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EAC to set up authority to push for free, fair trade
A regional body to be charged with enforcing laws that protect and promote free and fair competition among businesses with cross-border presence will be operational as from June.
The EAC Secretariat is in the final stages of setting up the organisational structure of the EAC Competition Authority, to be headed by a board of commissioners – one from each of the EAC partner states.
Other sections are the Office of the Registrar, Directorate of Mergers and Acquisitions, Directorate of Monopolies and Cartels, Directorate of Consumer Protection and Directorate of Corporate Affairs.
A total of $701,530 has been set aside in the 2015/2016 financial budget to operationalise the Authority.
According to Peter Kiguta, the EAC Director-General of Customs and Trade, the partner states have already nominated the commissioners who will work on ad hoc basis.
“The office will have five members made up of the chief registrar, two deputies and advisors,” said Mr Kiguta.
EAC trade ministers have directed partner states to confirm their nominees for the posts of commissioners by July 15.
The Competition Authority is expected to control or eliminate restrictive measures on companies seeking to invest in other partner states, and control mergers and acquisitions as well as the abuse of dominant positions of market power in East Africa.
It is expected that with the regional authority in place, small and medium enterprises will be shielded from anti-competitive practices.
Monopolies or firms with a large market share abuse their dominance in different ways including engaging in price fixing, sharing of markets and compromising on quality of product to the detriment of consumers.
Parallel bodies
However, the challenge is the existence of a parallel regional competitions authority — that of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) – of which the East African countries except Tanzania are members. For example, conflicting rules in resolving cross-border issues are likely to play out, as well as making the decision on which authority to approach when a dispute arises.
“The main problem with the Comesa Competitions Authority is the high merger fee set for companies in the region,” said Wang’ombe Kariuki, Director-General of the Competition Authority of Kenya.
The Comesa Secretariat last year revised its rules which now require companies looking to expand through acquisitions, and having a combined turnover of $5 million, to pay a $500,000 fee.
“The EAC Competitions Authority should set the merger fee based on the cost and not the revenue generation,” said Mr Kariuki.
Mr Kiguta said partner states that are signatories to both Comesa and EAC will have the freedom to choose which authority to approach based on the nature of the dispute at hand.
“We hope that by 2017 we shall have one competition authority – the Tripartite Competition Authority – to stem from the soon-to-be launched Tripartite Free Trade Area,” he said.
In an effort that will ensure that the regional authority is successful in delivering its mandate, the Council of Ministers has adopted the EAC Competition (Amendment) Bill 2015, which has a provision for a mechanism for eliminating counterfeiting and piracy in the region, promoting fair trade and ensuring consumer welfare as well as establishing the East African Community Competition Authority.
According to Mr Kiguta, the EAC Competition Bill will consider the member states’ existing laws and policies.
“It will address competition issues across the region while the national laws will be used for enforcement,” said Mr Kiguta.
EAC member states will be expected to accord national competition authorities a legal mandate to co-operate with international, regional and national agencies in matters germane to the Competition Bill.
Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya have competition laws in place while Uganda has a draft law.
Andrew Luzze, the executive director of the East Africa Business Council, said under its advocacy mandate, the EAC Competition Authority will give general advice on competition matters to national competition authorities and the partner states.
“This mandate will spawn positive economic benefits to the region,” said Mr Luzze.
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South Africa: Merchandise Trade Statistics April 2015
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has released trade statistics for April 2015 that recorded a trade deficit of R2.51 billion. This figure includes trade data with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS).
Including BLNS
The R2.51 billion deficit for April 2015 is due to exports of R84.01 billion and imports of R86.53 billion. Exports decreased from March 2015 to April 2015 by R6.84 billion (7.5%) and imports decreased from March 2015 to April 2015 by R4.34 billion (4.8%). The cumulative deficit for 2015 is R35.83 billion compared to R39.82 billion in 2014.
Trade highlights by category
The month-on-month export movements:
R’ million
|
|
|
Section:
|
Including BLNS:
|
|
Vehicle & Transport Equipment
|
- R2 536
|
- 21.2%
|
Machinery & Electronics
|
- R1 683
|
- 18.1%
|
Base Metals
|
- R1 669
|
- 14.5%
|
Precious Metals & Stones
|
- R 961
|
- 5.6%
|
Mineral Products
|
+ R1 124
|
+ 6.5%
|
The month-on-month import movements:
R’ million
|
|
|
Section:
|
Including BLNS:
|
|
Vehicle & Transport Equipment
|
- R2 378
|
- 21.1%
|
Mineral Products
|
- R1 419
|
- 9.0%
|
Textiles
|
- R 627
|
- 18.2%
|
Equipment Components
|
- R 452
|
- 6.3%
|
Machinery & Electronics
|
+ R1 304
|
+ 6.1%
|
Trade highlights by world zone
The world zone results from March 2015 to April 2015 are given below.
Africa:
Exports: R25 538 million – this is a decrease of R 512 million from March 2015
Imports: R8 205 million – this is a decrease of R2 894 million from March 2015
Trade surplus: R17 333 million
This is a 15.9% increase in comparison to the R14 950 million surplus recorded in March 2015
America:
Exports: R8 484 million – this is a decrease of R 609 million from March 2015
Imports: R8 483 million – this is a decrease of R1 933 million from March 2015
Trade surplus: R 1 million
This is an improvement in comparison to the R1 323 million deficit recorded in March 2015
Asia:
Exports: R23 897 million – this is a decrease of R2 873 million from March 2015
Imports: R39 360 million – this is an increase of R 139 million from March 2015
Trade deficit: R15 463 million
This is a 24.2% increase in comparison to the R12 451 million deficit recorded in March
Europe:
Exports: R18 589 million – this is a decrease of R2 910 million from March 2015
Imports: R29 026 million – this is an increase of R 129 million from March 2015
Trade deficit: R10 438 million
This is a 41.1% increase in comparison to the R7 398 million deficit recorded in March 2015
Oceania:
Exports: R 982 million – this is a decrease of R 109 million from March 2015
Imports: R1 254 million – this is an increase of R 200 million from March 2015
Trade deficit: R 272 million
This is a decrease compared to the R 37 million surplus recorded in March 2015
Excluding BLNS
The trade data excluding BLNS for April 2015 recorded a trade deficit of R11.11 billion. This is a result of exports of R73.26 billion and imports of R84.37 billion. Exports decreased from March 2015 to April 2015 by R5.75 billion (7.3%) and imports decreased from March 2015 to April 2015 by R3.70 billion (4.2%). The cumulative deficit for 2015 is R68.94 billion compared to R72.42 billion in 2014.
Trade highlights by category
The month-on-month export movements:
R’ million
|
|
|
Section:
|
Excluding BLNS:
|
|
Vehicles & Transport Equipment
|
- R2 208
|
- 21.1%
|
Base Metals
|
- R1 561
|
- 14.7%
|
Machinery & Electronics
|
- R1 374
|
- 18.4%
|
Mineral Products
|
+ R 803
|
+ 5.1%
|
Chemical Products
|
+ R 751
|
+ 16.2%
|
The month-on-month import movements:
R’ million
|
|
|
Section:
|
Excluding BLNS:
|
|
Vehicles & Transport Equipment
|
- R2 375
|
- 21.1%
|
Mineral Products
|
- R1 411
|
- 8.9%
|
Textiles
|
- R 559
|
- 18.1%
|
Equipment Components
|
- R 452
|
- 6.3%
|
Machinery & Electronics
|
+ R1 336
|
+ 6.3%
|
Trade highlights by world zone
The world zone results from March 2015 to April 2015 are given below.
Africa:
Imports: R6 051 million – this is a decrease of R2 260 million from March 2015
Trade surplus: R8 733 million
BLNS (only)
Trade statistics with the BLNS for April 2015 recorded a trade surplus of R8.60 billion.
The surplus is a result of exports of R10.75 billion and imports of R2.15 billion. Exports decreased from March 2015 to April 2015 by R1.09 billion (9.2%) and imports decreased from March 2015 to April 2015 by R0.63 billion (22.7%). The cumulative surplus for 2015 is R33.11 billion compared to R32.60 billion in 2014.
Trade Highlights by Category
The month-on-month export movements:
R’ million
|
|
|
Section:
|
BLNS:
|
|
Vehicles & Transport Equipment
|
- R 328
|
- 22.0%
|
Machinery & Electronics
|
- R 309
|
- 17.1%
|
Precious Metals & Stones
|
- R 305
|
- 41.5%
|
Base Metals
|
- R 108
|
- 12.1%
|
Mineral Products
|
+ R 321
|
+ 18.6%
|
The month-on-month import movements:
R’ million
|
|
|
Section:
|
BLNS:
|
|
Precious Metals & Stones
|
- R 282
|
- 57.6%
|
Chemical Products
|
- R 144
|
- 27.0%
|
Textiles
|
- R 68
|
- 19.1%
|
Prepared Foodstuff
|
- R 40
|
- 10.6%
|
Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles
|
+ R 3
|
+ 14.4%
|
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High-Level Meeting on the Follow-up to the Second United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries
The Zambian Government together with the United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developing Countries, Landlocked developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) and development partners will from 2nd to 4th June 2015 hold a three day follow-up meeting to The Second United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) that was held in Vienna, Austria in November 2014. The meeting will follow up on the outcome of the conference, the Vienna Programme of Action for the LLDCs for the Decade 2014-2024 (VPoA), which was adopted by all member states during the Conference.
The Conference held in Vienna brought together high-level officials from 129 UN Member States, including Heads of State and Government, Ministers, other officials, private sector representatives, academia and civil society representatives as well as representatives from the UN system and other international organizations to reaffirm the global commitment to addressing the special development needs of and the challenges faced by the LLDCs.
The United Nations General Assembly on 12 December 2014 further decided to endorse the Vienna Programme of Action for the LLDCs for the Decade 2014-2024 and the Vienna Declaration in resolution 69/137. The Vienna Programme of Action is a holistic and results-oriented programme succeeding the Almaty Programme of Action (APoA) as the development blueprint for LLDCs for the next decade. It comprises of an overarching goal, six specific goals as well as time bound specific objectives in six priority areas. The six priority areas are: 1) fundamental transit policy issues, 2) infrastructure development and maintenance, 3) international trade and trade facilitation, 4) regional integration and cooperation, 5) structural economic transformation and 6) means of implementation. The priority areas include 21 specific objectives and 87 actions to be undertaken by LLDCs, transit developing countries and development partners to help ensure the achievement of the goals of the Vienna Programme of Action.
