a year to our tallies and yet everyone else was growing at the same time,” Mr Luggya said.
Horticulture lifts Kenya’s crops export earnings (Business Daily)
Earnings from horticulture recorded the biggest growth among Kenya’s main agricultural exports in the eight months to August, fresh data shows, cancelling out poor performance by tea. An update by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that horticulture earnings jumped by a quarter to Sh87.8 billion ($795 million) from Sh70.3 billion ($636 million) in the first eight months of last year. Demand for the products which include flowers, fruits, and cut vegetables has gone up in key destination markets, which have been reopening fully following 2020’s Covid-19 lockdowns. The higher agriculture earnings helped grow Kenya’s exports by 11.5 percent in the period, with higher earnings from manufactured goods—up 39 percent in the period—also serving as a major boost.
CBK sees economy expanding by 6.1pc (Business Daily)
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has projected the economy to grow by 6.1 percent this year and 5.6 per cent in 2022, backed by recovery in manufacturing, trade and hospitality sectors, and despite expected decline in agriculture production. CBK governor Patrick Njoroge said Wednesday that economic indicators around the manufacturing, trade, accommodation and power consumption are pointing to improved economic performance, while there is also high optimism among banks and private sector players over the prospects for growth. He however said the impact of drought will dampen growth in the key agriculture sector, which grew at 5.4 per cent last year and is the biggest contributor to Kenya’s GDP at 23 per cent.
Trade Ministry establishes joint taskforce to resolve Ghana-Nigeria retail trade impasse (GhanaWeb)
A Joint Implementation Taskforce composed of representatives of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) and the Nigeria Union of Traders Association, Ghana (NUTAG), has been established. The taskforce is to implement the provisions of a new framework of engagement for the participation of Nigerian nationals in retail in Ghana. This was contained in a press release by the Ministry of Trade and Industry following a high-level bilateral meeting between Ghana and Nigeria in respect of the participation of Nigerian nationals in retail trade in the country.
On Tuesday, October 5, 2021, the taskforce will hold its next meeting, hoping to come to a resolution on this growing impasse. The ministry has therefore asked for both parties to refrain from taking any further actions that might mar the ongoing process. “Against this background, the Ministry requests the leadership of GUTA and NUTAG to refrain from further press releases, the closure of shops, and any other actions in respect of this matter until the convening of the next meeting of the Taskforce,” it stated.
Trade Minister inaugurates 5-member GSA governing board (GhanaWeb)
The Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, has sworn in and inaugurated the governing board of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), saying the authority’s success is extremely crucial to the government’s industrial transformation agenda. Addressing the five-member governing board being chaired by Professor Felix Charles Mills Robertson, at a short inauguration ceremony this week, at the GSA head office in Accra, the trade and industry minister expressed conviction that the members of the board would not take lightly their appointment, particularly when the industrial transformation had since 2017 become the main driver of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid. “As you are aware…the Ministry of Trade and Industry, over the past four years, has been implementing an aggressive Industrial Transformation programme, anchored on a Ten-Point Plan which seeks to make Ghana the new Manufacturing Hub for Africa,” Mr Kyeremanten said.
“In this context, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) which is Ghana’s national standards body, national metrology institute, the national certification body for products and management systems and is also involved in trade facilitation at the ports of entry by carrying out an inspection of goods being imported or exported plays a very critical role,” he added.
Algeria-Morocco rift another blow to Africa's free trade (IPPmedia)
These developments scupper the African Union’s (AU) plans of seeing a regional economic community (REC) established in North Africa after Morocco rejoined the organisation in 2017. At the time, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI committed to playing a constructive role in the AU and argued for the revival of North Africa’s ailing Arab Maghreb Union. The AU has been silent on the renewed tensions. Lamamra, a former AU commissioner for peace and security, could use numerous mediation structures to bring his counterparts to the negotiating table. However, the longstanding divisions between the two countries – linked to territorial, political and economic rivalry – would be difficult for the AU to untangle. Still, emphasizing the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) regional trade benefits could convince the respective leaders to cooperate. The AU could draw on influential voices in Morocco and Algeria who maintain that the countries’ substantial development challenges cannot be resolved without greater regional cooperation.
The AU hoped a North Africa REC would be established after Morocco rejoined the organisation in 2017. The current breakdown of diplomatic and trade ties followed a letter sent by Morocco’s ambassador to the United Nations (UN) showing the country’s support for independence movements in Algeria’s Kabylia region. The Mouvement pour l’autodétermination de la Kabylie is accused of perpetrating the devastating fires in Kabylia from 9 August that killed at least 69 people.
Africa
Economies defy COVID-19, recovery starts (The Southern Times)
Africa’s economy is starting to recover, despite being in the midst of a pandemic, the recently published Africa Risk-Reward Index 2021 shows. Control Risks and Oxford Economics Africa analysts, who jointly produced the index, project that the continent’s economy will grow by 4.45 percent in 2021, citing reduced COVID-19 caseloads despite slow vaccine rollout. Not even the third wave of COVID-19 including an outbreak of the more deadly Delta variant has stopped African economies from growing, the index results show. “Economies are starting to recover and the virus is no longer an all-consuming issue infringing on every area of the investment landscape,” says the index.
How can infrastructure propel green, resilient, and inclusive development in Africa (World Bank)
Digital technologies offer a chance to disrupt this trajectory – unlocking new pathways for rapid economic growth, innovation, job creation and access to services which would have been unimaginable only a decade ago. Yet there is also a growing ‘digital divide’ (for example, between urban and rural, between genders), and increased cyber risks, which need urgent and coordinated action to mitigate.
The shift to renewables creates a multiple-win, people-focused scenario for developing countries as well. Other technologies, such as small, off-grid solar installations, offer transformative potential to electrify rural areas and support local small business development. And the sector is responsible for notably gender-inclusive job creation: In 2020, renewables created 11.5 million new jobs, 32 percent of which went to women — better gender balance than comparable sectors. It’s clear that there is a tremendous opportunity here.
Actualizing climate action and a green recovery in Africa (UNECA)
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has outlined a raft of ambitious solutions and innovative measures to support Africa in integrating climate-smart actions to build forward better as the continent embarks on a robust pandemic recovery agenda. Jean Paul Adam, the Director of ECA’s Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Division, enumerated on the inventive and tested models during the on-going Africa Climate Week 2021 which is aimed at building momentum for action and consolidating enhanced ambitions ahead of COP26 in Glasgow in November. According to Adam, green and blue investments opportunities are Africa’s best bet for economic recovery creating an enabling environment for the realization of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the achievement of the Paris Agreements targets. Adam noted that Africa has the advantage of vast nature based ecosystems that can be leveraged to attract more green and blue bonds financing in addition to the $100bn climate financing promised for developing nations under the Paris Agreement.
“Africa is playing catch-up in relation to green bond financing, with the continent having less than one per cent of the current global green bond issuances. The total green bond market stands at $539bn based on 2020 estimates. At present Africa has less than $8bn of that share.” Adam says.
“The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented recession in Africa in 2020. Poverty increased and health systems came under severe pressure. African countries implemented strong measures to contain the pandemic and mitigate its economic impact on the populations. A slow recovery is projected for 2021, with vaccine supply constraints and limited financial resources weighing on the macroeconomic outlook.
“The IMF has recently boosted its capacity to provide financial support to Africa. It has increased the capacity for concessional financing under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust ( PRGT ). Moreover, in August 2021, the Board of Governors of the IMF approved the largest SDR allocation in the history of the IMF equivalent to US$650 billion (about SDR 456 billion), including about US$33 billion to Africa. Transparent and accountable use of these resources in the context of medium-term policy frameworks is essential to ensure an effective and sustainable response to the pandemic needs.
‘Why Nigeria, others should leverage Africa-UAE forum for linkages’ (The Guardian Nigeria)
Preparatory to the Africa-UAE Trade and Investment Forum, organisers of the forum have urged Nigeria and other countries to use the platform for trade linkages. According to the Foreign Investment Network (FIN), a global consulting and publishing firm, under the patronage of Sheikh Tahnoon Al Nahyan with the support of the Dubai government, the forum is aimed at stimulating wider inclusiveness between countries to speed up actualisation of prosperous Africa. The FIN Africa-UAE Trade and Investment Forum scheduled to hold from, November 21st – 23rd, 2021 at the Burj AL Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with the theme; “The road to a prosperous Africa”, equally acts as advocacy machinery for the development of job creation incubation system for African youths at the grassroots and impact on the participants improved know-how on available opportunities for trade, investment and tourism.
New regulations for European Union exports (The Herald)
The European Union (EU) has announced new registration procedures for exporters intending to sell their commodities to the bloc under the EU- East and Southern Africa interim Economic Partnership Agreement. The EU-ESA iEPA came into force in 2009 between the EU and Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe and provides preferential tariffs for goods emanating from ESA States into the EU.
“Following a notification made by Zimbabwe to the Customs Cooperation Committee of the EU-ESA iEPA activating Article 18(3) of Protocol 1 to the EU-ESA iEPA, from 1 July 2021 products originating in Zimbabwe shall, on importation into the EU, benefit from the preferential tariff treatment of the iEPA upon submission of an invoice declaration made out, as provided for in Article 23 of Protocol, by: (i) a Zimbabwean exporter registered in the EU’s Registered Exporter system (the REX system), or (ii) any Zimbabwean exporter where the total value of the originating products consigned does not exceed EUR 6 000. From that date, paragraphs 1(a) and (b) of Article 18 ceased to apply for imports into the EU from Zimbabwe.
“This notice is issued for the information of customs authorities, importers and economic operators, which are involved in imports into the EU of products originating in Zimbabwe under the EU-ESA interim Economic Partnership Agreement (the IEPA’),” reads part of the notice.
US-Africa trade policy faces future uncertainties (AGOA.info)
US trade policy toward Africa is facing a conundrum. Much has changed in the two decades since the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) set the framework for trade between the world's largest economy and its poorest continent. Many observers advocate new policies to increase U.S.-Africa trade and investment, especially with Agoa expiring in 2025. Yet the policy path is less clear than when Agoa became law, and the prospects for a substantial African trade initiative gaining political support are more challenging.
The Biden administration has been slow to take up an Africa trade agenda, electing to first hear "an expanded cross-section of voices, values, and potential solutions," U.S. Trade Representative Katharine Tai recently told the Corporate Council on Africa. With the White House looking ambivalent, there is growing unease in Kenya, especially after Ambassador Tai met with her Kenyan counterpart in August and alluded to new U.S. negotiating priorities.
Advancing African trade will be further challenged by the expiration of the administration's Trade Promotion Authority this past July, making Congress more difficult to navigate. Meanwhile, China's determined economic engagement all over Africa has exploded since Agoa's passage.
The US Needs a More Nuanced Approach to Africa (Inkstick)
The Biden administration has sought to make its policy toward Africa clear: Trade and investment with the continent will not be framed as competition with China. That was the message its top Africa officials delivered in their recent roll out of a revamped “Prosper Africa” policy, designed to increase US–Africa trade and investment. This is welcome news to many Africans, who largely disapproved of the Trump administration’s focus on countering China on the continent.
Africans welcome Chinese economic engagement because they have a massive infrastructure deficit — one estimate puts it at $150 billion a year — and need Beijing’s investment to achieve their development aspirations. Africa’s ambitious, newly inaugurated free trade agreement, an initiative in impressive contrast to the world’s protectionist trends, won’t succeed without new roads, ports, power plants, and telecommunications networks. Africa suffers from being a woefully small part of the global economy, with a meager 3% of world trade. Underdeveloped and marginalized, Africans countries resent being told by the US that they shouldn’t engage with China, the world’s second-largest economy.
Of course, there are problems with China’s economic engagement. Some Chinese-financed infrastructure projects won’t pay for themselves, leaving Africans saddled with unproductive investments and heavy debt. Chinese operators can be environmentally destructive and abusive of African labor. Corruption is also common, where bribery isn’t unknown to Chinese (or other) companies. The former director of China’s Export Import bank went so far as to defend such practices as a pragmatic necessity on the continent, saying in 2007:
“We spend most of the time discussing issues such as transparency and good governance. And that would not help because they are part of a development process. I do not think that Britain was as transparent as it is today some 200 years ago, let alone the United States a hundred years ago.”
Get Ready For The Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Facility (Caribbean and Latin America Daily News)
A US $250 million Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Financing Facility could soon become a reality. That’s according to President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Oramah. Speaking at a press conference this week during a visit to Barbados, Professor Oramah said they have agreed in principle that the African Export-Import Bank will put in place an initial amount of [US] $250 million in a facility called the “Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Financing Facility.”
“We know that if they (banks and companies) want to do business among themselves, there is financing to support it,” he added. “We believe that is the first hurdle we must cross. And so, we’re going to go back and get our board to…look at it and consider it as quickly as possible.”
International
Okonjo-Iweala frustrated, mulls quitting WTO (Daily Trust)
Barely seven months into her four-year tenure as the Director General at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), reports indicates a mounting frustration by Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with the workings of the organization and has contemplated resigning if no headway can be found on critical issues. According to Bloomberg, five trade officials, who declined to be identified, reported that Okonjo-Iweala has fully grasped the frustrating reality of the WTO’s historical inertia, and has considered quitting. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the leader of the World Trade Organization, began the year with a plan to score quick negotiating victories that she said would help reboot the dysfunctional Geneva-based trade body. The report noted that this year, Okonjo-Iweala has repeatedly told ambassadors and staff that she could easily walk away from the job, and reminds them she hasn’t bought any furniture for her temporary home in Geneva, the officials said.
An early departure of the WTO’s top trade official would add yet another layer of chaos to an organization suffering from an existential crisis that may lead governments to conclude the WTO is not a credible forum for addressing their shared challenges.
Public Forum discusses how to help small businesses become more resilient (WTO)
Ms Coke-Hamilton stressed that MSMEs were the hardest hit by the pandemic. The ITC's 2020 SME Competitiveness Outlook showed that 60% of micro businesses and 57% of small businesses were very negatively affected by COVID-19 compared to only 43% of large firms. She said: "We cannot afford to leave small businesses behind. How do we empower smaller firms, the very foundation of our global economy, to become more resilient in a global recovery? The vulnerabilities faced by MSMEs are multi-dimensional and so we should approach resilience building in the same manner." In her view, a long-lasting resilience for MSMEs is built when small businesses have a voice in the international trade space and when they are helped to implement greener business practices through innovative financing mechanisms, affordable green technology and training. She noted that enhancing a firm's resilience is closely linked to digital connectivity as firms need this to take advantage of the international e-commerce marketplace.
President Cyril Ramaphosa: Keynote Address at the World Trade Organisation Public Forum (South African Government)
New index suggests productive capacities should be priority at LDC5 (Trade for Development News)
A United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report on findings from its Productive Capacities Index (PCI) has concluded that inadequate productive capacity in many least developed countries (LDCs) limits their economic output, leaves them more vulnerable to external shocks and makes them more reliant on a handful of exports. Providing clear guidance on how to foster economy wide productive capacity in LDCs should therefore be an urgent priority at the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in January 2022, it argues.
Launched earlier this year, the index measures and benchmarks countries’ productive capacities, drawing on 46 indicators under eight categories: energy, human capital, ICTs, institutions, natural capital, the private sector, structural change and transport. UNCTAD describes it as a diagnostic tool designed to track socioeconomic progress and guide evidence-based policy choices.
G7 finance ministers make some progress on tax deal, UK says (Reuters)
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven said they made some progress on Wednesday at reaching a joint position on a landmark global corporate tax deal, days before it needs to win over a wider international audience. "A common understanding was reached on some of the important open issues to support reaching final political agreement within the OECD Inclusive Framework in October," the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement. Britain - which chairs the G7 this year - brokered an outline agreement in June on a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% and measures to squeeze more money out of tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.
Next week the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which has been trying to shepherd through tax reform for years, wants to get full agreement on detailed proposals from 139 negotiating countries.
Global economic recovery continues but remains uneven, says OECD (OECD)
The global economy is growing far more strongly than anticipated a year ago but the recovery remains uneven, exposing both advanced and emerging markets to a range of risks, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook. The OECD says extraordinary support from governments and central banks helped avoid the worst once the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With the vaccine roll-out continuing and a gradual resumption of economic activity underway, the OECD projects strong global growth of 5.7% this year and 4.5% in 2022, little changed from its May 2021 Outlook of 5.8% and 4.4% respectively.
A rapid increase in demand as economies reopen has pushed up prices in key commodities such as oil and metals as well as food, which has a stronger effect on inflation in emerging markets. The disruption to supply chains caused by the pandemic has added to cost pressures. At the same time, shipping costs have increased sharply. Presenting the Interim Economic Outlook alongside Chief Economist Laurence Boone, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said: “The world is experiencing a strong recovery thanks to decisive action taken by governments and central banks at the height of the crisis…
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JOHN STUART: Why the policy environment matters for SA (Business Day)
More than 18 months into a global pandemic, African countries have been harder hit economically than other regions. Trade volumes are down, tax bases are under pressure and investment flows have taken a knock. While there are clearly green shoots evident with the recovery of global demand for commodities, much needs to be done to rebuild economies and rebuild investor confidence. African governments themselves are unable to have much influence on the demand for commodities; this depends on the recovery in confidence in the world trading system, which has been badly affected by the myriad consequences of the pandemic. However, what governments in Africa can do is ensure their policy environments are favourable for investment.
Capitalising on Commodities Prices as a South African Exporter (The South African)
Commodities prices have boomed this year, as rapid economic recoveries in Europe, China and the US, paired with pandemic-related supply chain disruption, have sent raw materials prices skyward. This has been somewhat of a boon to export-oriented economies during a very difficult time, with South Africa’s trade surplus hitting record highs in recent months. For South African exporters, movements in the commodity markets can present both opportunities and challenges. So how can you capitalise on the raw materials boom while limiting the downside risks?
EU lends support to SA's infrastructure development plans (SAnews)
European Union (EU) Deputy Head of the Delegation to South Africa, Raul de Luzenberger, says the union is lobbying for R170 million to be dedicated to infrastructure development in South Africa. He was speaking during a webinar on the impact of the EU funded Infrastructure Investment Programme of South Africa (IIPSA). IIPSA is aimed at fast tracking infrastructure delivery in municipalities by using a blended project financing approach involving EU grants, government and the private sector.
Poultry industry on new growth and transformation path (Fin24)
Transformation, the resolution of inefficiencies and the stimulation of growth and expansion now form the broad narrative and focus of agricultural policy. It has already found traction in the new master plans of several agricultural industries, among others the poultry industry, which has for years been trying to free itself from the stranglehold of trade disruptions and international dumping. Before the minister of trade, industry and competition, Ebrahim Patel, signed off on the poultry industry’s recovery plan in November 2019, South Africa was struggling to meet the growing demand for poultry owing to the above-mentioned problems. The expansion of the poultry industry led to the whole grain value chain being further stimulated, according to Izaak Breitenbach, general manager of the SA Poultry Association’s (Sapa’s) Broiler Producers Organisation.
Opportunities for SA in Botswana dairy industry (Farmer's Weekly)
The Botswana dairy industry produces about seven million litres of milk annually, while more than 53 million litres will be imported in 2020/21. This created numerous investment opportunities for the South African dairy industry. This was according to Letsomo Mariri, chief scientific officer at the Department of Animal Production in Botswana, who said the national milk demand in that country was about 65 million litres, with local production meeting about 11% of this. This indicated that 89% of liquid milk was imported, and the bulk of it came from South Africa. These figures emerged during a webinar on the opportunities in Botswana’s dairy industry, hosted by Farmer’s Weekly, in partnership with the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre and the Botswana Ministry of Agriculture Development and Food Security.
Kenya's economy projected to grow by 6.1% in 2021 (The New Times)
Kenya's economy is projected to grow by 6.1 percent in 2021 after a 0.3 percent contraction in 2020, the central bank said on Wednesday. Patrick Njoroge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said that some dynamism is beginning to come back especially in the service sectors such as hospitality that were negatively affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. "One sector to flag is the agriculture sector which remains most uncertain largely because of the rains. Some parts of the country are getting adequate rains but there is drought in other parts," Njoroge told journalists in Nairobi. The performance of agricultural sector will be a big driver of economic growth in 2021 and is projected to grow by 2.6 percent.
DCI probes container smuggling at Mombasa port (Business Daily)
Police have opened investigations into a suspected container smuggling racket at the port of Mombasa believed to be depriving Kenya of tax revenues. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is targeting three top executives of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) labelled key suspects in the racket involving release of containers through a manual system, which allows for cargo to exit the port without taxes paid. The DCI has written to the KPA acting managing director, John Mwangemi, asking him to allow detectives to record statements from the managers in operations and container divisions. “This office is investigating a case of suspected smuggling of containers from the port of Mombasa,” John Gachomo, head of Investigations Bureau at DCI, to KPA acting managing director, said in the letter.
Officials of the port and other government agencies there have faced frequent and widespread accusations of colluding with rogue importers and exporters. Containers are expected to be cleared through an online system dubbed Kilindini Waterfront Automation System (Kwatos), which was installed in 2008 to curb tax evasion.
KRA ready for full rollout of iCSM to replace Simba system at port (The East African)
Importers and exporters using the port of Mombasa are ready for the full rollout of the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) in October. The Kenya Revenue Authority has been piloting the iCMS system in phases at the port since 2019, starting with clearing of motor vehicles, bulk cargo and export cargo. “KRA has planned to fully roll out clearance of containerised cargo from October 22, 2021. Thereafter all imports and exports shall be cleared through the iCMS system. “This is to request you to notify all KSAA members of the intended switch over from the MMS/Simba to the iCMS system,” Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) assistant commissioner James Karugu wrote in the September 15 letter to the Kenya Ships Agent Association (KSAA).
Ghana-UK trade partnership agreement set to begin on Oct 1 - Alan Kyerematen (Myjoyonline)
The new interim trade partnership agreement between Ghana and the United Kingdom is expected to commence Friday, October 1. The Agreement seeks to reaffirm the deep interest of both Ghana and the UK to strengthen the longstanding trade and economic relationship by ensuring tariff-free trade transactions in both markets. It also establishes a new framework for Ghana-UK collaboration which will contribute to sustained economic growth in Ghana. Minister of Trade and Industries, Alan Kyerematen announced the commencement date during the swearing-in and inauguration of the new Governing Board of the Ghana Standards Authority, Wednesday.
The Ghana-UK Trade Partnership Agreement will support businesses to increase their processes, encourage innovation in the market and create jobs as the country recovers from the ravaging effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Trade Minister, while announcing the commencement of the agreement, added that other market integration frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the EU-Ghana Economic Partnership Agreement are already being implemented. Here, therefore, urged the newly-inaugurated Board of the Ghana Standards Authority to support government’s flagship programmes.
The Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen has affirmed that the government through the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) would continue to pursue measures which would make it possible for Ghana to assemble and later manufacture vehicles locally. The Sector Minister directly recalled the significant role the Authority played in the development of national automobile standards under the Ghana Automobile Development Programme which is being implemented by his Ministry. Additionally, Mr Kyerematen disclosed that the GSA has developed over 30 standards for vehicles.
EU court annuls Morocco trade agreement over Western Sahara (DW)
The Court of Justice of the European Union on Wednesday said it has canceled two agricultural trade agreements with Morocco concerning the disputed Western Sahara region, saying the North African country did not have the consent of local inhabitants affected. The EU-Morocco agreements concern the waters and territory of the disputed Western Sahara region. The deals allowed Morocco to export goods from the contested Western Sahara, and had previously been ratified by the European Parliament. In Wednesday's ruling, the tribunal said the Council had made a mistake and decided to revoke the agreements saying they imposed obligations on the people of Western Sahara without their consent.
Ports and Maritime Transport Authority and Elmreisa Free Zone agree to activate free zone through temporary dry port (Libya Herald)
Libya’s Ports and Maritime Transport Authority and the Board of Directors of the Elmreisa Free Zone (EFZ) decided at a meeting yesterday to activate the EFZ by establishing a dry port. The dry port will be established at Benghazi’s Jiliana port until the construction of the EFZ starts. EFZ is located 17 km west of central Benghazi. Background It will be recalled that at the end of August this year the Ministries of Economy and Trade, Transport and Finance approved the proposal to finance the EFZ’s dry port at Jiliana port until the completion of the main port at the EFZ. A related proposal was also adopted at the meeting to support a free zone in Kufra, linking it with EFZ through the approved transit trade route Benghazi-Kufra-Africa.
Africa
Africa trade recovery: many hurdles to overcome (Global Trade Review)
As Africa’s leaders look to secure the continent’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in the face of numerous headwinds, Eleanor Wragg outlines the outlook for trade and explores some of the key challenges the region must tackle. The most recent economic outlook from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) paints a gloomy picture for Africa. Previously the world’s second fastest-growing region, trailing only developing Asia, the events of 2020 plunged the continent into a recession for the first time in a quarter of a century. Although global growth is set to reach 6% in 2021, Africa’s recovery will be far more muted, at just 3.4%, putting it at the bottom of the world’s regions in terms of economic expansion this year. However, Africa’s trade recovery is now underway (see figure 1), with the IMF’s Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS) showing that, after a sharp dip during the worst of the pandemic, exports reached US$113.2bn in the first quarter of 2021, topping pre-Covid levels.
Roundtable: Africa's journey to post-pandemic trade (Global Trade Review)
In a roundtable held virtually in July 2021, GTR and Crown Agents Bank gathered some of Africa’s most influential figures from across the trade and trade finance sector to discuss the continent’s journey towards an inclusive, cohesive and sustainable post-pandemic reality.
GTR: What role does trade and trade finance play in Africa’s economic recovery?
Toyoda: We know that every 1-percentage point increase in trade will produce a 2-percentage point increase in income per capita. Trade drives everything in economic recovery, and from IFC’s point of view, we think the private sector is key to promote this. Without trade, no production starts, no operations start. In many cases, trade will not happen without trade finance. This is the beginning of the recovery stage, and we all have to come together to support this trade activity.
Vaccine access is critical to start economic recovery, and we either have to import vaccines onto the continent or we need to import vaccine inputs in order to produce locally. In terms of that sequence of the economic recovery, trade will therefore start everything. IFC just launched the Africa Trade Recovery Support Initiative to support trade and supply chain especially for SMEs.
Mashoko: Trade finance has a big role to play on the continent. In particular keeping the trade of goods and services flowing presents not only an economic but also a social imperative to preserve livelihoods of millions on the continent. Pre-Covid, the trade finance gap in Africa was estimated to be about US$81bn, and the industry has a role in reducing that gap. Trade finance will also play a role in providing instruments for short-term working capital requirements, in sectors like health and medical supplies that have expanded dramatically following the onset of Covid.
PAPSS to Help Africa Save $5bn Yearly in Payment Transaction Costs (Business Post Nigeria)
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat have announced the commencement of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to facilitate trade across the continent.
According to the Cairo-based Afrieximbank in a statement, by simplifying cross-border transactions and reducing the dependency on hard currencies for these transactions, PAPSS is set to boost intra-African trade significantly and underpin the implementation of AfCFTA. PAPSS will serve as a continent-wide platform for the processing, clearing and settling of intra-African trade and commerce. It is expected to leverage a multilateral net settlement system.
New report: Few small firms in French-speaking Africa know about continental trade area (ITC)
Only a quarter of companies recently interviewed in francophone Africa have heard about the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), according to a new report by the International Trade Centre (ITC). But of those who do, about 75% believe it will benefit their businesses.
Promoting SME Competitiveness in Francophone Africa: From crisis to recovery through regional integration makes the case for investing in awareness, in addition to implementation, of the AfCFTA. The report is based on data from 2557 businesses in French speaking Africa surveyed by ITC and the Permanent Conference of African and Francophone Consular Chambers (known in French as CPCCAF) between May and July 2021.
Only 6% of surveyed firms export to other African countries, and just 12% import from other countries on the continent. The voices of these firms suggests that high logistics and transport costs, along with delays and uncertainty, are the most common export barriers within Africa. The implementation of the AfCFTA, powered by investments in trade facilitation and infrastructure, has the potential to tackle some of these issues and expand intraregional trade.
Intra-EAC trade drop by 5.5% in 2020 due to Covid-19 (RegionWeek)
The intra-EAC trade drop by 5.5% to USD. 5.9 billion in 2020 due to COVID-19 while exports from the bloc to the world hit 16.2 billion in 2020 a 3% boost in comparison to 2019. This was highlighted during the Webinar on EAC Trade & Investment Recovery amidst COVID-19 organized by the East African Business Council. As reported by the EABC team, in his opening remarks, Mr. John Bosco Kalisa, EABC CEO said, “the private sector and buy East African, build East Africa campaign is central in driving the economic recovery agenda for the EAC bloc amid COVID-19.” He elaborated that EABC in partnership with African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) conducted COVID-19 impact studies to inform policies in order to ignite the rebound and recovery of Manufacturing, Tourism& Hospitality, Agriculture & Food Security, and Transport & Logistics sectors in the EAC bloc.
In his remarks, the Director of Trade at the EAC Secretariat, Alhajj Rashid Kibowa said the EAC Post COVID-19 economic recovery plan is under country consultation. He further said the pandemic impacted trade performance noting that EAC import declined to 3.56 billion in 2020 from 3.95 billion in 2019.
Director Kibowa stated that Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the EAC dropped by 43% to USD. 4.9 billion in 2020 and jobs declined by 2%, wiping out the gains made in the previous year. In 2019 EAC bloc recorded USD. 8.66 billion FDI a 375% rise from 2018.
EAC meets to transpose the 2022 edition of its Common External Tariff into French (WCO)
In order to cater for the needs of its French-speaking Partner States and users, the East African Community held a meeting of tariff experts to transpose the HS 2022 edition of its Common External Tariff (CET) into the French language. The meeting took place from 13 to 18 September 2021 in Moshi, Tanzania. It was conducted with the support of the WCO, within the framework of the EU-WCO Programme for the Harmonized System in Africa (HS-Africa Programme), funded by the European Union. The meeting was preceded by an EAC regional consultation organized in March 2021 to prepare the English linguistic version of the HS 2022 EAC CET, with the participation of all the Community Partner States.
Experts examined the 2022 edition of the EAC CET and developed the French language version of it, while also ensuring that it incorporated all the changes made to the EAC CET from July 2017 to June 2021. The 2022 edition of the EAC CET was proofread, and some errors were rectified, in particular, in Chapters 16, 63 and 70. Moreover, the progress of the preparatory work to migrate national classification systems to the HS 2022 EAC CET was discussed.
