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National trade and trade-related news
Tackling illicit financing flows is key to funding infrastructure (IOL)
The Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) announced last year prioritises infrastructure spending to support the economy in the short term and longer-term reforms tended to boost the potential growth rate, but it needs a coherent funding mechanism. The ERRP sets out eight priority interventions that will ignite South Africa’s recovery and reconstruction effort, with an emphasis on infrastructure as the main driver of the endeavour. The ERRP intends to unlock more than R1 trillion in new infrastructure investments through enabling the private sector, building capability in Infrastructure SA and the Infrastructure Fund, reviewing procurement frameworks, and providing catalytic funding through blended finance instruments. To boost infrastructure spending, the government plans to partner with the private sector, multilateral development banks, and development finance institutions to augment its skills, expertise and funding.
Illegal trade grips industry (News24)
Government’s 8% increase in sin tax on legal alcohol and cigarettes has resulted in growth in illicit trade competitiveness. Illegal trade is estimated to have grown to 15% of the South African alcohol industry. This is according to findings by ALCO-Safe, supplier of electronic breath alcohol detectors and drug detection equipment and accessories in the country. The rapid growth is blamed on Covid-19 lockdown regulations and consumers not being able to afford legal alcohol products. Part of the findings made is that liquor traders upped their prices due to lockdown, to recover costs, and illicit traders capitalised. “The illicit market cost tax collectors R6,4 billion under various bans or restrictions as part of the state’s Covid-19 response,” said Rhys Evans, managing director of ALCO-Safe.
Committee on Trade and Industry Calls on Stakeholders Within Sugar Industry to Diversify Their Products (Parliament of South Africa)
The Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry heard yesterday from the engagement it had virtually with the stakeholders within the sugar industry that the South African sugar cane Industry has experienced a sharp decline in revenue in recent years, which is a result of mainly the cheap sugar imports that flooded the local sugar market and the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) that is threatening its future prospects. A range of sugar industry’s key stakeholders presented their progress towards their implementation of the Sugar Cane Value Chain Master Plan. They all commended the government for its timely intervention in bringing about long-lasting plans meant to sustain the industry by harnessing the competitiveness of its value chain.
Deputy President explains COVID-19 vaccine procurement (SAnews)
Deputy President David Mabuza says in order for South Africa not to be excluded from procuring COVID-19 vaccines, it had no choice but to accept full liability for the vaccines acquired. This means that government had to accept conditions that COVID-19 manufacturers imposed on countries of the world, including accepting full liability in an event that vaccines had side effects, or risk being excluded from receiving vaccines from manufactures.
What SA agriculture needs from international trade (Farmers Review Africa)
Agriculture is a pivotal industry. It is not only crucial in providing food security worldwide, but it’s also the main source of jobs and livelihoods on our continent. Yet, despite its potential to feed the growing global population, Africa remains home to more than half of all the people in the world who face food insecurity. How, then, do we unlock the potential of our continent to produce the quantity and quality of food it is capable of? I believe that international trade is a critical part of the answer. Farmers (Producers) further need the cost of doing business across borders to come down. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest export and second highest import costs in the world, and the myriad registration and licencing systems across the continent severely limit the profitability of intra-continental trade.
As COVID-19 cases rise in SA, NLTC warns against complacency (EWN)
The National Liquor Traders Council has warned its members not to drop their guard against COVID-19 as the number of infections in South Africa shows a worrying upward trend. The council said that it had been working with the liquor industry to drive maximum compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols among taverns and their patrons. “We warn our members not to drop their guard against COVID-19 and continue to enforce mask-wearing, social distancing and proper hygiene in their outlets. It would really be a tragedy if we let the third wave to take hold as a result of complacency,” he said.
Public debt relief helps cut Kenya payments by Sh78bn (Business Daily)
Kenya projects savings of up to Sh78.17 billion after it signed debt repayment moratoriums with several rich countries, lifting pressure on its thinned domestic revenue collection. The National Treasury estimates that deferred repayments for loan principals will amount to Sh42.23 billion in the current financial year ending June while reliefs on interest payments would hit Sh35.94 billion. Haron Sirima, the director-general for public debt management at the Treasury, said a variation in the strength of the shilling also helped to boost the size of savings.
How Digital Integration has Transformed Kenya’s Transport Sector (World Bank)
Fragmented services and manual procedures created loopholes and opportunities for cartels that processed fake licenses and motor vehicle logbooks, contributing to a thriving underground economy that exposed banks and insurance firms to potential fraud and losses. That was before the Kenyan government established the semi-autonomous National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to harmonize the operations of key road transport departments and manage road safety. To manage essential transport services, the NTSA launched the Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS) electronic data platform in 2016. “TIMS has made our work easier,” said Richard Kanoru, the Secretary General of the Matatu Transport Vehicles Association. “At a click of a button and within five minutes, an operator can apply for all the necessary licenses to operate a Matatu. Our business costs have come down significantly because we don’t need intermediaries to get services from NTSA.”
Dar reaps big on cargo at Mombasa’s expense (The East African)
The port of Dar es Salaam benefitted from the minimal Covid-19 containment measures in Tanzania to record a higher cargo throughput in the past year. Transporters in the Central Corridor enjoyed lower costs of transport compared with those on the Northern Corridor. This is attributed to less Covid restriction-induced delays at border crossings. According to the latest shippers’ report, The Impact of Covid-19 on transport and logistics sector in East Africa”, Dar es Salaam port saw 4,939 metric tonnes more cargo throughput during Covid-19 pandemic peak time between March 2020 and March 2021 compared with a four percent cargo decline at the port of Mombasa. During the period in review, road freight rates on the Northern Corridor from Mombasa to Kampala increased from $2,200 to $2,500 for a 20/40-foot container and rates to Kigali from Mombasa increased from $3,400 to $3,800. It also took 14 to 16 days to move the cargo between the two points, up from the pre-pandemic duration of seven to nine days.
Joy as ban on Ugandan maize is lifted (Daily Monitor)
There is a sigh of relief among traders after Kenya lifted the ban on importation of maize. More than 100 trucks carrying about 1,200 tonnes of maize from Busia, Uganda, spontaneously crossed into Kenya on Monday. The lift marks the resumption of the multibillion trade between Uganda and Kenya, a major trading partner on the East African bloc. The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) of Kenya on March 5 banned the importation of maize from Uganda and Tanzania over safety standards, saying the cereal had aflatoxins and posed a health risk to consumers. Mr Joseph Emodo, a Kenyan national, told Daily Monitor that many Kenyans are now assured of food security. Mr Elidad Murungi, a clearing agent on the Kenyan side of the border, said he was happy that maize trading had resumed.
Museveni promises 10% economic growth when oil production starts (Daily Monitor)
President Yoweri Museveni Wednesday expressed optimism that Uganda’s economy will grow in the range of 9- 10 per cent when the country starts commercial production. Speaking at Kololo ceremonial grounds after swearing in for the sixth elective term, Mr Museveni said: “With the activation of the oil sector, which has been dormant ever since 2006 when we discovered the petroleum and if you add the expected average growth rate of 6 per cent per annum post Covid-19, the combination will expand the economy to an estimated $67 billion by 2026 using the exchange rate method and $193 billion using the PPP method; meaning that the economy will be growing at the rate of between 9-10 percent in the initial years of oil production.”
Accredited laboratories to boost manufacturing, export – SON (The Sun Nigeria)
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is optimistic that its newly accredited laboratories will boost the nation’s manufacturing industry and increase the level of export of locally made goods to the international market. According to Director General, Mallam Farouk Salim, the accredited labs would encourage manufacturers produce more, saying that products certified and tested in the labs would receive global acceptance anywhere in the world. “You hear most of our manufacturers say that their products were rejected even by our local companies because their products are not certified. They do not have laboratory certificate to show they are up to standard, but now, that excuse is out of the way. Also, because of the export potentials of our industries, with the certification, it is easy for them to export anywhere in the world because an accredited laboratory means that whatever we say is good, is good.”
US$ 12.9bn investment slated for rail expansion projects in Ghana (Construction Review)
The Nana Akufo-Addo led government intends to invest US$ 12.9bn in a rail network expansion projects in Ghana in a bid to make this mode of transport one of the fundamental channels of mobility across the West African country. This plan whose financing will come largely from private investors is linked to a national rail transport strategy connected with 13 other projects that have been born within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. According to the roadmap drawn up, approximately US$ 5.8bn of this investment will go towards a project to develop a light rail network (LRT) comprising seven corridors in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region.
GEPA launches technology-driven export trade information Centre (GhanaWeb)
The Ghana Export Promotion Authority has launched a technology-driven export trade information centre to serve as a one-stop shop for up-to-date export related information for the exporter community. Dubbed the GEPA Impact Hub, the centre would provide value-added services to exporters in a bid to meet the ultimate goal of the National Export Development Strategy, which is to attain US$25.3 billion in Non-Traditional Export earnings by 2029. The GEPA Impact Hub is an IT-enabled hub with computers, online resources and a library located at the Africa Trade House where clients can access export-related information. Mr Kyerematen said exports were key to the industrialization agenda if Ghana would succeed and develop, adding that it was important for all stakeholders to pursue and achieve the NEDs goal and target of $25.3 billion in 2029.
Ethiopia makes U-turn on blocking M-Pesa bid (Business Daily)
Ethiopia Wednesday made a U-turn and allowed foreign telecommunications companies to launch mobile phone-based financial services, setting the stage for Safaricom to introduce its popular M-Pesa in the market of 110 million people. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the mobile financial services in the country will be opened to competition from next May, with foreign firms free to battle with State-run Ethio Telecom. This marks a departure from last year’s directive that only allowed locally-owned non-financial institutions to offer mobile money service, dimming the hopes of foreign firms like Safaricom that are seeking a presence in Kenya’s neighbouring country. The prime minister said, however, that mobile financial services would be opened up to competition after a year of telebirr operations. The move would offer Safaricom a path to roll out M-Pesa in Ethiopia’s nascent telecoms sector considered one of the most lucrative in the economy as the once inward-looking country opens up to foreign investment for the first time.
Ethiopia launches Chinese-developed mobile money service solution (Xinhua)
Ethiopia’s state-owned Ethio-Telecom on Tuesday evening launched a Chinese-developed mobile money service solution. The launch of the Ethio-Telecom’s mobile money service solution, called “Tele-Birr”, was attended by high level Ethiopian government officials including Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as well as various foreign dignitaries. The “Tele-Birr” mobile money service solution which took five months to develop and complete was undertaken by Chinese hi-tech giant Huawei.
The Republic of Guinea deposits the instrument of ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) (African Union)
The Republic of Guinea becomes the seventh (7th) Member State to deposit the instrument of ratification of the African Medicines Agency (AMA). AMA will be the second specialized continental health agency after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) that will enhance capacity of State Parties and AU recognized Regional Economic Communities (RECs), to regulate medical products in order to improve access to quality, safe and efficacious medical products on the continent. In the face of a looming pandemic, the necessity of AMA has been amplified and particularly its function in coordinating joint reviews of applications for the conducting of clinical trials and providing technical support in quality control of drugs at the request of Member States which do not have the structures to carry out these examinations/controls/checks.
Sudan: African Development Bank Group completes clearance of Sudan’s $413 million arrears (AfDB)
Following approval of the proposal by the Boards of Directors of the African Development Bank Group to clear about $413 million in arrears on loans owed by Sudan, the Bank Group has completed the arrears clearance process, enabling the East African country to have immediate access to new financing. The clearance of Sudan’s arrears was made possible with the support of the United Kingdom government through bridge financing of GBP148 million to clear Sudan’s arrears to the African Development Fund. Consequently, the African Development Bank Group sanctions on Sudan have been lifted and a policy-based operation is being provided to the country as part of the Bank’s full re-engagement with Sudan to complement its ongoing operations. Clearing of arrears with international financial institutions such as the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, is one of the preconditions for Sudan under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, which is paramount for clearing other debt owed to the Paris and Non-Paris Club creditors.
China, Tanzania sign agreement to strengthen cooperation (Ecns.cn)
China and Tanzania on Wednesday signed an agreement on economic and technical cooperation to enhance bilateral friendship. The agreement was signed in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam by Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Wang Ke and Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Finance and Planning Emmanuel Tutuba on behalf of the two governments. According to the agreement, the Chinese government will provide new gratis aid for Tanzanian mainland, which will be utilized in the construction of projects negotiated and approved by the two governments.
COVID-19 in Sudan: Enterprises Survey Reveal Losses, Economic Fragility (World Bank)
When the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began, businessowner Omer Abdelaziz had no clear idea about the duration of the government’s imposed lockdown. As co-owner and director of the International Development Center for Training and Capacity Building, he simply complied fully with the government’s decision, suspending all activities. But the pandemic and the country’s restrictions went on longer than expected. “As a management team, we made a mistake in our forecasts about how long the crisis will last,” said Abdelaziz, co-owner and Director of the International Development Center for Training and Capacity Building. “We decided still to keep the center and not to close it permanently, bearing its high running cost without having any cash inflows.”
Cameroon fintech secures $3-million (Ventureburn)
Douala-based fintech company Maviance PLC has secured $3-million in a seed investment round led by MFS Africa, the pan-African digital payments hub. The fintech company will use the funding to increase its presence in Cameroon and expand its business model into other countries in the central African economic region (CEMAC). Dare Okoudjou, CEO and founder of MFS Africa comments on the investment made into the fintech. “The rapid development of digital financial services that we have seen in Cameroon over the past few years is poised to spread across the CEMAC region. This will further accelerate the demand for domestic and cross-border payments from MSMEs, social enterprises, and corporates in the region. Maviance, as a key infrastructure provider with its set of highly relevant products, is well-positioned to benefit from this growing demand. That is why we are thrilled to be partnering with the company, as we continue to broaden and deepen the reach of the MFS Africa Hub across Africa.”
African regional and continental news
AfCFTA potential benefits to SMEs, women (Namibian)
Many African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and women-led business, who are struggling with capital and high production costs in countries like Namibia, will find it hard to export within Africa given the high tariffs. According to the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), SMEs are key to growth in Africa, accounting for around 80% of the region’s businesses. However, they struggle to penetrate advanced overseas markets, but are well positioned to tap into regional export destinations using regional markets as stepping stones for expanding into overseas markets once the AfCFTA is fully implemented, the ATPC stated.
NCDMB to host African Local Content Roundtable in Yenagoa (Vanguard News)
The maiden edition of African Local Content Roundtable has been scheduled to hold in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on 3rd and 4th of June, 2021. According to the organizers, “critical stakeholders in the oil and gas sector in Africa have been fascinated by the remarkable impact and achievements of Nigeria in the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and the development of its hydrocarbon resources which is anchored on the philosophy of In-Country Value Addition. African countries such as Uganda, Ghana, Niger Republic, Congo have at various times undertook a study tour to institutions in Nigeria, to understand the Nigerian Content delivery model, with some of the countries signing their own local content laws or policies based on insights from Nigeria.
EAC to provide hotline for cross-border traders to report challenges (The East African)
The East African Community will have a hotline through which traders crossing partner states borders can register their challenges and get prompt feedback, the secretary general has said. “There is need to resolve persistent Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and reduce time spent in the movement of goods and persons, hence increasing intra EAC trade, which currently stands at 15 percent,” said Dr Peter Mathuki on Monday when he visited Kenya-Tanzania border at Namanga.”This emergency number will be set up for feedback and follow-up on trade issues, and we hope it will provide an avenue for traders to register their challenges.” He affirmed that the movement of goods and persons at the Namanga One Stop Border Post (OSBP) and truck traffic impasse has cleared following the directive given by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta last week, when his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu Hasan visited Nairobi.
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara (photo) was the guest of a virtual debate organized on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Africa Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last May 10. During his speech, the former official of the Bretton Woods institution made a strong plea for an in-depth reform, and an improvement of the measures taken to help African countries get out of the Covid-19 crisis. According to the Ivorian head of state, African countries need the necessary fiscal space to finance their economic recovery processes. In this regard, he asked the IMF to be flexible regarding the rate of public deficit required of African states wishing to benefit from financing from the institution. “The deficit-to-GDP ratio is 9% in the USA and nearly 8% in France. Germany, which has always been a surplus country, will this year record a deficit of 6%. However, in the context of our trade, African countries are required to be at 4%. This is impossible,” he said.
Africa-EU international trade in goods statistics - Statistics Explained (EURSTAT)
In 2020, the largest trade partner for Africa was the EU with 28 % of both exports and imports. In exports it was followed by other African countries (23 %) and China (8 %). For imports these two had switched places, China (16 %) was second and other African countries (13 %) were third. In 2010, EU imports from Africa were smaller than exports to Africa resulting in a trade deficit of EUR 7 billion (see Figure 2). This grew to EUR 25 billion in 2012. Between 2012 and 2016 imports from Africa decreased significantly and the trade deficit became a trade surplus of EUR 33 billion. This surplus fell to EUR 8 billion in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, exports fell by EUR 20 billion while imports fell by EUR 35 billion. Thus the trade surplus grew to EUR 23 billion. Findings: Primary goods dominate imports with Africa; Northern Africa largest trade in goods partner; Manufactured goods dominate exports to Africa
Cotonou 2.0: A bad trade deal for Africa? (DW)
International treaties are complicated enough when they are negotiated between two or three states. They become even more complex when 106 countries at once try to defend their individual interests and power claims and regulate them in a legally binding way. It is therefore hardly surprising that the negotiations on a new basic agreement between the 27 European Union (EU) member states and the 79 countries of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS, formerly ACP) dragged on for more than three years before a breakthrough was finally announced in mid-April. Inevitably, not everyone affected by the deal – dubbed “Cotonou 2.0” or “post-Cotonou” in reference to the previous agreement – was happy with the results. Unlike in the Cotonou Agreement of 2000, the new deal includes a so-called “three-plus-one structure” intended to take into greater account the individual needs of the three partner regions. But Maré is skeptical: “We hope that that will happen, but sometimes the devil is in the details.”
EU–Africa relations: a partnership delayed but not derailed (EURACTIV)
President von der Leyen has called for the creation of “an African Green Deal for a stronger and more prosperous Africa”. But the scope of the EU’s proposed carbon levy on imports, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), has caused some disquiet among African officials who worry that a continent that only accounts for 2% of the world’s carbon emissions will end up being hit by a tax designed to target China and other high emitting countries. AU officials say that establishing green value chains in Africa will take decades to reach. And the continent’s aid-dependent countries are concerned about the EU’s plans to attach new conditions to aid, by specifying that 25% of aid money must be spent on projects related to climate action. “Africa is a huge market offering incredible opportunities. The recovery pathway offers enormous opportunities. Recovery must be green and build climate resilience. Recovery must boost green investments,” Adesina said.
New agreement between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific states is a global turning point for cooperation (Daily Maverick)
After two and half years of intense negotiations, a successor to the Cotonou Agreement is in sight. On 15 April, we as chief negotiators concluded the negotiations that will lead to the signing of a new association agreement between the 79 members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU). We are proud of what we have achieved together. This agreement renews, modernises and deepens the special relationship the African, Caribbean and Pacific states and the European Union have built over more than 40 years. It sets a framework for our cooperation in the next 20 years. Together, we represent 1.5 billion people on four continents, 106 countries, and more than half of the seats at the United Nations’ General Assembly. We choose to work together. The new agreement takes our partnership to the next level. It is more ambitious, comprehensive and flexible than its predecessors, be it in terms of jobs, global challenges, rights, multilateralism and differentiation. It really goes beyond the Cotonou Agreement, in various fields. Let us raise just three of these aspects.
Africa Dialogue Series 2021 | Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (United Nations)
The 2021 edition of the Africa Dialogue Series (ADS), the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA)’s flagship event, will take place throughout May, which is also Africa month, and will be a celebration of the continent’s identity, culture, history and achievements. It will also bring together key stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities for Africa. This year’s ADS theme is “Cultural identity and ownership: reshaping mindsets. OSAA, as part of its mandate to coordinate global advocacy in support of Africa’s development, is approaching the theme primarily from a sustainable development perspective. To this end, an exciting line up of activities has been prepared for May culminating in a three-day public policy forum focused on discussions among policy makers, researchers, civil society representatives, academics, representatives from the AU and UN entities and other stakeholders.
ECOWAS Seeks Legal Framework To Attract Investments In Electricity (LEADERSHIP)
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is considering a legal framework that will make the regional electricity market attractive to investors. The president of the ECOWAS commission, Mr Kassi Brou, described the regional electricity market, currently under construction, as fundamental to the development of West Africa. During his visit to the Accra-based ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), Brou reiterated that energy production is vital to the viability of the market, adding that the regional organisation is already formulating policies that will attract investments. According to him, ECOWAS’ focus was in ensuring transmission and distribution lines for cross-border power exchange and access to the local population.
The Policymaker’s Trilemma (IMF Blog)
Imagine you’re a policymaker in sub-Saharan Africa. You’ve been charged with lifting your country out of the worst health crisis in living memory, and nobody around you knows when it will end – the second wave that gripped the region earlier in the year has eased, but many countries are nonetheless bracing for further waves as winter approaches. The bad news is that, for sub-Saharan Africa, at least, near-term growth prospects are somewhat more subdued. And as long as widespread vaccination remains out of reach, you will face the unenviable task of trying to boost your economy while simultaneously dealing with repeated COVID-19 outbreaks as they arise. This is the situation facing many finance ministers in sub-Saharan Africa today. And they face three immediate challenges: Firstly, to meet increased spending needs; secondly, to contain a pronounced increase in public debt, and finally, to mobilize more tax revenues.
The Heads of State approved the 69 PIDA Priority Action Plan II projects during the Africa Union Heads of State and Government Summit held in February 2021. Subsequent to the approval, the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) held a technical meeting on the 5th and 6th of May 2021 to discuss the status of each of the PIDA PAP II Infrastructure projects. The 69 PIDA PAP II projects discusses at the event, consist of 28 Transport Projects, 18 Energy Projects, 12 Water Projects and 11 Information Communication Technology (ICT) projects. The virtual event successfully managed to create a platform of engagement for all participants to understand the status for each project presented. A clear and understandable process for PIDA PAP II was defined and an opportunity was presented for project sponsors to cooperate with PIDA Stakeholders to advance the projects.
PwC releases guide on value added tax under ‘united Africa’ theme (Citizen TV)
PwC has released the seventh edition of its Africa Value Added Tax guide, comprising updates on VAT regimes in 41 African countries. PwC’s 2021 Africa VAT Guide highlights compliance-related initiatives such as the adoption of real-time VAT reporting and data analysis by various tax administrations to shore up their collections. “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other developments on the continent have caused a rapid shift to virtual, remote operations and new ways of working,” said Job Kabochi, PwC Africa’s Indirect Tax Leader. With the theme of ‘Moving towards a united Africa’, this edition is focused on Africa’s journey into the future and how different countries’ VAT regimes help to shape that journey. “As cross-border trade ramps up, we expect greater attention to be paid to indirect taxes such as customs duties, VAT and excise duty. Accordingly, we have given special attention to the taxation of cross-border supply of both goods and services in this edition of the Africa VAT Guide,” he said.
Discussions continue around Africa’s Common Position on Food Systems (AUDA-NEPAD)
The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD and the African Union Commission hosted on the 6th May 2021, a consultative dialogue with the Regional Economic Communities on the Common African Position leading up to the UN Food Systems Summit. The dialogues which started in March 2021 are aimed at engaging extensively across various interest groups, players and stakeholders on perspectives, experiences and commitments with the ultimate goal of having a unified African stance at the UN Food Systems Summit scheduled for September 2021. AUDA-NEPAD has been engaging RECs to build necessary linkages with regard to policies, investments and other development instruments on and about food systems.
Unlock and Unblock: twin track to boost food security in Africa (FAO)
The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, warned that severe underfunding of the agri-food sector was preventing Africa from reaching its potential. He spoke at the launch of FAO’s latest report, Public Expenditure on Food and Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, which reveals the gap between long-standing political commitments and financial reality in 13 sub-Saharan African countries. He noted that the report was based on “rigorous analysis over the last 15 years, made possible thanks to strong collaboration with our Members in the region.” “Let’s unblock the bottlenecks that are holding back potential by increasing coordination and upskilling human capacity in African nations,” the FAO Director-General urged. “And let’s unlock funds and streamline public financial systems, so that the scarce resources we have do not go unspent.”
Indo-Africa relations growing from strength to strength (Daily Pioneer)
This century will be the century of Asia and Africa, their people working together to promote inclusive globalisation and polity Relations between India and Africa span over thousands of years. At the dawn of history, there was migration of people from Africa to the Mediterranean region and to Asia. Indians have been migrating to Africa and Africans to India over several centuries. Africa now has a population of about 2.5 million people of Indian origin. They shape the economic, political and cultural foundation of an Afro-Indian alliance. Some of the descendants of African emigrants in India are known as Siddis who came in the 10th century and their progeny still live in different parts of India. Gandhiji began his struggle for freedom in Africa and India has always been in the forefront of the movement for independence and sovereignty of the African countries.
Global economy
WTO chief: How global trade can save lives and livelihoods (WEF)
Global trade has a role to play in saving lives in the COVID-19 pandemic, creating jobs and sustainable development that mitigates against climate change. This was the view of the panellists at the World Economic Forum’s latest Agenda Dialogues session on the Global Trade Outlook. Leaders, including the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, came together to discuss how global trade and investment collaboration can ensure prosperity, equity, and sustainability.
Looking ahead to the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), taking place from 30 November to 3 December 2021 in Geneva, Dr Okonjo-Iweala said it was critical there were deliverables. “The WTO needs to have some success this year,” she said. “We can no longer take 20 years to negotiate outcomes if the WTO is about people, enhancing living standards, creating employ and sustain development. We have to focus on having successes.” She outlined things to look out for at for MC12, including fishery subsidies negotiations finally coming to fruition after 20 years. On trade and health, she hopes to put in place a framework for how trade will contribute to the solution of future pandemics. And in terms of agriculture, Dr Okonjo-Iweala said we need to look at it through lens of this pandemic: how can we deliver for food security? “Globalization and trade has lifted up hundreds of millions out of poverty, but some people have been left behind,” she said. “What can the multilateral trade system do towards inclusion, for women in trade and SMEs?”
5 things you should know about the state of the economy (United Nations)
Is this the year we overcome the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic? Are our jobs in danger? Who has lost the most in the crisis and what can be done to recover? As UN DESA prepares to launch the mid-year update of the 2021 World Economic Situation and Prospects report, here are five things you need to know about the state of the global economy.
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The prospects for global growth have improved but the pace of recovery will differ across countries
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The situation of the most vulnerable has become even more precarious
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Global trade is in for a strong but uneven recovery
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The COVID-19 crisis has inflicted more harm on women and girls
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Countries need to do more to address the uneven impact of the COVID-19 crisis
Economic recovery under threat amid surging COVID cases and lagging vaccination in poorer countries (United Nations)
While the global growth outlook has improved, led by robust rebound in China and the United States, surging COVID-19 infections and inadequate vaccination progress in many countries threaten a broad-based recovery of the world economy, says the latest United Nations forecast released today. According to the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-2021 report, following a sharp contraction of 3.6 per cent in 2020, the global economy is now projected to expand by 5.4 per cent in 2021, reflecting an upward revision from the UN forecasts released in January. For many countries, economic output is only projected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 or 2023. “Vaccine inequity between countries and regions is posing a significant risk to an already uneven and fragile global recovery,” said UN Chief Economist Elliott Harris. “Timely and universal access to COVID-19 vaccinations will mean the difference between ending the pandemic promptly and placing the world economy on the trajectory of a resilient recovery, or losing many more years of growth, development and opportunities.”
A global coalition of public development banks today emphasized the urgency of immediate resources for Africa’s recovery post-Covid 19. Together, they committed to deepening cooperation to boost investment opportunities across the continent. Participants in the meeting, hosted by the African Development Bank, brainstormed on joint actions that could help boost a strong and inclusive recovery in Africa. This would be recovery grounded in a dynamic private sector. The pandemic has negatively impacted the debt situation for African countries. Without a resolution of Africa’s $700 billion external debt, the continent’s economic recovery will be delayed and financial market stability will be affected in the short and medium term.
Could Africa be the next hub for COVID drug manufacture? (Amsterdam News)
For a while, Africa appeared to be losing the fight to build manufacturing capacity for the production of COVID-19 vaccines as big pharma and rich countries questioned African capacity to make its own vaccines. Some international companies regard African self-sufficiency as a long-term risk to their business; some fear a loss of influence. This week, in a surprise move, the U.S. threw its support behind a move at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily lift patent protections for coronavirus vaccines, allowing developing countries to meet their own needs. If approved, supporters say, the waiver could provide more affordable doses for less wealthy countries. Advocates of the move say it would increase global vaccine production of life-saving drugs.
Remarks delivered by ICC Secretary General at sixth ACT Accelerator Facilitation Council Meeting (International Chamber of Commerce)
The International Chamber of Commerce welcomes the new plans presented by GAVI and CEPI on the creation of a new Supply Chain & Manufacturing Taskforce. The plans are very impressive and I was glad to hear so many of ICC’s suggestions – especially on matchmaking and supply chain transparency – taken up. We should not lose sight of where we are headed. While it is sometimes hard to fathom, vaccine production is doing much better than many experts predicted this time last year. So, if the production plans of existing manufacturers can be executed, we will get close to the 10.8B doses needed to vaccinate 75% of the world. But there is a big “if” – this will happen only if the supply chains hold up and countries stop hoarding. So, how do we ensure supply chains hold up?
First, countries must remove existing trade barriers and not impose new ones. Second, we need massive coordination in investment across the full supply chain. Third, I was glad to see take-up of the idea we floated of a global vaccine clearing house to ensure existing manufacturing capacity can deliver for the world, and especially the strong words from Dr Ngozi. Fourth, transparency is absolutely critical, including on when advanced economies are going to start sharing doses, by what mechanisms and in what volumes. Fifth, we need a longer-term plan. Finally, advanced economies must – as a matter of urgency – put up the cash needed to get ACTA fully operational for the remainder of this year.
GFI Calls on Multilateral Leaders to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Integrity (Global Financial Integrity)
Covid-19 has put a great burden on the world’s health systems, most notably those in developing and emerging market countries, which must be remedied. Further, the World Bank notes that Covid-19 has pushed approximately 100 million people into extreme poverty, and the G-20 has said that corruption and fraud in the delivery of Covid-19 related medical products is on the rise. Additionally, as Covid-19 vaccines and personal protective equipment are being distributed, the illicit trade in these preventatives is increasing, for example with instances of dark market vaccines in Mexico as well as many other nations. Indeed, Kenya has stopped the private importation of vaccines due to the level of counterfeiting. Recently, CheckPoint Research noted that there are some 1,200 advertisements for vaccines on the dark web and that this type of activity is “booming.” Much of this fraudulent advertising is due to the fact that developing and emerging market countries do not have access to vaccines.
Building post-pandemic resilience through science, technology and innovation (UNCTAD)
UNCTAD will bring together experts to explore how science, technology and innovation (STI) can contribute to a sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, during a meeting of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) from 17 to 21 May. “The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the pressing need for countries to focus more on elevating STI in both policy and practical terms,” said Shamika N. Sirimanne, UNCTAD’s director of technology and logistics, who also heads the CSTD secretariat. “But governments also need to make sure that the development benefits of STI translate directly into the daily lives of people all over the world,” Ms. Sirimanne said. Moreover, Ms. Sirimanne added, it’s vital for all countries to have equal access to the benefits of life-saving treatments, not only for the pandemic but also for poverty-related diseases, future health emergencies and infectious disease outbreaks.
Widespread Informality Likely to Slow Recovery from COVID-19 in Developing Economies (World Bank)
A strikingly large percentage of workers and firms operate outside the line of sight of governments in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) – a challenge that is likely to hold back the recovery in these economies unless governments adopt a comprehensive set of policies to address the drawbacks of the informal sector, a new World Bank Group study has found. The study, The Long Shadow of Informality: Challenges and Policies, is the first comprehensive Bank analysis examining the extent of informality and its implications for an economic recovery that supports green, resilient and inclusive development in the long-term. It finds that the informal sector accounts for more than 70 percent of total employment – and nearly one-third of GDP – in EMDEs. That scale diminishes these countries’ ability to mobilize the fiscal resources needed to bolster the economy in a crisis, to conduct effective macroeconomic policies, and to build human capital for long-term development.
Focus on blockchain technology, trade facilitation (The Herald)
Demand for predictable, transparent and cost-effective trade is gaining traction amidst a plethora of problems such as the ever-changing trade landscape that of late has been exacerbated by the critical shortage of containers. The critical shortage of containers as articulated in last week’s article has spiked freight rates with East Africa reporting a 100 percent hike, while Sea Intelligence in Freight News magazine has pegged the cost of a 40 – foot container at $7 672 – a 446 percent hike in relation to last year. The advent of containerisation was one of the best innovations complemented by global trade bodies to ensure the expansion of international trade soon after the second World War.
ICC joins global commitment calling for a people-centered approach to achieve meaningful connectivity (International Chamber of Commerce)
ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO has signed a joint statement on how to achieve meaningful connectivity for all at the 2021 High-Level Digital Debate of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Connectivity and Digital Cooperation. Technology has been critical to detect and manage the spread of the virus. In the process, digital technologies have reshaped the way we work, study and live our daily lives and these technologies will be critical in achieving an inclusive and durable post-COVID rebuild. However this new normal has remained beyond the reach of many and, without bold and determined action, digital divides will continue to compromise our collective efforts to contain the pandemic and achieve a sustainable economic recovery for all. This is why, on behalf of businesses worldwide, ICC is proudly joining a multistakeholder initiative calling for concerted action at all levels to bridge digital divides, especially the pervasive and persistent gender digital gap.
Why governing data is key for the future of cities (OECD Development Matters)
Technology is changing city dwellers lives, as well as how urban centres evolve to meet their needs. The pandemic has accelerated this transformation, and the digital transition has generated an explosion of data, especially in cities. In this context, the ability of local governments to manage urban problems will be paramount for the recovery, and the pandemic has helped us better understand the missing elements we need to govern cities effectively. It is inconceivable not to consider cities as an integral part of the solution to challenges like tackling social exclusion, improving public services and reducing insecurity, among others. A key issue that has become increasingly prominent in city agendas is the good governance of data; that is how data is handled and for what purpose, its quality and integrity, as well as the privacy and security concerns related to its collection and use. The pivotal role of new technologies and the strategic use of data by municipal governments can also improve delivery of services, making them more accessible, agile, efficient and less costly.
Defying Predictions, Remittance Flows Remain Strong During COVID-19 Crisis (World Bank)
Despite COVID-19, remittance flows remained resilient in 2020, registering a smaller decline than previously projected. Officially recorded remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries reached $540 billion in 2020, just 1.6 percent below the 2019 total of $548 billion, according to the latest Migration and Development Brief. The decline in recorded remittance flows in 2020 was smaller than the one during the 2009 global financial crisis (4.8 percent). It was also far lower than the fall in foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to low- and middle-income countries, which, excluding flows to China, fell by over 30 percent in 2020. As a result, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries surpassed the sum of FDI ($259 billion) and overseas development assistance ($179 billion) in 2020.
UK pledges £22 million to support cyber capacity building in vulnerable countries (GOV.UK)
The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, has announced £22 million of new investment to build cyber security resilience in developing countries and globally, particularly in Africa and the Indo-Pacific. As part of this the UK, jointly with INTERPOL, is setting up a new cyber operations hub in Africa working across Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda to support joint operations against cyber crime. Speaking at the National Cyber Security Centre’s CYBERUK conference he outlined the UK’s vision of being a leading responsible cyber power, working with partners to shape cyberspace according to our values.
Commonwealth women’s affairs ministers back strong actions on gender equality (The Commonwealth)
The inaugural meeting of the Commonwealth Women’s Ministers Action Group opened yesterday with calls for strong gender equality measures. Delegates, including women’s affairs ministers, reaffirmed their support for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and committed to putting women’s issues at the top of the agenda at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda. Commonwealth leaders will table the statement at the next CHOGM which has recently been postponed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Strategy actions will help ensure 1.2 billion women and girls living in the Commonwealth have equal access to decision-making, education, family health services and legal protection while mainstreaming gender in climate action. Speaking at the meeting, Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland QC, said: “COVID-19 threatens to roll back the hard-won progress towards gender equality that we have fought for over many decades. Mobilising collective political will is key to safeguarding the progress and changing the pace of efforts towards gender equality. She added: “COVID-19 presents an ideal opportunity for Commonwealth countries to elevate women leaders to positions of influence and to bring diverse voices to the decision-making tables as insurance that response and recovery plans are as effective as possible.”
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National trade and trade-related news
Sugar Masterplan starting to uplift industry – DTIC (Engineering News)
The South African sugarcane industry has experienced a sharp decline in revenue and production in recent years, mainly as a result of cheap sugar imports that have flooded the local sugar market, as well as the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) or so-called sugar tax, that is threatening its future prospects. The Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry held a meeting on May 11, during which stakeholders within the sugar industry engaged on key matters and developments with regard to the Sugar Masterplan – which was formally signed off by all stakeholders in a virtual ceremony held on November 16, 2020.
PPE production boosts trade with continent, says Patel (IOL)
Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel says the outbreak of Covid-19 has allowed the country to ramp up the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the fight against the virus. He said this has also boosted trade between South Africa and the rest of the continent. “What Covid has done is remind us how important it is to localise, because in March last year the country had a shortage of medical grade masks and other products. When we did an initial check on what our capability is to produce those masks that front-line healthcare workers use, we concluded that at best we could do 6 million masks a month and yet this country’s need was greater than that,” said Patel.
Transformation of SEZs into truly special zones key to their success – CDE (Engineering News)
In a new report, the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) is calling on government to change or adapt special economic zones (SEZs) into areas that are “actually and truly special”, offering a modified labour market regime to attract companies and investment. CDE executive director Ann Bernstein points out that, although there are 11 SEZs in South Africa, none offer tenants a business environment that is meaningfully different from that of the surrounding economy.
South Africa wants to block imports of more products that aren’t ‘100% local’ (BusinessTech)
Small business development minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the department is in talks with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to designate more products under the 100% local content category to support SMMEs in the local manufacturing sector. The minister said this when ministers in the economics sector replied to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Tuesday. Ntshavheni said South Africa runs an open economy, which means it competes internationally and products are allowed to be in the country. However, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition designates certain products for 100% local content, which means that products that are produced in other countries in certain categories cannot be allowed into South Africa because the products that must be in the country are those products that are produced locally.
Construction of largest renewable energy investment in South Africa begins (Construction Review)
Construction of the 100MW Redstone project has begun following achievement of financial close. At US $826.3m total investment, the Redstone project is the largest renewable energy investment in South Africa to date. The project has secured financing from leading international and South African financial institutions. Through the successful mobilisation of international project finance, Redstone CSP has facilitated approximately US $499m in foreign direct investment to fund and support the strategic energy transition goals of the country.
Namibia’s new AGOA strategy to increase tariff-free US exports (New Era)
Namibia yesterday launched a utilisation strategy for the two-decades-old African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), with a specific objective to increase the country’s exports to the United States (US). This joint effort between the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Namibia’s industrialisation and trade ministry is part of US efforts to expand mutually-beneficial trade with Namibia, enabling Namibia to export over 6 400 products tariff-free to the US market. The strategy recommends steps to address the policy, supply and market challenges faced by potential Namibian exporters. A body, composed of private and public sector representatives, will drive the implementation of this AGOA strategy. It is envisaged that increased utilisation of AGOA will result in more local job opportunities, while Namibian companies that utilise AGOA will be exposed to the US market, where they can create sustainable strategic alliances with US firms. Through the application of this strategy, minister of trade Lucia Iipumbu hopes Namibia will be able to maximise AGOA’s trade potential in trade, investments and skills transfer.
BEMA makes strides in market search (Botswana Daily News)
Botswana Exporters and Manufacturers Association (BEMA) continues to seek market access for local companies both regionally and globally. In an interview with BOPA, BEMA chief executive officer Ms Mmantlha Sankoloba said even though the organisation had encountered challenges, more successes than setbacks were realised in the quest to secure international markets on behalf of Botswana manufacturing entities. Ms Sankoloba said at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the association made intensive efforts of prospecting for groundnuts markets and found South Africa to be a key market.
Regional trade shouldn’t be hostage to bilateral negotiations, says UMA (Daily Monitor)
Following the trade tension between Uganda and Kenya, the two neighbouring countries entered a deal that to many, has issues. Do you have any qualms with the communiqué that the two countries endorsed last month, considering that you had raised a red flag before over Uganda’s exports to Kenya?
While all efforts to resolve market access challenges by our members are welcome and we note that the meeting outcomes indicated progress towards resolution of long-standing challenges, we are frustrated that trade that should be guided by a clear EAC framework (enshrined in the Common Market Protocol) is now hostage to bilateral negotiations. For sustainability of trade in the region, a regional dispute resolution mechanism that is enforceable and able to bring sanctions to bear on errant states is a more permanent solution and one that would cure the embarrassment of partner states having to seek permits and comply with quotas in order to supply their neighbors in total contravention of the ideals of the EAC Treaty.
Kenya, Tanzania advance talks to end cold trade ties with review of tax practices (Citizen)
Head of States from Kenya and Tanzania have agreed to further discussions to end cold trade ties which have defined bilateral ties between the pair in recent years. The agreement will see the pair’s respective Trade Ministers meet at a summit in a month’s time to discuss the easing of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) which have characterized trade between the two East African Community (EAC) partners. On Wednesday, President Kenyatta admitted to the impact of the adverse ties which have cut down the volume of trade between the countries in the last decade. The value of trade between Kenya and Tanzania has plateaued easing to Ksh.58 billion in 2020 from a higher Ksh.60.4 billion in 2012.
Kenya setting up emissions trading market, says Ukur Yatani (Business Daily)
Kenya aims to set up an emissions trading system that will allow companies and other bodies to buy emissions allowances, Treasury said on Tuesday, as the country strives to limit the release of greenhouse gases. Emissions trading is a pollution control mechanism where a central authority issues a limited number of permits for the release of specific greenhouse gases. Companies can then buy these permits and also trade them. Many countries are using a price on carbon to meet climate goals, in the form of a tax or under an emissions trading or cap-and-trade plan where companies or countries face a carbon limit. “The government is at an advanced stage in establishing the Kenya Emissions Trading System allowing companies and organisations to buy Emission Allowance and thereby enable Kenya to meet her commitments in limiting greenhouse emissions,” Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani told an online conference of Kenyan and European officials.
Uganda: Where Does Money Borrowed By Govt Go? (Daily Monitor)
Uganda is unable to exclusively finance its ambitious infrastructure projects from domestic revenues due to a narrow tax base. Officials said the tax revenues are lower than 16 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the average for African countries. Part of the problem, according to experts, is the government’s failure to effectively tax and collect revenues from the informal sector that roughly accounts for half of Uganda’s economy. This newspaper’s investigation reveals that the government’s plan to finance up to 80 per cent of its budget from local revenue has failed because of its inability to generate sufficient domestic revenues. To plug the financial hole, the country has increased its borrowing from both external and domestic creditors, plunging the country to near debt distress.
Economic ties: Suluhu to urge more Tanzanians to invest in Kenya (The Star, Kenya)
President Samia Suluhu of Tanzania has pledged to cement historical friendship and brotherhood between Tanzania and Kenya.The president who is on her two-day official visit to Kenya said both countries need to set up sound policies to build strong economies and cooperation. Speaking during a State banquet hosted in her honour by President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta on Tuesday evening, Suluhu said her era of leadership will strive to strengthen historical ties that exist between the two countries especially in economic cooperation. “Investments from Kenya to Tanzania are largely good. We have about 513 Kenyan companies in Tanzania but from Tanzania to Kenya we have only 30 companies. Now when I go back I will urge more Tanzanian investors to come in and set shop in Kenya so that we can improve on our economies,” Suluhu said.
Industrialization and Nigeria’s Post-Crisis Economic Recovery, By Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka (SaharaReporters.com)
COVID-19 has more than wreaked havoc on all areas of society. Significantly, COVID-19 accentuates two types of dependencies into which African countries are locked. First, is the dependence on export of commodities such oil, minerals, and agricultural raw materials. Second, the pandemic led to the crash of oil and mineral prices; both events exacerbated Africa’s economic challenges and taxed the health system in the most severe of ways. Africa imports around 80% of its drugs and medical supplies from China and India. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), potential losses in GDP are to the magnitude of $ 173 and $236 billion in 2021 and 2022 respectively. The second dangerous dependency is the reliance on food imports, especially grains imports, estimated at $45 billion in 2019.
FG hopeful of improved earnings from floating LNG (Guardian Nigeria)
The Federal Government has expressed optimism about improved earnings from its gas monetisation scheme, following the signing of the Pre-Front End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED) contract by the licensee to commence the development of 176 million cubic feet per day Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) floating plant. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had issued Licence to Establish (LTE), the first floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production plant to UTM Offshore Limited, an indigenous oil and gas company, earlier this year.
Nigeria’s oil output drops by 30% in four years – Investigation (Vanguard News)
In an apparent reflection of the measures taken to achieve stability in the global market by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the Niger-Delta, Nigeria’s oil production has fallen by 30 per cent in the last four years to 1.423 million barrels per day, mb/d in 2020 from 2.041 million barrels per day, mb/d in 2017. The figure excludes 2020 condensate production, according to the data obtained by Vanguard Energy from OPEC’s monthly market reports between 2017 and 2020. This steady or consistent drop in output constitutes a serious threat to the nation’s economy, especially as the world continues to adopt new forms of clean energy.
Oil & Gas: Nigeria Hosts African Local Content Roundtable (THISDAYLIVE)
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is set to host the maiden edition of the African Local Content Roundtable in a bid to institutionalise peer review mechanism among African oil-producing countries on local content as a key development imperative for domestication and sustainable growth of Africa’s hydrocarbon resources. The organisers, in a statement issued on Tuesday, noted that over the years, critical stakeholders in the oil and gas sector in Africa have been fascinated by the remarkable impact and achievements of Nigeria in the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and the development of its hydrocarbon resources which is anchored on the philosophy of In-Country Value Addition.
IMF approves financing plan of debt relief to Sudan (Reuters)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board approved on Monday a financing plan to help mobilize resources needed for the fund to cover its share of debt relief to Sudan. The financing plan relies on a broad effort of IMF member countries, including cash grants and contributions derived from the fund’s internal resources, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement. “This marks a critical step in helping Sudan advance the process of normalizing relations with the international community and make progress towards achieving debt relief under the Heavily-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative,” she added.
African regional and continental news
AfCFTA involves country and regional economic community actions (Ghana Business News)
Trade under the AfCFTA means a liberalized single market for goods and services facilitated by the easy movement of people and capital. It also lays the foundation for a continent-wide customs union. Ultimately, this new single market is expected to contribute to sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic development, gender equality and, more broadly, enhanced competitiveness and industrial development. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is playing a key role in providing support to the AfCFTA process. ECA is collaborating with the African Union Commission (AUC) and various partners to advocate for AU Member States’ AfCFTA ratification and implementation, sensitization around the AfCFTA and technical support to the negotiations. ECA’s technical support also extends to assistance in the preparation of national AfCFTA strategies. Forty-one countries, including 21 LDCs and four Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are at various stages in preparing these strategies, which identify strategic areas of national interest and relevant interventions to ensure that countries and regions fully participate and benefit from the agreement.
Comply with trade rules to boost investor confidence – AfCFTA (GhanaWeb)
The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has urged the 37 countries which have ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement to resort to the dispute settlement body that has been set up to address any challenge they might face. He has also asked them to endeavour to comply with rulings of the body, as this will significantly contribute to investor confidence. According to him, compliance with the rules will go a long way to boost investor confidence – as the world will be able to tell the character of a country when it comes to dispute settlement and the risk associated with investments into those countries. “More importantly, there is an investor sentiment that is at play here: countries which are seen to be complying with rules of the African trade law, those countries will have their investor sentiment enhanced. It is an important development; it sends a strong signal to importers, investors and service provider that Africa is ready to transact businesses in a rules-based system,” Mr. Mene told journalists at a press briefing on the agreement’s status.
Botswana signs several SADC legal instruments (SADC)
The President of the Republic of Botswana, His Excellency Dr. Mokgweetsi Keabetswe Eric Keabetswe Masisi, has signed several Southern African Development Community (SADC) legal instruments which include the Protocol on Industry, agreements amending the Protocol on Extradition, and the Protocol on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. The Protocol on Industry seeks to promote development of a diversified, innovative and globally competitive regional and national industrial bases which will enable the Region to achieve sustainable and inclusive industrial development. Botswana becomes the 12th SADC Member State to have appended its signature on the Protocol.
Impact of COVID-19 on financing of free trade in Africa assessed (ESI-Africa.com)
African Export-Import Bank, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership have released a special African Trade Finance Survey Report assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade finance in Africa. The report highlighted the role trade finance can play in overcoming social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate the process of economic recovery through trade and investment growth.
Professor Benedict Orama, Afreximbank president, explained that tightening global financing conditions triggered massive capital outflows from Africa, exceeding $5billion the first quarter of 2020. “These massive capital outflows strained Africa banks, many of which recorded sharp drops in net foreign assets. This further exacerbated liquidity constraints and undermined the capacity of banks to finance African trade.”
Dr Vera Songwe, executive secretary at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) commended Afreximbank for the counter-cyclical measures it took to help countries deal with the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: “The bank has also played a major role in putting together a $2billion facility to help African member states purchase up to 400 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Southern African regions inaugurates milestone Kazungula Bridge! (Africanews)
A road and rail bridge linking Botswana and Zambia was inaugurated on Monday – marking the completion of a multi-million-dollar project aimed at easing congestion at border crossings throughout the southern African region. “This will lower the cost of doing business,” Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, anticipating “an increase in trade and competitiveness, job creation, tourism and other positive ripple effects”. Construction of the $259 million (213 million euro) project began in December 2014, co-funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), regional governments and other grants. The bridge will facilitate intra-regional freight transport by allowing trucks to bypass the notorious Beitbridge border post between Zimbabwe and South Africa, which is perennially congested, with vehicles spending hours and sometimes days queueing to cross.
Africa’s industrialisation shortfall leading to devaluation in global market, analysts confirm (BusinessAMLive)
Africa, according to a report by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), is one of the least industrialised regions of the world as its economy is mainly centered on the export of raw agricultural and mineral staples which are in most cases, processed into finished products by foreign industries. Economic experts averred that most African countries have continually traded their natural resources majorly in unprocessed forms which to a large extent has limited diversification towards high processed and value-added commodities in global export trade. They also warned that Africa’s failure to process its raw commodities into finished products for export could prove costly to economic development as it is probably the most ideal development model that can actually create sustainable jobs, relevant export revenues and rapid wealth generation to a large range of its populace.
It has been argued by analysts and stakeholders in the manufacturing sector that the continent’s industrialisation development has been hampered by wide range of problems including high cost of capital, erratic power supply, lack of relevant skills, high prices of raw materials, infrastructural decay, poor customs and logistics, government policies and interferences. These, according to them, have forced many indigenous industries from functioning effectively with many of them eventually closing down.
Africa must actualize the customer-king adage (Daily Monitor)
It is estimated that by 2040, Africa will have the largest workforce in the world. With a steadily growing population, the continent could have more than a quarter of global population by 2050. It has been previously reported that the rate of return on foreign investment in Africa is higher than in any other developing region. Also in recent times, Africa’s lion states which include Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa have grown faster than the Asian tigers. Africa’s middle class has been reported as fastest growing in the world. About 34 percent of Africa’s population was reported to spend $ 2.20 a day, a 100 percent rise in less than 20 years, according to the African Development Bank. The McKinsey Global had projected that Africa’s boom in consumer spending was set to rise from $ 860 billion in 2008 to $ 1.4 trillion in 2020. This projection was hit five years ahead of time, in 2015. It is now projected that the figure will hit $2.1 trillion by 2025.
African Energy Chamber calls for more US-Africa energy investments (WorldOil)
Following President Biden’s Interim National Security Strategic Guidance signaling for continued growth in partnerships with African economies, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) believes it is vital to engage U.S. companies and investors to counter the often-wrong preconceptions about investing in the continent, as Africa has some of the fastest-growing economies globally and possesses significant investment and development opportunities for U.S. firms. U.S. companies stand to play a significant role in the road to a lower-carbon future on the continent, and to continue leading some of the most important markets in the energy industry. “Africa, we believe offers a tremendous opportunity for US companies to invest and make returns that are far superior to market returns in many other investment destinations” said Jude Kearney, Chairman of the US-Africa Committee at the AEC. “We would therefore like to encourage more US companies to look beyond unjustified risk perceptions on Africa and actively pursue opportunities in Africa.”
Expo 2020 Dubai: African nations gear up to polish image at event (Khaleej Times)
African nations are attending this year’s Expo 2020 Dubai in force, hoping to project an image of a modern and ambitious continent and shed stereotypes of conflict and underdevelopment. The six-month mega-event was delayed by the Covid pandemic. With nearly all African states represented for the first time, Expo provides a stage to advertise a “continent that is ready to move forward” and “a secure place to do business,” Levi Uche Madueke from the 55-member African Union told AFP. “The time has come for us to actually reach out to the world, and for the world to understand us, and also see how they can collaborate with us,” said Madueke, the AU’s head of strategic partnerships.
Sahel and Central Africa: €210 million in EU humanitarian aid (EU Reporter)
The EU is reaffirming its solidarity with vulnerable people in countries in the Sahel and Central Africa through a humanitarian budget of €210 million in 2021. The funding will be allocated to humanitarian projects in the following eight countries: Burkina Faso (€24.3m), Cameroon (€17.5m), the Central African Republic (€21.5m), Chad (€35.5m) Mali (€31.9m), Mauritania (€10m), Niger (€32.3m) and Nigeria (€37m). Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič said: “Worsening instability and armed conflicts, together with the COVID-19 pandemic and natural hazards, are having a devastating impact in the Sahel and countries in Central Africa. The EU remains committed to help reduce suffering among people in need in the region. While humanitarian aid is there to bring emergency relief, longer-lasting improvements can only be brought about through the political will of national governments and good governance.”
A project launched in Zimbabwe in December 2020 to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on food and nutrition security using Climate Smart Technologies is making good progress with a thriving horticulture crop, a solar-powered borehole, and 100 efficient cook stoves having been installed. The project is being implemented by Grow a Tree Foundation (GTF), a partner of the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), with funding from the European Union (EU) through the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and technical support from Bembani Group. The project is expected to expand to other product lines such as beekeeping, fish ponds and chicken rearing. The community through the project was assisted with registering a private company that will be used as a commercial vehicle to market and sell the produce.
Migration: ECA examines the recognition of African skills in Morocco (UNECA)
The ECA Office for North Africa held on Monday, May 10, 2021, a workshop for the launch of its study on the recognition of African migrants’ skills in the Kingdom of Morocco, currently conducted as part of its programme for Migration Statistics and Skills Recognition in Africa. The meeting presented the methodology of the study, which aims to facilitate, on the one hand, the assessment of national policies in the field of skill recognition, and, on the other hand, reflect on avenues to further improve them, to support Morocco’s National Immigration and Asylum Strategy, the implementation of both Agendas 2030 and 2063 as per the recommendations of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). “This project will enable us to study Morocco’s policy regarding foreign diploma recognition, with a view to developing an African framework for the certification of diplomas,” said Khaled Hussein, Director a.i. of the ECA office in North Africa ahead of the meeting.
Global economy
On support for global trade in Africa, today (Trade for Development News)
A new World Trade Organization (WTO) report, Strengthening Africa’s capacity to trade, addresses the disruptions to trade due to the pandemic and outlines the ways the international body is working to encourage trade flows on the continent. As LDCs, countries get additional international support with development assistance and with trade, and 33 of the 46 LDCs today are in Africa.
The WTO’s Africa report states, “Trade has allowed many developing countries to benefit from the opportunities created by emerging new markets by enabling them to integrate into the world market through global value chains. Moreover, the unbiased, predictable and non-discriminatory regime maintained by the multilateral trading system places all economies – developing and developed, small and large – on an equal footing.” But COVID-19 is hitting the most vulnerable the hardest, with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) foreseeing LDCs to “experience their worst economic performance in 30 years.”