The overarching goal of the VPoA is to address the special development needs and challenges of LLDCs in a more coherent manner and thus contribute to an enhanced level of sustainable and inclusive growth and eradication of poverty for the more than 450 million people in the 32 LLDCs. The VPoA reflects a deeper understanding of the challenges that LLDCs face and calls for enhancing international trade performance, trade facilitation, productive capacities, economic diversification and value-addition, enhanced regional integration and cooperation, and collaboration with vibrant private sector based on expanded partnerships.
The VPoA has six specific goals namely: (a) to promote unfettered, efficient and cost-effective access to and from the sea by all means of transport, on the basis of the freedom of transit, and other related measures, in accordance with applicable rules of international law; (b) to reduce trade transaction costs and transport costs and improve international trade services through simplification and standardization of rules and regulations, so as to increase the competitiveness of exports of LLDCs and reduce the costs of imports, thereby contributing to the promotion of rapid and inclusive economic development; (c) to develop adequate transit transport infrastructure networks and complete missing links connecting LLDCs; (d) to effectively implement bilateral, regional and international legal instruments and strengthen regional integration; (e) to promote growth and increased participation in global trade, through structural transformation related to enhanced productive capacity development, value addition, diversification and reduction of dependency on commodities; and (f) to enhance and strengthen international support for LLDCs to enable them to meet challenges arising from landlockedness in order to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development.
While the APoA focused principally on fundamental transit policy issues, infrastructure development and maintenance and international trade, the VPoA has not only reinforced and expanded these areas, it has also included three new priorities, namely regional integration and cooperation, structural economic transformation and means of implementation.
The adoption of the Vienna Programme of Action is reflective of the solidarity, understanding and spirit of cooperation and collaboration among all stakeholders in supporting LLDCs to achieve sustainable development. The VPoA demonstrates the renewed and strengthened partnerships between LLDCs, their transit neighbours and their development partners, while also calling for strengthened partnerships within the context of South-South and triangular cooperation and partnerships with private sector. The successful implementation of this expanded Programme of Action will require not only renewed and strengthened partnerships between LLDCs, transit countries and development partners, but also enhanced support and partnership efforts with relevant international and regional organizations, between private and public sectors and stronger and widened North- South and South-South cooperation.
The priority area on means of implementation recognizes the efforts made by LLDCs to mobilize domestic resources and its importance for the effective implementation of the VPoA. At the same time, ODA continues to be a major source of external financing for many LLDCs. Given the low level of integration with the global community, Aid for Trade in particular also plays a key role in supporting the development of trade-related infrastructure, formulation of trade policies, implementation of trade facilitation measures and capacity-building. Targeted financial and technical support from development partners, as well as capacity building support from UN system and other international organizations will be critical for the successful implementation of the specific actions of the VPoA, , complementing LLDCs’ own efforts. In addition, South-South and triangular cooperation, as a complement to North-South cooperation, and the private sector, including through foreign direct investment, also have particular roles to play in contributing to the development of LLDCs.
In terms of implementation, follow-up and monitoring, the VPoA calls for actions at national, subregional, regional and global levels reinforced through mutual accountability at all levels and all actors. The monitoring and review process envisages the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, at all levels.
At the national level, Governments are invited to mainstream the VPoA into their national and sectoral development strategies for its effective implementation. At the subregional and regional level, monitoring and review is envisaged through existing intergovernmental processes, while inviting regional and subregional organizations, including regional economic communities, regional development banks and UN regional Commissions to mainstream the implementation of the VPoA into their relevant programmes. Similarly, at the global level, the governing bodies of organizations within the United Nations system are invited to mainstream the implementation of the Programme into their programme of work, and to conduct sectoral and thematic reviews, as appropriate.
With the adoption of such a comprehensive and results-oriented Programme of Action, the new and challenging phase ahead is one of ensuring that the deliverables in favour of LLDCs lead to concrete actions. LLDCs concerns and their special needs deserve special attention in the post-2015 development agenda and should be adequately integrated into the goals, targets and indicators. The Vienna Programme of Action and its implementation can provide important recommendations into the final outcomes of this process, as well as other global process such as the financing for development process.
In this context, the Government of Zambia as the Chair of the Group of LLDCs has offered to host a highlevel meeting on the follow-up to the Second UN Conference on LLDCs in Livingstone, Zambia on 2nd to 4th June 2015. The meeting will be organized by the Government of Zambia and UN-OHRLLS, in partnership with other stakeholders.
Objectives of the meeting
A clear strategic direction and consistent and coherent engagements are necessary in order to strengthen partnerships. We also need to consolidate the active involvement of all stakeholders and their sense of ownership, drawing from what we have achieved during the Conference process, in order to ensure that the specific goals and objectives of the Vienna Programme of Action are effectively translated into actions and results. A roadmap for the implementation of the VPoA is needed for the purpose of guiding the LLDCs, transit developing countries and their development partners as well as other stakeholders on a path of a coordinated and effective implementation of the VPoA.
In addition, it is necessary to conceptualize the way forward in terms of monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the VPoA. In this regard, the VPoA requests OHRLLS to develop, in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders, indicators for measuring the progress on its implementation in LLDCs.
It is in this broad context that the meeting is being organized. The meeting is expected to provide a platform for sharing of best practices, experiences and initiatives, come up with concrete recommendations on the follow-up actions on the implementation of the VPoA and a shared framework/system of indicators for monitoring the VPoA. This will be the first major meeting since the adoption of the Vienna Programme of Action in November 2014. Since it is being organized shortly before the Financing for Development Conference in July 2015 and the UN Summit in September 2015 which will adopt the post-2015 development agenda, the meeting will also aim to establish linkages with these global processes.
The specific objectives of the meeting are to:
-
Review and identify opportunities and bottlenecks in LLDCs in terms of implementation in the priority areas of the VPoA
-
Provide a platform for sharing of best practices, experiences and initiatives at the national, regional and global levels in the priority areas of the VPoA
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Discuss and conceptualize the way forward in implementing the VPoA, including the implementation strategy, tools and indicators for measuring the progress in implementation of the VPoA
-
Strengthen and forge partnerships and ownership of the VPoA at both regional and national levels
Format
The meeting will be held over the period of three days in Livingstone, Zambia from 2nd to 4th June 2015. It will consist of a number of sessions focusing on the priority areas of the Vienna Programme of Action and on the way forward in their implementation. Each session will feature a number of panellists from the UN system and other international organizations, representatives from governments, as well as the private sector, followed by interactive discussion. The presentations or statements will focus either on reviewing the current situation in LLDCs or showcasing best practices, experiences and strategies for effective implementation.
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Largest Free Trade Area set for launch
Preparations to launch the Grand Free Trade Area that will bring together half of the African continent into one common market are complete. The momentous occasion will take place on 10 June 2015 at the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh during the 3rd Summit of the Tripartite Heads of State and Governments.
The Tripartite consists of 26 States that are members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
The Tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA) will be the largest economic bloc on the continent with a combined population of 625 million people and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 1.2 trillion. It will account for half of the membership of the African Union and 58% of the continent’s GDP. The launch of the Tripartite will set the stage for the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) in 2017.
Technical teams that have been working on the TFTA negotiations start arriving at the venue from 5th June 2015 for the pre-summit meetings that will prepare the ground for the launch. They include the Tripartite Committee of Senior Officials and the Council of Ministers whose meetings will take place on 7 and 8 June respectively. They will prepare the launch documents including the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement, the Declaration launching Phase II of the negotiations for the TFTA and the Roadmap.
The Tripartite Heads of State and Government will append their signatures on the documents on 10 June 2015 and thereafter issue a Communique.
The decision to establish the COMESA-EAC-SADC TFTA was mooted in 2008 mainly to overcome the challenges posed by the overlapping membership of the three RECs especially in the regional trade. This was followed by the launching of the negotiations for the FTA in 2011 by the Heads of State who also set a time-frame of up to 2014 to complete the process.
The negotiations focused on trade in goods which have now been concluded thus paving way for the launch. Negotiations on trade in services and other trade-related areas such as competition policy and intellectual property rights are set to begin soon after the launch of the FTA on trade in goods. The Tripartite Trade Negotiations Forum (TTNF) was the negotiating body assisted by four Technical Working Groups (TWGs). The other was the Technical Committee of Senior Officials (TSCO).
The Secretary Generals of the three RECs comprise the Tripartite Task Force (TTF) which provided the stewardship of the negotiations process under the chairmanship of Secretary General of COMESA, Mr Sindiso Ngwenya who took over the mantle in June 2014.
The decision to conduct the forthcoming launch of the Tripartite FTA was made after the majority of the Tripartite Member/Partner States made ambitious tariff offers and agreed on Rules of Origin to be applied in the interim whilst further work continued on product specific Rules of Origin. This was during the Tripartite Sectoral Committee of Ministers meeting in Bujumbura, Burundi in October 2014.
The Tripartite FTA offers significant opportunities for business and investment within the Tripartite and will act as a magnet for attracting foreign direct investment into the Tripartite region. The business community, in particular, will benefit from an improved and harmonized trade regime which reduces the cost of doing business as a result of elimination of overlapping trade regimes due to multiple memberships.
The launching of the Tripartite Free Trade Area is the first phase of implementing a developmental regional integration strategy that places high priority on infrastructure development, industrialization and free movement of business persons.
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SA’s economy most diverse in Africa: Minister
South Africa as a foreign direct investment destination is regarded as one of the best on the continent.
“South Africa remains the most diverse economy on the continent – providing a supportive regulatory framework, a well-developed infrastructure network, a world class financial hub and world class services for business opportunities,” Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, South Africa remained the top foreign direct investment destination in Africa during 2013, significantly increasing foreign direct investment inflows from $4.6 billion in 2012 to $8.1 billion in 2013, mostly in green field’s investments.
Speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Friday ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, Minister Radebe said South Africa continues to make strides in improving the ease of doing business.
“South Africa, if compared to other BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] nations, comes first in the five of the 10 criteria the World Bank uses to assess ease of doing business – starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting credit, protecting investors and paying taxes,” he said.
Minister Radebe said South Africa’s infrastructure build programme is contributing positively to the country’s competiveness as well as supporting regional integration, investment support and growth in Southern Africa.
The public sector has invested R847.3 billion in the infrastructure programme in this current financial year.
“This has contributed to the ease of movement of people, goods and services within South Africa and in the sub region,” the Minister said.
He reiterated that government condemned the acts of violence that were levelled against some foreign nationals in parts of the country.
Government has taken steps in this regard and some of the people who carried out the attacks have been arrested.
President Jacob Zuma set up the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration which has been mandated to deal with all the underlying causes of the tensions between communities and the foreign nationals.
Some of the areas to be addressed by the IMC is the implementation of labour relations policies which affect foreign nationals; the implementation of the laws that govern business licenses; the country’s border management and generally the country’s migration policies.
WEF Director, Head of Africa, Elsie Kanza said Africa has made great strides politically, economically and socially since 1990 but the continent is also faced challenges.
These challenges, such as job creation, migration, skills development and infrastructure, are expected to be discussed at the forum which will take place from 3 - 5 June in Cape Town.
“What is clear is that the appetite among the forum’s constituents and partners for public-private cooperation to solve these challenges has never been greater,” Kanza said.
She was proud to be able to say that women will have a representation of more than 25 percent at the event.
“Of course this should be 50 percent, but no other World Economic Forum meeting has achieved such a ratio ever,” Kanza said.
South Africa will host the forum under the theme: “Then and Now: Reimagining Africa’s Future”.
Convened for regional and global leaders from business, government and civil society, the forum will take stock of progress made over the last 25 years, share insights on the present landscape and identify innovative approaches to accelerate inclusive growth while bring about sustainable development in the future.
More than 1200 people are expected to attend the forum.
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Why Africa must keep an eye on new US, EU trade bloc
The European Union and the United States are negotiating the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which should create the largest free trade zone in the world, accounting for a third of global commerce.
Of course the question is how will this affect Africa and how can we benefit? Well, as it is currently structured, the rules of origin section of the TTIP will heighten the barriers faced by African countries exporting processed goods to the zone because at least 50 per cent of the value addition in a product must be produced in a TTIP state to benefit from tariff reductions.
Such clauses discourage Africa from industrialising yet industrialisation is considered one of the most viable means of pulling millions of Africans out of poverty. Basically it’s the same old bias.
The TTIP also aims to harmonise product standards to a very high level. This is a mixed bag for Kenya which has significant horticultural exports into the TTIP zone.
High standards may be a barrier at first as it will be more difficult for poor countries such as Kenya to comply with them; this may lock out African exporters.
But eventually it will be of benefit for Africa to produce internationally competitive goods. Why should Africa be allowed to lag behind in the pursuit of excellence?
There are already calls for third party countries, particularly developing economies and Africa, to contribute to the TTIP and make recommendations that ensure they benefit.
But even such a position fails to realise a basic truth: the TTIP is not about creating an equitable and fair world, it’s about strengthening the Euro-American power.
So while the specifics of the agreement matter, what the TTIP is truly saying is that the US and the EU are finally admitting and recognising the erosion of their control and influence over the global economic, political and social landscape.
The TTIP is an attempt to rebalance the scales and make Euro-America economically all-powerful again.
The TTIP is an indirect admission by both parties that their influence and clout has been receding in what has increasingly become a multipolar world with the emergence of competition from China, Brazil, India and even Russia in economic and political spheres.
It will be interesting to see how China responds to this mega regional trade agreement and whether it leads to consent or contest of the new norms and rules. Africa should keep an eye on this.
So, how will the TTIP affect the continent? Well, we can only really begin to answer that question once we analyse the specifics but there is already one message Africa should get loud and clear: integrate economically.
The TTIP provides yet another compelling reason for the economic integration of the continent. But, as the outgoing president of the Africa Development Bank states, there are far too many regional and sub-regional funding initiatives that they can never gain critical mass and foster continental economic integration.
The TTIP should provide an even deeper impetus for Kenya to push for intra-regional integration where the EAC integrates with Comesa and SADC and Ecowas.
Integration should become an even stronger mission for Africa. Only then perhaps can Africa begin the process of agglomerating economic and socio-political clout in a New World order.
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tralac’s Daily News selection: 29 May 2015
The selection: Friday, 29 May
Fifty years after, Adesina elected 8th AfDB President (ThisDay)
Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, Thursday broke the jinx when he got elected the eighth president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) at the Annual General Meeting of the bank which held in Abidjan, the Cote d’Ivoire capital. Nigeria had made three attempts at occupying the post without success. It will be Nigeria’s seminal occupation of the office in the 50-year-old bank. However, the support for Nigeria, THISDAY learnt, was boosted by Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries after Sakala from Zimbabwe was dropped in the fifth round.
Adesina's Vision Statement: ‘To achieve this vision, I will focus on driving execution in five key interrelated strategic priority areas that are all linked to the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy and advances the implementation of the Africa 2063 Agenda of the African Union, namely:’
Annual Development Effectiveness Review 2015: driving development through innovation (AfDB)
The ADER addresses three broad questions: What development progress is Africa making? How well is AfDB contributing to Africa’s development? And how well is AfDB managing itself to better support Africa’s development? The report shows how the Bank’s work is in many aspects central to innovation, such as expanding markets through regional integration, promoting skills development in science and technology and, above all, supporting creation of the backbone infrastructure on which innovation depends. The ADER provides evidence of the Bank’s contribution to Africa’s development and discusses how well it manages its portfolio and itself as an organisation. The ADER openly discusses its strengths and weaknesses and notes the reforms it is undertaking to become a stronger partner in development. [Download]
Reimagining Africa’s future: 25th World Economic Forum on Africa will be largest yet (WEF)
The World Economic Forum’s 25th meeting in Africa, taking place in Cape Town on 3-5 June, will be the largest ever in the region, convening more than 1,250 leaders from business, politics, academia, civil society and the media under the theme Then and Now: Reimagining Africa’s Future. In addition to hosting over 90 senior government officials, the meeting will also be the best attended ever by the Forum’s Strategic Partner community of, with a total 83 leading international companies represented. [Conference www]
Northern Corridor summit to focus on private sector (New Times)
The tenth summit for the Northern Corridor Integration Project (NCIP) is set to take place in Kampala, Uganda next week with a special focus on how to actively involve the private sector in the integration projects. The summit, expected to be attended by at least four Heads of State on June 6, is aimed at assessing the implementation status of all the projects launched under the NCIP framework. James Mugume, Permanent Secretary in Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “This is a new relationship and we shall seek to learn from them what their contribution will be in these projects that we are carrying out,” he said. The summit will also be preceded by a business forum on June 4.
Corridor group enters agreement with regional body (The Namibian)
The Walvis Bay Corridor Group has signed a membership agreement with the Southern Africa Shippers Transport and Logistics Council (SASTALC), which is based in South Africa. Walvis Bay provides the shortest link to connect the massive Brazilian economy to the Southern African market. Some of the products currently moving on this trade route via Walvis Bay from Brazil to Southern Africa include chicken, meat, furniture, consumables and construction materials.
COMESA 2016-2020 Medium Term Strategic Plan on course (COMESA)
A task force of Secretariat staff, constituted by the Assistant Secretary-General, Amb. Kipyego Cheluget is currently considering the draft medium term strategic plan (MTSP) for COMESA for 2016-2020. While addressing the meeting of the task force held on 20 May 2015, Amb. Cheluget said that Council at its 32nd Meeting held in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014 decided that the 2016-2020 MTSP should be formulated and forwarded to Council before the end of 2015. The task force met from 20 to 22 May 2015 in Lusaka, Zambia, and is expected to finalise the initial draft of the MTSP before the end of June.
Rwanda re-admitted into ECCAS (New Times)
Rwanda has officially rejoined the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), eight years after pulling out of the regional bloc. The membership was confirmed this week during an annual Conference of Heads of State and Government of the organisation in N'djamena, Chad. Acting Director General in charge of Multilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe said that the readmission would further place Rwanda favourably in the integration agenda. “With Rwanda's readmission into ECCAS, our country, already member of EAC, ICGLR & COMESA, consolidates its position at the heart of Africa.”
Where are jobs for African youth? In agri-business! (AfDB)
Democratic Republic of Congo’s Minister Isidore Kabwe Longo shared his country’s story, calling DRC’s vast and lucrative mineral deposits, “Africa’s mining scandal.” He said his government has started a deliberate shift from mining that the country is most famous for after coming to a realization that, despite having vast natural mineral deposits, these haven’t been able to create jobs for everyone and transform the lives of most Congolese. The Minister said unemployment in his country stands at over 45 percent and the country imports more than 40% of its food supplies costing over US $1.5bn every year. Yet in all this, DR Congo has an estimated 80 million hectares of available arable land, but due to conflict and insecurity, only around 10 percent of this land is currently being used.
UN agriculture agency teams up with global wholesale markets union to boost urban food security (UN News Centre)
FAO estimates that over 40% of root crops, fruits and vegetables are lost wasted, along with 35 per cent of fish, 30 per cent of cereals and 20 per cent of meat and dairy products, and total food waste represents an economic value of some $1 trillion annually.
Together we stand: a policy approach to reducing food loss in West Africa (Mongabay)
Kenya to import farm machinery from Brazil in Sh7.9bn loan deal (Business Daily)
AFDB mulls floating Pula bonds (Mmegi)
The African Development Bank is pondering floating local currency denominated bonds in bid to deepen local capital markets, which are characterised by a lack of suitable long-term investments instruments.
Air China puts direct route to SA on hold (News24)
Air China has cancelled the launch of its much-anticipated direct flights to South Africa. Air China spokesperson Jane Hu told Traveller24, "The flight has been cancelled due to xenophobic attacks last month. China did issue a travel warning to our citizens not to travel to South Africa at that stage. "People are worried about this country,” said Hu. According to Hu, SA's revision of its visa rules also affected the airline's decision.