South Africa, Nigeria trail Kenya cashless payments (Business Daily)
Kenyan businesses prefer cashless payments compared to those in South Africa and Nigeria, a new survey of women enterprises shows, highlighting the impact of digital platforms such as M-Pesa. A report by global digital payments solution provider, Visa, shows that an estimated 71 percent of businesses in Kenya use cash payments, while the preference for this mode by their customers stood at 22 percent. The survey shows higher use of cash by businesses in South Africa (91 percent) and Nigeria (94 percent). The less use of cash among Kenyan businesses is reflected in the high preference for mobile wallets (56 percent) compared to Nigeria (14 percent) and South Africa (7 percent).The use of mobile money payments has been rising following the Central Bank of Kenya push for the service last year, which now competes ahead of card payments. The report shows high usage of digital payments including mobile money transfer, card payment, contactless cards, and bank transfer was concentrated in food, beverage, and entertainment places, tours and accommodation, agriculture, transport and delivery, and professional services.
Investing In Africa? Invest In Women (Forbes)
The focus on gender balance as a strategic economic opportunity has risen around the world over the past two decades – now it is accompanying Africa’s rise. As research of the benefits of gender balance has steadily grown, companies and countries have pushed to balance boards and leadership teams. More recently, investors have added pressure on the issue. Large funds have declared they won’t invest in companies that don’t balance. Women-led venture funds have started to emerge, and just this week a women-led bank announced its opening in the US. Yet in the developing world, where the financing gap is most stark, women-led investments are rare, and women on listed company boards still a tiny minority. But efforts pushing for progress are emerging and deserve visibility.
Which private players are investing in West Africa's textiles industry? (Oxford Business Group)
As governments across West Africa prioritise their textile industries to drive post-pandemic recovery, a number of private sector initiatives are supporting the segment’s growth. In a region where just 2% of cotton produced is processed locally, much of the investment has focused on developing cotton processing capacity to capitalise on the added value that comes from selling finished goods. While West Africa is the sixth-largest cotton-growing region in the world – and Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-largest cotton-exporting countries, respectively – a lack of processing capacity has resulted in dependence on imported goods.
Projects worth $22.9b signed at 2nd China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (China Daily)
A total of 135 projects worth $22.9 billion were inked at the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo which concluded in Central China's Hunan province on Wednesday. The four-day event, themed "New Start, New Opportunities, and New Accomplishments," was held both online and offline to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. A total of 320 companies displayed their products online and over 250 million yuan (about $38.7 million) worth of products were traded at an online shopping event during the expo, the information office of the Hunan provincial government told a press briefing on Wednesday.
Africa-Asia route investments boost international cargo volumes by 33.9% in Africa (Nairametrics)
African airlines’ international cargo volumes increased by 33.9% in August, 2021 compared to August 2019. This is the largest increase of all regions across the globe. This was disclosed in data gathered by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for global air cargo, which was shared with Nairametrics on Wednesday. IATA confirmed that the Investment flows along the Africa-Asia route has been driving the regional outcomes with volumes on the route up 26.4% over two years ago. According to IATA, in August 2021, the data for global air cargo markets showed that demand continued its strong growth trend but pressure on capacity is rising.
African airlines’ saw international cargo volumes increase by 33.9% in August, the largest increase of all regions. Investment flows along the Africa-Asia route continue to drive the regional outcomes with volumes on the route up 26.4% over two years ago. International capacity decreased 2.1%.
Chinese market breeds new fashion for African consumption (The Herald)
As China’s imports from Africa increase rapidly, entrepreneurs are fostering new fashions of consumption in the country by matching African products of high-quality and added value with diversified demand of consumers.
Wu Kunyang, a woman in her 30s and mother of two children, laid out cosmetic products containing natural ingredients from African plants at the exhibition centre for African cocoa. It is one of the main exhibition centres for African products at the Gaoqiao Grand Market, a sub-venue of the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, which ran from Sunday to Wednesday in Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan Province.
Targeting Chinese consumers’ demand for safe and natural skincare products, the company spent around 70 percent of its revenue on research and development, cooperating with multiple universities.
She was not alone in promoting the imports of high-quality produce from Africa. In the exhibition hall of the African cocoa marketing center where her booth was, various cocoa products ranging from chocolate gift sets to cocoa ice cream, from flower-shaped aerated chocolate to blind boxes, were displayed.
International
Noting that the UN has “taken its biggest, boldest step yet to emerge from the pandemic”, Abdulla Shahid said: “We must build upon this success and continue momentum”. “Yet, our true measure of success remains our willingness and ability to engage in dialogue and to put our faith in the multilateral system”, he said. While a great deal was discussed over the last week, a clear set of issues arose time and again, namely COVID-19, climate change, peace, security and the risks of instability.
Climate, pandemic, e-commerce, inclusivity — Public Forum addresses priorities for reform (WTO)
The issue of WTO reform has been raised by the organization's members in various WTO bodies in recent years, with many recognizing the need to update rules written more than a quarter of a century ago. In outlining their priorities for reform, participants in the high-level session put forward a menu of issues requiring attention. These not only included tackling new issues like climate change, pandemic response and the digital economy, but also ensuring the WTO can better address matters that have been on its negotiating agenda for years, such as agriculture, disciplines on fisheries subsidies, and special and differential treatment for developing and least-developed countries.
“For the WTO to be useful for us, it has to function, it has to be fit for purpose,” John WH Denton, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, said. “The issues it deals with have to be those of the 21st century. It needs to grapple with issues it's been told to deal with because they're relevant issues.”
Transform food systems to avert $400 billion annually in loss and waste (UN News)
Not only is preventing food loss and waste crucial for the world’s people, it is also essential for the future of the planet, they stressed in remarks to an online commemorative event. “We cannot continue to lose 14 per cent of food produced globally and to waste 17 per cent of total food in households, retailers, restaurants and other food services. This amounts to a loss of $400 billion a year in food value,” said Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Our food systems and consumption practices, which use up precious water and land resources, are major contributors to the triple crises afflicting the planet: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Beware of BRICS project funding scam (SAnews)
Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has warned the public to beware of yet another scam which purports to be communication from the Ministry about supposed projects and funding. In a statement on Wednesday, the department said that in the latest scheme, the scammers are impersonating the Minister as inviting people on social media to take up new opportunities. The scammers are inviting citizens and corporates of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) member states who are interested and dedicated to development in their respective communities and organisations to apply for funding. “Neither the Ministry nor the Department of Employment and Labour has issued an invitation to assist individuals or businesses with the funding,” the department said. The scammers claim that: “The SADC and BRICS has utilized funding in the form of budgetary support provided to Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, amongst others, totalling €58 billion in the period of 2018-2022. Individuals are liable to get up to the amount of R20 million and cooperate organizations and NGO's could get up to the sum of R45 million”.
Small States Fighting the Pandemic Focusing on Solutions (World Bank)
The Bank’s COVID-19 crisis response—the largest crisis response in its history—is tailored to save lives, strengthen health systems, protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, create jobs and jump start a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery. The Bank is providing funds for the COVID-19 vaccine deployment and for strengthening national systems for public health preparedness in many countries including Cabo Verde, Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe and Guinea Bissau. We are helping The Gambia expand access to vaccines through direct purchases from manufacturers as well as through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust. In Saint Lucia the World Bank’s financing aims to provide short-term relief to the poor, small businesses, and the most affected workers. It also aims to supports reforms related to financial resilience to disaster and education sector policies. In Fiji, the Social Protection COVID-19 Response and System Development project seeks to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the unemployed and to improve gender outcomes.
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National
SA must implement structural reforms to accelerate economic growth – CDE (Engineering News)
Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) CEO Ann Bernstein said South Africa needs to implement a range of structural reforms essential to accelerate economic growth, free up the labour market so that growth could become more labour intensive, and fix a training, skills and education system that is expensive and mainly ineffective. The CDE launched a new report,’ South Africa’s NEETs crisis: Why we are failing to connect young people to work’, which examines the role and performance of South Africa’s skills system, and finds that constructive cooperation between businesses and technical and vocational education and training colleges remains the exception rather than the rule.
Rich Nations Pitch Climate Aid to Fund South Africa Coal Exit (Bloomberg)
Envoys from some of the world’s richest nations met with South African cabinet ministers on Tuesday to discuss a climate deal that could see billions of dollars put toward ending the country’s dependence on coal. The delegation is trying to hammer out an agreement that can be announced at the COP26 climate talks, which start in Glasgow, Scotland on Oct. 31, two people familiar with the talks said. The discussions with South Africa -- the world’s 12th-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases -- include representatives from the U.S., U.K., Germany, France and the European Union.
While South Africa is under pressure to cut its dependence on coal -- which accounts for more than 80% of its power generation -- it needs finance to facilitate the transition to cleaner energy. Developed nations may also need to find away to address the challenges faced by South Africa’s state-owned power utility, which is burdened by 400 billion rand ($27 billion) of debt.
Partnerships Key to Transformation of the Automotive Sector- Acting DDG Mangole (the dtic)
Continuous building of partnerships with key stakeholders is significant to enhance support towards transformation in the automotive sector. This was said by the Acting Deputy Director-General of Industrial Financing at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Ms Susan Mangole. Mangole made the remarks during a webinar on Access to Financing for the Local Automotive Component Manufacturers organised by the dtic in collaboration with the Automotive Industry Transformation Fund (AITF). The webinar was intended to share various funding programmes and incentives available to the sector. The R6 billion AITF is a good platform to further strengthen compliance adherence by local automotive component manufacturers, who are participating in the value chains of the seven multinational automotive manufacturers in the country, namely BMW, Ford, Isuzu, Nissan, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen in South Africa.
KRA gives traders a week to switch to new customs monitoring system (Business Daily)
Traders handling containerised cargo have seven days to switch to the Kenya Revenue Authority’s new customs monitor as the agency moves to increase clearance efficiency at the country’s entry points. Deputy Commissioner Revenue and Regional Coordination, Mr Joseph Kaguru asked traders to expedite the shift from the MM/Simba system to avoid being inconvenienced when Kenya implements full use of the system starting October 22. The deputy Commissioner said the authority had set up dedicated desks at different custom points including at the port of Mombasa, at Malaba border and at Long House (KRA headquarters Mombasa) to assist traders having difficulties making the switch.
China, Europe container demand hits Kenyan exports (The Star)
High demand for empty containers in China has hit Kenyan exports as shippers rush back empties instead of carrying export cargo. This, coupled with increased freight charges due to a global vessel shortage threatens Kenya’s international trade. The high demand for empties in China is as a result of reopening of industries after a slow down during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, with the Asian country rushing to clear orders for its exports, mainly to Europe and the US. Containers of all sizes—20-foot and 40-foot are in short supply, according to industry players. China is said to be paying handsomely for the return of empty containers, a move that the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) says is making it attractive to vessel owners. “This has resulted in cargo ships scrambling for empty containers from the diverse ports in order to transport them back to China. It results in exports goods lacking space on cargo ships, as ships are allocating space to empty containers,” KAM chief executive Phyllis Wakiaga told the Star.
Transporters diversify to survive SGR competition, Covid (Business Daily)
When the government ordered all cargo destined for Nairobi and the hinterland from the Port of Mombasa be transported via the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) trains, it plunged logistics companies into financial distress that saw a number of them shut down. For the few that were still operational, the going got harder when Covid-19 struck early last year. However, a few have managed to remain a float in the industry after diversifying their businesses. When the outlook in the cargo business started looking bleak, Sidoman Investment Limited quickly cast its eyes elsewhere and started offering logistics solutions to all sizes of businesses, from small traders to large corporations in the evolving global marketplace.
Rwanda, Zimbabwe sign five pacts to boost trade (The New Times)
Rwanda and Zimbabwe have signed five cooperation agreements in ICT and e-governance, environment and climate change, agriculture and livestock, tourism and business events The agreements were signed on September 28 at the ongoing trade and investment conference where Rwanda’s Private Sector Federation and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries signed a memorandum of understanding.
“Rwanda’s development strategy is centred on private sector development,” Niyonkuru said at the bilateral trade and investment conference. Rwanda has implemented a host of business reforms, making the country one of the most favoured investment destinations in Africa. “We strongly believe that our ambitious development targets can only be achieved through a thriving private sector that delivers sustained and inclusive growth.”
IMF Executive Board Concludes 2021 Article IV Consultation with the Republic of Congo (IMF)
The COVID-19 pandemic and oil price shocks have taken a deep toll on the Congolese economy but there are signs of recovery. Positive non-oil economic growth is expected this year, buoyed by the easing of lockdowns, gradual vaccine rollout, social spending, domestic arrears repayments, and some expansion of agricultural and mining activities. The contraction of oil production has slowed as oil field access and investment normalize; and the value of oil revenues and exports are rising on the back of higher oil prices. Overall growth is projected to be around zero percent in 2021 with subdued inflation (2 percent) and a current account surplus (12 percent of GDP).
Over the medium and long terms, the main challenges will be exiting fragility while adapting to climate change and reduced oil revenues in response to the global transition to low-carbon economies. Non-oil economic growth is expected to gradually recover driven by economic diversification and resilience-building—which will benefit from continued governance and business environment reforms, increased social and infrastructure spending, and prudent debt management. The outlook is subject to high uncertainty amid risks of new waves of the pandemic, volatile oil revenue prospects, climate change shocks, and successful reform implementation. On the upside, investment in mining and oil and gas could rise with new field discoveries and accelerated reform implementation could catalyze more concessional financing.
Africa
Afreximbank and AfCFTA announce the Operational Roll-out of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) (Afreximbank)
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and AfCFTA Secretariat announced today the operational roll-out of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a revolutionary Financial Market Infrastructure to enable instant, cross-border payments in local currencies between African markets. By simplifying cross-border transactions and reducing the dependency on hard currencies for these transactions, PAPSS is set to boost intra-African trade significantly and underpin the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). PAPSS will serve as a continent-wide platform for the processing, clearing and settling of intra-African trade and commerce payments, leveraging a multilateral net settlement system. Its full implementation is expected to save the continent more than US$5 billion in payment transaction costs each year.
African states can grow global trade finance with AfCFTA – Coronation Merchant Bank (Nairametrics)
Financial experts in Coronation Merchant Bank have tasked member states of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to leverage resources and synergies to grow the continent’s trade finance globally. They disclosed this during the bank’s interactive section tagged: “AfCFTA- The Road Ahead,” which was monitored by Nairametrics.
Managing Director, Coronation Merchant Bank, Mr Banjo Adegbohungbe, believes that member states in Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) should leverage resources and synergies to grow the continent’s trade finance globally. According to him, the nations should understand that they should leverage resources not just for the benefit of the African continent but for global trade. He said, “The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic had led to rapid changes in the international trade landscape. The expansion of intra-African trade via the AfCFTA was a critical enabler for the Nigerian economy. “From supply chain disruptions to higher logistics cost to the adoption of digital platforms, the landscape has continued to evolve. More than ever before, oganisations have been faced with multiple challenges while trying to meet their strategic objectives. “As Africa continues on its journey to economic recovery, it must look inwards and strive to leverage the resources and synergies in growing trade finance not just for the benefit of Africa but for the whole world.”
AfCFTA To Open Export Opportunities For States (Leadership)
ECA and AUDA -NEPAD renew partnership to enhance sustainable growth in Africa (UNECA)
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance their partnership and collaboration to accelerate the achievement of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Signed at the Africa Union Office in New York City on September 27, the MoU aims to harness synergies arising from the organisations’ mandates and establish the non-binding and non-exclusive arrangements necessary to ensure effective cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General and ECA’s Executive Secretary, said the MoU is a show of how much the two organizations can pool together and raise their ambitions to achieve what needs to be done in regard to Africa’s transformation Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development agenda 2030. “Our collaboration will push Africa’s agenda forward, especially within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which we all believe in,” said Ms Songwe.
“We have done well on advocacy in the areas of sustainable energy, climate change, industrialization, digitalization, and health security. But we need to do better on financing. More advocacy is needed for more financing as we prepare for COP26.”
The United Nations has released a first version of a Handbook on Provisions and Options for Trade in Times of Crisis and Pandemic’. Work on the handbook was initiated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commissions for Africa (ECA), Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), West Asia (ESCWA) and Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) after realizing that the hundreds of regional trade agreements in place provided no guidance to countries on how to keep trade going during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many cases, especially during the first half of 2020, many countries took ad-hoc unilateral measures that seriously disrupted international supply chains, including supplies in essential goods, such as medical equipment as well as food.
Africa Resilience Forum 2021: Facing the ‘hydra-head challenges of Covid-19, conflict and climate’ (AfDB)
The fourth edition of the Africa Resilience Forum opened on Tuesday, as the continent’s most vulnerable communities confront the triple challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict and climate change. An estimated 39 million Africans could slip into extreme poverty this year, as a result of the pandemic. At the same time, countries are facing higher fiscal costs, reducing capacity for the critical investments required to deliver on ambitions such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Africa Resilience Forum is a flagship African Development Bank event which brings together key stakeholders across government, civil society, the private sector, and international partners, to reflect on the continent’s conflict prevention, peace, and state-building initiatives.
“Across Africa, rising expenditures on defence and security, increasingly displace development financing on essential services such as education, health, water, sanitation, and affordable housing…This compromises long-term resilience needed to bounce back better,” Adesina said. “The hydra-headed challenges of this pandemic, insecurity, and climate change, continue to impact young men, women, and children the most.” Going forward, Adesina said the Bank would work closely with regional member countries on security-indexed bonds to address the root causes of insecurity by protecting investments and livelihoods.
Trade experts meet to speed-up negotiations on market access (COMESA)
Trade experts from Member States began a three-day virtual meeting, 28- 30 September 2021, to review progress on the liberalization of trade in services for enhanced market access under the COMESA Free Trade Area. The meeting is the 10th for the COMESA Trade in Services Committee. It will receive updates from Members States on the progress they have made in their bilateral negotiations and tariff offers. Further, it is expected to finalise the negotiations on the priority sectors: communication, financial, tourism and transport services, and proceed to the implementation of the commitments made. COMESA has prioritized and negotiated schedules of specific commitments in four priority sectors. The proposal that will emerge from the Committee’s meeting will be tabled before the upcoming Trade Policy Organ Meetings when the final and legally scrubbed schedules will be submitted for approval and adoption by Council of Ministers. The Committee is the prime forum in COMESA for trade in services negotiations as mandated by Council to spearhead the COMESA trade in services liberalisation programme
The Council adopted the COMESA Regulations on Trade in Services in 2009 and initiated negotiations on the progressive reciprocal removal of barriers to trade in services in seven priority sectors, focusing on only one major area of services negotiations; market access.
Africa must seize the global commodity exchange opportunity (The New Times)
Africa has 50% of the world’s unused arable land (food demand is expected to increase on our continent by over 200% by 2030 and globally by over 50% by 2050). In addition, with improved logistics, the harnessing of better agricultural practices, and strong government and multilateral support, the future for agriculture and agri-business on the continent is bright. Among the many factors that will turn the obvious potential of Africa’s agriculture into reality is the strength of the continent’s commodity markets.
Africa: Increasing Competition Policy Enforcement Across the Continent (Lexology)
Regulators view competition policy as a key driver of economic growth. Although over the past two years African competition regulators have actively engaged in efforts to address pandemic-related challenges, there has also been a general upward trend in competition policy enforcement across the continent. Matrices used to analyze economic transformation, such as the Bertelsmann Transformation Index, note the existence of comprehensive competition laws that are enforced (to some degree), in at least 46 African jurisdictions. This upward trend in enforcement is highlighted by a number of significant recent developments in competition law regulation around the continent. Competition policy continues to be viewed by regulators as a key driver of economic growth globally. Across Africa, competition policy enforcement is increasingly being employed as a tool to boost economic performance and promote the revitalization of trade and industry following the devastating impact of COVID-19. The effects of the pandemic have led to negative economic growth in a number of African jurisdictions, and have given rise to opportunistic, anticompetitive behaviors such as unreasonable price increases and price gouging, coordination amongst competitors, and other unsavory business practices that erode competition.
Innovative financing needed to help Africa tackle climate change (UNECA)
African countries are facing severe liquidity challenges that make the mobilization of domestic resources for climate action difficult. That is according to experts at a session on actualizing climate action and a green recovery for Africa at the Africa Climate Week (September 26- 29). “At both the national and global levels, the conversation is built around finance, because the COVID19 pandemic has further narrowed the fiscal space available to African countries to mobilise the desperately needed resources,” said Jean-Paul Adam, Director of Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resource Management at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Mr Adam said it was crucial for developed countries to meet their USD100 billion climate finance pledge to help the most vulnerable in developing countries.
International
DG Okonjo-Iweala welcomes participants to 2021 Public Forum (WTO)
This year’s Forum, entitled “Trade Beyond COVID-19: Building Resilience”, is focusing on the effects of the pandemic on trade and how the multilateral trading system can help build resilience to COVID-19 and future crises.
In his keynote address, South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa said the global pandemic has presented the world with one of its greatest health, social and economic challenges in more than a century. “To overcome the challenges confronting all of us, we need global solidarity, and we must reaffirm the role of open, inclusive multilateralism,” President Ramaphosa declared. A relatively positive short-term outlook for global trade “is marred by regional disparities, continued weakness in services trade, and lagging vaccination timetables, particularly in poor countries,” he continued. “We are not, as yet, building back together.”
In addressing the theme of the Forum, Director-General Okonjo-Iweala noted that trade has been a source of resilience during the pandemic, helping households, businesses and governments cope with dramatic shocks. Trade has enabled access to food and medical supplies and contributed to economic recovery.
South Africa, Oxfam call for fairer trade rules in response to pandemic (Reuters)
South Africa’s president and the head of Oxfam heaped pressure on World Trade Organization members and manufacturers to allow fairer access to COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday, including through a waiver on intellectual property rights. At a WTO public event on trade and COVID-19 also attended by German vaccine maker BioNTech, Cyril Ramaphosa said a waiver on patents was needed to save millions of lives during the pandemic. read more “This is not the time just to be uni-dimensionally focused on profit. This is the time to save lives,” Ramaphosa said.
Oxfam’s Executive Director Gabriela Bucher said monopolies, not science were the biggest challenge to defeating the virus. “The reality is the current trade rules enable rich country governments and pharmaceutical corporations to work hand in hand to artificially limit vaccine supplies to developing countries,” she said. “I must appeal to BioNTech - the vaccine has turned your CEO into a double digit billionaire,” she added.
Working group on small business finalises MC12 draft declaration (WTO)
Ambassador José Luís Cancela (Uruguay), the Coordinator of the Group, thanked members for their comments, flexibility and constructive spirit. He noted that the text has been under discussion for several months and has undergone several rounds of comments. He said that the Group should now try and build support for the initiative and invite WTO members that are not participating in the Group to endorse the Ministerial Declaration The draft declaration states the Group’s commitment to address challenges facing MSMEs seeking to trade internationally. It recognizes the negative impact of COVID-19 on small business and the need for a global coordinated response to help MSMEs recover from the pandemic.
Participants in domestic regulation talks conclude text negotiations, on track for MC12 deal (WTO)
The disciplines seek to ensure that domestic regulation procedures for trade in services are clear, predictable and transparent and do not unnecessarily restrain trade. Flexibilities are envisaged to help governments apply the measures and regulate based on their national policy objectives and levels of development. In the negotiated text, participants agreed to include a provision on non-discrimination between men and women in the context of authorization procedures for service suppliers. This will be the first provision of its kind in a WTO negotiated outcome. Participants further agreed to an optional section with a set of disciplines on financial services, and to a maximum transitional period of seven years for developing countries that need more time to implement individual disciplines for specific services sectors.
Boosting productive capacities only hope for least developed countries post COVID-19 (UNCTAD)
The development of productive capacities in least developed countries (LDCs) is necessary for boosting their ability to respond to and recover from crises such as COVID-19, and to advance towards sustainable development, says UNCTAD’s Least Developed Countries Report 2021 released on 27 September. UNCTAD defines productive capacities as “the productive resources, entrepreneurial capabilities and production linkages that together determine the capacity of a country to produce goods and services and enable it to grow and develop.” Developing productive capacities allows the world’s poorest countries to foster structural economic transformation, which will in turn help reduce poverty and accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the report says. Reaching SDGs, however, requires massive investment and spending, which go well beyond LDCs’ financial means.
Inequalities threaten wider divide as digital economy data flows surge | UNCTAD (UNCTAD)
The data-driven digital economy is surging. Recent estimates show that global internet protocol (IP) traffic – a proxy for data flows – will more than triple between 2017 and 2022, according to UNCTAD’s Digital Economy Report 2021 released on 29 September. The COVID-19 pandemic has markedly increased internet traffic, as many activities have moved online. Global internet bandwidth rose by 35% in 2020, compared with 26% the previous year, the report says. A growing part of data flows is related to mobile networks. With the increasing number of mobile devices and internet-connected devices, data traffic by mobile broadband is expected to account for almost one third of the total data volume in 2026, the report states. “But the data-driven digital economy is characterized by large imbalances and divides,” said UNCTAD’s director of technology and logistics, Shamika N. Sirimanne. “As the digital economy grows, a data-related divide is compounding the digital divide.”
New approach needed to make digital data flow beneficial for all (UN News)
This should help maximize development gains and ensure that they are equitably distributed, said the agency, launching its Digital Economy Report 2021. A new approach should also enable worldwide data sharing, increase the development of global digital ”public goods”, increase trust and reduce uncertainty in the digital economy, UNCTAD added. The report stressed that the new global system must help avoid further fragmentation of the internet, address policy challenges emerging from the dominant positions of digital platforms, and narrow existing inequalities. “It is more important than ever to embark on a new path for digital and data governance,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his preface to the report. “The current fragmented data landscape... may create more space for substantial harms related to privacy breaches, cyberattacks and other risks” he added.
Economical internet services required to bridge digital divide, experts say (The National)
A quick and decisive mobilisation of resources and economical internet services are required to bridge the widening digital gap in the post-Covid era, industry experts have said. With an estimated 47 per cent of the global population offline and the cost of available broadband exceeding the affordability in 50 per cent of developed countries, it is necessary to accelerate efforts to achieve digital inclusion at all levels, Badr Jafar, chief executive of Sharjah-based conglomerate Crescent Enterprises, told a panel at the World Economic Forum’s Edison Alliance discussion on ‘boosting digital inclusion’.
“We, the connected people, are the true agents of change … and history will judge us on whether we really used these tools for the collective betterment of humanity and our planet,” he said.
Policymakers ‘fail to support small-scale fisheries’ (SciDev.net)
Small-scale fisheries provide livelihoods for millions of people globally, particularly in the developing world, but are overlooked by policymakers, making the need to understand their diversity, roles and resilience critical, researchers say. In a paper published this month in Nature Food, researchers call for better understanding of the small-scale fisheries sector, along with targeted action such as ensuring that policy goals support the sector actors to derive sufficient benefit from their activities and investments. “The small-scale sector provides more than 50 per cent of what human beings eat from aquatic [water] environments. We are at a watershed moment for blue foods [fish and other foods from water bodies], and simply cannot move in the right direction without putting small-scale fisheries and aquaculture front and centre,” says Rebecca Short, study co-author and researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Why gender matters in trade facilitation reform (UNCTAD)
Women traders in African countries face a great deal of barriers to trade – some the realm of nightmares – as these intrepid traders do what they can amid, at times, insurmountable impediments to getting their goods to market. “If trading in Africa were a video game, and each character a women, the character’s encounters would go from bad to worse until the final stage, where you reach the big monster – in this case it could be a thief, or a corrupt official, or a law you didn’t know about, or being asked to do something online when you don’t even have a computer,” said Arántzazu Sánchez, UNCTAD economist. “You need to be a superhero to be a women cross-border trader to overcome each challenge and still generate an income and livelihood, support your family, or even just survive.”
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National
South Africa has first quarterly primary surplus in three years (Engineering News)
South Africa recorded its first quarterly primary budget surplus since 2018 in the three months through June, a sign that the National Treasury’s efforts to bring spending in line with revenue are succeeding. The government’s primary balance swung to a surplus of R9.8-billion, or 0.6% of gross domestic product, in the first quarter of the 2022 fiscal year, compared with a deficit of 2.2% of GDP in the previous three months, according to the South African Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin published on Tuesday. A primary surplus, which excludes interest costs, suggests the state can extract resources from the economy necessary to service debt.
Oil industry one of key drivers of economic activity in SA - study (Engineering News)
The South African oil industry contributed R163 billion to the economy in 2019. A study commissioned by the South African Petroleum Industry (Sapia) showed that the oil industry remained one of the key drivers of economic activity and job creation. The oil industry accounted for 3.2% of the country’s GDP in 2019, while creating a quarter of a million jobs, representing 1.5% of total employment in South Africa.
Claire Lawrie presented the findings at a briefing on Monday: “And also in terms of investment, we often discuss in South Africa infrastructural and recovery of reinvestment. This is an industry that has had sustained capital investment in infrastructure and in the economy and indeed in 2019, the industry contributed R94 billion of capital investment.”
On expert advice, South Africa cuts its 2030 emissions cap by a third (Climate Home News)
Africa’s biggest polluter has significantly strengthened its climate targets, in light of the latest science and falling renewable energy costs. Coal-reliant South Africa’s has cut its emission cap for 2030 by nearly a third, from 614 million tonnes of Co2 equivalent to 420 Mt Co2e. The target was included in the country’s climate plan, which was submitted to the UN on Monday after approval by the cabinet last week. The document says South Africa “has warmly welcomed” the a special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on how to limit warming to 1.5C.
Campaigners told Climate Home News the target was a “step forward” and showed the value of official government climate advisory bodies like the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC). But they warned that the target was still not compatible with 1.5C of global warming.
IMF raises red flag over Tanzania’s bleak economic outlook (The East African)
Tanzania requires urgent financial support of $1.1 billion (1.5 percent of GDP) in the next 12 months to avert a potential economic fallout arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and the rising import bill linked to rising crude oil prices. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says in its Country Report No 21/213, dated September 2021, that the country faces an urgent balance of payment (BOP) support as the government implements a comprehensive plan to tackle the Covid-19 shock in the wake of declining export receipts and rising import bill.” Emergency imports of medicines, testing materials, and protective equipment are urgently needed to respond to the third wave of the pandemic. Acquiring and distributing vaccines are top priority which also require an expansion of vaccine deployment infrastructure,” says the report prepared by the IMF staff.