Next stop Africa? Brexit bonanza set to explode as UK eyes new deal with ‘thriving’ state (Daily Express)
With Liz Truss setting out Britain’s post-Brexit future, Helen Grant Tory MP for Maidstone and The Weald and trade envoy to Nigeria claimed a trade deal with the country could be significant for UK plc. Referencing her desire to “bang the drum” for UK trade abroad, Ms Grant boasted of Nigeria’s emerging economy – the largest in Africa – and the impact it could have for British business in terms of financial services, agriculture and tech. “Traditionally oil and gas has been Nigeria’s most important sector and that will remain so for some time.” But Nigeria’s government realises that its economy must diversify for climate and sustainability, as well as economic reasons. “That’s why it’s also good business for the UK Government to support Nigeria’s efforts to reform in critical areas such as the power sector, improving the business environment or speeding up customs clearance.”
Fishing subsidies negotiations chair introduces new text in run-up to July ministerial (WTO)
“The aim of this new draft text is to serve as the basis for work toward a clean text to present to a meeting of ministers on 15 July,” the chair told heads of delegations at a meeting of the Negotiating Group on Rules. “This leaves us just two months to finish. The shared sense of urgency is palpable, and we need to harness that sense to finally agree to the compromise landing zones that will represent the ambitious and balanced outcome that ministers in Buenos Aires mandated us to find, to make a substantial and tangible contribution to the health of our shared oceans.”
Rich and poor divide set to widen if pandemic impact runs unabated, new UN report says (UNDP)
The COVID-19 pandemic will expand the divide between rich and poor around the world and reverse gains made towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to new analyses from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Pardee Centre for International Futures at the University of Denver. The analysis shows that eight out of ten people that could become poor by the end of this decade as a result of the pandemic will live in the world’s poorest countries and that an additional 41 million more people will live in extreme poverty in low and medium human development countries by 2030. But the study also shows that strategic policy decisions made now could not only reverse the development losses caused by the pandemic, but bring countries closer to achieving the SDGs.
Plans for Suez Canal to be widened, deepened in stretch where Ever Given cargo ship got stuck (ABC News)
The narrow section of the Suez Canal that was accidentally blockaded when the Ever Given cargo ship became stuck will be expanded and deepened, according to plans announced by the Egyptian government. The plan was announced six weeks after the Ever Given ran aground on both banks of the canal, leading to a global trade crisis. About 10 per cent of world trade flows through the canal, and some 19,000 vessels passed through the canal last year, according to official figures.
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National trade and trade-related news
Going digital during pandemic signals a positive change for SMMEs – SBI (Eyewitness News)
While thousands of small businesses crumbled under the weight of the economic slump brought on by the recession and COVID-19 pandemic, many of them went digital to survive. The Small Business Institute (SBI) said that this has signaled a positive change for SMMEs. In its research paper titled: “Digitalisation – the best hope for South Africa and its small firms,” the SBI noted how digitalisation was essential for SMMEs which wanted to participate in the future economy. “More than a few of those (businesses) that survived found ways to adapt and change how they conduct business, what or how they sell, and some intrepid and truly entrepreneurial souls started new businesses during the crisis,” the SBI noted.
Cape Town becomes major tech start-up investment hub (IT Web)
In 2020, a total of $88 million (roughly R1.2 billion) disclosed investments were injected into tech start-ups in the City of Cape Town across 46 deals. So says Wesgro – the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape – noting it as the “highest investments made in SA” during the period. Wesgro revealed this following the release of the inaugural ‘African Tech Ecosystems of the Future’ rankings, which mapped the tech ecosystems around Africa’s biggest cities. Regularly ranked among the “top emerging start-up ecosystems” as well as “top tech employment hubs”, Cape Town is now counted among the fastest-growing regions for foreign direct investment (FDI), according to Wesgro.
What a waiver on Covid-19 vaccine patents may mean for South Africa (Ground Up)
“Extraordinary times … call for extraordinary measures”, said Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, last week as she announced that the Biden administration supports waiving “IP protections on Covid-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic”. Given the hard-line position on IP adopted by previous administrations, regardless of which party was in power, this was quite extraordinary. But what does it actually mean, and will it make any difference?
TPT to deploy new version of container terminal operating system (Engineering News)
State-owned Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) will, later this month, launch a new version of its container terminal operating system Navis Sparcs N4. This latest version will set the new architectural foundation for added features and capabilities, says TPT CFO Sharla Chetty. “As technology becomes an integral part of executing daily tasks, the upgrade introduces improved performance, reliability, security and scalability, providing support for later database software versions. Business intelligence and operational monitoring dashboards have been tuned for better usability and performance,” says Chetty.
Record SA auto component exports in 2020 despite Covid-19 (Moneyweb)
Despite the severe impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on the automotive industry globally, South African automotive components exports increased to a record R54.5 billion in 2020 from R53.7 billion in 2019. This increase was attributed to record catalytic converter exports of R25.98 billion, mainly to Europe in line with stricter emissions legislation implemented in the region in 2020. Catalytic converter exports accounted for 47.7% of total automotive component exports in 2020.
Namibia Launches AGOA Strategy to Increase Tariff-Free Exports to the United States (USAID)
Today, U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson joined Minister of Industrialisation and Trade Lucia Iipumbu to officially launch Namibia’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Utilization Strategy. The strategy seeks to increase Namibia’s exports under the AGOA program, which allows Namibia to export over 6,400 products tariff-free to the United States. This joint effort to develop the AGOA strategy is part of the United States’ efforts to expand mutually beneficial trade with Namibia.
Treasury proclaims incremental incentives for exporters, investors (The Chronicle)
Government has announced an Incremental Export Incentive Scheme and additional fiscal enhancement measures for investors to buttress the ongoing ease of doing business reforms aimed at promoting robust export-led productive growth and diversification of the economy. The interventions entail fine-tuning the policy on the export receipts retention threshold so that the benefits accrue directly to the exporters of goods and services. This will see producers mainly in mining and manufacturing sectors as well as those businesses operating under the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) model benefiting more.
With the coming in of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and guided by the ambitious focus of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1:2021-2025), Zimbabwe is driving at creating new and accelerated domestic industrial value chains.
Maize exports to Kenya back again, but in dribs and drabs (The Citizen)
Exports of maize to Kenya through the Namanga border post has resumed but the usual large volumes are not there yet. Traders of the commodity at the border town said in principle the recent stand-off by the two countries over the maize trade is over. Several trucks from Tanzania, which had been stranded at the border with maize, are reported to have been cleared to Nairobi. A spot check by The Citizen at the busy border crossing yesterday found no lorry with maize awaiting clearance. Instead the extensive parking yards on both sides of the border had trucks loaded with other exports to Kenya, notable among them timber.
Farmers export less than a tonne of bananas despite South Korea deal (Business Daily)
Kenyan farmers have exported less than a tonne of bananas and broccoli to South Korea, five years after the two nations struck a bilateral deal for supplies to the Asian country. The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) has attributed the low volumes to lack of awareness by farmers. Kenya in May 2015 initiated a bilateral agreement to ease access to the South Korean market for various products from Kenya, a move that saw the country allowed to export unripe banana and broccoli, which would not require pest risk analysis as it is the case with other products.
Government targets value addition to transform economy – Alan Kyerematenx (MyJoyOnline)
The government has identified the automotive industry as a vital pillar to transform the economy from one reliant on raw material exports to one driven by value added exports, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, has said. As a result, he said the government was making the necessary investments to build the capacities and competitiveness of manufacturing enterprises to help position them for greater productivity and efficiency. “Government has approved an Incentive Framework specially designed for the One District One Factory (1D1F) designated companies which include tax holidays, duty waivers and corporate tax, designed to help build the capacities and competitiveness of these enterprises, and to position them for greater productivity and efficiency,” he said.
AfCFTA: What Mauritius stands to gain (The Southern Times)
Mauritius, being strategically located between Asia and Africa, praises itself as having one of the continent’s most stable regulatory environment. Mauritius has over the years been an offshore gateway to Africa. It has long been an advocate for developing economic bridges between itself and other African states, leveraging its position as Africa’s best place to conduct business as recognised by the World Bank. Mauritius has firmly established and promoted itself as a regional hub for facilitating investments on the continent. It is thus undeniable that AfCFTA will add further to the attractiveness of Africa as a place to do business.
Why recent travel advisory updates on Nigeria is bad for business (Ventures Africa)
Usually, when a country issues travel advisory updates to its citizens, it is to ensure that they can conduct their business safely in another country. These recommendations are made as each nation has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its people, and often carry specific guidelines addressing the state of health implications on travel or other pressing matters.
Currently, Nigeria has been placed on a level 3 travel advisory whereby travellers are advised to reconsider travel to the country. This is a countrywide alert, while certain parts of the country have been designated with a level 4 status. Nonetheless, one cannot help but establish a link between a subsequent drop in foreign direct investments owing to the country’s poor state of security. Much as we would like to wish these problems away, they require quick and decisive action.
Nigeria needs urgent economic diversification – AfDB (Nairametrics)
The African Development Bank has stated that Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, needs urgent economic diversification to move the country from a single income source (oil and minerals) towards multiple income sources. “In pursuit of long-term recovery and sustainable development, Nigeria needs urgent economic diversification. Nothing is more poignantly demonstrative of the danger of over-reliance on a single or narrow range of commodities than the recent crash in oil price we saw in 2020 due to the COVID-19. Economic diversification entails a shift away from a single income source (oil and minerals) toward multiple income sources from an increasing spectrum of sectors, products and markets,” Prof. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka Oyebanji, Senior Special Adviser on Industrialisation at AfDB, said.
Address plight of Nigerian traders in Ghana (Daily Trust)
From all indications, the plight of thousands of Nigerian traders in Ghana has not improved due to the uncooperative attitude of the Ghanaian authorities and the seemingly lackadaisical approach to the issue by the Nigerian government. The issue centres on the $1m levy slapped by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) on Nigerian traders and other foreigners as part of conditions for doing business in Ghana. The conditions set by the Ghanaian authorities, which is contrary to the trade protocol of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of which Ghana is a member has triggered a flurry of diplomatic engagements between officials of the Nigerian government and their Ghanaian counterparts at the highest level in a bid to resolve the matter amicably.
AfCFTA is the key to unlocking Ghana’s international trade potentials – Ayikoi Otoo (GhanaWeb)
Former Ghanaian High Commissioner to Canada, Ayikoi Otoo, has indicated that, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) would be key in unlocking Africa’s brimming economic potentials. In addressing the role of international trade in Ghana’s development, the respected diplomat asserted that, African countries must be smart to take their destinies into their own hands, if they are to achieve global competitiveness in international trade. “The nature of the world economic order is such that, finished products of African countries face tariff and non-tariff barriers in accessing Western markets. Even if such products are able to surmount tariff barriers, they then face the steep walls of certification and patronage”, he stated.
DRC, DP World revise initial agreement for Banana deep water port project (Construction Review)
The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, and the regional director for Africa of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) port operator Dubai Ports (DP) World had a discussion session on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, which focused on the readjustment of the relative convention for the construction of the Banana deep water port.
The initial agreement for the Banana deep-water port project in central Kongo dates back to 2018 when a contract was signed between DP World and former Congolese head of state, Joseph Kabila. The revised version of the original agreement (which expired on March 23, last year) reconsiders the interests of each party to the contract and helps to rebalance their respective benefits.
African regional and continental news
Sadc’s US$260m unifier…Kazungula bridge to enhance regional integration (The Herald)
Zimbabwe yesterday joined SADC in witnessing the commissioning of a state of the art Kazungula bridge that links Botswana, Zambia and Africa’s hinterland in a development that will enhance intra-regional trade and cooperation. Zimbabwe, in the fullness of time, will be part of the project after pledging to pay its share of the bridge having been left out due to a diplomatic standoff before the dawn of the Second Republic. Although the $260 million Kazungula bridge presently links Zambia and Botswana, the two nations have agreed to rope in Zimbabwe as the region moves to improve trade and commerce through interlinking countries that faced difficulties because of infrastructural bottlenecks. The completion of the project gives impetus to SADC’s Regional Development Master Plan – Vision 2027 – which envisions well-maintained and operated infrastructure that promotes seamless transport services in the region. Apart from that, the bridge fits into intra-regional and continental ideals encapsulated in the Africa Agenda 2063 of a more integrated, united, and prosperous continent.
Will Kazungula Bridge ‘steal’ Beitbridge’s thunder? (Mmegi Online)
No one is willing to go on the record, but late Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe appears to have been a stumbling block in the early days of the Kazungula Bridge. The project, which involves building a 930-metre road and rail bridge over the Zambezi River near the quadripoint between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, was envisaged decades ago to replace the inefficient and even dangerous pontoon being used.
SADC had long been eager to ease regional trade as part of boosting economies and this, amongst other ways, could be achieved by a smoother crossing of the Zambezi River, a major obstacle to and from the economic hubs in Durban and Gauteng to the northern part of the region.
At present, the major north-south economic corridor within SADC follows the old Cape to Cairo vision, with Durban, Cape Town and Gauteng threading through Beitbridge in southern Zimbabwe to the Chirundu and Victoria Falls bridges, which cross the Zambezi. From there, goods travel to countries such as Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mnangagwa’s comments highlight the regional debates going on ahead of Kazungula’s official opening. What seemed like a far off pipe dream some decades ago, is now the game changer for regional trade and geopolitics. While the Kazungula Bridge represents a marginally longer route to the northern SADC hubs, than the Beitbridge-Chirundu, the efficiencies in the newer corridor are expected to draw traffic away from the older corridor.
“The economic significance of this one-stop border post to the two countries, and indeed, to SADC cannot be overemphasised, as this facility will enable trade facilitation between the two countries and throughout the region and beyond,” finance and economic development minister, Peggy Serame, said recently at the signing of an agreement for the posts.
Southern Africa: Overcoming corridor and border challenges for landlocked countries (ScienceDirect)
This chapter focus on seaport choice problem in Southern Africa where four large landlocked countries such as Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are located. These landlocked countries have a unique set of options when it comes to choosing a gateway seaport for trading with countries in other continents because they are surrounded by oceans on three sides: west, east, and south. Two case studies related to transport in Zambia are conducted, such as construction of Kazungula Bridge and renovation of TAZARA railway. The authors have used a model to simulate the development of transport infrastructure in these case studies and the implications of these developments for the region. Besides, brief reviews for the current situation with regard to land transport and seaports in Southern Africa are conducted. The simulation results show that once Kazungula Bridge is built, container flow will shift from the Zimbabwean route and increase along the Botswana route. However, the choice of port will not change dramatically. Meanwhile, a more significant change was observed in port throughput in the simulation once the TAZARA railway renovation is completed. The results show that container throughput at Dar es Salaam port will increase, while those at Beira and Durban ports will decrease. This implies that railway is effective for the Southern African region to increase the share of cargo volume, since railway is far more competitive in terms of unit cost than road transport.
SADC begins to implement programme to support productive sectors in the Region
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) programme in Support to Industrialisation and Productive Sectors (SIPS) is now operational. The SIPS programme is targeting to up-scale grant awards for the development of the leather, anti-retroviral drugs, medical supplies and associated value chains.
Through the SIPS programme, SADC Member States have begun implementing national leather development strategies under the leather value chain of the Programme. The SIPS Programme aims to assist SADC’s industrialisation and regional integration agenda, and is supported by funding from the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
SADC will implement Component 1, which aims at enhancing of policy, regulatory and business environment on national and regional levels for development and sustainable operation of regional value chains for selected products in the agro-processing and pharmaceutical sectors, while Component 2, to be implemented by GIZ, will ensure that private sector participation in ARV value chains regional leather value chains is enhanced. The Programme will be implemented in a coordinated manner for all the result areas by the SADC Secretariat.
SADC will also focus on activities aimed at enhancing policy, regulatory and business environment at the national and regional levels for the development and sustainable operation of the leather and ARV regional value chains, said Mr Tutalife.
EAC Secretary General assures Namanga Border Management Agencies of EAC’s full support (East African Community)
The EAC Secretary General, Hon (Dr.) Peter Mathuki, has called upon the various government agencies at Namanga border to hold regular consultative meetings with traders to identify and address factors that affect intra-regional trade. Dr. Mathuki was speaking during his visit to the Namanga One Stop Border Post (OSBP) on Monday.
The objective of the visit was to assess the flow of goods and services at the Namanga border, as a follow-up of the directives issued by their Excellences President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya on the removal of trade restrictions between the two countries in the spirit of EAC integration.
While briefing the EAC delegation, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) Namanga OSBP Manager, Paul Kamkulu, said that on one hand in the FY 2019/2021, TRA issued 4,830 import declarations, while in the FY 2020/2021, 4,399 declarations were issued; and on the other hand, TRA issued 8,660 export declarations in the FY 2019/2021, and 10,227 declarations in 2020/2021. “We have also observed a similar trend in the tonnage imports and exports, and the drop in imports to Tanzania can largely be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Kamkulu.
EAC Sec Gen calls for harmonization of business standards in East Africa (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)
East Africa Community Secretary General Peter Mathuki has called for harmonization of business standards across East Africa to boost EAC intra trade. He said there were some Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) at the border entry prompting slow business flow, and called for a harmonized standard of business between Kenya and Tanzania especially on taxes. The traders called for the harmonization of taxes and charges across the region, reduction of weigh bridge costs and punitive fines imposed across borders.
Mathuki said intra trade within EAC stagnantly stands at 15 percent currently projecting a triple digit growth in the next five years to 45 percent. He said EAC is pushing for free movement of goods within EA to reduce the cost of doing business with hope SMEs will either import or export goods following the right channels. EAC Secretariat is set to avail a trade hotline providing cross-border traders with a platform to register their challenges and get prompt feedback, across all EAC border posts.
Editorial: Delivering on EAC integration agenda requires an all hands on deck approach (The New Times)
The Private Sector Federation of Rwanda has expressed confidence in the new secretary-general of the East African Community (EAC) hailing his record as a champion of free trade and conducive business environment across the 6-member bloc. The business leaders released a statement reiterating their faith in Peter Mathuki, the respected Kenyan integration crusader who previously served as executive director of the East African Business Council (EABC).
From unharmonized tax regimes and a stalemate on a litany of non-tariff barriers to continued restrictions of movement of people, goods and services across borders and failure to make progress on a liberalised EAC airspace, the new administration at the EAC secretariat has its work cut out for it.
Ineffective Tech Hinders Agric Output (The Monitor)
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently conducted training for farmers in the SPEDU region that was aimed at imparting awareness and knowledge on best practice in horticulture technologies for improved output and economic efficiency of farming enterprises targeted at increasing productive capacity of SMMEs in Botswana.
“Farmers do not use best practice farming methods. They do not have access to climate control equipment, access to improved inputs like seeds varieties, fertilisers and, finally, they do not use efficient harvesting and harvest preservation methods,” he said.
“We dream of a Botswana where we will have enough food that we would not need to import from other countries, but that we would become the supplier through some of the trade agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” Molebatsi said. He also expressed the government’s commitment towards continuing to foster partnerships between the MITI and UNDP Botswana through programmes such as the SDP. Molebatsi called on all stakeholders involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to pull together to ensure synergies in their efforts to build a strong SMME sector in the country.
Innovations set the stage for diaspora remittances growth (Business Daily)
Remittances have been one of the key beneficiaries of digital transformation as members of the diaspora sent funds to their loved ones back home to ride out the ravages of the pandemic. The diaspora has demonstrated its strong attachment to their home countries during this difficult period. As you will recall, there were predictions most notably by the World Bank, that remittances to sub-Saharan African could plummet by over 20 percent.
Several countries as diverse as Comoros, Gambia, Mexico and the Philippines joined Kenya in bucking the predictions with increased remittances in 2020. As we applaud this commendable achievement in the remittances space in 2020, we need to reflect on how to maintain and grow the market to lift livelihoods.
First, is the cost of remittances. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set a target for the cost of remittances of less than three percent by 2030. The cost in sub-Saharan Africa at end of 2020 stood at 8.2 percent, while in Kenya this stood at eight percent. This has come down significantly over the last 10 years from over 15 percent. In Kenya’s case, the adoption of technology and innovation has brought down the costs significantly. This has been facilitated by the multiplicity of remittance channels and products provided by banks and money remittance providers.
The integration of mobile phone financial services in the remittance’s ecosystem has also lowered costs but more importantly allowed for smaller “bite-sized” remittance tickets. While the progress is commendable, a lot more remains to be done to achieve the SDG target. Second, what are the opportunities for growth and are they in cross-border payments systems? Looking to the horizon, it will be critical to connecting our payment systems across the region.
Regional Food Security key to ECOWAS peace, development – Bawumia (Modern Ghana)
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has emphasized the importance of a regional food storage system for the ECOWAS subregion in order to ensure food security, peace and accelerated development for the millions of people in West Africa and beyond.
“At a time when the global community, and indeed Africa, is reeling from the continuous threat and ravaging effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, this meeting is timely, and inspires great hope,” he stated. “As we all know, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of our food systems and our agriculture sectors in general. “In the last 7 years, statistics suggests that, people facing food insecurity in the sub region has exploded from two million to 27 million as at the end of our last cropping season. This is unacceptable especially when agriculture offers the best hope of liberating our economies from the chronic malaise that has characterized them over the years.”
“We all know that our countries are endowed with virtually all the resources needed to propel economic development, with agriculture as the major driving force. We have arable land, human resource, water bodies, varieties of food crops and a relatively favorable climate condition. We therefore have no excuses.
“Our economies have strong linkages and therefore there is the need for building synergies in common areas of clear comparative advantage. We need stronger integration of our markets as promoted in the ECOWAS protocol to build the necessary resilience of our economies.
5th High Level Tax Policy Dialogue | African Union
The meeting will be delivered virtually over two days and will centre on the following topics: • Session 1: Private Sector Development: A Balanced Approach to Direct Tax Policy and Administration for Economic Stabilisation.
- Session 2: COVID-19: The Role of Indirect Tax Policy and Administration in mitigating the socio-economic impact of the pandemic.
- Session 3: The Future of Resource Taxation.
- Session 4: Tax Compliance Improvement Frameworks: Policy Issues for enabling access to information by Tax Administrations.
- Session 5: Applying the Science Model to Tax Policies and Administration.
- Session 6: Assessing and Improving the Performance of Tax Systems.
In 2013, member states of the African Union agreed upon “Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want”, working towards an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena. In line with this vision, developing integrated and complementary value chains for sustainable recovery and reinforcing operationalization of the AfCFTA will expand trade across the continent, which is crucial for Africa’s development.
However, considering how the COVID-19 pandemic has crippled nearly every economy across the globe, there is consensus across the African continent on the need to build a strong and resilient economy to withstand future shocks. This will include developing an integrated and complementary African value chains, for successful operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The COVID-19 crisis gave further impetus for the development of digital trade in Africa. As early as March 2020, Africa’s businesses, with government support, were using new technologies that mitigated supply chain disruptions and facilitated trade in essential products such as pharmaceuticals. The creation of a continental e-platform procuring diagnostic tests and medical equipment from certified suppliers on the global market is an example of this. Businesses and populations also strove to adapt to the “new normal” by accelerating their adoption of technologies. In Ghana, more than a third of over 4000 firms surveyed implemented digital solutions during the pandemic.
For these reasons, the 2021 African Union Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration will be held under the theme, “Developing Integrated and Complementary Value Chains for sustainable recovery and reinforcing operationalization of the AfCFTA.” The goal is to explore how the African continent can develop an integrated continental value chain to build a resilient economy; how digitalization of the African economy can help firms play a more active role in GVCs; develop the necessary logistics and infrastructure to facilitate international production networks and integration of value chains; and reinforce public and private financing to invest in African value chains.
Facilitating the Development and Modernization of the Bioenergy Sector (IPP Media)
GBEP is a forum where voluntary cooperation works towards consensus amongst governments, Intergovernmental organizations and other partners in the areas of the bioenergy for sustainable development, climate change mitigation, and food and energy security.
The conference aimed to: (i) review and develop regional Bioenergy policy frameworks, guidelines and action plans for the regional economic communities (RECs) in Africa; (ii) highlight challenges, lessons learned and opportunities in the bioenergy sector from all over the world to stimulate modern bioenergy implementation and replication in Africa; (iii) engage stakeholders on bioenergy best practices to maximize sustainability and contribute to meeting the SDGs and countries’ NDCs; (iv) and facilitate the discourse with the private sector to facilitate a viable bioenergy market in Africa, as well as investments in new bioenergy technologies for local applications.
‘Recognizing that we face a climate urgency, national governments must increase their climate ambition by setting long term, ambitious and stable targets for bioenergy and renewable energy deployment, which is estimated to create an additional 2million green jobs in Africa. Utilising locally available renewable energy resources that Africa is richly endowed witch can alleviate immediate energy challenges, while creating jobs, advancing industrial development and promoting human welfare should be our main goal’ said H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy.
Practical insights and recommendations for mainstreaming and integrating bioenergy development in the countries’ policy agendas were shared, to ensure environmental sustainability, investment in agriculture and rural development, reduction in health risk through improved clean cooking and energy access.
African Ministers of Air Transport Adopt Common Position (IPP Media)
With objective to agree on a common African position and establish a mechanism to properly communicate the position to responsible institutions and partners. The main objective was to present to the African air transport Ministers the proposed common position paper the issue of vaccine passport and its implication to international travel with the view to make appropriate recommendations. All the participants confirmed their support to the African common position and the roadmap developed by the African Union Commission.
Dr.Amani Abou-Zeid informed the meeting that the various initiatives taken by the AU Department of Infrastructure and Energy in collaboration with African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), Africa CDC, ICAO, AFRAA, IATA and other air transport stakeholders to ensure a sustainable restart and recovery of the African air transport sector are facing important challenges including travel bans and restrictions preventing African citizen to travel toother continents.
Moreover, some developed countries have recently introduced an initiative of green vaccine passports/certificates, making it a mandatory entry requirement for African countries. Ambassador Vincent Banda, ICAO AFI group coordinator also expressed ICAO support to the initiative of AUC and the developed African common position.
African Member States were also encouraged to adopt digital test wherever possible as verifiable health credentials and as a trusted platform for traveller information and to coordinate all the concerned stakeholders to implement the “ Call for action on safe re-opening of borders” developed by the AU Multi-sectorial taskforce on “ Saving lives, saving economies and livelihoods.”
African countries must embrace the concept of good food as good medicine (The Conversation Africa)
Fresh impetus is being directed into identifying and advocating for scientific priorities in the area of food security and nutrition across Africa, with a particular focus on health implications. At the centre of these efforts is a a five-year project initiated by the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Africa, a partnership between the African Academy of Sciences and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD. This project aims to identify the continent’s most urgent research and development questions, and to advocate for investments in these areas. This will go a long way in helping the continent achieve its vision of transforming lives through science.
A survey was designed for this round table to prioritise research and development questions relating to food security and nutrition. This survey attracted comments and engagement from more than 1,000 experts globally.
The experts made it clear that what is needed is a prioritisation of the health and medicinal values of the food that’s consumed in African countries. In turn, this will spur more research and development of new supplements and phytomedicines – that is, plant-based therapies and medicines – across the continent. This approach has been successful elsewhere, most notably in China. The Asian country has invested heavily in training young practitioners of Chinese traditional medicine, who work with, among other things, plant-based therapies and phytomedicines. The Chinese government has also spent a great deal on manufacturing phytomedicines.
Free up ‘bottlenecks’ stifling Africa’s agri-food sector, urges FAO chief (UN News)
“Let’s unblock the bottlenecks that are holding back potential by increasing coordination and upskilling human capacity in African nations”, urged QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Speaking at the launch of FAO’s latest report, Public Expenditure on Food and Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, he added that funds must also be unlocked and public finance systems streamlined, “so that the scarce resources we have do not go unspent”.
Marco Sánchez, Deputy Director of FAO’s Agri-food Economics Division, outlined research showing that technical efficiency in agriculture, increases dramatically as spending nears $80 per capita. And while it begins to taper off after that, most African countries come nowhere near that amount.
According to the report, the lion’s share of national expenditure on food and agriculture in Africa subsidizes fertilizer, tools and other inputs, which Mr. Sánchez said tend to exhibit diminishing returns over time.
Report into African infrastructure lending says market is down, but not out |(ESI Africa)
Global law firm Baker McKenzie’s report New Dynamics: Shifting Patterns in Africa’s Infrastructure Funding reflects the state of African infrastructure and how major global players’ approach to infrastructure lending on the continent is changing. Analysing new data from IJ Global, the report shows a decline in the value of infrastructure lending, the region is known for its resilience and it is expected that as economies recover, new types of financing will be unlocked. The report’s data shows that multilateral and bilateral lending into Africa has declined. Investment levels fell successively in 2019 and 2020 compared to peak levels seen after the financial crises. In 2019, bilateral and multilateral lending into Africa amounted to $55billion, which drops to $31billion in 2020. Over the last six years, the decline is significant. Deal values dropped from $100billion in 2014 to $31billion in 2020.
The slowdown in infrastructure investment was attributed to a number of factors, including the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. South Africa and Nigeria’s economies have contracted, meaning Sub-Sahara’s two largest economies have not been feeding in growth as in previous years.
How to protect African data from digital colonisers (IOL)
Africa lost its natural resources during the past (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) industrial revolutions and this trend will continue, during the 4th Industrial Revolution, unless something is done about it. During the 4th Industrial Revolution, the African continent will not lose natural resources but virtual resources such as its data and information that will be key during this era. In response, the South African government is starting to do something about this imminent threat to the future of the African Digital economy. On 1 April 2021, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, published a Draft National Data and Cloud Policy (Draft Policy) together with an invitation for interested parties to submit written submissions to the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies within 30 business days of publication of the Draft Policy, by 18 May 2021.
Why such a policy intervention is necessary? In what sense are African countries, including South Africa, likely to lose their resources?
Governing Council Meeting of the WCO East and Southern Africa Region (World Customs Organization)
In his opening remarks, Secretary General Mikuriya expressed his sincere gratitude to the Regional Vice-Chair for the invitation to take part in the Meeting and highlighted the role played by the WCO in supporting the ESA region during this challenging time. He went on to describe the WCO’s immediate priorities as outlined in the COVID-19 Action Plan for the next 18 months, from January 2021 to June 2022, and elaborated on the Organization’s new working methods through a brief presentation.
Prior to the official opening of the Governing Council Meeting, the Heads of all the ESA Customs Administrations were joined by Dr. Mikuriya to watch footage of the virtual signing ceremony for a Host Country Agreement, which took place on 3 May 2021, conferring legal status to the Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB) ESA, located in Nairobi, Kenya.
In his closing remarks, Secretary General Mikuriya joined the Vice-Chair to thank the ESA Heads of Customs for taking part in the Meeting. He took note of the points raised during the discussions in relation to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement and migration to the Harmonized System (HS) 2022, and assured the audience of the WCO’s continuous support and assistance through the delivery of capacity building projects and programmes.
This May, the African Development Bank Group is launching a call for proposals for projects enhancing the viability and sustainability of women entrepreneurship enablers. Women’s business associations, incubators, accelerators, and cooperatives that advance women’s entrepreneurship, can apply for funding for innovative projects or programs to bolster the skills of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owned and run by women across Africa, the Bank announced.
“Women business enablers are critical to creating a viable enabling environment in which women entrepreneurs can grow and create businesses that generate jobs for the continent. Through the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative, the Bank is committed to supporting enablers to strengthen the business and financial skills as well as wealth-creating capacity of their members,” said Esther Dassanou, manager of the program, also known as AFAWA.
Horn of Africa: EU to deepen strategic relationship with the region (European Council)
The Council today approved conclusions affirming the EU’s commitment to give new impetus to its partnership with the Horn of Africa, and establishing a new strategy for the region. A geo-strategic priority for the EU in Africa, the Horn of Africa region has undergone unprecedented developments over the last years and is now at a crossroads. With this new strategy, EU’s intention is to further strengthen and deepen its strategic relationship and partnership with the Horn of Africa and its countries, notably with a view to reduce instability, promote democracy and sustainable growth.
China supports Africa’s recovery through vaccine cooperation (Global Times)
Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed on Sunday revealed that the country will start manufacturing China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines locally in June, becoming the first country in Africa to have the production capacity for the badly-needed vaccines. Zayed said that the first 2 million doses will be produced in June, and 40 million doses will be produced in the first year, according to the Xinhua News Agency. This marks a new milestone for cooperation between China and Africa during this once-in-a-century global health crisis. Such cooperation will greatly help the continent’s epidemic prevention and economic recovery. In stark contrast, some in the Western world are busy hoarding vaccines.
Moving vaccine manufacturing to Africa will reduce the cost of logistics and storage and help level up the accessibility and effectiveness of vaccines in the continent, especially when many regions in the world are witnessing resurgence of the virus and the fallout of the epidemic in Africa has kept emerging.
Moreover, the move will help boost economic recovery of local partners and the broad continent by exploring new industrial capacity cooperation with China. Vaccine production can also serve as a model for further capacity cooperation between the two sides during the post-pandemic era.
Digitisation offers Africa rare resilience (Business Daily)
The Covid-19 pandemic offers Africa the chance to leapfrog development through digitisation, and potentially position itself as a global digital powerhouse. And while the private sector has an important role to play in this development, governments have a critical role to play in enabling digitisation, through infrastructure development, but also in digitising their own systems and processes using regulatory and legal tools.
Developments such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) reinforce the urgent need for governments to digitise to enable not just trade, but positive economic growth across the continent. In its report Reopening and Reimagining Africa, McKinsey notes that governments will play a key role in fostering an enabling environment for digitisation, including ensuring that the regulatory and legislative environments support digitisation. Governments can step up the provision of digital services and information, and use digital tools to collect, manage and use data to inform decision-making.
Global economy
New booklet highlights key results of 2020 work on standards and regulations (WTO)
The TBT Agreement aims to ensure that technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. At the same time, it recognises WTO members’ right to implement measures to achieve legitimate policy objectives, such as the protection of human health and safety, or protection of the environment. The booklet focuses on members’ compliance with notification requirements under the TBT Agreement and the concerns raised in the TBT Committee, often in response to these notifications. Governments are required to “notify” other members, through the WTO Secretariat, of proposed measures that may have a significant effect on other members’ trade and that are not in accordance with relevant international standards.
Bridging the Digital Divide Will Save Our Planet (Inter Press Service)
Data, analysis and information are essential building blocks in our race to save humanity from the clear and present risks posed by the climate crisis. We are headed on a crash course with oblivion, and we need take definitive and far-reaching action if we are going to protect our people and our planet from the devastating impacts of rising seas, spiking temperatures, extreme weather and other climate impacts that are derailing human, social and economic development worldwide.
The only problem is that we live in a world of digital haves and have nots. Simply put, we must bridge the digital divide and we must build more effective and actionable climate risk assessments if we are going to save humanity from the truly existential risk of this vast and complicated crisis.
While we are making progress in improving our ability to model climate change, there are still large gaps in the overlay of vulnerability, environmental and weather data that hinder our ability to accurately assess future risks and build effective models at the local, regional and global levels.
Commodities boom sends bulk shipping costs to decade highs (Financial Times)
Rates for ships carrying commodities that fuel global industries and keep the world fed have soared, raising hopes of a turnround in fortunes for the embattled dry bulk shipping sector. “The stars are aligned for dry bulk,” said Lasse Kristoffesen, chief executive of Norwegian carrier Torvald Klaveness. The sector has been plagued by an overcapacity of ships since the 2008-9 financial crisis, despite robust demand growth for raw materials. The pandemic-induced drop in commodity markets last year piled on the misery, but now soaring demand for raw materials as the world recovers has helped transform dry bulk’s fortunes. “For all big commodity shipping, it has been a lost decade,” said Kristofessen. “It has been a depressed market and returns have not been sufficient, largely due to the fact that we were ordering vessels like there was no tomorrow. It has taken 10 years to wash that out of the system.”
WTO chief says hopes COVID patent issue will be settled by December (Reuters)
The head of the World Trade Organisation said on Monday she hoped that by December the body’s members will have reached a “pragmatic” solution over whether to waive COVID-19 vaccine patents. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said she saw “movement on both sides” - referring to proponents of a waiver and those who have objections - and was hopeful of a framework agreement on the waiver issue, technological transfers and better access to vaccines for developing countries. December was “an outer limit,” for such a deal, the WTO director-general said at a briefing with journalists during a visit to Italy, which this year chairs the Group of 20 rich nations.
Intellectual Property, COVID-19 Vaccines, and the Proposed TRIPS Waiver - AAF (American Action Forum)
In October 2020, India and South Africa requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) suspend certain intellectual property (IP) protections for COVID-19 vaccines and related products. Both countries claim these IP protections, part of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), have slowed production of and access to COVID-19 vaccines. As of May 2021, over 100 countries, mostly in the developing world, have joined India and South Africa in calling for a waiver of TRIPS for COVID-19 vaccines and related products. At the same time, a handful of developed nations—specifically the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom—have signaled their opposition to a waiver.
The recent proposal submitted by India and South Africa and signed on by over 100 developing countries would waive four specific protections of COVID-19 vaccines and related medical products and services: Copyrights; Patents; Trademarks; and Undisclosed information procedures.
The primary justification for waiving TRIPS is that IP protections cause underutilized manufacturing capacity. By removing TRIPS, developing nations could copy patented drugs and use their own manufacturers to produce vaccines, thereby increasing access. This rationale, however, is flawed. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India—currently the largest producer of COVID-19 vaccine doses in the world—has argued that access to IP is not limiting vaccine production, rather it is the time involved in scaling up manufacturing capacity.[6] It should also be noted that Moderna has already pledged not to enforce its own COVID-19 vaccine patents during the pandemic.
WHO strongly supports TRIPS waiver for Covid-19 vaccines: Chief Scientist (Mint)
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Swaminathan said: “WHO strongly believes that the TRIPS waiver that has been proposed by India and South Africa should be done. DG Tedros has often spoken about this. This is not the time to worry about patents and profits amid the pandemic.”
Trade experts say WTO negotiations on a waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines could take months - provided they can overcome significant opposition from some member countries. Pointing that this time is crucial, Dr Swaminath said: “So yes, we would like to see that happening very quickly at the WTO that needs to be also accompanied by a technology transfer because vaccines are complex things to manufacture and it will take a long time for a company to learn from scratch if a patent is not implemented.”
Although the WHO Chief Scientist did not predict the timeline of the waiver due to negotiations, she suggested that there is no need to wait for it and to start the technology transfer in a voluntary way.
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National trade and trade-related news
Parly committee accused of trying to rush through ‘defective’ copyright bill for political reasons (News24)
An organisation representing local musicians, filmmakers, authors and artists has accused Parliament’s trade and industry portfolio committee of trying to rush through deliberations on legislation they say will sell out SA’s creative output in favour of big Silicon Valley tech companies. The committee is sitting with two bills – the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill – that were sent back to the National Assembly by President Cyril Ramaphosa in June last year. At the time, he said they were open to constitutional challenge. The copyright bill proposes changing South Africa copyright regime to include the introduction of the “fair-use principle” which, in effect, allows for the free use of copyrighted content in certain circumstances, like for research and teaching. Fair use is championed by companies like Google.
South Africa and the UK holds a Joint Ministerial Commission in the UK (DIRCO)
South Africa and the UK are strategic partners with a broad and vibrant relationship, led by a commitment to liberal values, democracy and the rule of law. The trade and investment relationship between the UK and South Africa is valued at £8.0 billion per annum. Ministers discussed the opportunity the UK-Southern African Customs Union + Mozambique Economic Partnership Agreement holds to grow this and agreed on a set of actions to capitalise on the freedoms provided by the new bilateral free trade agreement. They welcomed the establishment of a new UK-South Africa Investment Taskforce that would support the expansion of existing investment and the entry of new UK investors into South Africa.
EU-banned pesticides are harming farmworkers in Sax (The Mail & Guardian)
The active ingredients in hazardous pesticides, developed and brought to market by German agrochemical firms Bayer and BASF, are damaging the health of farmworkers and farmers in South Africa. For Jan Urhahn, the programme director for food sovereignty at the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, the report, Double Standards and Hazardous Pesticides from Bayer and BASF, exposes the duplicity in the global trade in pesticides. “The issue at hand regards pesticide products and active ingredients that are either banned or not approved in the European Union due to health or environmental concerns but that are nevertheless exported out of the EU by agrochemical corporations and are then sold in other regions of the world,” he said.
Black gold: A fresh approach needed to tackle SA’s illegal abalone trade (Eyewitness News)
Western Cape authorities are calling for a rethink on how to tackle the illegal abalone trade, saying piecemeal busts alone will not break the back of criminal syndicates. The nation loses hundreds of millions of rands every year as a result of the illegal harvesting of and trade in abalone. “The problem is that wild stocks of abalone have been decimated along our coastline, which is now forcing poachers to become more aggressive and even enter into traditional marine reserves,” said committee chairperson Andricus van der Westhuizen. South Africa’s Environmental Fisheries and Forestry Department and law enforcement agencies agree that a collective approach achieves better results in trying to break the back of illegal abalone harvesting in the country.
Namibia’s merchandise trade increases to N$15.7 billion (Namibia Economist)
Despite warnings of a precipitous drop in global trade as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Namibia’s total merchandise trade increased to N$15.7 billion in March, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) reported. According to the NSA, the country’s trade balance remained in a deficit amounting to N$2.6 billion although the gap narrowed from its February 2021 deficit of N$2.7 billion after recording a surplus to the tune of N$1.7 billion in March 2020. The value of exports in March 2021 increased by 6.3% to N$6.5 billion from its level of N$6.2 billion recorded in February 2021 while imports stood at N$9.2 billion, increasing by 3.1% and 23.8% compared to N$8.9 billion and N$7.4 billion recorded in February 2021 and March 2020, respectively.
Rethink export strategy: Shava (NewsDay)
Foreign Affairs and International Trade minister Frederick Shava says Zimbabwe must expand its export markets to create fresh opportunities. Official data indicates that Zimbabwe’s exports have been averaging US$4 billion annually, against US$6 billion imports. “In terms of markets, our exports continue to be limited to a few traditional markets, mainly South Africa and a few Southern African Development Community (Sadc) countries,” Shava said in a speech read on his behalf during a conference organised by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC). “Concerted efforts to diversify the export products and export markets for the country are needed. “Potential is there for Zimbabwe to generate foreign exchange through export of various services including tourism, education, and professional services, among other services. “Exports to Europe, China and the Americas remain well below potential. Zimbabwe is yet to fully tap its trade potential to spur economic growth and development.
The SA/Zim border may see shorter queues, as the Kazungula bridge opens Monday (Business Insider South Africa)
The opening of a bridge at Zambia’s Kazungula on Monday, 10 May, should have a significant impact on South Africa, relieving congestion at the infamous Beitbridge border crossing for freight truckers. Currently, truckers moving goods from South Africa to Lusaka must travel via Zimbabwe, crossing the notoriously congested Beitbridge at the border between Limpopo and its Northern neighbour. But with the new bridge at Kazungula, South Africans can travel via Botswana, bypassing the Beitbridge crossing – and Zimbabwe – altogether. The bridge has been five years in the making, and the Botswana department of transport and communications announced that it will be open for business as of Monday. For freight truckers making their way from South Africa to Zambia, ferrying goods from the Port of Durban upwards through southern Africa to reach regional markets to the North, the trip is a roughly 27 hour journey, whether via Zimbabwe or Botswana. But delays at Beitbridge could add on several hours depending on the severity of the congestion, or the time of year.
Maize exports to Kenya yet to restart: raises concerns for local traders (The Citizen)
Maize exports to Kenya from Tanzania have not restarted days after the two countries agreed to lift unnecessary barriers. Until yesterday there were no trucks loaded with the cereal heading to the border town for clearance into Kenya. “There are none at the border. The exporters have two weeks to resume business,” said Mr Lothi Lemeirut, a trader from Namanga on the phone. Maize exports to Kenya from Tanzania have not restarted days after the two countries agreed to lift unnecessary barriers. Until yesterday there were no trucks loaded with the cereal heading to the border town for clearance into Kenya. “There are none at the border. The exporters have two weeks to resume business”, said Mr Lothi Lemeirut, a trader from Namanga on the phone.
Ghana’s position low on the AfCFTA competitive indicators – Sam Jonah (GhanaWeb)
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was established to accelerate trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy in global trade negotiations. Sam Jonah, a businessman has stated that Ghana fell short on almost all the competitive indicators used in the AfCFTA although its implementation in Ghana was successful. His statement he said was based on research conducted by “Konfidants”, a research and advisory firm. In his argument, Mr. Sam Jonah posited that Ghana, according to the reports of the research, has fallen short in terms of productivity capacity, credit and power, customs efficiency, trade logistics and dependency on foreign input. It is therefore important that there is restructuring in the Ghanaian economy to record future economic strides.
Rwandan private sector optimistic over new EAC Secretary-General (The New Times)
Rwanda’s private sector players are optimistic of increased intra-regional trade in the East African Community (EAC), following the change of leadership at the bloc’s Secretariat, which took office last month. Speaking during a roundtable dinner for CEOs, organized by the East African Business Council (EABC) on May 7 in Kigali, Rwandan businessman Dennis Karera outlined several issues that upset the smooth flow of trade in the region, and called for action towards addressing them. He mentioned the persistent non-tariff barriers, an uncoordinated approach in handling Covid-19 and unharmonized tax regimes as issues stifling intra-EAC trade which currently stands at about 15%. The private sector players are also urging the EAC Secretariat to champion the conclusion of the review of the EAC Common External Tariff (CET), aimed at facilitating industrialization and regional value chains in the East Africa Community.
Trade deficit widens to $2.51bn after border reopening (Punch)
Nigeria’s trade deficit rose from $1.69bn in December 2020 to $2.51bn as of the end of January 2021 despite the reopening of the borders, statistics made available by the Central Bank of Nigeria have shown.
“Data on aggregate external trade at $8.14bn showed a month-on-month increase of 3.2 per cent, from $7.89bn recorded in December 2020. “Aggregate exports declined by 9.2 per cent to $2.81bn in the review period, compared with $3.1bn in December 2020, due, largely, to decline in crude oil and gas export receipts. “Merchandise imports, however, increased to $5.33bn in January 2021, from $4.79bn in December 2020, as domestic demand improved in the review period. “A higher trade deficit of $2.51bn was recorded in January 2021, relative to $1.69bn in December 2020.”
Climate to ravage Kenya’s tea production (Eyewitness News)
Climate change is set to devastate Kenya’s tea production as the world’s largest exporter faces rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and insect infestations, according to analysis released on Monday. Tea is the world’s most consumed drink after water and disruption in supply from the east African nation is predicted to have a global impact. A report from the charity Christian Aid outlined the various threats Kenya faces to its key black tea crop, as well as the dangers that other countries are likely to encounter as the planet continues to warm. Citing a peer-reviewed study, the report said that the quadruple threat of rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, droughts and new insect infestations are forecast to destroy 26.2 percent of the country’s optimal tea growing areas by 2050
FG Reaffirms Support for Entrepreneurs (THISDAY Newspapers)
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Mariam Katagum, has reaffirmed the commitment of the federal government towards sustainable development of Nigerian entrepreneurs. In a statement by the Assistant Director, Information, FMITI, Mrs. Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa, the minister, further urged the entrepreneurs to take advantage of its various laudable programmes on micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) to enhance their productivity. She expressed the ministry’s readiness to collaborate and support the associations in realising their mandate most, particularly in the area of youth and women empowerment.
ZimTrade conducts more market surveys across Africa (Chronicle)
Zimbabwe’s trade development and promotion agency, ZimTrade, has embarked on an aggressive outbound mission to explore more regional and international markets for local companies to improve exports earnings. This comes as Zimbabwe is building the export momentum after 2020 recorded a 2,7 percent increase from the 2019 export figure of US$2,2 billion. Speaking during the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce trade conference in Bulawayo last Friday, ZimTrade operations director, Mr Similo Nkala, said despite the Covid-19 pandemic that has plagued the world, his organisation was going ahead assigning teams to conduct more market surveys across the continent for Zimbabwean products.
Kenya Airways Signs Interline Agreement With South African Regional Airline Airlink (AirlineGeeks.com)
Kenya Airways and Airlink have announced an interline agreement that will widen both airlines’ reach to multiple destinations in the African continent even as countries begin reopening their borders for travelers. Kenya Airways’ agreement with Airlink will provide its customers enhanced connectivity via its gateways Johannesburg and Cape Town to more than forty cities across Africa with this unique connection enabled by the new partnership providing customers onward travel options not offered by other airlines.
“As global economies continue to reel from the effects of the pandemic, such strategic partnerships are critical. These new routes will positively impact the flow of trade and tourism across the region by offering our customers convenient travel around the continent,” said Julius Thairu, Kenya Airways Chief Commercial Officer.
Treasury woos shipping lines to new Lamu port with lower fees (Business Daily)
The new Lamu Port will offer incentives to shipping lines docking at the facility ahead of its commissioning in the coming weeks. The port will receive its first ship on May 20 at berth one with the Treasury saying it will be gazetting the incentives on the tariffs in coming days. “Incentives relating to fees and charges for using and clearing goods at the port as requested by stakeholders will be gazetted for at least a period of one year, in the next few days, to promote usage of the port by the business and logistics sectors,” said Treasury in a statement.
Payments for SGR loans to more than double to Sh97bn (Business Daily)
Kenya’s repayments towards Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line-related loans will more than double in the financial year starting July on the back of increased payment of principal sums to Chinese lender for the mega infrastructure project. The Treasury projects debt repayments to Exim Bank of China will shoot to Sh96.70 billion in the next financial year, a 126.61 per cent surge from revised Sh42.67 billion budgeted for this year. The jump in debt obligations to the lender is partly due to Sh30.48 billion downward revision in the initial budget that had been approved in June 2020. Kenya obtained debt relief from a number of bilateral lenders, including China, to cushion against revenue shocks emanating from Covid-19 knocks.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan will invigorate trade (The Standard)
During her two-day State visit to Kenya, President Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania assured businesses in the region of a conducive operating environment in her country. Among the assurances include the elimination of non-tariff barriers (NTBs), irregular taxation and stringent work permit requirements. In her speech to the regional business community in Nairobi on Wednesday, President Suluhu emphasised the need to support the private sector to realize not just enhanced trade ties but also improve economies and livelihoods in the region. President Suluhu said that her government was undertaking a review of the regulatory environment, including reforms targeted at government agencies anchoring trade.
Exporters should take advantage of trade agreements (Sunday Mail)
Trade agreements are designed to stimulate and encourage trade between countries or a group of countries that are signatories to the agreement, by giving one another preferential treatment in the reduction or elimination of customs duties as well as removal or relaxation of quantitative restrictions. For example, duty and import-related taxes often constitute a large percentage of the final price of a product secured through a cross border transaction. As a result, a reduction or elimination of the duty can give the exporter a substantial advantage in terms of cost over competitors from countries that do not have similar trade agreements. It is important therefore for businesses to note that, as part of the economic diplomacy drive being steered by President Mnangagwa, Government is pursuing approaches to simplify the landing of Zimbabwean products in export markets and at competitive prices.
Economic recovery: Mining sector could record 100,000 jobs this year (The New Times)
Supporting the mining sector to recover from Covid-19 related slowdown is expected to preserve jobs and create new ones, according to Rwanda Extractive Industry Workers Union (REWU). “As government helps the sector to recover from Covid-19 effects, there is hope that the number of jobs in the mining and extraction sector could increase to 100,000 jobs in 2021. Following the lesson learnt from the pandemic effects, we urge workers to embrace the saving culture,” said Andre Mutsindashyaka, the Secretary-General of Rwanda extractive industry workers Union. While jobs in the mining and extraction sector are expected to increase this year, the union urges mining companies to embrace modern mining technologies to maximize productivity and improve workers’ wellbeing
Manufacturing sector employs 7m Nigerians – FG (The Sun Nigeria)
The Federal Government has disclosed that the manufacturing sector has demonstrated over the years that it is the backbone of the country’s employment sector, as it currently employs over seven million Nigerians. “There are many aspects of manufacturing sector that crave for recognition, especially in the scale of growth, it has achieved increased total output by over $40 billion in the last 20 years in addition to closely employing seven million, among several landmark achievements,” Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo said. “We have seen amazing example like in the cement sector which has witnessed incredible growth rate fully dedication to local demands and has attained the capacity to export cement to the neighbouring countries.”
‘Plant Variety Protection Bill Will Improve Food Security’ (THISDAY Newspapers)
The Director-General, National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Dr. Philip Ojo, has stated that the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Bill will provide intellectual property protection to breeders and improve food security in Nigeria. Ojo, disclosed this during a virtual meeting organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) in collaboration with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) with the theme: ‘Expert review of the Plant Variety Protection Bill: Significance and Constraints.’
During the panel session, Trade Expert, Trade Law Centre (TRALAC), Western Cape region of South Africa, Dr. Olumuyiwa Bamidele Alaba, posited that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) does not have specific laws around PVP. He charged countries to interact and sign negotiating treaties among each other, “and that there are international laws that espouse Protection of breeders’ right and that of locals and the investors.”
IMF Staff Completes 2021 Article IV Mission to Mauritius
“Mauritius has been successful in containing the Covid-19 pandemic so far thanks to strict health measures. Mauritius has had very few cases of domestic transmission of Covid-19 following a strict nationwide lockdown during March-May 2020 and closure of the border until early October. Building on the country’s strong public health system, the authorities were able to rapidly contain outbreaks by implementing extensive testing, robust contact tracing, and strict isolation of all suspected and confirmed cases, and maintaining mask requirements in all public places. As border restrictions were eased, comprehensive testing of arrivals and strict quarantine requirements were put in place. “Despite the country’s success in containing the pandemic so far, the pandemic has seriously impacted the economy due to the sharp decline in tourism and contributed to a contraction of real GDP by nearly 15 percent in 2020.”
Egypt holds international meetings to boost exports, tourism, FDIs (Daily News Egypt)
The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) has held a series of intensive international meetings to develop commodity exports and open new markets for Egyptian products. The meetings also sought to develop tourism relations with countries that have begun to allow travel to Egypt. The remarks were made by Ibrahim El-Araby, President of the FEDCOC and Head of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Professions (UACCIAP). The meetings also aim to attract new foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the Egyptian market.
Ghana to create more jobs for the youth: finance minister (China.org.cn)
The Ghanaian government will speed up the implementation of its proposed Jobs and Skills Program to promote skill development and offer job opportunities to the youth, Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said here Sunday. The upcoming 200-million-U.S.-dollar program will strengthen the capacity of the private sector as well as small and medium enterprises to create jobs for the youth, he said at a press briefing. “This is a program we have been discussing with the World Bank over the past three years and it aims at addressing the structural inequities in the economy to facilitate economic transformation and increase private sector jobs,” he said.
In Ethiopia, Financial Transparency Increases Citizen Engagement in Government Budgeting to Improve Local Services (World Bank)
“In 2009, only 9% of Ethiopian citizens understood the local budgeting process, but the FTA initiative has changed that,” said Yoseph Abdissa, World Bank Senior Social Protection Specialist. “Today, more than 69% of citizens have gained local budget knowledge, and in the spirit of transparency, nearly all districts publicly display budget and expenditure information and about half disclose audit findings and corrective actions, as well as procurement information.”
In 2020, Ethiopia joined the International Budget Partnership, an organization that works with multiple actors, including governments, to empower citizens to participate in open, inclusive budgeting processes to shape policies and practices that promote equity and justice sustainably. Research by IBP shows that countries with higher levels of budget transparency also tend to achieve more positive development outcomes, realize the economic and social rights of their citizens more fully, and are more democratic.