Other perceptions of China: Views from Africa, Latin America, and Europe (Brookings)
According to the survey by the Pew Research Center, nowhere is public opinion more positive about China than in Africa. This result should not be surprising, as China’s engagement with Africa comes at a time when the continent is developing and pursuing its agenda for economic transformation and is in need of strong economic partnership. Africa is in need of economic partnership and China is engaging the continent on the economic front at an unprecedented scale and scope. As a result, Africa is becoming increasingly globalized through China. These all contribute to the rather positive perception of China on the African continent.
International trade slows sharply in first quarter of 2015 (OECD)
Against a backdrop of an appreciating US dollar and declining oil prices, total merchandise trade, in current US dollars, for G7 and BRIICS economies fell sharply in the first quarter of 2015, with (seasonally adjusted) exports and imports declining by 7.1% and 9.5% respectively compared to the previous quarter. [Download]
G-NEXID and UNCTAD emphasis their commitment to work together (UNCTAD)
UNCTAD and the Global Network of Exim Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID), meeting in Geneva on 19th May 2015, agreed to work together to promote understanding of south-south cooperation the role of banks in financing development. The G-NEXID, with a membership of 24 institutions, was established in March 2006 at the joint initiative of Exim Bank of India and UNCTAD, as a platform to boost South-South trade and investment relations.
Services Trade Restrictiveness Index: logistics services (OECD)
This paper presents results for the Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) for logistics services. The STRI indices are calculated for four subsectors, cargo-handling, storage and warehouse, freight transport agency and customs brokerage services. They cover all 34 OECD countries, Russia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. The logistics services account for a relatively small share of GDP, around 1.5% on average of OECD members for which information is available while they play a crucial role to enhance and facilitate the global value chains of manufactures, retailers and carriers. Trade in logistics services has mainly taken place through commercial presence (Mode 3) and the STRI results highlight the importance of impediments affecting trade via this mode.
SADC gender ministers converge in Zimbabwe for annual meeting (APA)
EAC-USAID health project to improve health services along cross-border sites (EAC)
SADC states discuss climate change adaptation and mitigation (SADC)
Ethiopia, Kenya undertake to coordinate animal health and sanitary measures (IGAD)
Namibia: Cabinet avails N$157 million war chest against FMD (New Era)
Erera strengthens accountability in ECOWAS agencies (Daily Trust)
President Jonathan's speech at the presentation of Handover Notes to Buhari
Rotich downplays shilling fall as currency hits new low (Business Daily)
This week in the news
Follow the links below to read tralac’s daily news selections for the past week:
The selection: Thursday, 28 May 2015
The selection: Wednesday, 27 May 2015
The selection: Tuesday, 26 May 2015
The selection: Monday, 25 May 2015
This post has been sourced on behalf of tralac and disseminated to enhance trade policy knowledge and debate. It is distributed to over 300 recipients across Africa and internationally, serving in the AU, RECS, national government trade departments and research and development agencies. Your feedback is most welcome. Any suggestions that our recipients might have of items for inclusion are most welcome. Richard Humphries (Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @richardhumphri1)
Related News
Rwanda re-admitted into ECCAS
Rwanda has officially rejoined the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), eight years after pulling out of the regional bloc.
The membership was confirmed this week during an annual Conference of Heads of State and Government of the organisation in N'djamena, Chad.
Rwanda expressed the intention to rejoin the bloc in 2013 after pulling out in 2007 saying it was trying to avoid overlapping memberships in several regional community groupings.
Reacting to the development on Twitter, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo said that the country was upbeat on readmission to the bloc and proud of the Central African Heritage.
Rwanda was one of the founding members of ECCAS in 1983. The primary objectives of the body include championing the process of economic cooperation and integration of Central African states.
Acting Director General in charge of Multilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe said that the readmission would further place Rwanda favourably in the integration agenda.
“With Rwanda's readmission into ECCAS, our country, already member of EAC, ICGLR & COMESA, consolidates its position at the heart of Africa,” Nduhungirehe on his Twitter timeline.
Following Rwanda’s readmission, the body now has eleven members including; Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and Sao Tome & Principe.
Other than ECASS, Rwanda is a member of the East African Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries.
Related News
AfDB’s development effectiveness review shows 70% of indicators on track
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is consciously contributing to Africa’s development and it is achieving results.
According to the Bank’s Annual Development Effectiveness Review (ADER) 2015, 70 percent of the Bank’s indicators are on track. The publication, part of a series produced by the Bank’s Quality Assurance and Result’s Department, provides an overview of Africa’s development achievements and trends, reviews the AfDB’s contribution to development results on the continent, and looks at how well the Bank manages its operations and own organization.
The fifth edition of the publication was issued at the 50th Anniversary Annual Meetings of the Bank in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Wednesday, May 27, 2015.
While acknowledging that Africa is making gradual progress, the report notes that the continent’s energy deficit remains very large. The overall electrification rate increased from 38 percent in 2005 to 42 percent in 2013, even as populations grew at a faster rate. Average electricity consumption also edged up, from 666 to 690 KWh/year.
However, Africa is still far behind other developing regions, it states.
The review indicates that the AfDB is contributing to the energy sector in Africa.
“The Bank’s approach to supporting the energy sector has evolved over the years. The 1994 Energy Sector Policy concentrated primarily on institutional reforms and capacity development in the energy sector, with the goal of helping to unlock private investment. We helped to improve pricing policies, management practices and maintenance regimes,” it reads.
The report states that after a few years, however, it became clear that private investment was not forthcoming, and therefore the Bank decided to support its regional member countries by scaling up its investments in major infrastructure development.
“For the past two decades, some 12 percent of AfDB investments have gone into the energy sector. Most went towards building national generation capacity and distribution networks, with an emphasis on rural electrification to promote inclusive growth,” it notes.
Since 2009, the Bank has contributed to financing over 1,900 MW of new generation capacity and over 15,000 km of transmission lines, according to the review.
“Through these efforts, we have provided 567,000 people with new electricity connections and over 14 million people with improved access to electricity,” the review states.
In pursuant of the Bank’s two-prong objectives of inclusive growth and transition to green growth, the review notes that the Bank has provided $32 billion in lending, knowledge and advisory services.
The Bank also plans to set up centres of excellence in biomedical science and engineering to build human capital for the continent.
Annual Development Effectiveness Review 2015: Driving development through innovation
Each year the African Development Bank publishes the Annual Development Effectiveness Review (ADER) to provide an overview of how it contributes to Africa’s development. This fifth edition of the ADER has innovation as its theme. Innovation means not only taking ideas from around the world and adapting them to Africa’s unique conditions, but also using new home-grown ideas from across the continent to improve lives.
The ADER addresses three broad questions: What development progress is Africa making? How well is AfDB contributing to Africa’s development? And how well is AfDB managing itself to better support Africa’s development?
The report shows how the Bank’s work is in many aspects central to innovation, such as expanding markets through regional integration, promoting skills development in science and technology and, above all, supporting creation of the backbone infrastructure on which innovation depends.
The ADER provides evidence of the Bank’s contribution to Africa’s development and discusses how well it manages its portfolio and itself as an organisation. The ADER openly discusses its strengths and weaknesses and notes the reforms it is undertaking to become a stronger partner in development.
Through such initiatives as the Annual Development Effectiveness Review, it demonstrates accountability for the results of its efforts.
Level 1: Development in Africa
Africa today is at a high point in its development fortunes. A combination of high commodity prices, new trading links and widespread improvements in economic governance have made Africa the world’s fastest-growing continent. Robust economic growth is providing African countries with the means to boost public investment, strengthen social services and deliver prosperity to more of their population.
However, despite this remarkable progress, the continent continues to face challenges. African countries have not yet made the structural change needed for growth to become self-sustaining, generating the jobs and livelihood opportunities that would help lift the majority of Africans out of poverty.
In this section, we report on Africa’s development progress over the past few years, highlighting both areas of good performance and areas in need of further effort. In particular, we indicate where innovation can help accelerate development. This section uses 26 indicators from Level 1 of the One Bank Results Measurement Framework to show 2014 performance, with traffic light symbols to indicate how Africa has progressed compared to other developing countries.
Level 2: How AfDB contributes to Africa’s development
As Africa’s premier finance institution, the AfDB provides investments, technical knowledge and policy advocacy to transform lives and livelihoods across the continent and help African countries achieve their development goals. At the end of 2014 our portfolio of operations was valued at more than $31.7 billion.
Our Bank Strategy (2013-22) sets out five core priorities, which provide the structure for this chapter: infrastructure, regional integration, private sector development, skills and technology, and governance and accountability. We also provide an account of our work on cross-cutting policy objectives: strengthening food security, promoting gender equality and reducing conflict and fragility.
In this section, we report on progress against 39 indicators at Level 2 of the One Bank Results Measurement Framework, showing results in the period 2012-14. We use a traffic light system to indicate whether we reached or fell short of our targets. We also set out some of our plans and targets for the next three years. Many of our projects have performed well, achieving their objectives and delivering development benefits to people across Africa and we have led and supported a number of important continent-wide initiatives.
Level 3: How well AfDB manages its operations
At the African Development Bank, we continually strive to improve our performance in strategy and project management. In recent years we have introduced many new measures to help us achieve higher-quality results. This section assesses how well we are managing our portfolio of projects, using 22 indicators from Level 3 of our One Bank Results Measurement Framework. We review the design and supervision of our projects, to ensure that we are making the best use of our resources to promote inclusive and green growth. We look at whether our portfolio is optimised to deliver results efficiently and effectively, and at whether we are learning lessons from past projects to improve our performance. We assess progress on our cross-cutting agendas of gender equality and addressing fragility and climate change.
The return to the Bank headquarters, tight budgets and the Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has affected many of our operations, postponing supervision missions and delaying consultation on Country Strategy Papers. Nonetheless, we have achieved many of our targets for portfolio management and we have also set ourselves some ambitious goals for the coming years.