TZ Among Top Investment Destination in Africa, Says Report (Daily News)
Tanzania is among the top ten investment destinations in Africa, thanks to reforms and a conducive investment environment set by the government. The Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) ranked the country tenth in investment attractiveness, in the Where to Invest in Africa 2021 report released recently. The East African nation has been on a rapid path of development over the past few years, a feat which has also seen one of Africa’s fastest growing economies claim the third spot within the EAC.
Egypt comes first in the report followed by Morocco and South Africa at position two and three respectively, while Rwanda comfortably sits at number four. Kenya, another East African nation is at number nine, according to the Where to Invest in Africa 2021 report.
Analysts Seek Revamp of Nigeria’s Trade Policy to Unlock FX Inflows (THISDAY Newspapers)
The federal government has been advised to take urgent steps to overhaul the country’s trade policy in order to enhance foreign exchange (FX) inflow and achieve exchange rate stability.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Investments, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, had said his ministry was working towards producing an updated trade policy. But several attempts by THISDAY to confirm from the minister when the policy document would be ready were unsuccessful, as he did not to respond to enquiries. However, speaking in a chat with THISDAY, a former Director General, West African Institute of Financial and Economic Management, Professor Akpan Ekpo, stressed that trade policy was very crucial for any economy. Ekpo said trade policy helped in creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to manufacture and export non-oil products. He stated, “The country needs an updated trade policy as soon as possible. But one thing is having a trade policy, another thing is implementation. So, we need a trade policy that will take into account the present situation in the economy.”
Nigeria’s Central Bank Preps for Launch of eNaira Digital Currency (PYMNTS)
The official website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) digital currency is live, Nigerian publication THISDAY reported. Called the eNaira, the currency is slated to launch in a week. The site had more than 1 million hits in 24 hours, according to stats from the report, showing how much interest there is in the digital currency, the report stated. The website promises easier financial transactions, offers peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, allows users to check balances and view transaction history, and make in-store payments with an eWallet through QR code scans, according to the report.
“We are going to be the first country in Africa to launch a digital currency,” he said, per the report. “It is a novel idea because we think it will facilitate trade. Nigeria being the biggest economy in Africa, this will set the tone to tell Africa that we are ready to lead, and we would indeed lead in trade, and we would make sure that happens.”
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele added that his hopes are that a digital currency could help cross-border trade, allowing more financial inclusion and helping to engender more affordable, quick remittances, according to the report. He also said there could be targeted social interventions and more effective monetary policy, payment systems and tax collection.
Munya seeks Sh1bn subsidy for KTDA farmers as fertiliser price rises (Business Daily)
The Treasury is processing Sh1 billion to offer fertiliser subsidy to farmers affiliated to Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) following a sharp rise in cost of the commodity. Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya said they requested the fund to help farmers afford the essential input. The local price of fertiliser, pushed by rising international prices, has risen to Sh3,073 for a 50- kilogramme (kg) bag, a 54 percent increment compared with the previous season. “KTDA through my ministry has requested the government for fertiliser subsidy amounting to Sh1 billion, which will reduce the cost by Sh600 to Sh2,473 per 50Kg bag,” said Mr Munya.”The request is currently being processed by the National Treasury,” added Mr Munya.
The small scale tea farmers had to content with the lack of subsidised fertiliser from KTDA last year after its importation was affected by outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic that impacted on global logistics chain that was characterised with a shortage of shipping containers.
Govt, EU partner to improve Ugandan exports (Daily Monitor)
Government has resolved to introduce a programme dubbed “farming for exports” through which farmers are to be sensitised on how to produce quality products that meet the European Union (EU) standards. This was revealed by the Agriculture minister, Mr Frank Tumwebaze, during the trialogue between government, Ugandan private sector, and the European Union (EU) which was aimed at boosting Uganda’s Agriculture Exports to Europe. The event was held at the ministry offices in Entebbe last Wednesday. ”We have resolved to work with exporters who already know the quality of products needed in the European market. They will help us to sensitise our farmers on how to improve the quality of their products straight from the garden because we have been told by the EU that low grade of our products starts from the garden,” Mr Tumwebaze said.
Mining industry still in slumber despite recovery in all sectors (Business & Financial Times)
Data published by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) have shown that the mining and quarrying sector contracted by 18.9 percent in the second quarter of 2021 – the highest to be recorded this year. This follows another contraction of 11.2 percent recorded in the previous quarter. What makes it more disturbing is that since 2020 the Mining and Quarrying sector has never experienced growth – making it the only industry to record contraction for four consecutive quarters, as the other sectors have slowly emerged from the economic quagmire and started recording growth; signifying they are gradually recovering from the pandemic’s impact.
What Sudan and South Sudan Stand to Gain By Reopening Their Border (The Conversation)
The border between Sudan and South Sudan is set to be reopened after 11 years. This follows the two countries reaching an agreement in August to end the decade-long impasse. The announcement reflects the inseparable interdependence of the two countries. Both have suffered economically as a result of the closure.
The closure was devastating for both countries. South Sudan is landlocked and depended on the exportation of crude oil through Sudan. For its part Sudan had relied on fees from South Sudan’s oil export and the export of consumable goods to South Sudan. Previous efforts to open up trade between the two countries failed. The difference this time was that the agreement specified which four border crossing posts would be opened.
The decision to allow cross-border trade is likely to be well received, particularly by the communities living along the borders. The opening of trade relations will bring economic benefits, such as creating jobs, supporting livelihoods and contributing to food security. It also expected to promote peace and social relations between communities living along the borderline. Nevertheless, cross-border trade faces immense challenges. This includes unnecessary taxes, administrative barriers and corrupt practices at the border. These will need to be addressed.
Mobile money uptake grows SMEs in Somalia (The East African)
Somalia’s largely unbanked population could still aid the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country, if they join mobile money service. A new study on Somalia’s business environment says use of mobile money services could plug the hole of financial inclusion, and dodges most of the barriers in Somalia, because it aids transactions, boosts traders’ access to credit and enables seamless transactions, even for people with no bank accounts. And the result is that the flow of the money can boost traders’ access to finances by up to 13 times. The study: “Assessing the Effects of Mobile Money Service on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises,” forms a paper published in the American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, a product of a joint study by SIMAD University in Somalia and Hormuud Telecom, Somalia’s largest telco.
Africa
Benefits under AfCFTA meaningless without local incentives (Business & Financial Times)
It is crucial for the government to provide the required incentives to allow local and small processors to enable them enter and trade in the African Continental Free Trade Area, Head of Agricultural Trade and Value Chains at AfCFTA Secretariat, Dr Komla Bissi has said. He said it is incoherent to push for opportunities under AfCFTA when government does not give incentives to local and artisanal processors to be able to take advantage of the regional market. “Without local incentives, small scale producers would still be disadvantaged despite the benefits of AfCFTA. For us at the secretariat, cocoa is a major priority and the emphasis is on value addition”, Dr Bissi told the B&FT at the 2nd African Cocoa and Chocolate Expo (ACCE) in Accra.
AfCFTA: FG says it is committed to building local content by 40% in 5 years (Nairametrics)
The Nigerian government assured that it will enable local demand for new made-in-Nigeria automobiles by 40% in the next five years, in a bid to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). They also revealed that Nigeria’s strategic objective was to capture 10% of Africa’s imports, as well as to double the country’s export revenues by 2035. This was disclosed by Mr Francis Anatogu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Sector matters and Executive Secretary, National Action Committee on AfCFTA, at a virtual seminar on Monday
“The country would leverage technology and a cluster development strategy to grow the capacity of MSMEs, reduce informal trade and aggregate them for export,” he said. He added that Nigeria was Africa’s largest market by GDP, accounting for 8.2% of Africa’s goods imports and 25.2% of services import, citing the need for proactive measures to grow local content of made-in-Nigeria products, to satisfy rules of origin, reduce unit cost, create new jobs and attract investments.
Implement gender-sensitive policies to hasten AfCFTA success – experts (Business & Financial Times)
The Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) Secretariat has been urged to implement gender-sensitive policies within its programmes as they are critical to hasten the success of the largest free trade area in the world. According to panelists at the Women in Trade Forum organised by the African Chamber of Trade and Investment, in partnership with the Centre for African Legal Studies at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) Law School, there are some gender-sensitive policies and programs in the AfCFTA document but its implementation has been a challenge so far.
New report: Few small firms in French-speaking Africa know about continental trade area (ITC)
Only a quarter of companies recently interviewed in francophone Africa have heard about the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), according to a new report by the International Trade Centre (ITC). But of those who do, about 75% believe it will benefit their businesses. Promoting SME Competitiveness in Francophone Africa: From crisis to recovery through regional integration makes the case for investing in awareness, in addition to implementation, of the AfCFTA. The report is based on data from 2557 businesses in French speaking Africa surveyed by ITC and the Permanent Conference of African and Francophone Consular Chambers (known in French as CPCCAF) between May and July 2021.
Only 6% of surveyed firms export to other African countries, and just 12% import from other countries on the continent. The voices of these firms suggests that high logistics and transport costs, along with delays and uncertainty, are the most common export barriers within Africa. The implementation of the AfCFTA, powered by investments in trade facilitation and infrastructure, has the potential to tackle some of these issues and expand intraregional trade.
Southern African Development Community: Unpacking RISDP 2020-2050
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a 16-member regional grouping aimed at transforming the livelihoods of the more than 360 million peoples of the Region through various economic, social and human development programmes. For these development efforts to bear fruit, there must be peace and security throughout the Region and this is one of the key priorities of SADC. The Region has come up with development strategies aimed at ensuring that its goals are met, namely the Regional Strategic Indicative Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030 and Vision 2050.
RISDP 2020-2050 provides a guiding framework for the implementation of SADC’s regional integration and developmental agenda and programmes for the next 10 years. It is the product of consultative processes involving key stakeholders from Member States, including the private sector, civil society, research institutions, and think-tanks, as well as international cooperating partners (ICPs).
Digital technologies can help bridge the digital divide in Africa (World Bank)
A growing body of evidence demonstrates that digital technologies can enable economic transformation in Africa and help create more jobs for its people. Digital technologies do so by helping all people, and especially lower-income and lower-skilled entrepreneurs and employees, work better and learn better, catalyzing adoption and productivity of complementary technologies. World Bank country-level studies, on Nigeria, Senegal, and Tanzania, have analyzed the impact on jobs of mobile internet availability (3G or 4G coverage), including the poor and most vulnerable.
Although mobile internet availability has increased, Africa’s internet coverage still lags behind other regions—with digital divides in availability still an issue in remote and poorer areas in all countries. Yet uptake is a bigger problem today than coverage. Africa’s uptake gap has widened, both relative to other regions and relative to availability: while 70 percent of Africa’s regional population have availability of mobile internet, less than 25 percent are using it—resulting in an average uptake gap of almost 50 percent. This uptake gap is highest in rural areas and informal enterprises; it is also high for older and poorer women and rural households. There are growing digital divides in use between richer, urban, literate, and better educated households with electricity and poorer households without electricity.
Three World Bank country-level studies, on Nigeria, Senegal, and Tanzania, have analyzed the impact on jobs of mobile internet availability (3G or 4G coverage). Better jobs and earnings for some people, though not all, are also associated with large effects on total household consumption and poverty reduction. One key takeaway is that the more digital access Africans have, the more likely they are to reduce poverty over time.
Africa urged to increase pharmaceutical manufacturing as cost of medicines and medical equipment imports rises (Ghana Business News)
African countries are spending large sums of money to import medicines and medical equipment, while populations on the continent continue to die from preventable diseases. African countries have therefore been called upon to increase the production of medicines and medical equipment on the continent.
“We are losing too many children to diseases due to lack of vaccines, which could be manufactured in Africa, UN Under-Secretary-General and Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe said at the Africa Investment Summit on Health (AIS) held on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly September 20. She explained that manufacturing vaccines on the continent will save lives and ensure that more children go to school every day and grow healthy. She also indicated that there are enormous business opportunities in Africa’s healthcare market.
“Imports of medicines and medical equipment rose from $4.2 billion in 1998 to $20 billion in 2018 for example. Africa’s private sector can and should be a part of Africa’s health security solution. This will create jobs, build capacity, grow imports and potentially reduce health care costs.”
Africa needs $2tr for green manufacturing, McKinsey says (Engineering News)
Africa’s lack of industrial development puts it in a strong position to develop low-carbon manufacturing without the costs of transitioning from fossil fuel-based factories, McKinsey & Co. said. In the process of striving toward net-zero emissions by 2050, the continent could create a net 3.8-million jobs, McKinsey said in its Africa’s Green Manufacturing Crossroads report, which was partially funded by the UK government and released Monday. However, to hit that level would require investment of $2-trillion in manufacturing and power.
African cities need billions to fight climate change (CGTN Africa)
Billions of dollars are needed to prepare Africa’s cities for climate change and to turn urban centers into engines of green growth, a report released Monday by the Coalition for Urban Transitions and FSD Africa said. The report, which is based on an analysis of cities in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Kenya, which combined represent 18 percent of Africa’s urban population, notes that investing in climate readiness in African cities will have immense economic gains. “Economic analysis commissioned for the report shows that across the 35 major cities in the three countries, delivering more compact, clean and connected development would require an additional investment of 280 billion U.S. dollars but would produce a return of more than four times that, with total benefits worth 1.1 trillion by 2050, equivalent to 330 billion in today’s terms (net present value),” the report notes.
Xiplomacy: Xi-proposed “eight major initiatives” facilitate China-Africa trade (Xinhua)
Now it takes only 14 hours for Kenyan fresh flowers to reach the Chinese city of Changsha, and young Africans can get various Chinese products with just a few clicks on keyboards at home. At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in September 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that China would launch eight major initiatives in close collaboration with African countries, including a decision to open a China-Africa economic and trade expo in China. To fully implement this decision, the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) was held in 2019 in Changsha, the capital city of central China’s Hunan Province, which turned out to be a great success. And the second CAETE, which opened Sunday in the same Chinese city and has attracted nearly 900 enterprises from 40 African countries and China, will not only show the world how Xi’s proposal has facilitated bilateral trade, but also unleash new potential for cooperation between the two sides.
International
Boosting production, crucial for least developed countries, post pandemic (UN News)
Their ability to respond to and recover from crises such as COVID-19, and to advance towards sustainable development, is dependent on increasing production capacities, UNCTAD’s Least Developed Countries Report 2021, released on Monday notes, calling specifically for increased investment in State and productive capacities for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) grouping. “Today LDCs find themselves at a critical juncture,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan. “They need decisive support from the international community to develop their productive capacities and institutional capabilities to face traditional and new challenges.”
UNCTAD defines productive capacities as “the productive resources, entrepreneurial capabilities and production linkages that together determine the capacity of a country to produce goods and services and enable it to grow and develop.” Developing production allows the world’s LDCs to foster structural economic transformation, which will in turn help reduce poverty and accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report warns that reaching SDGs will require massive investment and spending, which go well beyond LDCs’ own financial means.
The Least Developed Countries Report 2021
New index suggests productive capacities should be priority at LDC5 (Trade for Development News)
COVID-19 recovery: Civil society voices more crucial than ever (UNCTAD)
Civil society organizations should play an active role in forging a new path forward from the COVID-19 crisis, one in which everyone must feel empowered to help and contribute, participants heard during the UNCTAD15 Civil Society Forum held from 22 to 24 September. “Because if we want new solutions we need new voices, new perspectives and new debates,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said while opening the forum, held ahead UNCTAD’s 15th ministerial conference (UNCTAD15), which will take place online from 3 to 7 October and is hosted by Barbados.
Ms. Grynspan said the COVID-19 crisis is not over, and many developing regions are seriously facing the prospect of another “lost decade”, exactly at the time when efforts towards achieving the 2030 Agenda should be coming into full gear. “The work ahead is great,” Ms. Grynspan said. “We are witnessing a very divergent global recovery, with advanced countries growing and vaccinating at rates that are multiples of those in the developing world.”
As most people know, cross border payments today are often slow, expensive, opaque, cumbersome, and for some people inaccessible. Those who need them the most—the poor—are worst affected. The good news is technology has ushered in a new era of innovation in payments. And the international community is coming together to help ensure we can all benefit from this innovation. New technology will shape more than just money and payments. Financial systems more broadly will be affected, with implications for macro-financial stability, monetary policy, growth, and the international monetary system.
Gender equality and inclusion in Customs at the forefront of high-level discussions (WCO)
On 24 September 2021, the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, together with Ms. Sabine Henzler, European Commission Director, Directorate-General for the Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) of the European Commission, inaugurated an online event on “Women in Customs” hosted by DG TAXUD.
Through its two high-level panel discussions on the topics of “Core Values for Effective Leaders” and “Transforming Organizations through Equality and Inclusion”, this event provided an opportunity for Customs representatives to share their views on the importance of implementing gender equality and inclusion.
This forum, which brought together approximately 200 representatives from Customs around the world, is the first to be organized in the context of the Network for Gender Equality and Diversity in Customs. This Network, which is yet to be officially launched by the WCO, aims at providing a high-level platform for sharing inspirational experiences on how to drive this agenda forward in an effort to make Customs more inclusive.
European Commission Proposes Update of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) (Lexology)
On September 22, 2021, the European Commission (“Commission”) published a proposal for a new regulation (“Proposal”) on the generalized scheme of tariff preferences (“GSP”).1 The Proposal anticipates the upcoming expiry of the current GSP Regulation on December 31, 2023.2 Through the GSP, the European Union (“EU” or “Union”) provides preferential access to its market for imports from eligible developing countries (“Beneficiary Countries”). The Proposal retains the overall architecture of the current GSP while enhancing the powers of the Commission to suspend or withdraw preferential tariffs in cases of non-respect of the objectives of the GSP or when the Union’s interest so requires.
WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED? 1. Changes to GSP+ access while the overall architecture of the GSP remains the same; 2. Increased possibilities for the withdrawal tariff preferences; 3. Lower thresholds for EU protective measures (safeguards); 4. A new process regarding requests for cumulation
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National
The importance of investing in SMEs (Vutivi Business New)
Banks and equity funders in South Africa plan to ramp up their support for SMEs over the next five years as they are critical to help rebuild the economy. According to panelists at a Standard Bank SME Summit in partnership with Business Day webinar on reigniting businesses in the new economy, investing in the SME sector market can be mutually beneficial for financial institutions, investors and smaller businesses. Although SMMEs are the lifeblood of South Africa’s economy and employ around 60% of the workforce, they are most at risk due to very little support and limited access to capital. But both Standard Bank and Jaltech Fund Management told the webinar that they were looking to change this situation. Jaltech Fund Management co-founder and partner Gaurav Nair said that already investors were moving away from the traditional markets of listed equities for their returns. “So what lies ahead is investing into the alternatives and the alternatives are equity funding into small and medium-sized businesses and what lies over there is that you have really good deals as an equity investor because a lot of the other funders are not looking there… it’s the really good deals that you are not competing for,” he said.
Sa Companies Based in China to Participate in China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (the dtic)
The South African companies that are based in China will participate in the 2nd China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (Catexpo), that will take place in Changsha City, Hunan Province, China from 26-28 September 2021. The theme of the Expo will be “New Start, New Opportunities, New Accomplishment”. The Expo is a hybrid event comprising both physical and virtual activities. It is aimed at providing a platform to enterprises to discuss import and export business and purchasing through online systems. According to the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Fikile Majola, South Africa is privileged to participate in the Expo as a Guest Country of Honour this year. “China is strategic to South Africa and participating in the Expo will expand, elevate and deepen the mutually-beneficial economic and trade cooperation. South Africa is a member of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (Focac),” says Majola.
Strategic export pricing, payment terms (Sunday Mail)
ZIMBABWE’s exports have been on an upward trend over the past few months and are expected to continue growing throughout the year. This growth is a result of initiatives being implemented by the Second Republic, including developing and promoting relations that facilitate export growth.
In addition, ZimTrade — the national trade development and promotion agency — has been undertaking export promotion programmes in non-traditional markets over the past few months, in line with the National Export Strategy, which was launched by President Mnangagwa in 2019.
KPA eyes more efficiency as key projects near completion (Business Daily)
The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) expects to improve its efficiency in the next three months as some of the key projects which were delayed as a result of Covid-19 are set to be completed. KPA acting managing director John Mwangemi said construction of phase 2 of the Second Container Terminal (CT2) whose completion is at 88 percent will be done before the end of 2021 and will bring on board an additional capacity of 450,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs). Mr Mwangemi said the new facility will increase Mombasa port capacity to 2.1 million TEUs per annum.”Apart from the completed construction of Kipevu road which is a partnership between KPA and Trademark Africa which is only waiting to be linked with the Mombasa Nairobi Highway once the latter is complete, CT2 will play a key role as we shall never experience congestion at the port,” said Mr Mwangemi.
Carrier vessels shortage hits car importers (Business Daily)
Kenyan car importers are facing delays due to the unavailability of vessel spaces in Japan coming on the back of recovery of global trade that was affected by the Covid-19. Imports now take more than the maximum 40 days that it used to take for one to import a secondhand vehicle from an Asian country. The recovery of the global supply chain has created a huge demand for shipping vessels, meaning shippers cannot meet the high demand for exports. “At present, it is extremely difficult to secure space for vessels; one of the main reasons is the resumption of the economy due to the coronavirus,” Japanese biggest vehicle importer to Kenya SBT Company Limited said. The scarcity of vessels could cause the prices of vehicles as well as freight to go up as demand outweighs supply.
Kenya, Ethiopia ink cross-border trade deal (Nation)
Ethiopia and Kenya have finally sealed a deal for a free trade area projected to make cross-border business dealings easier. The signing of an operational guiding document, the Moyale One Stop Border Post Procedure Manual, in Addis Ababa last week is expected to give the neighbouring countries a competitive edge with regard to goods traded. The deal seeks to encourage small-scale traders by developing a simplified framework to facilitate their business activities at the border. It will also help to harmonise Kenya and Ethiopia’s trade regimes, particularly on agricultural products, in order to allow citizens from both countries to conduct business beyond the borders.
Immediately intervene in trade impasse - GUTA to government (GhanaWeb)
Following the trade impasse between Ghanaian traders and foreign retail traders, the Greater Accra Chairman of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Nana Kwabena Peprah, has called on government to speed up the strategies put in place to end this problem. It would be recalled that shops belonging to some foreigners in the retail business in the Eastern regional capital, Koforidua and in Accra were closed by members of GUTA. This comes after negotiations by a joint implementation task force between GUTA and the Nigeria Union of Traders Association (NUTAG) to look out for a long-lasting solution to this trading impasse proved futile.
He said, “All these happenings are unfortunate, but what I will say is that the leadership is in control. We are talking to the sector associations and asking that the government should speed up and immediately convene the meeting for the retail trade committee to work and bring sanity.” Despite the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is to allow the free movement of goods among ECOWAS countries, there’s still a trade war between Ghanaian traders and their Nigerian counterparts. Per the Ghana trade law, a person who is not a citizen or an enterprise that is not wholly-owned by a citizen, shall not invest or participate in the sale of goods or provision of services in a market, petty trading or hawking or selling of goods in a stall at any place. Also, there’s a minimum capital requirement of $1 million for foreigners engaging in some retail business here in Ghana.
Africa
The Private sector of East Africa is well placed to benefit from the AfCFTA (UNECA)
The business community is a key part of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and could benefit immensely in terms of access to raw materials, technology and also increasing economies of scale for participation in regional and global value chains, said Ms Mama Keita, Director of UN Economic Commission for Africa, Office for Eastern Africa. Ms Keita was speaking during a webinar organized by ECA in collaboration with the East African Business Council (EABC) to discuss with the private sector of East Africa about the AfCFTA implementation in East Africa. The e-meeting participants exchanged views on how to harness the potential of the African markets and on how businesses can seize the moment to implement and benefit from the AfCFTA agreement. ECA simulations stress that AfCFTA is set to boost Eastern Africa manufactured exports, in particular, textiles & clothing exports will increase by 100 per cent, heavy manufacturing by 63 per cent, light manufacturing by 61percent, Processed food by 54 per cent while livestock & meat products by 39 per cent.
AfCFTA: Nigeria-S’Africa chamber of commerce advocates visa-free entry into all African countries (TheCable)
The Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce (NSACC) has called for visa-free entry into all African nations to ensure the success of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. Osayande Giwa-Osagie, NSACC president, said this on Thursday in Lagos during the chamber’s September breakfast forum themed, ‘Perspectives on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area in Relation to Nigeria’. According to him, a single African passport will ease the movement of people and goods within the continent. He said that AfCFTA would boost intra-African trade by 22 percent, adding that its implementation would impact positively on the Nigerian economy. He also said Nigeria must diversify its economy to harness the gains of the agreement.
Right infrastructures, policy framework’ll spur Africa’s (The Sun Nigeria)
For Africa’s transformative agenda to kick in properly with respect to creation of jobs, women and youths have to be empowered with the right infrastructure and policy framework to give room for sound innovation and entrepreneurship. This was the view of experts who spoke at the annual West Africa Business forum tagged; “Empowering women and youths to spur Africa’s transformation agenda” in Lagos recently. The forum which is organised by the United Nations – Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) sub-regional office in West Africa seeks to formulate discussions around policies that will provide support to the transformation of African economies.
New African Development Bank white paper ties entrepreneurship to socioeconomic resilience (AfDB)
The African Development Bank has published a white paper on Entrepreneurship and Free Trade that makes a case for entrepreneurs and innovation as vital drivers of resilience and emergency preparedness across Africa. The white paper, titled Towards a New Narrative of Building Resilience and released in September 2021, places the private sector—particularly technology and knowledge-based entrepreneurs—at the heart of the continent’s security, sustainable development and future growth.
Dr. Khaled Sherif, the Bank’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery said, “entrepreneurs are instrumental to addressing the continent’s economic, social and environmental concerns. We must provide them with the necessary encouragement and support—the future depends on it.” The white paper notes that African entrepreneurs have driven numerous advancements already, including widening access to information and services, bridging rural-urban divides, and expanding mobile phone-based payment and remittance systems that enable more inclusive finance.
Turning to special economic zones to drive industrialisation (The Nation)
Manufacturers have long been struggling to integrate into the global value chains that generate the goods and services that are demanded by consumers around the globe. Experts, however, say that the use of export-oriented Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which offer a concentration of high-quality infrastructure and mouth-watering fiscal incentives to producers in the zones, are drivers of improved competitiveness of local manufacturers and by extension, industrialisation.
East Africa Pins Hopes On Intra-regional, Domestic Tourism (UrduPoint)
International flight restrictions coupled with lockdowns decimated international tourism in the East Africa region. The region is normally a hotspot for global tourism because of its rich cultural diversity and varied landscapes attracting millions of visitors from across the world. “Business was terribly hit; from almost the end of last December most of our tour vehicles were parked,” said Gatera, owner of G- Step Tour, one of the companies offering customized tours in East Africa. “After the outbreak of coronavirus, business dwindled to about 10% of what we used to work. But it has been gradually picking up with hopes that by next year it may reach around 60%,” he said. - Tourism contribution Tourism played a critical role in the pre-pandemic economic growth of the East African Community (EAC) partner states, contributing to the gross domestic product by an average of 9.5% in 2019. It contributed an average of 17.2% to EAC total exports and 7.1% to employment.
Trans Kalahari Corridor Management Committee reports on progress amid COVID-19 (Namibia Economist)
Trans Kalahari Corridor Management Committee (TKCMC), one of the corridor management institutes has taken the lead to embrace change and ensure smooth transit of goods and persons along the route amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Giving his remarks during the meeting, the Executive Director of Trans Kalahari Corridor Secretariat Leslie Mpofu stated that the TKC has achieved a lot in trade facilitation even though initially certain challenges were experienced such as meetings being unable to materialise due to technology glitches, new regulations or COVID 19 protocols by the different countries that were not in harmony, quarantining of drivers and high costs of COVID 19 tests among others. Despite these challenges, Mpofu mentioned that with combined efforts by stakeholders, a lot of accomplishments were achieved. One of the key successes being the piloting of the Corridor Trip Monitoring System (CTMS) on TKC.
Afreximbank President Decries Trade In Dollars (Leadership Newspapers)
The President of African Export-Import Bank, Professor Benedict Oramah has advised African countries to reduce the use of US dollars in their transactions in order to enhance their development. Professor Oramah said that entrepreneurs and countries should instead use the Pan African Payment Settlement System which the bank has already developed for intra-continental trade. Oramah who decried the excessive reliance on foreign currency, especially US dollars, argued that this dependence heightens inflationary pressures on commodities, which in turn subjects African trade to global volatility.
TradeMark East Africa Set to Launch a Blockchain-Based Digital Trade Corridor Supply Chain System Between UK and Kenya (bitcoinke.io)
TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) has launched a system that aims to eliminate paperwork and introduce a digital process that increases visibility of the supply chains between the UK and Kenya. The system has deployed blockchain technology to link supply chains and enable fast logistic clearance
First West African Agriculture Technology Park Opens Doors to Public (News Ghana)
Businesses, policymakers, farmers, researchers, and several other food system actors will get a chance to view proven and cutting-edge innovations during the first-ever open door day organized by the iREACH agriculture technology park located in Bambey, 130 kilometers (70 miles) west of the Senegalese capital, Dakar. About 120 participants are expected at the October 6, 2021 event.
«A technology park is a space where agriculture technologies and innovations are exhibited to improve the knowledge of actors on a value chain with the overarching aim of improving production systems,» explains Dr. Niéyidouba Lamien, a program manager at CORAF and current interim Director of Re search and Innovation.
«There are many reasons for the low adoption of agriculture technologies and innovations. This can be because of the deficit or inadequate flow of knowledge between researchers and end-users or as a result of the lack of physical or financial access to the technology,» reasons Dr. Vara Prasad,
US fashion contaminates Africa’s water (The Mail & Guardian)
From rivers that turn blue with dye pollution to dangerous working conditions, Lesotho is paying a heavy price for its textile industry, whose garments its factories produce end up on the shelves of global fashion brands. The pollution they produce does not travel quite as far: people living downriver lament the contamination of their fresh water supplies, while workers at the factories are perhaps most affected. One man spoke of the “unbearable dusty conditions” and chemicals from denim dye that have left him with chronic breathing problems.