African regional and continental news
AU Heads of States directs AfCFTA negotiations to be concluded by June (Myjoyonline)
The Assembly of Heads of State at the African Union has given a directive to trade negotiators and ministers to conclude all outstanding negotiations, regarding the African Continental Free Trade Agreement by the end of June this year. This includes the protocols on rules of origin which seeks to deal with the issue of third party exports into the free zone area. Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene told a media interaction that members are working assiduously to meet the timeline, especially on the rules of origin which is about 90% completed. “There has been a lot of work ongoing by the ministers on outstanding negotiations and especially on rules of origin which is about 86% to 90% concluded because this will deal with issues of transshipment and third party exports”. “The ministers also recalled the directive by the heads of States to ensure that all negotiations are concluded by the end of June this year, so there will be more frequent meetings to ensure that this target is achieved” he noted.
How women in mining sector could benefit from AfCFTA (Africa Renewal)
Given the speed with which the early stages of the AfCFTA are being rolled out and the expected elimination of tariffs on 90 per cent of goods produced by countries in the first five years, it is necessary to consider, even at this stage, the free trade’s potential impact on women in the mining sector – whether positive or negative. A focus on such impact would help determine the achievement of the aspirations of the AU’s Africa Mining Vision (AMV) that was adopted in 2009, and seeks “Transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development…” and notably mentions gender inclusion as one of its key tenets, though the mechanics of that have yet to be worked out.
AfCFTA to establish agric value chains across Africa (GhanaWeb)
The African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat is hopeful of rolling out agricultural value chains in various countries to boost agro-processing across the continent. This was made known by the Secretary-General of the Secretariat, Wamkele Mene. The continent-wide agreement, which seeks to bridge all gaps in the various sectors among African countries, seeks to strengthen the agric sector which has a massive social and economic footprint on the continent. Mr. Mene during a virtual press briefing held on Tuesday noted that the Secretariat wants “to make sure through this agreement that we establish agricultural value chains that will transcend across the African continent”. “So, we want to replicate the success of some regions in rolling out agricultural value chains across the African continent. Agro-processing is a big contributor to Africa’s industrialization strategy. And so we are looking at it holistically from an industrial development point of view and from the food security point of view.”
Smart Borders concept a possibility through collaboration (Engineering News)
The resolution of border control challenges and the implementation of smart borders can be accomplished through cooperation, collaboration and trust-building between the public and private sectors. As technology evolves, so does the concept of borders; however, stakeholders need to ensure that border-specific technologies continue to break new ground and simplify and speed up increasingly complex customs and trade-related procedures. The Covid-19 pandemic suspended many ambitious plans, with borders closing, countries locked down, reduced trade, congested borders and businesses closing, and had halted decades of work towards an integrated world and the free movement of people and goods.
Logistics expert Dr Juanita Maree, who is also Savino Del Bene South Africa executive director, explained that the sudden closure of borders and the restrictions on trade and business has shown, more than ever, how important trade is to a country and the global economy. The closures on an unprecedented scale highlighted how integrated the supply chain has become and how reliant countries are on each other.
Cyril Ramaphosa: Waiving intellectual rights for COVID is a human rights issue (Eyewitness News)
Alongside India, we have submitted a proposal to the WTO for a temporary waiver of certain aspects of TRIPS to facilitate wider access to technologies needed to produce vaccines and medicines. The idea is to rapidly scale up local production to ensure wider access to affordable and effective vaccines. The waiver proposal currently enjoys the support of more than 100 countries. Last week the US government announced its support for the proposal, which will give the current negotiations added momentum. The enforcement of intellectual property rights is critical to research and development and innovation in the quest for human progress. But our position as South Africa is that such a waiver is necessary at this time. It is temporary and is in direct response to an emergency. This is an unprecedented situation. It requires that all intellectual property, knowledge, technology and data related to COVID-19 health technologies be put at the disposal of all.
West Africa: The Mining Tax That Upsets the Global Market (Bloomberg Tax)
Mining has been quickly getting back to business during the Covid-19 pandemic with a global market that has managed to grow from $1,641 billion in 2020 to $1,845 billion in 2021. The market may reach $2,427 billion, pushed by a functional and global scaled production, export, and transformation chain for minerals and metals. The second year of Covid-19 has seen international mining companies such as BHP Billiton Ltd., Glencore plc., Vale S.A., Rio Tinto Group and CRH plc growing their business, based on rearranging their operations. If the mining sector has been so good in recovering, it is due to long years of governance improvement, agile management and a safety-first culture that has enabled firms to find short-term solutions and long-term scenarios. The “new normal” is already set to be operative for the mining industry.
EAC Secretary General pledges to work closely with the Private Sector in East Africa
The East African Community Secretary General, Hon (Dr.) Peter Mathuki has pledged to work closely with the private sector in the region, adding that they were the key drivers for deeper integration. “I want to assure you that I shall do all that is within my powers to ensure that the private sector plays its rightful role in the integration process,” said Dr. Mathuki. Speaking at the Private Sector Dinner Roundtable held in Kigali, Rwanda, the Secretary General informed the CEO’s that it was the vision of the EAC Founding Fathers that the private sector would work together with the Community to promote the integration process by creating wealth and employment for the people of East Africa.
East Africa: Region’s Sleeping Giant Stirs Out of Its Slumber Under Samia’s Leadership (The East African)
Tanzania, with a population of 58.8 million people, has a huge natural resource base and GDP of $63 billion. And with President Samia – who took over after John Pombe Magufuli’s death in March – now fully in charge of the political and economic transformation (she has taken over the chair of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi) the region’s giant has been stirred from its sleep. And the EAC Secretariat is promising to lay the ground for better investment prospects for the region. “Kenya and Tanzania are among the founding members of the EAC and are therefore bound by history and geographical proximity. Tanzania is a huge market and an important player in the region,” said Peter Mathuki, EAC Secretary-General, adding, “President Samia is keen to see increased intra-EAC trade and clearly demonstrates political commitment to see Tanzania become a key player in the regional integration process.”
The Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Her Excellency Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, on 5th May, 2021 held discussions with the Director General of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), Mr. Walid Farghal, on promoting and expanding investment opportunities in the SADC region, ahead of the inaugural AIM Africa Chapter to be held in June, 2021.
Mr Farghal said the AIM Africa Chapter in June, 2021 will primarily focus on attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Africa and promoting Africa’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which are two of the six pillars anchoring the work of AIM. Other pillars include; Start-ups, Foreign Portfolio Investment, Future Cities and One Belt, One Road. The AIM Africa Chapter will see prominent African stakeholders engage in dialogue with focus on key strategic directives related to Africa’s economic outlook.
SADC Ministers responsible for Agriculture and Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture met through video-conferencing on 7 May 2021, to review progress in the implementation of the SADC relevant sectoral programmes, projects and related strategies under the Regional Agricultural Policy (RAP), in line with the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) (2020-2030).
Ministers noted with concern, the high numbers of food and nutritionally insecure people in the region (50.8 million) and urged Member States to continue implementing and domesticating the SADC Food and Nutrition Security Strategy (FNSS) in National Food and Nutrition Strategies in order to improve food and nutrition security. They urged Member States to strengthen and expand coverage of social protection and safety-nets programmes to cater for increasing numbers of food insecure population and to promote value addition through agro processing value chains so as to increase period of consumption, reduce malnutrition, reduce post-harvest losses and create employment
Xi reaffirms China’s commitment to solidarity, cooperation with Africa (The New Times)
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries is always China’s resolute strategic choice. In a telephone conversation with Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi, Xi said China supports the DRC playing its role as the rotating chair of the African Union, and stands ready to work with the DRC to cement communication and coordination and make a success of the next meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Noting that the DRC is an important cooperation partner of China in Africa, Xi said the two countries have enjoyed a good tradition of mutual support and mutual trust.
Global economy
TRIPS patent waiver for COVID-19 vaccines: Is it legally necessary? (The Daily Star)
The present COVID-stricken world has been experiencing the devastating impact of this pandemic on human lives, livelihood, and economies with no confirmed end in sight. Quest for its curative vaccine has been developed in record speed. But their distribution has been lopsided creating the ‘vaccine divide’ and ‘vaccine nationalism or hoarding’ which is now at the forefront of the global public health debates. In October 2020, several developing countries led by India and South Africa submitted a proposal to the WTO for a temporary waiver of some provisions of the Agreement on the Trade-Related Aspects of the Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) relating to the COVID-19 vaccines, medicines, and diagnostic and medical technologies (COVID-19 pharmaceuticals). If such waiver is granted, WTO members can decline to enforce patents or other intellectual property rights (IPRs) relating to COVID-19 pharmaceuticals. The proposal argued that for an effective response to the pandemic and rapid access to COVID-19 vaccines at an affordable price, this TRIPS-waiver is essential.
Explore new export markets, including Africa: experts (The Daily Star)
Bangladesh needs to pay attention to explore new export destinations, including untapped markets in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Latin America and African regions, according to speakers at a webinar yesterday. “We are searching for new destinations, particularly in Africa, to increase garment and other exports through our missions abroad,” said Commerce Secretary Md Jafar Uddin at the event. The commerce ministry is working with the private sector to diversify Bangladesh’s export basket and exploit unexplored markets such as Africa, he added.
How To Enable SMEs To Penetrate The Global Value Chains Of Transnational Corporations? (Youth Ki Awaaz)
MSMEs are key drivers of innovation, economic growth, and new employment generation, making them a key demographic constituent to measure the economic health of countries globally. And with the Globalization of industries happening at a fast pace, it will be critical for the growth of MSMEs to look into aspects of accessing the market potential offered by the global integration. Prof Dev Nathan said that a lot of trade is nowadays organized in the form of global value chains, and it’s important to know one’s role, and potential to upgrade within the global value chains. It is a critical issue for developing countries as they move from being Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to become Moderately Developed Countries (MDCs) further moving along the middle-income trajectory.
The Ship that Launched 1,000 Memes and Nearly Destroyed 12 percent of World Trade (Center for International Maritime Security)
The grounding of MV Ever Given from March 23 to March 29, 2021 captured the world’s attention. Many people asked, how could such a modern and large vessel find itself with its bow rammed into Asia, its stern aground on Africa, and its midship astride one of the major maritime chokepoints in the world? Regardless of the cause, the closing of the canal marked an important event not just in the world economy but the shipment and protection of trade. While the event was over quickly, a long-term closure, such as what happened during the Suez Crisis or the Six Days War, would have global ramifications. The vulnerability of the chokepoint to an accident, and now the efforts by the Egyptians to extract $916 million from Evergreen for the event, may cause companies and nations to reconsider their use of the canal.
CHOGM 2021 to be postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic (The Commonwealth)
His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, and Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland QC, are today announcing the postponement of CHOGM 2021 as a result of the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Having reviewed all available evidence and risk assessments including with the World Health Organization (WHO) and their risk assessment tool, and after close consultation between the Commonwealth Secretariat and Member States, the decision has been made to postpone the CHOGM in Kigali for a second time. Speaking on the postponement, President Kagame said: “The decision to postpone CHOGM for a second time has not been taken lightly. The health and welfare of all Commonwealth citizens at this critical time must take precedence. We look forward to welcoming the Commonwealth family to Kigali for CHOGM at the appropriate time.”
UK secures G7 action to tackle global challenges and threats (GOV.UK)
The UK brought together foreign and development ministers from G7 countries, as well as guests from the Indo-Pacific region and Africa, this week for decisive co-ordinated action on shared global challenges and threats. At the meetings, which took place in London, G7 countries agreed to: Tackle the biggest geopolitical threats; Safeguard democracy; Support a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and help those hardest hit by crises.
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National trade and trade-related news
Post-pandemic recovery must be sustainable, inclusive (Engineering News)
Efforts to accelerate the post-Covid-19 recovery in South Africa must be done sustainability and in an inclusive manner, speakers said during the Financial Services Working Group of the South African chapter of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) Business Council’s webinar on May 6. Development finance institution (DFI) the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa CEO TP Nchocho said as was the case with most DFIs and banks with the advent of the pandemic, it did not know what the future would hold and how things would unfold, and there was a natural adjustment to pull back and be extra cautious.
Young people encouraged to consider poultry farming (SAnews)
Young people should consider poultry farming when starting a business – this was the advice given to those contemplating starting a business. “The poultry industry is one of the most advanced sectors in terms of farming in the world. I think all young people should consider it for farming. If you think of something called biotechnology, you can’t think of anything than a day old chick that is raised for meat, or a layer that is raised to be able to lay an egg,” said the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s Dr Nkhane Baldwin Nengovhela.
Durban Port’s return to form vital for South African recovery, says Ramaphosa (Engineering News)
President Cyril Ramaphosa told the National Assembly of Parliament that government’s plans to guide South Africa on the path to economic recovery will not succeed unless the Port of Durban is restored to its former glory. Upon his visit, Ramaphosa committed to a R100-billion infrastructure development project to return the port – under the management of Transnet – to its former position as the number one port on the African continent. The Durban port has been overtaken by two African ports in recent years.
Internet solution for low-income communities (SAnews)
The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), an entity of Science and Innovation Department, has funded the company FibrePoynt (Pty) Ltd, which is developing the internet/wireless communication system that can be an alternative or supplementary to fibre to the home (FTTH) underground, or overhead cable technology. TIA Portfolio Commercialisation Manager Sipho Dikweni said the technology not only puts South Africa on the map, but responds to the socio-economic challenges and the country’s strategic broadband imperatives to make internet accessible to everyone, irrespective of their socio-economic status and geographic location.
Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane: G20 Tourism Ministers’ virtual meeting (South African Government)
The international community is doing everything possible to ensure that travel and tourism fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, I wish to share with you South Africa’s approach in this regard. Government has approved the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (TSRP). The TSRP includes interventions to ignite the recovery which is anchored in three strategic themes namely: protecting and rejuvenating supply, re-igniting demand and strengthening enabling capability for long term sustainability. South Africa supports the adoption of the G20 Tourism Ministers Communique.
Infrastructure development to drive trade – analysts (The Herald)
Rapid infrastructure development across the country will not only consolidate the country’s position as a continental trade hub but will also boost trade between Zimbabwe and the rest of the world, analysts said. This comes after President Mnangagwa on Wednesday commissioned the completed phase of the Marongora-Hellsgate section of the Makuti-Chirundu road which is part of projects to improve the North-South corridor. Coupled with ongoing projects along the Beitbridge-Harare Highway, Government has set its sights on upgrading the Kazungula-Victoria Falls Highway. Apart from that, the Second Republic is also carrying out infrastructural development projects across the country to ensure that no one is left behind.
ZimTrade targets small businesses, youth exporters (Chronicle)
The empowerment of youths and Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) so that they enjoy export benefits is essential for creating sustainable economic trade, ZimTrade has said. The trade development agency says in view of wider market opportunities to be opened up under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, the capacity development and empowerment projects should be accelerated to ensure the country benefits more. It said a focus on youth trade is particularly important for creating sustainable trade and at the same time, empowering SMEs can contribute to employment generation and skills development of the same youth demographic, creating a sustainable environment for the advancement of trade.
The Opportunities are Vast in a Potential U.S.-Kenya Free Trade Agreement (US Chamber of Commerce)
Last year, the U.S. and Kenya announced the launch of free trade negotiations, the first of its kind between the U.S. and a sub-Saharan Africa country. If successful, it would be the most significant trade development in the region since the enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program in 2000. “A trade agreement between the two countries would be the first of its kind between the U.S. and a sub-Saharan African country and would provide a steady framework for strengthening our relationships with economies across the continent by providing the necessary legal protections and enduring, reciprocal trade,” said Scott Eisner, Chamber senior vice president and USAfBC president .
Delayed release of annual economic survey keeps investors guessing (Business Daily)
The statistics agency has delayed release of Kenya’s annual economic survey that was to reveal the full extent of damage inflicted on the economy and the jobs market during Covid-19 lockdown .Typically the report is released in late April or early May and was to capture economic conditions in year a when Kenya imposed restrictions like travel ban, night curfew, closure of schools and night clubs to curb coronavirus. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) director-general Macdonald Obudho said on Thursday the delay in releasing the Economic Survey 2021 was due to late submission of data by some of respondents in economic sectors.
Balancing between trade and health (Daily Monitor)
The ban of maize imports from Uganda by Kenya stirred inflamed conversations about public health and trade within East Africa. The Kenyan government took this stance after reports indicated that consignments of maize from Uganda were contaminated with high levels of aflatoxins, sparking concerns of food safety. The ensuing visit of Kenyan officials to discuss non-tariff barriers affecting trade between Uganda and Kenya and to verify sugar exports to Kenya underscores the linkage between trade and food safety. The trade war, however, triggers strategic questions which should exercise the region’s policy minds.
IMF Staff Completes Review Mission to Rwanda
“Rwanda continues to grapple with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic activity contracted by 3.4 percent in 2020. While a second wave of infections led to a three-week lockdown in Kigali in early 2021, a gradual lifting of restrictions is currently underway. Growth is projected to rebound to 5.1 percent in 2021, supported by the national vaccination campaign targeting 60 percent of the population by end-June 2022 and continued government support to hard-hit businesses and vulnerable households. However, downside risks to growth remain substantial owing to uncertainties surrounding the duration and impact of the pandemic, and the availability of vaccines.”
Ghana Rising: Outlook on Ghana’s promising future as a 21st Century economy (Myjoyonline.com)
Ghana is one of the rising leaders on the continent, actively pursuing development and prosperity for its people. Twitter’s decision to launch in Ghana, as well as Germany’s intention to establish a German-West African centre for global health and pandemic prevention in Ghana, as well as Ghana’s recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area, are all demonstration of this competitive advantage, and point to an ambitious future for the country. Although entrepreneurship on the continent is not new, there is a renewed and increased focus on entrepreneurship as an alternative to employment. Only the private sector and small businesses, not government, can launch a 21st century economy and ensure prosperity for millions.
‘Government is frustrating local shipbuilding, capabilities’ (The Guardian Nigeria)
In shipbuilding, 40 per cent capital cost goes into human labour, which means Nigeria is contributing about $1.8 billion worth of human capital cost yearly to foreign shipyards, needless to say about the loss in technology transfer and real engineering experience and expansion for our teeming youths. Nigeria also loses about $6.2 billion estimated earnings yearly from shipbuilding, ship repairs and spare parts manufacturing activities and other losses of about $4.6 billion in regional trade due to lack of domestic vessels access for goods transportation. Nigeria’s shipbuilding industry is of strategic importance to the economy and plays an important role in employment generation, development of manufacturing and related industries, foreign exchange savings, provide for national security and most important, create access for regional and international trade.
Food Scarcity: Why Buhari must assent to PVP bill now – Experts (Vanguard)
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) in collaboration with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Bill now, stressing that it will unlock potentials across Nigeria’s Agricultural ecosystem while protecting farmers. Director-general of the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Dr. Philip Ojo, while delivering a presentation on the “significance of the PVP Act to the Seeds Subsector and the Nigerian Food and agriculture ecosystem” said that the PVP Bill provides intellectual property protection to breeders to help get the best genetics which aids food security.
Kazungula Bridge opens Monday (Botswana Daily News)
African Union (AU) chairperson and President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Mr Felix Tshisekedi is scheduled to officially open the multi-million Kazungula Bridge on Monday. A Ministry of Transport and Communications media release explains that the project comprises the road-rail extra dosed cable stayed bridge including approach roads as well as a one-stop post on either side of the Botswana/Zambian border. It will accommodate a planned railway line linking Mosetse-Kazungula in Botswana to Kazungula-Livingstone in Zambia.
Cameroon Poultry Farmers Urge Europe to Ease Trade Restrictions (Voice of America)
Cameroon’s poultry farmers and sellers are calling on authorities at home and in Europe to loosen trade restrictions put in place over the coronavirus pandemic and avian influenza, which have more than doubled the price of chicken. François Djonou, president of Cameroon’s Interprofessional Association of Poultry Farmers, says European countries and Cameroon reduced commercial flights to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The poultry shortage was further aggravated in November 2020, when the European Commission reported that multiple European countries had outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu. The group says regional production cannot keep up with demand. Central African states provide less than 20 million of the 150 million chickens needed in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, according to the group.
Growth revitalising Egyptian sector (Fruitnet.com)
Egypt’s agricultural exports have performed well in the past few months, according to Ahmed Ghazy, marketing manager at citrus giant Nile Establishment For International Trade, despite the current economic pressures and lockdowns in dozens of countries due to the Covid-19 crisis. For Ghazy, the Egyptian government has played an important role in supporting the agriculture sector throughout the pandemic, including citrus. Ghazy said that recent growth was revitalising the sector, attracting investments and seeing the establishment of new projects, as investors seek to take advantage of opportunities in the sector and Egypt’s comparative advantages.
Egypt opens massive new pharmaceuticals facility (Global Finance Magazine)
On April 1, Egypt opened Gypto Pharma City – a brand new industrial zone dedicated to the health sector. Spread over 180,000 square meters located 30 kilometers north of Cairo, it is one of the biggest drug production facilities in the Middle East, with 160 production lines that can manufacture 150 different types of medication and a total quantity of over 150 million packages a year, according to the government. This project is a state initiative aimed at reducing the country’s import bill and seek self-sufficiency in health care. “We must have the ability to produce medicine at the highest levels,” said Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi during the opening ceremony.
Somalia’s businesses tap solar energy to expand, boosting economic growth (world bank)
Somalia is facing a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted businesses and the country’s economic outlook. A recent World Bank Group and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) survey noted the pandemic’s significant impact on Somalia’s private sector narrowing sales and employment by about 30% and leaving most firms with liquidity challenges. The change of fortunes has been made possible through the Somali Business Catalytic Fund (SBCF), a $13 million matching grant operation under the World Bank-supported Somali Core Economic Institutions and Opportunities Project (SCORE). This form of funding, which allows small, regular, phased out payments, has been particularly critical in Somalia as it allows micro, small and medium size businesses to overcome the hurdle of high upfront costs associated with acquiring quality solar systems to address energy challenges.
African regional and continental news
African Export-Import Bank calls for innovative finance solutions for free trade (News Ghana)
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Thursday called for innovative finance solutions for the successful implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Emeka Uzomba, senior advisor at Afreximbank, told a virtual forum that the continent has made numerous attempts on liberalizing trade, which have not been successful due to the absence of finance elements. “We, therefore, need to create our own solutions to finance businesses to take advantage of opportunities presented by the AfCFTA,” Uzomba said during the Kenya Association of Manufacturing forum on Small and Medium Enterprises. While saying that one of the reasons for low intra-Africa trade as compared to other regions is the lack of affordable financing for businesses to engage in cross-border trade, Uzomba observed that the availability of trade finance will help catalyze the exchange of goods and services among the African nations.
Finance SMEs for AfCFTA, manufacturing SMEs urge (The Star, Kenya)
Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have called for financing to enable them take advantage of opportunities in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).This was during a live session, hosted by Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and Syspro Africa. “With the commencement of trade under AfCFTA, came challenges, which hinder small businesses across Africa, from reaping its benefits. We, therefore, need to create our own solutions, to finance businesses to take advantage of opportunities presented by different trade agreements,” noted Uzomba, Senior Advisor, Afreximbank.
Re-examining Africa’s socio economic priorities (SAnews)
The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for the continent to re-examine its socio-economic priorities, says Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa. Addressing the launch of Africa Month on Wednesday, the Minister said the pandemic is imposing heavy human, financial and economic costs to Africa and across the globe. “The crisis also provides an opportunity to re-examine the continent’s socio-economic priorities; including the role of cultural workers; contributing to building stronger and more resilient health and social sectors towards equality; inclusion; social cohesion and African Renaissance as inspired by the Ubuntu philosophy,” Mthethwa said.
African economies need to be structured to better withstand shocks (Engineering News)
The economic devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic saw Africa’s GDP fall by 2.1% last year. African economies urgently need to become more competitive and implement reforms to create a more business friendly environment if they hope to attract investment. The continent needs to lessen its reliance on imports from other regions and to achieve that each country needs to grow its manufacturing capacity. One of the biggest lessons emanating from 2020 was the consequence of disruptions to global supply chains. The Absa Manufacturing Survey revealed that these disruptions, including shortages of raw materials, continues to inhibit manufacturing supply chains. A noticeable trend resulting from these supply chain disruptions were increased incidences of local substitutes for imported products which is encouraging. Whether this trend remains evident post the pandemic remains to be seen.
African Leaders Seek Vaccine-Making Sites to Counter Inequality (Bloomberg)
Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal are among countries calling for the establishment of full vaccine-manufacturing plants to prepare for future pandemics after Africa found itself at the back of the queue for Covid-19 shots. While many developed nations are well advanced with their vaccination rollouts, most African countries are almost out of initial supplies and the continent accounts for just 2% of global administered shots, data from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. There are fewer than 10 vaccine manufacturers in Africa, and most of those carry out packaging and labeling rather than manufacturing. That makes the continent ill-equipped to source and supply doses in times of crisis, as this pandemic has demonstrated. Among the biggest barriers to local manufacturing are intellectual-property protections. Vaccine manufacturing needs both significant financing and specialized skills to build factories that can be certified as free from contamination, said Stavros Nicolaou, chairman of South Africa’s local pharmaceutical manufacturers industry association.
Covid Vaccination Ignores Truckers as EAC Explores Common Health Pass (softpower.ug)
Truck drivers are complaining about being left out as key populations when the Ministry of Health was considering priority groups for immunization against COVID-19. Despite their schedules and the availability of testing services at border points, even truckers who fall under the priority groups like those with underlying illnesses and those aged above 50 years have had to go look for vaccines in designated vaccinating health facilities. Because of this, Kinene says many of them have not yet receive their jabs and continue being a threat to efforts to limit the spread. This has been revealed just a day after genome sequencing that categorizes the coronavirus strains circulating in the country found Uganda to have five strains of which the UK, South African, and the Nigerian strain were reportedly ferried into the country by truck drivers.
UK should support faster disbursement of African Development Bank funds to promote continent’s covid-19 recovery (UK Parliament)
The sub-committee’s latest report has considered ICAI’s review on The UK’s Support to the African Development Bank, which assessed the UK’s involvement in the Bank as Green/Amber, indicating “satisfactory achievement in most areas, but partial achievement in others”. Amid uncertainty over the UK’s future official development assistance (ODA) spend, the sub-committee was reassured by Minister James Duddridge’s reassurance that given the positive work of the Bank, the UK Government would like to continue working closely with the Bank to leverage the UK’s development experience. This was reinforced two weeks ago by the Foreign Secretary who confirmed ODA spend for the African Development Fund, within the African Development Bank. As Africa recovers from the impact of covid-19, the sub-committee heard how more paid-in capital can help communities get back to normal.
The World In Africa And The Challenges Of Development – Interview (Eurasia Review)
ASCIR Executive Director Pamela Carslake: “African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA) certainly adds to Africa’s agency and fortunes, in leveraging its resources in advancing its agenda (that is Agenda 2063). China, as well as other partners could play significant roles, as well as benefit immensely from what AfCFTA promises. Especially if critical analysis and assessment is done, to identify meaningful areas of collaboration.”
China, Africa to avoid falling into zero-sum trap (The Herald / Xinhua)
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent virtual trip to Africa turned out to be another Washington’s political trick to drive a wedge between China and Africa. The real intention behind Washington’s words and deeds is too obvious. It is attempting to put on a zero-sum game, disrupt China-Africa cooperation, and exclusively advance American interests in Africa. However, China and Africa would not fall into that trap of zero-sum thinking. In this fast changing world, China and Africa will surely continue to work together and stride forward along the path of building a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.
Microsoft Broadband Deal: Implications and how to maximize for AfCFTA (Nairametrics)
On the 3rd of May, 2021, The Federal Government announced a deal with Microsoft through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy for the development of high-speed internet infrastructure across the six regions in the country. Microsoft disclosed in a statement saying: “Six regions in the country have been earmarked for the development of high-speed internet infrastructure. Microsoft’s Airband team will work closely with local partners to improve broadband connectivity in these communities while also assisting with the design and implementation of hyper-scale cloud services.” With Nigeria looking to diversify the economy, deeper broadband penetration can act as a catalyst for Nigerian service exports for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
US backs TRIPS Waiver
Over 100 countries back TRIPS waiver on COVID-19 vaccines (SAnews)
Statement of Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on USTR Tai’s statement on the TRIPS waiver
“I read with interest the statement made yesterday by USTR Katherine Tai and I warmly welcome her willingness to engage with proponents of a temporary waiver of the TRIPS Agreement to help in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. As I told the General Council yesterday, we need to respond urgently to COVID-19 because the world is watching and people are dying. I am pleased that the proponents are preparing a revision to their proposal and I urge them to put this on the table as soon as possible so that text-based negotiations can commence. It is only by sitting down together that we will find a pragmatic way forward – acceptable to all members – which enhances developing countries’ access to vaccines while protecting and sustaining the research and innovation so vital to the production of these life-saving vaccines.”
Gates Foundation reverses course on COVID-19 vaccine patents (Devex)
Mark Suzman, CEO at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced Thursday that the foundation is supportive of temporarily lifting coronavirus vaccine patent protections. “No barriers should stand in the way of equitable access to vaccines, including intellectual property, which is why we are supportive of a narrow waiver during the pandemic,” he wrote in a statement, which was an about-face for the world’s largest private foundation. Gates had opposed waiving some provisions of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS. A waiver would allow member nations to stop enforcing a set of COVID-19-related patents for the duration of the pandemic so that low- and middle-income countries can produce or import generic versions of vaccines.
Chairperson of the AUC welcomes the USA decision for waiver of intellectual property rights for Covid19 vaccines (African Union)
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, welcomes the announcement of the United States of America to support South Africa and India’s call for the temporary waiver of intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization.
The Chairperson commends this important show of global leadership by the United States of America, alongside more than 100 countries, to help end the most devastating global public health crisis in living memory, by supporting the South Africa and India-led proposal to temporarily suspend rules on intellectual property rights on Covid19 vaccines. The Chairperson further urges all countries that have not yet done so, to urgently support this historic initiative of multilateral cooperation to ensure equitable vaccine protection for the entire global community.
S. Africa welcomes U.S support for patent waiver on covid-19 vaccines (Africanews)
Relief for campaigners as the United States endorses a temporary and targeted waiver of intellectual property protections to Covid-19 vaccines. A campaign to lift patent protections on coronavirus vaccines is picking up steam. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes the support of the United States’ administration. “And now we welcome the statement by the United States administration that it will support the TRIPS waiver on intellectual property protection for Covid-19 vaccines. Now this is a victory for South Africa. It goes to show the influence we have as a country, working together with others, that our voice and messages have weight,” he said.
U.S. change of course on IP waiver facing backlash (Bio World)
The Biden administration’s May 5 about-face on the proposed TRIPS waiver of intellectual property (IP) protections for COVID-19-related medical products is not playing well with U.S. industry, EU trading partners and others concerned about the long-term unintended consequences. Lindsay Bealor Greenleaf, vice president and health care policy/drug pricing expert at ADVI, said the administration’s newfound support for the waiver could chill biotech investment going forward because of uncertainties it creates around patents.
There’s a lot of skepticism that the waiver will provide any relief, let alone immediate relief. Aside from Tai’s acknowledgment about the time involved in negotiating a final waiver acceptable to a consensus of WTO members, there’s also the time needed to retrofit manufacturing facilities and get them scaled up, adequately staffed with a trained workforce and approved for production.
After US Reversal, EU ‘Ready to Discuss’ Covid-19 Vaccine Patent Waiver (Common Dreams)
After the Biden administration shocked the world by expressing support for waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, a European Union leader on Thursday suggested that the bloc’s members “are ready to discuss” also dropping their opposition to the proposal – which rich nations have blocked since last year. “In the short run, however, we call upon all vaccine-producing countries to allow exports and to avoid measures that disrupt supply chains,” she added.
Swiss not swayed by US vaccine waiver announcement (SWI swissinfo.ch)
In a reaction on Thursday evening, the Swiss economics ministry said the US announcement was “significant”, but that waiving IP rights would not guarantee “fair, affordable, and fast” access to vaccines and other technology against Covid-19. “Many questions remain open about the solutions which they [the US] concretely have in mind,” the economics ministry said in a statement to the Keystone-SDA news agency. Switzerland will “evaluate” the new proposition. The Swiss position thus hasn’t appeared to have shifted much since a previous WTO meeting in March, when the government said it was “misleading” to believe that the temporary suspension of patents would translate swiftly into a worldwide supply of Covid-19 vaccines.
Devex CheckUp: Will US backing save the COVID-19 IP waiver?
In a stunning reversal, the United States announced on Wednesday that it was ready to back the proposal for waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines at WTO. While this is a welcome step, the fight for equitable distribution of vaccines is far from over. What are the next steps and what will it take to achieve them?
Activists are hopeful the shift in U.S. support will encourage other high-income nations such as the U.K. and Canada to rethink their opposition. They are now pressuring the government and companies to transfer that technology through the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool, or C-TAP, Andrew Green reports.
Calling the U.S. announcement a “remarkable expression of leadership,” Africa CDC head Dr. John Nkengasong urges other countries to support the waiver. “When the history of this pandemic is written… we will remember not just the loud voices of those who did not support us but we will also remember the silence of our friends in this battle,” he says.
US support for TRIPS Waiver – activists force a great step forward but a steep climb still lies ahead (Daily Maverick)
“This is a global health crisis and the extraordinary circumstances of the global Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in the service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines.” This is in response to a request for a waiver tabled by South Africa and India more than nine months ago, which has won the support of 100 mostly developed countries but faced the resistance of the UK, US and EU. As well as – predictably – the big pharmaceutical companies.
Aspen says it can produce generic Covid-19 vaccines in SA amid US support for patent waiver (Engineering News)
On Thursday, the US shocked many by announcing that it would support a temporary patent waiver on Covid-19 vaccines. Currently, only pharmaceutical companies that own the patents for the vaccines are allowed to manufacture the jabs. But lifting the patent rights means that they will lose this exclusive right. Their vaccine formulas can then be used by other parties to manufacture generic versions of these vaccines, without fear that they will be sued. “While it is difficult to provide all details in this regard, it can be confirmed that Aspen’s sterile manufacturing capacity would enable it to manufacture another vaccine – generic or otherwise – provided the necessary technical transfers are effected and regulatory registrations are in place,” said Aspen’s group communications manager, Shauneen Beukes, on Thursday.
Why the TRIPS waiver unlikely to solve India’s Covid-19 vaccine shortage (ThePrint)
India and South Africa, who submitted a proposal to waive Intellectual Property Rights on Covid-related innovations, are going to present a revised proposal on this topic, which will be discussed by the Council on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS, in the second half of May. Most developing countries, members of the European Parliament, and now the US government have sided with the two countries in their motion before the Council on the Agreement on TRIPS. Developed countries, including Japan and the UK oppose the move.
Global economy
COVAX: Enhance Transparency, Share Intellectual Property (ReliefWeb)
The COVAX vaccine initiative should publish its contracts with vaccine developers and facilitate sharing of intellectual property to make vaccines swiftly available and affordable for all, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Public Citizen said today. COVAX, which was created in April 2020 to procure and distribute vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, should incorporate human rights standards and principles of transparency and accountability. The groups wrote to the leadership of COVAX on December 14 with questions related to COVAX human rights policies and practices, and recommendations related to transparency and vaccine availability and affordability, among others. COVAX responded in detail in a March 25, 2021 letter, following a preliminary response on January 6.
Trade and public health, fish subsidies and LDC concerns in General Council spotlight (WTO)
Ensuring access to essential medical goods during a pandemic, securing a global deal on prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies and addressing the concerns of “graduating” least developed countries were among the topics discussed at the 5-6 May meeting of the WTO’s General Council. Members also exchanged views on the WTO’s continuing work on electronic commerce and the legal status of the ongoing “joint initiatives” talks.
Trade finance for SMEs in the digital era (OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Paper)
Access to trade finance, i.e. financial instruments and means of payments for international transactions, can enable SME engagement in international activities through direct exporting and participation in global value chains, and ultimately foster inclusive economic growth and innovation. The study examines trade finance for SMEs in the context of digital advancements and investigates how policy approaches can support SMEs in reaping the benefits of digitalisation in this respect. It also takes into account recent developments related to the COVID-19 crisis.
To what extent can blockchain help development co-operation actors meet the 2030 Agenda? (OECD Development Co-operation Working Paper)
Blockchain is mainstreaming, but the number of blockchain for development use-cases with proven success beyond the pilot stage remain relatively few. This paper outlines key blockchain concepts and implications in order to help policymakers reach realistic conclusions when considering its use. The paper surveys the broad landscape of blockchain for development to identify where the technology can optimise development impact and minimise harm. It subsequently critically examines four successful applications, including the World Food Programme’s Building Blocks, Oxfam’s UnBlocked Cash project, KfW’s TruBudget and Seso Global.
Govt support, investments must to build apparel value chains in LDCs (Fibre2fashion.com)
Government support, a conducive policy environment and enabling investment frameworks are necessary for building better apparel value chains in least developed countries (LDCs). Strengthening relationships between buyers and suppliers can help build resilience and bring transparency in the supply chain to reduce power imbalances, as per a recent report. Social and environmental industry standards should take centre-stage in the recovery, to ensure garment factory workers earn a living wage and have workplace protections in place, said Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) in its brief titled ‘Building better apparel value chains in least developed countries’.
Small island developing states: maritime transport in the era of a disruptive pandemic - empower states to fend against disruptions to maritime transportation systems, their lifeline to the world (UNCTAD Policy Brief)
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have had less noticeable impacts on small island developing States (SIDS). However, the impacts may be longer lasting and more critical. The pandemic has exacerbated the unique and overwhelming challenges in these States related to connectivity; a high level of dependence on external trade; remoteness and prohibitive transport costs; food security; infrastructure gaps; resilience; sustainability; and access to finance. This policy brief builds on the findings in Review of Maritime Transport 2020 and of the ongoing United Nations-wide project “Transport and trade connectivity in the age of pandemics: Contactless, seamless and collaborative solutions”, launched in 2020 amid the pandemic. It highlights key priority actions and policy recommendations to support SIDS in strengthening their ability to respond to shocks and disruptions that undermine their maritime transportation systems and to future proof their maritime supply chains through sustainability and resilience-building efforts.
Iata welcomes G20 guidelines for restart of international tourism (Engineering News)
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) – the global representative body for the airline industry – has welcomed the agreeing, by the Tourism Ministers of the Group of 20 countries (G20), of the ‘Rome Guidelines for the Future of Tourism’. The association urged the G20 governments to follow-up the announcing of the guidelines with action, to restore international mobility.
Socioeconomic inequality drives trade patterns in global wildlife market (Phys.org)
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Hong Kong and one in Singapore has found that socioeconomic inequality is driving existing trade patterns in the global wildlife market. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the researchers suggest that current efforts to slow the global wildlife trade are not sufficient. They suggest that the only way to make a dent in the market is to pay those countries that are exporting the most animals to protect them. They note also that the global pandemic has slowed the trade in wildlife, but suggest the lull is only temporary unless other measures are put in place.
Economies in the Financial Spotlight in 2021 (IMF Blog)
Throughout 2020 and into 2021, the global financial system withstood the effects of the global pandemic and economic lockdowns due to unprecedented policy support. The Financial Sector Assessment Program, or “FSAP”, helps to assess financial vulnerabilities and make financial systems stronger and better able to withstand adverse events. The IMF considers country-specific features of financial systems and tailors its analysis to the needs of each member participating in the program. Assessments for advanced economies are done by the IMF alone, while those for other economies are typically carried out jointly with the World Bank. The IMF’s Executive Board will soon conduct a periodic review of the FSAP.
South Africa is home to Africa’s largest financial sector, with large cross-border banking groups and a well-developed investment fund and insurance sector. The assessment will examine the strength of the financial sector in a difficult environment of subdued growth and large fiscal deficits (exacerbated by a weak financial position of state-owned enterprises and the ongoing health and economic impact of COVID). The importance of capital flows to the financial sector will underpin the “capital-flows-at-risk” analysis, as well as the assessment of systemic liquidity management and macroprudential policy. The assessment will also examine banking, insurance, and securities markets; pension and cyber risk supervision; crisis management and resolution; fintech; financial inclusion; climate risk; and capital markets development.
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National trade and trade-related news
South African trade rises on a tide of rallying commodity prices but government must boost economy to withstand a turnaround (Daily Maverick)
Buoyant global trade and record-high commodity prices continue to underpin SA’s healthy trade balances. But the government cannot rely on this as its sole source of economic dynamism. An impressive recovery in global goods trade and an average 30% rise in commodity prices over the past year have provided a much-needed uplift for the South African economy at a time when good news has been in short supply. Last week’s news that the value of exports had risen to an all-time high in March encapsulated both the growing global demand for goods that require commodities as inputs and the escalation in their prices as a result.
Manufacturing industry soars to nine-year high (IOL)
The manufacturing industry in South Africa soared to nine-year high in April as new business and output grew strongly as a result of a sharp rebound from the Covid-19 impact. IHS Markit said South Africa enjoyed a strong bounce in economic performance in April as output growth soared to the fastest for just more than nine years. It said new business also rose at a marked pace, supported by strengthening customer demand as markets recovered further from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Covid could reignite SA’s industries (Sunday World)
Business leaders in the manufacturing industry believe that the Covid-19 crisis could be a catalyst for Africa’s next industrial revolution. The CEO of KAS Africa said the upheaval of global supply chains caused by the pandemic has helped to highlight how important local production capacity is to ensure the resilience of local economies and continuous supply of essential products. The sector declined from 26% of South Africa’s gross domestic product in 1994 to less than 14% currently. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has pursued several policies to “localise” more manufacturing in the country in an effort to re-industrialise Africa’s most advanced economy.
Successful localisation programme requires consistent renewables procurement pipeline (Engineering News)
To achieve a successful localisation programme with incremental local content thresholds as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), a consistent procurement pipeline needs be established, says industry association South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli. The stop-start nature of procurement, and latent bid windows, severely damaged the meaningful momentum, pre-2015, which established new manufacturing capacity within the wind and solar value chains in South Africa. “It is, therefore, crucial that further interruptions or delays are not encountered. A controlled rollout of procurement will allow all aspects of the value chain, and not only the manufacturing sector, to expand,” she says.
Powering the economy through alternative energy (SAnews)
South Africa is finalising the much-anticipated Hydrogen Society Roadmap as the country shapes its industrialisation and economic pathway. This development was recently outlined by the Department of Science and Innovation’s (DSI) Chief Director for Hydrogen and Energy, Dr Rebecca Maserumule. Crafting the document began last year and is expected to be finalised in the next three months. The roadmap is a collaborative roundtable of which all relevant stakeholders are at equal footing and the issues of gender equality and social inclusion are at the forefront.
President Cyril Ramaphosa: Roundtable on Pandemic Preparedness (South African Government)
“While the pandemic has highlighted the value of partnership, it has also demonstrated the damaging effects of unilateral action and unequal access to resources. We cannot hope to overcome this pandemic for as long as richer countries have most of the world’s supply of vaccines to the exclusion and the detriment of poorer countries. As we prepare for future pandemics, we need to accelerate efforts to realise Universal Health Coverage. We need to ensure that vaccines and other life-saving treatments are considered a public good.”
Shortage of containers impacts on trade (Chronicle)
The Shipping Industry is at sixes and sevens as the industry tries to grapple with container shortages to ship goods across the world. Numerous reasons have been advanced around the global container shortage and the consequent impact on global trade. With improved technology, big vessels have become choice vessels so as to capitalise on capacity and economies of scale. Areas like Africa have a surplus of empty containers as they import more than they export. Out of 4 full container loads (FL) 3 containers return empty reports Africa Container Shipping. In addition, it takes more time to return the empty containers due to staff shortages caused by lockdowns.
Turning point as Tanzania’s gold exports pass $3 billion mark (The Citizen)
Tanzania’s gold shipment hit $3 billion mark for the first time as price of the precious metal increased in the world market. According to the Bank of Tanzania, the value of the exports of gold to $3.025 billion in the year ending March 31, 2021, compared with $2.324 billion recorded previously. During the year to March 2021, gold exports accounted for 55.9 percent of non-traditional exports after increased by $701.3 million to $3.025 billion. The increase is associated with “an increase in the market price of gold and government initiatives in supporting the mining industry,” the central bank stated.
Domestic air travel fares double on high demand (Business Daily)
The cost of domestic flights has doubled on some routes since Sunday when the air travel resumed after the lockdown as airlines record high demand, forcing carriers to increase frequencies on different routes. Kenya Airways ticket price have shot to Sh10, 050 on Mombasa and Kisumu routes from a low of Sh5, 000 when the flights resumed on Sunday. KQ, which started with two flights to Mombasa and one in Kisumu on Sunday, has so far added additional flights on these routes.
Kenya scraps work visa for Tanzanians (Business Daily)
Kenya has scrapped work visa and permit requirements for Tanzanian nationals in an effort to boost trade and tourism between the two countries, fast-tracking implementation of East African Common Market Protocol allowing workers to move freely in the region. President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the new visa policy on Wednesday during a joint session of Kenya and Tanzanian business community in Nairobi, which was attended by the visiting Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu. President Kenyatta said the move would allow Tanzanians to enter the country without restrictions and work freely, attracting foreign investment and boosting tourism without compromising national security.
Oil pipeline-related splurge raises Uganda real estate industry spirits (The East African)
Commercial activity surrounding the recent signing of key agreements related to the 1,445km East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP) and a surge in oil explorers’ procurement budgets have increased hopes of recovery in the country’s real estate industry that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The total value of industry contracts fell to $21 million in 2019, a pattern attributed to prolonged days tied to the announcement of the Final Investment Decision (FID) for Uganda’s commercial oil production programme, as well as drawn out income tax disputes between the Uganda Revenue Authority and international oil companies amid shrinking global crude oil prices.
Non-oil exports: FG pledges improved funding for exporters (The Sun Nigeria)
Amidst the dwindling fortunes of the oil and gas sector exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government at the weekend expressed concern over Nigeria’s poor records in exportation of manufactured and value added products, stressing such developments pose grave danger to its balance of trade and payment positions. Head of Strategic Planning at NEXIM Bank, Mr Tayo Omidiji, who represented the Managing Director of the bank, Mr Abubakar Bello, stated that while the Nigerian economy remains diversified, its external sector is still dominated by oil and gas trading which accounts for over 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings. He explained that Nigeria recorded trade deficit of N7.38 trillion in 2020, compared to a surplus of N2.23 trillion in 2019. Omidiji recalled that the nation’s total trade declined by 10.32 per cent in 2020, as crude oil export shrank by 35.71 per cent to N9.44 trillion in 2020. He said that agricultural commodities equally recorded price declines owing to COVID-19 related factors that affected several sectors of the economy.
Tanzania pledges to strengthen trade ties with Nigeria (Premium Times)
Tanzanian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Benson Bana, has pledged his government’s commitment to boost the volume of trade with Nigeria to promote intra-Africa trade. “Basically, our bilateral cooperation is flexible in terms of volume of trade, so we are struggling to increase the balance of trade and also promote more Tanzanian products in the Nigerian market. “How do we do that? We are entering digital age, the 21st century of science and technology, so we are thinking especially of youths to start interacting, to do big business bilaterally.
SON to leverage accredited labs to end rejection of exports (The Guardian Nigeria)
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has stated that by leveraging its three accredited laboratories, the country would witness a gradual end to the incessant rejection of locally-made goods at the international market. The Director-General, SON, Farouk Salim, said: “Most of our manufacturers have been complaining that their products were rejected even by our local companies because the products are not certified because they do not have laboratory certificates to authenticate the standards. Now, that excuse is out of the way. Due to the export potentials of our industries and with the certification, it is easy for them to export anywhere in the world because an accredited laboratory means that whatever we say is good is good. It gives the nation credibility, it gives our manufacturers credibility, and it saves our foreign currency because they do not have to go to neighboring countries to get their products certified anymore so it is a win-win situation for everybody.”
Startups vital to future of Nigeria – Osinbajo (The Sun Nigeria)
The Vice-President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, said that the startup ecosystem is one of the vital tools in finding solutions to Africa’s various challenges. According to him, these challenges will determine if the continent’s future as the next frontier for economic opportunities will fully be realised. “Globally, the startup ecosystem is the most viable platform for innovators and entrepreneurs to take their ideas from inception to impact. It brings relevant stakeholders together to collaborate and bring something new to the world or new to an industry. There will never be a more perfect time to strengthen the African startup ecosystem than now, on the verge of the fourth industrial revolution,” he said.
FG to automate Nigerian ports operations (The Sun Nigeria)
As part of the Federal Government’s plan to automate operations in the Nigerian ports, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) yesterday signed an agreement with National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) with a view to automating data collection and gathering in the ports. The Managing Director of NPA, Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman, said that the automation will bring timely access to data exchange for planning, research, monitoring, projections and reporting across port industry. “I would like to specifically request the collaboration of automation of data collection. This is an area that we really require support on how we can really move towards automation of data which will eliminate errors and also have live and up-to-date information as and when required.
FG ready to deploy 5G technology (The Sun Nigeria)
The Federal Government has announced it is going ahead with arrangements to deploy Fifth Generation (5G) Technology in the telecommunications industry. The government allayed fears and concerns on health and security implications over deployment of 5G, asserting Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind. It added the resources and revenues to be earned from the deployment are so huge they cannot be ignored.
‘Nigeria’s debt profile, servicing worrisome’ (The Sun Nigeria)
Recently, the Federal Government sourced $3.4 billion loan from IMF, $2.5 billion loan from the World Bank, $1 billion loan from AfDB, as well as N850 billion domestic capital market loans among others. Economists have insisted that the continuous borrowing by Nigeria was not good for the economy, going by the huge amount spent on servicing those debts, they also noted that Nigeria’s debt to revenue and debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios are becoming unfavourable. The Director-General, LCCI, Dr. Muda Yusuf, noted that the high level of debt servicing continues to hinder robust investments in hard and soft infrastructures which are key to stimulating productivity and improving living standards. The economists advised that Nigeria needs to be more proactive in public financial management as the economy is contracting and the country’s public debt profile is becoming unfavourable.
High-level visit to Nigeria signals strength and importance to UK-Nigeria partnership (GOV.UK)
During the visit, the Minister for Africa and the Trade Envoy attended the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and Konexa, a British company, which will help increase sustainable energy access in Nigeria. The delegation also visited a government secondary school in Abuja that is currently being supported by the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme. At the end of the visit, the Minister for Africa, James Duddridge MP, said: The UK-Nigeria relationship matters to both countries. Over 4 days, we have covered a wide range of issues, including how best to strengthen trade and investment cooperation, how to get and keep more girls in school, and how to work more closely together on global challenges such as COVID-19 and on climate change ahead of COP26.
Chinese rice farm trains talents to solve Nigeria’s food problem (Xinhua)
Rice is a major food crop in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. However, rice production remains insufficient in the country due to technological and financial constraints, and food system and markets are perennially disrupted by spreading violence and COVID-19-related restrictions. Many Nigerians still suffer from hunger. After years of research, Chinese experts in Nigeria have managed to solve problems in land preparation, sowing, weed control and fertilizer management. An increasing number of local rice farmers nearby have started to adopt the technologies used at Wara Agricultural Park.
Ghana set to receive first LNG cargo at end of May (S&P Global)
There are a number of LNG export projects across North and West Africa, but Egypt in 2015 became the first – and so far only – African country to import LNG. Ghana is now expected to receive its first LNG cargo at the end of this month, a project spokesman said May 4, as the country prepares to become sub-Saharan Africa’s first LNG importer. LNG will be supplied under a long-term contract with Shell, which said in a February strategy presentation that it wanted to grow its LNG market footprint by creating new markets, including being a first supplier of LNG to Ghana.
Report on the impact of COVID-19 to Ghana’s labour market hits headlines (UNU-WIDER)
A new report from the Transforming informal work and livelihoods project has caught the attention of policy makers and media in Ghana. Researchers from UNU-WIDER and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, Legon conducted a survey with more than 600 workers in different cities throughout Ghana to assess the immediate and near-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on labour market outcomes. These data have been analysed and published in the new report delivering novel insights on how the pandemic and related policy measures have impacted the livelihoods of workers and their families. In the report, the researchers provide a comprehensive overview of their findings, which can help inform future policies.
Malawi Country Partnership Framework – A Focused and Flexible Engagement Strategy (World Bank)
The Malawi Country Partnership Framework (FY21–25) supports the country’s goal of creating more jobs, strengthening human capital and increasing economic growth and accountability. It targets three strategic areas; reinforcing foundations for growth and accountability; promoting private sector-led jobs and livelihoods; and strengthening human capital development. In addition, the CPF pays special attention to two cross-cutting issues of women’s empowerment and digital development. These priority areas are guided by Malawi’s development vision as laid out in the Malawi 2063 (MW2063) document, which targets the country’s lower-middle-income status by 2030 through a focus on three pillars: commercial agriculture, urbanization, and industrialization, as well as the 2018 Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) and with the forthcoming IFC-led Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD).
Safeguarding Sudan’s Vulnerable: Creating Economic Opportunity in Times of Crisis (World Bank)
Revenue gained from their community horticultural gardens and livestock production offers women informal traders them major opportunities to strengthen food security and to improve their livelihoods, a big contrast from the past, when the women in these communities had far fewer economic opportunities. This kind of dramatic transformation has been made possible on a large scale with the support of the Sustainable Livelihoods for Displaced and Vulnerable Communities in Eastern Sudan Project (SLDP). Funded by the government and the World Bank State and Peacebuilding Fund (SPF), the government-implemented project was designed to strengthen the capacity of local stakeholders, including state authorities, displaced persons and vulnerable host communities, to plan and implement improved livelihood and natural resources management practice. With a budget of $7.135 million, it consisted of two phases over an eight-year period, beginning in 2013 and ending in 2021.
African regional and continental news
Let’s publish tariff concessions – African Council of Ministers to AfCFTA member states (GhanaWeb)
The African Council of Ministers in charge of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), is charging all member countries to publish their various tariffs, concessions and trade schedules for all traders. The move is to ensure transparency in trading and also to make member countries aware of what products and tariffs are being traded under. The Council of Ministers in charge of AfCFTA which is the second-highest body made their expectations at the 5th Session meeting in Accra. Secretary-General of the AfCTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene believes the move will boost investor confidence on the continent as well as giving more African entrepreneurs hope.
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Africa’s reliable driving force for Industrialisation (AUDA-NEPAD)
The substantive participation of the private sector in driving Africa’s development and wealth, calls for a stronger Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) approach between the governments and private firms. Regardless of the challenges surrounding the private sector ecosystem, its contribution as an engine to Africa’s industrialisation process and economic development at large remains relevant. Even though, we can also not ignore the voices of those who posit that capitalist is at the core of an unequal society driven by private sector accumulation but there is room for improvement. Private sector active participation in key economic areas such as agriculture, industries, and services provision contribute immensely to the total GDP growth of Africa’s economy while according to AfDB provides about 90 percent of employment opportunities including formal and informal jobs.
The impact of COVID‐19 on African economies: An introduction (Wiley)
The COVID‐19 pandemic and the measures deployed by governments and private sector institutions to contain its spread – lockdowns, quarantines, social distancing, travel bans and restrictions, masking requirements, shutdowns of non‐essential activities – have caused severe socioeconomic dislocations on African economies. Many African governments responded with programs to mitigate personal hardship and disruptions to economic life. At the same time, central banks have cut policy rates and injected liquidity on an extraordinary scale in the economies. Therefore, it is not surprising that the pandemic and the actions taken to contain it have exacted substantial costs on African economies, including deep economic contractions.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution in sub-Saharan Africa: key to the coronavirus recovery? (Oxford Business Group)
The coronavirus pandemic has significantly accelerated the global spread of technologies associated with the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), among them artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT), big data and blockchain. In sub-Saharan Africa, many now see 4IR as key to the region’s recovery. Various factors stand the sub-Saharan region in good stead to take advantage of 4IR technologies. For example, in recent times the region has seen a massive expansion of mobile technology, with consumers leapfrogging traditional development channels straight to digital services, particularly with regard to banking. Africa also boasts disproportionately high numbers of young people, a demographic dividend which is already bearing fruit in terms of the 4IR. Further to this, a report published at the end of 2019 by the African Development Bank (AfDB) noted that IoT had expanded considerably in Africa, while there had been strong investment growth in technology-led areas. But the report also highlighted a range of challenges, among them ICT infrastructure gaps and the fact that the start-up ecosystem was under-capitalised.