Level 4: How efficient AfDB is as an organization
The final level of AfDB’s Results Measurement Framework assesses how well we manage ourselves as an organisation. We use 15 indicators to measure how far we have come in improving our structures and management processes to achieve value for money for our partner countries. This section examines our progress in decentralising our staff and functions to the country level and in strengthening our staff management. It looks at whether business process reforms, including the introduction of new IT systems, have led to greater efficiency. We take stock of the structural changes we introduced to help us deliver the Bank Strategy and respond to the needs of our partner countries. We also reflect on the move back to the Bank’s permanent headquarters in Abidjan, assessing how this major operation has affected the delivery of our operations.
To meet the level of ambition set out in the Bank Strategy, we must keep our own organisation under continuous review, seeking out opportunities to drive up performance and achieve better value for our partner countries. This period has therefore been particularly dynamic for the Bank, as we have realigned our structures and resources to deliver on the Strategy.
Related News
Reimagining Africa’s Future: 25th World Economic Forum on Africa will be largest yet
The World Economic Forum’s 25th meeting in Africa, taking place in Cape Town on 3-5 June, will be the largest ever in the region, convening more than 1,250 leaders from business, politics, academia, civil society and the media under the theme Then and Now: Reimagining Africa’s Future.
With the Forum’s first meeting on Africa having taken place in October 1990, the year Nelson Mandela was released from prison, the record levels of participation at this year’s gathering can be seen to reflect both an optimism in the economic prospects of the region and an unprecedented commitment across all stakeholder groups to pursue public-private cooperation as a means of tackling the considerable challenges the region still faces.
In addition to hosting over 90 senior government officials, the meeting will also be the best attended ever by the Forum’s Strategic Partner community of, with a total 83 leading international companies represented. As befits Africa’s youthful population, the meeting will also boast a record 200 young leaders, drawn from the Forum’s community of Global Shapers and Forum of Young Global Leaders, as well as the highest proportion of women leaders – at 270 woman leaders 25.8% – than ever before. In total, over 75 countries will be represented.
“The occasion of our 25th meeting allows us an opportunity to see how far Africa has come economically, socially and politically since 1990. However, what this meeting is really about is looking forward, to see how we can channel the lessons of the past with the creativity, innovation and resourcefulness that comes from all stakeholders working together to solve Africa’s challenges in the present and future,” said Elsie Kanza, Head of Africa, World Economic Forum.
With a programme built upon the three pillars of Enabling Markets, Marshalling Resources and Inspiring Creativity, this year’s meeting will also feature high-level sessions on critical subjects such as migration, combating terrorism and harnessing Africa’s informal economy. Alongside the meeting, the Grow Africa Investment Forum, which runs from 2 to 4 June, will bring together leaders engaged in the Forum-led Grow Africa food security initiative. Another high-level summit will take place focused on mobilizing financing for cross-border infrastructure.
This year’s meeting also boasts a number of innovations, among them Community Conversations, public debates based on the Forum’s popular Davos Open Forum format, in which young people from the city are invited to interact with meeting participants on the key subjects of entrepreneurism and leadership. The meeting will also, for the first time, webcast press conferences and issue briefings live, enabling the public to submit questions on important issues facing Africa’s future.
The Co-Chairs of the World Economic Forum on Africa are: Antony Jenkins, Group Chief Executive, Barclays, United Kingdom; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Undersecretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), New York; Patrice Motsepe, Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa; Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever, United Kingdom; and Michael Rake, Chairman, BT Group, United Kingdom.
Related News
Akinwumi Adesina of Nigeria elected 8th President of the AfDB
“Today, I have been given a great responsibility,” Akinwumi A. Adesina said Thursday upon his election as the 8th President of the African Development Bank Group.
The President-Elect said he was “humbled by this remarkable vote of confidence in me” on the part of the Bank’s Board of Governors, who met during the Bank Group’s 50th Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
His name was announced by Albert Toikeusse Mabri, Minister of Planning and Development for Côte d’Ivoire, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank. The election process was concluded by voting among the Bank’s the Bank’s Board of Governors (54 regional member countries, 26 non-regional), whose voting powers are weighted.
Mabri emphasized that the result “was an expression of the willingness of all the member countries,” and he applauded the “good spirit that prevailed during the election process that was not marked by any tension.”
Currently serving as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi A. Adesina succeeds Donald Kaberuka, whose second term as President of the Bank ends on August 31, 2015, and to whom he paid tribute in a press conference, saying, “I salute the excellent work of President Kaberuka. It will be a big challenge for me to step into his shoes. He leaves a solid Bank behind him.”
In his speech at the Annual Meetings opening ceremony on Monday, May 25, outgoing AfDB President Donald Kaberuka had said: “To my incoming successor, my very best wishes. Ten years goes by very quickly. It is a complex and merciless job, but very exciting. It is, in fact, not a job – but a mission.”
Akinwumi A. Adesina, 55, will assume office on 1 September 2015.
A total of eight candidatures received by the closing date of 30 January 2015 were approved by the Steering Committee of the Board of Governors. The list of candidates was officially announced on 20 February 2015.
The other candidates in the election were:
- Sufian Ahmed (Ethiopia)
- Jaloul Ayed (Tunisia)
- Kordjé Bedoumra (Chad)
- Cristina Duarte (Cabo Verde)
- Samura M W Kamara (Sierra Leone)
- Thomas Z Sakala (Zimbabwe)
- Birama Boubacar Sidibé (Mali)
Akinwumi A. Adesina succeeds:
- Mamoun Beheiry (Sudan), President, African Development Bank, 1964-1970
- Abdelwahab Labidi (Tunisia), President, African Development Bank, 1970-1976
- Kwame Donkor Fordwor (Ghana), African Development Bank, 1976-1980
- Willa Mung’Omba (Zambia), President, African Development Bank, 1980-1985
- Babacar N’diaye (Senegal), President, African Development Bank, 1985-1995
- Omar Kabbaj (Morocco), President, African Development Bank, 1995-2005
- Donald Kaberuka (Rwanda), President, African Development Bank, 2005-present
Related News
Research takes its place in regional integration
The Secretariat will convene a meeting of the policy think tanks and private sector in the region to brief them on the frontier issues for research necessary to support regional integration. This follows the COMESA Council of Ministers directive issued during its 34th meeting held in Addis Ababa.
The Council observed that policy research can directly support regional integration by addressing practical challenges and directed COMESA to embrace the Triple Helix Concept of collaboration between the Government, private sector and academia in implementing the research programme.
The decision of the Council was informed by critical studies that the COMESA Research Programme (CRP) has conducted in the past one year and whose findings have potentially high impact on policy and decision making.
The first one was an audit of the existing non-tariff barriers (NTBs) among COMESA Member States and assessment of their impact and another on intra-COMESA Trade. The second was on Intra-COMESA trade potential analysis which revealed that COMESA has a potential to increase its trade by US $96.7 billion.
The research programme was launched in 2013 with US $3 million kitty from the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). The objective was to enhance the capacity of the COMESA Secretariat in economic and trade policy analysis and research.
“The research programme is playing an important role in providing evidence based policy research and bridging the gap which has existed at the Secretariat,” the Minister noted. “However, there is need for COMESA to develop a sustainability plan to ensure that the programme is maintained once the grant funds have been exhausted.”
In the study on the impact of NTBs, it was found that out of 476 NTBs reported on the online system, 385 had been resolved and 84 were still pending while seven are non-actionable.
On the Intra-COMESA trade study, the sectors found with the highest trade potential were textiles, wooden furniture, horticultural products, household items, hides and skins, footwear and leather products, Portland cement, coffee and tea concentrates, natural gum, precious metals, refined copper and copper alloys, essential oils, jewellery and white and red meat.
Besides the two studies, the CRP supported the Secretariat in undertaking in-house analysis and studies including: the sugar competitiveness study which was key in establishing the extension of the Kenyan Sugar safeguard. It has also been involved in the analysis of the Common External Tariffs harmonization between the four EAC member States and COMESA.
Related News
tralac’s Daily News selection: 28 May 2015
The selection: Thursday, 28 May
Today in Abidjan: the election of the next President of the African Development Bank
AfDB scaled up project funding by 15% to US$ 7.6bn in 2014 (AfDB)
According to the Annual Report, a compendium of the Bank’s activities in 2014 and its operations programme for 2015 released Wednesday, May 27 at the AfDB’s Annual Meetings in Abidjan, infrastructure projects (in energy, transport, and water and sanitation) were accorded priority over the four other operational domains – regional integration, private sector development, skills and technology, and governance and accountability.
The Bank’s other funding approvals for the year were channelled to the finance sector which accounted for 17.9 percent of the loans allocated to the continent’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to ease their financing constraints and promote financial inclusion. Agriculture, which accounted for 10.8 percent of the loans and grants, focused on enhancing food security and raising productivity. The social sector received 8.3 percent of all approvals, with skills development, technological innovation, and improvement of health-care service delivery as key beneficiaries. [Download]
AU agency targets $18bn infrastructure projects (NewsDay)
African Ecological Futures 2015 report is posted (AfDB)
Some SADC-related policy processes:
The role of railway transportation for sustainable economic, development in Southern Africa: SARA conference theme
ICRC and SADC sign memorandum of understanding (SADC)
Countdown to the launch of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (COMESA)
The advance teams will start arriving at the venue from 5th June 2015 for the technical meetings that will prepare the ground for the launch. The Tripartite Committee of Senior Officials and the Council of Ministers will be part of the advance team and their pre-launch meetings will take place on 7 and 8 June respectively. They will prepare the launch documents including the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement, the Declaration launching Phase II of the negotiations for the TFTA and the Roadmap. The Tripartite Heads of State and Government will append their signatures on the documents on 10 June 2015 and thereafter issue a Communique.
Nyusi: 'No African common market without peace and stability' (The Zimbabwean)
Research takes its place in regional integration (COMESA)
The COMESA Secretariat will convene a meeting of the policy think tanks and private sector in the region to brief them on the frontier issues for research necessary to support regional integration. This follows the COMESA Council of Ministers directive issued during its 34th meeting held in Addis Ababa. The decision of the Council was informed by critical studies that the COMESA Research Programme (CRP) has conducted in the past one year and whose findings have potentially high impact on policy and decision making. The first one was an audit of the existing non-tariff barriers among COMESA Member States and assessment of their impact and another on intra-COMESA Trade. The second was on Intra-COMESA trade potential analysis which revealed that COMESA has a potential to increase its trade by US $96.7 billion.