His health and the environmental contamination putting Lesotho’s people at risk are part of a wider crisis growing across the continent. In July, advocacy group Water Witness International released a report that looked at the water cost of Africa’s booming textile industry. Titled How Fair is Fashion’s Water Footprint?, the report found pollution at factories in five countries: Lesotho, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius and Madagascar.
China’s WTO benefits ‘can be a reference’ for wary African nations (South China Morning Post)
More African nations should consider joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) or risk missing the opportunity to influence global trade rules, said China’s Zhang Xiangchen, a deputy director general at the organisation.
Zhang, who was appointed as a deputy to WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in May, said the share of African countries in global trade has declined over the years.
“It’s risky for developing countries to stay outside the stiff competition in reshaping international trade rules, therefore developing countries should actively engage in making new international trade rules to safeguard their interests,” said Zhang at the second China-Africa Economic Trade Expo in the central Chinese city of Changsha on Sunday.
The benefits that China has seen since joining the body in 2001 could serve as a “reference” for African countries, even though the multilateral trading system had “flaws”, he said via video link.
Newly launched Dubai Chamber initiative highlights untapped business potential in West Africa (Government of Dubai Media Office)
Dubai Chamber has announced the launch of “Why Africa”, a new initiative highlighting untapped business potential in West Africa, as well as the region’s key economic indicators and competitive advantages.
The initiative comprises in-depth analyses conducted by Dubai Chamber and based on recent data from UNCTAD, up-to-date insights for prospective investors and recent trade trends. The initiative was launched in the lead up to the Global Business Forum (GBF) Africa 2021, which takes place October 13-14 on the side-lines of Expo 2020 Dubai. “Africa is one of the world’s most promising regions for economic growth, which is featured prominently on many global indicators in recent years as one to watch out for. Market research is essential for UAE investors who are studying the possibility of expanding their businesses into Africa key African countries. Dubai Chamber’s ‘Why Africa?’ initiative seeks to provide such insights that can help them make a more informed business decision,” said His Excellency Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber.
Africa: China’s trade with the continent grows to record highs (GlobalComplianceNews)
Trade between China and Africa almost doubled between 2020 and 2021, and over the last 20 years trade between China and the region has increased twenty-fold. Challenges, such as Africa’s over-dependence on natural resources and vast lack of essential infrastructure, must still be addressed, but the African Continental Free Trade Area is gearing up to provide a further boost for all of the continent’s major trading partners.
A recent report by Economist Corporate Network, supported by Baker McKenzie and Silk Road Associates, BRI Beyond 2020 (Economist report), showed how these strengthening trade links are, in part, a result of favorable financial incentives offered to African jurisdictions by China. According to the Economist report, 33 of the poorest jurisdictions in Africa export 97% of their exports to China with no tariffs and no customs duties. This report noted that bilateral trade was still heavily centered on China’s import of Africa’s natural resources. However, in recent years China had increased its import of manufacturing products from more diversified economies such as South Africa.
A Baker McKenzie report with Oxford Economics – AfCFTA: A Three Trillion Dollar Opportunity (AfCFTA report) – revealed that over three quarters of African exports to the rest of the world were still heavily focused on natural resources, but that on the import side, manufactured goods accounted for more than half the total volume of imports into African jurisdictions. Africa’s most important suppliers of manufactured goods were listed as Europe (35%) China (16%) and the rest of Asia, including India (14%).
Trade, economy, and investment: Speakers for enhanced cooperation with African states (Business Recorder)
Speakers at a webinar, on Wednesday, emphasised the need for enhanced cooperation between Pakistan and African nations in all areas of mutual interest including trade, economy, and investment. The Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) organised a webinar on “Pakistan-Tanzania Ties” with key speaker, Mohammad Saleem, High Commissioner of Pakistan to Tanzania. In his remarks, Saleem said that Tanzania is an important country of Africa and “it is the most populous country of Africa” with the largest consumer market.
While talking about imports and exports between Pakistan and Tanzania, he said that Pakistan’s exports to Tanzania mainly include cement, textiles, rice and sugar and besides these articles, spare parts of heavy machinery and tractors are also exported.
The Republic of Togo and the Republic of Mauritius sign the Treaty for the establishment of the (AMA) (African Union)
The Republic of Togo and the Republic of Mauritius became the twenty-third (23rd) and the twenty-fourth (24th) African Union (AU) member states to sign the Treaty for the establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) on 20 and 21 September 2021, at the AU Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The signing demonstrates the fulfilment of the desire by Heads of States and Government (HoSG) to use continental institutional, scientific and regulatory resources to improve access to safe, efficacious and quality medicines. The African Medicines Agency (AMA) will among other functions provide technical assistance and resources, where possible, on regulatory matters to State Parties that seek assistance, and pool expertise and capacities to strengthen networking for optimal use of the limited resources available. The Agency will also coordinate access to and network the services available in quality control laboratory services within national and regional regulatory authorities. To date, seventeen (17) member states have ratified the AMA Treaty and twelve (12) of these have deposited the instruments of ratification to the Commission. Twenty four (24) member states have signed the Treaty.
International
Trade facilitation is a quick win for vaccine equity. Here’s why (World Economic Forum)
As vaccine inequity hinders economic recovery in less-developed countries and threatens to reverse progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), trade facilitation measures offer a fast, cost-effective solution. From digitizing trade documents to cutting red tape and making border processes more efficient, they ensure vaccines travel more easily to those who need them most. While boosting COVID-19 vaccine production – especially in the countries with low immunization rates – resolving licensing disputes and eradicating trade barriers such as export restrictions are also vital for equitable vaccine access, they require significant time and investment. In contrast, implementing trade facilitation measures – as laid out in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement – can reap results within months rather than years, and ensure that when vaccine supplies do ramp up, they flow quickly to where they are needed most. Facilitating trade in COVID-19 vaccines also brings long-term benefits for countries’ broader health systems and economies, reducing the future cost of importing anything from perishable foods to pharmaceutical inputs.
Access to COVID-19 vaccine, ministerial outcomes key to driving development in LLDCs (WTO)
Among the many outreach activities, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has undertaken since being elected as DG, has been a very detailed and substantive meeting with the LLDC group in Geneva. During that meeting the LLDCs appraised many problems they face in their trade, many of which have been exacerbated during the crisis. She has asked the Secretariat to do a study on the barriers that LLDCs face and are having a negative impact on their economic performance. We hope to complete this mapping exercise by the end of November, in time for the WTO’s Ministerial Conference.
The WTO’s role is especially significant in the area of international trade and trade facilitation as the continuous and full implementation of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is central to ensuring LLDCs can fully participate in the multilateral trading system. The WTO-led Aid-for-Trade initiative is also highlighted as a priority in the VPOA and our work in this area has resulted in increased aid flows targeted at the needs that have been expressed by the LLDCs, addressing, inter alia, issues of connectivity and capacity building for implementation of the TFA.
DG Okonjo-Iweala: Leverage trade to build sustainable food systems (WTO)
The United Nations’ Food Systems Summit, convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, is part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Summit will launch new actions to deliver progress on all 17 SDGs, each of which relies to some degree on healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems.
“The world has the resources to end hunger,” African Development Bank president Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina said in a message on the first day of the United Nations Food Systems Summit. Convened by UN Secretary General António Guterres, the event is billed by its organisers as “a historic opportunity to empower all people to leverage the power of food systems to drive our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and get us back on track to achieve all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.”
Decrying the 246 million people in Africa who go to bed daily without food and the continent’s 59 million stunted children as “morally and socially unacceptable,” Adesina said that delivering food security for Africa at greater scale called for prioritising technologies, climate and financing. “The $33 billion per year required to free the world of hunger, is just 0.12% of $27 trillion that the world has deployed as stimulus to address the Covid-19 pandemic. I am confident that zero hunger can be achieved in Africa by 2030,” Adesina said. The African Development Bank’s Feed Africa Strategy, through its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation program - widely known as TAAT – has provided 11 million farmers across 29 African countries with proven agricultural technologies for food security. Food production has expanded by 12 million metric tons while saving $814 million worth of food imports.
BRICS Members Are Gaining Greater Global Standing Together (Foreign Policy)
The 13th BRICS Summit, featuring the five major emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, took place virtually earlier this month. Modi’s speech was avidly covered by the Indian press, and the summit itself drew significant coverage by newspapers in India and China, the two most populous BRICS members. This attention stood in contrast to U.S. media coverage, where there was noticeable silence. Past BRICS summits have invariably drawn at least a trickle of U.S. media coverage, albeit usually in the form of commentary on the irrelevance, dysfunction, or inevitable demise of BRICS as an institution.
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National
Innovation Stimulates Economic Growth - Deputy Minister Majola (the dtic)
The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Fikile Majola says innovation has the capacity to contribute significantly in growing the South African economy and creating the much-needed jobs. Majola was speaking through a pre-recorded video on the second day of the South African Innovation Summit which is taking place in Cape Town and virtually. “Innovation plays a crucial role in socio-economic development, and is recognised as a new and potentially significant driver of improvements in service delivery and poverty alleviation. It also serves as a mechanism for deriving commercial benefits, economic growth and job creation,” said Majola.
“It is imperative to state that innovation is not the end; it is only a means for companies to increase competitiveness, productivity, profitability and growth. Simply put, innovation leads to higher productivity, meaning that the same input is now able to generate a greater output. As productivity rises, more goods and services are produced at lower costs, resulting in increased profitability and economic growth,” stressed Majola
Import duty relief for fertilizer firms (The Herald)
Zimbabwe intends to remove import duties on fertilizer raw materials and give selected producers access to contracts to supply State assisted farming programmes as part of broader measures to boost local production and cut imports. Local companies being targeted are Kwekwe based ammonium nitrate producer Sable Chemical and Chemplex Corporation, all partly owned by the Government.
There are growing concerns over the huge import bill of agriculture inputs especially in the tobacco sector where they constitute about 60 percent of production costs. “The availability of raw materials has been one of the major challenges affecting producers and an import duty relief leads to an improvement in the importation of raw materials,” said Carlos Tadya, a research analyst with a local economic think tank.
Zimbabwe Dry Port in Namibia a game changer (Chronicle)
THE Zimbabwe Dry Port in Namibia is a game changer as it provides a strategic and cheaper gateway to the Atlantic Ocean for local manufacturers and international businesses. Managed by the National Handling Services Pvt LTD under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development — Zimbabwe Dry port, based in Walvis Bay Namibia — NAMPORT, was inaugurated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on July 26, 2019. The Zimbabwe Dry Port presents a canvas of opportunities for Zimbabwe exporters and importers and the Sadc region at large.
The Dry Port has the potential to move the needle on international trade facilitation for Zimbabwe in-line with Vision 2030. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, but is now sea linked through the Zimbabwe Dry Port facility.
Kenya export earnings from Uganda up 57% on tax deal (Daily Monitor)
Kenya’s earnings from exports to Uganda jumped more than half after last April’s deal which cleared tax hurdles for goods such as pharmaceuticals, confectionery, juice and spirits. Trade data collated by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics show value of exports between April and July amounted to KShs 25.97 billion (about Shs829 billion), a 56.64 percent climb compared with average value for the same period in the previous three years.
Maize imports down 26pc on restricted Tanzania, Uganda shipments (Business Daily)
Maize imports to Kenya declined 26 percent in the seven months to July as restrictions on produce coming in from Tanzania and Uganda in the first quarter of the year impacted volumes. Ministry of Agriculture says the volume declined to 2.24 million bags in the review period from 3.04 million bags in the first seven months of last year. Kenya had in April banned imports of maize from Uganda and Tanzania on concerns of the high levels of aflatoxin, which the authorities said exceeded the required 10 parts per billion as required under the country’s jurisdiction. However, the Tanzanian stalemate was resolved in May when President Samia Suluhu visited Nairobi for a bilateral meeting.
Dar Scales Up Trade with East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC) (Africanews)
The Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) said there has been an increase in trade between Tanzania and the countries in the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region since the sixth-phase government entered into power. TPSF Chairperson, Ms. Angelina Ngalula made the remarks when she met with the Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Minister, Ambassador Liberata Mulamula in Dar es Salaam yesterday. She said the trade and bilateral relations between Tanzania and neighbouring countries like Kenya, Uganda and Burundi has scaled up, thanks to the growth of economic diplomacy. “Trade between Tanzania and other countries in the region has registered remarkable growth in just a short period since the sixth-phase government came into power,” she said, adding this signifies how the government is actively involving the private sector in boosting business and attracting investments.
“The friendly environment created by the government with the private sector has contributed immensely in enhancing trade between Tanzania with the EAC and SADC countries.”
Rwanda seeks to increase private sector capacity to trade (The New Times)
Rwanda has set her eyes on putting in place instruments that remove barriers to trade and investment through increased collaborations with the private sector. Yves Bernard Ningabire, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, made the remarks on a panel discussing manufacturing and infrastructure development at the ongoing Concordia Summit.
Looking at the growth of Rwanda’s manufacturing industry, Ningabire said, the sector’s contribution to GDP grew from 14.5 per cent in 2016 to 19 per cent in 2019. “The sector is a key contributor to achieving Rwanda’s 2050 targets,” he added.
New Channel Between Thunes and M-Pesa Is Opening Out Africa’s Cross-Border Payment Capabilities (The Fintech Times)
The cross-border payments company Thunes has announced the launch of a new service corridor for users of M-Pesa Tanzania, enabling Tanzanians to efficiently move money from their M-Pesa mobile wallets directly to any bank account in Kenya and Rwanda. As a result of this new collaboration, businesses and individuals in Tanzania will now be able to send money across borders, directly to all banks in Kenya and Uganda.
The growth trajectory of economic and trade activity in East Africa remains very strong. Data from the World Bank shows that trade between Tanzania and its neighbouring countries, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, is worth approximately $896 million, with trade between Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda at $635 million. Tanzania’s economic growth continues to climb, with GDP reaching an all-time high of $62.41 billion in 2020.
Nigeria, Ghana sprint to join digital currency race (Business Daily)
Nigeria and Ghana are racing to adopt a central bank digital currency as they look to ride the wave of popularity of cryptocurrencies in West Africa’s two largest economies. Central banks in both countries have partnered with foreign financial tech companies to create digital versions of their currencies, joining the global train of countries exploring the initiative. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, will launch its eNaira digital currency on October 1, while Ghana will trial e-Cedi from this month. Nigeria has seen a boom of cryptocurrencies, despite a ban on banks making the transactions, as people look for ways to escape the weakening naira currency and offset high cost of living and unemployment in Africa’s most populous country.
Quantifying the impact on Nigeria of the African Continental Free Trade Area (Brookings)
While there is a general optimism around the promise of the newly in-force African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), like any other free trade agreement (FTA), it will inevitably create winners and losers. This unequal distributional impact is a function of many possible factors, including manufacturing capacity, domestic costs of doing business, firm productivity, infrastructural capability, AfCFTA awareness levels, and access to loans and financing. Whether due to firm-level inefficiencies, information frictions, or the suboptimal business environments, some firms—or even sectors—within a country may be unable to expand market opportunities as competition from other continental economies rises. The AfCFTA drops 90 percent of tariffs and includes policies aimed at eliminating nontariff barriers, such as customs delays, so the aggregate long-term benefits of AfCFTA are likely to be substantial and larger than potential losses; however, some countries and sectors will likely be impacted negatively in the short term.
As the trade agreement kicked off in the middle of a global pandemic coupled with a global recession, it is still unclear how the reduction in tariffs on goods and services will impact Nigeria’s households and businesses. However, a 2020 piece by Nassim Oulmane, Mustapha Sadni Jallab, and Patrice Rélouendé Zidouemba argues that the AfCFTA’s boost to intra-African trade might actually mitigate the rapid decline in GDP caused by COVID-19 and subsequent social-distancing policies and border closures.
Africa
Experts to Examine Role of AfCFTA on Brand Management Practice in Africa (THISDAY Newspapers)
The 2021 African Brand Congress would focus on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and best practice in brand building in Africa, the organisers have said. This year congress is designed to educate, engage and inspire brand managers and professionals in the pursuit of best practice in brand building and value creation. According to the organisers, the congress is an appropriate platform for all brand owners and industry players to discuss how brands in Africa can increase their global competitiveness while seeking to enhance professional development skills in the area that are most relevant to the business community today.
AfCFTA: SON to standardise products of 40m SMEs (The Sun Nigeria)
Director General of the Standards Organisation, (SON), Farouk A. Salim, has restated the commitment of his agency to support Nigeria’s estimated 40 million Small and Medium Enterprises to break into the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, through effective standardisation of their products.
Salim who spoke at a breakfast meeting in Lagos yesterday, expressed concern about current status of the nation’s import export products, promising to collaborate with sister government agencies, including EFCC, NAFDAC and the Ministry of Justice to address the situation. He explained that it was against this backdrop that SON had initiated a partnership agreement with some SMEs to see how they can be supported to play actively in the novel African Continental Free Trade market which formally kicked off on January 1 2021. According to him, SON’s ability to enforce standards for Nigeria and other West African countries will help companies to create more jobs for the teeming youths of the country.
AfCFTA will enhance Africa’s agribusiness — Ighodalo (Daily Trust)
The Chairman of Sterling Bank, Mr Asue Ighodalo, has said the recent endorsement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by African countries will impact positively on the agricultural sector and trade on the African continent.
He explained that AfCFTA would undoubtedly achieve the objective of fostering agricultural transformation and advancement in the African region as part of the effort to promote food security and competitiveness through the improvement of regional agricultural value chains He said, “It is unacceptable and an ironic paradox for Africa to lack home grown agricultural produce and have food insecurity in the midst of so much fertile and arable land across the continent.”
The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General, Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki, urged the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat to adapt an integration approach that is people-centred, market-driven and private sector-led, to ensure African citizens benefit from the continental agreement. Speaking in Accra, Ghana, during the 1st coordination meeting of Heads of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on the implementation of the AfCFTA, Dr. Mathuki noted, AfCFTA, with a promising market of around 1.3 billion consumers and a GDP of 3.4 trillion US dollars, promises to unlock many opportunities beneficial to African’s citizens. “There is urgent need for citizen sensitization and regular capacity building activities at national and regional levels, to inform African citizens on issues around the continental agreement and how they can benefit from it,” he said
“The score card of the achievements of AfCFTA will be on increased trade and investment in the region. Africa should thus speak in one voice devoid of political interest, to deepen integration which will ultimately result in economic growth,” the EAC Secretary General noted.
African Legal Support Facility urged to extend support to tackling illicit financial flows (Devdiscourse)
African leaders on Wednesday lauded the African Legal Support Facility for helping governments avert billions of dollars in losses from business deals, and urged it to extend support to tackling illicit financial flows. At a high-level conference to review the Facility’s achievements over the last decade, speakers, including experts and business leaders, expressed confidence that the African Legal Support Facility was well-placed to advance Africa’s asset recovery and repatriation. “The African Legal Support Facility has already established its place as what might be called a front-line fighter to secure for Africa its resources,” said Thabo Mbeki, former President of South Africa and current chair of the African Union’s high-level panel on illicit financial flows from Africa. “The Facility must assist African countries to negotiate fair and balanced contracts to eliminate opportunities for illicit receipt, use, or transfer of funds,” Mbeki said.
Reduce air transport charges, EAC bloc told (The Star, Kenya)
The East African Business Council (EABC) has called for the reduction of air-related fees and taxes to bring down the cost of air transport in the East Africa region. This, as regional carriers position themselves for post-covid recovery where the pandemic saw the African aviation industry lose up to $10.21 billion (Sh1.12 trillion) in potential passenger revenue –African Airlines Association. The average airport charges in Eastern Africa is at $579.78 (about Sh6,3816), which is said to be on the higher side. This is increasing air passenger ticket and cargo costs, making the EAC bloc uncompetitive, EABC chief executive John Kalisa notes.
AfCFTA Secretariat to conclude on rules of origin policy soon – Wamkele Mene (BusinessGhana)
Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, says the issue of rules of origin under the agreement will be concluded in the next couple of weeks. He stated that “We have made 80 percent progress. Out of almost 8,000 products, we’ve agreed on 86 percent of those rules. We have a little bit of work to do in automobiles, textiles and clothing and sugar. But I believe in the next few weeks when the ministers of trade converge in Accra, on the 10th of October, I think we will find a solution”.
AfCFTA could grow Africa’s GDP by $1 trillion – UN (Nairametrics)
The Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Dr Vera Songwe has stated that the African Continental Free Trade Area has the potential to increase Africa’s Gross Domestic Product by $1 trillion. She made the remarks at the ECA’s Regional Business Forum, which was titled, “Empowering women youths to drive Africa’s transformation agenda,” according to Punch.
Songwe said, “In a crisis, the first thing we want to do is ensure we prevent good businesses from falling below and focus a lot on retention. “AfCFTA stands to grow Africa’s GDP by an additional one trillion dollars to deliver on what is needed: first unlocking our borders, building value chains and making sure the African women all work together to create the supply chain for textile, fashion, for agro-industry.”
Human capital surest way to economic growth, says Osinbajo (The Nation Newspaper)
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has asserted that well-developed and nurtured human capital is the surest way to Nigeria’s economic growth. To this end, the Vice President said Nigeria needs to focus on developing a knowledge-based economy, where human capital is developed to become a productive asset that can be sold for profit across the world.
Addressing the sixth Kaduna Investment Summit tagged Kadinvest 6.0 in Kaduna yesterday, Osinbajo said that rather than natural resources, well developed and nurtured human capital has become an invaluable asset anywhere in the world, as digital, ICT and technology are performing wonders and ruling the world. He, however, lamented that Nigeria was yet to take full advantage of its young talents.
The planning retreat held from the 16-18 September 2021 was in collaboration with Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS); West Africa Association for Cross Border Trade , in Afro-Forestry-Pastoral and Fisheries Products and Food (WACTAF) and Africa Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA NEPAD) The overall objective of the planning retreat is to build, among partners, a greater understanding of their collaboration; consider how best to pull and allocate resources; formulate a well-integrated work plan; and develop a sustainable program of an interplay between ECO-ICBT and TLS in the informal cross border trade data collection space.
In her remarks, Ms. Kisa Nkhoma reiterated AUDA NEPAD’S objective and commitment to the development of trade and efficiency of borders. She expressed optimism of a win-win relation between the ECO-ICBT and MoveAfrica/TLS program through the collaboration. Ms Nkhoma added that the success of the collaboration with ECOWAS has been instrumental in developing Category 5 of the TLS which will assess Informal Cross-Border Trade Processes at border posts. She concluded by saying this collaboration will Small scale cross border operators in region which will help realize the benefits of the AfCFTA.
The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General, Hon. Dr. Peter Mathuki, has called for concerted efforts towards equitable global access to vaccines and support in investment to enable production of vaccines in developing nations. Speaking on the sidelines of High-Level debates at the 76th UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, USA, Dr. Mathuki supported the call by EAC leaders to waive intellectual property rights to allow more countries, particularly low- and middle-income countries, to produce COVID-19 vaccines. “Intellectual property rights and export restrictions need to be lifted to allow vaccine production within the African continent. A region that is not vaccinated is a source of propagating new variants of the Covid-19 virus,” said Dr. Mathuki.
EABC URGES FOR DIGITALIZATION OF TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS VALUE CHAINS TO BOOST THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE EAC BLOC (East African Business Council)
The East African Business Council (EABC) Chairman Mr. Nicholas Nesbitt has urged the EAC Partner States to fast track digitalization of transport & logistics value chains to enhance efficiency and export competitiveness of the EAC bloc in light of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking during the East African Maritime Leaders Round Table organized by EABC in partnership with the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in Mombasa, Kenya, Chairman Nesbitt, elaborated that “Articles 93-94 of the treaty for the establishment of the East African Community calls for co-operation among port authorities and harmonization of tariffs and regulations in the region.”
He said that the adoption of digital technologies to automate the EAC shipping, transport & logistic industry will reduce the cost of doing business, improve export competitiveness and ease the movement of cargo from the ports to trucks to clients.
AfCFTA TO DOUBLE EASTERN AFRICA TEXTILE & CLOTHING EXPORTS TO REST OF AFRICA (East African Business Council)
The East African Business Council Vice Chairman Mr. Denis Karera has urged the EAC Partner States to finalize and submit tariff offers under the AfCFTA to enable the EAC bloc to tap into the 1.3 billion continental market with a Gross Domestic Product of USD 3 trillion. The AfCFTA is set to boost Eastern Africa manufactured exports to the rest of Africa, in particular, textiles & clothing exports will increase by 100%, heavy manufacturing by 63%, light manufacturing by 61%, Processed food by 54% while livestock & meat products by 39%. “Political will to duly implement the agreed commitments of the AfCFTA is a cornerstone to actualize the benefits of the continental agreement,” said Mr. Karera, EABC Vice- Chairman during the Webinar on the African Continental Free Trade Area – Opportunities for the Private Sector, organized by EABC in partnership with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Sub- Regional Office for Eastern Africa.
Burundi, DR Congo set to rollout out Simplified Trade Regime (COMESA)
Small cross border trade between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to flourish after the two countries begun the process towards implementation of the COMESA Simplified Trade Regime (STR). This will be done under the soon to be launched Great Lakes Trade Facilitation and Regional Integration Project, (GLTFIP) which covers the two States and COMESA Secretariat. The project is aimed at facilitating trade and increasing the competitiveness of certain value chains for traders, especially small-scale traders and women traders, in targeted locations in the border areas of the Great Lakes Region, focusing on Burundi and DR Congo. Among the planned activities include improving connectivity to markets across the borders through policy and procedural reforms, commercial infrastructure improvements and capacity building of both border agencies and traders Under the GLTFIP, COMESA Secretariat will implement specific activities related to trade facilitation, policy harmonization and collaboration between Burundi and DR Congo and use its convening power to support the participating countries to fully implement the STR.
Sokokuu eTrade Platform launched (COMESA)
The COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB) in collaboration with the African E-Trade Group (Ae-Trade) has launched the online Platform Sokokuu to traders in the COMESA region to conduct cross border trade using ICT as a tool to minimize physical barriers. Sokokuu is a Swahili word meaning big market.
Sokokuu is expected to complement existing platforms such as the womenconnect which is used by women entrepreneurs in the Member States to exchange information on availability of essential products within the region. The platform enables manufacturers and suppliers in different Member States to share information on the e-platform, on their products and their potential to produce and supply.
Illicit trading in Africa’s forest products: Focus on timber - Technical Report (AfDB)
It is estimated that between 50%-90% of Africa’s trade in tropical timber and products is illegal which has a significant negative impact on any national economy. It is well-documented that economic activities operating outside the law impact the economy, exacerbate poverty and worsen the quality of forest management. It is in this context that the African Development Bank (AfDB) believes that Africa requires financial resources to address the problem, some of which can be raised by plugging the holes in the illicit trade of natural resources, especially timber. The international criminal police organization (INTERPOL) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimate that natural resources valued in the range of $91-$258 billion are being stolen by criminals every year, depriving countries of revenues and critical development opportunities. Illicit activities include the harvesting, transportation, purchase, and sale of natural resources in violation of national laws. The natural resources considered in this paper are forest products with an emphasis on timber.
International
Global services trade recovering but below pre-pandemic levels, WTO barometer indicates (WTO)
The latest barometer index reading of 102.5 is above the global services trade activity index and above the baseline value of 100, suggesting that the volume of services trade in the second and third quarters — for which official statistics are not yet available — will continue to recover. However, the fact that the indicator has recently turned downwards suggests that the expansion may proceed along a new, lower trajectory if the COVID-19 pandemic turns out to have a persistent impact on services trade. In the first quarter of 2021, world services trade was down 13.9% year-on-year according to the global services activity index, which provides an approximate measure of the volume of world services trade, taking changes in exchange rates and inflation into account. Services trade fell sharply in the early stages of the pandemic but, in contrast to goods trade, it has only staged a partial recovery since then. The recent performance of services trade differs from the financial crisis of 2008-09, when services trade was more resilient than goods trade. The difference is largely due to the fact that the pandemic continues to weigh on travel and tourism. Year-on-year growth of services trade should turn strongly positive in the second quarter, mostly due to a lower base in the previous year.
UNGA: African leaders call for additional IMF SDRs for pandemic recovery (African Business Magazine)
African leaders descended on New York this week, calling on UN member states to mobilise billions of dollars through the IMF issuance of additional Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) – Fund reserve assets made up of a basket of currencies. Countries across the continent hit by a combination of Covid-19 and low commodity prices are facing an unprecedented liquidity crisis as governments scramble to shore up crumbling economies. The president of DR Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, said that an uneven recovery risks deepening the gap between Africa and the rest of the world. Speaking in his capacity as chair of the African Union (AU) he said: “The African Union supports all initiatives to finance the African economies affected by Covid 19, particularly… a fresh allocation of 650bn special drawing rights by the international monetary fund to meet the financing needs of countries facing difficulties due to the pandemic.”
How Countries Can Diversify Their Exports (IMF Blog)
As the world’s biggest copper producer, Chile’s shipments of the metal meet around one-third of global demand and represent about half its goods exports. But beyond mining’s dominance, Chile’s trade flows are more varied and complex than they may appear, with significant exports of vehicles, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications equipment. And according to a recent IMF staff paper, the Andean economy is among those that shine as a role model for diversification policies. By looking beyond commodities, the research shows that economy-wide policies such as governance and education help foster diverse exports more than narrowly targeted industrial policies, a finding that can better guide nations aiming to expand their international trade.
WTO chief Okonjo-Iweala sees ‘more momentum’ on fisheries agreement (Reuters)
The head of the World Trade Organization on Thursday said she sees “some potential” to reach an agreement on fisheries at a ministerial meeting in late November but added there were still significant differences to overcome among members. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters in Washington she saw more momentum on the issue than ever before after a positive meeting in July but said she also didn’t want to be overly optimistic. “We see some potential for us to conclude. Does that mean it’s easy? The answer is no,” she said. “There are still significant differences among members on different issues. So it will take quite a bit of work to overcome.”
Vaccines for all key to building back better after COVID-19: Kenyan President (UN News)
“To rebuild successfully requires a worldwide response in confidence and investment to enable production and consumption to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels,” he said in a pre-recorded message. “The surest way to building that confidence is by making vaccines available to the world, in an equitable and accessible manner.” However, he said the current “asymmetry” in vaccine supply “reflects a multilateral system that is in urgent need of repair.” Therefore, building back better must see the international community making concerted, structural changes to enable a “quantum increase” in investment and technology transfers.