Africa sees the fastest recovery in air cargo – with new record highs – but passengers scarce (Business Insider South Africa)
Global air cargo demand reached an all-time high in March, with African airlines posting the fastest recovery and increasing freight volumes by 24.6% compared to the same pre-pandemic period in 2019. Following a dismal 2020, when global air cargo volumes dropped by 10.6% – the largest decline in 30 years – the freight industry has shown a remarkable recovery in the first quarter of 2021. And although Africa has shown the swiftest recovery in air cargo demand, it’s also the only region to report a month-on-month decline in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) between February and March. RPK measures the number of kilometres travelled by paying passengers.
Tax forum reminds businesses that there’s money to be made in Africa (Eyewitness News)
The African Tax Administration Forum said the continent signed away billions of dollars through tax incentives for businesses. Speaking at the 5th high level tax policy dialogue, the forum’s executive secretary Logan Wort reminded businesses attending to come to Africa because there was money to be made and not because of incentives. “It is not tax incentives that attract direct investment, that’s a myth. Direct investment is attracted to a stable economy, good infrastructure, a good educated workforce and political stability. Those are things that attract investment,” said Wort.
ECA’s development of value chain investment tool for Central Africa gains traction (UNECA)
Imagine development planners in Central Africa getting their hands on a smart and integrated tool which helps them identify the most profitable points to deploy investments for the expansion and deepening of value chains in agribusiness, manufacturing, mineral transformation and beneficiation as well as an endless flow of renewable energy to leverage their current development plans. ECA’s preliminary geospatial-data driven analysis on economic opportunities along Central Africa’s transport corridors showcases the far-northern regions of Cameroon, connected to the whole of Chad as one of Africa’s best spots for the development of a value chain in wind and solar renewable energy.
AGRA announces partnership with Aceli Africa to support African agribusiness SMEs (AGRA)
AGRA has today announced a partnership with Aceli Africa to enhance capital flows to SMEs in the agriculture sector and support a financially inclusive agricultural transformation across Africa. AGRA and Aceli have signed a letter of intent committing to jointly work together to test and scale up innovations that substantially drive down the cost and risk of financing SMEs in the agriculture space. Aceli Africa is a market incentive facility that offers financial incentives to mitigate risk and compensate lenders for the transaction costs of serving high-impact agricultural SMEs. Aceli plans to support its 25 lending partners in mobilizing $700 million in financing for agri-SMEs by 2025 with a focus on SMEs that are gender inclusive, improve food security, and practice climate-smart agriculture.
Optimising Agricultural Value Chains in Southern Africa After COVID-19 (SAIIA)
Priorities going forward include enhancing food security in the SADC region, making more productive use of the small-scale farming sector and using the African Continental Free Trade Area as a lever for agricultural and regional development. These effects have also been felt in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) across agricultural value chains, impacting regional food security, intraregional trade and economic growth.
African Development Bank holds webinar on accountability for Southern African CSOs (AfDB)
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from eight Southern African countries participated in a webinar on accountability and good governance in projects funded by multilateral development banks. “The role of CSOs in promoting principles of transparency and accountability, and in amplifying citizens’ voice and participation are key ingredients in achieving inclusive and sustainable development,” said Vanessa Moungar, Director of the Bank’s Gender, Women and Civil Society, in opening remarks. The webinar, organized by The African Development Bank, aimed to sensitize the groups about the role and importance of independent accountability mechanisms and how greater transparency and accountability in development bank-funded projects enhances social and environmental impacts for beneficiaries.
Story: Tech Hubs critical to Africa’s COVID-19 recovery (ITC)
Tech hubs have taken on a key role in the digital transition in African nations. With traditional work methods moving increasingly towards automation, tech hubs provide start-ups with training and capacity building, from ideation to market readiness. “Technology is our new reality,” says Joseph Mwanyika, executive director of Ennovation for Change, an NGO start-up supported by and working with Ennovate Hub in Tanzania. “For example, access to transportation, education, and health is all now increasingly online,” he continues. “As a result, tech hubs are incredibly important in the African entrepreneurship ecosystem: they play a vital role in supporting entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem. However, they also need support themselves,” the Executive Director acknowledges.
Marching towards an equitable economic recovery in eastern and southern Africa (The East African)
Covid-19 has reversed the downward trend in global poverty for the first time in a generation. Even if we witness an economic recovery globally this year, we cannot expect a dramatic reversal in poverty levels due to the long-term damage caused by Covid-19. The pandemic is expected to reduce global potential growth and require, going forward, fiscal adjustments to tackle the increasing debt levels in many eastern and southern African countries. The coming months present an opportunity to implement reforms and interventions that contribute to long term growth that is more inclusive. Just as we have fast-tracked the Covid-19 response, we must fast-track the building blocks of sustainable infrastructure investment. This means governments should work to attain robust legal frameworks, transparency, and regulatory certainty for infrastructure sectors.
Focus on Africa free market, UNDP tells govt (Daily Monitor)
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has advised government to use the national industrial policy launched yesterday, to tap into the 1.2 billion African Continental Free market. Speaking at the launch, Ms Elsie Attafuah, the UNDP country representative, said Covid-19 has exposed certain realities in more developed countries which started looking internally for market, adding that it is crucial for Uganda to look at the Intra-Africa trade to help the country regain growth after Covid-19. “Industrialisation is the key to economic transformation through export revenue, poverty eradication, sustained prosperity, which will contribute to inclusive growth, resilience, transformation of the economy and society. It will bring foreign- direct investment and international competitiveness,” she said.
EAC Partner States have no option but to accelerate the integration process (East African Community)
Ugandan President Museveni said that failure by the EAC Partner States to form a stronger, more cohesive bloc with a bigger market would be disastrous for the region in the long run. “Integration is not really something we will do or not do. It is a must. If we don’t we shall end up in a very bad situation.” President Museveni said that EAC Partner States markets operating individually were small and therefore need to integrate into a bigger one. “We need to solve the issue of market or else we shall continue enriching other countries,” said the Head of State. Businesspeople in East Africa were in full support of the integration because they were very much inconvenienced by national borders and other non-tariff barriers.
One currency for Africa (MyBroadband)
A single currency for Africa will make it much easier to trade and invest across the continent, but because all countries are unlikely to agree on a central bank or monetary policy it will likely have to be a decentralised cryptocurrency. This is the view of Montegray Capital founder, venture capitalist, and former FNB CEO, Michael Jordaan. Jordaan said intra-African trade and not foreign aid, is the key to sustainable development in Africa. There are, however, many non-tariff barriers like delays at border posts or non-standardised customs procedures which are holding the continent back. Jordaan said these bottlenecks will have to be resolved to optimise trade between African countries. Another big challenge for intra-African trade is making it easy for big and small exporters to be paid by anyone in the world.
France begins transfer of €5bn to BCEAO as part of CFA franc reform (The Africa Report)
During his visit to Abidjan from 29 to 30 April, Bruno Le Maire, France’s minister of the economy and finance, reassured Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara that the CFA franc reform agreements approved in December 2019 would be implemented in their entirety. France has begun the process of transferring €5bn to the accounts of the Banque Centrale des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO). Paris’ decision comes within the framework of the reform of the CFA franc, which will be replaced by the eco.
ECOWAS countries urged to invest in data production (Xinhua)
Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should invest more in data production to boost their economic development, said an ECOWAS official here Wednesday. Kofi Konadu Apraku, ECOWAS commissioner for macroeconomic policy and economic research, made the remarks at the ECOWAS regional statistical coordination meeting held in Accra. The development of new data sources, including big data, should be exploited to improve the provision of official statistics to leverage advances in new technologies that would make data production easier and more cost-effective in the region.
EAC seeks tighter hug from ‘Russian bear’ (The Standard)
Regional countries stand to reap huge economic benefits if they can cooperate with the Russian Federation, an official has said. Newly appointed East Africa Community (EAC) Secretary General Peter Mathuki has emphasised the need to formalise cooperation between the regional body and the Russian government. Speaking at EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, yesterday, Dr Mathuki said the bloc is keen to identify areas of cooperation. “EAC is the fastest growing regional economic bloc in Africa. It is anchored on a clear vision with four pillars of integration: the customs union, the common market, the monetary union and ultimately the political federation,” Mathuki said.
Global economy
WTO TRIPS Waiver
DG Okonjo-Iweala underlines urgent need to address equitable access to vaccines (WTO)
At the General Council meeting, WTO members agreed to allow the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to continue consideration of the proposal first put forward by India and South Africa for a temporary waiver of certain TRIPS obligations in response to COVID-19. “The way the WTO handles this matter is critical,” DG Okonjo-Iweala told members. “Vaccine policy is economic policy because the global economic recovery cannot be sustained unless we find a way to get equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics,” she added.
WTO calls for urgency in Covid-19 response; members await revised IP waiver proposal from India, South Africa (Business Today)
“I think that it is incumbent on us to move quickly to put the revised text on the table but also to begin and undertake text-based negotiations. I am firmly convinced that once we can sit down with an actual text in front of us, we shall find a pragmatic way forward, acceptable to all sides that allow the kinds of answers that our developing country members are looking at with respect to vaccines, whilst at the same time looking at research and innovation and how to protect them,” she said.
COVID vaccine makers must relent on intellectual property rights and see to the world’s needs (The Boston Globe)
In arguing against suspending intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, Dr. Michael Rosenblatt, an adviser to Moderna and the former chief medical officer of Merck, makes many misstatements. Contrary to Rosenblatt’s position on the issue, the United States should join the rest of the world in suspending patent rights to increase vaccine access. Pointing to the unspecified “billions” spent by industry as a justification for industry to retain patent rights, Rosenblatt neglects to mention the $17 billion spent by the National Institutes of Health on vaccine platforms and the more than $13 billion spent by the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed on COVID-specific vaccines, including all of Moderna’s research-and-development and clinical trial costs.
US Swings Weight Behind Global IP Waiver On COVID Vaccines; WTO Inches Towards ‘Text-Based’ Negotiations (Health Policy Watch)
The United States has swung its weight behind a hotly-debated proposal by India and South Africa to suspend intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines for the duration of the pandemic. The dramatic turnabout in the US position, announced Wednesday evening by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, signals a sea change in the balance of powers around the debate over the IP waiver – which until now had been supported primarily by low- and middle-income countries.
Statement from Ambassador Katherine Tai on the Covid-19 Trips Waiver (USTR)
United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today released a statement announcing the Biden-Harris Administration’s support for waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.
“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines. We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) needed to make that happen. Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved.
“The Administration’s aim is to get as many safe and effective vaccines to as many people as fast as possible. As our vaccine supply for the American people is secured, the Administration will continue to ramp up its efforts – working with the private sector and all possible partners – to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution. It will also work to increase the raw materials needed to produce those vaccines.”
Perspectives on the TRIPS waiver (IPWatchdog.com)
“In a world where the standard approaches are not doing enough, the TRIPS Waiver is a necessary first step toward facilitating increased, rapid production of vaccines. Rather than undermining the value of innovation or making it less likely in the future, the proposal demonstrates how, for many countries, the traditional balance between innovation and access has tipped toward prioritizing access for the time being.” – Rachel Thrasher of the Boston University Global Development Policy Center
“President Biden took a bold and important step today by choosing multilateralism and humanity over special interest group pressure both inside and outside of his administration. This is a breakthrough that will help the world attack the virus on a global scale so we can collectively focus on building back a better global economy and the set of rules to govern it. The EU, UK, Brazil, Norway and Japan need to follow suit and put humanity first over special interests.” – Dr. Kevin P. Gallagher, Director of the Boston University Global Development Policy Center and Professor of Global Development Policy at Boston University
“Weakening intellectual property protections, as the WTO waiver proposal would do, will not increase access to the tools we need to fight COVID-19; in fact, they would hinder access to the COVID-19 tools we’ve discovered already, and it will stop the search for new tools right in its tracks. Put simply, weakening intellectual property protections won’t help us, and it will hurt us.” – Patrick Kilbride of the Global Intellectual Property Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
“Today’s disastrous decision by President Biden will do little to end the COVID-19 pandemic and help developing nations, but it will hand over America’s medical technology to adversarial states like China and Russia. We support distributing vaccines to countries that need them, but not in a way that jeopardizes America’s successful vaccine development. It’s astonishing that President Biden is now providing the Chinese Communist Party with access to America’s intellectual property, medical research, and innovation.” – Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Vaccine IP waiver ‘could take months for WTO to negotiate’ (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
Ten meetings in seven months have failed to move WTO members toward consensus on the original waiver proposal. Now that the U.S. President Joe Biden has backed a proposed waiver for COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property rights, the next stop is for the World Trade Organization to hammer out a deal - a process that could take months.
Pressure mounts on Australia to support Covid vaccine intellectual property waiver for developing nations (The Guardian)
Pressure is mounting on Australia to support the waiver of intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines after the United States reversed its long-held opposition to announce they will back the plan. Australia is now one of the last countries not to have thrown its support behind the waiver proposal at the World Trade Organization. Australia had indicated willingness for a compromise position on the waiver, however the proposal had ultimately been blocked repeatedly because of the WTO’s consensus-based system requiring absolute support, as opposed to a majority voting system.
Counterfeit remains top priority for EU’s efforts in intellectual property protection (European Commission)
The European Commission published today its biennial report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in third countries. Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said: “Strengthening the protection and enforcement of EU Intellectual Property Rights in third countries is a European Commission priority. Deficiencies in the intellectual property system harm European businesses, undermining their investment and hampering the dissemination of technology and knowledge. Counterfeiting and piracy are a scourge on our economy and expose our citizens to low quality and dangerous counterfeits, such as the fake medical products that flooded the European market in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
USTR releases Annual Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Protection (United States Trade Representative)
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released its annual Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. “Intellectual property rights incentivize our creators, manufacturers, and innovators to invent new products and technologies,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “The laws, policies and practices that protect those rights must appropriately balance the interests of creators with those seeking to use their creations. Failing to adequately and effectively protect those rights in foreign markets hurts the U.S. economy, the dynamism of American innovators and the livelihoods of our workers.”
Acute food insecurity soars to five-year high warns Global Report on Food Crises (FAO)
The number of people facing acute food insecurity and needing urgent life and livelihood-saving assistance has hit a five-year high in 2020 in countries beset by food crises, an annual report launched today by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) has found. The stark warning from the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises reveals that conflict, or economic shocks that are often related to COVID-19 along with extreme weather, are continuing to push millions of people into acute food insecurity.
G7 TALKS: US and South Africa agree to cooperate on Mozambique insurgency and expand Covid-19 vaccine production (Daily Maverick)
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have agreed on the need for the US and South Africa to cooperate in addressing the Islamist insurgency in Mozambique’s northernmost province of Cabo Delgado. Pandor and Blinken also agreed on the need to expand Covid-19 vaccine production, at a meeting on the margins of the G7 foreign and development ministers’ meeting in London on Wednesday.
Boosting small business is crucial to a smart recovery (Atlantic Council)
There is little doubt that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an outsized role in most economies. They are employers, producers, service providers, and innovators who power integrated supply chains, driving global economic growth and job creation. In emerging and developing markets, formal SMEs contribute roughly 40 percent of national income (GDP) and generate at least seven out of ten jobs; and these estimates rise substantially if you take informal business into account. To build back better, a strategic recovery should start with SMEs. Successful efforts by national governments and multilateral institutions should soften the range of supply, demand, information, and administrative constraints and focus on SMART strategies: Skills, Money, Adaptation/Adoption, Regulatory environment, and Trade.
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National trade and trade-related news
Avian epidemic plunging poultry industry into turmoil (CAJ News)
Stakeholders are divided over South Africa’s prospects of containing the Avian Influenza (AI) as the outbreak spreads in the commercial hub of Gauteng. The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) and Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) have assured that every measure is being taken to contain the recent outbreak. “As it stands, the poultry industry sees another blow after the outbreak of avian flu on a second farm in Gauteng,” Denise Rapitsi, AMEI Chief Strategy Officer, said. “It has also been noteworthy how swiftly our SADC trading partners reacted to the news and halted imports of South African chicken.”
Kazungula Bridge opening to boost Sadc trade (Chronicle)
The official opening of the Kazungula Bridge and One-Stop Border Post facilities next week Monday is expected to enhance Southern Africa’s access to international markets through connectivity with major seaports. The new bridge provides a vital link between neighbouring Botswana and Zambia. Its operationalising is seen as a giant step towards maximising the operational efficiency of the Sadc north-south corridor and enhancing regional economic integration. The facility is also expected to ease congestion at the Beitbridge Border Post, touted as the busiest regional inland port of entry through Zimbabwe.
US $300m Beitbridge Border Post modernisation project in Zimbabwe underway (Construction Review)
The government of Zimbabwe and the Zimborders consortium is currently implementing a US $300m Beitbridge Border Post modernisation project, a move that is expected to boost capacity fivefold for human and vehicular traffic at SADC’s busiest inland port. According to Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), the construction project will result in the required improvement to the current infrastructure, which will go a long way in creating efficient and effective traffic management for all stakeholders and the economy.
Diasporans Break Record, Remit US$1 Billion In 2020 – Mthuli Ncube (NewZimbabwe)
Zimbabweans in the diaspora last year sent home a total of US$1 billion, the highest ever contribution made to the local economy. Addressing journalists in Bulawayo over the last weekend, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube revealed that diaspora remittances have since overtaken foreign aid to Zimbabwe. Ncube said the remittances surpassed the previous year’s amount of US$635.7 million. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) had projected diaspora remittances to be US$940 million last year.
Low financing slowing Kenya’s international trade – report (The Star)
Local banks’ failure to fully embrace trade financing is hindering growth of Kenya, regional exports to international markets, experts now say. This comes even as the country continues to push for trade deals, among them the recently concluded Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the UK, and the ongoing talks for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US. While the country is seeking to grow its exports to the United States, it barely serves 23 per cent of the potential under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which expires in 2025, which eliminates import tariffs on goods from eligible African nations. According to the Export Promotion Council of Kenya, the country is doing only one per cent (1%) of the potential in textile and apparel, where 10 countries account for almost 80 per cent of all US apparel imports with China topping the list with a 30 per cent share.
Kenya and Tanzania agree to eliminate barriers to trade, movement of people (Capital Business)
Kenya and Tanzania have today agreed to eliminate barriers hindering the smooth flow of trade and people between the two East African nations. A joint team of experts will be set up to address the disjointed enforcement of cross-border Covid-19 containment protocols, one of the most pronounced non-tariff trade barrier between the two nations. “First, we noted that trade between Kenya and Tanzania is facing some administrative challenges. They include non-tariff barriers and other restrictions which are frustrating trade and investment between our two countries,” President Kenyatta said.
Kenya, Tanzania agree on gas pipeline plans (The East African)
Kenya and Tanzania on Tuesday signed an agreement to start working on a gas pipeline from Dar es Salaam to Mombasa in what the two countries’ leaders said was part of a long-term project to share energy resources. At a joint Press conference in Nairobi, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu and her Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta said they had agreed to build more interconnecting infrastructure, starting with a gas pipeline and roads. The MoU on Cooperation in Natural Gas Transportation means respective Ministers of Energy can start negotiating the design, cost and other logistical needs for the pipeline to be built. A joint communique said it will enhance “energy sufficiency” with Kenya keen on importing gas from Tanzania’s nascent plant.
Botswana launches revised AGOA strategy (Botswana Daily News)
The revised African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) National Response Strategy for Botswana remains one of the mechanisms towards economic diversification and SME sustainable development. Speaking at launch of the revised strategy on Thursday April 29, the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Mr Mmusi Kgafela, said the strategy resonated well with national priorities of promoting an export-led and knowledge-based economy as contained in Vision 2036 and the National Development Plan 11. Elements of the revised strategy included, among other interventions, identifying sector representation to ensure in-depth and adequate sectoral coverage.
Rwanda on path of economic recovery from COVID-19 pandemic shock: finance minister (Xinhua)
The Rwandan economy is on the path of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic shock, which is strengthened by the country’s effective control of the virus, Rwandan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Uzziel Ndagijimana said Tuesday. The economy is expected to grow at 5.1 percent in 2021, 7 percent in 2022 and at above 7.8 percent in 2023 and 2024, said Ndagijimana at the cross-listing event of mobile network operator MTN Rwanda in the capital city Kigali. This outlook is an opportunity for investment and private sector development in the central African nation, said Ndagijimana, adding that the cross-listing is a testimony of the confidence in Rwanda’s economy.
Uganda’s debt burden (The Independent)
Julius Kapwepwe, the director of programmes at Uganda Debt Network, a debt monitoring NGO, Uganda’s national says, to control the country’s spiraling debt, the Ministry of Finance officials must ask themselves some questions every time they are packaging a loan request. The spiraling national debt was in the news for the last one week and the Ministry of Finance officials appearing before the parliament committee on budget had no clear answers as they took the heat from committee members led by chairman Amos Lugoloobi on how to rein in uncontrolled borrowing and spending. The debt was Shs68trillion on April 15. “The debt burden is unbearable. As a committee we want to know how you are going to bring down this problem.”
FMITI lists requirements for full AfCFTA benefits (Nigerian Tribune)
The Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment (FMITI) on Tuesday, listed the requirements for Nigeria to fully benefit from Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the ministry said that for Nigeria to benefit maximally from the AfCFTA, its goods must be produced with high standard and with equity in mind. Mr Emmanuel Ebukanson, the South-South Coordinator, Department of Weights and Measures, FMITI, made the call in Calabar at a one-day sensitisation workshop organised by the ministry. The workshop was with the theme: ‘How Nigeria Will Leverage on the AfCFTA Treaty and the National Quality Policy Implementation – Weights and Measures Perspective’.
Morocco Strengthens South-South Cooperation with Nigeria, Djibouti (Morocco World News)
Morocco’s latest efforts to develop South-South cooperation have seen renewed diplomatic talks with the foreign ministers of Nigeria and Djibouti, on May 4. Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, held a video conference with his Nigerian counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama, to discuss various bilateral issues. While Morocco’s foreign ministry has not released specifics of the conversations, it is likely, considering recent developments between the two countries, that it is at least somewhat related to the Nigeria-Morocco oil pipeline, and OCP’s efforts to help Nigeria stabilize its fertilizer production.
Dairibord cautious of AfCFTA (NewsDay)
Dairibord Holdings Limited (DHL) has said although the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could unlock a string of spinoffs, significant threats to intra-African trade would also arise. Zimbabwe’s biggest dairy producer reported a 12,5% volumes slowdown during the year ended December 31, 2020 after COVID-19-induced restrictions affected demand for milk across markets, just as Africa was fine-tuning the birth of the multi-country bloc. But last week, DHL said it would be treading with significant caution. “Our strategy is founded on leveraging investment in brands, human capital, plant equipment as well as focusing on collaboration across the value chain to optimise business results.”
How can Mauritius take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)? (ZAWYA)
Mauritius has over the years been an offshore gateway to Africa. It has long been an advocate for developing economic bridges between itself and other African states, leveraging its position as Africa’s best place to conduct business as recognized by The World Bank. Through its Global Business sector, Mauritius has firmly established and promoted itself as a regional hub for facilitating investments on the continent. It is thus undeniable that AfCFTA will add further to the attractiveness of Africa as a place to do business. The AfCFTA provides a platform for Mauritius to contribute significantly to the new African impetus by making available to investors and businessmen an ecosystem that not only makes it easier for them to do business with Africa, but also enhances and safeguards their investments.
African regional and continental news
AfCFTA’s success hinges on quality Standards – ARSO (News Ghana)
Dr Hermogene Nsengimana, the Secretary-General and President of African Organisations for Standardization says the approval of the Pan African Quality Policy will improve product standards for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. The need to develop a Pan-African Quality Policy is derived from Agenda 2063 of the African Union, the blueprint and master plan for transforming the continent into a global powerhouse of the future. Mr Silver Ojakol, the Chief of Staff, AfCFTA Secretariat emphasized on the importance of standardization, which he said played a critical role in the success of African trade.
Financial restrictions limit COVID-19 response in Africa (Rhodes University)
On Thursday, 22 April 2021, the Rhodes University African Studies Centre, in association with the Institute for Africa and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Lagos, hosted the first day of a two-day colloquium aimed at examining fundamental questions relating to the politics of global health and Africa’s position in the world health systems architecture. More specifically, the colloquium explored some of the African governments’ readiness and response in acquiring COVID-19 vaccinations.
Mining sector key to kickstarting hydrogen industry, says consultant (Engineering News)
Hydrogen is set to play a key role in achieving carbon-neutral mining, an industry that is being touted as a key enabler of the global hydrogen industry, Engie Impact consultant Jasper Schrijvers said during a virtual presentation at this year’s Energy & Mines Africa conference. During his presentation on May 4, he noted that kickstarting the hydrogen economy within the mining segment “makes a lot of sense” owing to it being an energy-intensive industry that has stated goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040 or 2050.
SADC, partners strategize on energy cooperation (sardc.net)
The SADC Secretariat and its energy sector cooperating partners will this week meet to discuss initiatives being undertaken by the region to ensure that power supplies meet demand. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is endowed with a wealth of energy resources that include solar, hydro, wind and coal, however, the region continues to be affected by a crippling power shortage. While load shedding has to some extent succeeded in restraining the overall electricity demand in the region, the measure has greatly affected socio-economic development since the availability of energy is one of the key enablers of sustainable development.
How illicit Trade destabilises the Swahili Coast (CNBC Africa)
The ancient trade routes of East Africa’s Swahili Coast – a 3,000 kilometre littoral stretching from Somalia in the north to Northern Mozambique in the south – is riddled with illegal trading. Former British diplomat, Sir Ivor Roberts describes the scale of the problem as ‘staggering’. He writes that a recent survey in Kenya determined that 40 percent of consumer products, including cigarettes and alcohol, are illicit. As much as 70 percent of the alcohol sold in Uganda is thought to be illegal and a billion illegal cigarettes are sold in the region each year. Counterfeit goods alone rob Kenya of US$900 million a year, Roberts estimates. The deepest implication of the problem is the power the illicit trade gives to those who carry it out and the extent to which this undermines legitimate governance.
UK – Africa: Looking to become the continent’s investment partner of choice (The Africa Report)
“One thing that absolutely has not changed is my ambition for the UK to be Africa’s investment partner of choice,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a virus-quietened second edition of the UK-Africa Investment Summit in January 2021. This is echoed by the UK’s senior trade-focused diplomat, Emma Wade-Smith. Based in South Africa, she says her teams have been doubled over the past 18 months as the government ramps up its post-European future. “Every day I see the importance of Africa in global trade and investment in general, and the UK in particular,” says Wade-Smith. “And we are not alone, of course, in our interest in Africa’s vast prospects.”
Global economy news
19 vaccine patents dominate global trade talks (Financial Post)
World Trade Organization members will assess on Wednesday signs of progress in talks on a proposal by South Africa and India to waive patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines in order to boost supply to developing countries. They want to ease rules of the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement. WTO decisions are based on consensus, so all 164 members need to agree. Ten meetings in seven months have failed to produce a breakthrough, with 60 proposal sponsors from emerging economies, backed by a chorus of campaign groups, Nobel laureates and former world leaders, pitted against richer developed countries, such as Switzerland, the United States and in the European Union, where many pharmaceutical companies are based.
EIF launches policy briefs to develop trade opportunities for least-developed countries (WTO)
Using case studies from various countries, including Cambodia, Madagascar, Lesotho and Zambia, the briefs recommend measures that LDCs could take at both the policy and institutional levels to improve trading opportunities. A major focus is on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and governments’ policy responses. The analysis is the latest example of the EIF’s efforts to help LDCs develop strong trade policies and institutions that support global trade. It draws on collaboration between LDC governments, the EIF and partner agencies on supporting trade in LDCs across a range of sectors.
New portal tracks COVID-19’s impact on trade and development (UNCTAD)
The global economy’s uneven recovery from COVID-19 continues and the unequal distribution of vaccines will affect countries’ abilities to recover from the crisis, UNCTAD warned on 4 May in a new portal tracking the pandemic’s impact on trade and development. The portal seeks to enhance policymakers’ understanding of the wide-ranging impact of the pandemic and help them design suitable recovery policies. “As countries and the international community design recovery policies to help build resilient and more inclusive and sustainable economies, up-to-date analysis is critical,” UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabelle Durant said.
Air Cargo Demand Reaches All Time High in March, up 4.4% vs Pre-COVID Levels (IATA)
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released March 2021 data for global air cargo markets showing that air cargo demand continued to outperform pre-COVID levels (March 2019) with demand up 4.4%. March demand reached the highest level recorded since the series began in 1990. Month-on-month demand also increased albeit at a slower pace than the previous month with volumes up 0.4% in March over February 2021 levels.
African airlines’ cargo demand in March increased 24.6% compared to the same month in 2019, the strongest of all regions. Robust expansion on the Asia-Africa trade lanes contributed to the strong growth. March international capacity decreased by 2.1% compared to March 2019.
International cooperation and the era of digital currency growth (World Economic Forum)
The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent economic crisis have indelibly altered our daily lives. One of the profound changes has been the acceleration in the shift towards digital payments, as customers avoided cash over fears it might spread the virus, and as retailers adapted by moving their activity online. These challenges provided fertile grounds for exploring new digital forms of payment. How the world coordinates over the treatment of these new, potentially disruptive, technologies will critically shape whether the opportunities they present can be harnessed and the risks mitigated.
Asian Ports Dominate Global Container Port Performance Index (Mirage News)
Asian container ports are the most efficient in the world, dominating the Top 50 spots according to the new global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) launched by the World Bank and IHS Markit. The report scored ports against different metrics, making the efficiency ranking comparable around the globe by assessing and standardizing for different ship sizes and container moves per call. The CPPI is intended to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement that will benefit stakeholders from shipping lines to national governments to consumers.
Young people key to transforming world’s food systems (UN News)
Transforming food systems is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said in a video message for the event. She highlighted how “food is much bigger than what is on your plate”, noting key connections with health, environment and culture. “This is a complex challenge, but only together will we transform our food systems to be more equitable, inclusive and sustainable and deliver the SDGs by 2030”, she said.
Business leaders and civil society urge UN to take meaningful action to combat corruption (ICC)
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Integrity Initiatives International (III), along with 96 civil society organizations from over 50 countries, have called on the UN General Assembly to establish an intergovernmental working group to develop proposals for new frameworks and mechanisms to address weaknesses in current international anti-corruption legal frameworks. Corruption is one of the underlying causes of some of the world’s most pressing issues such as climate change, the refugee crisis, and access to healthcare and education. It is also one of the leading impediments to ameliorating them. One major challenge of the international anti-corruption legal framework is the lack of targeted, sustained enforcement efforts.
IEA report outlines urgent need to accelerate investment in critical minerals needed to drive energy transitions (Engineering News)
A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report is warning of a potential supply deficit for some of the ‘critical minerals’ needed to support a global shift in the energy system that is aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as the growing number of country commitments to cutting carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. Titled ‘The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions’, the report outlines the metals- and minerals-intensity of technologies such as solar photovoltaic, wind and electric vehicles (EVs) when compared with their fossil fuel-based counterparts – a reality that is transforming the energy sector into a major force in mineral markets.
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National trade and trade-related news
Poultry sector still on high alert for avian flu (IOL)
The South African poultry and ostrich industries continued to remain under national high alert with strict biosecurity measures in place, the South African Poultry Association (Sapa) said on Friday. Sapa said this was despite there having been no new outbreaks of avian influenza reported since the previously confirmed cases. Sapa said that trade restrictions imposed by South Africa’s neighbours had since relaxed somewhat or remained the same, with Botswana reducing its national ban to the affected farms only, Namibia restricting imports from the one affected compartment on the East Rand and Lesotho restricting imports from Gauteng.
DP World Komatipoort handles its first direct imports from Maputo (Engineering News)
Trade solutions multinational DP World has completed the first transit import through the DP World Maputo port, in Mozambique, to DP World Komatipoort, in South Africa. This is a significant milestone as it demonstrates that the Maputo port can be seamlessly used as a gateway to South Africa, the company says. International container imports landed in the Maputo port and destined for the South African hinterland can be moved under bond to Komatipoort where full customs clearance can be provided and made ready for delivery across South Africa. Currently, in South Africa, 69% of maritime imports are transported through the Port of Durban.
Parliament rejects tax on wheat, maize brand (Independent)
Parliament on Monday declined to approve the External Trade (Amendment) Bill, 2021 under which government proposed to levy US Dollars 0.4 per kilogram of exported maize brand, wheat bran, cotton cake and different by-products of the milling industry. The tax proposal was rejected after the State Minister of Finance for Planning David Bahati and Parliament’s Finance Committee agreed that the levy would cause challenges in the East African Community- EAC and also lead to high prices of the products.
Kenya records highest drop in tourists from South Africa, China (The Standard)
China and South Africa were the largest tourism markets that Kenya lost last year as a result of Covid-19 pandemic. Arrivals from these two nations dropped by 80.6 per cent and 75.9 per cent respectively. As a result, Kenya witnessed an overall drop of 72 per cent in tourists’ numbers. This is contained in the latest report by the East African Business Council (EABC), which shows that only 567,948 tourists visited the country last year compared to 2.02 million in 2019 and 2.03 million in 2018.
Construction of Border Export Zones in Uganda at 85% (COMESA)
Construction of Border Export Zones in four sites in Uganda has reached 85%. The border markets under construction in the zones include Busia, Lwakhakha, Oraba and Katuna. According to a report from a technical mission conducted by the COMAid Unit (COMESA Aid for Trade) at the border markets from 8th to 19th April 2021, the works done at the Busia and Lwakhakha are at 85%, Oraba at 77% and Katuna at 45%. The lag at Katuna is because of adverse weather pattern in the area, which prompted the change of construction site. So far structural works have been completed while the floors and external works are the only ones remaining.
Ghana remains top investment destination, but challenges remain – Experts (GhanaWeb)
The country remains in the top-ten investment destinations on the continent, thanks to its political stability and investment policies; but it needs to address high energy costs, unstable supply of utilities, weak currency, land tenure issues which complicate acquisition and registration, local content requirements in certain sectors, and corruption. Prof. John Asafu-Adjaye, Senior Fellow at the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), and Charles Odoom, Head of Private Sector Development at the same institution, said this in a release titled ‘Ghana’s economic outlook: business, trade and economic transformation’ – and lauded efforts aimed at creating opportunities for both local and international businesses as commendable. They however added that, just like in most African countries, more needs to be done.
Time to heavily invest in SMEs to drive economic growth – Dominic Adu (GhanaWeb)
Chief Executive of the First National Bank (FNB) Ghana, Dominic Adu, has reiterated the need to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to drive the country’s economic growth agenda. SMEs in Ghana are still recovering from negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. A COVID-19 Business Tracker Survey conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) – in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank – revealed that thousands of SMEs collapsed as a result of the pandemic. Speaking at the sixth edition of the B&FT-organised Ghana’s Most Respected CEOs Breakfast Series, Mr. Adu stated that there is need for financial institutions to develop specialised products which lift small businesses from the current challenges they face.
High cost of production killing manufacturing industry – GUTA (GhanaWeb)
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Association (GUTA), Joseph Paddy has shared that it is quite expensive to run a manufacturing business in Ghana. According to him, this high cost of doing business makes it unattractive for Ghanaians to operate manufacturing industries and create jobs, but would rather import same goods at lower costs. Comparing imports to local production, Joseph noted that one can travel for long hours to other countries to import these products, pay duties, and still make profit. With the government providing incentives to manufacturing companies, many local and international businesses have joined in Ghana’s industrialisation and job creation drive.
China Cocoa Export: Ghana Must Be More Aggressive At Value Addition (MyJoyOnline)
News about China exporting cocoa to Belgium has unsettled many in Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa beans exporter. Concerns are that the Chinese, with capital and technology, will outcompete Africa’s cocoa producers whose economies depend massively on the commodity. But a cocoa farmer and cocoa value addition entrepreneur, Nana Aduna II, wants the public to shrug off the fears. “China’s entry is a very positive move. It should spur Ghana on to be more aggressive about cocoa value addition beyond chocolate and cocoa powder,” he opined, in a Daily Graphic interview.
5 months after bilateral talks: Nigerians’ shops remain shut in Ghana (Daily Trust)
When contacted on the position of the government on the plight of traders in Ghana, the spokesman for the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abdulrahman Balogun, said the ministerial committee set up is working closely with the traders. Balogun said that after the traders met the ministerial committee last December, the federal government promised to facilitate the return of those willing to come back to Nigeria. “It’s about four months now, but the traders are yet to take the offer,” he said.
Microsoft collaborates with the Nigerian government to accelerate digital transformation in the country (Microsoft)
In a joint announcement with the Government of Nigeria, Microsoft has detailed several projects aimed at intensifying the nation’s move to become a more digital economy. After extensive consultations with the government, Microsoft identified three key pillars that will help to build strong foundations for a digital economy in Nigeria: connectivity, skilling and digital transformation. “We believe in the future of Nigeria, and we are excited as a company to add to our investments,” says Brad Smith, Microsoft President. “Together, we have an enormous opportunity to put technology to work, create jobs, to foster the technology ecosystem across Nigeria, and to use technology to preserve the best of the past and take us into the future.”
Tunisia’s trade regains pre-pandemic levels (TAP)
Exports in volume showed a strong rebound of 16.8%, compared to February 2021, while imports were up by only 2.9%, according to data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). The increase in export volumes is mainly due to the strong rebound in the energy sector sales (+329.6%), as well as the noticeable increase in exports from the electrical industries sector (+19.5%). Only exports of the textile/clothing sector showed a slight decrease of 0.2%, compared to February. Imports in volume grew by 2.9% in March, mainly due to a rise by 12.6% in purchases of raw materials and semi-finished products.
African regional and continental trade
AfCFTA secretariat mulls protocol to promote gender, youth interests (The Standard)
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat will develop a protocol to address issues of women and young people in the implementation of the continental free trade agreement, an official said on Monday. Emily Mburu-Ndoria, the director for Trade in Services and Intellectual Property at the AfCFTA Secretariat, said during the All-Africa High-Level Virtual Roundtable on AfCFTA Youth Inclusion that the heads of state and government of the continent had tasked the secretariat to formulate that protocol to ensure that women and youth have access and derive the intended benefits from the new trade arrangements. “At the core of the AfCFTA implementation, we have the roles of women and youth. The protocol will therefore ensure the full inclusion of women and youth,” said Mburu-Ndoria.
ABCHealth, ECA partner on AfCFTA implementation (UNECA)
The African Business Coalition for Health (ABCHealth) and the United Nations Economic for Africa (ECA) have partnered to boost healthcare investments and trade. The two organisations are to execute the Healthcare and Economic Growth in Africa (HEGA 2) report, and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)-anchored Pharma Initiative. ABCHealth Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said: “We are confident of the impact this partnership will bring to bear on the continent. It is our firm belief that with the public and private sectors working together, combining political will with business knowledge, Africa’s health sector can be built to the point where it will deliver affordable health to Africans in an equitable manner.”
Economic Diversification in Africa: How and Why It Matters (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
For decades, economic diversification has been a policy priority for low- and middle-income economies. In the words of former managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, “We know that economic diversification is good for growth. Diversification is also tremendously important for resilience.” Unfortunately, this goal continues to elude many African countries. It is critical to recognize how various dimensions of diversification can have different implications for the menu of policy options. This paper focuses on a dimension that the economics literature pays scant attention to: fiscal diversification. This fiscal element involves expanding government revenue sources and public expenditure targets and can therefore play a central role in helping to catalyze broader economic transformation through the expansion of activity in specific industries and sectors.
How manufacturers can unleash their digital marketplace superpower (Bizcommunity)
Digital marketplaces such as Amazon, Alibaba, click and collect models, and food delivery ecosystems have rapidly changed consumer behaviour, and increased the demand for convenience and immediate gratification. Small, agile companies are enjoying great success in digital marketplaces. As digitally native businesses that can evolve on the fly, these brands are capitalising on the multitude of shoppers on these sites. However, a disruptive model like this requires manufacturers to transform from the top down in order to have the same agility to succeed. This is uncharted territory for manufacturers. They need new capabilities to manage business performance and brand experience at the product level, and across countless marketplaces.
Experts reflect on impact of Covid-19 pandemic on economies of Southern African countries (Malawi Nyasa Times)
“A first implication of Covid-19-related restrictions are disruptions in local staple markets which are likely to affect the cost of food consumed by the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population. The effects on food availability and prices as well as changes in incomes may lead to deterioration of nutrition status in the form of micronutrient deficiencies, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Price uncertainty and disruption on the supply side could also affect farmers’ incomes,” Dr inga Jacobs-Mata shared.
African Energy Downstream Committee to drive African competitiveness, jobs, local content, energy, and maritime security (Africa Newsroom)
The African Energy Chamber has created a Downstream Committee to engage more closely with Africa’s energy marketing, storage and trading developments and trends. “Our continent has been engaged in commodity trading for decades, and we need to ensure that we trade African commodities like crude oil and LNG in Africa for our own industrialization and growth. Trading houses and governments must start seeing Africa as a market, and not just as a farm to supply other continents,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman at the African Energy Chamber.
EAC Partner States urged to fast-track the formation of the proposed EAC Political Federation (EAC)
East African Community Partner States have been urged to expedite the formation of the proposed Political Confederation for the region. Uganda’s Acting Chief Justice Richard Butera said that East Africans had always lived together and would not wait for the Partner States to establish the confederation in order to continue with their interactions, adding that the citizens were well ahead of their national governments in as far as the integration process was concerned. “East Africans want to live together irrespective of national boundaries. The governments should therefore endeavour to catch up with them and actualise the Political Confederation as fast as possible,” said Justice Butera.
Tripartite Agreement Discussed as Ethiopia Ambassador Visits COMESA
The ratification of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and signing of the COMESA Social Charter were among issues discussed during a courtesy call by the Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Zambia and Zimbabwe H.E Addisu Abera and the Secretary General of COMESA Chileshe Kapwepwe today. The Secretary General urged the Ambassador to lobby his government to sign and ratify the Agreement to enable it to enter into force. So far, 10 countries in the COMESA, EAC and SADC regional blocs have ratified the TFTA with four more needed to attain the ratification threshold of 14 States. In February this year, the Tripartite Council of Ministers set a new deadline for countries that have not yet ratified the agreement to do so by June which will the sixth anniversary since the launch of the TFTA Agreement on 10 June 2015 in Egypt.
The European Union will continue to be a strong supporter of Africa’s economic integration agenda, particularly the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), said Birgitte Markussen, the EU’s ambassador to the African Union (AU). The ambassador said the EU welcomed the start of trading under the AfCFTA since 1 January this year and pledged EU’s political, financial, technical and policy support, including over 74 million euro that had been provided to support the continent from 2014 to date.
Africa can turn the negative impacts of illness into a chance to build and strengthen itself (The East African)
Covid has severely affected all socio-political spheres of African life, but several sectors have played a significant role in enabling the harmful effect the virus has had on Africa. These include the continent’s fiscal systems, the digital divide, healthcare systems, human capital, and urban infrastructure. Most of Africa, with its poor digital infrastructure, will experience the harshest outcomes of the crisis. However, the good news is that disruptive solutions are sure to emerge. Countries such as Kenya, which has embraced electronic payment systems using e-money, will have an advantage, and could even design new systems to buttress the economy and social protection money transfer programmes.
ECOWAS urged to invest in quality data production (GhanaWeb)
Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, the Commissioner of Macroeconomic Policy and Economic Research, ECOWAS, has encouraged member states to invest in accurate and quality data production to facilitate rapid socio-economic growth. He said the development of new and non-traditional data sources, including big data, would improve the provision of official statistics to leverage advances in new technologies that would make data production easier and more cost-effective in the region.
ECOWAS stresses regional integration for sustainable development (The New Dawn Liberia)
“For us at Ecowas, regional integration remains the most viable and appropriate tool for achieving and accelerating sustainable development of the West African countries,” Mr. Nathaniel B. Walker said. He continued that the initiative, when implemented successfully, will help support the country’s macroeconomic policy planning which are aligned with government national development roadmap, “Pro Poor Agenda for Development and Prosperity or (PAPD).” He said the project is relevant as it supports the National Statistical System (NSS) as well as the Ecowas Regional Statistical System (RSS), saying “At this time when we are in the process of producing up-to-date, reliable and harmonized statistics covering many of the social and economic data and indicators.”
US$1.1M USAID Grant for Smallholder Palm Farmers (Liberian Daily Observer)
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of J Palm Liberia, Mahmud Johnson says smallholder palm farmers in Liberia will now have attractive prices for their products, as a result of a US$1.1 million dollar grant provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support an alliance that gives smallholder farmers access to the growing organic palm market. The USAID-funded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub) awarded the $1.1 million co-investment grant to 8 Degrees North, a Ghanaian palm oil processing company, to support smallholder farmers in West Africa to access the growing market for organic palm oil in the United States.
Play Economic Recovery across Africa with ‘AFK’ (ETF Trends)
As the global vaccine deployment continues, one place to get international exposure is the first ETF to focus on Africa, the VanEck Vectors Africa Index ETF (AFK).AFK seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MVIS® GDP Africa Index. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the fund’s benchmark index.
Global economy
Delving deep into trade priorities for least developed countries (Trade for Development News)
International trade can be a powerful tool for least developed countries (LDCs) to reduce poverty and spur economic growth. But it is not a blanket solution. A recently launched series of three briefs by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) is addressing these needs, looking into areas of special relevance for LDCs working to boost their presence in global trade. For over ten years EIF has been working with LDC governments to build strong trade institutions and policies and to support local trade sectors with promise; this new analysis builds on that experience and is part of its trade support.
Trade barriers ‘block global COVID-19 vaccine goals’ (SciDev.net)
Efforts to scale up manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and ensure fair access globally are being stymied by major bottlenecks which must be resolved urgently to tackle the pandemic, say vaccine industry players. Almost 10 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines are needed to achieve worldwide herd immunity against the virus by March 2022, according to a World Bank Report on how to end the pandemic. Vaccine industry groups warn the target is only feasible if trade barriers and export restrictions on the global movement of vaccine components are removed immediately.
Farm talks chair calls for increased efforts to prepare for first draft negotiating text (WTO)
WTO members reviewed facilitators’ updates on the full range of agriculture negotiation topics, including domestic support, market access, export competition, export restrictions, cotton, public stockholding for food security purposes and the proposed special safeguard mechanism. The facilitator-led process is an informal approach for topic-by-topic technical discussions initiated by the chair last September.
Members discuss contours of potential MC12 deliverables (WTO)
Summing up members’ interventions at the end of the day, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said what she had heard matched what she had been told in her own consultations: “Views are coalescing around the most feasible priorities for delivery between now and MC12 – although of course there are gaps on how we get there and on the content of prospective results.” She said three concrete deliverables stood out: an agreement to curb harmful fisheries subsidies; outcomes on agriculture, with a focus on food security; and a framework that would better equip the WTO to support efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic and future health crises.
India, South Africa to review IP waiver proposal at WTO as US, EU refuse to comply (BusinessLine)
At the TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights) Council meeting on April 30, the WTO members agreed to continue consideration of the IP waiver and asked the Chair to report to the General Council on this decision at its next meeting on May 5-6, a Geneva-based trade official told BusinessLine. “The co-sponsors did not share the details of the kind of revision, its scope or nature, but they said that they will immediately start engaging with other members, including those opposing the waiver to advance discussions. They want to find a solution as soon as possible as it is vital that all impediments to the smooth flow of medicines and critical equipment are removed,” the official said.
Global E-Commerce Jumps to $26.7 Trillion, Covid-19 Boosts Online Retail Sales (UNCTAD)
The dramatic rise in e-commerce amid movement restrictions induced by COVID-19 increased online retail sales’ share of total retail sales from 16% to 19% in 2020, according to estimates in an UNCTAD report released on 3 May. UNCTAD released the report, “Estimates of global e-commerce 2019 and preliminary assessment of COVID-19 impact on online retail 2020”, as it hosted a two-day intergovernmental meeting on measuring e commerce and the digital economy.
Development aid: Emmanuel Macron calls for a new deal for Africa (Ecofin)
French President Emmanuel Macron calls on the international community to set a new deal for African countries affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Macron’s statement comes ahead of the Summit on Financing Sub-Saharan African Economies, to be held in Paris on May 18. “We must invent a New Deal for the financing of Africa on May 17 and 18,” said Emmanuel Macron, who also called on the international community to propose “profoundly innovative solutions” for the continent, and to forget “yesterday’s histories. Otherwise, we will leave the African continent in poverty [...] facing reduced economic opportunities, forced migration, and the expansion of terrorism, and that I do not want to accept,” he added.
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National trade and trade-related news
South Africa’s trade surplus grows to $3.67 billion in March (Reuters)
South Africa recorded its largest trade surplus on record in March, data showed on Friday, with sales of commodities and minerals rising sharply as global demand driven by the economic recovery from the coronavirus continued. South Africa’s trade surplus widened to R52.77 billion ($3.67 billion) in March from a revised surplus of R31.22 billion in February, the South African Revenue Service said. Exports increased by 28.9% on a month-on-month basis to R168.29 billion, while imports rose 16.3% to R115.52 billion, the revenue Service said.
Is South Africa ready for the Amazon effect? (IOL)
The announcement that Amazon will set up South African headquarters in an R4 billion Cape Town development was met with excitement and concern. It was exciting to those who care more about the economy and jobs but concern by environmentalists and those who care about heritage. There’s one concern that has not been raised yet and it relates to what is known as the Amazon Effect. It is known as the powerful disruption that e-commerce has made on the retail market. The term came about as a result of Amazon’s dominant role in the e-commerce marketplace and leading the disruptive impact of the industry. Based on recent developments it seems the Amazon Effect is coming for South Africa.
South Africa boosts Africa’s COVID-19 vaccine supply with local manufacturing (TheWorld)
This week, South Africa resumed its rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine to health workers across the country. The country had suspended the vaccine earlier this month over concerns of rare blood clots in the US. South Africa, unlike the US, could not afford to indefinitely suspend its only current vaccine available, especially in light of an overall global shortage of shots, and a third wave of the coronavirus on the horizon. Fortunately, South Africa’s resumption of COVID-19 vaccinations has coincided with an extra 1.1 million vaccine doses that were produced locally by South African company Aspen Pharmacare.
How Chinese exported Kenya PPEs before first Covid-19 case (Business Daily)
Chinese nationals living in Kenya last year used seven planes to repatriate Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) to their home country ahead of Nairobi reporting its first coronavirus case, regulatory filings in the US indicate. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic was marked by an acute shortage of surgical masks and protective equipment export bans and disruption of flights that severed supply chains.
Treasury backtracks on a tax proposal to protect furniture makers (The Standard)
The National Treasury has made a U-turn on its plan to increase taxes on imported furniture, measures aimed at growing local industries. Treasury had last year said it supported a Bill to amend the Excise Duty Act and impose a 30 per cent excise tax on imported furniture. The Bill by Kiambu MP Jude Njomo is expected to promote the local furniture industry. “As Treasury, we use import duty to protect local manufacturers. Already, the imported furniture attracts a duty of 35 per cent,” said Gaichuhie when he appeared before Parliament’s Committee on Finance and National Planning. He said the industry was heavily taxed, noting that imposing domestic taxes such as excise duty was “inappropriate in protecting the local industries”.
AfCFTA: Business Editors Call for the Identification of Pockets of Competitiveness in Nigeria (Proshare Nigeria Limited)
The Amplification of Nigeria’s pockets of competitiveness will enable it to derive value from the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Business and Financial editors in Nigeria made this point in an interactive webinar forum organized by the Centre for Social Protection and Policy Studies (CSPPS), University of Lagos research team in line with promoting thought-led conversations on the AFCFTA. The editors agreed that the Federal Government needs to identify specific islands of competitive advantage and embark on an industry-needs assessment/study to identify immediate, medium-term, and long-term policy actions required to support sectors such as creative arts (music, movies, and culture), fintech, and financial services.
Ghana awaits AfCFTA investment protocols (GhanaWeb)
Finally, Ghana can start looking towards having a new investment code the design and introduction of which have been put on hold for the past two years because of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Simply put, the Government of Ghana has decided that it will wait for AfCFTA to finalize its investment protocol before completing a revision of its own investment laws to ensure that the national investment laws are in consonance with that of the African common market whose secretariat is hosted by Ghana. However, since then, the standoff between the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA) and Nigerian retail traders in Ghanaian markets – with government uncomfortably caught in the middle – has persuaded officialdom to change its strategy.
AfCFTA: Togo adopts strategic plan to boost its exports in Africa (Togo First)
Togo now has a national strategy to boost exports to other African countries. This is as African governments are doubling down on efforts to effectively implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Specifically, the document identifies industrialization and trade opportunities Togo has, in the framework of the (AfCFTA), as well related challenges and measures it should adopt to fully leverage the local, regional, and global markets.
African titans Vodacom, MTN battle for lucrative Ethiopia deal (The East African)
The battle for the lucrative Ethiopian telecommunications market has narrowed down to consortia led by two of Africa’s telecom giants, Vodacom and MTN Group, setting another stage for their sustained competition for the continental market. The bids of the two consortia led by Safaricom on the one hand, and MTN Group on the other, were opened by the Ethiopian Communication Authority (ECA) evaluation committee last week.
IMF Staff Completes 2021 Article IV Mission to Guinea
“The Guinean economy weathered the Covid-19 shock with strong growth of 7 percent in 2020, driven by a booming mining sector. However, despite the implementation of a swift and well-structured response plan, the pandemic took a significant toll on the non-mining economy, which accounts for over ¾ of total GDP and employs the vast majority of the population. While the mining sector is expected to continue to bolster overall growth in 2021, Guinea is facing a twin health shock, with rising Covid-19 cases coupled with a recent new outbreak of Ebola, which fortunately appears localized and under control. As such, non-mining sector growth is expected to recover only gradually.
African regional and continental news
Baker McKenzie’s new report outlines shifting patterns in infrastructure funding in Africa (African Mining Market)
Baker McKenzie’s latest report – New Dynamics: Shifting Patterns in Africa’s Infrastructure Funding – analyzes new data from IJ Global that shows the state of the African infrastructure market, and how the major global players’ approach infrastructure lending on the continent is changing. While the data shows a decline in the value of infrastructure lending, the region is known for its resilience and it is expected that as economies recover, new types of financing will be unlocked.
Effective Communication is critical to the AfCFTA implementation (Nairametrics)
Business owners and prospective investors intending to do business within the AfCFTA require access to periodic information on the phased negotiations of the various concessions and agreements reached by the member States towards the implementation of the trade deal. Just the same way, access to reliable and timely information is regarded as a hallmark of a democratic society. Amongst the priorities for implementing the AfCFTA, effective communication remains crucial, and each member State owes its citizens that duty to put in place a monitoring and evaluation system that will measure the phased implementations and provide constant progress and status report.
WCO and AfCFTA Secretariats meet to discuss the outlook for cooperation (World Customs Organization)
Following the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021, the WCO and the AfCFTA Secretariats held an exploratory meeting to discuss prospects of future cooperation to ensure a smooth implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement. The meeting was convened on 26 April 2021, in an online format, bringing together Customs and trade experts from the AfCFTA Secretariat and representatives of relevant technical directorates and cooperation programmes of the WCO Secretariat.
In conclusion, the meeting participants agreed that the next steps in the dialogue between the two organizations would include establishing a legal framework for a long-term partnership, as well as determining high priority areas of cooperation where swift action would be required. Technical directorates and cooperation programmes of the WCO will then plan and deliver activities in their respective areas of expertise on that basis.
Digital payments can accelerate value for African trade (Business Day)
The payments landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa should be examined to understand the role and potential of digital payments in enabling trade on the continent. Two areas can accelerate value for trade in the region: interoperability and cross-border transactions. The following areas should be prioritised to realise the true benefits of interoperability: Regulation that offers a clear approach in areas such as risk management, safety and security standards, fair and open access to interoperable solutions, and consumer protection; The development of resilient infrastructure that is in line with international best practice; Initiatives that accelerate digitisation of payments and drive access to market relevant solutions for all.