Picture Trade: How we can visualize intra-regional trade in South Asia and beyond (World Bank)
Intra-regional trade constitutes less than 5% of total trade in South Asia, according to World Bank analysis. Economic cooperation remains low, despite the Agreement on a South Asian Free Trade Area. The region’s low level of intra-regional trade is a puzzling phenomenon, and it’s left many interested folks asking questions. Here is a visual representation of regional trade in South Asia in WITS that can help quickly unpack some of these questions as they relate to the region.
AGOA should do more to strengthen intellectual property in Africa’s creative sectors (National Law Review)
It is time for protection of IP rights to be more than just a condition for AGOA eligibility. The U.S. government should provide technical and capacity-building assistance to AGOA-eligible countries in order to help their governments create IP policy frameworks, modernize IP laws, and enforce these regimes. In the interests of promoting regional integration, the U.S. government also should work with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization and the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle to develop regional agreements (such as the Swakopmund Protocol and the Banjul Protocol) and address issues that are of a cross-border nature. An added benefit to acting at the regional level is that it facilitates a coordinated approach to dealing with creative works that stem from traditional knowledge or traditional cultural expressions.
Implications of AGOA out-of-cycle review for South Africa (tralac Newsletter)
Time for a reality check of what is at stake in AGOA talks (Business Report)
EACSOF roots for closer collaboration with East African Regional Assembly (EAC)
The Civil Society in the region under the aegis of the East African Civil Society Organisation Forum (EACSOF) is keen to take collaboration with the East African Legislative Assembly a notch higher. Consequently, linkages between both organisations are expected to be strengthened following the development of a collaboration framework.
WTO launches dedicated website for new Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (WTO)
The TFAF was created at the request of developing country and least-developed country (LDC) members to help ensure that they receive the assistance needed to reap the full benefits of the Trade Facilitation Agreement and to support the ultimate goal of full implementation of the new Agreement by all members. The TFAF will support these countries in assessing their specific needs and identifying possible development partners to help them meet those needs through a diverse number of activities.
UNCTAD training session for LDCs on drafting and negotiating preferential rules of origin: Download the presentations
European Union gives Sh1bn to boost Kenyan exports
The money is to be spent on a project dubbed Standards and Market Access Programme (SMAP) which aims at extending capacity on Kenya’s technical and phytosanitary barriers to international trade. According to SMAP Chief Technical Advisor Mr Stefano Sedola, a number of Kenyan producers have encountered difficulties in accessing the EU market especially in 2013 and 2014. The products that have been mostly affected, according to Mr Sedola, include French beans, snow peas, gypsophila, karalla and roses, among others.
How standards will help trade amongst Africans (Daily Trust)
Uganda: 2016 Budget hits record Shs24 trillion (Daily Monitor)
The government has presented a Shs24.1 trillion Budget for the 2015/16 Financial Year, up from this year’s Shs15 trillion. This is the second time in many months the government has revised upwards its 2015/2016 Financial Year (FY) Budget estimates.
Nigeria's foreign trade down by N110.2bn in first quarter (ThisDay)
According to the NBS, value of imports stood at N1.64 trillion Q1 2015, representing a decrease of N385.8billion or 19 per cent from N2.03 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter. Year-on- year however, the value of the country’s imports increased by N99.8billion or 6.5 percent from the Q1 2014 value of N1.54 trillion. On the other hand, the value of exports totalled N3.23 trillion in Q1 2015, representing an increase of N275.6billion or 9.3 per cent over the value recorded in the preceding quarter.
FG revenue to drop further with ECOWAS CET implementation (Leadership)
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 (FAO)
The number of hungry people in the world has dropped to 795 million – 216 million fewer than in 1990-92 – or around one person out of every nine, according to the latest edition of the annual UN hunger report, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 (SOFI). Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment in the world – at 23.2 percent, or almost one in every four people. However, African nations that invested more in improving agricultural productivity and basic infrastructure also achieved their MDG hunger target, notably in West Africa. [Download]
Accra Perspectives on international public finance and the Financing for Development process (Development Progress)
The event brought together a diverse group of actors to discuss priorities relating to official development assistance and international public finance to be addressed in the post-2015 Financing for Development (FfD) discussions which will culminate in the Addis Ababa agreement in July 2015. What follows is an overview of the main themes that emerged from these discussions.
What is really slowing India’s exports? (LiveMint)
Domestic problems such as an electricity shortage continue to hamper export manufacturers. Sonal Varma, economist from Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd, said, “A textile company could get a large order inflow but if they don’t have power production, then they cannot operate at full capacity.” Over two-thirds of Indian exporters are small producers and are unable to benefit from alternatives such as having a captive power plant. Other infrastructure issues such as rail, road and port connectivity are not keeping up with demands of the day, said HSBC in a research note dated 26 May.
Kenya Airways gets Sh4.2 billion Treasury bailout (Business Daily)
Kenya: Delayed pact with Brazil hurts trade (The Star)
Sh4.4tr required to decongest Dar (The Citizen)
Kenya: Regional blocs the way to go for counties (Daily Nation)
Rwanda: Govt moves to help professionals break into EAC labour market (New Times)
Angola and China discuss new cooperation model in Beijing (MacauHub)
This post has been sourced on behalf of tralac and disseminated to enhance trade policy knowledge and debate. It is distributed to over 300 recipients across Africa and internationally, serving in the AU, RECS, national government trade departments and research and development agencies. Your feedback is most welcome. Any suggestions that our recipients might have of items for inclusion are most welcome. Richard Humphries (Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @richardhumphri1)
Related News
World hunger falls to under 800 million, eradication is next goal
72 countries have achieved the Millennium Development target of halving proportion of the chronically under-nourished
The number of hungry people in the world has dropped to 795 million – 216 million fewer than in 1990-92 – or around one person out of every nine, according to the latest edition of the annual UN hunger report, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 (SOFI).
In the developing regions, the prevalence of under-nourishment – which measures the proportion of people who are unable to consume enough food for an active and healthy life – has declined to 12.9 percent of the population, down from 23.3 percent a quarter of a century ago reports SOFI 2015, published yesterday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
A majority – 72 out of 129 – of the countries monitored by FAO have achieved the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the prevalence of undernourishment by 2015, with developing regions as a whole missing the target by a small margin. In addition, 29 countries have met the more ambitious goal laid out at the World Food Summit in 1996, when governments committed to halving the absolute number of undernourished people by 2015.
“The near-achievement of the MDG hunger targets shows us that we can indeed eliminate the scourge of hunger in our lifetime. We must be the Zero Hunger generation. That goal should be mainstreamed into all policy interventions and at the heart of the new sustainable development agenda to be established this year,” said FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva.
“If we truly wish to create a world free from poverty and hunger, then we must make it a priority to invest in the rural areas of developing countries where most of the world's poorest and hungriest people live,” said IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze. “We must work to create a transformation in our rural communities so they provide decent jobs, decent conditions and decent opportunities. We must invest in rural areas so that our nations can have balanced growth and so that the three billion people who live in rural areas can fulfil their potential.”
“Men, women and children need nutritious food every day to have any chance of a free and prosperous future. Healthy bodies and minds are fundamental to both individual and economic growth, and that growth must be inclusive for us to make hunger history,” said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin.
Striking advances, given challenging environment
Progress towards fully achieving the 2015 food security targets was hampered in recent years by challenging global economic conditions.
Extreme weather events, natural disasters, political instability and civil strife have all impeded progress – 24 African countries currently face food crises, twice as many as in 1990; around one of every five of the world's undernourished lives in crisis environments characterized by weak governance and acute vulnerability to death and disease.
SOFI 2015 notes that over the past 30 years crises have evolved from catastrophic, short-term, acute and highly visible events to protracted situations, due to a combination of factors, especially natural disasters and conflicts, with climate change, financial and price crises frequently among the exacerbating factors.
Hunger rates in countries enduring protracted crises are more than three times higher than elsewhere. In 2012 some 366 million people were living in this kind situation – of whom 129 million were undernourished – 19 percent of all food-insecure people on the planet.
Yet, alongside these challenges, the world population has grown by 1.9 billion since 1990, making reductions of the number of hungry people all the more striking, the report says.
Bright lights and darker shadows on the hunger map
Large reductions in hunger were achieved in East Asia and very fast progress was posted in Latin America and the Caribbean, southeast and central Asia, as well as some parts of Africa, showing that inclusive economic growth, agricultural investments and social protection, along with political stability makes the elimination of hunger possible. Above all, the political will to make hunger eradication a paramount development objective has fostered progress.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment in the world – at 23.2 percent, or almost one in every four people. However, African nations that invested more in improving agricultural productivity and basic infrastructure also achieved their MDG hunger target, notably in West Africa.
The proportion of hungry people in Latin America and the Caribbean has dropped from 14.7 percent to 5.5 percent since 1990, while the share of underweight children (below 5 years of age) also declined sharply. A strong commitment to hunger reduction was translated into substantial social protection programmes which, coupled with strong economic growth, drove continent-wide progress.
Diverse trends were observed in different parts of Asia. Countries in Eastern and Southeast Asia have achieved steady and rapid reduction in both malnourishment indicators, buoyed by investment in water and sanitation infrastructure as well as favourable economic prospects.
In southern Asia, the prevalence of undernourishment has declined modestly, to 15.7 percent from 23.9 percent, but much greater progress was made in reducing underweight among young children.
Severe food insecurity is close to being eradicated in North Africa, with the prevalence of undernourishment below 5 percent, while dietary quality is of growing concern in the region, where there is a rising prevalence of overweight and obesity.
In West Asia, where hygiene conditions are generally advanced and child underweight rates low, the incidence of hunger has risen due to war, civil strife and consequent large migrant and refugee populations in some countries.
Lessons from the MDGs experience
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for how to improve food security, the SOFI report outlines several factors that played a critical role in achieving the hunger target.
First, improved agricultural productivity, especially by small and family farmers, leads to important gains in hunger and poverty reduction. High performers on that front in Africa met the MDG hunger target while those that made slower progress did not.
