News
tralac’s Daily News selection: 31 July 2015
The selection: Friday, 31 July
SA's June trade data posted by SARS
WTO updates its Statistics Database with revised 2014 data
The WTO updated on 30 July 2015 its Statistics Database, which now includes revised data for 2014 on global exports and imports of goods and on trade in commercial services. The data are available by country and region. More extensive data on trade in goods, with further breakdowns, will be made available by 1 September. In addition, the WTO has issued statistics on trade in commercial services for the first quarter of 2015, produced in cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). These show that world exports and imports of commercial services decreased by 4.7 per cent in Q1 (measured in current US dollars) compared with the same quarter of the previous year. The drop is mostly due to the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar.
Kenya industry safeguards place it on a collision path with WTO over free trade (Business Daily)
Kenya faces a dilemma over continued protection of its manufacturers amid risk of reprisals from other World Trade Organisation members aggrieved by its actions. The global body has in its latest audit report for July 2015 listed Kenya among countries that are using tariff barriers to shield domestic producers against external competition and warned that such measures could restrict trade and weaken the prospects for full recovery from the global recession.
Africa50, a step change for infrastructure financing and development (AfDB)
Africa50, the new and innovative infrastructure investment platform promoted by the AfDB held its Constitutive General Assembly on the 29th of July 2015 in Casablanca, Morocco. Twenty African countries and the AfDB have subscribed for an initial aggregate amount of USD 830m in share capital. These founding African countries are Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, The Gambia and Togo. While this first closing was available only to African countries, it is anticipated that the second and subsequent closings will be available not only to African countries that are yet to invest in Africa50, but also non-sovereign investors both in Africa and outside Africa. The second closing is expected before the end of 2015.
Building democratic developmental states for economic transformation in Southern Africa: communique
The main objective of the conference was to explore how Southern African countries can seek to promote the building of democratic developmental states necessary for economic transformation in the region. The conference made the following recommendations:
New Deal Somali Compact: High-Level Partnership Forum communique
We are encouraged by the effort made by the FGS in consultation with the Interim Regional Administrations to initiate work on a long-term development framework (Vision 2035) to positively shape the future socioeconomic transformation of Somalia. We acknowledge that this long term framework must be linked to strategies such as the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, and reflect the global Sustainable Development Goals.
Zimbabwe's MTBS was presented yesterday: selected links
Bans, duty hike on used imports (The Herald)
Government has banned the importation of second-hand clothes and shoes with effect from September 1 this year, as part of economy-wide measures to facilitate recovery of local industry. The products have been removed from the general import licence, with future importations now subject to seizure and destruction. Presenting the 2015 Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review Statement, that came two years to the 2013 harmonised elections that ushered in the incumbent Government, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the move was meant to reduce competition between imports and local products, a factor that has adversely affected local industry.
Economy expected to grow 1,5% (The Herald)
Job cuts for civil servants (NewsDay)
Zimbabwe to cut royalty fees levied on small gold mines – finmin (Mining Weekly)
South Africa: resources profiled in latest Agbiz eNewsletter
BFAP Baseline Agricultural Outlook for 2015-2024
Standard Bank presentation at last week's BUSA Economic Policy forum
Debt situation 'tight', but controlled, says Bank of Mozambique
At one of the Bank’s regular briefings on the country’s economic situation, Sousa reacted to the recent downgrade in Mozambique’s credit rating, by the ratings agency Standard and Poor’s. Sousa stressed that the government is not in arrears with any of its creditors. In the first quarter of this year, he added, the Mozambican state spent 32.3 million dollars in servicing its debts. While Standard and Poor’s saw the attempt to renegotiate the EMATUM debt as a sign of risk, Sousa thought it was perfectly normal. “It’s normal to renegotiate debts, it’s not a crime”, he said. “It’s normal to have a calm form of debt servicing. And there are no arrears. What does exist are perceptions which might perhaps create constraints and delays in the future”.
Mozambique News Agency: AIM Reports, 30 July
Chinese govt to build high speed railway for Tanzania (IPPMedia)
The Chinese government plans to construct in the future high speed railway in Tanzania and other priority business partner countries as a way of bolstering economic relations with them. The plan was revealed in Beijing recently by the Director-General of China Centre for Urban Development, Li Tie. Lie noted that the project would be part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative that is championed by China’s President Xi Jinping in October this year. Meanwhile, the Chinese minister for foreign affairs has underscored that the establishment of Chinese companies in Tanzania has generated many jobs since 2005. According to Li, there were over 500 Chinese companies operating in Tanzania in 2014 with USD800 investment. He said the companies have provided direct employment to 150,000 Tanzanians.
Technology boosts TAZARA collections (Daily News)
EA air transport in fresh re-organisation amid exits and entries by major airlines (The East African)
East Africa’s air travel faces another round of re-organisation as two major airlines end direct flights from the region to key destinations in Europe in October. In October, British Airways will terminate direct flights between Entebbe, Uganda, and the UK’s main Heathrow airport while Brussels Airlines will stop direct flights from Nairobi to the Belgian capital Brussels.
Kenya: Tourism hits 7-year low ahead of drive (Business Daily)
UNGA urges action to tackle illegal wildlife trade (UN News Centre)
Adopting a consensus text resolution, the 193-Member body encouraged Governments to adopt effective measures to prevent and counter the serious problem of crimes such as illicit trafficking in wildlife and wildlife products, including flora and fauna and poaching. The resolution suggests “strengthening the legislation necessary for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of such illegal trade, as well as strengthening enforcement and criminal justice responses, acknowledging that the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime can provide valuable technical assistance in this regard.” [Download]
Momentum gathers for international agreement to combat rogue fishing (FAO)
A growing number of countries are ratifying an international agreement to combat illegal fishing, fueling interest in how best to implement the instrument. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is estimated to strip between $10bn and $23bn from the global economy, and their impacts undermine the way fish stocks are managed to make it a double concern around the world. To help tackle the problem, FAO brokered the adoption in 2009 by its Member countries of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The agreement comes into force when 25 countries have deposited their instrument of ratification, known as acceptance of accession; so far, 12 countries have done so, the latest being Iceland in June. Two more states will soon join them.
Ghana’s Sankofa gas project: WB approves guarantees
The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved a record investment of $700 million in guarantees for Ghana’s Sankofa Gas Project - a transformational project that will help address the country’s serious energy shortages by developing new sources of clean and affordable natural gas for domestic power generation. [What is the Sankofa Gas Project?]
Women’s livelihood strategies in Africa: new findings from a qualitative study in rural Zambia (World Bank Blogs)
Botswana: Agric production on downward trajectory (Mmegi)
This week in the news
Catch up on tralac’s daily news selections for the past week:
The selection: Thursday, 30 July 2015
The selection: Wednesday, 29 July 2015
The selection: Tuesday, 28 July 2015
The selection: Monday, 27 July 2015
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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)