Port of Durban to be repositioned as a hub for the continent (Moneyweb)
The recent blockage of the Suez Canal by a major vessel presented a significant moment for South African trade. The blockage, which saw some of the world’s largest shipping container companies redirect their vessels to the route around South Africa, disrupted trade activity and global supply chains for nearly a week, costing more than an estimated $9 billion (R128 billion) per day according to the World Trade Organisation.
The blockage also exposed the vulnerabilities of global trade flows, bringing to the fore the critical role of efficient ports that are able to respond to the needs of the current global trade ecosystem. For South Africa, this has reignited the urgent need to expand capacity and improve efficiencies at our ports in order to boost the competitiveness of our economy and the broader South Africa Development Community (SADC) region.
‘Progress, peace & the young’ key to Africa’s future, says Mo Ibrahim (Africanews)
Progress, development and peace are the fundamentals for a bright future for the African continent, Dr. Mo Ibrahim told Africanews. ”We need to develop skills, we need more technical schools because that is education for employment,” Ibrahim said. “People can find work with it. It’s important to listen to young people because the future belongs to them, not to us old men.” He also said: “We need peace in Africa because conflict destroys the government and our chances of moving forward.”
East African Community suffers massive tourism and job loss (eTurboNews)
The East African Business Council (EABC) sent a shocking report that showed a loss of 2.1 million jobs in tourism among the 6 member states of the East African Community (EAC) when the world is celebrating International Labour Day. EAC member states are Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. The EABC study reported a loss of US$4.8 billion in the tourism and hospitality industry caused by the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, mostly in key tourist source markets of Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) signed a memorandum of understanding for future collaboration to promote agricultural infrastructure development and skills training for women and youth. The agreement would also advance climate-smart agriculture in Africa. “Africa is a top priority for FAO,” said Qu Dongyu. With this agreement, “we want to modernise Africa’s agriculture, and make it more efficient, more inclusive and more sustainable,” he added.
A coalition of multilateral development banks and development partners has pledged over $17 billion in financing to address rising hunger on the African continent, and to improve food security. These funds were pledged on the final day of a two-day high-level dialogue called Feeding Africa: leadership to scale up successful innovations. Of the overall amount pledged, more than $10 billion came from The African Development Bank, which said it would invest $1.57 billion on scaling up 10 selected priority commodities over the next five years. This will help countries achieve self-sufficiency. Another $8.83 billion will go towards building strong value chains for these commodities over the next five years. This will include programs to create opportunities for young people – particularly women.
SADC convenes virtual meeting of Ministers of Employment and Labour and Social Partners
The Ministers responsible for Employment and Labour and Social Partners of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on 30th April, 2021 held a virtual meeting to discuss labour issues and interventions to stabilise the labour market and the regional economy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hon Ms Margarida Adamugy Talapa said despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the recently approved Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (2020-2030) presented an opportunity to realign strategies in order to contribute to increased decent work opportunities and productive entrepreneurship in the Region.
Global economy
Members express concerns on lack of transparency at WTO subsidies committee meeting (WTO)
The chair noted that despite reminders to members to submit their notifications in time, 80 members have still not submitted their 2019 notifications. In addition, 67 members still have not submitted their 2017 subsidy notifications, and 57 have still failed to submit their 2015 notifications. The chair strongly urged all WTO members to submit their notifications as soon as possible and use the technical assistance available through the WTO Secretariat if help was needed in filing the notifications. He also referred to the revised Handbook on Notification Requirements, which is available in all three official languages of the WTO.
New WTO database details impact of regulatory barriers, other factors on costs to trade (WTO)
Trade policy barriers such as tariffs and regulations account for at least 14 per cent of trade costs according to estimates from the WTO Trade Cost Index launched on 30 April. The index measures the cost of trading internationally relative to trading domestically, finding that the costs to export are higher for women, smaller businesses and unskilled workers.
India, South Africa to make fresh push for waiver of vaccine patents at WTO (Hindustan Times)
India and South Africa are preparing for a fresh push at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a waiver of patent protections on Covid-19 vaccines though the success of the move will largely depend on the position adopted by the US and other developed countries, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity on Saturday. The fresh proposal is expected to be presented to the WTO sometime in the next two weeks, the people said.
COVID Pandemic Has Disrupted Global Value Chains, India Must Reorient Its Trade Policy (News18)
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed existing vulnerabilities associated with international trade, especially for developing countries that are heavily linked into existing global value chains (GVCs). Disruption in the existing manufacturing GVCs due to the pandemic, on the back of disruptions caused by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has led to a drastic fall in the exports of many developing countries and a decline in the import content of their exports. This has necessitated a rethinking of trade policies in developing countries. With growing digitalisation and amid the ongoing pandemic, India needs to reorient its trade policy with emphasis on developing its own GVCs and upgrading existing ones to accelerate its export diversification.
Exploring space technologies for sustainable development (UNCTAD)
In recent years, there has been increasing interest among countries in the use of space applications for sustainable development, especially to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, in May 2019, the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development selected as one of its priority themes for its twenty-third session the topic of exploring space technologies for sustainable development and the benefits of international research collaboration in this context. This report highlights the potential opportunities of space-enabled technologies for delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals and proposes science, technology and innovation policy options for harnessing space technology for sustainable development.
Qatar Airways Eyes African Expansion With New Abidjan Route (Simple Flying)
In a statement released last week, Doha-based Qatar Airways announced it would operate three flights per week to the Côte d’Ivoire capital Abidjan via Accra in Ghana starting from June 16, 2021. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to be launching flights to Abidjan, our fourth new destination in Africa since the start of the pandemic. At Qatar Airways, we remain committed to the African market, expanding our network across the continent and offering seamless connectivity to the largest network of destinations across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. We are thankful to the Côte d’Ivoire Government for their support to launch these flights, providing an opportunity to reunite family and friends with their loved ones across the globe. We look forward to working closely with our partners in Côte d’Ivoire to steadily grow this route and support the recovery of tourism and trade in the region.”
China set to increase military engagements in Africa through Belt and Road Initiative (Zee News)
China’s military base in Djibouti isn’t the only sign of Chinese security engagement in Africa but the investments through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Africa can also motivate both Beijing and host countries to increase China’s military engagement on the continent. The safety and stability of the government and population of partnering African countries can play a role in the types of projects China looks to fund through this initiative, reported The Washington Post.
Considering the Chinese moves in Africa, the US State Department earlier this year implemented “Prosper Africa” to provide other investment opportunities for African business and development. European Union too launched an initiative last year aimed to increase European trade and investment with Africa. It seeks to boost security cooperation and reduce the numbers of African migrants heading to Europe. As countries adjust their foreign policy accordingly, China’s military and security partnerships with countries in Africa seem likely to expand, posing new challenges and questions for African nations’ long-time security partners like the United States.
Global e-commerce jumps to $26.7 trillion, COVID-19 boosts online sales (UNCTAD)
The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in mixed fortunes for leading B2C e-commerce companies, according to the UNCTAD report. Data for the top 13 e-commerce firms, 11 of which are from China and the United States, shows a notable reversal of fortunes for platform companies offering services such as ride-hailing and travel. The report estimates the value of global B2B e-commerce in 2019 at $21.8 trillion, representing 82% of all e-commerce, including both sales over online market platforms and electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions. Despite e-commerce firms’ sizeable fortunes, an index released by the World Benchmarking Alliance in December last year rated them poorly on digital inclusion. According to the UNCTAD report, a main factor for the poor performance is that e-commerce companies are relatively young, typically founded only in the last two decades.
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National trade and trade-related news
Intellectual property rights can help combat illicit trade (News24)
The protection of intellectual property rights can go a long way to help combat illicit trade by ensuring the protection of goods, according to an expert. Monday, 26 April, marked World Intellectual property Day. The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) of South Africa hosted a virtual webinar which shed light on the importance of intellectual property rights in combating illicit trade. Amanda Lotheringen, senior manager of copyright and intellectual property enforcement of the CIPC noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had led to closer collaboration in the fight against illicit trade. “Collaboration and closer cooperation between different sectors, countries, and public and private institutions is key in our fight against counterfeit goods,” said Lotheringen.
Foreign arrivals to SA plunge 71% due to Covid-19 (Fin24)
Foreign arrivals to South Africa dropped by 71% from just over 15.8 million in 2019 to less than 5 million in 2020, according to the Tourism 2020 report released by Statistics South Africa on Thursday The report says it is evident that the Covid-19 pandemic hit the tourism industry quite hard around the world and in South Africa, mainly due to the lockdown and travel restrictions that were imposed.
Avian flu puts the spotlight on trade relations, food security (Fin24)
Avian flu has been reported in Gauteng and the North West. It is too soon to tell if the avian flu outbreak detected earlier this month will lead to food insecurity, but importers want government to negotiate trade arrangements with poultry exporters to ensure continued supply. So far four member nations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana and Lesotho – have imposed bans on the exports of poultry products from South Africa following the outbreak of avian influenza at two commercial farms.
Kenya imports from South Africa drop to 12-year low (Business Daily)
Kenya’s imports from South Africa slid to a 12-year low largely on reduced orders for iron and steel products amid a slowdown in public expenditure on infrastructure. The value of goods ordered from Africa’s most developed economy contracted 35.81 percent to Sh47.52 billion ($ 432 million), according to provisional trade data from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) shared with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). South Africa – which only emerged from the longest recession in 28 years in the quarter ended September 2020 – is Kenya’s largest source market in Africa, accounting about of a third of the imports on average in recent years.
U.S. Keen to Complete Free-Trade Talks With Kenya, Blinken Says (Bloomberg)
The U.S. will carry on negotiating with Kenya for its first free-trade agreement with a sub-Saharan economy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. President Joseph Biden’s administration is “looking forward to continue the ongoing discussions with regard to our FTA,” Blinken said Tuesday in a virtual meeting with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. Washington is keen on “seizing some of the opportunities that are out there, expanding trade and investment,” Blinken said.
eSwatini’s economy risk crashing (Africanews)
The Kingdom of eSwatini is carving a path to a private-led economy. An economy at risk of crashing if it does not embrace crucial economic reforms. For a while now, the Kingdom has been struggling to attract investments. But the covid-19 pandemic seem to have presented the opportunity it needs to restructure the local economy. That’s why late last year, eSwatini unveiled an economic recovery plan to get it out of the woods. The Kingdom of eSwatini is expecting big things from its ambitious post-Covid-19 economic recovery plan
560 MSMEs to compete in AfCFTA, other formal markets (Ghanaian Times)
About 560 Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the local sector are being supported to formalise their businesses to enable them to compete in formal markets, including the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Under an intervention called Progressive Licensing Scheme, the beneficiaries are being aided to have one of their products certified by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) at a reduced or no cost at all as well as receive training on branding and packaging. The scheme is being implemented by the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and the Mastercard Foundation under their Young Africa Works Business Formalisation Project, which is aimed at helping MSMEs get certification from regulatory organisations.
Covid-19 vaccine is the best weapon for economic recovery – !Gawaxab (New Era Live)
Bank of Namibia (BoN) Governor Johannes !Gawaxab is concerned about the reluctance of people in receiving the Covid-19 vaccination, saying the vaccines is the weapon to achieve a faster economic recovery. !Gawaxab said the delay in vaccine roll-out will delay the number of tourists coming to Namibia and will also hinder businesses to be fully operational to help revive the domestic economy. Concerned with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenue reduction for Namibia, the BoN governor advised government to focus on numerous revenue streams while doing the best to reduce expenditure. For the financial year 2021/22, !Gawaxab stated that Namibia’s share of the SACU receipts will decline by about 34% to N$14.8 billion, down from N$22.3 billion in 2020/21.
Govt wants to formalise cross-border trade in Luvo (ANGOP)
The Executive said that plans to formalise cross-border trade in Luvo, northern Zaire province, is one of the priorities, aimed to raise the tax revenues collected at that border check point with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This was announced by the Secretary of State for Commerce, Amadeu Leitão Nunes, while speaking to Angop on Tuesday. Greater control over the entry and exit of goods, collection of tax revenues, as well as the generation of jobs for locals are also among the advantages pointed out by Amadeu Nunes.
A third of Nigerians are unemployed: Here’s why (Down to Earth Magazine)
The economy of the sub-Saharan country has not been in good shape for the past 5 years and first went into a recession in 2016 The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics recently published the country’s unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2020, reflecting a continued deterioration during the COVID-19 year. The unemployment rate for this period stood at 33.3 per cent. Ogechi Ekeanyanwu, from The Conversation Africa, asked Ndubisi Nwokoma, an economics professor, to provide the context.
Exports: Cameroon’s performance is constant but still lags in the CEMAC region (Business in Cameroon)
Despite its increasingly diversified economy, Cameroon will be the country to contribute the lowest export revenues in the CEMAC region this year. This is revealed in a recent report published by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). The highest export revenues on the three main commodities exported by the region will be recorded by other member countries, we learn. For the 2021 financial year, Cameroon’s export revenues are expected to rise by 18.2%. With the rise in its exports, Cameroon will reduce its trade deficit. According to the BEAC, that deficit would be XAF512.1 billion.
Next Africa: Mozambique Inaction Fuels Tanzania’s Gas Ambitions (Bloomberg)
Total’s decision this week to suspend its $20 billion project in northern Mozambique indefinitely has effectively put an anticipated $120 billion gas boom on hold. It comes as neighboring Tanzania finds renewed momentum in the race to develop East Africa’s gas resources before a global campaign to end the use of fossil fuels renders them valueless. Initially, Mozambique surged ahead. But now, Mozambique is in the fourth year of a rapidly worsening Islamist militant insurgency in its gas-rich province.
Science, technology and innovation allow us to leapfrog in development – says president Bio (Sierra Leone Telegraph)
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio today participated in a High-Level Virtual Dialogue on Leveraging Innovation and Technology for Food Systems Transformation in Africa. The organisers argued that the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting food security across Africa, “exasperating pre-existing impacts of climate change, rising fragility and conflict, and adverse events, such as locust invasions in East and Southern Africa. Africa must urgently strengthen its food systems as an integral part of efforts to recover from the pandemic and build resilience”.
Egypt to build greener more inclusive economy after COVID-19 – minister (ZAWYA)
2021 is the year of private sector engagement to build back a better and more inclusive world. Egypt recognises that engaging with the private sector is critical to the economic growth of the country. The Ministry of International Cooperation secured development financing agreements in 2020 with a total of $3.19 billion through direct financing to private sector companies as well in the form of credit lines to commercial banks for the financing of the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Egypt aims to strengthen the resilience of SMEs, by digitising their businesses, in order to adjust to the new normal and enable the businesses to become more sustainable and competitive.
LISGIS Launches Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa Project to Promote Development in Liberia (Front Page Africa)
Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) with funding from the World Bank has launched the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa (HISWA) Liberia Project to promote development in the country. For the next five years, LISGIS will serve as the primary beneficiary of the HISWA project activities. Other Ministries, Agencies and Commissions will also serve as the secondary beneficiaries for the full implementation of the project.
African regional and continental news
‘AfCFTA a sanctions-buster’ (Chronicle)
The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) says embracing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) is critical in busting the adverse economic impact of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the Western countries and its allies. The Chamber’s national deputy president Mr Golden Muoni said: “Given a wider market being presented by the AfCFTA, as a country if we tap into such opportunities, we must forget about sanctions.” As such, Mr Muoni said ZNCC was aware of the potential presented by AfCFTA hence the need to facilitate linkages between local businesses and sister chambers across Africa to build synergies.
TFSA provides online tools to drive Southern African export development, growth (Engineering News)
UK government-funded trade development programme Trade Forward Southern Africa (TFSA) has launched its free-to-use Trade and Information Hub tool that enables businesses to identify potential export markets, as well as to access information about the customs duties, rules, regulations and standards exporters must meet in various markets. “The hub is a new trading gateway for goods to the UK and international markets. It is expected that the hub will help to reduce the efforts and costs for companies to identify and enter a new export market and make a contribution to economic development in the region.”
Dar port key to sustaining SADC development objectives (Dailynews)
SADC understands the existing network of roads, railways, ports, and airways currently meets the demand of most users but more are to be done as far as industries and economies develop throughout the region, “use of the transport network will exceed current capacity. The ongoing Dar es Salaam Port expansion is viewed by the block as an important move which will address future port traffic.
Huge potential for e-commerce growth in African markets (IOL)
While South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya have the highest internet penetration in the continent, e-commerce penetration was at less than 40 percent, a report by PayU has found. Among the three African countries included in the report, South Africa had the highest internet penetration at 56 percent, with Nigeria and Kenya at 46 percent and 31 percent, respectively. However, e-commerce penetration was at 37 percent in both Nigeria and South Africa and at 25 percent in Kenya.
Digitization an opportunity to propel African economies even as COVID-19 rages (UNECA)
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit hard the economies of many African countries, and pushed many more citizens into poverty, but some countries like Rwanda and Togo have used digitization to keep their economies running. Speaking during the launch of a Pan-African peer exchange series on the benefits of responsible digital government payments, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Ms. Vera Songwe said the pandemic had a huge toll on African economies with GDP growth estimated to have dropped from 3.3% in 2019 to -2.6% in 2020. It is, however, anticipated that growth would return to 3.3% in 2021.
EAC partner states record Ksh.517B loss in tourism, hospitality industry (Citizen)
East Africa Community (EAC) partner states are estimated to have lost international tourism receipts to the tune of $4.8billion (Ksh. 517.6billion) last year, following the Covid-19 pandemic. This follows a study by the East African Business Council (EABC) with the support of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The study reveals that tourism which contributed an average of 9.5% in GDP in 2019 and an average of 17.2% to EAC total exports, was one of the most affected areas in the region. This was reflected in massive reductions in international tourist arrivals, receipts, jobs, visitors to parks and hotel occupancy rates.
Here comes EAC leather Industry network platform (Dailynews)
East African Community (EAC) Leather Industry Network Platform (LIN-East Africa) is due for launching today. The trade in leather and leather products in the EAC has enormous potential and is growing at an annual average rate of 1.5 per cent targeting among other things, to boost the trade among EAC member states. The Director of the Centre for Business Innovation & Training (CBiT), Ms Beatrice Mwasi had this to say on the issue: “This information is necessary in shaping the industry’s policy direction as well as disseminating market information that is key to improving industry processes to better meet the needs of customers. “More importantly, for the first time, the platform offers an easy-to-use interface that helps industry players to build and manage their business portfolios.
Private sector ‘key in fighting illegal wildlife trade’ (The Citizen)
Involving private sector and financial institutions is the best tactic that could be used to help investigate and prosecute syndicate leaders (Kingpins) involved in illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) and money laundering. African Wildlife Foundation senior manager and wildlife law enforcement species Didi Wamukoya said most of the culprits associate themselves with shell, front companies and banks to operate their business thus making it difficult to investigate and prosecute them.
The African Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the CGIAR System Organization, today pledged to work closely with African leaders to address rising hunger on the continent and shore up adequate financing to transform and modernize Africa’s food production. The impact of climate change, rising fragility and conflict, and locust invasions in East and Southern Africa is taking a toll on the continent. Across the continent, hunger poses an even greater risk than Covid-19. Agricultural and agro-business related activities could provide employment opportunities for millions of young Africans, who account for 70% of the population.
Africa spends billions on food imports (Chronicle)
The demand for food in Africa is growing, with statistics showing current output is 20 percent below requirements. This saw the continent spending US$80 billion on food imports last year, and that figure is rising at a rate of about six percent per annum, according to African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, Ambassador Josefa Sacko. This is despite the continent having immense acreage of under-used arable land.
Development of livestock for livelihoods project to ease demand for animal products (The Standard)
Africa’s demand for livestock and livestock products is currently higher than the existing supply and is poised to increase significantly in the next three decades. By the year 2050, with increased population to 2.4 billion people, food demand for livestock products will nearly double in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, to around 400 kcal per person per day. This high and growing demand meets imports estimated at 4 billion USD per year as investments remain at an all-time low and a myriad challenge continue to stifle the sector’s potential for growth.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in partnership with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), concluded a 3-part capacity building programme for women – led and owned businesses and trade associations on utilizing the preferences African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). During the workshop series, titled “Maximizing the AfCFTA for SMEs, Traders and Producers”, participants learned about the provisions and implications of the AfCFTA, which will create an African market for goods and services, bring together 1.3 billion people, create a combined GDP estimated at $3 billion, and build on the progress already made in supporting integration within regional economic communities such as ECOWAS.
ECOWAS suffered economic contraction in 2020 due to COVID-19: official (Xinhua)
The West African sub-region suffered an economic downturn in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a top official said here Thursday. Unlike the average growth of 3.5 percent in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before 2020, the sub-region recorded a 2.0-percent contraction last year due to the pandemic, said Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission. He said that the private sector was severely hit by the pandemic and many countries had to bail out various sectors to avoid their collapse.
Tapping regional integration to bolster resilience in the Horn of Africa (World Bank)
In 2020, the economies of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia together grew by 0.88%, despite the significant downside risks precipitated by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and the accompanying economic shakeout. Stark divergence in growth profiles, underlying fragilities and significant risks create a complex context going forward. Finance Ministers of the Horn of Africa Initiative met virtually on March 31, 2021 to further the gains realized in strengthening regional integration in order to bolster resilience in the Horn of Africa.
Of the agreed package of $15 billion, an initial tranche of $3.3 billion has been mobilized from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), the European Union (EU) and the World Bank to support regional economic corridors, energy trade, digital economy, trade facilitation, disease surveillance and response to the locusts’ crisis.
US-Africa policy: President Joe Biden seeks to turn a new leaf (DW)
For many Africans – relations between the US and Africa have never been at their lowest point than during Donald trump’s (2016-2020) presidency. In his one term in office, he lived to his slogan of ‘America First’. Looking at the first 100 days of the Biden administration, observers today paint a different picture. Christian von Soest from the GIGA Institute for African Studies told DW, Biden has promised a “mutually respectful relationship”.
Global economy
Future of special treatment for developing countries talks lies in members’ hands – chair (WTO)
At a meeting of the Committee on Trade and Development in Special Session, the chair, Ambassador Kadra Ahmed Hassan of Dijbouti, encouraged WTO members to talk to each other to determine how progress can be made in the negotiations on special treatment for developing countries. Speaking on 27 April as part of a series of meetings she launched on 8 February, she reiterated her commitment to work with delegations to find compromise ahead of the WTO’s Ministerial Conference to be held from 30 November to 3 December.
UNCTAD supports India, South Africa proposal to waive off global IP provisions (Economic Times)
A research paper by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has supported the joint proposal by India and South Africa that urges the World Trade Organization to grant a temporary waiver of the specific provisions of the global intellectual property rights (IPR) agreement for unhindered supply of vaccines and medical products to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. “This waiver will ensure that intellectual property rights do not restrict rapid scaling up of manufacturing and do not hinder an equitable and affordable access to vaccines and treatments throughout the globe,” UNCTAD said in the paper, adding that multiple manufacturers can start producing viable vaccines simultaneously through this.
Port operator DP World launches wholesale e-commerce platform (Reuters)
DP World, best known for operating ports around the world, has launched a wholesale e-commerce website that it hopes will become the global platform for businesses to buy and sell goods. The platform, Dubuy, aims to connect buyers and sellers around the world with goods offered for delivery via the supply chain of DP World and its logistics partners. Dubuy is already live in Rwanda and will soon be expanded to some east African countries including Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, before being rolled out across the continent.
Boom for e-commerce trade? (Port Strategy)
E-commerce has been given a helping hand in Africa with the launch of a new platform. DP World has launched DUBUY.com, a global wholesale e-commerce platform that adds digital trading corridors to the physical corridors DP World has built across the African continent with its investment in ports, terminals and logistics operations.DUBUY.com is available first in Rwanda with plans to expand across Africa and around the world.
As debts come due, new expenses push envelope to the brink? (Daily Monitor)
Uganda is joining a fast growing group of countries requesting for rescheduling of its official $12 billion external debt. Uganda’s largest creditor is the International Development Association (IDA) the acronym for Least Developed Countries that borrow from the World Bank Group under mostly concessional terms with $3 billion. Second is China whose official debt is $2.5 billion absorbed in infrastructural projects. Other lenders in no significant order are banks, IMF, World Bank etc. IMF loans outstanding are $450 million but these come at the top of the envelope for budget support and carry strings in the form of reforms.
Here's what global civil society wants to see from the G-7 (Devex)
Civil society organizations from around the globe have published their demands for world leaders to consider at June’s summit of the G-7 group of leading industrial nations. In a communiqué, campaigners from over 200 organizations worldwide call on leaders to use the COVID-19 pandemic recovery to pursue systemic change. Here is an outline of their requests: A sustainable post-pandemic economic recovery; Protecting the planet; Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Will Require Extraordinary Effort by All (IMF Blog)
The pandemic’s impact on the world’s poor has been especially harsh. COVID-19 may have pushed about 100 million people into extreme poverty in 2020 alone, while the UN warns that in some regions poverty could rise to levels not seen in 30 years. The current crisis has derailed progress toward basic development goals, as low-income developing countries must now balance urgent spending to protect lives and livelihoods with longer-term investments in health, education, physical infrastructure, and other essential needs. In a new study, we propose a framework for developing countries to evaluate policy choices that can raise long-term growth, mobilize more revenue, and attract private investments to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
High Growth Sectors in the Post-Recovery Decade (Project Syndicate)
A multispeed economic recovery is underway, reflecting the significant cross-country variations in containing the coronavirus and acquiring and administering vaccines. But notwithstanding these differences in timing, there will soon be a cascading sequence of rapid recoveries around the world. Sectors that had to shut down because they could not function without unsafe human-to-human proximity will now (or soon) reopen. Businesses that survived the pandemic closures (many with support from fiscal programs) will experience rapid expansion, powered by pent-up demand. For investors, policymakers, businesses, and households alike, a major question is whether and to what extent we will return to pre-pandemic growth patterns. Will we witness a shift to some markedly different set of dynamics?
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National trade and trade-related news
Food security fears allayed – Agbiz (IOL)
Improved agricultural conditions would not fully compensate for job losses due to the pandemic, but it might cushion households from severe food insecurity that the World Bank’s economists had feared the sub-Saharan Africa region would face from 2020, said the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz). According to Agbiz, in mid-2020, the concern about trade restrictions had waned as the G20 discouraged global grain-exporting countries from banning exports. Domestic evaluation of supplies by exporting countries provided comfort for sufficient food supplies in the world market.
How will South Africa bounce back from bird flu? (The Poultry Site)
The recent Avian Influenza (AI) outbreak, that sent shock waves through the South African poultry industry, has resulted in a ban on exports from South Africa to 4 SADC nations (Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana and Lesotho). Hopefully the outbreak through various locations in the country will be contained, as a widespread epidemic can plunge the poultry industry – which supplies the main protein source to South Africa’s middle to low income consumers – into further economic turmoil.
Local furniture production under the spotlight (SAnews)
An online furniture portal which will showcase the sector’s capabilities, has been launched. The portal which is hosted on Proudly South African’s website www.proudlysa.co.za is a collaboration between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) and Proudly South African. This, according to Proudly South African, is in response to the growing demand for locally manufactured furniture items and this is in order to make the sourcing of genuine local producers easier.
MPs want CS Maina summoned over ‘secret’ sugar importation deal (The Star)
Koyoo told a press conference at Parliament Buildings that both the Ministry of Agriculture and Agriculture Committee of Parliament were all kept in the dark about the Uganda deal. “While the Agriculture Committee investigating the circumstances under which 10 companies belonging to two individuals imported 47,000 metric tons without the prerequisite pre-shipment inspection from the Sugar Directorate, the same Trade ministry which has been mentioned as having overstepped mandate has gone ahead to sign a communiqué’, a clear affront to Parliament and its institutions.”
Operations test at new Lamu port starts next month (Business Daily)
Officials will start testing operations of the new Lamu port at the end of next month ahead of the June 15 commissioning. The first batch of equipment including low load trailers, extension cargo handlers and trailers to be used at the multibillion-shilling facility arrived at the port on Wednesday. The port is a key part of the wider Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor, which is being implemented at a total cost of Sh2.5 trillion ($24 billion). Due to constrained budget, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) is transferring some equipment and staff from Port of Mombasa to Lamu.
ZimTrade explores opportunities in Rwanda (The Herald)
The national trade development and promotional agency, ZimTrade, has embarked on a market survey in Kigali, Rwanda to identify products and services with potential for exports in the east-African country. Increasing trade with Rwanda is expected to enhance access to markets in the East African Community (EAC) and in turn increase Zimbabwe’s exports to the region with a combined GDP of more than US$177 billion. Rwanda is a hub for a rapidly integrating Africa and with its central location in the region, is part of the EAC Common Market and Customers Union, which has a market potential of over 132 million people.
Uganda passes national climate change bill to tackle greenhouse emissions (Xinhua)
Ugandan lawmakers have passed the national climate change bill to cut greenhouse gas emissions and tackle the climate crisis, authorities said on Wednesday. The framework bill will provide for climate change response measures, participation in climate mechanisms, and measuring of emissions and financing for climate change actions, among others, Beatrice Atim Anywar, minister of state for environment, told Xinhua by phone. "It provides a framework strategy to guide the government in planning and budgeting for financing and monitoring of climate change programs and activities," she added.
Successful implementation of AfCFTA requires national coordination (GhanaWeb)
Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry, says the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) requires national coordination between actors at all levels. He said it would also require the translation of the strong political will demonstrated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in support of the AfCFTA into concrete actions by officials at all levels. Mr Kyerematen said to harness the benefits of AfCFTA, the government complemented the ongoing Industrial Transformation Agenda by launching the National Export Development Strategy in 2020 to increase non-traditional export revenue to US$25.3 billion by 2029.
Ghana optimistic of becoming Africa’s automotive hub – Trade Minister (Myjoyonline.com)
Ghana is optimistic of becoming Africa’s automotive hub in the near future, with focus on industrial transformation. According to Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen, the entry of some key foreign manufacturing firms into the country has boosted Ghana’s policy drive towards the agenda. The Trade Minister believes the move will open up opportunities for many Ghanaians to be employed as part of the industrialization agenda. “With the coming in of the assembling and manufacturing giants into our market, we hope and sincerely believe that Ghana in the near future will be the automotive hub for the continent of Africa and not only West Africa.”
Maiden edition of Doing Business in Nigeria Conference records a huge success (Nairametrics)
At the just concluded Doing Business in Nigeria Conference hosted by Linda Uneze the Co-Founder of Maurice Xandra Solutions, insights on ensuring business survival in the midst of plentiful or lack was shared by diverse speakers who are business leaders in various fields. The conversation on Transforming Economic Threats into Business Success was led by the Keynote speaker, Valentine Ozigbo, Immediate Past President and Group CEO of Transcorp Group and Chairman Valentine Chineto Ozigbo (VCO) Foundation, who believes that Nigeria and businesses have to utilize every resource within its purview including maximizing the power of women and youth in order to gain the values this category of people can bring to any business.
China is Gabon’s leading trade partner for a decade (Africanews)
China is Gabon’s biggest trading partner, according to data published by the International Trade Center, a body that compiles trade statistics around the world. Based on mirror data (provided by partners) on foreign trade, Gabon has achieved a cumulative trade surplus of $16.3 billion between 2009 and 2020. This represents almost 30% of the country’s trade surplus over the period.
African regional and continental news
The African Continental Free Trade Area raises hopes that many trade barriers will gradually come down (D+C Development and Cooperation)
The untapped potential for intra-African trade thus remains great. Major scope for improvement lies in the removal of non-tariff barriers, which include uncoordinated bureaucratic procedures, long waiting times at borders and obstructive, time-consuming export regulations. Obstacles of this kind push up trading costs across the continent. The situation is made worse by inadequate transport and logistics infrastructure. As a result, Africa has been connecting faster with the rest of the world than within itself. Adequate infrastructure will be essential for AfCFTA success.
Agriculture will make or break Africa’s free trade (Africa Renewal)
The success of the world’s largest free trade area rests on governments and the private sector. Governments need to build buyer-supplier networks, connecting small and medium producers, including smallholder farmers, to buyers locally and regionally. Women and youth must be included in these efforts. The shift from subsistence-oriented production systems towards more market-oriented, efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable systems requires improvements in farm-level productivity, inputs, mechanization and post-harvest management driven by investments, technology, innovation and indigenous knowledge.
Special trade zones can help Africa’s energy transition (pv magazine International)
The special economic zones established across Africa can play a part in driving the green energy transition thanks to the policy and investment advantages they have over the wider communities they are based in, an online event has heard. With investors often put off by a lack of supportive policy for renewables on the continent, the exceptions made to attract money to its economic trade zones might also prove more friendly to clean power infrastructure spending.
Orange Foundation provides financial aid to help fight COVID-19 in Africa (SABC News)
The Orange Foundation is providing an additional €1.3 million in financial aid to the 17 countries in Africa and the Middle East to help fight the COVID-19 epidemic. The funds will be used to support national efforts to vaccinate as many people as possible and to help combat the health crisis and its effects.
Africa’s Roaring Twenties: A much-needed new approach to infrastructure (The Africa Report)
Never underestimate the capacity of humanity to rebound from its worst crises. How can Africa bounce back from its first recession in 25 years? By borrowing from the past and borrowing for its future to usher a new era of growth on the back of large investments in infrastructure. Likewise, we cannot underestimate the need to build a robust, trade-enabling policy infrastructure on which Africa’s next 25 years of growth will depend.
The African passport: The missing piece in the African jigsaw (The New Times)
Visa-free travel forms part of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 which envisions an ‘integrated continent, politically united and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance’ The African passport is the flagship project of this agenda and aims to remove restrictions on Africans ability to travel, work and live within their own continent. The initiative could transform Africa’s laws, which remain generally restrictive on the movement of people despite political commitments to bring down borders.
Securing intra-African trade for African growth (The Star)
Increased intra-African trade has the potential to shift the narrative from Africa being a net exporter of commodities and raw materials to a hub of innovation and value-adding products and activities. Rather than export raw materials to advanced economies for further processing, intra-African trade would incentivise the production of manufactured and processed goods internally, with our focus shifting to skills transfer opportunities and value addition.
SADC MPs demand action on vaccine intellectual property rights (Daily Maverick)
The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified the need to address issues related to intellectual property and human rights, as well as for taking steps to benefit from trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights flexibilities to ensure access to medicines for all. Southern African Development Community (SADC) members of parliament are calling for all hands on board to build the region’s capacity to produce medicines and to ensure that citizens benefit from its vast medicinal plant resources.
Investment fund eyes Tanzanian women traders (The Citizen)
A regional investment fund is now planning to expand to Tanzania as it seeks to reach more female entrepreneurs in southern Africa. Enygma Ventures, which invests in women entrepreneurs, was established by two successful women entrepreneurs who now invest in women entrepreneurs in southern Africa. The fund which was born in October 2019, invested $3.5 million in 10 businesses in South Africa, Zambia and Eswatini, making them one of Africa’s most active investors for 2020. This year, it aims to invest in even more women with a target on key Sadc markets such as Malawi and Tanzania.
Trade with Africans first before looking elsewhere – Akufo-Addo to ECOWAS members (Modern Ghana)
The Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked West Africans to trade more among themselves than other countries outside the sub-region. Nana Akufo-Addo says trading among West African countries will lead to the creation of more jobs and economic development. President Akufo-Addo insists Africa has men and women to do whatever business the continent wants. According to him, Africans trading among themselves first is the surest way of making the continent better.
ECO: Strengthening Naira more beneficial than West African regional currency – Diplomat (Vanguard)
As West African countries continue to dilly-dally on the adoption of a common currency, a former diplomat has advised the Nigerian government to strengthen the Naira and shun the Eco currency. “Increased strengthening of the value of the naira is more important for Nigeria than dissipating energy on floating the Eco for member-states of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS. “Expanding the Nigerian economy is more important and should be non-negotiable because it is in the best interest of the sub-region for Nigeria to be the dominant economy,’’ scholar, Dr. Nnamdi Onochie stated.
US Secretary of State Virtual Travel to Africa, April 27, 2021
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken embarked, April 27, on his first virtual trip to Africa, where he visited Kenya and Nigeria and engaged with young people from across the continent.
During this visit, Secretary Blinken met with President Kenyatta and Cabinet Secretary Omamo in Kenya, as well as with President Buhari and Foreign Minister Onyeama in Nigeria. In addition, the Secretary engaged with renewable energy companies, tour a U.S.-donated Mobile Field Hospital, visit clean energy companies, and commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Young African Leaders Initiative – also known as YALI – during an alumni roundtable discussion.
U.S. Chamber Releases In-Depth Analysis of Potential U.S.-Kenya Free Trade Agreement (US Chamber of Commerce)
This report is an in-depth study regarding a potential free trade agreement (FTA) between the U.S. and Kenya, whose negotiations were launched on July 8, 2020. The report draws on insights from dozens of interviews with business executives and experts, to explore perspectives regarding FTA obligations on products and services traded between the two countries.
Kenya trade deal on course, says US Secretary of State (Business Daily)
The trade deal, which was put on hold following a change in the US administration in January, is seen as a pointer to how America will engage with Africa, especially in the face of China’s growing influence in the continent. There had been fears that the deal would be abandoned if the democrats won the election. Mr Blinken said the new US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who was recently confirmed to the position, had to hit the ground running, “and she is running very fast.”
Uhuru–Blinken talks breath of life to US trade deal (The Star)
“Good convo(conversation) with President Kenyatta on the importance of the US-Kenya strategic partnership and opportunities to address global challenges and regional crises. Together, we can promote economic prosperity, security, human rights, and democracy in Kenya and globally,” US’s Bureau of African Affairs tweeted yesterday. The latest development has cemented the trade talks, which had slowly started to pick up early this month when trade CS Betty Maina and US Trade representative Katherine Tai held talks.
US only damages Africa’s interests by seeking exclusivity on the continent: FM (Global Times)
The US should take practical actions to help African countries that are facing COVID-19 challenges and refrain from seeking exclusivity and competition with China on the continent, which would only sabotage the interests of African countries, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. “If the US seeks to force African countries to choose one out of two in exclusive terms, it would damage Africa’s interest. African countries and their people would not allow it,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the ministry, told a press conference in Beijing.
Global economy news
Historic opportunities for global action to eradicate poverty, end hunger and reduce inequalities (FAO)
Addressing the 166th Session of the FAO Council, Director-General QU Dongyu pointed to adverse trends such as increasing food prices, the suspension of school meals in many parts of the world, restrictions on selling food in public urban places, jobs at risk in the processing and distribution sectors, and negative impacts in incomes, especially for rural households in mostly agricultural areas.
A Clear Agenda To Save The WTO – Analysis (Eurasia Review)
The fate of the World Trade Organization (WTO) hangs in the balance after four years of assault by the Trump administration. But things are not as dismal as they appear. Turning the corner in 2021, the WTO has an opportunity to usher in a new era of trade cooperation. To ensure the WTO remains fit for purpose, members should pursue changes in three areas: dispute settlement, negotiations and the WTO’s monitoring function. Rules are only as good as they are enforceable.
Zambia backs WTO call for waiving patent rights for vaccines, medicines (china.org)
The Zambian government said Wednesday that it was in support of views by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that patent rights for vaccines and medicines should be waived. Minister of Health Jonas Chanda said this was important as it will allow countries to start manufacturing vaccines and medicines to make them affordable and readily available. “Vaccines are not manufactured in Africa although the disease burden is in Africa whether you talk about COVID-19, infectious diseases, we have malaria which has been with us for many years,” he added.
Survey on the perception of Customs integrity conducted in 7 more countries (World Customs Organization)
Following successful implementation in 10 countries in 2020, between January and February this year, 7 more countries undertook a Customs and Integrity Perception Survey under the WCO Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme for Customs, namely: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan, Lebanon, Malawi, Niger, and Palestine. The survey aims at assessing the perception of Customs integrity by Customs officers as well as private sector stakeholders.
Don’t let the digital divide become ‘the new face of inequality’: UN deputy chief (UN News)
Although technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain are opening new frontiers of productivity and providing opportunities to people and societies, they pose numerous risks, she said, including exclusion. “Almost half the world’s population, 3.7 billion people, the majority of them women, and most in developing countries, are still offline,” Ms Mohammed told ambassadors, tech experts and representatives from civil society groups. “Collectively, our task is to help design digital environments that can connect everyone with a positive future.”
Tanzania remains the place to be for cheap data, internet access in EA (The East African)
For the second year running, Tanzania is the country in East Africa where you will pay lowest to access the internet on your smartphone, according to data released recently by British technology research firm Cable. The report, Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing 2021, reveals that Somalia is no longer offering the most affordable mobile internet in Africa, moving to third, as Sudan and Algeria take the first and second places respectively.
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National trade and trade-related news
Avian flu: Poultry industry hustling to save exports (Food For Mzansi)
South Africa’s poultry industry is currently working hard to safeguard trade relations with five neighbouring countries following breakouts of avian influenza that caused trade partners to restrict their imports of chicken products from Mzansi. More countries have followed Botswana’s move to ban poultry products from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) affected areas, after commercial chicken farms in Ekurhuleni in Gauteng and Potchefstroom in the North West reported outbreaks.
Now Lesotho and Namibia have also joined the list of countries to ban poultry products from South Africa and Mozambique and Eswatini are said to be considering similar bans. Colin Steenhuisen, interim egg board general manager at the South Africa Poultry Association (SAPA). “We are doing all we can to keep our trading partners properly informed,” Steenhuisen says.
Government, auto sector look to accelerate new-energy vehicle production in SA (Moneyweb)
The government and automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are working towards accelerating the development of manufacturing capabilities for new energy vehicles in South Africa. Naamsa, now known as the Automotive Business Council, has confirmed that it is in discussions with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) on this issue and is keen on an early review of the South African Automotive Masterplan to incorporate the latest global developments with new energy vehicles.
The masterplan will be implemented from July 1 but global trends in the automotive industry have been accelerated by Covid-19, including several countries bringing forward the date from which internal combustion engine vehicles will be banned, resulting in global OEMs deciding to speed up the implementation of their electromobility strategies.
Importers face Sh13,000 cargo breach penalty (Business Daily)
Importers face a surcharge of up to Sh13,020 for every cargo container inspected and confirmed to be in breach of tax regulations by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Mombasa port manager said. A schedule the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) released on Monday showed that importers would pay Sh8,680 ($80) for a 20-foot container verified to be non-compliant with tax rules while 40-foot containers would each attract a fee of Sh13,020. “In addition to this, a penalty fee on misdeclaration as per the prevailing tariff shall be imposed” Kenya Ports Authority acting managing director, Rashid Salim said. Containers that are subjected to verification and found to be compliant and with no penalty imposed on them by the taxman shall however be exempted from the charges that took effect on Sunday.
CSOs to government: Focus on food security, healthcare to save people from COVID-19 crisis (The Independent Uganda)
Civil Society Organizations are urging the government to focus on issues related to food insecurity, and weak healthcare system as it takes steps to ensure immediate relief and long term recovery during and post-Covid-19 era. The CSOs include SEATINI Uganda, Oxfam, Federation for Small and Medium Enterprises and Uganda Small Scale Industry Association. They also said that the interventions should address the long standing structural challenges and interrelated crises of inequalities and vulnerabilities.
The other suggestion from CSOs is that the International Monetary Fund should not stop at disbursing loans to developing countries like Uganda but should be able to hold government to account to its commitments when requesting for the stimulus package. Proper handling of the stimulus package is key in furthering recovery of the economy that has been hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, analysts say.
Zimbabwean Cabinet approves pharmaceutical strategy (The Herald)
A five-year strategy to capacitate the pharmaceutical industry to increase local production of essential and affordable medicines has been approved by Government. Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa yesterday said Cabinet was aware that the major challenge affecting the pharmaceutical sector was low production due to use of obsolete and antiquated equipment, cumbersome registration procedures and limited innovation.
“The objectives of the strategy include the following: to increase the market share of local pharmaceutical products from the current 12 percent to 35 percent by 2025; to increase local production of essential medicines from US$31,5 million to US$150 million by 2025; to increase local production of essential medicines from 30 percent to 60 percent by 2025 and to improve exports of pharmaceutical products from 10 percent to 25 percent by 2025.”
Accra-Nsawam rail line to be opened to traders and passengers – Peter Amewu (GhanaWeb)
The sector minister for Railways Development, John Peter Amewu has disclosed the Accra-Nsawam rail line will soon be reopened to traders and passengers. The development according to him comes following the completion of refurbishment works to improve traffic congestion on the road network along the route that was previously caused by deteriorating lines and land erosion. “The route was closed after the COVID-19 restrictions were announced last year but government intends to open it up soon and also link it to the Western rail line,” Peter Amewu disclosed.
Implementation of AfCFTA: Former deputy minister demands action from business associations (Graphic Online)
A Former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Robert Ahomka Lindsay, is demanding some action from business associations in the country to make the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement a success. He said if the agreement would benefit the country, then private sector associations such as the Private Sector Federation (PEF) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) must be the ones pushing it and not the government.
“We need to move the discussion to details. How do I export products and what do I have to do? These are the kind of discussions we should be having. You need to advise your teams on what they need to export. “Ghana is very good at trading but we don’t do very well when it comes to formal trading and that is where the challenge is. The agreement has been signed and its effective now so it is important that we get to the details on products. “Every one of them should have a plan. The secretariat is right here in Ghana and we should be packed there. People are sending different delegations from other countries there, ours is just here and no association has been there so far. “We have to be strategic, otherwise, this thing will pass us by and we will wonder what happened,” he advised.
SCORE determined to build capacity of Ghanaian SMEs for AfCFTA (News Ghana)
Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) project, spearheaded by the International Labour Organization (ILO), has commenced the training of Small, Medium Enterprises (SME)to gain recognition and acceptance in African markets. Mr Samuel Onoma Asiedu, National Project Coordinator, SCORE Ghana, said the focus was to make Ghanaian enterprises gain recognition and remain relevant in the African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), said they were also interested in making the enterprises compete positively until they attained a space on the international market. “We need not help enterprises to compete outside. To compete the global world is not that easy, therefore they need to get their processes right, methods right and their employees should understand how to leverage on opportunities and others,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken and Nigeria’s Buhari discuss bilateral relations in Virtual trip (CGTN Africa)
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday received in Virtual Audience United States Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken at State House, Abuja. Blinken returned ‘virtually’ to Africa’s largest democracy to meet with President Buhari and witness the impact of U.S.-Nigeria health cooperation and programs. “While much has changed, promoting stability, health, security, and good governance remain shared priorities.” Blinken stated..
Ethiopia Economic Update: Ensuring Ethiopia’s Full Recovery from COVID-19 (World Bank)
The eighth Ethiopia Economic Update, Ensuring Resilient Recovery from COVID-19, finds that despite the 4.1% decline in merchandise exports, excluding gold, during the first half of the current fiscal year, most items (except garments) started to recover during October-December, 2020. Services exports started to recover as well, and remittances rebounded strongly during the first half of the fiscal year, the report says, while foreign direct investment inflows continue to decelerate due to uncertainty.
Response measures introduced by the government, including tax deferrals and waivers, liquidity provision to commercial banks, measures to ease access to credit and loan refinancing, logistics facilitation and food distribution measures, have contributed to cushioning some of the impacts from the crisis. However, the report notes that a 5% decrease in payment collection by commercial banks during the first half of the fiscal year suggests some firms and households continue to struggle to repay their loans and more needs to be done.
African regional and continental news
Bulawayo to host ZNCC AfCFTA conference (Chronicle)
Bulawayo is set to host a high-level trade conference on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to help conscientise businesses about opportunities presented by the historic pact. The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) would host the event, which will see key speakers and delegates unpack the significance of the AfCFTA, which was operationalised in January this year.
“Where we are right now? l think not many people know this opportunity has presented itself. So, as a chamber we want to have a trade conference, which will discuss more details of the AfCFTA on the 7th of May, where they will be honourable guests.”
The African Continental Free Trade Area and exchange rate misalignments (Brookings)
African hopes are on the rise with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that became effective on January 1, 2021. Foreign Policy celebrated the agreement as a game-changer for Africa, with the potential to create the world’s largest free trade area since the creation of the World Trade Organization. The excitement is understandable.
But the successful implementation of this trade agreement is going to be a long and uphill path. Political turmoil, infrastructure gaps, and security threats are among the impediments to free trade in much of Africa. Of particular importance here is the mix of exchange rate regimes from one sub-regional market to another, which entails heterogeneous reactions to price, fiscal, productivity, and debt shocks, resulting in significant misalignments and substantial growth disparities among countries. In this blog, we provide our thoughts on the relevance of monetary and exchange rate policy for countries with different governance structures and membership in trade agreements.
The Future Of African Start-Ups With Guinea’s Minister Of Investment, Gabriel Curtis (Forbes)
With the recent launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the future of African start-ups and small enterprises has been at the heart of discussions concerning the growth potential of the continent. During the seventh annual conference of the Desautels African Business Initiative (DABI), Gabriel Curtis, the Minister of Investment in Guinea, alongside Segun Akintemi, Martin Webber, and Jim de Wilde, underlined key issues and opportunities to strengthen capital markets under the Free Trade agreement.
The main hurdle of AfCFTA, according to Minister Curtis, is connectivity. Physical and digital connectivity between countries that are not neighbours can be challenging due to lacking communication tools. Furthermore, the gap in digital literacy needs to be reduced, which is one of the top priorities of the African Union Agenda 2063.
“The agenda of every country, while entering the free trade, is different. Each country will continue to pursue their selfish interest, which will supersede the overall intention of the AfCFTA” Akintemi said. “We need to put selfish interest to the side and focus on where the growth is.”
Southern African nations meet to plan digital development (Capacity Media)
More than a dozen countries from southern Africa are expected to announced plans to harmonise their digital development strategies this week. The countries, all members of the Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA), are meeting virtually this week to discuss how countries in the region are tackling the fourth industrial revolution. The aim, said SATA, is to “share their experiences on a wide range of topics including technology and infrastructure, policy and strategy for the future of the telecommunications industry”.
The World Bank today approved $380 million in financing from the International Development Association (IDA) to support Malawi and Mozambique increase regional trade coordination, reduce trade costs and time, develop regional value chains, and improve access to infrastructure. The new Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project (SATCP) will benefit both countries and local communities through investments that will facilitate trade, strengthen regional coordination, and increase diversified economic opportunities along the Nacala and Beira corridors, connecting Mozambique to Malawi, and along the Maputo Corridor, connecting Mozambique to South Africa through Ponta Do Ouro.
“Regional integration can play an important role in helping Southern Africa recover sustainably from the current economic crisis. We are pleased to support Mozambique and Malawi in building upon recent regional infrastructure developments by working on reducing trade costs and improving their competitiveness. The project’s support for developing regional value chains could drive the creation of jobs and more incomes for communities”, said Ms. Deborah Wetzel, World Bank Director of Regional Integration for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Africa.
Members’ sovereignty ‘will be maintained in East Africa confederation’ (The Citizen)
National sovereignty would be largely retained under the envisaged East African Political Confederation. This is according to Justice Benjamin Odoki, the chairperson of a committee of experts tasked with drafting a model of the constitution for the envisaged political union. He said the political confederation would ideally be vertical in that it would deal directly with the partner states rather than the EA citizens. “Political confederation is a transitional model to the political federation that is the fourth and ultimate stage in the EAC integration process,” he pointed out.
Consumer prices shoot through the roof as govts increase taxes (The East African)
The cost of living in the East African countries is on a worrying upward trend with governments shifting huge debt repayments burdens to households and businesses through increased taxation measures. The issue is further compounded by a surge in fuel prices and weaker local currencies, which have seen the prices of essential commodities like bread, milk, wheat flour, beef, tomatoes, greengrams and fruits in countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda sky rocket, according to data from national bureaus of statistics.
“In both Uganda and Kenya, foreign exchange rates have strengthened recently — and this should help to limit near-term inflation fallout. However, supply disruptions, and the risks stemming from that, will also need to monitored,” said Razia Khan, managing director and chief economist in-charge of Africa and Middle East Global Research at the Standard Chartered Bank Plc.
EAC and EU set to align development priorities for 2021 - 2027 (East African Community)
Tki, has today undertaken his first assignment as the 6th Secretary General of the EAC in a virtual meeting with the European Union Commission. The meeting provided the platform to review what is envisaged in the EU Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) for Sub-Saharan Africa 2021-27, taking into account lessons learnt from ongoing actions as well as the current priorities of the EU Commission and Regional Economic Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. “The consolidation of the Customs Union and advancing the implementation of the Common Market Protocol call for urgent attention to further propel the EAC integration agenda,” said Dr. Mathuki.
African women are still disproportionately affected by poverty, and the coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating gender inequalities, according to new African country gender profiles developed by the African Development Bank. “The country gender profiles aim to spark dialogue and support evidence-based reform on gender equality at national level. The profiles are a guide to inform development policy makers and enrich development programs to better address gender disparities,” said Vanessa Moungar, Director of the Bank’s Gender, Women and Civil Society Department.
Why Chinese construction firms will remain the big builders in Africa (South China Morning Post)
Price-competitive Chinese companies are expected to continue to dominate construction of Africa’s power dams, highways, ports and railways, even as China’s official export credit agency takes a more cautious approach to lending, observers say. That outlook was reinforced earlier this week when state-owned China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) won a US$166 million contract to build a 453km (281-mile) road as part of a megaproject linking Kenya with Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Global economy news
WTO Chief Pursues a ‘Hectic’ Agenda to Fix World Trade’s Referee (Bloomberg)
The head of the World Trade Organization raised an alarm about the credibility of the multilateral trading system, urging leaders to act fast to bolster the global economy with steps like fairer vaccine distribution and cooperate to resolve longer-term problems like overfishing.
“The word I would use to describe it is absolutely hectic,” Okonjo-Iweala said in a phone interview on Tuesday when asked about her first few months in the job. “The challenges we thought were there are there and getting an agreement is not as easy because of longstanding ways of negotiating business positions.”
“We need to break out of the zero-sum deadlock,” Okonjo-Iweala said. “We need to remind the countries and members that the WTO is here to deliver for people. We can’t take 20 years to negotiate something.” Okonjo-Iweala said her top priority is to use trade to alleviate the pandemic and said her recent meeting with trade ministers and vaccine manufacturers provided a positive step in the right direction.
WTO members note further progress on Trade Facilitation Agreement implementation (WTO)
According to the update , the current rate of implementation of TFA commitments stood at 70.1 per cent for the entire WTO membership as of 22 April. This figure is expected to rise to 83 per cent by 2023 based on the notifications members had submitted on their respective implementation dates. Broken down by level of development, the current rate of implementation commitments equates to a 100 per cent rate of implementation by developed members and 61 per cent among developing members and least developed countries (LDCs).
Retain trade benefit for graduating LDCs (The Daily Star)
The developed and developing countries should retain the same trade privileges for the least developed countries (LDCs) even after they graduate as the coronavirus pandemic has hit poor nations hard, officials said yesterday. “The extension [of duty benefits] should be at least 12 years instead of three to five years,” said Zuena Aziz, chief coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh, at a webinar.
How African companies can use the international trademark system to their advantage (Inventa International)
According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD), total trade from Africa to the rest of the world averaged roughly $760.5 billion between 2015 and 2017. The UNCTD also indicates that the share of exports from Africa to the rest of the world ranged from 80% to 90% during the same period, making the continent the second most export-dependent region in the world. While African jurisdictions are particularly dependent on the export of primary commodities such as ores, oil, gas and cotton, as well as food and drink products such as coffee, tea and various grains, there is a growing need to diversify the economy and add value to the chain of production. Trademarks are an essential tool for African enterprises looking to add value to their goods and services, as they provide exclusive rights to the registered owner and foster trust between the company and its customers.
Covid, lockdowns and vaccines: Why Africa shouldn’t copy the West (African Arguments)
Since COVID-19 began spreading across the globe last year, every government in the world has had to decide on the best way to handle the pandemic. Weighing up a variety of factors, some – such as East Asian countries and various island states – have pursued elimination strategies to pursue “zero Covid”. Others – such as Europe, the Americas and India – have imposed on-and-off lockdowns in response to repeated waves of surging cases and deaths.