Second, while economic growth is always beneficial, not least because it expands the fiscal revenue base necessary to fund social transfers and other assistance programmes, it needs to be inclusive to help reduce hunger. Inclusive growth provides a proven avenue for those with fewer assets and skills in boosting their incomes, and providing them the resilience they need to weather natural and man-made shocks. Raising the productivity of family farmers is an effective way out of poverty and hunger.
Third, the expansion of social protection – often cash transfers to vulnerable households, but also food vouchers, health insurance or school meal programs, perhaps linked to guaranteed procurement contracts with local farmers – correlated strongly with progress in hunger reduction and in assuring that all members of society have the healthy nutrition to pursue productive lives.
Some 150 million people worldwide are prevented from falling into extreme poverty thanks to social protection, according to SOFI – but more than two-thirds of the world's poor still do not have access to regular and predictable forms of social support. Transfers help households manage risk and mitigate shocks that would otherwise leave them trapped in poverty and hunger.
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WTO launches dedicated website for new Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility
The WTO has launched a new website which will serve as a focal point for members, donors, and others seeking information on the new Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF).
The TFAF was created at the request of developing country and least-developed country (LDC) members to help ensure that they receive the assistance needed to reap the full benefits of the Trade Facilitation Agreement and to support the ultimate goal of full implementation of the new Agreement by all members. The TFAF will support these countries in assessing their specific needs and identifying possible development partners to help them meet those needs through a diverse number of activities.
The Facility was formally launched on 22 July 2014 by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and became operational on 27 November 2014.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement broke new ground for developing and least-developed countries in the way it will be implemented. For the first time in WTO history, the requirement to implement the Agreement was directly linked to the capacity of the country to do so. In addition, the Agreement states that assistance and support should be provided to help them achieve that capacity.
To benefit from this, developing and LDC members must notify the WTO which provisions they will implement when the Agreement enters into force or, in the case of LDCs, within one year after entry into force (Category A commitments); which provisions they will implement after a transitional period following the entry into force of the Agreement (Category B); and which provisions they will implement on a date after a transitional period following the entry into force of the Agreement and that require the acquisition of assistance and support for capacity building (Category C).
The aim of the TFAF is to help ensure that this assistance is provided to all those needing it. The website provides background on the Agreement and the TFAF, information on programmes that support implementation of the Agreement, as well as information on national contact points for trade facilitation in developing and LDC members.
The website also provides information on TFAF support related to the preparation of Category A, B and C commitments, assistance and support for capacity-building, and applications for TFAF grants where no other funding sources are available to developing and LDC countries to meet their implementation needs. The website is a “work in progress” and will be continuously updated to provide useful information for WTO members.
» The TFAF website can be accessed here in English, French and Spanish.
Background
Concluded at the WTO’s 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference, the Trade Facilitation Agreement contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area.
The Protocol of Amendment inserting the TFA into Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement was subsequently adopted by the General Council on 27 November 2014. This in turn opened the door for members to formally accept the TFA through their domestic legislative procedures.
To date, five WTO members – Hong Kong (China), Singapore, the United States, Mauritius and Malaysia – have secured domestic acceptance of the TFA. Two-thirds of the WTO’s 161 members will need to ratify the TFA in order for the Agreement to enter into force.
More information on trade facilitation and the TFA can be found at www.wto.org/tradefacilitation.
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Financing the Future: Accra Perspectives on International Public Finance and the Financing for Development process
The “Financing the Future” conference was organised by a group of organisations from across the world, including Overseas Development Institute (UK), the United Nations Development Programme, Centro Europeo de Pensamiento Estratégico Internacional (Colombia), the Brookings Institution (USA), the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (South Africa), the Africa Centre for Economic Transformation (Ghana), Development Finance International (UK), Development Initiatives (UK) and the Economic and Social Research Foundation (Tanzania).
The event brought together a diverse group of actors to discuss priorities relating to official development assistance and international public finance to be addressed in the post-2015 Financing for Development (FfD) discussions which will culminate in the Addis Ababa agreement in July 2015. What follows is an overview of the main themes that emerged from these discussions.
1. The continued importance of official development assistance (ODA), in particular for fragile states and the poorest countries, and to address strategic priorities in MICs
Participants identified the continued importance of ODA in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the post-2015 era, especially in providing support to fragile states and sub-Saharan Africa, where extreme poverty is expected to be concentrated in the future. Participants also highlighted an important role for ODA in supporting newly graduating Middle Income Countries (MICs) to develop sustainably and in addressing pockets of poverty and inequality challenges in more established MICs.
Building on these themes participants emphasised the importance of OECD donors reaffirming the 0.7% of GNI ODA target and committing to an ambitious timetable for its implementation in the Addis Ababa FfD agreement. Participants also emphasised that such commitments need to sincere and honoured, as the failure to deliver on previous ODA commitments had eroded trust and credibility in relation to ODA delivery.
2. Mobilising additional and more diverse sources of international public finance for MICs, whilst addressing debt sustainability issues
Participants highlighted the financing challenges facing new Middle Income Countries (MICs), many of whom have experienced/are experiencing falling levels of ODA (especially in its most concessional forms) following graduation to MICs status. Such an approach to ODA allocation leaves these countries accessing less concessional forms of finance in order to meet their financing needs, creating challenges for financial management and sustainability. The experience of these countries therefore highlights the importance of identifying more appropriate thresholds for when countries are able to graduate from ODA as well as ensuring that this process is better managed to respond to the context of individual countries. It also highlights the potential for other forms of international public finance (e.g. non-concessional long-term loans) to support these countries and therefore the importance of Addis Ababa helping to expand the volume of these flows.
In exploring issues related to less concessional forms of international public finance (IPF) participants identified the critical importance of ensuring that debt sustainability is adequately addressed in the evolving system of IPF and that (donor/international institution and country) financing policies are designed in a way that avoids any future debt crises from emerging.
3. Strengthen domestic revenues mobilisation
Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) emerged as a very clear priority to be addressed in the Addis Ababa FfD agreement and in the post-2015 era. In exploring how ODA and other forms of IPF can support efforts to address this agenda participants identified the significant challenges that remain in reorienting these resources to ensure that they focus more effectively on supporting developing countries to reduce and move beyond their dependence on aid. This should involve ensuring that there is a greater focus on ODA and IPF supporting economic transformation and institutional development. It should also involve more extensive use of aid in building the country capacity and expertise required to pursue DRM efforts, as only a very small proportion (possibly as little as 0.07%) of current aid flows are focussed on addressing challenges relating to DRM.
4. Mobilising a renewed commitment to aid effectiveness
Participants identified the continued importance of addressing the challenges that remain in maximising the effectiveness of ODA and other forms of IPF in supporting sustainable development. Such efforts are especially important in the poorest countries for whom ODA and IPF remains a significant share of their financing.
Participants identified a range of ODA and IPF effectiveness issues which require action, including the importance of increasing delivery through country systems, reducing the bureaucracy related to such financing, ensuring it is directed by country priorities and improving transparency relating to flows and impacts.
5. Priorities for utilising aid to catalysing the sustainable development impact of private flow
With regard to efforts to more effectively utilise ODA and IPF to catalyse the private sector, we discussed the need to support the development of bankable projects, improve regulations designed to ensure these efforts support sustainable development, provide risk guarantees and to support countries to effectively assess, negotiate and design such public-private collaborations. We also discussed the importance of ensuring these collaborations are adequately monitored and ensuring that companies receiving support from IPF sources are set high standards with regard to tax, investment and Environmental, Social and Governance principles.
6. Deepening and widening sector priorities
It was agreed that in the post-2015 era a wider range of sectors will need to be prioritised, with a continued focus on the significant unfinished agenda in the social sectors alongside more of a focus on promoting growth and economic transformation. In relation to the social sectors we explored the financing gaps that the poorest countries face in areas such as health, education and social protection, especially as the SDGs will attempt to complete and go beyond the MDGs agenda in these areas. With regard to economic priorities financing needs related to infrastructure were prominent in the discussions.
7. Establishing a strong follow-up and accountability process for FfD
We also identified that one of main weaknesses of the Monterrey agreement was that there was insufficient emphasis and political attention on the follow-up and accountability process. If the ambitions expressed by the Addis Ababa FfD Agreement are to be realised then it is vital that time-bound concrete commitments are included in the agreement and that a more significant and better resourced accountability process is also committed to.
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Post-2015 development agenda talks consider follow-up and review options
Delegates meeting at the UN headquarters last week remained divided on how best to follow-up and review a planned post-2015 development agenda, including a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs).
While consensus reportedly emerged around the importance of a functioning review framework, differences remained between countries over the terminology, degree of centralisation, and the relationship between the monitoring of the post-2015 agenda as a whole and the outcome from parallel UN talks on development financing.
The co-facilitators of the post-2015 talks – David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland and Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya – had released a discussion paper earlier in May outlining key elements on follow-up and review that have emerged in post-2015 talks to date.
The new development agenda is due to be adopted by world leaders at a summit scheduled to be held in New York in September.
Securing a good review
According to Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB), some delegates disagreed on whether to label the process a monitoring, accountability, or review exercise. Furthermore, while a number of delegates supported the use of a High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) as a key platform for review at the global level, some differences emerged around its outputs and relationship with other institutions.
The HLPF, born out of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012 and placed under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), replaces the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in following the implementation of sustainable development.
During last week’s post-2015 session, negotiating groups such as the G77/China said that other mechanisms and conventions should report to the HLPF, with a view to follow up. Other nations cautioned against a centralised structure, calling instead for a system where the HLPF was supported by a network of existing review mechanisms, including other agencies with expertise relevant to elements of a list of proposed SDGs put forward by a dedicated UN working group last July.
Delegates also did not reach convergence on how to structure the HLPF’s outputs in this area, with the co-facilitators of the talks noting that the body only meets annually for eight days, which may not give it enough time to take on all the tasks eventually mandated.
The relationship with the outcome document of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) remained unresolved by the end of the week, with many delegates agreeing that the question of whether to have one overarching or two separate monitoring frameworks for both processes would need to be resolved after there is more clarity on the financing talks’ content.
Trade-related targets have been put forward in both the proposed SDGs and the revised FfD3 draft outcome document.