Drops in Health Spending Jeopardize Recovery from COVID-19 in Developing Countries (World Bank)
Despite what will likely be the fastest economic growth in the aftermath of any recession in the last 80 years, 52 countries are expected to reduce per capita government spending below pre-COVID levels over the next five years. Based on a new World Bank paper released today, this will leave them unable to finance their share of a COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, invest in better preparedness to protect themselves from future crises and make progress toward Universal Health Coverage. According to “From Double Shock to Double Recovery: Widening Rifts,” governments will have to make bold choices to avoid falls in government health spending. In a group of 126 countries, per capita government spending is projected to exceed pre-COVID levels by 2026. In 52 countries, by that time, overall government spending will however remain below 2019 levels. A return to pre-COVID-19 growth rates in per capita government health spending in the poorest of these countries would require the share of spending assigned to health to almost double, from 10 percent to 20 percent.
Rerouting billions in agriculture subsidies could boost global food security (Popular Science)
Agriculture is an extremely polluting and extractive industry, using up significant amounts of groundwater water in the United States and emitting greenhouse gases by picking, packaging, and then shipping food around the world. How agriculture is funded is part of the problem. The United Nations described how the current subsidies system contributes to pollution in a recent report. It was published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in the days leading up to the UN food systems summit. What they found was that agricultural subsidies are hurting the planet—but that cold hard cash can be repurposed into more sustainable crops and other ways to make the industry more sustainable. Almost 90 percent of the $540 billion of annual global government support to agricultural producers includes measures that distort prices and hurt human health and the environment, the report found. So many polluting aspects of agriculture like milk and beef tend to receive the most subsidies unlike vegetables.
Food Systems Summit – “From New York back to Rome,” FAO takes on lead role in implementing outcomes (FAO)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today committed to take a leadership role in ensuring the success of ambitious and urgent efforts designed to make the world’s agri-food systems more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu made the pledge at the closing segment of the UN Food Systems Summit, “Carrying forward the vision and momentum for 2030,” where he delivered the Summit’s closing statement. The landmark event adopted, for the first time, a comprehensive approach towards agri-food systems transformation, in order to fight poverty and hunger, reduce inequalities and preserve the environment.
On implementing the UN Food Systems Summit outcomes, the FAO Director-General stressed that it “will have a strong focus on strengthening the science-policy interface.” He also highlighted the need for “more and better targeted and sustained investments.” FAO estimates that as much as $40 to $50 billion in annual investments on targeted interventions are needed to end hunger by 2030. There are plenty of low-cost, high-impact projects that can help hundreds of millions of people get rid of hunger.
Alarming new FAO report shows decades of development efforts undermined (FAO)
The stark findings of a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) show that COVID-19 has set back progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) enshrined in the UN’s Agenda 2030, undermining decades of development efforts. “It’s an alarming picture, in which progress on many SDG targets has been reversed, with a significant impact on all aspects of sustainable development and making the achievement of the 2030 Agenda even more challenging,” said FAO Chief Statistician, Pietro Gennari. The analysis, “Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators 2021” focuses on eight of the SDGs (1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 12, 14 and 15), which were adopted at a UN Summit in New York in 2015. It’s FAO’s third assessment of its kind, based on the latest data and estimates available.
Food Finance Architecture: Financing a Healthy, Equitable and Sustainable Food System (World Bank)
Today’s food systems generate $12 trillion in hidden social, economic, and environmental costs. It prioritizes volume over nutritional value, fails to pay a living wage while creating sizeable profits for a concentrated set of players, and treats the natural environment as an infinite resource – resulting in massive waste and undermining the stability of the entire food system and global economy. The UN Food Systems Summit has brought people together to develop the solutions we need. The Summit’s “Finance Lever”, comprised of the World Bank, IFPRI and the Food and Land Use Coalition, has developed the Food Finance Architecture, a policy brief that lays out the building blocks for how banks, investors, development institutions, companies, farmers, and governments can shift capital out of high-carbon, unequal, extractive food assets and into inclusive, climate-smart, circular business models that benefit the people and planet. The Food Finance Architecture focuses on five imperatives needed to optimize public spending and mobilize private capital for a global food system transformation:
Transforming Food Systems: Regional policy brief - World (ReliefWeb)
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the world’s fragilities, including the weaknesses of our food systems which exacerbate hunger, obesity, poverty, political instabilities and economic crises. To overcome common and regional challenges, the five UN regional commissions have been working jointly on devising harmonized pathways and proposing game changers that can transform food systems, reverse their current performance and improve their outcomes. This collaboration resulted in the launch of a joint policy brief entitled “Transforming Food Systems” for the Food Systems Summit, held on 23 September in New York. The Brief highlights the need to enhance regional engagement in sharing lessons learned for a sustainable food systems transformation, leading to inclusive and resilient food systems that participate in ensuring equitable livelihoods for all, and a healthy and sustainable planet. This is being done within the context of Agenda 2063, CAADP Malabo declaration, the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and other continental frameworks that have the consensus of AU Member States.
Why UK businesses should care about the WTO (EY)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reached a critical point in its relatively short life. The organisation was set up in in 1995 to continue the work of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which had been established to prevent a repeat of the political and economic crises that contributed to the Second World War. As we cautiously emerge from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article explores why the case for supporting and engaging with the WTO’s aims and objectives remain as compelling as ever.
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National
Members commend considerable progress by the Comoros to secure WTO membership (World Trade Organisation)
WTO members welcomed the concrete and comprehensive steps taken by the Comoros in recent months in its bid to conclude formal accession negotiations to the WTO and expressed hope this process will succeed in the near term.
Nigeria joins WLP as a strategic hub in West Africa (Trade Arabia)
The WLP helps deliver economic growth and create jobs by boosting trade, principally by making a country’s products more competitive through more efficient supply chains. The continued expansion of the WLP across Africa will help to deliver on the vision of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement by reducing end-to-end costs across the logistics chain in Africa, boosting intra-regional trade, and opening up competitive access to new international markets for African companies.
AfCFTA: MAN lists reasons Nigeria, others face challenges (New Telegraph Newspaper)
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has disclosed that Nigeria and other countries in the continent are finding it difficult to attain industrialisation amid numerous manufacturing sector challenges.
Zimbabwe: Trade Logistics and Competitiveness (UNECA)
Countries' competitiveness in the area of trade will determine the benefits to be reaped from the AfCFTA that operationalised on the 1 st of January 2021. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa(ECA) and Africa Union Commission recently published the Continental Guideline on trade and transport facilitation for the movement of persons, goods and services across Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic.
AfDB to fund private sector projects in Zimbabwe (Macau Business)
The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved Wednesday a strategy to fund Zimbabwe’s private sector to reinforce the country’s efforts for industrialization. The Zimbabwe Country Strategy 2021-2023, which outlines private sector support and institutional reforms, was launched virtually by the AfDB board, Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster ZBC reported.
Africa
What Shape for U.S.-Africa Trade Policy (AllAfrica)
With the African Growth and Opportunity Act expiring in 2025, what are the prospects for a revised African trade initiative? According to long-time Congressional staffer Tom Sheehy, "the policy path is less clear than when Agoa became law, and the prospects for a substantial African trade initiative gaining political support are more challenging." A bipartisan coalition in Congress that has back Agoa passage in 2000 seems unlikely now.
AfCFTA makes transport and logistics attractive to investors (Quartz Africa)
Africa’s transport and logistics start-ups are on track to raise more growth funds this year, in deals that could help ignite intra-Africa trade . This points to growing investor attraction to this space, possibly to tap into the world’s single largest market-AfCFTA .
UNECA engages women, youths in businesses in W/Africa (Daily Sun)
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has said the ongoing West Africa Business Forum is to support women and youth entrepreneurs grow and sustain their businesses.
Smaller African states have more economic freedom (The Africa Report)
From property rights to financial freedom, small African countries are racing ahead of the continent's largest economies in advancing economic freedom, as they look to build business opportunities for their citizens.
International
Items proposed for consideration at the next meeting of Dispute Settlement Body (World Trade Organisation)
The WTO Secretariat has circulated a meeting notice and list of items proposed for the next meeting, on 27 September 2021, of the Dispute Settlement Body, which consists of all WTO members and oversees legal disputes among them.
Applications open for online workshop on Government Procurement Agreement (World Trade Organisation)
Government officials from WTO members are invited to submit applications to take part in the 2021 Advanced Global e-Workshop on the Agreement on Government Procurement to be held virtually from 25 October to 26 November 2021. The purpose of the workshop is to develop participants’ familiarity with the Agreement on Government Procurement 2012 (GPA 2012) and to provide an opportunity for the sharing.
Action on Trade is Necessary for Businesses to Unlock Net Zero Targets, Study Finds (Mirage News)
The report includes a jointly-authored foreword by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary welcoming the insights from business.
Recovery by 2030 needs public sector revival (Daily Pioneer)
In 2022, UNCTAD expects global growth to slow to 3.6 percent, leaving world income still 3.7 percent below where its pre-pandemic trend would have put it. Even high growth is insufficient to remove ‘the widened income and wealth inequalities and rising social unrest in the country.
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Africa
Common currency is key enabler for growth of AfCFTA (Ghana Web)
The AfCFTA Secretariat is located in Ghana-West Africa The Managing Director of Bank of Africa, Kobby Andah, has said the implementation of a common currency and digitalizing trade would go a long way to make the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) a success.
Experts call for policy reforms in Africa to promote green trade (News Ghana)
Policymakers and experts on Monday attended a webinar on green trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), convened by UNU-IRNA and Washington-based think tank, Brookings Institution.
East Africa: EAC Urged to Finalise Tariff Offers (AllAfrica)
The East African Business Council Vice-Chairman Denis Karera has urged East African Community (EAC) partner states to finalise and submit tariff offers under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) .
Africa: U.S.-Africa Trade Policy Faces Uncertain Future (AllAfrica)
Many observers advocate new policies to increase U.S.-Africa trade and investment, especially with Agoa expiring in 2025. Without bipartisan backing in Congress, the policy path on U.S.-Africa trade policy is unclear.
The prospect of easier intra-Africa trade is boosting investments in transport and logistics (Yahoo Finance)
Africa’s transport and logistics start-ups are on track to raise more growth funds this year, in deals that could help ignite intra-Africa trade .... This points to growing investor attraction to this space, possibly to tap into the world’s single largest market-AfCFTA .
Adapt people-centered approach to boost intra-African trade, EAC urges (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)
The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General, Dr. Peter Mathuki, urged the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat to adapt an integration approach that is people-centred, market-driven and private sector-led, to ensure African citizens benefit from the continental agreement.
International
Members advance work on trade and environmental sustainability ministerial declaration (World Trade Organisation)
WTO members taking part in the new initiative on trade and environmental sustainability continued to advance work on a joint statement which they intend to issue at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) later this year.
UNCTAD projects fastest global economy growth in 50 years (Hellenic Shipping News)
The global economy is expected to bounce back this year with a growth of 5.3 percent, the fastest in nearly five decades, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Wednesday.
Poor countries to lose $12 trillion to corona by 2025 - UNCTAD (The Star)
An analysis by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows poor countries will lose a decade of development and face slow economic recovery.
China Launches Bid to Join CPTPP Trade Pact (Foreign Policy)
As was expected with China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) 20 years ago, CPTPP participation could provide the needed external pressure for China to reform and open in these and other areas.
International trade, transport infrastructure, and COVID-19 (The Sentinel Assam)
E-businesses or E-Tails benefitted from the pandemic as it drove online shopping, for example, Amazon's reported $108.5 billion in sales in the first three months of 2021, up 44 per cent from Q1 of 2020. On the international trade side, however, two factors that determine continuity are cooperation and trust – for example, whether the market can ensure supplying essentials, and also that countries will not impose export restrictions, in addition, that imports do not pose any health risks.
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National
Research group reports low level of market concentration in SA agriculture (Engineering News)
In a recent brief report, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) pointed out that, according to the available data, the agricultural sector was one of the South African economy’s least concentrated sectors. And while agro-processing was much more concentrated than agriculture itself, it was still far from being one of the most concentrated sectors of the economy.
Kenyan exports to bloc rise by $160m but Uganda remain tops (TheEastAfrican)
Kenya’s exports to the East African Community increased from Ksh140.4 billion ($1.28 billion) in 2019 to Ksh158.3 billion ($1.44 billion) in 2020. The growth was witnessed despite a contraction of the East African Community real GDP by 0.2 percent in 2020 from a growth of 6.2 percent in 2019.
Dar Scales Up Trade with East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC) (PulseNigeria)
The Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) said there has been an increase in trade between Tanzania and the countries in the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region since the sixth-phase government entered into power. TPSF Chairperson, Ms. Angelina Ngalula made the remarks when she met with the Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Minister, Ambassador Liberata Mulamulain Dar es Salaam yesterday.
Africa
AfCFTA secretariat signs landmark agreement with UK government (GhanaWeb)
Wamkele Mene, AfCFTA Secretary-General The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)with the United Kingdom (UK) government to formalise shared commitment to the success of the agreement.
AfCFTA to boost Eastern African textile – clothing exports (NewsGhana)
The East African regional business and private sector watchdog said on Friday the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is set to boost Eastern Africa’s textile and clothing exports by 100 percent.
Leveraging AfCFTA - ECA, ABCHealth Partner to Increase Access to Health Commodities (AllAfrica)
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Business Coalition for Health (ABCHealth) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), have concluded arrangement to host Africa Investment summit that will help Nigerians have access to vital health commodities and supplies.
UN launches Africa's online data platform of sustainable development (CGTN)
The new data engine also gives users the ability to classify the statistics by various dimensions, such as the eight regional economic communities recognized by AU, least developed countries, landlocked developing nations, and oil-producing, mineral-rich states.
Future of African carriers lies on ‘unity’ model (TheEastAfrican)
The workshop held under the theme Leveraging Airline Consolidation for Air Transport Industry Sustainability was attended by over 200 airline representatives — CEOs, representatives from airports, Civil Aviation Authorities, aviation decision makers and industry players — who called for uniform implementation of harmonised regulations and the establishment of an enabling working relationship between regulators, airlines and regional economic communities.
Africa needs effective functioning of RECs to achieve desired outcomes of AfCFTA (GhanaWeb)
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says Africa needs the effective functioning of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) if the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is to achieve the desired outcomes.
Co-operation the key to achieving Africa's ideals, say participants in intra-Africa business conference (AfricaNews)
The 2021 Shaping a World of Trust virtual business conversation, hosted by Bureau Veritas emphasized the need for collaboration between government, companies and customers if Africa was to meet sustainability goals, ensure food safety, protect against cybersecurity and improve intra-Africa trade.
International
UK government announces digital trade strategy (ComputerWeekly)
The UK government has announced a five-point digital strategy aimed at improving international digital trade for businesses and consumers and future-proofing the sector.
China Appeals WTO Ruling Over Trump Era's Solar-Panel Tariffs (Bloomberg)
China appealed a World Trade Organization dispute ruling that rejected the nation’s claims against the U.S. Earlier this month, a WTO panel said China failed to establish that Washington’s safeguards against imports of certain crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells are inconsistent with the WTO’s rules on the measures.
What are the prospects of global economy? (CGTN)
A new report released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development predicts a bounce-back of the global economy this year with 5.3% growth, the fastest in nearly 50 years. But the promising figure also reveals an unbalanced recovery among countries according to income and geographical location. What plans are in place to address these global inequalities? And how can we best prepare for an
High Trade Costs: Causes and Remedies (WorldBankGroup)
Mari Pangestu, World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, is joined by experts from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the private sector to discuss the current state of trade, the magnitude of trade costs, as well as the main determinants and policies which could lower them.
International trade and domestic social divides: A new vision for trade (World Economic Forum)
Businesses and civil society organizations have an opportunity to voice support for government action through the World Trade Organization on these issues in the runup to the 12th Ministerial Conference .
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National
Government moves ahead with controversial ‘localisation’ plans for some products in South Africa (BusinessTech)
Trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel says the government’s industrialisation and localisation policies aim to build and upgrade domestic production to supply domestic and foreign markets, support broader economic development and promote employment growth. Patel has faced criticism in some sectors after the government announced plans to designate more products under the 100% local content category to support SMMEs in the local manufacturing sector. It has also considered blocking some imported products that are not 100% local. Responding in a written parliamentary Q&A this week, Patel said that the localisation is not just a policy of his department but has ‘resounding support’ among South Africans who recognise the need to industrialise the local economy. “It is the policy of the administration and follows the commitment in the manifesto of the ruling party to stronger localisation as a pillar of its industrial policy. The commitment to localisation is included in the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan of government,” he said.
“The approach on localisation has also been unanimously endorsed by the business, labour and community representatives at Nedlac. They represent a large number of firms and entrepreneurs, workers in different sectors of the economy and organisations made up of representatives of various community interests.”
SEZs remain attractive, but embracing broader scope as energy, technology change economy (Engineering News)
The 12 special economic zones (SEZs) in South Africa remain relatively attractive destinations owing to the financial and non-financial incentives and support services they offer to specific industrial segments. However, they are also developing additional services and offerings to meet demand from companies in new industrial segments, including renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.
Building South Africa’s informal trade to rebuild a nation (IOL)
SOUTH Africa has a large informal business sector, and within fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) specifically, it is made up of as many as 200 000 spaza shops, spazarettes, superettes, midi wholesalers, and hawkers. These informal traders have been hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and more recently, riots in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. As a pillar of the township economy and job creation, the informal trade also provides unique opportunities for partnership and collaboration with FMCG manufacturers and service providers of the formal sector. Like most emerging markets, South Africa has a large informal business sector often referred to as the “hidden economy”. In terms of South African grocery retail, as much as 40 percent of total food bought by consumers each year is from informal traders such as hawkers, small and larger spaza shops and midi wholesale traders, who service 77 percent of the population. Although this channel is constantly confronted with challenges, it is a resilient one, whose value was estimated to be worth R157 billion in 2019. Millions of people rely on informal traders not only to provide them with basic essentials, but also to sustain the kasi (township) economy and job creation.
Opinion: Could South Africa’s logistics crisis derail the citrus sector’s stellar growth trajectory? (Engineering News)
A little-known, positive fact in a country that tends to focus on the negative is that South Africa is the second-biggest exporter of citrus in the world after Spain, the largest in the southern hemisphere and the global leader in long-distance exporting. Exports account for 95% of earnings from citrus, which overtook wine as South Africa‘s largest agricultural export in 2010. The citrus sector is our prime value earner in terms of exports and responsible for the employment of some 120 000 citizens, making it the biggest employer in the agricultural space.
The exceptional performance of the citrus industry saw production grow 25% between 2019 and 2020, making the sector one of the success stories in a dismal year for economic growth. With a few weeks of the 2021 export season left, output is expected to grow another 6% from 150-million cartons produced in 2020 to 159-million cartons this year. This is slightly down on the projected 163-million cartons, largely due to smaller fruit than anticipated, and the stronger rand will mean lower returns to the farms.
Zim growth outpaces regional peers: RBZ (The Herald)
ZIMBABWE’s economy is growing faster than all its peers in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Dr John Mangudya says, driven by strong agricultural output in 2021, attractive global mineral prices and massive construction across the country. In fact, East Africa’s Djibouti, driven by recovery of port activities and perk up in global demand, might be the only African country to grow faster than Zimbabwe this year, according to an earlier forecast by pan-Africa lender, African Development Bank (AfDB). The sustained growth trajectory dovetails into Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube’s mid-term budget review projection that the economy would this year expand by 7,8 percent, 0,4 percentage points better than his initial forecast.
Coupled with strong output from agriculture, manufacturing and mineral exports, Zimbabwe’s economy has responded positively and is poised to record its first major growth following two years of successive decline, first due to drought and cyclones and the negative impact of Covid-19
EPZs domestic sales hit Sh12bn on Covid waiver (Business Daily)
Local sales of goods manufactured in the Export Processing Zones (EPZ) hit Sh11.99billion last year after the Treasury temporarily waived restrictions that compelled firms to sell only 20 percent of the annual production in the local market, the Economic Survey 2021 shows. The value of domestic sales contracted from Sh8.6 billion in 2019 to Sh6.7 billion in 2020, while imports decreased to Sh36.8 billion during the same period. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani last year allowed firms in the preferential zones to sell all their products in the local market in a bid to cushion the industry from losses inflicted by coronavirus. The EPZ firms are traditionally only allowed to sell only 20 percent of the annual production in the local market. Major export markets for EPZ-made products, including the US and large parts of Europe, last year shut down airports and sealed off their borders in efforts to curb the spread of the virus, effectively cutting off EPZs’ exports.
Coffee production drops 18 percent on lower yield (Business Daily)
Kenya’s coffee output dipped 18 percent last year on lower crop yields, the Economic Survey 2021 shows. The output was recorded at 36,900 tonnes in the 2019/20 season, down from 45,000 tonnes the previous year. During the period, coffee production by cooperatives decreased by 16.2 percent while that of estates likewise decreased by 22 percent in 2020.
Farmers have an option of selling their coffee directly to international buyers, or contracting marketing agents to sell through the weekly auctions at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange. Sales through both channels, however, remain susceptible to price volatility due to fundamentals in the global markets—leaving farmers deeply exposed, especially in instances where commodity prices fall sharply.
While Kenya exports most of its coffee as cleaned beans, only five percent is shipped out as roasted. Statistics from the Coffee Directorate showed that Kenya exported 98 percent of coffee in the period 2019/20 as green coffee. Therefore, the country is missing out on the value addition derived from selling roasted and packaged coffee.
Kenya Airways leases 2 planes to Congo carrier (Business Daily)
Kenya Airways is leasing two idle planes to Congo carrier in a deal will see the cash-strapped airline save over 100 million annually on maintenance cost and earn additional revenue from hiring the crafts. KQ on Monday signed a wet aircraft lease agreement with the Congo Airways, which will see the airline rent the two aircraft and crew for an initial two years.The national carrier is leasing two Embraer jets that remained parked at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after KQ cut routes and frequencies on the back of low numbers for passengers.”… this is an important step in enhancing cooperation to increase air connectivity and offer greater passenger and cargo options between the two countries. The timing of this agreement is correct, considering the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation industry, as it will increase the utilisation of our aircraft,” said KQ chief executive Allan Kilavuka.
Export goods that remained resistant to Covid-19 impact (The Citizen)
Some local products remained resistant to the shockwaves of the Covid-19 after increasing their sales outside Tanzania amid decreasing exports.
According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the value of exports of gold, manufactured goods and horticultural products increased during the year ending July 2021 which was affected by the pandemic that has disrupted economic activities across the world.
During the year, exports of goods and services amounted to $8.98 billion compared with $9.38 billion in the corresponding period in 2020. Much of the decline was observed in travel receipts, reflecting impact of the pandemic which had hit hard on the tourism industry. However, exports of gold which is considered a safe haven amid volatility in the financial markets, increased by $261.9 million to $2.99 billion and accounted for 53.8 percent of export of non-traditional exports. “This was largely boosted by high price in the world market,” said the central bank in its monthly economic review for August.
Export of manufactured goods increased by 36 percent to $1.12 billion, while horticultural products increased to $332 million from $194.6 million.
TPA to boost Dar port capacity to handle larger marine vessels (IPP Media)
Dar es Salaam port is the main gateways to any country’s economy because it facilitates international trade for exports as well as imports. The port remains one important gateway in Africa as it serves landlocked countries—Malawi, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The port is strategically placed to serve as a convenient freight linkage not only to and from East and Central Africa countries, but also to middle and Far East, Europe, Australia and America. That’s why the government works hard to strengthen its infrastructures to continue to deliver competitive services to its customers within and outside the country. TPA Director General, Eric Hamissi said recently in Dar es Salaam that the authority has been deploying a number of measures to ensure it handles at least 50 percent of goods destined to landlocked within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries in the next few years up from the 25 percent currently being handled Hamissi said: “The modern facility at the port has continued paying off after it had recorded yet another milestone when it received a ship christened MV Serene Theodore”.
Salami: With Debt Service-to-Revenue at 98%, Nigeria’s Borrowing Unsustainable (THISDAY Newspapers)
Nigeria’s current public debt stock is unsustainable even though the country’s debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio at 35 per cent seems comfortable, Chairman of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), Dr. Doyin Salami, has said. Salami also lamented that with debt service-to-revenue ratio at 97.7 per cent (January to May 2021), the country’s public debt profile was unmaintainable.
According to Salami, the country’s debt stock is estimated to hit about N54 trillion when Ways and Means as well as the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) liabilities and projected fiscal deficit for 2021 are put into consideration. To improve revenue, therefore, the economist said the government must block leakages, unlock opportunities at state level, improve tax efficiency and coverage, and sell-off dead assets, which are estimated at $900 billion.
Salami, in a presentation on “The State of the Economy,” pointed out that the federal government’s expenditure had been on the increase, and at a faster pace than its revenue. He added that public debt had continued to expand on the back of growing fiscal deficit.
MSME policy to anchor new entrepreneurship age (BusinessGhana)
The novel MSME and Entrepreneurship Policy is to anchor a new age of entrepreneurship within the micro small and medium enterprise MSME sector. The policy will also help stimulate the growth of MSMEs to produce world-class products and services capable of competing locally and internationally. It is being implemented by the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) and will provide the administrative, regulatory, institutional and legal framework for the growth and development of the sector.
A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, at the Chamber SME Business Forum in Accra, observed that the GEA will lead in the implementation of the policy and also help with the formalisation of businesses. She said this will help MSMEs to have access to the government’s key interventions such as the COVID-19 Response Grant for SMEs. According to her, the policy provides clear policy direction and opportunities for all actors within the MSME space that will enable them contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s economic development.
Mrs Asiamah-Adjei noted that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides a lot of opportunities particularly to MSMEs as they have access to the entire African market. She said the ministry will continue to support business operators to take advantage of the numerous opportunities under the AfCFTA. To achieve this, she said a comprehensive National Action Plan for harnessing the benefits of AfCFTA has been developed under which an Enterprise Support Programme has also been initiated.
Ghana must not falter in fight against illegal tobacco trade (Africa Times)
Ghana is set to complete its ratification of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, an international treaty under the aegis of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The move is a landmark step for a country where one in five cigarettes are sold illegally and an encouraging one, given the deleterious effects that the black tobacco market has on public health, government revenues and organized crime. However, Ghana must take care not to allow Big Tobacco – which, despite its public condemnation of illegal trade, has been repeatedly proven to facilitate it – in through the back door. Industry experts and major health organizations agree that a robust track and trace system is the optimal way to clamp down on smuggling and diminish the industry’s influence in a single stroke, but the adoption of inefficient, ineffective and potentially compromised technology could undermine those efforts. As such, Ghana must tread a careful path to ensure it complies with both the spirit and the letter of the FCTC and its associated protocols, serving as an example to other developing nations in the process.
The negative impact of the parallel tobacco market is well-documented. By accessing larger supplies and circumventing taxation laws, vendors can sell their products more widely and at lower cost, prompting an uptick in smoking rates – and a corresponding increase in related illnesses and fatalities. This is especially pertinent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Ghana, which are expected to comprise the lion’s share of Big Tobacco’s target market going forwards—one expert predicts that as many as 80% of tobacco-related deaths will occur in LMICs by 2030.
Africa
Experts: Technology Adoption Will Enhance Development, Growth of AfCFTA (THISDAY Newspapers)
Technology experts have stressed the need for collaboration among government, policy makers, the banks and Financial Technology (FinTech) players, in order to adopt the right technology that will enhance faster market development and growth of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The experts who spoke at the Techgrind Africa virtual event organised by Summitech Computing Limited in Lagos recently, said such collaboration would help AfCFTA to contribute to the strengthening of African currencies, through the use of different technology solutions to navigate procurement, payment, logistics and communication, during trade transactions.
According to the experts, the success of AfCFTA would largely depend on technology to achieve its goals. They were of the view that the involvement of major technology industry players would facilitate Pan-African competition, as industry players would incorporate the opportunities that the agreement brings, into immediate plans and also take advantage of them to expand trade.
Digitisation in Africa Could Lift 30 Million People Out of Poverty and Boost Economic Development (The Fintech Times)
Building a comprehensive digital infrastructure is imperative to realising Africa’s enormous economic potential, according to a senior advisor from the International Trade Centre – the joint agency of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations. “Making eCommerce a success on the African continent is challenging. Approximately, only 11% of platforms in Africa take electronic payments, and others deal in cash,” James Howe, Senior Advisor at the International Trade Centre, explained at the inaugural Egypt-International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF) in Cairo, launched by the country’s Ministry of International Cooperation. Howe added that through trust, the continent’s digital development will be accelerated. “The single biggest challenge is trust – a commodity in short supply. It is important to develop trust to address issues on the continent, and this will help facilitate an environment for eCommerce in Africa,” he elaborated at a workshop entitled ‘Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Prospects and Challenges of Digital Trade for the Private Sector’ at the start of the second day of the Egypt-ICF.
African Union slams vaccine manufacturers for restricting access (EURACTIV)
The African Union on Tuesday (14 September) accused manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines of denying African countries a fair chance to buy them, and urged manufacturing countries – in particular India – to lift export restrictions on vaccines and their components.
“Those manufacturers know very well that they never gave us proper access,” Strive Masiyiwa, AU Special Envoy for COVID-19, told a World Health Organization briefing from Geneva. “We could have handled this very differently.”
Masiyiwa stressed that, in aiming to vaccinate 60% of its population, the African Union and its partners had expected to buy half the doses needed, while half were expected to come as donations through the COVAX programme, backed by the WHO and the GAVI global vaccine alliance. “We want access to purchase,” he said.
He urged the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to begin working on a standby pandemic readiness fund to help poorer nations buy vaccines in future, instead of having to rely on a sharing facility like COVAX – which has so far managed to provide only 260 million doses. “Vaccine sharing is good – but we shouldn’t have to be relying on vaccine sharing, particularly when we can come to the table with structures in place and say we also want to buy,” he said.
Efforts to develop an African base for COVID-19 vaccine production will focus on trying to replicate Moderna’s shot, but a lack of progress in talks with the US company mean the project will take time, Martin Friede, WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research coordinator, told Reuters. COVAX is set to fall nearly 30% short of its previous goal of 2 billion shots this year.