One of the outliers of either of these trends has been Africa. Many countries on the continent were quick to lockdown early in the pandemic, but soon opened up when this became economically unbearable. Yet unlike elsewhere in the world, this hasn’t resulted in huge increases in cases or deaths. While restrictive lockdowns might save lives in the short term in higher-income countries with stronger safety nets and fewer people in poverty, they are much more likely to cost a large number of lives in lower-income ones.
Given this, a recent series of reports from the African Development Bank (AfDB) give serious cause for concern. They show that most African countries’ GDPs, which had typically been rising in recent years, collapsed in the last year. Several economies, such as Botswana’s, Cabo Verde’s, the Republic of Congo’s, South Africa’s, and Sudan’s, have declined by as much as about 10%. Furthermore, considering that much economic activity takes places in the informal economy, these figures may well be underestimates.
Top U.S. trade negotiator discussed vaccine ramp-up with Novavax exec (Reuters)
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai discussed increasing COVID-19 vaccine production in a virtual meeting on Tuesday with an executive with drugmaker Novavax (NVAX.O), Tai’s office said in a statement. Tai and Novavax Executive Vice President John Trizzino also discussed a proposal before the World Trade Organization to waive certain intellectual property rights in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the USTR statement said.
TIWB is a joint OECD-UNDP initiative that deploys qualified experts in developing countries across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to help build tax capacity in the areas of audit, criminal tax investigations and the effective use of automatically exchanged information. TIWB assistance has led to increased domestic resource mobilisation in some of the least developed countries in the world.
During the fifth virtual TIWB Governing Board meeting on 27 April 2021, co-chaired by the OECD Secretary-General, Mr. Angel Gurría, and UNDP’s Administrator, Mr. Achim Steiner, participants celebrated the mobilisation of more than USD 1 billion in additional tax revenues for developing countries, with nearly three times that amount in total tax assessments.
Former Board member H.E. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, recently appointed WTO Director-General, commented that “Billions of dollars of tax due still remain outside the reach of most developing countries tax administrations. The TIWB initiative must continue to play its role as a catalyst to encourage businesses to uphold higher standards of responsible tax behaviour and avoid the reputational risks associated with aggressive tax planning.”
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National trade and trade-related news
Small businesses urged to challenge govt over red tape (Eyewitness News)
The biggest stumbling block to entrepreneurship and a growing economy in South Africa is government red tape and a restrictive policy environment, and the Small Business Institute is challenging the business sector to tackle the challenge. This is contained in the institute’s latest report, “Tackling the ‘Disabling Environment’ to boost Economic Growth, Small Business and Jobs”, released jointly with the Small Business Project, a research and policy advocacy group, last week. The SBI is now calling on business to launch what it calls a ‘Reduce Red Tape Challenge’. “A practical way to set the agenda for red tape reduction is for business to sponsor and run a “reduce red tape challenge” – a public call to business and especially small business owners,” the institute wrote in the report. “For the very first time in South Africa, a “reduce red tape challenge” will provide the opportunity to crowd-in the voice of small business owners (formal and informal) in one of the most critical factors that constricts their enterprises to form, run and grow and employ more people.”
SA birds flu outbreak sends shock waves in SADC (cajnews.co.zw)
The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) is wary of the ban on exports from South Africa to some countries in the region plunging the local poultry industry into further turmoil. Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional members – Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Namibia – have imposed the ban after the recent Avian Influenza (AI) outbreak. AMIE is hopeful the outbreak through various locations in South Africa will be contained. A widespread epidemic can – which supplies the main protein source to South Africa’s middle to low income consumers – into further economic turmoil. Furthermore, the bloc is a potentially huge market for South African poultry exports.
SA needs to be more export-orientated to grow an industrial market footprint (Business Day)
Despite structural reforms across all fronts, including in economic policy, the majority of South Africans continue to live in poverty and inequality remains a challenge. Unemployment is at a record 32.5%. Jobs continue to be lost, with the rising industrial cost base making the sector uncompetitive in terms of trade, and too unsustainable to invest in. Adopting the right policies and speeding up their implementation is key. It is important to state that the challenges facing the SA manufacturing sector, especially the M&E component, cannot be ignored. These include rising administered costs in energy, energy supply reliability, rising logistics costs, as well as inefficiencies from key government entity service suppliers.
New Scramble For DRC Begins As Tshisekedi Steadies Ship (New Zimbabwe.com)
A new study by the East African Business Council in collaboration with the German International Co-operation Agency shows that the country presents a huge trade opportunity given that its huge population accounts for almost half of the population of the EAC member states combined. The study titled “Opportunities for Trade in DRC: A perspective from East Africa” carried out in 2020 shows that the potential for trade in DRC has not been fully exploited by the EAC member states largely due to the prevalence of non-tariff barriers and the informal nature of the trade amongst them.
Was Kenya ban on Uganda, Tanzania maize justified? (Business Daily)
Early March Kenya banned maize importation from Tanzania and Uganda over concerns about the high levels of aflatoxin. Kenya claimed the levels were above EAC’s harmonised maximum limit (ML) for total aflatoxin. Millers faulted the government over blanket ban on imports instead of intercepting only non-conforming consignment and asked that the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) and accredited laboratories to test for aflatoxins at the border point to avoid further delays that would lead to shortage and higher consumer prices. The control and regulation of trade in maize in EAC is critical to ensure free trade and at the same time to protect the life and health of citizen.
Kenyan exports to China, India stay flat despite charm offensive (Business Daily)
The share of Kenya’s exports to China and India has remained largely flat despite a strategic shift three years ago to woo more buyers in the key markets. Kenya’s earnings from exports to the two giant markets amounted to Sh22.77 billion last year, an equivalent of 3.48 per cent of Sh654.31 billion ($6.035 million) total sales abroad, according to trade data Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) shared with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). “The (exports) strategy has adopted a value chain approach that focuses on key sectors that promise growth and has identified the cross-cutting issues that need to be addressed holistically to catalyse development of sectors, products as well as interventions in the markets for improved performance,” Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (Keproba) said via email.
KPA ships equipment to Lamu port ahead of commissioning (Nation)
Assorted equipment ranging from low load trailers, extension cargo handlers, trailers and other cargo handling equipment were loaded from berth number 20 and they are expected in Lamu on Tuesday. Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) assistant training and equipment operations officer in charge of Lamu Port Ernest Mbalanya said the second batch of equipment will leave Port of Mombasa on May 15 for assembling ready for the opening of the port. Before the port is officially opened, KPA will compensate all those affected by the port and from Monday this week, consolidation of the final list of compensation. Hundreds of Lamu residents affected by Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) have also been assured they will receive compensation before the port starts its operations.
43% of Kenya’s sugar imports to be sourced from Uganda (Daily Monitor)
Ugandan sugar will now account for 43 per cent of the total imports by Kenya from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). This comes after Kenya and Uganda ironed out a trade dispute over the commodity that has lasted close to a year now. Kenya had stopped Uganda from exporting its sugar to its market on claims that the commodity was being imported and repackaged before being dumped in the country. However, Uganda dismissed the claims, noting Kenya, which has a huge sugar deficit, was only using the excuse for protectionist purposes. The verification exercise had been postponed twice, which had worried local producers amid growing stockpiles.
Exploring AfCFTA gains with cross-border expansions (The Nation Newspaper)
The gains of cross-border transactions in Africa are fast rising. Still, the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is expected to make such benefits more pronounced in the years ahead. For many stakeholders, the AFCFTA offers significant opportunities for the private sector, especially financial institutions to expand into new markets, and seek new business opportunities. But the benefits from the AfCFTA deal to a financial institution or company depend largely on the level of preparedness undertaken by such institution in readiness for the trade pact full implementation.
Planning for 400m illion: Nigeria’s Opportunities and Challenges - 2050 (Proshare Nigeria)
Nigeria is due for massive investments in infrastructure to support its fast-growing population and emerging modern economy. The dearth of infrastructure across different industries represents a major investment opportunity at a large scale for private investors and governments alike. An estimated USD 3 trillion is required over the next 30 years to bridge Nigeria’s infrastructure gap. The good news is that Nigeria’s emerging economy is diverse and growing. From aggrotech to health-tech and logistics technology, the opportunities to harness and optimize new and existing industries through technology is compelling. These industries represent an opportunity for both investors and entrepreneurs to play their parts in rewriting of Nigeria’s economic story.
FG Bans Importation of Refined Sugar, Derivatives from Free Trade Zones (THISDAYLIVE)
As part of the efforts to protect the sugar industry, which is governed by the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), the federal government has banned the importation of refined sugar and its derivatives from the nation’s Free Trade Zones (FTZs). “Refined Sugar is being imported into the Nigerian Customs Territory under the concession granted to enterprises in the Free Trade Zones to export 100 per cent of their output to the Nigerian Customs Territory, and this is real potential threat to the goals of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).”
AfDB, IFAD to establish special agro-processing zone in Cross River’s cash crop belt (BusinessAMLive)
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in collaboration with the Nigerian ministries of agriculture and rural development (FMARD) and finance are set to establish a Special Agro-Processing Zone (SAPZ) in Nigerian Cross River State’s cash crop yielding belt – Ikom, Obubra, and Ogoja. The main agro-processing hub would be sited at Ikom, a town with a bevy of commercial activities, especially in cocoa, on the border with Nigeria’s eastern neighbour, the Republic of Cameroon. Uwaouo, leader of the AfDB, IFAD and FMARD team, noted that agriculture is the future of the world economy, saying he was encouraged by Governor Ayade’s positioning of Cross River to be an active player in the sector in the future.
Empowerment, job creation top Samia’s ‘bold plan’ for country’s economic growth (The East African)
President Samia Suluhu on Thursday unveiled a grand plan for Tanzania’s economic transformation in the next five years, emphasising empowerment and job creation. In her first address to parliament since she took over the presidency after the death of Dr John Pombe Magufuli, President Samia said her administration would promote investments by creating a good business environment. “Last year, our nation managed to enter the middle-income category where the per capita income increased to $1,080 from $1,036. It is a great achievement, but more effort is needed to accelerate the economy,” she added.
Artisanal cocoa processors demand support to expand (Ghanian Times)
Artisanal cocoa processors in the country have called on the government to provide them with the necessary support to expand their businesses and enable them to fully participate and benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The Vice President of the Cocoa Value Addition Artisans Association of Ghana (COVAAAGH), Mrs Ida Dela Kuekey Austine said this would make them expand their processing capacity, thereby creating more employment, particularly for the youth. “Unfortunately, since independence, Ghana has failed to capitalise on processing majority of the cocoa it exports, thereby earning less from the commodity.” She said despite the huge potential of the artisanal cocoa value addition sector for the country and its readiness to expand into the African market through AfCFTA, it is facing a number of challenges.
Trade Between Chad and Cameroon Falls After Deby’s Death (Voice of America)
Trade between Cameroon and its landlocked neighbor Chad has come to a virtual standstill, with Chad refusing entry to hundreds of trucks carrying essential supplies for its capital. Chadian military authorities sealed the border last week after the death of longtime president Idriss Deby amid threats from armed rebels. Hundreds of trucks with goods meant for Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, are sitting idle in Kousseri, a town on Cameroon’s northern border with Chad. Another long line of trucks sits and waits on Chadian side of the border.
Ambassador Underlines Potential of Trade between Morocco and Argentina (MapNews)
As an example of this potential, the Argentinian agro-industrial sector, which constitutes the heart of the economy, could be very interested in the new generation of fertilizers developed by Morocco thanks to its great richness in phosphates, as it is the largest exporter in the world. This new generation of fertilizers used in agriculture is eco-friendly, the ambassador pointed out. The second sector with high potential for bilateral trade is that of components used in the car industry, the ambassador noted, recalling that Morocco is a major producer of these components.
African regional and continental news
ATO Steering Committee lays the ground for the launch of the final online dashboard (AfCFTA - African Continental Free Trade Area)
The African Union (AU), European Union (EU), and the International Trade Centre (ITC) continue their engagement through the African Trade Observatory to support and monitor the effective implementation of the AfCFTA. To ensure the African Trade Observatory reaches its full potential through a coordinated response from international and regional agencies, a Steering Committee meets regularly to assess progress and coordinate efforts. The second SC meeting, held on April 26, took stock of recent developments to strengthen regional integration by supporting sound evidence-based-policy and facilitating dialogue and consensus on high impact policy measures at different stages of the AfCFTA implementation. In the coming months, the dashboard will be enriched by an analytical module dedicated to African policymakers and expected to be launched during the Africa Integration Day on 7 July 2021.
Guest Article: How Can the AfCFTA Improve Energy Efficiency and Access in Africa? (IISD)
As the world races to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) come 2030, there is an increasing awareness of the value of initiatives that are already in progress. For the African continent, one such strategy is to use regional trade integration to strengthen the energy sector and existing power pools, and improve utilisation of the region’s abundant renewable energy resources to meet the vast demand. The idea behind creating power pools is to encourage cooperation among countries, through linking excess capacity in countries where power is produced more economically, with excess demand in other countries that can benefit from cheaper imports.
AfCFTA is a fantastic tool for driving SMEs to global aspirations – MTN CEO (GhanaWeb)
The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana Limited, Selorm Adadevoh, has noted that with the new normal created in a pandemic era, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) must re-strategise to penetrate global markets – starting with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a tool for skills acquisition. SMEs account for around 80 percent of businesses, and most usually struggle to penetrate more advanced overseas markets. However, with AfCFTA, the SMEs are well-positioned to tap into regional export destinations and can use regional markets as stepping-stones for expanding into overseas markets with the right skills and resources, he stressed.
AfCFTA secretariat mulls protocol to promote gender, youth interests (Xinhua)
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat will develop a protocol to address issues of women and young people in the implementation of the continental free trade agreement, an official said here Monday. Emily Mburu-Ndoria, the director for Trade in Services and Intellectual Property at the AfCFTA Secretariat, said during the All-Africa High-Level Virtual Roundtable on AfCFTA Youth Inclusion that the heads of state and government of the continent had tasked the secretariat to formulate that protocol to ensure that women and youth have access and derive the intended benefits from the new trade arrangements. “At the core of the AfCFTA implementation, we have the roles of women and youth. The protocol will therefore ensure the full inclusion of women and youth,” said Mburu-Ndoria.
ECA, stakeholders to explore impact of bilateral economic agreements on AfCFTA implementation (UNECA)
With financial support by the European Union, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Carleton University (Canada) and the Pan African Strategic & Policy Research Group (PANAFSTRAG) organise from 27th to 29th April a roundtable to discuss the likely impact of bilateral economic and trade deals on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The webinar will bring together policy makers and other experts on trade and economics from the UN, the AU, representatives from research Institutes and academia, form the private sector and civil society from Africa, Europe, Asia and North America Many African countries which are party to the AfCFTA, which entered into force on 1st January have signed various trade and economic agreements with non-party states, including the US, the EU, post-Brexit UK, China, Turkey, Russia and India. How will such side-agreements impact the implementation of AfCFTA?
Vaccine Troubles May Set Africa Back Five Years, UN Body Says (Bloomberg)
A slow rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and a lack of funding to bridge the gap between poor and rich countries could set Africa back two to five years, according to the head of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. “The fact that Africa isn’t going to get vaccinated as fast is going to clearly slow growth,” Vera Songwe, the executive secretary of the UNECA, said Monday in an interview. A lack of access to vaccines that will keep barriers to travel and business in place will also slow trade and hamper investments that could set back economic growth and prevent the creation of 26 million jobs, she said.
As tech giants enter into Africa, the question of local innovation emerges (The New Times)
“Twitter is now present on the continent”. With this short, very precise tweet, Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder and CEO, announced that the social network is opening its first office in Africa, more specifically in Ghana. With this move, twitter became another tech giant to establish local presence including Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Huawei, Amazon, and more, as growing global tech appearance in the continent has been increasing in the past decade. On the surface, this seems like the perfect opportunity for growth, with job opportunities opening up for younger professionals, investments in local facilities, and more. But when diving a bit deeper, it’s not all roses.
Reopening and reimagining Africa (McKinsey & Company)
African countries need to find smart approaches to reopen economies in a calibrated way that brings key industries back into operation while ensuring safe ways of working. The COVID-19 crisis will likely persist for some time, and there is serious risk of a resurgence in infections. Accordingly, governments will need to build the capacity to alternate between reopening and restricting economies on a granular, local level—akin to developing and flexing a muscle. In the first part of this article we shine a spotlight on these approaches to smart reopening, suggesting pathways that countries can adopt to save lives and safeguard livelihoods.
New reports from African Development Bank, FAO and CGIAR showcase digital agriculture opportunities (AfDB)
Drones, satellites, geographic information systems, weather stations and advanced analytics are some of the most promising technologies for providing solutions to Africa’s agricultural challenges, according to the joint Digital Agricultural Profiles carried out by the African Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and CGIAR in three countries. The profiles, covering Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda and South Africa, map the challenges and opportunities to scale the adoption of innovative digital technologies in the agriculture sector. These include national digital technology and the policy landscape, user demands along the value chain and available digital agriculture services and applications. The profiles also examine the main barriers to adoption as well as the digital technologies with the greatest potential to transform the sector.
New Animal Health strategy to propel Africa’s world animal resource economy (The Standard)
The African Union has unveiled the Animal Health Strategy for Africa (AHSA) 2018-2035 to bolster animal health, animal production, productivity, the safety of animal origin, public health, and a healthy environment continent. The AHSA 2018-2035 is “a continental framework for delivering a sustainable animal health system that meets global standards Healthy animals for enhanced livelihoods, safe trade public, and environmental health”. The strategy, validated in November 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, has been endorsed by the African Union Specialized Technical Committee, which comprised the ministers in charge of animal resources, water, agriculture, and the environment.
Secretary-General Mathuki to rid EAC of hurdles stifling business (The East African)
Creating a conducive business environment will be top on the priority list of the new East African Community Secretary-General Peter Mathuki. Dr Mathuki said this will be achieved by eliminating non-tariff barriers, adopting business-friendly legal regimes and fast-tracking the Common External Tariff. “I firmly believe that we cannot attain a sustainable regional integration, if partner states do not urgently remove non-tariff barriers and other inconsistent laws that frustrate intraregional trade and investments,” Mathuki said at the handover ceremony in Arusha on Friday.
EU to offer expertise to drive renewables-friendly policy across Africa (pv magazine International)
The oft-heard industry call for more supportive policy for renewables, this time in Africa, has prompted the European Commission to pledge to work with its continental counterpart on improving the clean energy regulatory environment.
Without national regulatory frameworks geared to supporting renewables, the energy transition could remain a distant dream in Africa, according to Salvatore Bernabei, CEO of the Enel Green Power renewables division of the Italian energy company. Through the auspices of the African-EU Green Energy Initiative, the European Union and African Union would finally implement a long-desired strategic energy partnership which would aim to drive investment in clean power generation, raise access to electricity, and promote energy efficiency, said Timmermans.
Global economy news
Action plan for increasing LDCs’ share of blended finance (Trade for Development News)
Least developed countries (LDCs) receive only 6% of the private finance mobilized globally through blended finance, and even then funds are concentrated in a handful of LDCs while ‘last mile’ countries, sectors and businesses miss out. These were key findings from a joint UNCDF and OECD report that proposes actions to redress that imbalance as Covid-19 increases LDCs’ needs.
WTO examines progress in landlocked developing countries’ trade performance
The participation of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) in world trade has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report by the WTO Secretariat finds. Submitted to the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), the report assesses progress on the actions regarding multilateral trade recommended by the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs for 2014-2024.
US still cagey about WTO waiver, India and South Africa plough on (Hindustan Times)
While the United States rolled out a full range of support for India’s battle against Covid-19, it remained non-committal to on its position on India’s joint proposal with South Africa at the WTO to grant a temporary waiver of intellectual rights to vaccines and therapeutics to ensure they are freely accessible around the world. But India and South Africa are not giving up. Their ambassadors to the United State met Monday with a senior member of the US congress to argue their case, and to tap into and broaden support for their case among lawmakers.
WTO’s export-oriented compulsory licensing mechanism: Foreseen policy concern for Africa to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic (International IP and the Public Interest)
Africa has a history of grappling with outbreaks and high prevalence of disease. It currently confronts COVID-19 which is escalating because of local community transmission of the disease. Poorly resourced health systems in Africa are ill-prepared for the surging number of COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 vaccine has become available, but patent exclusivities might play a major role in hindering access to it. With little or no indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity of its own, Africa will almost entirely rely on importing COVID-19 vaccines or treatment from third parties. This paper emphasizes that in the current battle against COVID-19, policymakers should not lose sight of future policy challenges.
Video: Only the tip of the iceberg – can the south-south trade corridor go further (Global Trade Review)
Africa’s status as the youngest and most promising global economic market shows no sign of halting. With Dubai playing a significant role as a facilitator and ‘launchpad’ into Africa, this session offers key details on existing flows and volumes through the Africa-MENA-Asia trade corridor, as well as examining how the dynamics of exports and imports have changed.
COVID-19 shows need to close financial inclusion gender gap (UNCTAD)
In many parts of the world, women have had less access to financial services than men for years. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenge. At the onset of the pandemic, more women than men lost jobs. Sectors that absorb women workers such as tourism and personal services were hardest hit. While the gender gap at the global level diminished between 2011 and 2017, some developing regions, including Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, witnessed a reverse trend. What accounts for the gender gap in access to and use of financial services? Reducing the gender gap in financial inclusion would require applying a gender lens to domestic and international policy actions.
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National trade and trade-related news
Increased focus on customs and excise policy framework (Moneyweb)
South Africa’s business community should brace itself for several changes to the current guidelines and regulations in the customs and excise policy framework. It is expected that SA will see more ‘lobby-type’ anti-dumping and tariff investigations as government becomes more supportive of protecting the local economy, says Caroline Rheeder, associate director at Cova Advisory & Associates. She says there was a lot of attention on customs and excise during the February budget. Details of some of the proposals will only become clear once the draft taxation bills are published around July.
Government to help small businesses reach their potential (SAnews)
As governments around the world prioritise economic recovery following the devastating impact of COVID-19 on business, this year’s World Intellectual Property Day will shine a light on the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Activities will be held under the theme: “Intellectual property and SMEs: Taking your ideas to the market” to encourage the use of intellectual property (IP) by SMEs, and foster innovation with a view to generating revenue and contributing to economic development. South Africa’s World IP Day activities this year reaffirm the potential for small businesses to bring innovative ideas and designs as diverse as the country’s people to the marketplace.
SA poultry farmers urged to treat any animal deaths as possible avian flu (Eyewitness News)
Government has urged poultry farmers to treat any animal deaths as potential avian influenza cases as South Africa battles an outbreak of a highly infectious strain across various farms. This comes after commercial chicken farms in Ekurhuleni and Tshwane reported outbreaks while another farm in the JB Marks Local Municipality, in the North West, has also been placed under quarantine. The agriculture and rural development department said Namibia, Botswana, and Lesotho have banned poultry and related raw products from areas hit by the bird flu outbreaks.
AfCFTA: Ghana must optimise strength in palm oil production (News Ghana)
Mr George Owusu-Ansah, the Managing Director of Unilever Ghana, has challenged Ghana to take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to invest in palm oil production for manufacturing and export. He said oil palm served as raw material for industry and a good source of foreign exchange, and urged Ghana to use its comparative arable land to cultivate the country’s second most important tree crop, after cocoa. Mr Owusu-Ansah said Ghana was blessed to be part of the world where the oil palm tree thrived, what were needed, therefore, were a good land tenure system, sustainable cultivation and value addition.
Government-led strategy needed to better nation’s AfCFTA competitiveness – Business Associations (GhanaWeb)
Business associations in the country want government to as a matter of urgency re-strategise toward the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), if the nation is truly eager to ride on the back of it to accelerate economic growth. According to the three major business associations – Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) and Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) – government must come up with a strategy to better the fortunes of local businesses in the early days of the AfCFTA, or have to risk investing more to catch up in the future. They are calling for a deliberate push of investment into products and firms in which the nation has a competitive advantage on the continent.
Ghana joins African Countries to Sign on to AU Covid Passport Scheme (Capital FM Kenya)
Ghana has joined the fast-growing list of countries using the African Union COVID-19 digital verification system, being promoted by the Africa CDC, at points of entry and exit. The country’s health minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, says the technology platform powered jointly by the Ghanaian Health Service and the PanaBios consortium covers all the authorised COVID-19 PCR testing laboratories in the country and will stop the circulation of fake test results. It is also expected that such solutions will discourage fake vaccine records and usher in a continental e-health solution based on AU standards.
This seminal report by Konfidants and funded by the BUSAC Fund, seeks to provide a broad understanding of Ghana’s trade competitiveness in the continental market, map out markets with the greatest potential within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for Ghana’s key industries and products, and make recommendations for boosting the country’s performance in the AfCFTA.
Interview: Ghana poised to be priority destination for Chinese investment: trade analyst (Xinhua)
Ghana is poised to become a priority destination for Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the immediate term, a Ghanaian trade analyst told Xinhua in an interview. Francis Korankye-Sakyi, an international investment analyst with the Centre for African Trade and Investment Policies, said Ghana’s growing relevance in Africa and China’s international trade policy would lead to more Chinese FDI to the West African country.
NACCIMA calls for greater private sector involvement in foreign policy (The Nation Online)
The National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has called for greater involvement of the private sector in the articulation and implementation of Nigeria’s foreign policy as calls for review of Nigeria’s foreign policy gains traction. Director General, NACCIMA, Amb Ayoola Olukanni averred that with the increasing role of the private sector in the Nigerian economy, the private sector should be regularly consulted in the articulation and implementation of the nation’s foreign policy.
Kenya’s balance of trade grew 9% in Q4 2020 (The Star, Kenya)
The country’s balance of trade in goods and services recorded a nine per cent growth in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the latest CBK quarterly review. It improved from a deficit of $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 to a deficit of $2.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. The value of merchandise exports increased by three per cent to $1.47 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 reflecting increased earnings from horticulture, chemicals and manufactured goods. The value of merchandise imports also declined by 13 per cent to $3.79 million in the quarter from $4.3 million in a similar quarter in 2019, largely due to reduced imports of oil products as a result of relatively lower international oil prices.
Safaricom’s Ambitious Plans to Connect Africa via Mobile Money (TechTrendsKE)
Launched in 2007, Safaricom mobile money service M-PESA has catapulted the telco to the global map. M-PESA is crucial, especially in Kenya, as it is the primary platform for transacting for consumers and businesses. Besides Kenya, the mobile money platform is also available in six other African countries; Ghana, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Lesotho. The mobile money platform had 24.91 million active monthly users, according to Safaricom’s 2020 financial report (PDF), a 10 percent increase from the year prior. Ndegwa says the company serves 38 million customers via data or voice.
On politics of Uganda’s oil and gas industry (Daily Monitor)
On April 11, Uganda, Tanzania, Total and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (Cnooc) signed three agreements at State House Entebbe to develop Uganda’s oil and gas resources located in Bunyoro, Acholi and West Nile sub-regions. The agreements which were subject of protracted negotiations for almost 15 years are the first concrete steps in efforts by the two EAC partner states to construct the 1443km East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) from Hoima to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. When completed, at a cost of $3.8 billion, it will be the longest heated pipeline in the world.
Ethiopian becomes first African airline to conduct IATA Travel Pass trial (CGTN Africa)
Ethiopian Airlines Group has become the first African airline to conduct trial of IATA Travel Pass, a digital travel mobile app to enhance efficiency in testing or vaccine verifications. The trial will be conducted on flights out of Addis Ababa to Washington DC and Toronto as well as on flights out of London and Toronto to Addis Ababa, effective today, 25 April 2021. Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Tewolde GebreMariam said “Digital technology is vital to solve many of the problems that arise from the pandemic. We are glad that we are offering new digital opportunities to our passengers so as to fully and safely restart air travel.”
Tunisia Ready to Participate in the COMESA Free Trade Regime (COMESA)
Tunisia is ready to fully participate in the COMESA Free Trade Area regime (FTA) one year after giving notification of participation in the trade regime in March, 2020. To prepare for this, the COMESA Secretariat through the Division of Trade conducted a three-day virtual sensitization workshop for Tunisia on 20th April 2021, covering not only the FTA but other trade facilitation instruments as well. Participants were drawn from the Tunisian government and the private sector. COMESA Assistant Secretary General for Programmes Amb. Kipyego Cheluget opened the event by welcoming Tunisia’s decision to join the FTA.
DRC has an appetite for Zim products (Sunday Mail)
The commencement of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area presents opportunities for Zimbabwean companies to increase the visibility of their products across borders. President Mnangagwa has, since the launch of the National Export Strategy in 2019, been encouraging local businesses to utilise opportunities in African markets. “Due to the small size of the internal market, it is important for Zimbabwe to utilise the market access opportunities available in the SADC, COMESA and African Continental Free Trade Areas and beyond to increase exports,” the President said. What is now important is for local companies to target markets that already have a demand for Zimbabwean products.
‘Consider post Covid-19 strategy’ (Sunday Mail)
Dr Judith Kateera, an executive director and ambassador of the African Development Bank (AfDB) representing Zimbabwe on the board, celebrated Zimbabwe’s Independence Day on April 18. Below are highlights of her statement to Zimbabweans in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Zimbabwe’s delicate trade/industry balance (eBusiness Weekly)
Zimbabwe’s current imports management programme is tantamount to trade protectionism. Under the import management programme, there are a number of interim statutory measures aimed at restricting imports to enable local industry to recover after performance had been immensely affected by the influx of foreign products. Zimbabwe’s industrial firms have for a while now been bogged down by high cost of capital and a complex doing business environment, which makes their products expensive compared to those produced by their peers in the region.
Renewables a ‘win-win’ strategy to end Ethiopia dam dispute (Sustainability Times)
Researchers say adding regional solar and wind resources to Ethiopia’s hydropower is a solution that benefits Egypt and Sudan too. Renewable sources have the power when it comes to the energy future of East Africans, but they also may prove a solution to a complicated diplomatic and geopolitical problem. That’s according to scientists at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel, who say that adding solar and wind energy sources to operate in concert with the new Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) would support the hydropower that Ethiopia is banking on, without disrupting the flow of the Nile River on which Egypt and Sudan depend.
Miners seek gold under Egypt’s desert sands (News24)
Mining companies awarded blocks in Egypt’s Eastern Desert are set to start exploring for gold under a legislative overhaul that seeks to eventually unlock vast untapped mineral resources. Despite plentiful reserves and a rich mining history that gave rise to elaborate Pharaonic gold jewellery, Egypt has just one commercial gold mine in operation. Foreign investment in oil and gas has grown, but mining has languished. Now, the country is banking on high gold prices and amended mining laws that scrap red tape and a profit-sharing rule, unpopular in the industry, to lure interest.
Ugandan government proposes more tax on fuel (The East African)
The Ugandan government intends to increase the tax per litre of petrol and diesel by Ush100 in order to increase revenue in the next financial year, junior Finance minister David Bahati has said. “The increase is not expected to cause significant increase on the pump prices. We estimate that an increase of Ush10, per litre in excise duty will increase pump prices by only Ush100, assuming the entire increase is passed on to the consumer and the exchange rate and international fuel prices remain constant,” he said.
World Bank Supports Cameroon to Build a Resilient and Inclusive Recovery (World Bank)
Cameroon will be better able to address the COVID-19 pandemic with a $100 million Development Policy Operation (DPO) approved on April 19 to support the Government of Cameroon to advance reforms for fiscal consolidation and competitiveness. “As Cameroon is embarking in an ambitious program of reforms, this operation will support policy action to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic by, supporting public sector management, improving competition and protecting the poor and most vulnerable,” says Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Director for Cameroon.
Botswana in talks with World Bank, AfDB for possible funding (News Ghana)
Botswana is in talks with the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) for possible funding of its economic recovery strategy. Wilfred Madlebe, the permanent secretary in Botswana’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, made this announcement Saturday at a consultative meeting held with community leaders in Francistown, Botswana’s second largest city. “Pursuant to the Chapter 5 of the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan (ERTP) and the 2020 budget speech pronouncements, discussions with the World Bank and African Development Bank have been opened,” said Madlebe.
African regional and continental news
African Countries Should Focus on Intellectual Property to Drive Growth (Morocco World News)
Today marks World Intellectual Property Day whose theme is “Intellectual Property and Small Medium Enterprises: Taking Your Ideas to Market.” By registering and exploiting IP brands, the African music sub-sector is leading the way in illustrating how copyright recognition and enforcement is creating a viable industry and empowering thousands.
However, for intellectual property to truly benefit the majority, awareness and adoption by entrepreneurs is key. Small businesses should put IP at the core of their strategy. To aid in this, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has developed an online tool for assessing business competitiveness through IP assets, thus helping stakeholders identify and create value. This comes in handy especially for those looking to expand internationally.
With AfCFTA, ‘Africa is sending a crystal clear signal’ that it is open for business says Wamkele Mene (The Africa Report)
When the member states of the African Union undertook the project of establishing a continent-wide preferential free trade area with the ultimate aim of creating a single African market, it was obvious that they would need to entrench this arrangement through a transparent and predictable rules-based system. Central to such a system is the amicable resolution of trade disputes over a range of different areas including market access, investment, intellectual property rights and implementation of the free trade agreement. For this reason, a central plank of the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a protocol on Dispute Settlement.
The AfCFTA: From institutional structures to private sector engagement (ECDPM)
For the AfCFTA to have the intended impact, it will require businesses to know about it and be able to use it. That means improving the information available to the private sector, which goes beyond the high-level presentations seen in most webinars to include details on the agreed rules of origin and tariff offers relevant to their markets. There are opportunities for business associations and service providers with the technical expertise to develop tools for firms to understand better the implications and new market opportunities. International partners must also seek to support these efforts at the national, regional and continental levels.
Four factors that block making medicines in Africa (Daily Maverick)
As Covid-19 began to spread around the globe in March 2020, drug supplies – ironically – shrank, because of the pandemic’s impact on global supply chains. Chinese factories, which produce about 70% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that Indian drug manufacturers use, were shuttered during China’s severe lockdown in early 2020. The Chinese and Indian supply and export contractions exposed sub-Saharan Africa’s vulnerability to variation in the supply of medical products because of these countries’ dependence on imports (which make up 70% to 90% of their medicines). The severe repercussions of pharmaceutical supply shocks reach beyond what is needed to combat Covid-19.
Local manufacturing for health in Africa in the time of Covid‑19: experience and lessons for policy (DEGRP)
In Africa and across the globe, the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of manufacturing supply chains. On 28th October 2020, a closed-door webinar brought together African manufacturers in health-related industries with engaged academics in India and Africa, and other professionals working on regulation, distribution and industrial support in African countries. The aims were to capture the immediate experience of manufacturing under Covid-19 conditions in Africa and India, and to also draw lessons for policy. This webinar report summarises the key findings from that event, with the central argument being that broad-based industrial development is critical for both global and local health security in Africa, and will be the post-Covid-19 medium-term challenge.
COVID-19 and trade facilitation in Southern Africa (UNU-WIDER)
COVID-19 has created a trade crisis in Southern Africa, with a dramatic slowdown in cross-border trade. The crisis, which exposed weaknesses and deficiencies in the trade facilitation regimes, presents an opportunity for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to address and contribute to greater levels of trade within Africa. This working paper looks at the impact of the border closures in response to the pandemic, and its impact on trade and the movement of goods in and out of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The border closures in relation to trade facilitation in Southern Africa and the position of the SADC cluster of ministers of trade and transport are also considered.
AfDB disburses 90% of Africa Covid-19 response facility (Chronicle)
The African Development Bank (AfDB) said on Friday it has disbursed 90 percent of the approved US$4,1 billion under its Covid-19 response facility in one year that the continent has been battling with the pandemic. “These are extraordinary times and we must take bold and decisive actions to save and protect millions of lives in Africa,” AfDB President Dr Akinwumi Adesina said when the bank announced the Covid-19 response facility. “We are in a race to save lives and we will leave no country behind.”
Sounding a note of optimism at the European Union-Africa Green Investment Forum on Friday, African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina reminded global audiences of the continent’s vast opportunities for green growth. “Africa is a huge market offering incredible opportunities. The recovery pathway offers enormous opportunities. Recovery must be green and build climate resilience. Recovery must boost green investments,” Adesina said in a keynote address. He identified energy, agriculture and infrastructure as key areas of investment potential for a post-Covid-19 recovery in Africa.
EAC Partner States to largely retain their national sovereignty under the proposed EAC Political Confederation (East African Community)
East African Community Partner States shall largely retain their national sovereignty under the proposed EAC Political Confederation, this is according to Justice Benjamin Odoki, the Chairperson of the Committee of Experts tasked with drafting a model constitution for the confederation. “Only the first two stages of the integration have been implemented. There was a feeling that we need to move slowly towards the Political Federation so that the countries can walk together. The important thing that we need to bear in mind is that the confederation is a transitional stage to the federation,” he said.
Speeding up integration EAC chief’s top priority (IPP Media)
At an evening reception organized here by the private sector at the weekend, Dr Mathuki said he will focus on achieving ease of doing business in line with the common market protocol. “Strengthening mechanisms to resolve persistent non-tariff barriers that hamper intra EAC trade, deepening implementation of the Common Market protocol and restructuring the EAC Secretariat to achieve the mandate envisaged in the treaty are some of my top priorities,” the new head of the EAC Secretariat underlined. “I will seek out economic recovery response mechanisms, digitalisation and a coordinated approach on COVID-19 response measures which include locating testing facilities at all EAC border posts. This is instrumental in mitigating trade disruptions and losses brought forth by this pandemic,” he stated.
Structural change in global production patterns and some policy drivers influence China’s infrastructure financing in Africa. Chinese infrastructure financing in Africa could shrink and become more selective in the short to medium term due to the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s funding to Africa could shift towards solving immediate social infrastructure needs as a response to COVID-19.
India-Africa relations: Partnership, COVID-19 setback and the way forward (Observer Research Foundation)
The values that steer India’s development cooperation – demand driven, conditionality free and based on the principle of partnership among equals – are appreciated in Africa. But India’s model of development cooperation in Africa lacks a clear strategy.
Global economy news
WTO head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on vaccines: ‘We have to solve the health crisis if we want economic recovery’ (The World)
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made history after becoming the first African and woman director-general of the World Trade Organization, a crucial international body that helps set the rules of trade between many countries – her term began on March 1. She is the seventh person to hold the post and her four-year term is renewable in 2025. She’s also recently published a book called ”Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons.” Okonjo-Iweala spoke to The World’s host Marco Werman about why vaccines aren’t reaching less wealthy nations and what can be done to scale up production.
WTO Chief Urges U.K., U.S. to Export Vaccines to Poorer Nations (Bloomberg)
The head of the World Trade Organization urged rich nations to export more Covid-19 vaccines, singling out the U.K. and the U.S. as she reiterated the need to ensure poor countries aren’t left behind if the world wants to get through the pandemic. “Vaccine nationalism and inequity doesn’t work,” WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at a virtual trade policy event Monday hosted by the European Commission. “I would urge those countries that are not sharing, or exporting, to do so as quickly as possible,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
‘Pressure building’ on routine vaccine manufacturing, says WHO official (Devex)
International agencies are closely monitoring the production of vaccines for other diseases, as the majority of these manufacturers are also involved in developing coronavirus vaccines. “We absolutely don’t want to be in a position where vaccines for other life-threatening diseases are compromised in terms of their supply, and we simply are replacing one outbreak with another outbreak,” said Kate O’Brien, director at World Health Organization’s department of immunization, vaccines, and biologicals, during a media roundtable on Thursday hosted by the U.N. Foundation. There is “pressure building” on the manufacturing capacity for these vaccines, but O’Brien said, “it is not at a point where we are expecting that there will be vaccine shortages or vaccine stock outs at this point.”
Regional workshops held to raise awareness of counterfeit COVID-19-related goods (World Customs Organisation)
On 8 April 2021, the World Customs Organization (WCO) successfully launched its first series of regional workshops aimed at improving Customs administrations’ awareness of counterfeit COVID-19-related goods. This workshop brought together around 105 Customs officials from 26 countries in the WCO Asia/Pacific (A/P), Europe and North of Africa, Near and Middle East (MENA) regions
In its opening remarks, the WCO Secretariat emphasized that Customs is the first line of defence at Members’ borders. Mr. Hidetoshi Aramaki, Director for International Technical Cooperation in the Customs and Tariff Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Finance, mentioned in his remarks that the stable global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to play a key role in efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when many countries around the world are rolling out large-scale COVID-19 vaccination programmes, it is critical that Customs administrations be able to facilitate the cross-border movement of genuine vaccines, while looking out for fake vaccines and fake medical supplies.
Supporting small businesses is critical for COVID-19 recovery (UNCTAD)
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can power a stronger recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, due to their innovative and opportunity-seeking nature, but they need more support. Participants at the 7th edition of the Empretec Global Summit held online on 20 April heard that policymakers need to adapt policies and institutions to support MSMEs. Such support should be aligned with the priorities of the post-COVID-19 social and economic recovery, said UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabelle Durant. “Short-term support measures such as relieving tax burdens on MSMEs, extending debt finance and employment support are certainly needed and should be continued,” Ms. Durant said. “Yet at the same time, it’s important to invest in long-term structural policies, such as digital and financial inclusion, as well as entrepreneurial skills capacity development,” she added.
Small family farmers produce a third of the world’s food (FAO)
The world’s smallholder farmers produce around a third of the world’s food, according to detailed new research by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Five of every six farms in the world consist of less than two hectares, operate only around 12 percent of all agricultural land, and produce roughly 35 percent of the world’s food, according to a study published in World Development.
ICC and WFP partner to mobilise the private sector in support of zero hunger around the globe (ICC)
Ending hunger and malnutrition are key to building life-long prosperity for all, which requires close collaborations between the private sector, national governments, local communities and organizations like WFP focused on sustainable development. Representing 45 million companies across the world, ICC will leverage its broad network for knowledge-sharing and facilitate strategic partnerships with private sector companies at the global, regional and local levels. Working closely with governments and local communities in 88 countries, WFP will channel private sector expertise to build dynamic partnerships that can create systemic change together.
T&C exports from major African economies may surge in 2022: TexPro (Fibre2Fashion)
The combined exports of textiles and clothing from the major African economies such as Lesotho, Mauritius and Kenya are expected to surge in 2022 due to current efforts of the governments of these countries and other stakeholders of the industry. However, exports are likely to slightly decline this year due to the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
ECOSOC chief calls for financial support for small island developing states (UN News)
There are roughly 60 SIDS worldwide. Although their combined population of 65 million is slightly less than one per cent of the world’s population, the UN recognizes the unique social, economic, and environmental challenges they face. While the pandemic has inflicted serious hardship and damage globally, Mr. Akram said it has particularly affected SIDS, impacting every aspect of life in these countries. “For the SIDs, this has been a perfect storm – financial, natural, and social,” he said. “Their revenues have virtually evaporated with the end of tourism, due to lockdowns, trade impediments, the fall in commodity prices, and supply chain disruptions. High debt overhangs, internally high risk, and short-term maturity debts are creating impossible financial problems for their ability to recover from the crisis.”
Commonwealth benchmarks to help countries fight corruption (The Commonwealth)
A landmark set of measures to support international efforts in tackling corruption has been launched by the Commonwealth Secretariat. The Commonwealth Anti-Corruption Benchmarks are designed to help governments and public sector organisations: assess laws, procedures and actions against international good practice; and make improvements if needed.
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National trade and trade-related news
Anglo American reports rise in Q1 production of key South African commodities (Daily Maverick)
According to Anglo American’s production report for the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, output rose for copper, platinum group metals (PGMs), iron ore and manganese. Global production for other commodities such as nickel and diamonds was down. But rising output for PGMs, iron ore and manganese is a boost for South Africa’s economy. Anglo said copper production for the three months to the end of March was up 7% on the same period last year. But for South Africa, rising production in three other key commodities is a positive sign for the wider economy.
Importation ban on poultry minimal (Government of Botswana)
The recent ban on the importation of domesticated birds and their products due to the outbreak of bird flu in South Africa has had a minimum impact on the local sub sector. In an interview on Wednesday, Feed Centre’s veterinarian, Dr Kgomotso Sitayelo explained that the poultry sector’s two sections of broilers and layers were not yet affected by the ban. “If the importation continues for some months that is when they could be affected,” he said. Dr Sitayelo highlighted the need to develop the local poultry industry for the country to become independent. “If we were independent the ban was not going to have an impact on our industry,” he added.
What SA’s red meat industry must fix before scaling up exports (Farmer’s Weekly)
Many South African red meat producers are keen to benefit from exporting some or all of their products to more profitable international markets. To do so, however, these farmers have to identify, and then consistently meet, a variety of requirements. For a start, a red meat exporter needs to know and understand the current state of South Africa’s red meat trade in fresh and frozen products, half and whole carcasses, and bone-in and deboned cuts. South Africa is a substantial net importer of mutton and lamb. Nonetheless, there is still an opportunity to increase its exports of sheep meat, as well as live sheep.
Stakeholders in Footwear Sector Commit to Skills Transfer and Rebuilding Capacity (the dtic)
Stakeholders in the footwear and leather sector have committed themselves to transferring skills and rebuild capacity in order to fully transform. The commitment emanated from two site visits conducted by the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ms Nomalungelo Gina in KwaZulu-Natal to Planets Events Shoes and Neptun Boot today. Stakeholders committed and agreed to promote localisation, sourcing and buying local materials, transferring skills and working towards removing red tape that will hinder the future of the sector. Deputy Minister Gina said the ease of doing business locally must be prioritised so that it will be easy for investors to view the sector as lucrative.
Why it’s hard to measure gender-financing impact in Kenya’s equity agenda (Business Daily)
Women’s and girl’s economic empowerment holds the key to Kenya realising a middle-income status by 2030, through industrialisation. Under Vision 2030, the government seeks to expand women access to financial services. Kenya being a signatory of the fifth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5), is mandated to empower women through investments. Tracking financial flows and impacts on gender-equity programmes are therefore imperative. But, the Covid-19 pandemic slammed brakes on donor funding, cutting billions of financial aid amid tough economic times. Therefore, reliable data on project funding and effectiveness is crucial.
Traders smuggle tonnes of Uganda maize into Kenya (Daily Monitor)
Last month, Kenya banned the importation of maize from Uganda, citing high content of aflatoxins and that it was unfit for human consumption due to risks of cancer. Subsequently, Kenya lifted the ban but imposed stringent measures to be adhered to by importers, traders and farmers from either countries. Among the measures included registration of all importers in Kenya, issuance of certificates to all Ugandan grain traders and their stores certified, and provision of certificates of origin of the cereals. Traders now claim that because of such measures they have resorted to smuggling maize across the border.
Case against pipeline project delays in Arusha (The East African)
A case seeking to stop construction of the oil pipeline from Uganda to Tanzania for failing to conduct an environmental and social impact assessment has failed to take off even as the two countries proceed with implementation of the project. On April 11, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and his Tanzania counterpart President Samia Suluhu signed a deal for the $3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), now touted as a strategic win for Tanzania which will earn $12.7 off each barrel of oil transported through it.
President Samia outlines stimulus plan (The Citizen)
President Samia Suluhu Hassan yesterday outlined a raft of measures her government will take to stimulate economic growth, which has been adversely affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic. President Hassan – who assumed the presidency on March 19 following the death of her predecessor, Dr John Magufuli, on March 17 – spent almost a third of her 90-minute maiden speech to Parliament articulating what the government would do to regain investor confidence. She also explained how economic diplomacy, provision of incentives to strategic projects, fighting corruption and getting rid of bureaucracy in issuance of work permits and approval of investment projects, among others, would boost investment to spur economic growth to at least eight percent annually.
Nigeria’s trade deficit rises 49% to $2.5bn (Vanguard)
The nation’s trade deficit rose month-on-month by 49 percent to $2.5 billion in January from $1.69 billion in December last year even as foreign trade stood at $8.14 billion during the period. Also capital importation dropped by 31 percent to $380 million in January from $550 million in December 2020. However, aggregate external trade improved marginally by 3.2 per cent during the period. These were contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Economic Report for January, 2021.
Customs Realises N446.1 Billion Revenue in Q1 2021 (Investors King)
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) realised N466.1 billion in revenue in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, according to the latest data from the Public Relations Officer, NCS, Mr. Joseph Attah. The data showed NCS realised N157.6 billion in January; N138.9 billion in February and N169.4 billion in March 2021. A further breakdown showed the agency generated N216.9 billion of the total amount from import duty, while N105.2 billion was realised as Customs VAT and N55.5 billion was generated as a non-federation accounts levies.
Don’t lend to govt at the expense of private sector – Ghana Banks cautioned (Modern Ghana)
Stakeholders at the launch of a report assessing Ghana’s competitiveness and available opportunities for the country under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) have blamed the continued lending by some local banks to government as well as the high treasury bill rates, for the low level of credit advanced by financial institutions to the private sector. They thus advised authorities to ensure that the interest rates come down to enable private sector companies who may want to assess credit facilities to do so effortlessly to stay competitive. The advice was given following a report commissioned by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC Fund) and conducted by consultants from research and advisory firm, Konfidants.
Continuing the UK’s trade relationship with Cameroon (GOV.UK)
Cameroon is the United Kingdom’s 120th largest trading partner,[footnote 2] accounting for less than 0.1% of total trade. Total trade in goods and services between the United Kingdom and Cameroon was £200 million in 2019. HM Government expects the United Kingdom-Cameroon EPA to support jobs and economic development in Cameroon by providing continuity in trading arrangements with the United Kingdom including duty free and quota free market access. This could be of benefit to partner firms producing goods for which the United Kingdom is an important export market and of benefit to consumers through lower prices.
Libya is Aspiring for Recovery and Healing, but Challenges Abound (World Bank)
The Libyan economy faces major challenges, including recurring disruptions to the oil and gas sector, the fragmentation of state institutions, and ongoing conflict. The new spring 2021 edition of the Libya Economic Monitor details how, for most of 2020, the performance of the Libyan economy was the worst in recent record. A 9-month blockade that began in January 2020 cut the country’s crude oil to less than one-sixth of 2019 values – the worst monthly performance since the beginning of the recent conflict. “Libya faces enormous economic challenges and desperately needs unified institutions, good governance, strong political will, and long overdue reforms,” said Jesko Hentschel, World Bank Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta.
Burkina Faso is considering the development of a new Country Strategy Paper (Born2Invest)
The Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Development and its partner the African Development Bank (AfDB) are holding a high-level meeting this Monday, April 19th, 2021, in Ouagadougou. This multi-day meeting, which is being held face-to-face and by video conference, aims to develop the new 2022-2026 Country Strategy Paper (CSP). It will also discuss the combined completion report for the 2017-2021 CSP. The 2017-2021 Country Strategy Paper is at the end of its implementation. It has served as a framework for cooperation between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Burkina Faso, through its Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Development.
African regional and continental news
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
After a cautious start, Africa’s policymakers should accelerate the implementation and adoption of AfCFTA (Ventures Africa)
Africa’s policymakers need to ensure that the momentum behind the African Continental Free-trade Area (AfCFTA) is not lost following the trading bloc’s launch in January. This initiative could act as the much-needed stimulus for the continent’s economies in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. In our view, the East African Community – which has had good traction in terms of regional trade integration – clearly demonstrates the benefits that AfCFTA could bring to the continent as a whole. Thanks in part to their reduced reliance on offshore markets, East African nations including Tanzania and Ethiopia evaded a recession in 2020 despite the pandemic, according to IMF data. Regional powerhouse, Kenya contracted marginally last year and is expected to grow by 7.6% in 2021 and 5.7% in 2022.
How Africa Should Approach Trade and Industrialization (Project Syndicate)
Tariffs are not the main impediment to continental trade, faster industrialization, and structural transformation in Africa. In fact, trade tariffs are already low. Thus, much emphasis is placed on addressing non-tariff barriers, particularly infrastructure gaps and customs-related transaction costs. AfCFTA-linked steps to streamline customs procedures and curb rent-seeking at borders will go some way toward boosting efficiency. But what is really needed is large-scale investment in physical customs infrastructure and modernization of information-technology systems. The continent’s real problem is its underdeveloped production capacity.
AfCFTA offers massive economic opportunities but still much work to be done (IOL)
The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement came into effect on the January 1 this year. The free trade agreement should also have significantly positive consequences for SMMEs throughout Africa, in that it will help to create a solid platform for smaller businesses to participate in, and benefit from, heightened intra-continental trade. Of course, the full implementation of AfCFTA is likely to take many years and will require the full buy-in and support of businesses and governments across Africa. There are a number of key components that need to fall into place in order to create the momentum needed to successfully implement the free trade area in the coming years.
African free trade agreement fundamental for economic development – business (Macau Business)
The chairman of Mota-Engil Africa, Manuel Mota, said on Thursday that the free trade agreement in Africa is fundamental for the development of the continent, as it fosters regional integration, which is fundamental for economic development. “The free trade agreement in Africa is key to developing economies, because the easiest way to grow is to grow together, similar to what was done in Europe, with the European Union, and in Africa they are trying to do the same,” said the leader of the Portuguese construction company during the Portugal-Africa business seminar “Exporting ‘Green’ – Internationalisation of companies in the era of sustainability,” organised by the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the European Union, which is being held today in virtual format from Lisbon.
Constrained global financial conditions caused by Covid-19 have led to massive portfolio outflows from Africa, exceeding $5 billion in the first quarter of 2020, a new continent-wide survey on trade finance has shown. About $3.1 billion left the South African market alone, the report found. Launched on 15 April 2021, the African Trade Finance Survey Report examines how trade finance has evolved during the Covid-19 pandemic and highlights the role it can play in overcoming the social and economic fallout of the disease. The survey was conducted by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) jointly with the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank-hosted Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership.
Southern Africa Trust: Providing a bridge of hope for women cross border traders (Malawi24)
In a time where employment opportunities in the semi-skilled sector are limited, informal cross border trade has become the go-to economic activity for thousands of Malawians, particularly women, looking to generate income. Informal cross border traders travel to countries such as South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania and return with various goods including food, clothes, business utensils and stationery amongst many others. These activities have been largely affected over the last year due to travel and trade regulations implement as a result of the pandemic, felt even more greatly by women in the sector. The Cross Border Traders Association of Malawi (CBTAM) is a civil society organization which works to strengthen, promote and protect Malawian cross border traders by improving the trade conditions as well as protect the rights of informal and formal trade businesses.
African Countries and telecommunications stakeholders have today launched the first set of ATU spectrum recommendations that focus on transforming Africa into a knowledge economy through the development of technologies that boost connectivity and innovation. The launched spectrum recommendations outline the importance of awarding the radio spectrum in countries across Africa in a timely, predictable and cost-effective fashion so as to support affordable, high-quality delivery of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services and spur smart technology initiatives. The recommendations also establish the idea that licensing should be technology-neutral and allow for service innovations.
ECA revitalizes initiative to bridge continental digital divide (UNECA)
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and its partners on Thursday launched a friendlier and comprehensive “Learning Girls in ICT Initiative” that is expected to help bridge the continental digital divide. The launch of the “Learning Girls in ICT Initiative” marked the 10th anniversary of the International Day of Girls in ICT which is commemorated annually on 22 April to help bridge the gender digital divide. “Digital skills offer our girls the power to change the world,” Jean-Paul Adam, the Director of the ECA’s Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Division (TCND), said. “Digitalization offers a variety of opportunities for female empowerment and a more equal female participation in labor markets, financial markets, and entrepreneurship.”
Smart technologies keep farming afloat despite Covid-19, climate change (Business Daily)
The food production equation has recently become even more complex with the emergence of Covid-19, which to date threatens human movement, crippling the distribution of essential agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and farm chemicals. With smart technologies and timely climate information, however, farmers can effectively minimise the impacts of these challenges as well as enhance yields and income. A slow-down in production, he says, is a precursor to food insecurity and high commodity prices. “Coronavirus is just an example of what sort of disruption we can suffer in the future. “The immediate disruption was on farmers accessing inputs, market, extension and training. We, therefore, need several interventions among them service centres which have services closer to farmers,” he says.