SDG targets
Ahead of last week’s talks the co-facilitators had also released a revised proposal on selected targets for the proposed SDGs.
Some of these revisions address areas in the UN working group’s proposal where “x%s” instead of numbers were left for some of the targets. In other instances the co-facilitators have proposed revisions to bring the SDGs into line with other international agreements.
One such case applies to a trade-related target under the proposed health goal, which mentions flexibilities affirmed by the WTO’s Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, with TRIPS referring to Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), in relation to providing access to affordable essential medicines. Revisions to this target had already been proposed by the co-facilitators ahead of a post-2015 session in March to make it more consistent with current WTO documents.
The latest revisions document acknowledges that while the target’s language is inconsistent with certain aspects of the WTO declaration, making substantive linguistic revisions could backtrack on earlier negotiations, and therefore it suggests keeping the original proposed SDG text.
Other proposed revisions at the recent session, as in March, met with mixed reactions from post-2015 delegates who continued to express concern that this exercise would re-open the UN working group’s SDG negotiations. Others reportedly welcomed the effort to ensure alignment with international agreements.
Next steps
The post-2015 talks will now head into a final negotiating phase in the coming two months in a bid to secure an outcome document to be adopted in September. Talks since January have focused on the four substantive elements due to be included in the new framework: a declaration, the SDGs, the means of implementation (MoI) for these, and follow-up and review modalities.
The co-facilitators announced at the end of the week that a “zero draft” of the outcome would be provided on or around 1 June. The next post-2015 negotiating session is scheduled for 22-25 June, followed shortly after by the Third HLPF. According to the processes’ current agenda, delegates should wrap up the post-2015 outcome talks by the end of July.
Meanwhile informal talks are currently ongoing this week in New York on the FfD3 outcome document. That conference is due to be held 13-16 July in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Post-2015 delegates last week also received a briefing update from John Pullinger, this year’s chair of the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC), on its work on developing a global indicator framework for the SDGs, which is due to be adopted at the body’s annual session next March. Further progress reports will be delivered at the June and July post-2015 negotiating sessions.
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African countries asked to embrace international trade
African countries have been urged to pursue policies aimed at fast-tracking integration of the continent into a global economy.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said it was time for Africa to pursue an economic integration agenda that would ensure the continent is at the centre of global economic growth.
“Countries should seek new partnerships and take advantage of emerging markets and opportunities and lower trade barriers to leverage trade for sustainable development,” she said. Africa, she added, should expedite the process of building a Free Trade Area (FTA) currently at embryonic stage.
Mohamed said Heads of State are ready to initiate the negotiation process when they meet in South Africa in June for the forthcoming summit, a move she noted would demonstrate a high level political commitment by the African leaders that time is ripe for Africa to pursue its economic agenda and integrate fully into the global trading system as a focused entity.
“Such partnerships are in a category of their own by dint of their scope and their impact are most likely to create a symmetry in a global trade area,” she said at the opening session of the conference on mega trading blocks and the future of African trade at a Nairobi hotel on Tuesday.
She said it was crucial to interrogate potential impact of mega-regionals with a view to formulate requisite response on how such agreements are likely to affect all involved.
Mohamed said African economies need to urgently deepen domestic economic reforms, diversify markets and risk, build economies of scale, enhance competiveness, pursue export-led growth, and build global supply chains.
She said time for Africa to become a global standard maker was finally here to ensure the multilateral trade system was based on the criteria set in Africa.
“It is expected that an African wide Continental (CFTA) will become operational by 2017,” she added. “We need to strengthen the role and maintain the centrality of WTO in the trading system and not allow that role to be diluted,” she said.
FREE TRADE
She said Africans ought to build the dynamism, confidence and boldness that the noble idea and vision of free trade in Africa is now. “I know we can do it because our history has prepared us well,” she emphasised.
The CS said Africa now stands at monumental place with an opportunity that must not be missed, to make a significant impact and make her voice loud enough to be heard through the integration process.
She said Africa needed to invest in industrial and infrastructural development because transformation will be key to increasing the continent’s competitiveness globally.
Mohamed said, quoting the Wold Bank that Africa requires close to $95 million annually sustained for the next 10 years to transform its infrastructure.
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European Union gives Sh1bn to boost Kenyan exports
The European Union (EU) has channelled 12.1 million euros (Sh1.26bn) to various players in Kenya’s export industry in a bid to save the ailing sector.
The money is to be spent on a project dubbed Standards and Market Access Programme (SMAP) which aims at extending capacity on Kenya’s technical and phytosanitary barriers to international trade.
According to SMAP Chief Technical Advisor Mr Stefano Sedola, a number of Kenyan producers have encountered difficulties in accessing the EU market especially in 2013 and 2014.
The products that have been mostly affected, according to Mr Sedola, include French beans, snow peas, gypsophila, karalla and roses, among others.
Except for roses, most of other products come from small scale farmers who grow on less than one-acre of land.
“SMAP will address issues such as information on phytosanitary certificate, harmful organisms and modified documents,” said Mr Sedola.
The project is set to run until December 2016 and will be implemented by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (Kephis) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido).
Other implementing partners are the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs).
Strategies that aim at boosting international trade include capacity building for producers such as agronomists and farmers doing organic farming and addressing practices that hinder demand for Kenyan products.
The move comes at a time when the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) Technical Manager Mr Francis Wario warned that the country risked losing its approximated Sh60 billion annual earnings from the export of fresh produce.
“All players in the chain must keenly watch over issues such as maximum residue levels as required by the export market,” said Mr Wario.
USE ORGANIC FARMING
He said farmers must think of using organic farming to control pests and diseases in a bid to minimize chemical use.
Farmers, Mr Wario added, needed to be trained on proper use of chemicals as most have been misinformed by money-hungry agro chemical sellers who want to boost their sales.
Mr Wario blamed ‘briefcase’ exporters for trying to export produce that had not met the international requirements causing interceptions and losses.
“The briefcase exporters who use shortcuts and try to sneak sub-standard produce, most of which is contaminated, are spoiling for us all,” he said.
He added that exporters are working on ensuring that there is an organised way of following the whole chain from production to export in a bid to minimize chances of having brokers in the trade.
Agriculture accounts for an approximated 27 per cent of Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP) with an estimated 80 per cent of the population depending on this sector.
Already, experts have warned that Kenya may lose her capsicum export market in the EU due to False Codling Moth (FCM) – an indigenous pest only found in Africa – experts have warned.
Neighbouring Uganda has already stopped exporting capsicum to EU due to numerous interceptions after her produce was found to be FCM contaminated.
“Our capsicum has already been intercepted severally from late last year and we risk losing the market if something is not done,” said Mr Wario.
CAUTION OVER MOTH
Though he would not give the exact number of interceptions, Mr Wario said even once was a threat enough.
Experts now want Kenyan farmers to be cautious of the moth, lest the market be lost.
Although FCM is not a quarantine pest currently, the EU members are planning to pass a law against any produce contaminated by the insect.
According to Samuel Kagumba, a sanitary and phytosanitary consultant, FCM is rated among the top five key pests affecting fresh produce trade in Kenya.
“Kenya urgently needs to carry out surveillance to know the pest’s distribution,” said Kagumba
Other top pests that pose a challenge to the EU market include Spolodoptera Littoralis, Bemisia Tobaci, Liriomyza Spp and Thrips.
The pests, according to Kagumba, were listed last year by the EU.
If Kenya manages to control the pest, its export market for capsicum may expand as it stands chances of taking up a share of what Uganda used to export, according to Mr Kagumba.
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AfDB weighs options for Africa’s economic transformation
As Africa’s premier development finance institution, the African Development Bank has kept faith with its mission by positioning itself at the centre of Africa’s transfor-mation in line with its 2013-2022 Ten Year Strategy.
Anchored on two pillars – inclusive growth and gradual transition to green growth – the strategy has infrastructure development, regional integration, private sector develop-ment, governance and skills and technology as focus areas of the Bank’s intervention.
Catering to the needs of fragile states, boosting agriculture and food security and striving to enhance gender equity in development are the Bank’s priority funding areas.
Thus, infrastructure development has benefitted from huge investments to the tune of US $28 billion in the past decade compared to US $18 billion invested in the sector in four decades (1964-2004), according to a financial presentation made at the ongoing 50th Annual Meetings of the Bank in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The presentation jointly made by the Vice-President for Finance, Charles Boamah, and the Officer-in-charge of Treasury, Hassatou N’Sele, also looked at the potentials, challenges and plausible scenarios for the continent’s transformation.
Africa is home to nearly 30 percent of the world’s mineral reserves, 95 percent of its untapped hydropower; 10 percent of oil and eight percent of gas. The continent will be home to the youngest population in the world for the next 40 years. It is watered by some of the highest annual rainfall (Congo Basin) in the world.
Under normal circumstances, these strategic natural endowments should be able to propel Africa, which is currently the second-fastest growing continent outside Asia.
However, the continent is also beset by acute impediments to growth, including high poverty rates with over 400 million of its people living on less than US $1.25 a day, according to the analysis.
Worse, high poverty rates are further compounded by an acute lack of energy with current estimates indicating that some 620 million people in Africa are not connected to any electricity grid.
Furthermore, Africa, with 54 countries and micro markets, is so fragmented that the idea of developing economies of scale in most these countries seem far-fetched. Thus, trade among and between African countries is currently estimated at 12 percent.
Governance is also considered to be a major development issue in Africa as it impacts negatively on the cost of doing business in a critical ways.
However, the good news is that, in spite of these challenges, many African countries have been on the growth path in the past decade with West and East Africa registering the highest growth rates at 6 and 7.1 percent, respectively, in 2014.
“The factors driving such growth included increased investment in infrastructure, a growing private sector, and greater agricultural and mining production,” the presentation noted.
It also pointed to the growing importance of Africa’s diaspora remittances, which reached US $67 billion in 2014, surpassing Official Development Assistance and Foreign Direct Investment, both of which have been the dominant sources of investment finance to Africa in the past.
AfDB believes that with better infrastructure and greater trade facilitation, GDP growth would be higher than seven percent, a rate that is higher than population increase. At that point, it becomes feasible to pave the way to the continent’s transformation.