Central Africa should unite against Covid, says IMF chief (ICLG.com)
The head of the IMF said a unified response to the economic problems caused by the pandemic would help bring a quicker and more lasting recovery to the region. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has encouraged Central African countries to work together on the economic response to Covid-19, saying that a combined response would bring greater stability and strength. In a statement after she addressed a virtual summit of the heads of state of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), Georgieva said “closely coordinated macroeconomic policies among all six countries and regional institutions are necessary to bolster CEMAC’s external and internal stability in the short term, and help the region emerge stronger from the crisis in the period ahead”.
She added that wider regional reform was needed to provide jobs for Central Africa’s growing work force, through economic diversification and less reliance on the commodities market. “Enhancing transparency in public finances and in the oil and gas sector, strengthening revenue mobilisation, supporting strong governance, and implementing business-friendly reforms will be particularly important,” Georgieva concluded.
Beyond The Crisis: Leveraging Airline Consolidation For Air Transport Industry Sustainability (Peace FM Online)
Air transport plays a fundamental role in Africa’s socio-economic development. The sector is a catalyst for promoting tourism and fostering trade and regional development. However, Africa represents less than 3% of global air traffic and over the past 15 years, the continent has had the lowest level of market consolidation compared to the other regions in the globe. The African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Lufthansa Consulting and Kenya Airways staged a high level workshop on 14th September 2021 on African airlines consolidation to discuss the reasons for few partnerships and limited airline consolidation, the challenges and benefits of consolidation and measures for action by industry stakeholders to address the situation.
Mr Abdérahmane Berthé – AFRAA Secretary General, in his remarks stated: “The aviation sector is reeling from the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic. We need to devise new approaches of doing business in the face of increasing concerns on the sustainability of African Airlines. A crucial element in the success of the African airlines is consolidation and collaboration. The engagement of States, airlines and all the relevant stakeholders is necessary to effectively achieve the required outcomes on airline consolidation in Africa.”
The forum articulated the following recommendations for action by the industry:
Leveraging Regional Gas Networks for Sustained Economic Growth (Energy Capital & Power)
With the discovery of significant natural gas resources across the African continent in recent years, and the global recognition of gas as an ideal transitionary resource in the shift to clean energy fuels, African stakeholders are aggressively pursuing gas-directed investment and development. With gas-rich countries across the continent turning their attention to resource exploitation, opportunities have emerged for the monetization and utilization both domestically and on a regional basis. Notably, through the establishment of regional natural gas networks through associated infrastructure developments, Africa can accelerate energy sector growth while ensuring the cross-border uptake of resources.
The west African region, specifically, has seen notable success in this area with the development of the West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP) – a 681km gas pipeline linking Nigeria’s gas-rich Niger Delta region to regional countries Benin, Togo and Ghana. The WAGP, operated by the West African Gas Pipeline Company – a consortium comprising Chevron West African Gas Pipeline (36.9%), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (24.9%), Shell Overseas Holdings Limited (17.9%), Takoradi Power Company Limited (16.3%), Societe Togolaise de Gaz (2%) and Societe BenGaz S.A. (2%) – is the regions first natural gas transmission system. Providing a viable regional gas network, the WAGP enables regional countries to utilize Nigeria’s impressive 200 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, boosting energy access and socio-economic development.
African Leaders Discuss Ways to Minimize Impact of Climate Change (Voice of America)
High-level African officials met virtually this week to discuss the challenges Africa faces in trying to manage a growing population amid climate change. The conference was aimed at identifying ways African governments can manage these pressures to minimize or avoid conflict. Africa generates about 3% percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the lowest of any continent. But it’s more vulnerable than any other region in the world, since Africans depend so heavily on their natural environment for food, water and medicine. Speaking at a virtual conference Tuesday on climate, conflict and demographics in Africa, Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said African governments need to keep the climate in mind as they try to boost their economies.
Ghana environment minister Kwaku Afriyie explains how climate change has impacted agricultural lands in the country. “The harsh and deteriorating climate conditions in northern Ghana undoubtedly energized region-growing food insecurity and seasonal north-to-south migration. And besides, increasing of floods and protracted drought lead to displacement of people. Statistics show that over the last few years, there has been a new internal displacement which has occurred in Ghana due to climate-induced disasters and even beyond our borders,” he said.
Cattle farmers face production, market hurdles (The East African)
Poor production methods and limited market access continue to hold back small African cattle farmers from developing, according to studies in Kenya and South Africa. A comparative study exploring the challenges farmers face in two cattle-farming provinces in South Africa and Kenya found that broker controlled markets — prevalent in Kenya — should be avoided in South Africa as market access for farmers is improved. It further identified the Meat Naturally Initiative (MNI), a sustainable livestock farming and land use initiative in the Eastern Cape, as a successful case study that could be replicated in both countries to tackle these challenges and increase the access and participation of small-scale farmers in beef markets. “In cattle farming, in particular, poor grazing practises and a lack of vaccination produce poor quality animals,” said director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at Rhodes University, and lead researcher in the study, Cyril Nhlanhla Mbatha, adding, “Limited information, poor infrastructure and cultural issues are some of the factors leading to low participation levels of these farmers in livestock markets.”
The study looked at how some of the common challenges in cattle production and market access have been overcome in both countries.
Africa beckons the Caribbean (Trinidad & Tobago Express Newspapers)
LAST week, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, in addressing the first Africa-Caricom Summit of Leaders thanked Africa for sending Covid-19 vaccines to Caricom. After the developed countries grabbed the lion’s share of the vaccines made available in 2021, countries that signed up for the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) facility, Covax, were subject to delays in receiving their vaccine orders. Dr Rowley, as the then chairman of Caricom had expressed concerns about what he described as vaccine apartheid for smaller countries.
The supply from the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) helped bolster the vaccines on offer in many islands, supplementing donations from India, the UK, Canada and the US as well as the Covax allotment.
The African Initiative, as it was called, was another vision of former prime minister Patrick Manning. “Given this country’s technological achievements in the energy sector, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has taken a decision to make our expertise in the sector available free of charge to a number of West African countries,” Manning had said at the eighth annual meeting of the African Union held in Addis Ababa, Republic of Ethiopia.
“We see Ghana as a gateway into...Africa, not just entry to Ghana but its surrounding neighbours. The Caribbean, being one of the most desirable leisure areas in the world, utilised by people from the North and the East, we hope that Africans coming through Ghana, once we establish a mutual agreement and a direct service between the Caribbean and Africa, we believe that there’s tremendous potential for economic growth there,” Rowley said.
Faster trade from inland China to Africa via Port of Guangzhou (Global Times)
Port of Guangzhou, the world’s fifth-largest port, has opened a trade route carrying food from Central China to Africa, utilizing the multi-mode transportation of rail and sea freight, the port’s operator said on Wednesday. A train carrying the first batch of rice, part of Chinese aid to South Sudan and Kenya, left Zhuzhou, Central China’s Hunan Province on Wednesday.
Hunan is a vital player in China-Africa cooperation and the opening of the trade corridor allows inland provinces to send goods to Africa in a faster and lower-cost way, facilitating trade in Belt and Road markets. The new method using trains cuts costs by 60 percent compared with truck freight and the entire journey is also cut by about 10 days.
International
As rich-poor divide widens between nations, UN urges reform (Al Jazeera English)
A new report from the United Nations on Wednesday highlights divergent economic recoveries between nations and throws fresh urgency behind warnings that richer nations are not doing enough to help poorer countries from falling further behind as the world recovers from COVID-19 disruptions. “It’s really frustrating to see how responses to the pandemic have panned out rather disjointedly,” said Inu Manak, an expert in international political economy at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank based in Washington, DC in the United States. “During the financial crisis, there was a statement of all advanced countries shunning protectionism, but during the pandemic, we saw a doubling down of borders and a turn inwards and a push toward self-reliance rhetoric,” she told Al Jazeera.
The report found that developing countries (excluding China) will, by 2025, be as much as $8 trillion poorer as a consequence of the coronavirus crisis.
The economic fallout of the pandemic left many developing countries with fewer fiscal resources and higher debt burdens. And for countries on the front line of climate change, this cocktail has the potential of shutting them out of growth and investment for years to come. “The danger of a lost decade ahead remains a very real one,” Richard Kozul-Wright, UNCTAD’s director of globalisation and development strategies, told Al Jazeera. “And so far, the discussion of reform of the multilateral system, along the lines that followed the financial crisis, has not happened, even though the system has clearly fallen short.” The Group of 20 (G20) nations’ Debt Service Suspension Initiative, which has extended about $13bn to eligible developing countries, is “nowhere near to what is needed,” he added.
Investment facilitation talks address S&DT, technical assistance and sustainable investment (WTO)
During the two-day plenary negotiating meeting, the first one after the summer break, the coordinator of the negotiations, Ambassador Mathias Francke of Chile, introduced the revised, cleaned-up version of the “Easter Text” — the negotiating document serving as the basis for the negotiations — which incorporates the progress achieved by participants since April 2021. The revised version further streamlines Section II on “Transparency of investment measures”, Section III on “Streamlining and speeding up administrative procedures”, Section IV on “Focal points, domestic regulatory coherence and cross-border cooperation”, and Section VI on “Sustainable investment”. Participants also discussed texts prepared by the coordinator, among others, regarding the preamble, the overall scope and cross-border cooperation of the “Easter Text”, making useful headway on these texts.
Based on recent members’ submissions, participants had a rich discussion on S&DT as well as technical assistance and capacity building for developing and LDC members, investment facilitation needs assessments, and proposals aimed at fostering sustainable investment. Participants emphasized the importance of S&DT and technical assistance, viewing the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) as a good starting point in this regard. In their discussions, they achieved good convergence on the “General Principles” guiding the two topics. Delegates also discussed a recently submitted proposal on the inclusion of a new provision on “home state obligations” aimed at recognizing the role of “home states” in facilitating outward investments.
E-commerce talks: two “foundational” articles cleaned; development issues discussed (WTO)
The online consumer protection article requires members to adopt or maintain measures that proscribe misleading, fraudulent and deceptive commercial activities that cause harm, or potential harm, to consumers engaged in electronic commerce. Members are required to endeavour to adopt or maintain measures that aim to ensure suppliers deal fairly and honestly with consumers and provide complete and accurate information on goods and services and to ensure the safety of goods and, where applicable, services during normal or reasonably foreseeable use. The article also requires members to promote consumer redress or recourse mechanisms.
Ambassador George Mina of Australia said the two articles were “foundational” for the initiative. He said the high-quality text achieved in both cases reflected the perspectives of a diverse range of developed and developing countries, and thanked New Zealand, Japan and Hong Kong, China for leading the negotiating groups on these issues.
Jobs and Development Conference 2021: Good Jobs Transitions for Post-Pandemic Development (World Bank)
With a special focus on “good jobs transitions for post-pandemic development,” the fifth Jobs and Development Conference featured a wide range of latest research on jobs and development, including the differential impacts of COVID-19 on workers, migration and remittances, and gender gaps in the labor market. The three-day virtual conference, held in early September, was hosted by the World Bank, IZA, the Network on Jobs and Development, and UNU-WIDER. It showcased over 50 papers from economists, policymakers, and development experts, spanning 22 countries, and attracted more than 1,600 online participants. This year’s conference sent a strong message that - as the world emerges from the pandemic - policymakers will have to focus on creating better, more resilient jobs and managing jobs transitions in the context of global challenges, including climate change, gender inequality, and extreme poverty.
In his keynote address, Dani Rodrik of the Harvard Kennedy School explained why the ‘traditional’ model of development – with informal agricultural workers moving into formal, organized manufacturing jobs – is no longer creating enough good-quality, productive jobs for low-skilled workers in many lower- and middle-income countries.
He argued that globally, technological innovation has lowered the cost of capital-intensive technologies. This, in turn, has undercut the potential competitiveness of labor-intensive manufacturing in low-income countries – especially in formal firms that compete in global markets. The result is “premature de-industrialization: workers transition from manufacturing to services jobs much sooner and at much lower levels of income, compared to early industrializers.”
Rich nations head to South Africa seeking coal exit deal (Engineering News)
Four of the world’s richest nations will send a delegation to South Africa as soon as next week to seek a deal to begin closing the country’s coal-fired plants, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials from the US, UK, France and Germany are looking for an agreement with Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which generates almost all of South Africa’s power from a fleet of 15 coal plants. Any deal struck could be announced during the United Nations climate talks known as COP26, set to start in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct. 31, one of the people said.
Govts battle priciest food since the 1970s (News24)
Whether for bread, rice or tortillas, governments across the world know that rising food costs can come with a political price. The dilemma is whether they can do enough to prevent having to pay it. Global food prices were up 33% in August from a year earlier with vegetable oil, grains and meat on the rise, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization show. And it’s not likely to get better as extreme weather, soaring freight and fertiliser costs, shipping bottlenecks and labor shortages compound the problem. Dwindling foreign currency reserves are also hampering the ability of some nations to import food.
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Govt’s private-sector participation drive could increase efficiency, prosperity – Grindrod (Engineering News)
A port that runs efficiently “can bring prosperity all around”, says Grindrod Freight Services CEO Xolani Mbambo. South Africa’s major ports are, however, currently ranked close to the bottom of the list in terms of global competitiveness. “Current rankings show that South Africa has been overtaken by some of Africa’s other ports in terms of port capacity and investment, and that some work needs to be done to put South Africa back on the map,” says Mbambo.
“If a port does not run efficiently, it means that we as South Africa lose volumes and vessel traffic to other countries in Africa, as well as any transshipment opportunities that may exist.
Delayed June mining data may have skewed South Africa’s second-quarter GDP figures (Daily Maverick)
There was a rare double whammy of mining data in one go on Tuesday after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) failed to deliver the June numbers on time for their scheduled August release because of ‘technical challenges’. Those challenges also mean that the June numbers estimated in last week’s GDP data may have been overstated. The delayed June data show that mining production for the month rose 19.1% on a year-on-year basis. Annual growth has been slowing since it soared over 117% in April owing to the fact that most mines stopped producing in April last year, the hardest full lockdown month of the pandemic. The ebb in annual growth since is partly explained by the sector rebooting ahead of most industries last year, so the base effects for comparison have not been rock bottom.
The GDP numbers showed an estimated 1.2% increase in the size of the economy in Q2, with mining output rising 1.9%. Stats SA said the sector contributed 0.1 percentage point to GDP growth. But Tuesday’s figures showed that for the three months to the end of June, mining output had grown only 0.6%. “There was a delay in releasing the June numbers ahead of the preliminary Q2 GDP print, but today’s figures show that seasonally adjusted mining production was up 0.6% q/q, reflecting that mining indeed contributed positively to GDP, but there is downside risk to the 1.9% q/q currently estimated,” FNB economist Koketso Mano said in a note on the data.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development recently sent a letter to all processors, packers, importers, exporters and retailers of animal and processed plant products, which products are regulated by the Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (“the Agricultural Act”), confirming a change in approach in applying Section 6 of the Agricultural Act. The position previously had been that the various inspectors and agencies tasked with, inter alia, enforcing Section 6 of the Agricultural Act, were instructed to ignore any trade marks used in respect of the regulated products (either registered or in the process of being registered) that were regarded as misleading.
Kenya’s GDP contracted 0.3% in 2020, courtesy COVID-19: Economic Survey (Down to Earth)
Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Kenya contracted by 0.3 per cent in 2020, mainly due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to the annual Economic Survey 2021 released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
The Kenyan government ordered a temporary closure of international boundaries, imposed curfews and restricted movements in 2020. These policy measures affected both international and domestic trade, tourism and international travel. As a result, the year registered reduced international trade with the sharpest drop occurring in the second quarter of 2020. The total volume of trade declined to Kenya Shillings (KSh) 2,287.2 billion in 2020, from KSh 2,403.0 billion in 2019. The Kenyan government suspended international passenger flights from March 25-July 31, 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19.
According to the survey, the economy was somewhat supported by accelerated growth in agricultural production (4.8 per cent), construction activities (11.8 per cent), financial and insurance activities (5.6 per cent) and health services activities (6.7 per cent). The government has recognised the Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) sector as a key contributor to the country’s GDP.
Big relief as Kenya maritime waters off global high risk list (Business Daily)
Cargo ships destined for Mombasa port will no longer have to use long routes after the Kenya maritime waters within the Indian Ocean was re-designated from the High-Risk Area (HRA) by the global shipping industry. The re-designation will see sea freight and maritime insurance premium for cargo going down. This will given Mombasa port a competitive edge against regional facilities such as Dar es Salaam port due to reduced importation and labour cost for seafarers aboard. The announcement last week to the London-based 174-member International Maritime Organisation (IMO) by the Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy and Enhance Maritime Security (BMP-5), is a relief for shippers who have been suffering for the past eight years.
Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA) said the move by global shipping industry would not only save Kenya and other East African traders millions of dollars in insurance and security expenses, but will encourage more ships to call at Mombasa port. “The move to remove the Kenyan maritime waters from a red list as a result of improved surveillance will lower cost of importation and also encourage those shipping companies which suspended its operations along such route to resume,” said SCEA chief executive officer Gilbert Lagat.
Mango exports to Pakistan expected to start in two weeks (Business Daily)
Kenya could make its maiden mango exports to Pakistan in about a fortnight as Nairobi races to endorse a long-delayed trade deal between the two countries. Mr Theophilus Mutui, the managing director of Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service(Kephis), said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed upon by the two countries on mango trade is ready for approval—opening gates for shipments. “The draft is ready and we are just finalising on it, once we are done, it will be signed by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary then we shall be ready to start exports of our mango to Pakistan,” he said. Shipments to Pakistan would offer a reprieve to mango farmers who have been grappling with limited market access for the fruit, especially after exports to UK were stopped nearly a decade ago.
Metre Gauge rail revenue increases 6pc (Business Daily)
Revenue generated from cargo and passenger services on the metre gauge rail (MGR) trains increased by 6 percent in 2020 defying the economic knocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, official statistics show. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data released last week shows that the passenger and cargo trains generated Sh1.196 billion last year, up from Sh1.130 billion in 2019. Revenue earned from MGR cargo stream however rose by 15.7 percent from Sh963 million in 2019 to Sh 1.114 billion in 2020. The pandemic hit hard the logistics sector including public transport and the long-haul transits following the imposed night curfew and restrictions of movement in and out of Nairobi metropolitan area, Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale and Mandera. The restrictions were lifted in May. The cargo service remained in operation as the passenger trains were halted in line with government’s directives, to support flow of goods through the Mombasa port. “Increase in cargo revenue is partly attributed to increase in the volume of high value cargo transported in the review period,” says the KNBS report.
Kenya to manufacture Covid vaccines starting next year (The East African)
Kenya will next year start manufacturing Covid-19 vaccines locally in collaboration with unnamed pharmaceutical firms in a move aimed at easing supply hitches that have derailed mass inoculation. Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe revealed in an internal vaccination blue print that the country has started the process of building a filling plant for the Covid-19 vaccines. A full-fledged vaccine manufacturing plant will be built by 2024, said Mr Kagwe. A fill and finish facility helps third parties put the vaccine from the main manufacturers into vials or syringes, sealing them and packaging them up for distribution.
“To improve our vaccine supply security, the government has embarked on the local manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines starting with the establishment of a fill-and finish facility through strategic partnerships and technological transfer,” said Mr Kagwe in the National Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan, 2021.
Private millers boost Kenya’s sugar production – survey (The Star, Kenya)
Kenya’s 2020 sugar production increased but was mainly driven by private millers as state-owned millers continued to struggle. Total cane production increased by 47.8 per cent from 4.6 million tonnes in 2019 to 6.8 million tonnes, the Economic Survey 2021 shows, as farmers developed confidence in private millers. This resulted in higher industrial production of 603,800 tonnes up from 440,900 tonnes in 2019, on increased harvest and delivery of mature canes for crushing. The high local production came as imports declined by 3.1 per cent from 458,600 metric tonnes to 444,500 tonnes in 2020, mostly duty-free imports from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).The decrease was mainly attributed to lower shipment of white refined sugar in 2020 as a result of low consumption by the hotels, restaurants and cafes due to the Covid-19 pandemic effects.
Internal indirect tax reform measures needed - Adjavor (News Ghana)
Mr Bonaventure Adjavor, Director Economic Trade and Investment Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration says Ghana need to expedite action on the implementation of an internal indirect tax reform measures. He said these reform measures would facilitate the creation of the Free Trade Area and the Common External Tariff.
He said “while we need to take urgent steps to ensure free movement of goods and services, we also have to initiate other measures to develop the region’s production capacity, remove all constraints and obstacles to intra-regional trade.”
Enhancing Nigeria’s Maritime Security for Improved National Prosperity (THISDAY Newspapers)
The maritime domain is a resource provider and critical contributor to growth and prosperity of the countries lining its coasts as well as those inwards due to the access its grants them. Therefore, to enhance national prosperity, as well as address the myriad threats of piracy, crude oil theft and illegal fishing, the Nigerian Navy recently held the 2021 Chief of Naval Staff Conference,
The quote by the CNS was quite expedient given the rich resources the nation has been blessed with. According to the 2020 report from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria’s maritime environment is rich in hydrocarbon deposits with proven oil reserves of about 28.2 billion barrels representing 1.63 per cent of total global oil reserves and 165 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) natural gas reserves.
Essentially, the oil and gas sector accounts for about 10 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and petroleum exports revenue represents about 86 per cent of total exports revenue of the country as postulated by Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) this year.
‘Dala inland dry port vital for AfCFTA, trans-sahara trade development’ (The Guardian Nigeria)
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shipper’s Council (NSC), Emmanuel Jime, has affirmed that the Dala Inland Dry Port (IDP) in Kano State would boost trans-sahara trade and the implementation of Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.
The NSC boss, in a statement by the Head, Public Relations of the council, Rakiya Dhikru-Yagboyaju, said Dala IDP, when completed, would further decongest the seaports, reduce the cost of doing business and provide an avenue for shippers in the hinterland and neighboring countries like Niger, Chad, and Benin to have their cargoes transported to their doorsteps.
E-commerce Spending In Nigeria Estimated At $13b Per Annum– Trade Ministry (LEADERSHIP Newspapers)
The ministry of industry, trade and investment said current e-commerce spending in Nigeria is estimated at about $13 billion per annum and projected to rise to $75 billion in revenues by 2025. “E-commerce in Post COVID-19 Economy, Potential Change in Business Process Outlook and Shifting Domestic and Global Policies on Commodity Trade,” was the theme of the roundtable.
According to her, the ministry was passionate about the growing investment opportunities in the e-commerce value chain, which are capable of contributing significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “Interestingly, e-commerce provides an alternative to sustain businesses and preserve millions of jobs in the face of COVID-19 challenge,” she added. “For instance, in China, e-commerce companies played a key role in the supply of food and other essential commodities to residents of Wuhan during the knockdown period in 2020.
She expressed displeasure on the shutting down of many industrial facilities, restriction of goods and movement and disruption of global supply chain due to the economic effect of the global pandemic. This, she said no doubt brought about a rise in unemployment rate, decline in revenue and increase in food security crisis.
Nafeza: Egypt Launches New Trade Facilitation Technology to Create “Region’s Most Advanced Global Logistics Hub” (Business Wire)
The Government of Egypt will next month implement a new trade facilitation technology which will improve processing time and reduce costs for all exporters to the country. The new process – the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system – is a block-chain based technology that will help fully automate the customs process for all goods entering Egypt. Using electronic data, the new system will identify goods before they are shipped, enabling goods to be checked and cleared before they reach Egyptian ports. The ACI system, which has been undergoing pilot tests since 1 April 2019, will be implemented at all Egypt’s ports on 1 October 2021. Already, 16,000 companies importing goods into Egypt have registered on the new ACI system.
Egypt has embarked on ambitious plans to transform its trade infrastructure, including the modernisation of its entire customs management system. In April 2019, the Government launched the National Single Window for Foreign Trade Facilitation (Nafeza), a single digital trade portal for all import, export and transit operations, linking up all Egypt’s ports.
Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea: Fostering Trade For Regional Growth (Cameroon Tirbune)
Economic ties especially trade between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea are positive with importation and exportation taking place within well stipulated legal terms. Collaborating for the growth of these trade relations and the subsequent progress of the Central Africansub-region is a fundamental concern for the two brotherly countries whose bilateral relations operate on mutually beneficial agreements. To further deepen cooperation ties, the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, on September 13,2021, granted an audience to the Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima. He was also the bearer of a sealed message from President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo to the President of the Republic. In the course of the audience, President Paul Biya and the Minister talked on exploiting natural resources in the mines sector for the development of the two countries and the sub region affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Fostering trade within the African free trade continental zone equally came under discussion at the Unity Palace audience.
As concerns bilateral trade, importation and exportation between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea according to information from the customs department is smooth. Goods and services are transported by land, sea and air. Cameroon imports mainly crude petroleum, car parts and petroleum gas, and in return exports refined petroleum, broths and chocolate to Equatorial Guinea.
Somalia’s Economy Rebounding from ‘Triple Shock’ (World Bank)
Somalia’s economy is rebounding from the “triple shock” that ravaged the country in 2020: the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme flooding, and the locust infestation. Real GDP growth is projected at 2.4 percent in 2021. This growth momentum is expected to continue in the medium term and reach pre-COVID-19 levels of 3.2 percent in 2023. The latest World Bank Somalia Economic Update reports that the economy contracted by 0.4 percent in 2020, less severe than the 1.5 percent contraction projected at the onset of the global pandemic. Higher-than-anticipated aid flows, fiscal policy measures put in place by the Federal Government of Somalia to aid businesses, social protection measures to cushion vulnerable households, and higher-than-expected remittance inflows mitigated the adverse effects of the triple shock.
Central Bank of Sudan: Trade deficit down by 25% (Radio Dabanga)
The Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) has announced the annual deficit in Sudan’s Balance of Trade (BOT) (the difference between exports and imports) has been reduced by 25 per cent to $1.6 billion. Sudan’s BOT deficit was $2.50 billion in the corresponding period of last year. In a statement, Monday, the CBoS said that that the value of Sudanese exports rose 25.1 per cent on an annual basis to $2.53 billion, While imports rose 3.9 per cent to $4.16 billion during the period.
Tunisia: Trade deficit narrows in August 2021 (TAP)
The trade deficit narrowed to 1275.4 million dinars (MD) in August 2021, from 1409.3 MD in July 2021, according to a note on Foreign Trade at current prices (CVS-CEC), August 2021, published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) Tuesday. The coverage rate gained 3.5 points in August 2021 compared to July 2021 to stand at 75.7%.
“After a sharp decline in July 2021, trade is picking up pace in August. Indeed, imports increased by 3.7% and exports rose by 8.7%, thus returning to their pre-pandemic levels (+3.8% compared to February 2020),” said the INS. Excluding energy products, exports went up 11.6%, while imports dropped 4.6%.
Africa
The UK formally commits to the AfCFTA’s success (Quartz Africa)
On Sept. 13 in Ghana, James Duddridge, the UK’s minister for Africa, signed a memorandum of understanding with Wamkele Mene, the secretary-general of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) secretariat. It makes Britain’s commitment to the success of the trade bloc, which includes several former colonies, official. Duddridge said the UK was “the first non-African nation to recognize the opportunities for trade and investment” proposed by the AfCFTA. Ranil Jayawardena, the UK’s minister for international trade said the MOU “shows our commitment to boosting bilateral trade and investment, leading to sustainable economic growth across the continent.”
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $50 million Trade Finance Unfunded Risk Participation Agreement (RPA) facility between the African Development Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The agreement is expected to boost intra-Africa trade, promote regional integration, and contribute to the reduction of the trade finance gap in Africa, in line with implementation aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Speaking soon after the Board approval, the Bank’s Director for Financial Sector Development, Stefan Nalletamby, stated: “We are excited about finalizing this facility with Standard Chartered Bank as it offers us the flexibility to use our strong AAA-rated risk-bearing capacity to increase access to trade finance and boost intra/extra- African trade on the continent, in support of the AfCFTA. This partnership is expected to catalyze more than $600 million in value of trade finance transactions across multi-sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and energy over the next three years.”
OP-ED: To compete globally, sub-Saharan Africa must remove barriers to innovation and regional integration (Daily Maverick)
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN 2015) Goal 9 aims to increase the manufacturing sector’s output and share to GDP by 100% by 2030. The UN advocates that this can be achieved through the building of infrastructure which promotes inclusive and sustainable industries to encourage innovation. Despite infrastructure investments being made in Africa, the goal to double productivity in the industries seems a far target to reach. Scientific research together with innovation remains below global average. The World Bank Enterprise Survey in 2017 showed that less than 50% of the enterprises in African states are non-innovative especially when the 2030 Agenda seeks to ensure the sustainable development of Africa through innovation.
Eighty percent of the world’s worst performers in innovation performance, governance and infrastructure quality are low-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan African countries, and the remaining 20% are low-income countries from other regions. Burundi, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Togo, Guinea and Nigeria have the worst innovation, infrastructure and governance quality.
Cryptocurrency flows in Africa (Brookings)
The use of cryptocurrencies in Africa is on the rise, as digital currencies offer a swift, convenient, and direct peer-to-peer channel for remittance payments, international commerce, and savings. To better understand the global landscape around cryptocurrency use, Chainalysis, a leading cryptocurrency market research firm, recently released a report examining key geographic trends around the financial tool, including in the nascent African crypto market. Although Africa captures only 2 percent of the global value of all cryptocurrencies received and sent (Figure 1), making it the world’s smallest cryptocurrency economy, the rising prominence of this innovative form of money is altering traditional financial flows to and from the continent.
African farmers and agribusinesses need fair access to markets in face of climate change (The Conversation)
Southern and Eastern Africa face the twin challenges of growing agricultural production to meet food demand while adapting to extreme weather. And climate change makes addressing these challenges extremely urgent. Southern Africa is a climate change hotspot. Eastern Africa is projected to still have good average rainfall, although temperatures will increase and floodings become more frequent. There is huge potential for meeting these twin challenges across Eastern and Southern Africa, where there are in fact good soils and water availability in many countries. However, markets are not working well, especially for small and medium-scale farmers and agri-businesses which are at the heart of inclusive food value chains. These participants are often not receiving fair prices for their produce due to the way markets have been working, including powerful interests, high transport costs and poor facilities such as those for storage.