Coronavirus: WHO urges African nations to keep expired vaccines (BBC News)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged African countries not to destroy Covid-19 vaccines that may have passed their expiry date. Countries have been told to keep hold of them and wait for further guidance. The appeal comes after Malawi and South Sudan said they would destroy more than 70,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab because they expired in mid-April. But the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) said it had been assured the doses were safe to use.
WHO warns Africa not to let its guard down amid pandemic (Engineering News)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti has encouraged African countries to sustain Covid-19 prevention measures and urged countries not to let their guards down as the world races to vaccinate their populations. Moeti said on Thursday that despite the challenges and stories circulating about the vaccine, people must have confidence in the WHO guidance.
European Commission urged to do more to support efforts to contain Coronavirus pandemic in Africa (The Parliament)
The demand comes with concerns rapidly growing about the number of new variants of the Coronavirus in Africa. Experts believe the emergence of new Coronavirus variants in Africa have contributed to an increase in both cases and deaths reported in many countries on the continent. Speaking earlier this week at a special event in the European parliament on EU-Africa relations, Belgian MEP Assita Kanko said the European Commission should do more to support local authorities and local initiatives that can help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in African countries.
The US wants to reset its economic ties with Africa (Quartz)
America has been a longstanding partner to Africa’s nations and its people, leading in aid and development assistance, healthcare, and the fight against transnational terrorism. But Africa is more than conflict and poverty – it represents important opportunities in trade and investment, and many of the world’s major economies recognize this fact. Many African countries are rapidly enhancing integration into global capital markets and innovating and developing sizable domestic markets. The continent, with a population in excess of 1.3 billion people, a median age under 20 years old, and a landmass large enough to fit Europe, the lower 48 United States, China, and India, includes several of the world’s fastest growing economies. The United States sees strengthening US-Africa economic ties as a priority.
China In Africa: Implications For Australia (FN Arena News)
Recently The Economist held a webinar ‘Africa-China Relations: new frontiers of co-operation?’ As China continues its rapid economic growth and builds the influence that comes with such clout, it can find in Africa not only an opportunity to enhance trade ties, but also diversify its import sources. In an era in which Australian-Chinese relations are at the lowest they’ve been in decades, Australia now needs to prepare for years ahead where Beijing may find in Africa an opportunity to shore up strength at home while diminishing existing trade ties with Australia.
How the U.S. can eclipse China in the battle over Africa (Politico)
In what could be a dramatic shift in how the White House views Africa, President Joe Biden invited five leaders from sub-Saharan Africa to today’s virtual Summit on Climate. That’s a good start for the new administration if it seeks to treat Africa as a partner. But the U.S. has a long way to go to catch up to years of China’s unrivaled pursuit of the continent. Over the last few years, American policymakers have become increasingly alarmed over China’s deep engagement with the developing world. In many ways, Africa was the frontier of this trend. From weak engagement in the 1990s, China has become Africa’s largest trading partner. By 2019, China was financing one in five African infrastructure projects and constructing one in three.
Global economy news
Members note sharp downturn in LDCs’ trade, discuss role of trade in eradicating poverty (WTO)
LDCs’ economies have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, according to a presentation by the WTO Secretariat, which highlighted a 10.3 per cent decline in exports of merchandise trade in 2020 compared to 2019 and a 10.5 per cent decline in imports. This is sharper than the global 7.7 per cent decline in exports and 7.8 per cent decline in imports over the same period. Due to their dependence on travel exports, LDC exports of services are estimated to have dropped around 40 per cent in the first three quarters of 2020, double the decline experienced by the rest of the world (19 per cent). The ongoing crisis has revealed the importance of building LDCs’ trade infrastructure and strengthening their capacities to keep the pandemic in check and better integrate into the world economy, Chad said, on behalf of the LDC Group.
TRIPS meet: India, S Africa to rework patent proposal (Times of India)
The European Union (EU), the UK and Switzerland on Thursday refused to support talks for easing patent rules for vaccines, although World Trade Organization (WTO) members did recognise serious challenges being faced in production and distribution of Covid products, including vaccines. During a meeting of the TRIPS Council, which is discussing India and South Africa’s joint proposal for flexibility in the patent regime to facilitate access to vaccines in poorer countries, especially Africa, the Indian delegation made it clear that the existing approach of voluntary licences could only deliver vaccines to 4% of the global population, sources familiar with the deliberations told TOI.
Rich countries are refusing to waive the rights on Covid vaccines as global cases hit record levels (CNB)
The U.S., Canada and U.K. are among some of the high-income countries actively blocking a patent-waiver proposal designed to boost the global production of Covid-19 vaccines. It comes as coronavirus cases worldwide surge to their highest level so far and the World Health Organization has repeatedly admonished a “shocking imbalance” in the distribution of vaccines amid the pandemic. The landmark proposal, which was jointly submitted by India and South Africa in October, has been backed by more than 100 mostly developing countries. It aims to facilitate the manufacture of treatments locally and boost the global vaccination campaign.
Shipping during COVID-19: Why container freight rates have surged (UNCTAD)
When the Ever Given megaship blocked traffic in the Suez Canal for almost a week in March, it triggered a new surge in container spot freight rates, which had finally started to settle from the all-time highs reached during the COVID-19 pandemic. Container rates have a particular impact on global trade, since almost all manufactured goods – including clothes, medicines and processed food products – are shipped in containers. “The ripples will hit most consumers,” Mr. Hoffmann said. “Many businesses won’t be able to bear the brunt of the higher rates and will pass them on to their customers.” A new UNCTAD policy brief examines why freight rates surged during the pandemic and what must be done to avoid a similar situation in the future.
African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina on Thursday joined 40 heads of state and government at the Leaders Summit on Climate, where the United States, Japan and Canada announced ambitious climate targets to address the escalating emergency. During a panel discussion titled “Financing the 10-year Sprint,” Adesina spelled out the challenge that confronts the African continent as the climate crisis worsens and the world races to meet the 2030 deadline for the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. “The continent loses $7 billion to $15 billion a year to climate change, and this will rise to $50 billion per year by 2040, according to the IMF. Africa is not at net zero. Africa is at ground zero. We must therefore give Africa a lift to get a chance of adapting to what it did not cause.”
How governments can support more entrepreneurs after COVID (WEF)
In the wake of COVID-19, most governments face unprecedented unemployment. This is particularly challenging in developing economies, which lack robust social safety nets and where unemployment and poverty were pronounced before the pandemic. This situation can potentially hasten ‘brain drain’ and increase the appeal of joining extremist groups. Between May and August 2020, we undertook a study to explore ways to address these government shortcomings. It examined interventions to stimulate entrepreneurship in frontier and emerging markets with the concept of “entrepreneurial communities” at the centre (an expansion of Brad Feld’s thinking on startup communities in the US).
Reduced Losses but Continued Pain in 2021 (IATA)
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects net airline industry losses of $47.7 billion in 2021 (net profit margin of -10.4%). “This crisis is longer and deeper than anyone could have expected. Losses will be reduced from 2020, but the pain of the crisis increases. There is optimism in domestic markets where aviation’s hallmark resilience is demonstrated by rebounds in markets without internal travel restrictions. Government imposed travel restrictions, however, continue to dampen the strong underlying demand for international travel. Despite an estimated 2.4 billion people travelling by air in 2021, airlines will burn through a further $81 billion of cash,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Resilience Needed to Jump Start Final Stages of Energy Transition (Modern Diplomacy)
As countries continue their progress in transitioning to clean energy, it is critical to root the transition in economic, political and social practices to ensure progress is irreversible, according to the latest edition of World Economic Forum’s Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2021 report published today. In its 10th edition, the report, published in collaboration with Accenture, draws on insights from the Energy Transition Index (ETI) 2021. The index benchmarks 115 countries on the current performance of their energy systems across the three dimensions of the energy triangle: economic development and growth, environmental sustainability, and energy security and access indicators – and their readiness to transition to secure, sustainable, affordable, and inclusive energy systems.
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Port of Cape Town requires urgent Presidential attention, says Maynier (Engineering News)
Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier says he is encouraged by the recent commitment made by President Cyril Ramaphosa to make the country’s ports more efficient and competitive. However, he also notes his concern that the Port of Cape Town may be deprioritised in the overall strategy going forward, given the extensive focus on the Port of Durban.
Recovery plan for COVID-19 hit tourism sector (SAnews)
When South Africa implemented lockdown restrictions, one of the sectors that was most affected was tourism, with businesses remaining shut even when economic activity resumed, “The plan represents the collective response by government and the tourism sector to the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The draft plan was released for public consultation in August 2020,” said Acting Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni on Thursday. She said the plan proposes seven strategic interventions, which include stimulating domestic demand; launching investment and resource mobilisation programmes; and regional tourism integration
Second avian flu outbreak reported in the North West and Lesotho bans eggs from SA (Business Insider)
A second outbreak of avian influenza has been detected in the North West province, a week after it was found at a commercial layer farm in the east of Johannesburg. The South African Poultry Association reported that an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5 virus was detected on a broiler breeder farm in North West. The farm has had to cull 7,000 broiler breeder birds, the poultry industry body said in a statement. “Quarantine protocols remain in place on the farm concerned, the farm workers are issued personal protective equipment daily, and the farm is being sterilised before accepting new layers,” it said. In the meantime, Lesotho is the latest country to ban poultry products coming from South Africa. However, it has only banned eggs coming from Gauteng.
Namibia strides ahead with economic diplomacy (The Southern Times)
Namibia will continue to create synergies for local businesses with international partners as part of a deliberate economic diplomacy thrust to strategically position the economy to get as many benefits as possible out of the African Free Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Deputy Prime Minister and International Relations and Co-operation Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has said. She was addressing parliament this week while motivating her ministry’s budget allocation. “In line with the strategic objectives of the ministry to pursue economic diplomacy with special emphasis on creating market access for our products, the ministry will seek niche markets for Namibian products. (For instance) Namibian salt is in demand in many parts of Africa and beyond for household and industrial purposes.
Namibia tourism sector to take years to recover (CAJ News Africa)
Analysts forecast it would take at least two years for Namibia’s tourism sector to recover from the decline fuelled by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This is attributed to a decline in global tourism amid lockdowns as well as the Southern African country’s slow rate of vaccination. Daniel Kavishe and Neville Mandimika, the analysts at Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) made the projections. “We estimate that it will take 2-3 years before tourism and travel return to pre-pandemic levels, especially given generally weaker global tourism, but also in light of Namibia’s slow pace of vaccination relative to other tourist destinations in Africa,” the duo said in a joint statement.
Chopper border patrols deter smuggling (The Herald)
The introduction of helicopter patrols by security officials has resulted in reduced cases of smuggling along the country’s border with South Africa. “We are not going back with this operation “No to Cross-border Crimes’”. As the police, we encourage travellers and importers/exports to use formal borders rather than choosing to break the law. Let me warn such people that we will not fold our hands and allow lawlessness,” Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said.
US seeks more time in Kenya trade talks (Business Daily)
A new trade deal between Kenya and the US may delay after President Joe Biden’s administration sought more time to scrutinise the pact that had been negotiated by his predecessor, Donald Trump. The request by Washington could affect a critical deadline for securing swift passage of the deal in the US Congress. “The US side requested us to give them a few weeks,” said Trade Principal Secretary Johnson Weru. “So they will get back to us soon.” The trade deal now stands a slim chance of being covered by a “fast-track” legislation known as the Trade Promotion Authority, (TPA) which expires in two months, raising the prospect of further delays. Technically, the current TPA allowing a special vote on trade deals with no amendments, expires July 1, 2021.
Trade deficits widens on fuel, manufactured goods imports (Business Daily)
Kenya’s trade deficit widened by 13.49 per cent in the first two months of the year, largely on increased expenditure on manufactured materials and fuel imports. The trade deficit – the gap between imports and exports – increased to Sh198.64 billion from Sh175.03 billion a year ago amid reduced disruptions in global supply chains and increased cost of shipping in fuel. The value of imports rose 10.78 per cent to Sh320.45 billion between January-February 2021, provisional trade data published by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) suggests a higher growth than 6.63 per cent to Sh121.81 billion for exports. A persistently higher trade deficit, economists say, slows down the creation of new job opportunities for the growing skilled youth as most revenue earned within Kenya is spent on buying goods from foreign factories, raising production and job openings in source markets.
Kenya, DRC sign deals on security, trade and transport (The East African)
Kenya has signed crucial agreements on transport, security and trade with the Democratic Republic of Congo, signalling a push to improve low figures of business between them. The Agreement on Maritime Freight Management, revised from earlier arrangements, will be the basic legal framework in handling all freight cargo coming through Mombasa destined for the DRC. When fully implemented, the deal will address delays on DRC imports by dedicating clearing channels for the goods headed for the DR Congo market.
Lapsset project works still on, nine years later (The East African)
As the region looks forward to the commencement of works on proposed joint Uganda, Tanzania East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), Kenya’s $1.5 billion Lokichar to Lamu Crude Oil Pipeline under the Lamu Port-South Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor (Lapsset) project has been in the works since 2012. According to Maina Kiondo, the director general of Lapsset, it is work in progress and currently, the environmental social impact assessment report on the project is undergoing public participation. “Our plans for the pipeline are advanced and the project has undergone a major transformation from completion of initial preliminary studies to completion of Front End Engineering Designs,” said Mr Kiondo.
Kenya mulls strategy to drive post-COVID-19 tourism recovery (CGTN Africa)
Kenya plans to launch a strategy to drive the post-COVID-19 tourism recovery, a government official said Wednesday. Najib Balala, cabinet secretary with the Ministry for Tourism and Wildlife, told journalists in Nairobi that the sector has been the hardest hit by the restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the pandemic. “We should complete the strategy in a couple of weeks and commission it in a month’s time,” Balala said during the official launch of the COVID-19 vaccination drive for all frontline workers in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Tanzania overtakes South Africa as Kenya’s top remittance source (The East African)
Dollar inflows from African countries into Kenya dropped 65.9 per cent in the first three months this year, with Tanzania overtaking South Africa as the biggest source of remittances. New data by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that Kenyans living across the continent sent home $39 million (Ksh4.2 billion) between January and March compared to $114.7 million (Ksh12.3 billion) in a similar period of 2020. The sharp decline in inflows was driven by lower remittances from South Africa, which was the biggest source last year but has since slipped behind Tanzania and Uganda. In Africa, most governments lacked adequate spending power amid falling tax revenues and huge debt payments, which left residents hit by the pandemic without any support.
Case against pipeline project delayed (Daily Monitor)
A case seeking to stop construction of the oil pipeline from Uganda to Tanzania for failing to conduct an environmental and social impact assessment has failed to take off even as the two countries proceed with implementation of the project. In November last year, four non-governmental organisations moved to the East African Court of Justice to block the construction of the 1,445-kilometre pipeline which starts in Hoima in the Albertine Graben, western Uganda, and ends at Tanga port in Tanzania. On April 11, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and his Tanzania counterpart President Samia Suluhu signed a deal for the $3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), now touted as a strategic win for Tanzania which will earn $12.7 off each barrel of oil transported through it.
Support EAC organs to stop endless trade wars (Business Daily)
The Kenya-Uganda trade war should be a wake-up call to the East African Community (EAC) whose key mandates include enhancing and smoothening commercial relations among the member states. It is now common to see countries making unilateral trade decisions, striking side deals and fighting each other, completely usurping the role of the EAC secretariat and negating the whole point of belonging to a common market. The latest tiff pits Kenya against Uganda, with the former seeking a review of taxes imposed on its exports by Kampala. Uganda is charging an 18 percent value added tax (VAT), a six percent withholding tax and a one percent railway levy on poultry products imported from Kenya.
Sugar Council chief: backward integration will create jobs (The Nation Online)
The Executive Secretary, National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr. Zacch Adedeji, yesterday said the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) designed for the sugar industry can tackle unemployment and socio-economic issues bedeviling the country. “The sugar sector is a goldmine that holds numerous potential and opportunities for Nigeria and Nigerians.” He called for concerted efforts toward full implementation of the Backward Integration Programme for the sugar industry which was crucial to Nigeria’s quest to attain self-sufficiency in sugar production.
‘Nigerian ports undermining trade, industrialisation’ (Guardian Nigeria)
Stakeholders have decried the state of Nigerian seaports, saying they are largely underdeveloped, poorly ranked among their peers in the West Africa sub-region, and undermining the ease of doing business. According to the stakeholders, Nigerian seaports remain at the potential level despite their impacts on other value-chains of the economy. Speaking at the virtual inauguration of the maritime group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), yesterday, the President of the Chamber, Toki Mabogunje, stated that no economy can be competitive in the international trade circle without an efficient maritime sector. She added that over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s imports and exports to the rest of the world are conveyed via sea, underscoring the strategic importance of maritime to domestic and global trade.
Trade Hub Co-Investment With Ag Technology Company To Boost Soybean Yields For Nigerian Farmers (Africa.com)
The USAID-funded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub) has launched a co-investment partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), through its Business Incubation Platform (IITA BIP), to boost the soybean value chain in Nigeria. The IITA BIP provides expertise and training in commercial agriculture and farm management, as well as opportunities for market expansion. According to IITA BIP, the demand for soybean in the country far exceeds the supply, with average yields below current rates in other parts of Africa and the world. To help counter this, IITA BIP will leverage a $300,000 co-investment grant from the Trade Hub to accelerate the production of a new variety of high yielding soybean seed for uptake by commercial seed companies in Nigeria.
Senate Seeks Policies to Encourage Local Investors in Cement Production (THISDAY Newspapers)
The Senate has called on the federal government to provide more industrial incentives and protections such as concessionary loans and larger tax incentives for new entrants into the local cement production with a view to boosting production, reduction of price and encouragement of more valuable producers in the country. The Senate passed a resolution at yesterday’s plenary, following the adoption of a motion, entitled, ‘Need for Liberalisation of Cement policy in Nigeria,’ sponsored by Senator Ashiru Yisa (Kwara South) and five others.
Delegates meet in Congo to deliberate on successful implementation of AFCTFA (GhanaWeb)
Heads of National Shippers Councils are in Democratic Republic Congo’s capital Kinshasa, to roll out strategies and cooperation mechanism with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat for a successful implementation. “The start of trading under this initiative has shown that we will become economically independent in Africa. I want to declare that my desire is to see this collective effort transform our economies,” DRC President, Felix Tshisekedi, said. Africa is endowed with a lot of natural resources but most of its exports are unprocessed. “When we join our efforts as a bloc, we become stronger but if we are going individually we will not be strong enough and the sense of the African Continental Free Trade Area is that. We need to be a strong bloc of Africans,” Sayiba Tambwe, CEO DRC Multimodal Freight Management Office.
Ghana begins digital verification of COVID-19 test results (Graphic Online)
Ghana(GHS) has become the first country in the ECOWAS Sub region to deploy a system for digital verification of COVID-19 PCR test results. The platform, based on the African Union Trusted Travel and ECOWAS BIOMARS standard, would help stop the circulation of fake test results.
Duty free import regulation on basic food items necessary and timely (Ethiopian Press Agency)
Last week the Ministry of trade and industry issued a timely regulation which allowed companies to import basic food items like rice, flour and other food items on duty free. Over the last two years, particularly in the advent of COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia, the government has issued far reaching austerity measures that helped to make the national economy to stay on track. Ministry of Trade and Industry Communication Affairs Director, Mr Wondimu Flate, said food, sugar, bread, rice and baby milk are allowed to be imported duty-free.
AfDB extends US$174.08mn loan to bolster Egypt’s railway safety and reliability (African Review)
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a loan of US$174.08mn to finance reliability and performance upgrades to the country’s rail system under the Egypt National Railways Modernisation Project (ENRMP). Rail transport is central to Egypt’s economy and competitiveness. Rail passenger and freight traffic are expected to increase to 15% and 10% respectively by 2029 as a result of the bank’s loan and other investments in the project. Currently, 8% of passenger traffic and 6% of freight traffic respectively move by rail. The planned upgrades are expected to benefit low-income Egyptians, about 40% of the population, who rely on trains as an affordable mode of transport.
Ministry: Egypt world’s 1st exporter of citrus (EgyptToday)
During an interview with Extra News channel, Qersh noted that the Egyptian products reach all the world’s continents, pointing to a plan which is based on three major axes to increase the agricultural exports by opening new markets in new countries, monitoring the quality, and increasing the farmers’ awareness.
African regional and continental news
Inaugural Meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
The AfCFTA Secretariat is committed to promoting trade as a stimulus for Africa’s socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. One of the key elements of the Agreement is the Dispute Settlement Body Protocol that will be officially inaugurated by the Senior Trade Officials Meeting Monday 26th of April 2021. The officials will Election of New Bureau.
The system is inspired by those aspects of the WTO system that have proved effective such as trusted panels appointed by Members, an Appellate Body steeped in trade expertise, reverse consensus on key decisions etc. But it departs from and improves on those aspects that have not worked such as only one term for AB members, no single Member State can block the appointment of AB, and has fixed the conflict of “sequencing” that is a feature of the WTO system.
Vodacom, AUDA-Nepad launch mVacciNation digital toolbox (Engineering News)
Telecommunications giant Vodacom Group and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-Nepad) have joined forces to deploy a mobile technology platform that manages vaccination appointments and stock availability. Developed by Vodacom Group member Mezzanine, the mVacciNation digital toolbox will be offered to African Union member States to accelerate the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out. This is the first project within the public-private partnership formed between Vodacom Group and AUDA-Nepad to boost Africa’s digital transformation and build resilience for the post-Covid world.
African Ministers of Air Transport adopt Common Position regarding International Travel (Africanews)
H.E Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy convened an extra ordinary meeting of Ministers of Air Transport and key stakeholders on 15th April 2021 to discuss this issue of green vaccine passport/certificates with objective to agree on a common African position and establish a mechanism to properly communicate the position to responsible institutions and partners. H.E Abou-Zeid informed the meeting that the various initiatives taken by the AU Department of Infrastructure and Energy in collaboration with African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), Africa CDC, ICAO, AFRAA, IATA and other air transport stakeholders to ensure a sustainable restart and recovery of the African air transport sector are facing important challenges including travel bans and restrictions preventing African citizen to travel to other continents. Moreover, some developed countries have recently introduced an initiative of green vaccine passports/certificates, making it a mandatory entry requirement for African countries.
The Covid-19 global pandemic has amplified the need to address issues related to Intellectual Property (IP) and human rights as well as for taking steps to benefit from TRIPS flexibilities to ensure access to medicines for all. As least developed countries (LDCs) join the rest of the world in rolling out Covid-19 vaccines, there are concerns over access, transparency, equity and human rights violations. Against this backdrop, SADC Members of Parliament last week called for all hands on board to build the region’s capacity to produce medicines and ensure citizens benefit from their vast medicinal plant resources.
EAC governments need budgets of survival and recovery (The Independent)
Uganda on April 14-16, hosted the third East African Congress of Accountants to deliberate about economic integration issues. Uganda’s Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, who officially opened the congress on April 15, told participants that regional integration is no longer a matter of choice or debate but has been recognised as one of the key drivers of economic growth and sustainable development.
20th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health underway (EAC)
The 20th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers responsible for Health is currently underway via hybrid (physical and virtual) means. Among the items on the agenda are the consideration of various reports including those on; implementation and development of a monitoring and evaluation mechanism of previous decisions of the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health; status of the Covid-19 pandemic in the EAC region and updates on implementation of the response plan; as well as reports on the operationalization and implementation of the Multi-national East African Regional Centres of Excellence for Skills and Tertiary Education in Higher Medical and Health Sciences Education Program.
Africa quick to take to digital currencies (Business Day)
Economies in sub-Saharan Africa are developing digital financial services. In the larger markets, regulators have taken policy and regulatory measures to support financial institutions’ digital transformation. Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have grabbed the attention of financial authorities worldwide, with governments weighing their feasibility and inherent risks against the potential economic value. Five of the 40 countries the IMF has approved to issue digital currencies are in Africa. African nations’ progress in CBDC research and implementation lays the groundwork for successful adoption in the future. Moreover, it signals the continent’s ability to participate meaningfully in the emerging universal digital payments network.
The ECOWAS Commission is set to organize, from 28th April to 10th May 2021, by videoconference, an international conference to share with its partners and the other regions of the world, the experience of its regional food security storage system. The overall objective is to lay the foundations for a renewed multilateral partnership to strengthen, in a sustainable manner, the resilience of the West African Food Security Storage System and its capacity to respond effectively to the amplification and complexity of food, nutrition, and pastoral crises in the region.
Africa’s international relations
Continuing the UK’s trade relationship with Ghana (web version) (GOV.UK)
Ghana is the United Kingdom’s 75th largest trading partner, accounting for around 0.1% of total trade. Total trade in goods and services between the United Kingdom and Ghana was £1.2 billion in 2019. HM Government expects the United Kingdom-Ghana TPA to support jobs and economic development in Ghana by replicating the effects of its previous trading arrangements with the United Kingdom including duty free and quota free access. This could be of benefit to partner firms producing goods for which the United Kingdom is an important export market and of benefit to consumers through lower prices. In 2019, the United Kingdom’s market accounted for around 39% of Ghana’s exports of tinned tuna, and 21% of Ghana’s exports of bananas.
Commander Says Africa Too Important For US To Ignore (Eurasia Review)
Africa is a fascinating continent of tremendous possibilities but also tremendous dangers, and the U.S. ignores the nations of Africa at its own peril, the commander of the U.S. Africa Command said during an interview. Africa has 13 of the 25 fastest growing economies in the world, Townsend said. In a time of climate change, Africa has 60% of the arable land on the globe. “This fact alone should show how important Africa is for the world,” he added. The continent also has a plethora of strategic materials, such as cobalt, chromium, tantalum and more. African resources are critical to 21st century progress.
EU, OACPS to provide €60 mln to support Boost Africa Initiative (Ahram Online)
The European Union (EU), through the European Commission, and the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) has agreed to provide €60 million to the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) joint Boost Africa Initiative to support higher risk investment in Africa. “Young African entrepreneurial talent is thriving. Boost Africa is there to help them in two ways: supporting their business projects financially and also accompanying them in the difficult process from design to implementation,” European Commission Director-General for International Partnerships Koen Doens explained.
Cotton made in Africa cooperates with African Cotton Foundation (Fashion United)
The Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) initiative will join forces with the African Cotton Foundation (ACF) to promote socially and ecologically sustainable cotton cultivation. This includes training and other implementation measures conducted by cotton companies in the CmiA project countries, which will be coordinated by the AFC. They can now apply to the Aid by Trade Foundation – the CmiA’s parent organisation – for co-financing for the implementation of specific activities, especially regarding innovative measures to protect the soil or to promote integrated farming.
Hunan to host 2nd China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (Chinadaily)
The second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held from Sept 26 to 28 in Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan province, according to its organizers. Trade between China and Africa surged by 27 percent on a yearly basis to 52.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs. Ren Hongbin, assistant minister of commerce, said that building a pilot zone for in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa is one of the three strategic tasks of the China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
Creating a New Foreign Policy Agenda for Africa-US Engagement (Premium Times)
I think that the U.S. could work with Africa, either under the auspices of the African Union or indeed through individual countries like Nigeria, to build a better world. Africa should not be seen or used as a pawn in great power games nor as an arena in the contest to secure strategic minerals and natural resources but rather as a partner in building a more secure, a more peaceful and prosperous world.
Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) is the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is the text of the remarks delivered at the 2021 Johns Hopkins African Studies Programme Conference held on Monday April 19.
Global economy news
E-commerce negotiations: Members finalise “clean text” on e-signatures and authentication (WTO)
The clean text on e-signatures and authentication seeks to ensure that the electronic signatures used in an online transaction are not denied their value or legal effect because they are submitted in electronic format. The facilitator of the small group discussion on this topic, Mrs Gintare Kemekliene (European Union), reported that the clean text is the result of the hard work and flexibility of members and derives from 11 proposals tabled by members at the start of the process.
Ministerial meeting eyed for July as fisheries subsidies negotiations enter final phase (WTO)
“We will be asking ministers to meet virtually in July with a focus on fisheries subsidies and possibly one or two other topics,” Director-General Okonjo-Iweala said at a meeting on fisheries subsidies of the Negotiating Group on Rules, which was convened at the level of heads of delegations. “The aim of that meeting will be for ministers to review a very advanced, hopefully final, text,” she said. Before then, an intermediate text containing middle-ground provisions will be important to capture progress made since the most recent version of the draft consolidated text was circulated in December, the chair said.
WTO eyes larger deal on vaccine, medical goods (Times of India)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is looking to go beyond India and South Africa’s proposal on flexibility in patents for vaccines to discuss a possible larger deal on health that includes unhindered movement of vaccines across customs checkpoints and free shipment of medical goods and material across borders to combat Covid. The multilateral body, which sets global trade rules, has been discussing a proposal from India and South Africa for flexibility in the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) so that countries can access technology for vaccine production, especially when the poorer nations, especially in Africa, are finding it difficult. “Mere access to the recipe will not result in production of vaccines,” a source said ahead of the meeting of the TRIPS Council, where the joint proposal is being discussed.
Ahead of a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on Thursday to discuss a proposal to waive certain intellectual property on COVID-19 medical tools during the pandemic, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) commended a recent statement by the new WTO General Director Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, calling on governments to move forward with negotiations on the landmark proposal initially made by India and South Africa last year. As COVID-19 continues to ravage countries across the globe, MSF urged all governments to act in solidarity and support, or at least not block, this crucial proposal.
Keeping cross-border trade thriving – How micro entrepreneurs circumvent the on-going challenges of trading across borders (ITC Trade Forum)
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns drew cross-border activities to a halt, hitting small-scale traders hard. With hardly any business, they had no choice but to use their savings to meet their family's needs. When borders reopened, many traders found themselves unable to restart their business at a level comparable to before the lockdown. New requirements such as holding health certificates to cross borders, and related costs, even made them reconsider their business strategies. But trading is a necessity for these micro entrepreneurs, especially for women who are the most active in this field in Africa.
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National trade and trade-related news
Avian flu outbreak threatens South African poultry industry (WATTAgNet)
Exports are key to the success of South Africa’s poultry companies. Key markets are the South African Development Community and its neighboring states. In 2019, total poultry exports amounted to more than 53,600 metric tons (mt), comprising 94% chicken meat, according to Business Insider. Within South Africa are avian flu-free compartments, and the nation will be working hard to reassure potential trade destinations that poultry products from these areas are safe and disease-free. However, as soon as the outbreak in Gauteng was confirmed, Reuters reported that agriculture ministry in Botswana had banned all poultry trade with South Africa. Within days, other countries had made similar moves. Namibia introduced a retrospective ban on South African poultry products from March 19, reports New Era Live, although imports and transit of products from HPAI-free compartments can continue.
Bumper exports to test SA logistics, says Agbiz (IOL)
South Africa’s logistics will be put to the test again as the country gears up for another bumper agricultural harvest with large export volumes forecast, especially in the horticulture and field crop sub-sectors, according to the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz). The chamber’s chief economist, Wandile Sihlobo, said yesterday: “Apart from the near-term demands, the long-term export-oriented growth in South Africa’s agriculture also requires efficient logistics, which could be achieved through co-operation among all stakeholders so that challenges can be efficiently communicated and attended to. In engagements, Transnet is among some of the most important stakeholders.”
The fresh fruit and vegetables industry accounts for almost a quarter of total farming revenue in South Africa. The coronavirus pandemic has intensified the demand for fresh fruit and vegetables, and the agricultural sector, as a provider of essential goods, was exempt from lockdown restrictions. Growth in the fresh produce sector was underpinned by demand for fresh and healthy products, and by the higher export prices provided by the weak exchange rate. Horticultural exports remain the main contributor to South Africa’s positive agricultural trade balance and fruit has become one of the country’s most lucrative export products. Europe remains the top importing region, accounting for 40% of fruit exports in 2019. In January 2021, the United States government announced the opening of several new ports for the import of citrus products from South Africa.
South Africa makes progress on geographical indications to support rural, agricultural development (Engineering News)
South Africa is making progress on developing legal and regulatory frameworks for geographical indications (GI), which are designations for products that are linked to a region of origin and that have associated qualities. GI has been proven to enable producers to secure better prices for products and helps to ensure fair value is attained by producers and workers, a European Union (EU) and South Africa workshop on GI held by industry organisation the Agricultural Business Council (Agbiz) on April 20 heard. GI helps to improve the investment potential of regions and helps to ensure fair distribution of value along the supply chain, especially for primary producers, said European Commission agriculture and rural development directorate-general international affairs and trade negotiations director John Clarke.
Namibia records its first annual current account surplus since 2007 – N$207 million surplus recorded (Namibia Economist)
Namibia recorded its first annual current account surplus since 2007, recording a surplus of N$207 million (N$3.4 billion) in 2020, from a deficit of N$217 million (N$3.1 billion) in 2019, according to the latest data from the Bank of Namibia. This is a result of the slump in goods imports during the year. The goods balance returned a deficit of N$878 million in 2020, compared with a deficit of N$1.3 billion during the previous year. This was mainly thanks to a much lower merchandise import bill of N$4 billion (-11%) as the value of imports in most subcategories fell. Meanwhile, on the other side of the goods trade ledger, the value of exports fell to N$3.1 billion last year compared with N$3.8 billion in 2019. “The expected loss in revenues from SACU transfers, diamond exports, and services would also give rise to further debt financing by the government, which could reduce the country’s creditworthiness and lead to capital outflows,” Louw said.
Kenya’s Poor Need Different Lockdown Restrictions to Survive, Scientists Urge (Inter Press Service)
Blanket containment measures imposed by Kenya’s government to control the coronavirus pandemic have denied poor slum dwellers access to sufficient nutritious food and livelihoods, according to early findings from an ongoing evidence-based study to assess the impact of COVID-19 on dietary patterns among households in Nairobi’s informal settlements. The study noted that urban slum and non-slum households are impacted differently by the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore differentiated policies and solutions are needed to address food security, nutrition and the livelihoods of these two consumer groups.
Kenya awards Lamu Port road project to China Communications (GCR)
The Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) have signed a $166m deal to construct a 453km road in the Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET). Peter Mundinia, director general of KeNHA, said in a statement that the work would involve a 257km stretch between the shortly-to-be-operational Lamu Port and the town of Garissa (see map), as well as a 113km section between Hindi and Kiunga and an 83km link between Ijara and Hulugho, which are both close to Lamu.
Kenya: Sugar belt road construction to start next month (Business Daily)
The Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) has pushed back the starting date of the 63-kilometre sugar belt road construction, citing approvals delay. KeNHA Director–General Peter Mundinia was optimistic that the permits would be secured within the next week paving the way for works to start on the project that traverses Kisumu, Nandi and Kericho counties. Initially, the project was set to start last October. “We are in the process of getting all the required approvals which is the reason why works on the project is yet to start,” said Mr Mundinia.
US links loss of Kenya State tenders to graft (Business Daily)
The US has decried graft in government tenders in Kenya, saying it locked out qualified American firms from undertaking projects in the country. The US Trade Representative’s office (USTR) claimed that some rogue public officials in Kenya manipulated tender bids to suit their interests and those of their cronies. “US firms have had limited success bidding on government tenders in Kenya. There are widespread reports that corruption often influences the outcome of public tenders, and many of these tenders are challenged in the courts,” it said.
After years of supporting peace, Kenya seeks more market pie in DRC (The East African)
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday made his first ever State visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, seeking to strengthen business ties with Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country by land size. The President’s visit comes as Kenya faces competition for the DRC market, which relies heavily on the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam for imports. Ahead of the trip, Kenyan officials said they were mulling granting various trading privileges to DRC, to entice more of its traders to use the port of Mombasa for importation of goods.
Uganda nets 43pc of Kenya’s sugar imports in deal (Business Daily)
Ugandan sugar will now account for 43 per cent of the total imports by Kenya from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) after Nairobi and Kampala ironed out their trade dispute. Kenya’s Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina and her Ugandan counterpart agreed that the neighbouring State will be allowed to export 90,000 tonnes of the sweetener to Kenya as soon as the verification mission on country of origin is completed. “Regarding Kenya’s restriction of Uganda’s sugar exports, Uganda shall export 90,000 tonnes of wholly originating sugar per annum. The findings of the ongoing sugar sector verification mission shall inform implementation of this decision,” the two governments said in a joint communiqué.
Mozambique Needs to Address Deepening Political Discontent and Widening Socio-Economic Disparity (Modern Ghana)
Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has to make consistent efforts toward addressing the systemic governance deficit, deepening political discontent, and widening socio-economic disparity as the surest possible way to maintain long-term peaceful environment in Mozambique. According to latest report on the Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, released April 15 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, Mozambique needs to address, as swiftly as possible, all kinds of internal conflicts, warning further that the conflicts have serious negative influences on the evolution of the country’s economy.
Emefiele: Nigerian companies to access markets worth $666bn through AfCFTA (TheCable)
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says Nigerian companies will get access to markets worth $666 billion once the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement is implemented. Speaking at the 2021 export seminar organised by Zenith Bank on Tuesday, Emefiele said the AfCFTA aligns with the apex bank’s commitment towards enabling economic growth and creating employment opportunities for Nigeria’s population. “Full implementation of the AfCFTA, is expected to give Nigerian firms preferential access to markets in Africa worth $504.17 billion in goods and $162 billion in services. I believe that we should seize this opportunity to ensure that Nigeria serve as a significant hub for international and domestic manufacturing companies seeking to serve the West, Central and East African Markets.
Nigeria needs to improve its business environment to harness gains from AfCFTA – CBN Gov (Global Financial Digest)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday said improving the business environment in Nigeria is vital if “we are to harness the gains from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).”According to the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, the CBN through its Trade Monitoring System portal (TRMS) is also helping to reduce the time it takes to complete export documentation process. “Supporting greater trade within Africa would also require the presence of a viable payment settlement system. In this regard, the CBN is working with key stakeholders in the African continent, particularly the Afrexim Bank to improve the underlying payment infrastructure to support greater intra-regional trade, through the Pan African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS).”
Trade minister reaffirms gov’t commitment to affordable, accessible commodities to Gambians (The Point)
Speaking at a news conference at Banjul on Monday, Minister Seedy Keita said: “My Ministry is aware that increases in food prices can have a major impact on the living standards of lower-income households, which generally spend most of their income on food.” “The Gambia is a net importer of food like many other developing countries are now feeling the impact of the pandemic in the domestic market in a form of price hikes,” he said. The Trade Minister said his ministry has put mechanisms in place to lessen the pressure on consumers justifying that it has worked with Gambia Port Authority (GPA) officials facilitating quick offloading of vessels carrying essential goods.
Trade Minister urges closer ties between Ghana, Swiss investor (Ghanaian Times)
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen has called for improved partnership between Ghana and Swiss investors in developing Ghana’s pharmaceutical and machinery manufacturing industries. “With the expertise of Switzerland in this sector, Ghana stands a chance to learn a lot from Switzerland and the manufacturing of industrial machinery and equipment will reinforce our capacity to pursue industrialisation,” he added. He was speaking in Accra on Friday when the Switzerland Ambassador to Ghana, Philipp Stalder, paid him a courtesy call.
Establish Ghana-Canada business council to facilitate trade – Trade Minister proposes (GhanaWeb)
Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, has proposed to Canada’s Ambassador to Ghana for the establishment of a Ghana-Canada Business Council. According to the minister, the council when actualized will act as a platform to facilitate trade and investments and commercial relation challenges between the two countries. Making the proposal during a courtesy call on the minister by the Canadian Ambassador, Ms. Kati Csaba, Alan Kyerematen proffered that the council would offer prospects of a vital engagement in the business space and private sector development.
African regional and continental trade
Report: Africa Recorded $5bn Capital Flight in Q1 2020 (THISDAY Newspapers)
The African Trade Finance Report (ATFR) has revealed that Africa suffered more than $5 billion capital flight in the first quarter of 2020, due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic disease. A statement from Afreximbank on Monday, stated that the ATFR, was commissioned by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank and the Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership, to provide a better understanding of the trade finance landscape across Africa and how it has evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oramah said: “The tightening of global financial conditions triggered massive capital outflows from Africa, exceeding $5 billion in the first quarter of 2020. “These massive capital outflows strained African banks, many of which recorded sharp drops in their net foreign assets. This further exacerbated liquidity constraints and undermined the capacity of banks to finance African trade.” It noted that the tightening of financing conditions heightened balance of payment pressures and liquidity constraints, which affected the supply of trade finance between January and April 2020, the period covered by the survey.
SACU preps for AfCFTA rollout (The Southern Times)
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is laying the foundation for implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with consultations on conformity measures underway. SACU Executive Secretary Ms Paulina Elago said the AfCFTA was a game-changer for the continent’s development as envisioned by the African Union’s Agenda 2063 roadmap. In a webinar organised in partnership with the Trade Law Centre, Ms Elago said: “For SACU, the importance attached to the AfCFTA cannot be over emphasised. The AfCFTA will enable the SACU region and the Continent at large to deepen integration, a move that is in line with SACU’s own objectives. For this reason, SACU has placed the implementation of the AfCFTA among its top priorities.” Ms Elago said SACU had tabled an initial tariff offer comprising around 5,988 tariff lines, representing 77 percent of the bloc’s tariff book.
Why East Africa is adopting technology to collect tax (IPP Media)
Data shows the region has borne the brunt of cross-border illicit trade – including counterfeits, smuggling and bootlegging, with Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda reportedly losing a combined $3.2 billion in annual revenues to illicit trade. Regional countries have in recent years intensified war on the malpractices by adopting new technological systems including digital stamps. The recent adoption of digital tax stamps (DTS) on cement and sugar earlier this month by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) was a big step towards winning the battle. It became the fourth country among the East African Community (EAC) member states to adopt digital stamps in deliberate efforts to fill revenue leakage loopholes. Digital stamps enable the government to use modern technology to obtain production data on a timely basis from manufacturers.
Five Big Bets for the Circular Economy in Africa (AfDB)
In the face of growing global concerns regarding resource use and economic sustainability, the concept of a circular economy has emerged as an alternative production and consumption model. The circular economy promotes the conservation of finite resources while preserving the environment. It also presents opportunities for economic development, job creation and building new enterprises. For African countries, circular solutions can be leveraged to attain various climate action obligations and sustainable development goals. This is an opportunity to tackle issues such as poverty, poor infrastructure and unemployment, among others that have hindered economic development.
East African women traders: ‘Celebrating the past, planning for the future’ (Devdiscourse)
Women in East Africa can look back over recent history with a sense of struggle and accomplishment, of regression and progression. Women’s activism was ingrained in many of the independence movements that took hold across the region throughout the 20th century. In many respects, East Africa has achieved greater gender parity than many other parts of the world. But increased representation has not always translated to real changes for ordinary women, especially in the world of business, a historic central pillar of the global drive for equality.
Venture capitalist Vusi Thembekwayo outlines Africa’s investment potential (Knight Frank)
South African venture capitalist Vusi Thembekwayo highlights the opportunities on offer to investors across Africa – and tackles the tough questions the continent needs to answer before it can fulfil its true potential.
Do you think Africa could become more competitive and fulfil some of the roles for the rest of the world that China has been fulfilling because of these changes? I think we’ll increasingly see more African countries move away from primary industries as a major source of GDP towards secondary and tertiary industries and beneficiating some of those goods and services.
Global economy news
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought social and economic disruption worldwide, but is also providing governments with the opportunity to put economies on a more sustainable and inclusive growth path while addressing the underlying challenges, according to the OECD’s Going for Growth policy report. Going for Growth 2021: Shaping a Vibrant Recovery analyses pre-existing weaknesses as well as those brought on by the pandemic, and offers policy makers country-specific advice to seize the opportunity for a fundamental reset.
Coronavirus vaccine scams pose a growing threat to global health, economy (South China Morning Post)
The World Health Organization and Interpol recently raised concerns about a spike in fake coronavirus vaccines. The news came at a time when vaccine shortages are slowing the progress of immunisation campaigns in many countries. The alarm call highlights the growing threat of illegal trade and counterfeit goods. If left unchecked, it risks allowing the illegal industry to grow at a time when we face an unprecedented health and economic crisis.
How ‘vaccine passports’ could exacerbate global inequities (Devex)
Kenyan officials accused the United Kingdom of “vaccine apartheid” this month after London added the East African country to its “red list” – the 39 countries where the U.K. bars entry to anyone who’s been within their borders in the previous 10 days. British officials say the ban is necessary to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 variants. But the broader restriction on who is allowed to travel regionally and internationally, specifically, may ultimately “compound the economic harm of the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries and keep students, scientists, and many others from participating in the globalized world, potentially for years to come,” Kavanagh said.
Can less industrialised countries benefit from post-pandemic digitalisation? (Equal Times)
When the Covid-19 pandemic forced families across the world to stay home, half of them didn’t even have internet access. According to UNESCO, just 55 per cent of global households had access to the internet before the pandemic. Around 3.7 billion people remain unconnected. According to an analysis published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): “The least developed countries are the most vulnerable to the human and economic consequences of the pandemic, and they also lag farthest behind in digital readiness. Only one in five people in LDCs use the internet, and in most developing countries, well below 5 per cent of the population currently buy goods or services online.”
A Future with High Public Debt: Low-for-Long Is Not Low Forever (IMF Blog)
Many countries are experiencing a combination of high public debt and low interest rates. This was already the case in advanced economies even prior to the pandemic but has become even starker in its aftermath. A growing number of emerging market and developing economies are likewise enjoying a period of negative real rates – the interest rate minus inflation – on government debt. The IMF has called on countries to spend as much as they can to protect the vulnerable and limit long-lasting damage to economies, stressing the need for spending to be well targeted. This is especially critical in emerging market and developing economies, which face tighter constraints and associated fiscal risks, where greater prioritization of spending is of the essence.
Commodity Prices to Stabilize after Early 2021 Gains, World Bank (World Bank)
Commodity prices continued their recovery in the first quarter of 2021 and are expected to remain close to current levels throughout the year, lifted by the global economic rebound and improved growth prospects, according to the World Bank’s semi-annual Commodity Markets Outlook. However, the outlook is heavily dependent on progress in containing the COVID-19 pandemic as well as policy support measures in advanced economies and production decisions in major commodity producers.
What’s up on services? The WTO’s Trade Monitoring Database can help! (WTO)
Services has become an increasingly important part of global trade, amounting to about half of world trade in value-added terms. Services trade policies are key determinants of overall economic productivity and trade performance. The addition of services is a complement to the existing information on measures related to trade in goods contained in the Trade Monitoring Database, which was revamped in 2019 to facilitate access to information on trade measures taken by WTO members and observers. Measures relating to intellectual property were also added to the Monitoring Database in 2021.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Secretary-General’s Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance today launched the ‘SDG Investor Platform,’ an innovative tool to facilitate private sector investments that contribute to furthering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Building on the SDG Investor Maps – created by UNDP’s SDG Finance initiative SDG Impact – and leveraging on UNDP’s presence in more than 170 countries and territories, the SDG Investor Platform – established in partnership with the GISD Alliance – provides private sector investors with access to country level market intelligence, including on-the-ground insights on the local investment landscape and investor connections.
WJP Rule of Law Index 2020 (World Justice Project)
More countries declined than improved in overall rule of law performance for a third year in a row, continuing a negative slide toward weakening and stagnating rule of law around the world. The majority of countries showing deteriorating rule of law in the 2020 Index also declined in the previous year, demonstrating a persistent downward trend. Countries with the strongest improvement in rule of law were Ethiopia (5.6% increase in score, driven primarily by gains in Constraints on Government Powers and Fundamental Rights). The most downward movement in the rule of law was seen in Cameroon (-4.4%, driven primarily by falling scores in Order and Security and Fundamental Rights).
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National trade and trade-related news
Durban Port to reclaim its place as the best-performing port in Africa (SAnews)
President Cyril Ramaphosa says through both operational improvements and structural reforms, the Durban Port will reclaim its place as the best-performing port in Africa. “As part of our Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, we will continue to work tirelessly to expand infrastructure investment and transform our network industries,” President Ramaphosa said after his recent visit at the Durban Port. In his weekly Newsletter, President Ramaphosa said if the port does not function efficiently, the entire economy suffers, from importers and exporters to consumers. “On the other hand, if the port works well it can drive economic growth and position our country as a gateway to the region and the continent,” he said.
Department assesses impact of Special Economic Zones (SAnews)
Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister, Nomalungelo Gina, has kicked off her week-long visit to KwaZulu-Natal with a visit to the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ). Gina’s visit is part of the national Siyahlola Programme whose purpose is to assess progress made in the implementation of the Special Economic Zones Programme (SEZ), Revitalisation of Industrial Parks Programme and the sector-specific Master Plans that are part of the re-imagined national industrial development strategy. “The SEZ Programme has managed to attract a significant number of investors. This has seen the value of operational investments increasing from R17.7 billion by the end of the third quarter of the 2019-2020 financial year to R19.5 billion by the end of the third quarter of the 2020-2021 financial year.
South Africa faces logistics challenges (Fruitnet.com)
South Africa’s Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) has warned that the demand for export containers is likely to be high between April and October this year. This is due to the fact that citrus growers and deciduous and subtropical exporters will during this period compete strongly for available containers. The CGA noted that the forecast for the season and the equipment required to service export markets had been discussed with port authorities for some time, as well as with shipping lines. Further investigation identified the global challenge in the repositioning of reefer equipment to where it is most needed.
Agribusiness in 2020 and what to expect in 2021 (Farmers Review Africa)
Agriculture showed its resilience and agility in a depressed economy and at the back of COVID-19 with strong growth and good trade results in 2020. The pandemic brought tough trading conditions both domestically and internationally due to lockdown restrictions. Despite these challenges, South Africa’s formal food supply chains remained resilient and functional. In 2020, much of the agricultural sector saw bumper crops, and a reduction in wheat imports and citrus farmers enjoying a big increase in exports were good gains for the industry. The momentum is expected to continue in 2021.
Mineral sales keep breaking records (Moneyweb)
Boosted by signs of a new commodity price super-cycle, South Africa’s mineral sales keep on moving into higher gear, with a new record level having been attained for the first two months of the year. So far this year, mineral sales have become even more rampant, with a further increase of more than 25% over the 2020 figure. To put the value of mineral sales of R120 billion during January and February into perspective, it is equal to the total output of the agricultural sector in 2020. A direct consequence of the sterling performance of the mining sector is a handsome cumulative trade surplus for January and February, namely more than R41 billion. An indirect consequence that has an important bearing on the future direction of monetary policy is the impact on the value of the rand exchange rate.
South African manufacturing requires a boost, conducive environment, says Mavuso (Engineering News)
Since 1994, manufacturing has shrunk as a proportion of gross domestic product, from 21.5% to 13.3%, independent organisation Business leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso notes in her weekly newsletter. In part, she says this deindustrialisation stems from a rationalisation of the Apartheid economy, which was inefficiently producing goods behind sanctions barriers.
Kenya sets up team to boost regional aviation hub status (Business Daily)
Kenya has established a multi-sectoral committee to reinforce the efficiency and security of its international air services as it positions itself as a regional hub. Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia said the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority will host the secretariat of the team to be known as the National Air Transport Facilitation Committee whose members will include officers from the security and intelligence agencies as well as the Immigration Services Department, the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Kenya Tourism Board.
The team will be tasked with developing and reviewing policies relating to clearance formalities applied to international air transport services, ensuring the development and implementation of the National Air Transport Facilitation Programme besides ensuring that passengers, cargo and mail are cleared through airports in line with ICAO standards and best international practices.
Kenya hires US firm to lobby trade deals with Washington (Nation)
The government has hired a US lobbying and public relations firm as it pushes to conclude trade agreement with Washington. Rational 360, whose partners and senior employees consist of veterans of Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama administrations, will “serve as a government relations manager…which will consist generally of relationship-building with government and non-governmental officials, and communications counsel and management services”. The one-year contract, which started on April 12, will see the Kenyan taxpayer fork out $600,000 (Sh64.5 million), paid at Sh16.1 million every three months.
Private sector welcomes Kenya-Uganda trade deal (Daily Monitor)
After six days of joint mission verification of the sugar sub-sector, a decision to allow Uganda’s sugar exports access to the Kenyan market was last Thursday collectively endorsed, bringing to an end about three years of brewing trade hostilities between the two countries. Private sector players are now hoping that the two governments will quickly implement what they jointly agreed upon in a communique they both endorsed. When contacted yesterday, Mr Jim Kabeho, the Uganda Sugar Manufacturers Association chairperson, noted that the two government must go beyond words as contained in the joint communique and enforce the agreed position. “The good news is that the Kenyans have established for themselves that we have surplus sugar as demonstrated by raw cane from Uganda that ends up in their country. They have also noticed that more sugar processors have opened up shop, an indication that we have the capacity to produce surplus sugar,” he added.
Kenya, Uganda agree on ceasefire in trade war (The East African)
Kenya and Uganda have reached an agreement to resolve the persistent trade dispute between them following a seven-day visit by officials from Nairobi to Kampala. Led by Cabinet Secretary for Trade and Industry Betty Maina, the Kenyan officials visited Uganda from April 11 to discuss non-tariff barriers (NTBs) affecting trade between the two countries and verify the Ugandan sugar industry to ensure that exports of the product into Kenya are wholly produced in Uganda. Under the new framework of trade co-operation, Kenya will import up to 90,000 metric tonnes of Ugandan sugar per year and, from July 1, when the new financial year begins, abolish a 35 percent excise duty on liquid petroleum gas cylinders manufactured in Uganda.
Traders defy Ugandan poultry products import ban (Business Daily)
Kenyan traders are still importing poultry products from Uganda despite a ban imposed in January. Through a memo issued to stakeholders, the Directorate of Veterinary Services stopped all chicken, meat and egg importation to cushion local producers amid low demand from restaurants and eateries following Covid-19 economic disruption. Importers have, however, found ways to import the products into the country, defying the ban and leading to an outcry from local producers who were hoping to ride on the reduced competition to stay afloat during the Covid-19 restriction period.
Economic recovery to remain subdued, BoU maintains CBR (Daily Monitor)
Bank of Uganda has said the economy will remain subdued even as there has been gradual recovery in the first quarter of 2021. Speaking during the release of the April Monetary Policy report in Kampala yesterday, Bank of Uganda said the Central Bank Rate would be maintained at 7 per cent, for the fourth month, to support economic recovery and encourage a reduction in commercial bank lending rate. Mr Mutebile also noted that there was need to slow down the growth of the country’s debt through fiscal adjustment. Debt remains a challenge, which continues to dampen growth prospects with a lot of money spent to debt and interest repayment.
Local firms not ready for AfCFTA – BB (Mmegi Online)
Business Botswana (BB) is concerned that the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, will not be fully exploited by local businesses. The agreement is expected to give Batswana the opportunity to benefit from inter-regional trade within the African continent, and greatly contribute to the growth and diversification of the country’s economy. However, briefing the media this week, BB president Gobusamang Keebine said the local manufacturing industry is not ready for the export market. “There are only a handful of local businesses who will participate, as most of them are not export-ready. Government should consider involving the private sector about these bilateral agreements before signing them,” he said.
Uganda introduces digital tax stamps use on sugar, cement (The Citizen)
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) started using digital tax stamps (DTSs) on cement and sugar earlier this month as East Africa banks on technology to boost public revenue collections. Uganda becomes the fourth country among the member states of the East African Community (EAC) to adopt digital stamps in deliberate efforts to plug revenue leakage loopholes. Digital stamps enable the government to use modern technology to obtain real time production data from manufacturers. This aids the government in curbing revenue leakages and also in determining in advance the amount of tax to be paid as excise duty, value-added tax and income tax.
The Kenya Private Sector Alliance and The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business announce a Memorandum of Association with the aim to promote, support and facilitate bilateral trade and investment opportunities from Canada into Kenya. The Second Session of the Binational Commission meeting between Kenya and Canada is being held in Nairobi, Kenya from the 13th to the 15th of April 2021. Subject to renewal, the session saw the signing of a three-year agreement Memorandum of Association. ‘Nairobi is a vital gateway not just to Kenya and the region, but the continent’s economies of the future in Africa,’ Said Garreth Bloor, President of the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business.
Majority of ports in Nigeria now digitalised (The Africa Logistics)
Nigeria says that majority of its ports have been digitalised a move that is aimed at enhancing efficiency while reducing corruption cases. Hassan Bello, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) says that ports in Nigeria are now 70 per cent digitalised. However, Mr Bello regretted that they did not reach the intended target of 90 per cent. “We have been working with shipping companies and terminal operators to ensure we make the deadline we set for the first quarter but we saw it was not feasible to attain 90 per cent digitalisation. “What we were able to do on the average was 70 per cent, but digitisation of the ports is a process in the making. We want this to happen as quickly as possible,” he said.
ZimTrade targets southern Africa (The Standard)
ZimTrade has increased its engagements with regional markets to explore opportunities for local products and services, following the commencement of trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area in January this year. The country’s trade promotion organisation is currently conducting a market survey in Tanzania and a pre-mission assessment in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The two in-market activities are expected to provide market intelligence that will help Zimbabwean companies get market insights.
AFCFTA will boost supply chain management in Ghana – CISCM (GhanaWeb)
The President of the Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Management, Richard Obeng Okrah, has stated that Supply Chain Management will be key in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) agreement. He said this while speaking to the media on the sideline of the event to commemorate World Supply Chain day and its contribution to Industries. “A lot of attention and jobs are going to be created for Ghana and in this respect supply chain management is a very key component in ensuring that we succeed in our objectives. We are required to move goods from manufacturers to end-users and effective supply chain systems ensure that the planning, transportation, logistics, warehousing and movement to the ultimate consumer is done in a very efficient manner,” he said.
Ghana falls short in almost all AfCFTA competitive potential indicators – Report (GhanaWeb)
A study commissioned by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC Fund) and conducted by consultants from research and advisory firm Konfidants has exposed gaping challenges the nation is facing with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA). With an emphasis on value-added goods only, the analysis focused on seven product groups that were selected in consultation with industry players and government, namely: agro-processed goods, plastics, pharmaceuticals, mineral oils, textiles, metal manufactures and cosmetics. For each of the above product sectors, the report titled ‘AfCFTA’s Competitiveness and Opportunity Assessment’, analyzed two main segments –external competitiveness and domestic competitiveness – which left much to be desired.
Namibia Exports First 350 Tons of Charcoal to United States (US Embassy in Namibia)
On Friday, U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson joined the Deputy Minister of Industrialisation and Trade Honorable Verna Sinimbo to send off a 350-ton consignment of Namibian charcoal to the United States. The export deal, between Africa Burns Charcoal, King Charcoal, and their U.S. trading partner The Good Charcoal Company, is supported by the U.S. government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The hybrid launch event in Windhoek, at which many participants joined virtually from the United States, marks the first-ever export of charcoal from Namibia directly to the U.S. market. It also signals the commencement of a trade opportunity that could see Namibia export several thousand tons of premium-grade charcoal to the United States tariff-free each month.
Egypt pays EGP 2.4bn in export subsidy dues: Trade Minister (Daily News Egypt)
Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea announced that the Export Development Fund has provided EGP 2.4bn in subsidy to exporters in implementation of the second phase of the lump-sum export subsidy dues payment initiative. The minister explained that the availability of these financial dues comes as part of the presidential directives to support Egypt’s export sector. She added that paying exporters’ dues will greatly contribute to increasing their production capabilities and enhancing competitiveness of Egyptian products in foreign markets, especially in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
AfDB Supports Modernization of Morocco’s Railway Network (Morocco World News)
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has offered to continue to work to help Morocco in its journey to modernize its railways sector. The company seeks to contribute to improve the mobility of populations and logistical competitiveness through its financing and technical assistance. The AfDB secured €300 million for the National Railways Office (ONCF) to finance the project that is meant to increase the capacity of the Tangier-Marrakech railways line, the bank said in a press release. The funding also facilitated an increase in the number of railways, modernized signaling, built many structures such as the latest Casa Port train station, and constructed the central signaling control post.
Namibia, Botswana sign solar deal (Chronicle)
The African Development Bank and two World Bank agencies have joined Botswana and Namibia, as the two countries signed a Memorandum of Intent last week towards the development of a 5 000 megawatts solar power project, which will be one of the world’s largest. The AfDB, International Finance Corporation and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development inked the Memorandum of Intent with Botswana, Namibia and Power Africa, a US-government entity aimed at boosting electricity investment in Africa.
Lesotho Becomes The First African Country To Export Cannabis To The European Union (OkayAfrica)
Africa’s international cannabis trade is off to a superb start with Lesotho landing a lucrative deal with the European Union (EU). MG Health, a Lesotho cannabis company located deep in the country’s lush mountainous region, has reportedly received the official approval to export its cannabis flower as a pharmaceutical ingredient to the European Union.
African regional and continental news
As countries rebuild their economies following COVID-19, Africa needs to step up productive and infrastructural integration, participants heard at a regional presentation of the African Regional Integration Index (ARII) held virtually on Thursday. The index, a joint publication of the Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission, provides up-to-date data on the status of regional integration in Africa and assesses the level of integration for every regional economic community and its member countries. The Index report underlines the need for a renewed commitment to regional integration within Africa, speakers said.
Pandemic Spurs Demand For Trade Finance Capacity In Africa (Global Finance)
The Covid-19 pandemic has pressured African central banks and market regulators to deepen their engagement with industry, asset managers, and private equity to expand international trade financing capacity including South-South and African trade, concludes a recent report published by the African Export Import Bank, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and Making Finance Work for Africa. The report’s authors recommended greater coordination and alignment regarding pandemic response across the continent. Africa’s trade finance contracted by 10% in 2020 as the continent entered its first recession in 25 years said President of Afreximbank Benedict Oramah during a virtual event for the report’s April 15 release. Africa’s trade finance needs are quite significant and are expected to increase as the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement came into effect beginning in 2021, according to the report’s authors.
AfCFTA, COMESA to establish cooperation framework (Mining Review)
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) Secretariat and COMESA will establish a partnership framework to support the implementation of the continental trade regime. Technical teams from the two organizations are expected to start working immediately on the framework by establishing committees to deal with specific aspects of the partnership. This was resolved during the first visit by the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat Wamkele Mene to the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia.
AfCFTA, UNDP announce new partnership towards inclusive growth in Africa (The Africa Logistics)
The AfCFTA Secretariat and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a strategic partnership to promote trade as a stimulus for Africa’s socioeconomic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, and as a driver of sustainable development particularly for women and youth in Africa, in line with the SDGs and Agenda 2063 common vison for the continent. “The AfCFTA is beyond a trade liberalizing instrument. It is an enabler of inclusive growth and sustainable development,” said Mr. Wamkele Mene, who made the journey to New York for the historic occasion. “We must rebalance Africa’s role in global trade. As African countries implement COVID-19 recovery plans, this collaboration with UNDP will drive momentum, on the ground in AfCFTA state parties, to ensure that women and youth are the leading beneficiaries of the AfCFTA.”
African Continental Free Trade Area needs an action plan to advance transformative industrialisation (Daily Maverick)
Implementation of the AfCFTA is under way, yet more action is needed to transform policy into action. AfCFTA Secretary-General HE Wamkele Mene shared these sentiments during the fourth instalment of the AfCFTA and Transformative Industrialisation webinar series hosted by University of Cape Town’s Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance. Mene said that “what is required are a set of harmonised action plans focused on industrial development, to be implemented on a continental basis, a Pan-African basis and in each region”. This is critical if the continent is to move from policy to realising the benefits of regional economic and market integration.
African ambassadors ask diaspora to help promote 54-nation AfCFTA (The Washington Diplomat)
The United Nations predicts AfCFTA will boost intra-African trade by 52% within a year. To capitalize on the accord – which was signed in Rwanda in 2018 – The Made Man Foundation (TMM) is hosting a series of gatherings as part of its “100 Days of Action” campaign. The goal: to build a global coalition among African nations and the worldwide diaspora. “There’s a tremendous reservoir of great people. But what has not been possible, and I hope some of us would be able to change that, is building credible relationships,” said Sidique Abou-Bakarr Wai, Sierra Leone’s ambassador to the United States. “I know the role the African diaspora could play, because I’m a product of that diaspora.”
African Airlines Are Finding Ways to Restart Travel Amid Slow Vaccine Rollouts (Condé Nast Traveler)
Across Africa, airlines are finding innovative ways to build flier confidence. The continent’s air traffic decreased by 89 percent in 2020 according to the International Air Transport Association, and profits across its airlines dropped by $2 billion USD, but nascent signs of a travel rebound are appearing. African airlines have been instrumental in the effort to open borders as they seek to get passengers back into the air. Some national carriers like Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, and Kenya Airways are aiming to bring fliers back by testing a new digital COVID-19 passport. Called Trusted Travel Pass, the passport was developed by the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which is under the African Union, and will allow travelers to authenticate test results prior to departure.
African leaders assembled at a global meeting to discuss the status of local pharmaceutical manufacturing on the continent, underscored the need to increase local production of vaccines and therapeutics to achieve greater public-health security. “The production of vaccines and access to vaccines is an absolute priority,” Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, said Monday in opening remarks at the start of the two-day virtual meeting, convened by the African Union.
Competition, political interests killing EAC integration (Independent)
The faltering of the East African member states is an indicator that leaders have to launch a new and comprehensive consultation for solutions that will make it work. The observation was made by professional bodies, economic analysts and government officials in the wake of trade standoffs and political quarrels, amongst EAC member states. Currently, in the region, Uganda is facing trade barriers with Kenya as several Ugandan products like sugar, poultry, milk and grain, are either blocked or restricted by quotas and tariffs. Kenya also accuses Uganda of imposing tariffs on some Kenyan products, even where such products are protected from tariffs by the EAC and COMESA treaties. Some experts have even challenged the importance of regional integration or integration with neighbouring states instead of integrating with countries with which one shares economic interests.
Afreximbank and FCI Conduct Regional Networking Event Promoting Factoring for Africa & Middle East
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with FCI has conducted a successful two-day virtual networking event for Africa and the Middle East. The event offered an opportunity for the factoring community to examine how its industry has fared through COVID-19. It brought different industry players together to connect, exchange ideas and do business with partners in Africa and the Middle East. Highlights of the two-day conference included an address by Ms. Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative and Chairperson of FCI’s Africa Chapter during which she discussed the strategies championing factoring as an alternative financing approach for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) that cannot obtain traditional bank financing.
ECA plays leading role in Africa’s fight against climate change (UNECA)
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is working with sister United Nations agencies, bilateral and multilateral partners to align global climate goals to the continent’s action agenda. At the forefront of enhancing national, regional, and continental climate adaptation preparedness and response efforts is Africa’s lead climate think-tank, the ECA’s African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) that is based in Addis Ababa. In the “State of the Global Climate Report” that is being jointly launched today by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas, the ECA is delighted to have made extensive contributions touching on the African continent through the ACPC.
SADC pilot projects to align regional and national aquaculture frameworks in the Region
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, in partnership with German development agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), has piloted a project on “Aligning Regional and National Aquaculture Strategic Frameworks in SADC” in an effort to strengthen national and regional linkages towards achieving regional integration objectives. The objective of this project is to ensure alignment between regional and national levels within the context of sustainable aquaculture development in three pilot countries of Botswana, Malawi and Namibia. The pilot project has resulted in the development of aligned strategies, as well as many other interventions and support to national processes aimed to strengthen implementation of the protocol in the respective countries.
Global economy news
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, expectations were that seaborne trade, including containerized trade, would experience a strong downturn. However, changes in consumption and shopping patterns triggered by the pandemic, including a surge in electronic commerce, as well as lockdown measures, have in fact led to increased import demand for manufactured consumer goods, a large part of which is moved in shipping containers. As at the third quarter of 2020, lessening of lockdown measures and varying speeds of recovery worldwide, as well as stimulus packages supporting consumer demand, inventory-building and frontloading in anticipation of new waves of the pandemic, contributed to leading to a further increase in containerized trade flows.
Participants in talks on services domestic regulation share implementation experiences (WTO)
At a virtual meeting held on 14 April 2021, WTO members participating in the negotiations on services domestic regulation shared how they have implemented disciplines at the national level. The chair of the negotiations, Jaime Coghi of Costa Rica, and a number of delegations also provided updates on recent outreach activities. The chair recalled that to date, 31 indicative draft schedules of commitments have been received, covering 57 members. The draft schedules from five participants in the talks are still pending. The chair encouraged those members who have not yet submitted their draft schedules to do so as soon as possible. He emphasized that the exchange of draft schedules is an important element in the negotiations, allowing the group to have a clear and solid basis to approach the next steps in the negotiations.
6 takeaways from WTO’s Aid-for-Trade Stocktaking for least developed countries (Trade for Development News)
Trade has a critical role to play in rebuilding developing and least developed countries’ economies, alleviating rising poverty and creating a greener, more inclusive future for all. This was a unifying theme that ran through three days of panels discussions and debates at the Aid-for-Trade Stocktaking event the World Trade Organization (WTO) hosted online from March 23 to 25. The opportunity to take stock of Aid for Trade’s progress so far and steer its future direction comes at a critical juncture, especially for those least developed countries (LDCs) that were hit hardest by the steepest fall in global trade on record and have benefited least from its rebound. “The post-Covid recovery must not leave anyone or any country behind,” she stressed.
Guest Article: Five Trends for Trade and Development as We Emerge from Global Pandemic (IISD)
We all know and feel the devastation of the pandemic. It has been a shared and visceral experience. By the end of 2020, COVID-19 had caused more than 1.5 million deaths and USD 28 trillion in economic losses. We have seen the vaccine roll out begin around the world. This gives us hope. However, the disappointment amongst the global South has been tangible as the inequalities that existed before the pandemic are being replicated in the vaccine roll out. Africa has 15% of the global population but only 1% of healthcare expenditure. Whereas some countries have stockpiled vaccines, some least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa and Asia-Pacific have not even begun a vaccination programme.
The right to health is a human right. The right to access vaccines in the midst of a pandemic should also be viewed as such. One lesson learned from the pandemic is that no country wants to be vulnerable because of a lack of an effective health care infrastructure.
G20 talks: South Africa must raise Africa’s voice for a social protection Global Fund (Daily Maverick)
People living in the world’s poorest countries, who are particularly at risk of poverty, cannot wait until it becomes possible to provide stable financing for social protection programmes from domestic resources alone. They need such protection right now, especially in light of the devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.The rippling effects are already being felt across various spheres, as restrictions such as physical distancing, self-isolation and travel bans have led to a reduced workforce across economic sectors and job losses. No sector has been left unscathed, and countries across the world are grappling with ways to respond to the scourge.
New toolkit to facilitate sustainable investment for development (ITC)
Investment Facilitation for Development – A toolkit for policymakers is the latest International Trade Centre publication that showcases the link between discussions happening at the WTO and priorities on the ground. It guides policymakers and negotiators when developing agreements that facilitate sustainable investment into developing countries, and improves coherence at multilateral, regional and bilateral levels. This publication offers insights from WTO discussions and regional agreements, model clauses and practical tips to help governments build their capacity to negotiate and implement investment agreements.
Deploying digital tools to withstand climate change in low-income countries (World Bank)
As of April 2021, over 3,600 users representing 55 public, private, and civil society organizations have shared data, making available 740 datasets from road network maps and building footprints to the location of water, gas, and utilities in a secure platform. Mapping vulnerable areas using Geographic Information System (GIS) and making datasets available across agencies is leading to better informed decision-making.
No US confirmation of lifting ban on vaccine raw material exports (Times of India)
Joe Biden’s spokesperson Jen Psaki has refused to say if the US will allow the export of Covid-19 vaccine raw materials to India, a shortage that could impact global supply or set a timeline for dealing with the requests for relaxing the vaccine patent rights. At her briefing in Washington on Monday, spoke about the reaction of US Trade Representative Katherine Tai to the request from India and South Africa for waiving the intellectual property rights for the vaccine, sounding optimistic. “We are, of course, working with WTO members on a global response to Covid. That includes a number of components, whether it’s $4 billion committed to Covax (the international consortium for vaccine distribution), or discussions about how we can aid and assist countries that need help the most.”
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National trade and trade-related news
South Africa president calls for ports’ enhanced effectiveness in boosting economy (Xinhua)
Enhancing the effectiveness and performance of the country’s ports was crucial in helping South Africa’s sluggish economy to recover and grow, President Cyril Ramaphosa said during his visit to the Port of Durban on Thursday. He said measures were put in place to ensure that all problems being experienced were addressed. “Significant progress has been made to reduce congestion and improve turnaround times at the port, as well as to increase rail utilization,” he said. “A multi-party work team has been established together with port users to address key issues related to port performance.”
Ease of doing business improved at Durban Port (SAnews)
President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the progress made at the Durban Port following reports of congestion and backlog problems. Addressing media during a tour of inspection, President Ramaphosa said he has met with the local business people who raised concerns about the port’s inefficiencies. “They were complaining that their goods were not travelling as quickly as they should, and they were losing money and the waiting period was quite long. We took this to heart and… the Minister of Public Enterprises and I, together with the [KwaZulu-Natal] Premier, met with the business people.”
Structural reform implementation necessary to drive economic growth, says BLSA CEO (Engineering News)
It is no secret that the country is not doing well from an economic perspective, with all indicators pointing to this continuing in the wrong direction. The issues of poverty, inequality and unemployment were expected to worsen and, therefore, much was required to turn this situation around, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busisiwe Mavuso, said during a live podcast hosted by The Free Marketeers on April 15.
Hydrogen economy: SA can profit as an exporter says Ebrahim Patel (ESI-Africa.com)
There is a growing international interest and momentum in green hydrogen for the production of clean energy. This is a key factor involved in hydrogen’s use for solving daunting decarbonisation challenges, and transforming high-emitting industries, such as steel, cement, transport and petrochemicals, towards cleaner production. South Africa’s rich endowment of renewable resources of solar, wind and biomass for power generation, together with the technological capabilities and skills around the Fischer-Tropsch process, and access to platinum resources, places the country at an advantage for developing the green hydrogen value chain, and being a key supplier into the global hydrogen market. South Africa is well-positioned to capitalise on the rapidly developing global hydrogen economy.
Botswana bans poultry imports from South Africa after avian flu outbreak (Reuters)
Botswana has banned the importation of poultry and poultry products from South Africa after an outbreak of avian influenza was detected on a chicken farm in South Africa, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. “As a result, the import of domesticated and wild birds, their products (meat, eggs and feathers), from South Africa is banned with immediate effect,” Botswana’s Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security said in a statement.
Namibia suspends poultry imports from South Africa over bird flu (Xinhua)
Namibia on Thursday suspended all poultry and bird imports from neighboring South Africa following an avian flu outbreak there. Chief Veterinary Officer Albertina Shilongo with the Namibian Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, said the suspension is in place as a pre-cautionary measure in the next 21 days. All consignments containing poultry products from South Africa, she said, will be blocked at the point of entry or sent back.
Namibia eyes meat exports to Ghana market (Xinhua)
Namibia and Ghana on Thursday signed a cooperation framework agreement that seeks to promote bilateral trade ties and will see Namibia exporting meat to Ghana in West Africa soon. Namibia’s executive director for the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation Penda Naanda said the agreement comes on the back of building on the African Continental Free Trade Area. “Namibia-Ghana bilateral relations continue to grow from strength to strength and are based on the premise that the two countries will become stronger and prosperous through combined efforts to address common challenges and take advantage of shared opportunities for mutual benefit,” he said.
Kenya: Tax, costs ‘bigger threat to businesses than Covid-19’ (Business Daily)
A majority of company chief executives in Kenya believe the high cost of doing business and taxation posed the biggest threat to their operations over the next 12 months, dwarfing the financial fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new survey by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows. The survey found that although most business leaders projected a substantial economic rebound in the second quarter of the current fiscal year on improving orders and sales, a challenging business environment posed the biggest threat to progression.
Technical teams to draft Covid-19 travel protocol between UK and Kenya (The East African)
Technical teams formed by Kenya and the United Kingdom are expected to start talks on Friday to establish a bilateral protocol to be used in governing travel during this pandemic season. The teams were formed after the first meeting of a joint emergency taskforce of both countries, on Thursday, and their recommendations will be used to guide how the two countries manage passenger travel to control spread of Covid-19. These specialised committees could determine when a mutual travel ban imposed between the two countries will be lifted. On Thursday, officials from both sides, forming the Joint Emergency Response Committee on Covid-19, met virtually and agreed to delegate the specific tasks to the committees.
Kenya and Uganda sign pact to ease trade war (Business Daily)
Kenya and Uganda have agreed to abolish the trade barriers that have led to a sour relationship between the two neighbouring countries which saw various goods subjected to taxes against the East African Community (EAC) Customs Union Protocol. A delegation from Kenya led by Trade Secretary Betty Maina has been in Uganda to deliberate on the matter after Kampala raised concerns over Nairobi’s imposition of taxes on goods coming in from Uganda and banning milk and poultry products.
Uganda declined China request to repay SGR loan with oil revenue (Independent)
The Ugandan government rejected a China Exim Bank proposal to use revenue from Oil to pay for a loan to build the planned Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). This is according to information shared by Works and Transport Minister Gen Edward Katumba Wamala in a meeting with the Physical Infrastructure Committee of Parliament on Wednesday. The railway venture is part of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects that begins from Mombasa, through Nairobi, to Kampala, Kigali and Juba. The multi-billion-dollar railway line conceived under the East African Community (EAC) was agreed upon in 2011 by the presidents of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan. The plan was to have the railway run from Mombasa port to Kigali via Kampala with a connecting line to Juba.
Minister Bholah chairs high-level committee with Private sector on Free Trade Agreements (Government of Mauritius)
A high-level committee pertaining to the application of Free Trade Agreements signed with countries such as India, China and Africa, was held this morning, at Newton Tower in Port Louis. For his part, the Secretary-General of the MCCI, Dr Yousouf Ismael, observed that it is time for other countries to believe in the potential of Mauritius and tap on the wealth of resources and build the value chain. Producing high-end quality products will unlock new market access and foster export diversification that will ultimately build resilience to movements in demand due to global economic downturns, he said. He underpinned that a proper framework is necessary so as to make the most of the opportunities offered by the FTAs by boosting trade and commerce.
‘Nigeria remains Africa’s biggest economy, top investment destination’ (Vanguard)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) says Nigeria remained Africa’s biggest economy and top investment destination. Sen. John Akpanudoedehe, Secretary, APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja. Akpanudoedehe was reacting to insinuation that Twitter’s decision to cite its African operations in Ghana was caused by bad governance in Nigeria. He said that Nigeria’s current status as Africa’s largest economy was attained under President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration.
$300 million support available to Ghanaian MSMEs trading with USA – US Ambassador reveals (Myjoyonline)
United States (U.S) ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie Sullivan has revealed that there is a US$300 million loan facility available to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana. According to her, US$10 million is the allocated amount per business.
Gabon launches technical training hub to revolutionise skills for economic diversification (UNECA)
In an unprecedented move to match local skills with the urgent needs of economic diversification, President Ali Bongo of the Republic of Gabon has launched the International Multisectoral Centre for Vocational Education and Training (CIMFEP, in French), in Nkok, near Libreville, in consonance with ECA’s prescription for a revolution in the development of skills and competences for economic diversification in Central Africa. “This is in full alignment with the recommendations of our 36th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICE) held in November 2020 on the theme Building skills and competences for economic diversification in Central Africa,” Director of ECA’s Office for Central Africa, Antonio Pedro noted.
The Government of Burkina Faso, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), launched Thursday in Ouagadougou, the work of the validation workshop for the National Strategy for the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for the country. The validation of this strategy will provide Burkina Faso with a quality document for the implementation of the AfCFTA. This national workshop to validate the provisional document of the National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy for Burkina Faso is one of the key actions of the project funded by the European Union: “Deepening Africa’s trade integration through effective implementation of the AfCFTA to support economic integration”.
African regional and continental news
The importance of regional integration in Africa is premised on the conviction that it can play a pivotal role in diversifying economies away from over dependence on the export of a few commodities, which characterizes a number of African economies. Economic cooperation and regional integration can therefore contribute to the continent’s economic development and poverty alleviation. This is gaining even greater importance with Covid-19 as regional integration, particularly through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is expected to contribute to the economic recovery from the crisis. Regional integration is also a key priority for the African Union (AU) under the New Partnership for Africa (NEPAD), “Agenda 2063”, and the regional economic communities (RECs).
The 2019 Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII) report, officially launched in May 2020, is a second and improved edition from the 2016 inaugural one. It assesses the regional integration status and efforts of countries that are members of the eight regional economic communities (RECs) recognized by the African Union. It compares each country to the other countries within its REC(s) and to the rest of African countries.
Urgent need for African free-trade infrastructure (Business Daily)
Policy makers see risks to the inflation outlook as balanced and feel that they can continue to offer support to the economy, Kganyago says. The basis of the AfCFTA agreement is that the reduction of tariffs and nontariff barriers will boost intracontinental trade, and consequently encourage the integration of African businesses into global supply chains. Trade costs have become a focus of discussion in African trade policy circles due to their increased visibility when it comes to reducing trade barriers. In the context of Africa’s rapid integration under the AfCFTA, the imperative to reduce trade costs seems even more urgent than that of developing and improving trade enabling infrastructure.
African Trade Contracted 11.9% in 2020 on Virus, Report Says (Bloomberg)
African trade contracted 11.9% in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions to curb its spread pushed the continent into its first recession in a quarter of a century, according to a new report. “Although the contraction was synchronized across the whole region, the greatest impact was on economies dependent on tourism and commodities,” African Export-Import Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership of the African Development Bank said in the report. “Leading oil-producing countries, where oil exports account for more than 90% of foreign exchange earnings and more than 60% of fiscal revenues,” were particularly badly affected, they said.
Strengthening Africa’s Capacity to Trade (WTO)
Open global trade has had positive effects for African industrialization and development. This report looks at efforts to help African countries strengthen their trading capacity and take fuller advantage of the benefits that trade brings.
EAC Moves to Harmonize Procurement Tools to Promote Key Sectors (KT Press)
The East African Community (EAC) Deputy Secretary General Christophe Bazivamo has called on member states to speed up the process of harmonized procurement laws so as to improve regional apparel, footwear and medicine industry, Bazivamo, who is also in charge of Productive and Social Sectors at the EAC Secretariat said that these three areas have a wide potential to grow but have not been developed due to lack of improvement in the manufacturing sector in the region. “We need to see the role of procurement in improving the regional manufacturing sector, which largely depends on imports yet the assessment we did shows that we have potential to produce our own shoes, medicine and clothing,” Bazivamo said at the 13th East African Procurement Forum (EAPF2021).
Agenda 2063 and SDGs Implementation in Africa (South-South Galaxy)
‘Agenda 2063 and SDGs Implementation in Africa’ is the first report from the African Peer Review Mechanism focussing on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. Though there are other reports on progress towards meeting the targets of both the SDGs and Agenda 2063 at continental level, there is little information on institutional implementation mechanisms, levels of awareness, partnerships and coordination arrangements to enhance implementation of the SDGs and the AU Agenda 2063 at the national level. This report examines the extent to which national systems have been structured to respond to, and facilitate the integration of SDGs and the AU Agenda 2063 into national structures, and assesses the various mechanisms that support the domestication and localisation of the two Agendas at national and sub-national levels. The report provides an important first step to understanding the critical governance structures and systems needed to realise the SDGs and the Aspirations in the AU Agenda 2063.
Competition law in post-pandemic Africa a key driver for change and development (Bizcommunity)
With the growth of economies across Africa, competition law has remained one of the key drivers for effective market participation, consumer protection and fair business practices. However, the global pandemic introduced new challenges for competition authorities in Africa and abroad, with each enforcer pursuing the most beneficial enforcement method for its national or regional jurisdiction.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the African Union Commission’s Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Development (AUC-DARBE) have launched a guide to boosting intra-African agricultural trade under the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. The Framework for Boosting Intra-African Trade in Agricultural Commodities and Services is a blueprint for expanding agricultural trade between African countries and aims to unlock the potential of the agricultural sector to contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth for Africa. Increased trade represents a paradigm shift away from business as usual and is an important part of the collaborative work towards boosting food security and nutrition for all Africans.
Africa seeks to produce 60pc of its vaccines by 2040 (The East African)
The African Union (AU) has announced the launch of a partnership to manufacture vaccines at five research centres to be built on the continent in the coming 15 years. The continent seeks to be able to manufacture 60 percent of its vaccines by 2040. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the African Union Commission Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding to boost African vaccine research and development as well as manufacturing. According to John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the five centres will be set up over the next 10-15 years. They will be located in the north, south, east, west, and central parts of Africa.
Fight against violent extremism, and graft take toll on East Africa (The East African)
As East Africa struggles to recover from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, the region is also fighting extremism, crime and corruption. In this mix is illicit trade that is increasingly rising as the principal financier of extremism, criminal enterprises and breeder of corruption in East Africa and its surrounding regions, says a report by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) released recently. The region’s woes are compounded by the fact that it is surrounded on all sides by potent terror groups, deeply penetrated by domestic and international crime groups and undermined from within by corrupt members of its business, civic and political classes. According to the report, terrorists and international crime groups are increasingly targeting East Africa as a destination market for illicit trade, as well as a transport hub for the mass import and export of illegal goods.
Green investment best practices highlighted by East African leaders (ESI-Africa.com)
Green investment and its importance were highlighted in recent dialogues between the European Investment Bank, the Portuguese Embassy in Kenya, the financial community, and development stakeholders. “Recent innovative investment across East Africa has transformed access for millions of people to clean water, renewable energy and finance essential for a better and more sustainable future. Today’s Nairobi Green Talks allow innovative solutions and technical best-practice to be shared with the rest of Africa and the world.
Global economy news
Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, April 2021 (IMF)
Despite turning out better than expected, growth in 2020 is estimated to be the worst on record, at –1.9 percent, leading to a large increase in poverty. In 2021, the region’s economy is expected to resume expansion at 3.4 percent, weaker than the 6 percent for the rest of the world, amid a continued lack of access to vaccines and limited policy space to support the crisis response and recovery. Macroeconomic policies will in many countries entail some difficult choices. Saving lives remains the first priority, which will require access to affordable vaccines, ensuring that the logistical and administrative prerequisites of a vaccination rollout are in place, targeted containment efforts, and added spending to strengthen local health systems.
The next priority is to unlock the region’s potential by creating more fiscal space and implementing transformative reforms. These include mobilizing domestic revenue, strengthening social protection, promoting digitalization, and improving transparency and governance. Countries will also have to consolidate their fiscal positions to bring debt back on a sustainable footing. Such measures will help lift longer-term growth and provide opportunities for the region’s new job seekers. The international community has a key role to play by ensuring more equitable and quicker access to vaccines and other medical products; and by providing low-income countries the external funding needed to pursue the policy priorities sketched above and avoid long-term scarring.
Six Charts Show the Challenges Faced by Sub-Saharan Africa
First G20 Africa Advisory Group meeting under Italian G20 Presidency (Mirage News)
On Thursday 15 April 2021, the G20 Africa Advisory Group held its first meeting under the Italian G20 Finance Track Presidency. The Group, created under the German G20 Presidency in 2017, is responsible for steering policy actions under the G20 “Compact with Africa” (CwA) framework. Nurturing a propitious environment for private investment in African countries and fostering growth and sustainable development are listed among the main objectives of this Group. The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the worst economic and social crisis in generations but the impact of the crisis has been disproportionally harsher in developing countries. In this sense, it is important to address the diverse needs and challenges faced by African countries, in particular to overcoming the pandemic and boosting the economic recovery.
Cashing in on cashews: Africa must add value to its nuts (UNCTAD)
The global market for cashews is booming, but the African countries growing more than half the world’s supply aren’t cashing in, an UNCTAD report says, due to their lack of processing industries. Between 2000 and 2018, world trade in raw cashew nuts more than doubled to 2.1 billion kilograms, and African producers – led by Côte d’Ivoire – accounted for almost two-thirds of the growth. But the continent’s farmers and exporters get only a fraction of the final retail price, according to the report, Commodities at a Glance: Special issue on cashew nuts.
Successor to EU-Africa Cotonou treaty marks ‘turning point’, says EU (EURACTIV)
The EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific Community on Thursday (15 April) finalised the successor to the Cotonou agreement, bringing a close to two and a half years of negotiations and repeated delays. Speaking at the initialling ceremony in Brussels, Commissioner for International Partnerships and EU chief negotiator, Jutta Urpilainen, said the agreement was a “turning point that will make our relationship more political and fit for the future”. At the heart of the pact is the promise of greater political dialogue and development cooperation. It also includes text on security and migration, one of the most controversial issues throughout the talks, including new commitments from the ACP countries on return and re-admission of failed economic migrants. It also includes text on agreeing “circular migration” and legal pathways.
Ministers and other high-level officials concluded the 2021 Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up today, reaffirming their commitment to strengthen multilateral cooperation and solidarity to combat COVID-19’s frustration of global implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, tenuous even before the unprecedented crisis exacerbated existing ones. The Forum’s outcome document – which states that “equitable, affordable access for all” to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics is “at the center of global recovery” – includes a discussion of cross-cutting issues in recognition of the devastating global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and concomitant risk of losing years of development progress, such as pre-existing inequalities within and between countries and the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on women and girls.
Charting a Course for Decarbonizing Maritime Transport (World Bank)
Global maritime transport plays a crucial role in both facilitating trade and fostering economic development at an international scale. However, the sector also contributes to global climate change and local air pollution, producing around three percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emitting an estimated 15 percent of some of the world’s major air pollutants annually. A new series of reports by the World Bank with valuable expert support from University Maritime Advisory Services (UMAS) highlights, however, that decarbonizing maritime transport offers a unique business and development opportunity for countries, including developing and emerging economies. For developing countries with large renewable energy resources, this could mean tapping into an estimated $1+ trillion future fuel market, while modernizing their own domestic energy and industrial infrastructure.
Aviation Sector Calls for Unified Cybersecurity Practices to Mitigate Growing Risks (World Economic Forum)
The aviation industry needs to unify its approach to prevent cybersecurity shocks, according to a new study released today by the World Economic Forum. The increased level of interdependencies can lead to systemic risks and cascading effects as airlines, airports and aircraft manufacturing take different approaches to countering cyber risks. To guard against these risks and create a streamlined approach with civil aviation authorities, the World Economic Forum has launched the Cyber Resilience in Aviation initiative in collaboration with more than 50 companies. The latest report, Pathways to a Cyber Resilient Aviation Industry, developed in collaboration with Deloitte, outlines how the industry – from airlines to airports to manufacturing and the supply chain – can work with a common language and baseline of practices. The report focuses on mitigating the impact of future digital threats on multiple levels:
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National trade and trade-related news
Infrastructure development using private funding to provide benefits if projects are sustainable (Engineering News)
Infrastructure investing, when done sustainably, can deliver significant economic benefits to a country and for generations to come, but fund managers have to take a holistic view to ensure they make investments into sustainable infrastructure projects, says financial services group Sanlam Investments head of credit Ockert Doyer. Sanlam Investments is convinced that allocating capital to sustainable infrastructure projects will continue to result in great risk-adjusted returns for investors, while having a big positive economic impact for the country – specifically as the economy is rebuilt after Covid-19.
Monetary Policy Review: Platinum group metals drive South Africa’s large current account surplus (Daily Maverick)
South Africa can be grateful that it is the world’s largest producer of and has the largest deposits of platinum group metals (PGMs), according to data published in the SA Reserve Bank’s biannual Monetary Policy Review. The SA Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Review often contains nuggets that don’t directly bear on monetary policy, and the latest one, published on Wednesday, contained a couple related to the mining sector. “South Africa enjoyed one of the largest current account surpluses during 2020, with its ratio to GDP swinging from a 2.9% deficit in the second quarter of 2020 to a 5.9% surplus during the third quarter, a 32-year high,” it noted. “Within the South African context, current account surpluses do not occur often: the current account has been in deficit nearly two-thirds of the time since 1960 and 86% of the time since 1994.”
South Africa’s BankservAfrica plans payments platform for SADC countries (The Africa Report)
The platform, which will allow payments to and from bank accounts and mobile money wallets, has been under preparation for over a year, Pilbauer says in Johannesburg. It will go live in a month with a first group of participants including ZB Bank in Zimbabwe, Virtual Technology Services in Namibia and Selcom Paytech in Tanzania. Initial payments will be in rand and US dollars. “Seamless payment systems can contribute to economic recovery” once the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is over, Pilbauer says. “You can’t do it only on a domestic level.”
Fuel spike piles pressure on agro sector (CAJ News Africa)
The rapid increase in the price of fuel is putting pressure on agriculture input costs as South African farmers harvest last summer’s crop and prepare for the winter planting season. This trend is attributed to the global developments as Brent crude oil prices rose by 6,7 percent month on month in April 2021 to average US$64/ barrel. “This comes at an unfortunate time with the onset of the winter crop planting season and summer crop farmers gearing themselves for the winter harvest,” said Paul Makube, Senior Agricultural economist at FNB Agri-Business. “The escalation in fuel costs does not bode well for producers as production costs are likely to escalate across the value chains, with varying impact on planting, harvesting, distribution and packaging.”
ZimTrade extends market survey to Tanzania, DRC (The Herald)
Trade development and promotion agency, ZimTrade, says increased engagement with regional markets is critical as the country explores opportunities for local products following the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). In a latest update ZimTrade said it was conducting a market survey in Tanzania, while a pre-mission assessment of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) market would be undertaken next week. “Following the commencement of trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area in January this year, ZimTrade is increasing its engagements with regional markets to explore opportunities for local products and services,” said the agency.
Kenyan trade officials meet President Museveni over sugar exports (Independent)
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has met the trade delegation from Kenya who are on a working visit to Uganda over efforts to revive the trade relations between the two countries. Johnson Weru, the Principal Secretary of State Department for Trade, Enterprise and Development in Kenya recalled that the issue of whether the quota of 20,000 metric tonnes of Ugandan sugar that was eligible to enter Kenya had been resolved. However, all the tradition export consumers of Uganda’s sugar have frequently blocked or restricted the entry of the commodity into their markets for various reasons. While Rwanda blocked Uganda’s products two years ago, Tanzania and Kenya have instituted on-and-off bans of the sugar, and other products like grain, poultry and beef.
Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and Canada-Africa Chamber of Business announce major MoU (Social News XYZ)
The Kenya Private Sector Alliance and The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business are proud to announce collaboration to promote, support and facilitate bilateral trade and investment opportunities from Canada into Kenya. The first engagement will be a virtual trade mission to Kenya from Canada in May. The 3-year agreement MoU was signed today during the Second Session of the Binational Commission meeting between the Governments of Kenya and Canada – and is subject to ongoing renewal. “This MoU will solidify the existing trade relations between Kenya and Canada and establish strong bonds between the two countries that will go a long way to boost private sector trade and investment. The MOU will also enable us to exchange business information with CACB which is critical especially to our members who wish to expand their coverage to international market,” explained Ms. Carole Kariuki Karuga, KEPSA CEO.
Construction of Julius Nyerere Hydropower Station 45% complete (Construction Review)
The project is expected to enhance access to affordable electricity which will propel economic growth as well as attract investment in the country. It will also transform the country through generation and supply of reliable electricity for both domestic and industrial use. The project which is being undertaken by Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric is owned and will be managed by the government owned Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO).
State says there is enough maize, lorries carrying toxic imports intercepted (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives has intercepted 39 lorries importing toxic maize from Uganda as it dispels fears over looming maize shortage. According to the ministry officials, intensive surveillance and tests have revealed that imported grain from Uganda and Tanzania contain high levels of myotoxins particularly aflatoxins and fumonisins which are carcinogenic. “Following the Government directive on stoppage of maize transfers from EAC partner countries, unscrupulous businessmen have tried to sneak in maize through non-gazetted border points. The law enforcement agencies have so far, napped 39 lorries ferrying maize from Uganda,” said the ministry. Similarly, the government has introduced measures that the ministry says are aimed at ensuring all food imports from the East African Community (EAC) conform to safety standards in order to protect consumers.
Kenyan travel industry calls for state bail-out amid pandemic shocks (CGTN Africa)
Stakeholders in Kenya’s travel and hospitality sector on Wednesday appealed for fiscal, regulatory and financing incentives from the government to enhance its resilience in the face of pandemic-induced shocks. Mohamed Wanyoike, chairman of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA), said that state bail-out is key to enable the sector to weather a downturn occasioned by new COVID-19 restrictions. “We call on policymakers to continue discussions and agree on coordinated measures that are necessary for the successful start of travel even as they strive to improve the country’s epidemiological situation,” Wanyoike said in a statement issued in Nairobi. “Suspension of domestic air services, an extended nightly curfew and a lockdown of five counties dealt a major blow to the industry,” said Wanyoike.
Focus on TPA Prosperity: Ports upgrade boosts Tanzania’s regional trading clout (Dailynews)
Major upgrades in ports in Tanzania are nearing completion to boost the country’s prospects of becoming a major regional transport and trading hub. The Prime Minister said in Parliament in Dodoma on Tuesday that upgrades for Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara ports were on final stages of completion as the country is focused to make optimal use of its strategic geographical location to enhance regional trade, stimulate economic growth and development and ease transportation. “These projects will enable the nation to make the most of the geographical opportunities we have as well as stimulate economic growth and facilitate transportation,” said the Prime Minister while tabling in the House his office’s budget proposals for the 2021/2022 financial year.
Trade resumes as EABC salutes Uganda, South Sudan for escorting truck drivers to Juba (Dailynews)
The East African Business Council (EABC) has hailed the Government of the Republic of South Sudan and the Government of the Republic of Uganda for escorting truck drivers to Juba. A statement issued by EABC’s CEO, Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki, said: “This offers a quick solution to the cross-border trade impasse due to security concerns. As the apex body of the private sector in the East African Community, the East African Business Council has been following on the safety of truck drivers and the free flow of cargo and services into and out of the Republic of South Sudan along the Juba route.” It added that South Sudan offers an important and growing market; in 2018 South Sudan imported goods valued at approximately USD. 377 million from the EAC region and exported USD. 17.9 million into the bloc, according to EABC.
World Bank remains main source of Uganda’s loans (Daily Monitor)
The World Bank remains the biggest source of Uganda’s loans, according to details from the Ministry of Finance. The bank, which lends through the International Development Association, by February, had the largest share of approved loans followed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). At least, the Ministry of Finance, indicates 44 per cent of approved credit is sourced from the World Bank while 39 per cent comes from AfDB. However, the ministry does not indicate which other sources government draws credit.
Kenya overtakes Somalia as main exporter of charcoal in the region (Nation)
Kenya has overtaken Somalia as a source and destination of charcoal in the East Africa region despite a ban in its production in 2018, a new report shows. The report by Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-ATOC) dubbed ‘Black Gold; The charcoal grey market in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan’ shows that Kenya is now a major transit point of charcoal coming from the neighbouring Uganda and South Sudan for local market and shipment to the Middle East where it’s used to fuel hookah pipes. Corruption has been cited as the lead facilitator in charcoal transportation in the country, with law enforcement authorities taking bribes to facilitate the commodities movement into and across the country.
Zambian traders laud local manufacturers for keeping small businesses afloat (Global Times)
It is a known fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has injured many countries’ industrial production capacity. However, not all is gloomy, as the pandemic has equally compelled some progressive countries to be inward-looking, with regard to the provision of basic services to citizens within a specified national geographical situation. To this end, some countries have been forced to industrialize, as the importation of raw materials and finished goods is now a nightmare owing to reduced global travel, and invariably domestic and commercial products have become scarce, or when available, clearly beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with the Government of Burkina Faso, is organising a workshop in Ouagadougou, from March 15 to 16, to validate the National Strategy for the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for the country. “The geopolitics of the economic and health response to the Covid 19 pandemic reminds us of the imperative of the industrialisation of Africa, which is one of the main aims of the AfCFTA. The development of the continent will be achieved through the AfCFTA,” added Director of the ECA Sub-Regional Office for West Africa, Ngone Diop
Tunisia: Food Trade Balance Shows 251.7 Md Deficit End of March 2021 (Onagri) (TAP)
The food trade balance showed a deficit of 251.7 MD during the first three months of 2021, against a surplus of 176.7 MD during the same period of the previous year, the National Observatory of Agriculture (ONAGRI) said. The coverage rate of imports by exports stands at 84.9% in 2021, against 113.5% in 2020. In value, food exports fell by 4.7%, while imports rose by 27.5%.
African regional and continental news
African CEOs prioritise digitalisation, operational efficiency to stabilise economies (Guardian)
African chief executive officers (CEOs) have prioritised digital transformation and operational efficiency for the next 12 months as part of measures to stabilise continental economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The disclosure was contained in a survey titled “African Financial Industry Barometer”, conducted by Deloitte in partnership with the Africa CEO Forum and unveiled yesterday at the inaugural virtual Africa Financial Industry Summit.
The pan-African study highlighted the transformational efforts and goals of the industry, as business leaders grapple with the economic fallout of the virus in the face of pressing need to kick-start economic recovery. It said the digital age and huge participation of new comers have forced Africa’s financial institutions to review their business models, governance practices and risk management capabilities. To meet the demand of the day, the report said they have developed a tremendous appetite for innovation by embracing digitalisation initiatives, open banking, insurance or partnerships with fintechs and insurtechs, regarded as accelerators of financial inclusion.
E-commerce in sub-Saharan Africa: can Covid-19 growth be sustained? (Oxford Business Group)
There is no doubt that 2020 was a watershed year for the digital transition. Lockdowns around the world accelerated the deployment of digital solutions in most aspects of daily life: the expansion of e-commerce was one standout consequence. E-commerce companies and platforms enjoyed a rise in activity and profits, while retailers that had not previously developed their online presence found themselves obliged to do so in order to survive. However, growth in e-commerce has been unevenly spread in global terms, being concentrated in wealthier countries and regions. Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly prone to the effects of limited ICT infrastructure.
Africa’s women traders are poised to transform economies through intra-African trade (UNECA)
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in partnership with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), is delivering a series of capacity building workshops in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire for women traders and producers in the ECOWAS region with the aim of guiding them on market entry and operations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Dr. Bolanle Adetoun, Acting Director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, who represented ECOWAS Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender, Dr. Siga Fatima Jagne, said women traders “play critical roles in African economies.”
Min. Kemayah underscores Women Empowerment at ECOWAS summit (The New Dawn Liberia)
Liberian Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell SaahKemayah, Sr. has disclosed that President George Manneh Weah is exerting frantic efforts to making gender mainstreaming a matter of urgency in the formulation and implantation of policies and programs to enhance greater participation of women in national leadership. Foreign Minister Kemayan added that Mr. Weah would like to see a sense of belongingness of the women of Liberia in all spheres of public life, in accordance with the Flagship National Development Plan of the Government of Liberia – The ‘Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development’ (PAPD).
Africa’s Tobacco-Dependent Economies Struggle To Find Alternatives (African American Voice)
When the World Health Organization initiated its anti-smoking campaign over a decade ago, tobacco-growing countries became increasingly concerned about the economic challenges they would face. Tobacco production in Africa dates to the 1900s. The main exporters of tobacco in East Africa in 2019 were Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique, according to data from Statista. The export value of tobacco in Zimbabwe was $783 million; in Malawi, it was $500 million; and in Mozambique, it was $252 million, per the data. “As we speak, demand for tobacco at the world market continues to dwindle, which results in low exports, thereby breeding high-interest rates and inflation on our part,” Betchani Tchereni, an economics professor at Malawi Polytechnic said. The government should explore other options, such as industrial hemp production, mining, and manufacturing, among other options, to reboot the economy.
MoU to Support Smallholder Farmers-PAFO, AGRA (East African Business Week)
The Pan-African Farmers Organization (PAFO) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) have signed a cooperation and partnership agreement to strengthen the capacities of African farmers’ organizations to ensure that they provide effective services to smallholder farmers, especially women and youth. The agreement will see AGRA supporting Farmers’ Organizations to drive policy advocacy around common areas of interest. Thanks to this partnership, PAFO and AGRA have a framework of cooperation capable of facilitating collaboration between the two organizations, on a non-exclusive basis in areas of mutual interest. The partnership marks a major step forward towards building an inclusive, more resilient, and sustainable food system for African smallholder farmers, especially women and youth,” Dr. Kalibata noted
East African and international political leaders and financial experts highlight green investment best practice (Africanews)
The Secretary General of East African Community today joined more than 150 African business leaders, financial experts and diplomats in the Nairobi EU-Africa Green Talk to share investment best practice and outline how to mobilise private sector support for sustainable development across Africa. “Recent innovative investment across East Africa has transformed access for millions of people to clean water, renewable energy and finance essential for a better and more sustainable future. Today’s Nairobi Green Talks allow innovative solutions and technical best-practice to be shared with the rest of Africa and the world. The East African Community commends the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union and the European Investment Bank for their engagement with East African partners to further strengthen sustainable investment in the years ahead,” said Dr Peter Mathuki, incoming Secretary General of the East African Community.
KAS Africa secures $10m investment for growth (Engineering News)
Personal care products manufacturer KAS Africa has secured a $10-million investment from Mauritian investment company TRT Investments for the acquisition of a new plant and equipment to build capacity and capability. TRT has acquired a 49% stake in KAS Africa, which also now has access to working capital facilities put in place by TRT Investments with support from the African Export-Import Bank. The transaction will enable KAS Africa to ramp up capital investment in line with its plan to grow aggressively in South Africa and across the continent. Among other plans, KAS Africa will enhance its product range, grow its client base and build state-of-the-art, world-class manufacturing facilities across the continent, it states in a media release.
Calls to beat vaccine hesitancy as African Union drops AstraZeneca (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
Wariness about taking AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in Africa could be compounded by the African Union’s decision to halt plans to procure the shot, health experts said on Friday, calling for public awareness programmes to fight misinformation. The African Union (AU) said its announcement was not related to recent findings by European and British medicine regulators that there are possible links between the vaccine and extremely rare blood clots, but rather a case of diversifying options. Still, experts said the timing of Thursday’s announcement could fuel vaccine hesitancy.
Migrant Pressure Undermines Economic Development (Namibian)
Could goings-on in Mozambique and elsewhere on the continent not undermine economic development strategies such as the much-heralded African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)?Those troubled countries are not as far away as some might believe, yet they are natural trading partners. In contemporary times the main motivation for migration was economic and lifestyle. People emigrated in search of jobs and a better quality and standard of life. Economic advancement remains a human migratory enticer and some countries still use immigration as a strategy to develop their economy.
Africa and Europe: Like-minded partners (EURACTIV)
Trade and Investment will play a critical role in the COVID recovery and has the potential to concretise the EU’s ambitions to deepen EU-Africa partnerships, write Barry Andrews, Soraya Rodriguez, and Charles Goerens. One striking element of the EU’s new trade policy is its emphasis on a renewed partnership with the African continent. The Commission’s communication published in February, which outlines this new strategy, makes 29 references to Africa compared to just 11 references to China, two to the US and one single reference to the UK. The EU already has strong trading relations with the African continent, which stem from our historic links. The EU is the largest export and import partner for trade in goods with Africa, accounting for 31% of exports and 29% of imports.
Why we chose Ghana over Nigeria for Africa office, by twitter (The Nation Newspaper)
Microblogging and social networking service provider, Twitter, has explained why it chose to locate its Africa office in Ghana and not Nigeria. Twitter has recently announced its Africa office will be located in Accra, capital of Ghana. It however clarified Nigeria remains its target market though the office will be in Accra. Amid reactions from Nigerians that the continent’s biggest market was snubbed, Twitter said it chose Ghana as the country is a champion of democracy. It said its decision was informed by Ghana’s “support for free speech and online freedoms.” It added that Ghana’s recent appointment to host the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) also influenced its decision.
EACJ registrar calls for expanded court sittings as region’s cases soar (The East African)
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) wants its sittings to be conducted throughout the year as opposed to the current four months annually in order to address all the arising issues effectively. “Our mandate runs across the six East African countries and the four months that we sit are not enough at all. A national court here in Kenya, which only deals with internal cases seats for a whole year, what about the EACJ that has to manage six states in the region? EACJ registrar Yufnalis Okubo posed.
BRICS is bringing the power of choice to Africa (PR Newswire)
Aside from traditional cooperation areas, such as security, weapons, and mineral resources, Russia is now taking its technologies to the continent: digital, agricultural, medical and educational solutions. African leaders have expressed enthusiasm about it at the Russia-Africa summit that took place in 2019, says Dr Eric Edi from Thomas Jefferson University (USA).”In terms of relations with Russia, China and India, and comparing to the EU, it has been more about technology transfer than resources extraction,” says Dr Eric Edi. Possible cooperation areas, as experts say, are yet to be explored, but it’s already clear that multilayer joint activities would be beneficial not only for their own sake, but also as a factor giving additional negotiation power in Africa-EU relations.
Global economy news
Director-General calls for follow-up action after WTO event on vaccine equity (WTO)
Speaking at the conclusion of the WTO-organized meeting “COVID-19 and Vaccine Equity: What Can the WTO Contribute?”, the Director-General said that statements from government ministers, vaccine manufacturers, civil society advocates and leaders of international organizations had identified problems and pointed to potential solutions. “This is a problem of the global commons, and we have to solve it together,” she said. She expressed hope that the meeting, which included roughly 50 speakers, would serve as the basis for continued dialogue aimed at delivering results in terms of increased vaccine production volumes in the short-term as well as longer-term investments in vaccine production and enhancing the trading system’s contribution to pandemic preparedness.
The large number of trade-related concerns expressed during the meeting, from the importance of open cross-border trade for access to vaccine raw materials and inputs to differences over the role of intellectual property protections, indicated “that the WTO must play a central part in the response to this crisis,” she said. “This is something in members’ control.”
US remains non-committal on India’s move to get TRIPS waiver to COVID vaccines at WTO (Economic Times)
The US remained non-committal on the move by India and South Africa to get Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver for COVID-19 vaccine before the WTO so that the doses are accessible and affordable to low- and middle-income countries. US Trade Representatives Katherine Tai, in her address to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) virtual conference on COVID-19 vaccine equity on Wednesday, however, did not weigh in on the request made by India and South Africa. The virtual conference was attended and addressed by her Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal, Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis of the European Union, and Minister Ebrahim Patel of South Africa on Wednesday.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought social and economic disruption worldwide, but is also providing governments with the opportunity to put economies on a more sustainable and inclusive growth path while addressing the underlying challenges, according to the OECD’s Going for Growth 2021: Shaping a Vibrant Recovery report. It analyses pre-existing weaknesses as well as those brought on by the pandemic, and offers policy makers country-specific advice to seize the opportunity for a fundamental reset. Its recommendations provide a basis for G20 discussions on strategies to push forward a vibrant economic recovery and promote higher-quality growth.
A debt pandemic is engulfing the Global South (IPS Journal)
Without a doubt, the Covid-19 pandemic represents the most severe developmental setback in recent history. But while it’s still ravaging across the Global South, the spread of the virus is not the only pandemic currently engulfing developing countries. In fact, a debt pandemic threatens to prevent them from achieving a meaningful – let alone sustainable – recovery. Between 2010 and 2020, public debt of developing countries has increased from an average of 40.2 to 62.3 per cent of GDP. More than one third of the increase, equal to 8.3 percentage points, took place in 2020 alone. This figure is equivalent to a staggering $1.9 trillion – the size of US President Joe Biden’s recovery plan. The share of government revenues in developing countries used to meet external debt service increased threefold from 6.6 to 17.4 per cent between 2011 and 2020. In at least 32 countries, governments are now allocating more than 20 per cent of government revenues to debt service.
Progress since 2015 in promoting SDG investment in developing economies now at risk due to COVID-19 (UNCTAD)
International private sector investment flows to developing and transition economies in sectors relevant for the sustainable development goals (SDGs) fell by one third in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The value of newly announced greenfield investments in relevant sectors shrunk by 33% and that of international project finance (used for large infrastructure projects requiring multiple investors) by 36%.