Africa offers a great market to rising economies like India: Union Minister Muraleedharan | International (Devdiscourse)
Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan on Tuesday addressed the First India-Africa Agriculture and Food Processing Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). “On the trade and economic front, India is the fourth largest trading partner for Africa registering USD 69.7 billion trade with Africa during 2018-19 and has become the fifth largest investor in Africa with its cumulative investment at USD 70.7 billion. The Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme announced by India has benefited African nations by extending duty-free access to 98.2 per cent of India’s total tariff lines. With a collective GDP of over USD 2.4 trillion and a population of more than 1.3 billion, Africa offers a great market to rising economies like India, “Muraleedharan said.
“African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which has come into force from January 01 is expected to play a greater role on pan African agriculture development. It will help Africa realize its full potential, as per their priorities in agri-business to attain self-sufficiency in food security. We may explore the possibility of increasing our economic & commercial ties with Africa making use of the available opportunities under the AfCFTA, “he added. Ethiopia’s Minister of Agriculture Oumar Hussien, Ghana’s Minister of Food and Agriculture Owusu Afriyie Akoto, South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture Angela Thoko Didiza, Rajiv Wahi, Chairman, CII India Africa Agriculture Core Group, Dawood Bin Ozair, CEO, Blue Star International and S Kuppuswamy, Co-Chair, CII Africa Committee were present during the summit.
International
Global trade volumes rebound but UK “lagging”, report finds (Global Trade Review)
Global trade is recovering strongly after a pandemic-induced downturn in 2020, but progress is uneven, with the UK, Africa and the Middle East among those lagging behind, a major UN report finds. In its annual trade and development report, published today, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says the global economy is expected to bounce back in 2021 after a 5.6% drop in international goods and services trade last year. UNCTAD estimates that real growth in goods and services will total 9.5% in 2021, with overall global economic growth hitting 5.3% – the highest figure in almost half a century.
In the case of Africa and the Middle East, UNCTAD says both regions’ export volumes are largely dependent on oil. An agreement reached by OPEC+ in April last year has sharply reduced extraction, resulting in export volumes remaining low – despite positive price effects boosting revenues for major oil exporters. “Meanwhile, imports of this group have remained extremely flat, mirroring the subdued rebound in economic activities in these countries,” the report adds.
Forum cooperation on SDGs (Ahram Online)
Green recovery, securing development finance, and mobilising international efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while recovering from the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic were the main topics at the two-day International Cooperation Forum (ICF) organised by Egypt this week. The ICF aimed to help lay the foundations for sustainable recovery and push the international development agenda forward amid the ongoing pandemic, while discussing ways to achieve Egypt’s 2030 Vision, closely linked to the SDGs and the Africa We Want Agenda 2063.
Agriculture negotiations chair says progress on new draft text depends on WTO members (WTO)
“Members themselves must want to achieve progress. Members themselves must want to negotiate. And members themselves need to be in the driving seat on the road to MC12,” said the chair, Ambassador Gloria Abraham Peralta of Costa Rica. In her opening remarks, the chair reminded members that, by improving the functioning of food and agricultural markets, an outcome at the upcoming ministerial conference could make a meaningful contribution to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic — and also help address other challenges members face, such as food insecurity and poverty. “We all have a role to play,” she said.
Climate Change Could Force 216 Million People to Migrate Within Their Own Countries by 2050 (World Bank)
The World Bank’s updated Groundswell report released today finds that climate change, an increasingly potent driver of migration, could force 216 million people across six world regions to move within their countries by 2050. Hotspots of internal climate migration could emerge as early as 2030 and continue to spread and intensify by 2050. The report also finds that immediate and concerted action to reduce global emissions, and support green, inclusive, and resilient development, could reduce the scale of climate migration by as much as 80 percent.
“The Groundswell report is a stark reminder of the human toll of climate change, particularly on the world’s poorest—those who are contributing the least to its causes. It also clearly lays out a path for countries to address some of the key factors that are causing climate-driven migration,” said Juergen Voegele, Vice President of Sustainable Development, World Bank. “All these issues are fundamentally connected which is why our support to countries is positioned to deliver on climate and development objectives together while building a more sustainable, safe and resilient future.”
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Net-zero goal could be new ‘shared vision that binds’ South Africa (Engineering News)
A just transition towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 offers significant opportunities for a new growth path built on green industrialisation and could provide the anchor for a new “shared vision that binds us”, former Deputy Finance Minister and State Capture whistle-blower Mcebisi Jonas contends. Delivering a keynote address during a virtual meeting of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), Jonas argued that the just transition was not merely about reducing carbon emissions but also about placing the country on a new green industrialisation path to simultaneously address growth, jobs and transformation.
SMMEs crucial to SA’s post-pandemic recovery – Busa (Eyewitness News)
Busa president Bonang Mohale has called on business, labour and the government to collaborate to boost small businesses SMMEs are crucial to South Africa’s post-pandemic recovery, says the new president of Business Unity SA (Busa) Bonang Mohale, who is also chancellor of the University of Free State. “The small business sector is in crisis. The small business sector has suffered huge job losses because of Coronavirus lockdowns and is an area where help is failing and where interventions need to be adjusted to have a rapid and significant effect.”
Communities are the Core of the SA Economy – Deputy Minister Gina (the dtic)
The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ms Nomalungelo Gina says communities are the core of the country’s economy and should play a key role in working together with businesses operating within the communities.
According to Gina, the recent looting in KwaZulu-Natal emphasised the need for both communities and businesses to work hand in hand to protect the economy and the infrastructure that brings both growth and employment in the area. “As government we have been given a mandate to restore and re-build the economy for all the communities that were affected by the recent looting and anarchy. We have a huge task to make sure the future of these local and township economies are protected and restored,” said Gina.
Lower import volumes push mitumba prices to new highs (Business Daily)
The average price of a tonne of second-hand clothing items imported into the country crossed the Sh100,000 mark for the first time last year on reduced volumes in the wake of safety protocols and guidelines to curb spread of coronavirus. Traders paid Sh100,527 on average per tonne of the used clothes, popularly called mitumba, compared to Sh96,286 the previous year. Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) banned importation of the clothes from late March through mid-August in a bid to contain the spread of the life-threatening coronavirus infections. Findings of the Economic Survey 2021 suggests dealers shipped in 121,778 tonnes of mitumba in 2020, a 34.02 percent fall compared with 2019 and the lowest volumes since 2015.
In imposing the temporary ban on used clothes, Kebs had applied a standard which prohibits buying second-hand clothes from countries experiencing epidemics to ensure disease-causing microorganisms are not imported into Kenya.
Higher quality and relatively lower prices for mitumba has continued to drive demand for used clothes at expense of locally-made products amid higher margins enjoyed by traders largely operating in informal markets.
Why food safety standards are important for Kenya’s exports (Nation)
Kenya is a major player in international food export, especially in horticulture produce such as vegetables and fruits. This means standards have always to be strictly observed across the value chains for produce to be accepted in both local and international markets.
Codex Alimentarius, also known as the ‘Food Code’, is a collection of standards, guidelines and codes of practice adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Recent studies have analysed the reasons for low productivity and competitiveness in these value chains such as the need of specialised extension services and lack of knowledge on appropriate good agricultural practices. These value chains for exports are also lacking compliance with market requirements and standards. The national quality infrastructure has an advanced quality infrastructure. However, some conformity assessment services are not yet fully recognised by the targeted international markets.
Revamped rail from Naivasha to Malaba nears completion (The Standard)
The linking of the rail transport between Kenya and Uganda will be completed in a month, a senior government official has said. Once linked, it will see the transportation of cargo from Mombasa to Naivasha done through the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), and later through the meter-gauge rail from Naivasha to Malaba. This came as the government announced plans to introduce a 24-hour service at the Port of Mombasa and the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Mai Mahiu, Naivasha. Principal Secretary for East African Community (EAC) Kevit Desai who visited the ICD in Mai Mahiu that has been operational since last year said the government was keen on a seamless transfer of cargo from Mombasa to Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. “The EAC is working on a seamless interconnectivity and this will be achieved in a month when works on the meter-gauge railway line are complete,” he told the press.
Governance of Uganda’s oil, gas and mining sector remains weak (The East African)
Despite improvements in the governance of Uganda’s natural resources, its nascent oil and gas sector — as well as that of mining — are still classified as weak, with widening gaps between the laws and practice, that could impact the country’s push for transparency, a new index reveals. The 2021 Resource Governance Index (RGI) released on September 2, shows Uganda scored 49 points — an improvement by five points in 2017 — in the petroleum sector, while in mining it registered 55 points.
In Tanzania, tackling markets to bolster small business (Trade for Development News)
The vast majority of those farming seaweed on the shores of Zanzibar are women. It is difficult labor that involves long hours in the water and heavy burdens. And, as water temperatures rise, people are forced to work farther and farther from land. The occupation has offered an economic benefit to many women and youth in Tanzania, who have been able to support their households with the income generated from selling their products to the market. With the seaweed industry a global business, a new partnership between the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is targeting this sector, along with four other agri-business value chains in the country, that can bring a host of benefits to women and youth through trade development. Here’s how.
Trade feud: GUTA calls for resumption of closure of Nigerian-owned retail shops (Class FM Online)
The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has appealed to the Committee on Foreign Retail Trade, to as a matter of urgency resume operations to close down shops of undocumented foreign retailers. GUTA’s resolution follows a move by the Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG) to reject the special dispensation granted them by the Government of Ghana despite a series of diplomatic efforts by both Ghana and Nigeria Governments. GUTA in a statement explained that in a joint committee meeting of Ghana and Nigeria, when the committee asked the leadership of the Nigerian traders to provide it with the data of their membership and other relevant documentation on their businesses to enable the committee to discuss the issue and make an informed decision in line with the committee’s terms of reference, the Nigerian traders asked for time to produce the documents, which was granted. At the meeting, however, the Nigerian traders failed to provide the needed information, and told the committee that they could not comply with the request of the joint committee.
COVID-19 erodes Ghana’s 20 years gains made in tourism (News Ghana)
Information available to Newsghana has it that gains made over the last two (2) decades in the tourism industry in Ghana were eroded whereas the global Travel and Tourism industry has been badly bruised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the Ghanaian destination raked in US$3.3 billion with a total of 1.3 million tourists arrivals by the end of 2019 according to the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA). However, the COVID-19 pandemic had reduced the gains made by two-thirds in 2020 and depressed the tourism value chain indicators. The industry requires a re-set and overhaul and demands innovation, technology application, and concerted efforts to turn it around. For Ghana to recover from the pandemic shocks, there is the need to increase the vaccination drive and to vaccinate two-thirds of the Ghanaian population for the development of “herd” immunity.
As the Travel and Tourism industry cannot return to pre-COVID-19 arrival levels until 2023 or later according to experts’ projection, domestic and regional tourism drive presents the only opportunity and, therefore, a magic wand to revolutionize and increase visitor numbers at the Ghanaian attractions.
Uncertainty trails Nigeria’s production despite OPEC projection (The Guardian Nigeria)
Nigeria’s capacity to improve its crude oil production despite a higher price regime, remains undermined by deteriorating production capacity and technical disruptions, even as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) adjusts global demand potential. OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), published yesterday, showed that Nigeria pumped 1.27 million barrels per day (mbpd) last month, lower than 1.38mbpd in July. Oil has continued to trade above $70 a barrel, with Nigeria unable to take advantage of the rally due to fuel subsidy and poor production capacity.
If Nigeria is able to ramp up crude oil sales to the 2022 assigned levels of 1.8 million barrels per day, the nation’s earnings might improve, inadvertently strengthening the stability of the exchange rate and ability to repay foreign loans.
Rat race for digital economy (The Nation Newspaper)
The stats are grim. Last year, the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said 40 per cent or 83 million Nigerians live in poverty. Although Nigeria’s poverty profile for this year has yet to been released, it is estimated that the number of poor people will increase to 90 million, or 45 per cent of the population, in 2022. Yet, it is the ambition of the Federal Government to lift 100 million people out of extreme poverty and also achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is believed that information communication technologies (ICTs) can help accelerate progress towards every single one of the 17 SDGs. To achieve meaningful development, ICT must be combined with innovative policies, services, and solutions. Most least developed countries are already recording impressive progress towards SDG 9, with significant impact in the areas of financial inclusion, poverty reduction and improved health.
Ethio-Kenya consultation on energy sector cooperation (borkena.com)
Ethiopia and Kenya are discussing cooperation in the energy sector. ENA, Ethiopian State Media, reported on Monday government authorities from the two countries met for consultation over partnership in the energy sector. Kenya’s Minister for Energy, Charles Keter, and Ethiopia’s Minister for Water, Irrigation and Energy, Seleshi Bekele led the discussion in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Mr. Charles Keter disclosed that the deliberation was on the issue of finalizing power exchange agreement between the two countries.
The electric power transmission project – a joint investment between the two countries that is believed to contribute to regional economic integration – is a US$1.3 project.
Egypt starts Industrial Modernization Centre restructure: Trade Minister (Daily News Egypt)
Nevine Gamea, Minister of Trade and Industry, announced the start of a comprehensive plan to restructure the Industrial Modernization Centre (IMC) with the aim of updating its regulations, and contractual and financial procedures, in order to achieve transparency and sustainability at the centre. She added that the restructuring also includes qualifying young employees to assume leadership positions within the centre.
Africa
Afreximbank rolls out tools to spur trade (The East African)
The African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) has rolled out infrastructure for use by both governments and private sector to increase intra-continent trade under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).One of the products is the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a centralised payment system to limit the cost and lengthy correspondent involved in banking relations and settlements. The bank considers it a simple, low-cost and risk-controlled payment clearing and settlement system. In a recent interview with The EastAfrican in Nairobi, the bank’s CEO Kanayo Awani said the participation and contribution of the Kenyan public and private sectors but especially women was key to the success of the AfCFTA is.
“Afreximbank wants to support Kenya address constraints to industrialisation by supporting infrastructure needs and facilitate the production of value-added exports and services,” said Awani. This will be done through development of agro-processing, light manufacturing and tradeable service sectors, while ensuring markets for the goods and services.
Osinbajo: Africa Has Prospect for Opportunities in Next 10 Years (THISDAY Newspapers)
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has declared that the next 10 years offers great opportunities for Africa’s socio-economic transformation anchored on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This target, he said, is realisable despite the monumental challenges posed by climate change, particularly energy transition and related issues. Advising African insurance practitioners to leverage opportunities in the AfCFTA, the Vice President stressed that every smart economic grouping, whether governments or businesses, must be thinking, planning and strategizing for the projected new times.
FG urges underwriters to key into AfCFTA to drive economic growth (The Guardian Nigeria)
The Federal Government has advised insurance companies in Nigeria to explore the huge opportunities in African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for market expansion and economic stability Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who addressed the insurance industry leaders at the just-concluded investiture of Tope Smart as the 47th African Insurance Organisation (AIO), stated that more trade in goods would translate to more underwriting businesses.
“The free trade agreement presents a major opportunity for African countries. By some estimates, if we get it right, we can bring several millions out of extreme poverty and raise the incomes of 68 million others who live on less than $5.5 per day. There are potential income gains of up to $450 billion as cutting red tapes and simplifying customs procedures alone could drive up to $250 billion,” he said.
Greening the African Continental Free Trade Area (Brookings Institution)
Trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) began earlier this year, with massive potential to boost inclusive economic growth and reduce inequality and poverty in Africa. Indeed, the World Bank predicts that 30 million Africans could be lifted out of extreme poverty, while incomes could rise by $450 billion by 2035. Exports could increase by $560 billion, while wages may increase by 10.3 percent and 9.8 percent for unskilled and skilled workers, respectively. The AfCFTA is not a panacea, though, and new complex challenges (e.g., COVID-19 and climate change) have exposed the vulnerability of social and economic systems across the world, highlighting their interconnectedness and emphasizing the need for collaboration around radical and sustainable solutions.
Thus, many experts believe that the AfCFTA can be an important tool as Africa looks to navigate these complex challenges. Indeed, in terms of addressing climate change-related challenges, the final negotiations over and implementation of the landmark trade agreement are creating opportunities to install and enforce new climate-friendly policies. For example, the AfCFTA can promote environmentally friendly protocols and e-commerce or advance the development of green value chains for minerals. Moreover, the momentum behind a climate-friendly AfCFTA can further bolster green industrialization and encourage investment in green infrastructure that will integrate climate risks and act as a buffer against current polluting infrastructure.
70% of Cross-Border Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa is propelled by Women – ECOWAS (GBC Ghana Online)
Director in charge of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, Bolanle Adetoun, has asserted that about 70% of the cross-border trade in the sub region is done by women, making them a critical factor in development discourse and action. She observed that cross-border trading by women provides livelihood for a lot of families in border communities. As such, strong efforts should be made to support such cross-border cooperation development initiatives to promote regional integration especially through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Initiative.
Finance Minister lauds ECOWAS Commission for production of Vision 2050 (BusinessGhana)
Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, has lauded the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission for producing the Draft ECOWAS Vision 2050, a successor to Vision 2020. He said ECOWAS Vision 2050 was a very important milestone in the Community’s journey to the realisation of “an integrated, peaceful and prosperous West Africa” by 2050. “It is also important that I congratulate all major actors in the region for the achievements and successes recorded during the implementation of the ECOWAS Vision 2020,” Mr Ofori-Atta said in a speech read on his behalf at the opening experts’ meeting to validate the Draft ECOWAS Vision 2050.
The Vision 2020, which had the ambition of transforming the Community from an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of Peoples expired last year. The Vision 2050 is, therefore, needed to provide the region with a new and a medium-term strategic plan that takes into account current development dynamics.
As part of its drive to address Africa’s vulnerability to climate risk, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has created an independent asset management arm, AFC Capital Partners, with a debut offering: the Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund (ICRF). AFC Capital Partners plans to raise US$500m in the next twelve months and US$2 billion over the next three years. The ICRF will act as a direct investor and a co-investment fund to enhance the quality of African ports, roads, bridges, rail, telecommunications, clean energy, and logistics in the face of rising temperatures and sea levels due to climate change.
The continent that has contributed the least to climate change is the most exposed because of housing, transport, industrial, and energy structures ill equipped to survive storms, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other hazards from extreme weather patterns. According to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, without urgent intervention, the cost of structural damage caused by natural disasters will increase to US$415 billion a year by 2030 from between US$250-300 billion now. Damage to rail tracks, roads, bridges, seaports, and power grids will add to an infrastructure deficit currently at US$130–170 billion per year. The UN Conference on Trade and Development estimated that a total of US$2.3 trillion worth of infrastructure is needed across Africa.
“Significant financing is urgently required to build physical infrastructure that will survive the forces of climate change,” said Ayaan. “The good news is that much of this investment is compatible with competitive returns for investors through leveraging the expertise, relationships, and blended finance models that have been tried and assessed for many years by Africa Finance Corporation.”
African countries face reduced remittances in 2021 (The East African)
African countries are staring at a significant decline in remittances from their citizens working abroad this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic that has seen many migrants lose jobs and others grapple with reduced incomes. This signals hardships to millions of African households that depend on their friends and relatives working abroad for a financial lifeline, with governments staring at declines in foreign exchange reserves. A new report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca) projects remittances—money sent by migrants back home—to drop by 5.4 percent to $41 billion in 2021 from $44 billion last year. The report, titled “African regional review of implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration”, shows that the bleak situation has been compounded by the high cost of sending money to Africa from abroad.
Measuring and evaluating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa became much easier as a group of regional UN entities launched the first online data portal that brings together statistical data harvested across all countries on the continent. Today, 17 regional UN entities, under the Africa Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP), unveiled the Africa UN Data for Development Platform. This is the first platform to serve as a one-stop-shop repository that captures high-quality data and evidence on the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs from all the African countries. It is also the first of its kind to raise the profile of statistical progress toward the African Union vision – Agenda 2063.
“With barely nine years left to achieve the SDGs, making use of common and harmonized data is essential to accelerate progress. The launch of this new platform marks a milestone in actions towards the Agenda 2030 and the African Union 2063 Agenda. Reliable and collective data will allow all actors to make the best possible evidence-based policy action to accelerate the SDGs, strengthen collaboration, avoid unnecessary duplication and make sure that we can address gaps, really leaving no one behind,” said Assistant Secretary-General Ahunna Eziakonwa, Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the UN Development Programme, who also serves as Vice-Chair of the Africa RCP, at the virtual launch event.
Africa’s journey to COP26 (Lexology)
In August 2021, the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report confirmed that human influence has undoubtedly warmed the climate system and raised the global surface temperature. The report, which is supported by the physical science of climate change, also confirmed that some changes which already affecting the climate system are irreversible. As in the rest of the world, climate change has, and will continue to have, a significant impact on African countries and the lives and livelihoods of Africans. Africa will be particularly affected given its lack of financial resources, technical capacity and infrastructure. Many Africans rely on ecosystem goods for livelihoods and the continent has less well developed agricultural production systems than more developed countries. According to the UNFCCC, some of the more serious changes include rainfall patterns, where droughts and flooding will have a direct impact on the viability of subsistence farming, and an increase in habitats hospitable to vectors of diseases such as dengue fever, malaria and yellow fever. The consequences of these changes will include increased competition for resources (specifically water and arable land), internal displacement, migration, poverty, and famine.
In an attempt to deal with the consequences of climate change, most African countries have signed and ratified the Paris Agreement. Africa’s historical contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has to date been less than the rest of the world’s (for example, in 2017 African CO2 emissions were just four per cent of global fossil fuel emissions). However, if the current projections population growth and urbanisation projections are correct, Africa’s emissions may rise by thirty percent in the next decade. These increased emissions will be contrary to the objectives envisaged under the Paris Agreement.
Stakeholders commit to inclusive approach to transforming African food systems (Tribune Online)
African leaders have renewed their commitment to adopt a more holistic and inclusive approach to food systems in the continent to better tackle hunger, poverty and improve nutrition while conserving natural resources. The declaration was made at the conclusion of the 2021 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit, which convened more than 8,000 delegates from 103 countries, including six African Heads of State, 20 ministers, global business leaders, farmers, private agribusiness firms, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, scientists, and international development partners.
Oil, gas, mining… Africa’s inherited colonial borders that fuel discord (The Africa Report)
According to the African Union (AU), only a third of African borders have been precisely defined and materialised. At issue are the maps with approximate outlines, left by colonists at the time of independence, which are open to interpretation. This is the case in the Gulf of Guinea, where the question of maritime borders became thorny from 1990 onwards, when hydrocarbon deposits were discovered there, which provoked a race to appropriate the various seas between the countries in the area.
Africa set to become global climate migration ‘hotspot’ (Engineering News)
A new World Bank report warns that sub-Saharan African could make up 86-million of the world’s 216-million climate migrants by 2050, while North Africa could have the largest share of internal climate migrants relative to total population. Titled ‘Groundswell’, the report updates and expands on modelling contained in a 2018 report by the same name.
Nigeria, ECOWAS, AU should team up to boost food security - Gov Bagudu – The Sun Nigeria
Kebbi State Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has said Nigeria should pursue collaboration with the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and the Africa Union (AU) to boost food security and industrialisation across the continent.
According to the governor: ‘We have been talking about solving about Nigeria problems, without solving West Africa countries problems. You can’t solve West African countries problems without solving African Nations problems. That Africa as the continent is smaller in population than two counties in the world. ‘This is enough message to all of us that we can complement ourselves rather than compete with each other and we would all be better for it.’
He added that based on past experience, it is possible for yields to double within the shortest period, stressing that African nations have the knowledge, technologies and ideas they could share among themselves for rapid development.
The 8th COMESA Annual Research Forum gets Underway (COMESA)
The 8th COMESA Annual Research Forum began today with close to 100 participants from the regional governments, the academia, think tanks and the private sector attending. The forum will discuss emerging topical issues in regional integration under the theme: Rethinking Trade and Doing Business in the Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic”.
Ms Kapwepwe said the theme of the forum is inspired by the fundamental need to build resilience around productivity, productive capacities and sustained regional trade even amid the worst of shocks. “Indeed, enhancing regional trade remains a key strategy to recovery of our economies. But the conduct of trade must shift away from the “business as usual” to take a new path guided by the dictates of the 4th Industrial revolution bolstered by policies to encourage innovation and integration to propel the region into new frontiers of business and human development,” she said.
China-Africa trade soars in 2021 (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)
Trade between China and Africa soared by 40.5 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2021, hitting a record high of $139.1 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said.
Qian Keming, vice-minister of commerce, told a news conference in Beijing that African products have enjoyed increasing recognition in the Chinese market, with imports from Africa increasing by 46.3 percent to $59.3 billion during the January-July period. In addition, imports of agricultural produce such as rubber, cotton and coffee doubled over the same period last year.
He noted the rebound in foreign direct investment in Africa and the deepened infrastructure cooperation showed Chinese investors’ strong confidence in Africa.
International
Container Control Programme launches pioneering Women’s Professional Development Programme (WCO)
The UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme Women’s Network launched its professional development training course for women Customs officers by organizing its first edition online from 2 to 27 August 2021
Addressing the training participants, John Brandolino, UNODC Director for Treaty Affairs said: “When women lead, we all win. I am sure you agree that it is time for a reset. The UNODC is listening to you, and we are committed to empowering more women to lead.” The Deputy Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, Ricardo Treviño Chapa, added that “we all agree that, over the decades, women have proven their competencies and qualifications to manage Customs activities both at the operational and managerial levels. However, we still need to do more progress. We are aware that Customs, similarly to other national law enforcement agencies, is still very much a male-dominated profession.”
Global chem industry proposes WTO reforms to lower trade barriers (ICIS)
A group representing the world’s chemical trade organisations is urging the World Trade Organization (WTO) to adopt policies and reforms that would clear up trade barriers and make it easier for countries to buy and sell the materials critical for everything from automobiles to healthcare to sustainability. The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) outlined the proposals in a consensus paper it released on Monday. “No one has seen an entire global industry coalesce around clear actions for the WTO membership quite like this before,” according to a statement by Lisa Schroeter, global director of trade and investment policy at Dow and chair of ICCA’s Trade Policy Network.
The ICCA released its position paper at a time when the flow of trade goods is already being constrained by factors outside of WTO policy. Shipping rates have soared, causing global markets to splinter into regional ones. The coronavirus pandemic has restricted production at manufacturing plants and activity at ports. Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Ida shut down chemical plants in the US that supplied goods to markets around the world. Regarding sustainability, one challenge is the existence of conflicting regulations among trade partners, said Alejandra Acosta, former regulatory official with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Argentina. In other instances, environmental policy is lacking.
Is unconventional monetary policy reaching its limits? (United Nations)
Since the onset of the pandemic, central banks around the world have deployed massive stimulus to limit the economic damage and support the recovery. Just like after the global financial crisis of 2007–08, unconventional monetary policy measures have played a crucial role in the response to COVID-19. Developed country central banks have purchased trillions worth of securities through quantitative easing programs, leading to an unprecedented expansion of their balance sheets. At the same time, the pandemic has marked a turning point for monetary policy among developing countries. Many central banks have for the first time used asset purchase programmes, aiming to tackle market dysfunctionality and boost confidence. While disentangling the effects of quantitative easing from those of other policy actions is difficult, the programs appear to have been relatively successful at times of severe financial distress. During the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 crisis, the massive asset purchases by developed country central banks helped mitigate the most adverse feedback loops between financial markets and the real economy by providing liquidity and suppressing long-term yields. Similarly, the asset purchases in developing countries seem to have contributed to stabilizing distressed bond markets in the early stages of the pandemic.
China’s Global Network of Shipping Ports Reveal Beijing’s Strategy (VOA Asia)
A powerhouse in global trade, China has more shipping ports at home than any other country. Key investments add about another 100 ports in at least 60 nations. And Beijing is looking for more.
Another gigantic Chinese shipping company, COSCO Shipping, is poised to expand its footprint in Europe by taking a stake in the port of Hamburg. Negotiations have been reportedly going well, and a deal is expected soon.
If COSCO succeeds, it would be the company’s eighth port investment in Europe. The state-owned company’s previous investment involves the acquisition of Greece’s Port of Piraeus, one of the world’s most important shipping centers located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The Chinese government does not have an official platform summarizing the overall data for China’s overseas port projects, but publicly available information shows that Beijing now has a foothold in at least 100 ports in 63 countries.
Aviation will soar high again (The Standard)
Cargo is expected to remain a strong business for airlines with Capacity Ton-Kilometres (CTKs) projected to grow by 13.1 per cent. Aviation is among the few delicate sectors that folded first and are likely to be among the last sectors of the economy to emerge from the Covid-19 induced coma. For more than 12 months now, aviation has faltered upon great turbulence that has been characterised largely by images of parked aircraft on runways and empty check-in (and check out lobbies) at airports. Despite the catastrophe, the sector is poised to come back to life by building back better, just like any other part of the economic pie. According to an April report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines across the world posted net losses of 126.4 billion dollars last year on the back of the greatest depression for the industry in modern history.
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National
How the South African government can boost its credibility in the agricultural sector (The Conversation)
Governments can build credibility over time through consistent commitment to implementing policies efficiently and effectively. South Africa hasn’t done well on this score. As a result of the poor record of policy implementation, investors and the general public have become sceptical of government policy pronouncements. Recent examples of this credibility gap include its handling of two major policy initiatives. The first is the National Development Plan launched in 2012. The second is the National Treasury’s 2019 economic policy paper titled “Economic transformation, inclusive growth, and competitiveness: Towards an Economic Strategy for South Africa”. Neither was ever fully implemented. Once unveiled, it was up to government departments to pull ideas from them to enhance their strategies. But this wasn’t done.
The factors that lie behind poor policy implementation are varied and complex. They range from conflicting ideologies, a lack of capacity within the state and its institutions, corruption, and poor governance at local municipalities. But the government seems to be waking up to the fact that the key to success is public policy implementation. Take the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan launched in October 2020. The plan is focused on energy security, infrastructure development, green economy, food security, and the tourism sector, among others. Unlike the slow policy implementation observed over the past decade, government has followed through with reforms in the energy sector. It is worth highlighting that this is a sector that was already beset by crisis.
Namibia’s exports dropped by almost 50% (The Namibian)
According to the country’s latest trade statistics from the Namibia Statistics Agency, it stood at N$9,4 billion in June. Meanwhile, the country’s import bill stood at N$7,9 billion, a 23,1% decline, further translating to a deficit of N$3,2 billion. The drop in the value of exports is due to at least 41,2% less copper being exported over the review period. According to the trade statistics released yesterday, the widening trade deficit from N$902 million in June 2021 was due to a decline in the exportation of mineral products and fish.
The country’s imports from Asia, Africa and the United States all fell, but importing from Europe increased. The value of goods bought from Europe rose by N$651 million to N$1 billion, whereas Namibia’s exports to the continent decreased by N$88 million.
“Commodities from our local mines constitute about 60% of total exports. Standard trade theory would recommend that Namibia focuses on its comparative advantage and the resources which are in abundant supply. Given that labour, which is unskilled to a great extent, is in abundant supply, Namibia should focus on processes and activities which make extensive use of labour,” says Simonis Storm.
Agriculture posts second best growth in five years (Business Daily)
Agriculture posted a 4.8 percent growth last year, its second-best in five years, on improved demand for produce, defying the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that the sector growth increased by 2.2 percentage points from 2.6 percent in 2019. “Real gross value added of the sector grew by 4.8 percent in 2020 compared to a revised growth of 2.6 percent in 2019. This was mainly on account of favourable weather conditions in 2020 which improved production of food crops such as beans, rice, sorghum and millet and, livestock and related products such as milk and meat,” said bureau said in its Economic Survey 2021 report that was released Thursday. According to KNBS, the output of some key food crops was lower than the projected production partly due to underperformance of the short rains as well as reduced demand from restaurants and learning institutions that remained closed for a significant part of 2020.
Kenya rebases its contracted economy, pushing GDP up $4b (The East African)
The annual economic performance data released last week by the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani shows that the private sector terminated 206,700 jobs as part of cost cutting measures, with the informal sector letting go a massive 493,300 employees. The public sector however hired 19,400 more workers during the period, according to the delayed Economic Survey (2021).”Full resumption of activities in the education sector and the hotel industry that were almost halted for the better part of 2020, is likely to significantly boost the growth. Other key sectors like manufacturing and transportation are likely to rebound and support the country’s economic growth,” said Mr Yatani. During the period, the National Treasury rebased the country’s economy by changing the base year to 2016 from 2009 thereby pushing the nominal GDP upwards by 4.84 percent to Ksh10.75 trillion ($97.72 billion) from Ksh10.25 trillion($93.18 billion) in 2019. But the revising and the rebasing of the National accounts which started in 2017 could not neutralise the glaring impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, whose cases had reached over 214,783 last week and claimed over 4,830 lives.
Uganda’s chocking debt – Government granted 650 billion dollars from IMF for covid 19 and economic recovery (Capital Radio)
Civil society organizations under the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) Uganda are advising the Government to seek debt relief from her creditors to save resources necessary to fight the pandemic. This comes at the time when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decides to issue new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to a tune of $650 billion USD to help address member countries’ liquidity challenges and enable them finance the fight against the COVID19 pandemic and support national recovery efforts because according to World Bank the pandemic pushed the country to a standing 11 million people into poverty. This is in response to the Covid pandemic disruption that has greatly affected the country’s domestic revenue collections with the finance ministry registering a shortfall of over Shs. 2.4 trillion in revenue collections within the previous financial year. According to SEATINI, the situation has pushed the government to borrow heavily with the country’s debt burden growing to over 70 trillion shillings in June 2021 from 65.8 trillion in June 2020.
Infrastructure Diplomacy: Uganda Acquires Strategic Land at Port Tanga for Oil Business (ChimpReports)
Uganda has acquired prime land in Tanga, Tanzania, where its officials will be stationed to facilitate oil business between the two countries. The move is aimed at strengthening Uganda’s infrastructure diplomacy in the East African region and Southern Africa. “Yes, it is true, our Mission requested and acquired this strategic land at Tanga where the East African crude oil export pipeline will terminate,” said Uganda’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Amb Richard Kabonero when contacted by ChimpReports on Sunday morning.
Sudan, South Sudan resume trade activity (Al-Monitor)
As part of efforts to bolster peace between Sudan and South Sudan, the two governments last month signed a series of agreements on resuming trade and increasing cooperation in transportation and security. The signing came during a three-day visit by Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to Juba on Aug. 21, during which he met with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and other officials. Hamdok led a delegation including the ministers of defense, trade, transportation and foreign affairs, in addition to a number of senior officials from Khartoum. Prior to the South Sudanese secession in 2011, many basic commodities used to be transported from the northern to the southern parts of the same country. Sudanese economist Mohamed al-Nayer told Al-Monitor the situation is different now. Had the two countries started trade exchange immediately after the secession 10 years ago, significant economic growth would have been achieved in the two countries if also based on sound foundations, he said, expecting the volume of trade exchange between the two countries to exceed $2 billion per year.
Nayer said the next steps include opening branches of Sudanese banks on the borderline and in areas between the two countries to ensure the revenues from the imports and exports are included in the trade balance between the two countries.
Africa
African Countries Need to Focus on Diversification to Transform Economies, Says Expert (the dtic)
Lead Economist at the African Development Bank Group, Dr George Kararach says African countries need to devise and implement a long term diversification strategy in order to attain the transformation of their economies. Kararach was speaking during the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s (the dtic) Trade and Investment Knowledge Network Dialogue, which was held virtually in partnership with Brand South Africa.
Kararach said for too long now, efforts to expand trade and investment in Africa, had been geared towards primary commodities rather than diversification. He added that more work needed to be done by governments in the continent to foster an environment that prioritises the development of human and social capital. “Such an environment would encourage individuals and organisations to develop their own capacities to actively participate in the global economy. African countries need to encourage the emergence of quality institutions to ensure the effective implementation of sustainable trade and investment programmes and policies through reforms in areas such as education, tax and labour regulations, as well as financial sector among others,” said Kararach.
The Director of Export Development, Promotion and Outward Investments at the dtic, Mr Thulani Mpetsheni told the meeting that global economic recovery would be accelerated by population vaccination. He presented findings of a recent study commissioned by the dtic which revealed that South Africa’s exports declined at an average of 2.2% between 2010 and 2019 with mining, beneficiation, automotive, chemicals and plastics as the key export sectors.
“South Africa is only outperforming global competitors in only two sectors, chemicals and oceans industry with Compound Annual Growth Rate of 1.5% and 7.6% respectively. South Africa needs to identify key markets and establish superior value propositions for its exports to out-compete other countries,” he added.
Africa Must Transit to A Manufacturing Hub to Make AfCFTA Effective (Proshare Nigeria)
The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will only succeed if the continent transits to a manufacturing hub. Mr. Charles Robertson, the Chief Global Economist, Renaissance Capital, highlighted this while examining "Prospects for Growth and Stability in Sub-Saharan Africa Beyond 2021".
He argued that without manufacturing activities, the AFCFTA will only be helpful to the African region in terms of investments but cannot serve as a gamechanger for the economies. "Africa should explore public-private partnership models and investment opportunities that can transform critical sectors like the electricity sector, to drive a productive economy", Robertson added.
Tanzania, Burundi join EAC member states in AfCFTA deal (The Star, Kenya)
East African Community Secretary General Peter Mathuki has hailed Burundi and Tanzania for ratifying the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).Burundi ratified the AfCFTA on June 17, while Tanzania endorsed on September 9. So far, 42 countries have ratified the AfCFTA that seeks to boost intra-African trade. Mathuki said that the AfCFTA would allow East Africans to access a large continental market and increase EAC’s exports to African countries outside the bloc.
“It will also improve movement of people across Africa, advance trade and development aspirations and ultimately put the region in a better position to trade more with the rest of the world,” said Mathuki. He further disclosed that the EAC had initiated a number of steps towards the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement, adding that the ratification by Burundi and Tanzania would expedite the implementation of the agreement. Other EAC Partner States that have ratified the agreement are Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
South Sudan has signed the AfCFTA but is yet to ratify it. “We have also prepared a draft strategy for the implementation of the Agreement, which takes into account the need for capacity building. It is presently under consideration by the Partner States,” said Mathuki. “Further, we are also fully involved in negotiations on the outstanding areas such as Rules of Origin, Trade in services as well as the phase II issues on investment, competition, intellectual property rights and e-commerce.
Nigeria: AFCFTA: CICAN cautions FG against making Nigeria dumping ground for foreign goods (Nigerian Tribune)
The Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria, (CICAN), Abuja has expressed concern over the possible economic sabotage the African Continental Free Trade Area may cause Nigeria if the country’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is not repositioned for increased productivity. Speaking in Abuja, the Chairman of CICAN, Mr Fred Idehai advised the federal government against making Nigeria a dumping ground as a result of AFCFTA, calling on stakeholders in the economic sector to support SMEs as a way of repositioning the nation’s economy.
ECOWAS Member States meet to review development of the African Trade Observatory (ECOWAS)
The ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC), organized the 2nd virtual Regional Workshop on the African Trade Observatory (ATO) on 8 September 2021 for Experts from Ministries of Trade and National Statistics Agencies, as well as representatives of Customs Authorities to review status of development of the Observatory. The African Trade Observatory, is one of the five African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) operational instruments along with the rules of origin; the online negotiating forum; the monitoring and elimination of non-tariff barriers; and the digital payment system, that was launched at the African Union 12th Extraordinary Summit held in July 2019 in Niamey – Niger.
This second regional meeting on the African Trade Observatory provided an update on the operational development of the observatory. During the meeting, ITC provided participants with an overview of the observatory, including its main features and how national experts can engage with the platform.
The African Trade Observatory seeks to provide real-time and reliable data, as well as equip African businesses with trade intelligence on trends, opportunities, and market access conditions. Furthermore, the ATO Monitor module, empowers government agencies and policymakers in monitoring the AfCFTA implementation process and evaluating its impact on their economies. The African Trade Observatory has four main features including Automatic data transfer system; the Monitor module; the Business intelligence dashboard and the trade analysis unit. The West African Trade & Competitiveness Observatory being developed by the ECOWAS Commission in collaboration by ITC, under the framework of the West African Competitiveness Programme, which is financed by the European Union, will further compliment the functions of the ATO.
Africa must find solution to political unrest to guarantee AfCFTA’s success – Dr Osei-Assibey (BusinessGhana)
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, over recent political unrest and its impact on the implementation of the AfCFTA, Dr Osei-Assibey said such conflicts would have a ripple effect on the Agreement as they posed major threats to free trade and dampen investor confidence.
“It is obviously a problem having this kind of geopolitical tension across borders because the uncertainties that it creates in the minds of investors and businesses is enormous. Obviously, nobody wants to do business in an environment that has heightened tension and risk and therefore it is definitely going to have a militating effect on our competitiveness, our ability to compete effectively with our peers across the continent and region,” he noted.
Dr Osei-Assibey, who is also the Dean of International Programmes at the University, urged continental and regional bodies including, the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to proffer stiffer punishment to such countries to serve as deterrent to other member states. “This would ensure stability, enhance trading activities and boost investor confidence. He said it was a problem, which one would have expected that given the increasing democratization in recent time, the sub-region was going to see a much more deepening in the consolidation of our democracy but from nowhere there was an upsurge in some of these political upheavals, coup d’etats, takeovers and all of which obviously took away the efforts that had been put in over the years.
Digital infrastructure key to boosting African economic development (MENAFN.COM)
Building a comprehensive digital infrastructure is imperative to realizing Africa’s enormous economic potential, according to a senior advisor from the International Trade Centre – the joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations.
“Making e-commerce a success on the African continent is challenging. Approximately, only 11% of platforms in Africa take electronic payments, and others deal in cash,” James Howe, Senior Advisor at the International Trade Centre, explained today at the inaugural Egypt-International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF) in Cairo, launched by the country’s Ministry of International Cooperation.
Howe added that through trust, the continent’s digital development will be accelerated. “The single biggest challenge is trust – a commodity in short supply. It is important to develop trust to address issues on the continent, and this will help facilitate an environment for e-commerce in Africa,” he elaborated at a workshop entitled ‘Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Prospects and Challenges of Digital Trade for the Private Sector’ at the start of the second day of the Egypt-ICF.
AfCFTA widens e-commerce opportunity for regional businesses (The Herald)
THE African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents a window of opportunity for regional businesses and public entities to harness widening digital or electronic trading gains. Electronic commerce has recently become a huge part of the global economy with businesses riding on digital resources to sell their products or services online.
With so many people migrating to online and projected to make their purchases remotely, experts view e-commerce as the fastest-growing retail market. The operationalisation of the AfCFTA in January this year has come in handy for those businesses with a keen focus on digital trading.
How social media is powering Africa’s small businesses (Business Daily)
Social media platforms are accelerating economic growth and opportunity across the continent, a new study by Genesis Analytics has shown. The independent study aimed at exploring the impact of the digital economy on small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) was conducted in eight African countries – Kenya, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Mauritius. The survey explored the adoption and use of social media and messaging platforms; value to SMBs; barriers to usage; and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The focus was on the Facebook company technologies, being Facebook app, Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger. The report shows that surveyed SMBs that use the Facebook apps have younger employees with an average share of 45 percent of employees under 30. Additionally, SMBs using Facebook apps reported a higher frequency of being owned by women, while SMBs in the manufacturing sector ranked the ability to access new foreign markets as the most beneficial advantage of the apps.
Start-ups in Africa look to AfCFTA for funding growth (The Citizen)
African start-ups are beginning to see the opening up of the world’s largest single market - the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) – as more and more of an opportunity to raise seed funding and support regional growth – and a recent report says the trend is likely to continue as the AfCTFA gains ground. The African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association highlights AfCFTA’s potential to deliver high-value investment deals for local start-ups with a presence in multiple regions, in their report. “Multi-region VC deals continue to account for the largest share of deals by value, and this trend will likely persist as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) gains traction, enabling regional integration and consequently supporting startups with a multi-region focus in Africa,” said the association in a report, Venture Capital in Africa.
‘African airlines to lose $8.2b’ (The Nation)
The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has forecast an $8.2 billion revenue loss for carriers on the continent in the year. The loss, according to the continental body, is 47.2 per cent of the full year revenue for carriers in 2019. The report came just as AFRAA released updates for the eighth month of the year, indicating that air passenger traffic reached 46.8 per cent compared to the same month in 2019 while capacity pegged at 54.6 per cent. Last year, African airlines made a cumulative loss of $10.21billion, that is, 58.8 per cent of 2019 revenue.
Transporters say Northern Corridor is a non-trade barrier (The East African)
The Northern Corridor, a lifeline of the region, is continuously facing challenges that affect cross border trade, slowing down commerce and causing shocks to economies struggling to recover from effects of the pandemic. South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya are still working through the recent resumption of cargo trucks movement to Juba following weeks of blockade. But just as soon, this month, South Sudan asked the Uganda Revenue Authority to start implementing the Electronic Cargo Traffic Note Certificates (ECTN), adding another layer of costly regulation to be borne by importers and transporters, increasing the cost of using the Northern Corridor. This means all goods destined for South Sudan and the DR Congo from either the port of Mombasa or Dar es Salaam through the border points of Kenya and Uganda will have to be issued an Electronic Cargo Traffic Note Certificates at a minimum cost of $75 for both exports and imports.
African bank grants $50m for women projects in EAC (The Citizen)
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has earmarked $50 million for women business projects in the eastern Africa region. This was revealed this week by the regional director of the continental bank during his visit to the East African Community (EAC) and affiliated bodies in Arusha.
Mr Cheptoo Kipronoh who heads AfDB operations in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Seychelles said this was part of a wider support to the region. “Some $50 million have been earmarked to support women in business,” he said during his visit to the East African Business Council (EABC) head offices.
What DRC brings to the EAC table (Business Daily)
The Democratic Republic Of Congo (DRC) is a large country with a population of 90 million people and it is one of the biggest countries in Africa .It is a country well-endowed with natural resources and has the world’s second largest rain forest. The DRC has applied to join the East African Community (EAC) and is slated to become the EAC’s seventh member after Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Burundi. Before the DRC can fully join the EAC there is a verification process which has been completed and thereafter a presentation to the EAC heads of state for acceptance. The pending acceptance of DRC into the EAC has many benefits to countries in the region, the DRC and Kenya in particular. Regional blocs operate on the principle of liberalisation of the market and removal of market barriers. Liberalisation has the effect of opening up markets to fair competition. This in the long run is good both for regional trade and the consumers.
Tanzania has a unique position for Agri trade in the region (The Citizen)
Tanzania is East Africa’s food forte. That is how it was seen during the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) 2021 Summit in Nairobi held between 7-10 September, which sought to highlight pathways to recovery and a resilient food systems. Only recently this year the government started buying maize (the main staple food in East Africa) from farmers because the precious commodities was produced in surplus and there was no adequate local market.
Faith groups lead call to defund industrial agriculture in Africa (Devex)
An alliance of faith-based and civil society groups working for food sovereignty and sustainability in Africa called on donors to stop funding the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and other programs that promote industrialized agriculture on the continent. This week, AFSA delivered a letter — endorsed by international organizations — to AGRA donors, saying “AGRA has unequivocally failed in its mission to increase productivity and incomes and reduce food insecurity,” and stated in a press release that AGRA “does not speak for African small-scale farmers.”
Time to move up the food chain (The Southern Times)
In a paper published by the respected journal Nature, Emmanuel Margolin, Wendy Burgers and Edward Sturrock et al (“Prospects for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines in Africa”), a strong case is made to develop Africa’s pharmaceutical capacity. By providing empirical evidence of how the pandemic has spread across the continent and how access to vaccines remains the elephant in the room, the researchers make it clear that the only sustainably future for Africa’s health and socio-economic wellbeing is by upgrading the continental pharmaceutical value chain. They write, “Clearly, there is an urgent need for capacity development and the available resources should focus on solutions that are specific to the needs of the continent. For example, there is an urgent need to inexpensively manufacture viral antigens for serological testing…
“Appropriate manufacturing partnerships need to be established to produce vaccines that could be tested and licensed on the continent, to limit reliance on global initiatives that may be overwhelmed by the global demand for a vaccine. In fact, this may present an opportunity for governments to finally invest in much-needed cGMP-compliant vaccine manufacturing facilities.
Region shows it means business (The Southern Times)
A new report by Knowledge Executive says SADC member states will play a major role in Africa’s global business services and business process outsourcing (GBS/BPO) growth, which is expected to reach almost US$20 billion by 2023. According to the research, five African countries are positioned as maturing and emerging GBS/BPO locations: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda and Botswana. The report says apart from South Africa and Botswana, other SADC countries to watch out for are Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
“Notably, the combined African domestic and international GBS/BPO sector is estimated to be US$15.1 billion and is expected to grow to US$19.8 billion by 2023,” the report says.
Knowledge Executive says According to the report, Egypt has the second largest GBS/BPO market share in Africa, valued at over US$4 billion (excluding IT services), which operates within Africa’s second-largest economy (GDP of $363 billion).
Africa’s largest economy by GDP (US$448 billion), Nigeria, boasts of the continent’s largest ICT sector, which serves as the foundation for developing the country’s GBS/BPO industry, which is valued at an estimated US$286.8 million with 16,540 workers.
The case for a SADC Fund (The Southern Times)
Southern Africa’s ability to be the main driver and funder of its own integration, development and growth agenda is one of the imperatives for the region to attain its goals as envisaged in SADC Vision 2050. The region envisions “a peaceful, inclusive, competitive, middle-to high-income industrialised region, where all citizens enjoy sustainable economic wellbeing, justice and freedom” in the next 30 years. One of the key targets in pursuit of this objective is acceleration of resource mobilisation and putting in place of mechanisms “to shift away from a previous reliance on international cooperating partners towards a more diversified approach that is better integrated and complementary”.
For the region’s long-term desire to come to life, it therefore becomes imperative for all SADC member states to fully support the SADC Regional Development Fund (SADC RDF). Proposed nearly a decade ago, the SADC RDF is a self-financing and revolving mechanism intended to end the reliance on external support to drive its development agenda. The Fund will provide a window for financing economic development and sustainable growth through supporting regional infrastructure development, industrial development, integration and economic adjustment as well as social development at concessionary rates.
Mining Opportunities in SADC will Favour those in the Know (Energy Capital & Power)
With mining seeing a more sustained improvement in many Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, fortune will favour those miners and supply partners with experience on the ground. It has been an encouraging few months for mining in the region. While the annual growth figures for March and April this year were expected – as they were off a low base from the COVID-19 lockdowns last year – the positive trend has continued from June. Strong commodities include iron ore, platinum group metals, gold, manganese, copper and cobalt, benefiting the economies especially of South Africa and Zambia Improving prospects for diamonds, uranium and coal also make for some optimism in countries like Botswana, Namibia and Angola. In the longer term, there is a hopeful outlook for platinum and other minerals in Zimbabwe. The key to mining success in the region, however, lies not with commodity prices; these will always be cyclical and unpredictable. It resides really in the institutionalised knowledge of the companies that operate here, and their understanding of how to respond constructively to the prevailing conditions and future trends.
Remittance to Africa Projected to Decrease in 2021 (Africanews)
Remittances to African countries are expected to decrease by 5.4 percent from $44 billion in 2020 to a projected total of $41 billion in 2021, due to the effects of Covid 19 pandemic, according to findings of Continental Migration Report 2021. The report titled, “African regional review of implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,” was produced by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC). It builds from four sub-regional reports compiled by AUC and a summary from stakeholder consultations at the just concluded 2021 African regional review meeting on the Global Compact for migration (August 26 to September 1, Morocco ).
The African Union 6th Pan African Forum on Migration kicks off in Dakar | African Union
The African Union (AU) in collaboration with the Republic of Senegal, with support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Labour Organization (ILO), today launched the 6th Pan African Forum on Migration (PAFOM6) in Dakar under the theme: “Strengthening Labor Migration Governance in Africa in the context of a pandemic for accelerated socioeconomic development and continental Integration” to provide a more focused engagement with all relevant Migration stakeholders including Regional Economic Communities (RECs), AU Member States, private sector, academia, parliamentarians, African diaspora community and civil society organizations in Africa and to discuss among others; achievements and challenges of free movement of persons regimes in Africa and examine the urgency to promote effective labour migration governance.
The PAFOM6 was opened officially by H.E. Madame Aïssata TALL SALL, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad, the Republic of Senegal, in the presence of H. E. Moise SARR, the State Secretary in charge of Senegalese Abroad. H.E. Madame Aïssata TALL SALL thanked the AU Commission for organizing the Pan African Forum on Migration and welcomed on behalf of His Excellency Macky SALL, President of the Republic, all participants to the meeting. She further highlighted the need to strengthen governance of labor migration framework in Africa through measures to be adopted towards socio-economic development and the acceleration of continental integration. “Indeed, the integration of migrant workers in development would promote the development of skills and the establishment of linkages that create values”, said Madame Aïssata TALL SALL.
The Minister concluded by calling upon AU Member States to support Senegal during the one-year Chairmanship period for PAFOM to address common concerns related to the migration issues.
‘Huge opportunities’ for Singapore businesses in Africa: Experts (CAN)
Singapore-based artificial intelligence startup Sqreem was already present in South Africa, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. As such, it was able to leverage on technologies it had been working on since 2014 to develop a real-time contact tracing and COVID-19 communication system for the South African government. “We built a COVID-19 tracking and tracing platform, and then we introduced it to some of the companies which were working for the South African government in contact tracing,” said Mr Ian Chapman-Banks, CEO of Sqreem Technologies.
Africa as a continent offers businesses many digital opportunities. The mobile phone opened up opportunities for banking, money transfers and payments on the continent. According to the African Development Bank, 20 per cent of Africa’s 1.4 billion population owns mobile accounts. Eighty per cent of SMEs have mobile accounts, which allow them to make digital payments. It is estimated that only about a third of those mobile phones are smartphones, so there is potential for further growth in the sector. “They leapfrogged to mobile, but only about 35 per cent to 40 per cent of those mobile phones are smartphones. And I think that as you get more cheap mobile phones and smartphones, that again will increase,” said Mr V Shankar, CEO of Gateway Partners.
International
New gamified digital tool showcases UNCTAD’s work on global goals | UNCTAD
A collaboration between UNCTAD and SAP has yielded a new digital tool for exploring how UNCTAD’s daily work contributes to sustainable development. The Wheel of Purpose, launched today, puts sustainability and learning side-by-side in a digital environment. Powered by SAP’s software, the Wheel of Purpose encourages a global audience to spin a digital wheel and take a quiz on UNCTAD’s work related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Players must then select the correct answer to a question posed about the SDGs. The wheel is a new tool for sustainable development communications, says UNCTAD. “Sustainable development is a complex challenge, but it is a responsibility shared by everyone,” said Arlette Verploegh, UNCTAD chief of communications and external relations. “We need tools that humanize and explain different pathways to sustainability. The Wheel of Purpose does that. Applied to UNCTAD’s work, it showcases what we do in a simple, gamified way. The wheel is at once educational and inspirational to our audiences and reinforces our commitment to the 2030 Agenda.”
Guterres: South-South cooperation ‘more essential than ever’ (UN News)
Speaking at the event, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that ”as the world seeks to ramp up COVID-19 response and recovery and tackle the existential threat of climate change, South-South and triangular cooperation is more essential than ever.” The initiative comes just two days before the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, marked on 12 September.
António Guterres called the COVID-19 pandemic ”the most complex immediate challenge facing our world and it is undermining hard won social, economic and environmental gains.”
“Throughout the pandemic, countries of the Global South have shared their knowledge and resources to support response and recovery efforts. But, together, we must do much more,” he said.
BRICS bank aiming to be the premier institution for developing nations (IOL)
The first expansion of the BRICS bank to now include the UAE, Bangladesh and Uruguay sets the bank on a growth trajectory that will give the Developing World more choices in terms of financing. The New Development Bank (NDB) was always intended to offer an alternative to the Western-led development banks, specifically the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The objective was to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects for emerging economies and developing countries. The NDB’s strategy is to be positioned as the premier development institution for emerging economies.
At the 6th Summit of the BRICS bloc of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in July 2014, the bloc agreed to create a “BRICS Bank” as an alternative to the unchallenged dominance of the World Bank and the IMF. BRICS member states saw the establishment of their bank as providing them leverage to urge reform of the IMF as well as impact broader global economic issues and the leadership of international organisations such the World Trade Organization.
To date, the NDB has provided financing to its five member states, and has an authorised capital of $100 billion (about R1.4 trillion), which is open for subscription by members of the UN. Since its founding in 2015, the NDB has signed onto more than 80 projects worth $30bn. The projects cover sector of transport, water and sanitation, clean energy, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure and urban development.
BRICS Women’s Business Alliance: Need for Credit Guarantee Fund, VC Fund to support women entrepreneurs (The Financial Express)
The BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, which aims at promoting women’s economic participation and empowerment in BRICS countries, has recommended the five partner nations to explore setting up of a Credit Guarantee Fund to address challenges around access to credit and financial or digital literacy faced by women entrepreneurs. The alliance in its report, which was presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by BRICS India chapter Chairperson and Joint Managing Director at Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Sangita Reddy at the 13th BRICS Summit on Thursday, said the fund can be administered by a national rural or agricultural bank or developmental finance institutions for each BRICS country, viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
to promote women participation in technology and innovation-led sectors, the alliance recommended BRICS, first, Technology School for Women Entrepreneurs — a distance learning educational platform for women to learn different uses of technology and creating access to resources to learn and upskill.
Second, it sought a BRICS Venture Fund for Women Run Digital Companies — a fund to provide low-cost financing for innovation-driven projects led by women entrepreneurs. Third, the alliance suggested a Women’s Business Alliance Digital Platform – a digital platform serving as a one-stop to get in touch with potential partners and investors. The platform will also entail a joint database of women-owned SMEs from BRICS, an e-platform for exporters and importers, and an educational online platform.
According to the latest Gender Gap Report (March 2021) by World Economic Forum, while the gender gaps on educational attainment and health and survival are nearly closed globally, in terms of economic participation and opportunity, the gap remains the second largest after political empowerment, the alliance noted. The report suggested that at the current pace of achievements, around 267.6 years will be taken to close the gap in terms of economic participation and opportunity. Moreover, the economic participation of women saw an adverse impact due to Covid.
13th BRICS Summit Pledges To Build On Multilateralism And Reform UN Security Council (Outlook India)
Considering an effective and representative multilateralism the need of the hour in order to improvise and strengthen resilience to fight the prevailing as well as future global challenges, the 13th BRICS summit on Thursday took the pledge to integrate “new life” in the discussions regarding the much needed reshuffle of the UN Security Council and revitalisation of the General Assembly.
In the Delhi Declaration, which was adopted following completion of the summit, all the leaders of the member states of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa concurrently resolved towards taking effective measures in a bid to accomplish further strengthening and reforming of the multilateral system to transform the current global governance into a more responsive, agile, effective, transparent, democratic, representative and accountable to member states.
“The pandemic has reinforced our belief that effective and representative multilateralism is essential for building resilience against current and future global challenges, promoting well-being of our people and building a sustainable future for the planet,” said the declaration
The BRICS nations appreciated the New Development Bank’s substantive progress in membership expansion despite challenges emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic. “We reiterate that the process of expansion should be gradual and balanced in terms of geographic representation in its membership as well as supportive of the NDB’s goals of attaining the highest possible credit rating and institutional development,” the BRICS said.
As countries reconvene tomorrow for another round of discussions on the “TRIPS Waiver” proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO), after a gap of over two months, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) calls on the European Union (EU), strongly backed by Germany, and the UK, Norway, and Switzerland to stop blocking this initiative on lifting the monopolies on lifesaving COVID-19 medical tools.
Nearly a year after the Waiver was first proposed by India and South Africa in October 2020 – and now supported by over 100 nations – a small group of opposing WTO members including the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland continue to stall constructive discussions on this proposal, which would waive patents and other intellectual property (IP) on urgently needed COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, tests and other health tools, for the duration of the pandemic, and pave the way for many countries to increase production and supply of these lifesaving medical tools. “Despite the groundbreaking medical innovations delivered in the past year, and tall commitments by some powerful nations promising global solidarity and equity, access to these innovative COVID-19 medical tools remains scant in too many low- and middle-income countries,” said Candice Sehoma, South Africa Advocacy Officer, MSF Access Campaign. “People in these countries, facing life or death in this pandemic, can no longer rely merely on charitable or voluntary measures dictated by only a small number of high-income countries and the pharmaceutical industry they host. We demand the countries opposing the TRIPS Waiver to stop blocking the will of the majority of the world to obtain this additional legal tool in the pandemic to achieve self-reliance in producing COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests.”