Blog
Consumer Redress as a Precursor to Consumer Trust in the Digital Age
22 Dec 2022 ~ Eunice Phiri
Digital financial services (DFS) are any financial services that are available digitally and they include payments, savings, credit transfers and insurance. They are procured through digit...read more
Regulatory Framework for State-Owned Enterprises in the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area
21 Dec 2022 ~ Legborsi Nwiabu
The governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is essential for efficient and open markets at both the domestic, continental and international levels. In many countries, SOEs are the mai...read more
Nigeria’s Preparedness for the Implementation of the AfCFTA: An Institutional Perspective
21 Dec 2022 ~ Adetutu Talabi
On 7 July 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), formalising Nigeria as a party. After originally declining to sign the deal, t...read more
Leveraging the AfCFTA trade facilitation regime to advance formalisation strategies for Informal Cross-Border Traders (ICBTs) in Africa
21 Dec 2022 ~ Faith Mbakhwa
Economists estimate that a sizeable part of intra-African trade currently goes unrecorded, and this presents challenges for the regional integration agenda in the region[1]. The Economic C...read more
La ZLECA n'est pas lancée sur une bonne base
20 Dec 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
La ZLECA ajoute une zone de libre-échange (ZLE) supplémentaire aux accords commerciaux et d’intégration Africains existants. Elle doit prendre en compte les intérêts de cinquante-ci...read more
Comment la ZLECA s'intègre dans le schéma d'intégration régionale existant en Afrique
20 Dec 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
L’accord de la ZLECA est défini comme “le présent Accord établissant la Zone de Libre-Échange Continentale Africaine et ses protocoles, annexes et appendices qui en font partie int...read more
Did COP 27 really fail? Reflections on the climate summit
13 Dec 2022 ~ David Christianson
London’s Financial Times summed up the widespread response to the COP 27 climate summit held at Sharm el-Sheikh when it suggested the final agreement ‘encouraged some, gravely disappoi...read more
Transnet’s failure is Luderitz Bay’s opportunity – creating a new cross-border value chain
13 Dec 2022 ~ David Christianson
Transnet’s rail and harbour capacity has been entirely overwhelmed by South Africa’s surging manganese production over the past decade. In 2011, South Africa exported less than five mi...read more
COP27 outcomes – a reality check
30 Nov 2022 ~ Anthony Leiman
Those who follow the climate agreement conferences of parties are now used to the emotional roller-coaster that comes with them. COP26 looked to be a real success until the last second, wh...read more
How the AfCFTA fits into Africa’s existing regional integration scheme
23 Nov 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The AfCFTA Agreement is defined as “this Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area and its Protocols, Annexes and Appendices which shall form an integral part thereo...read more
Floating LNG vessels in Africa: Africa’s gas future is floating offshore
20 Nov 2022 ~ David Christianson
There is a growing trend in sub-Saharan Africa to deploy Floating Liquified Natural Gas (FLNG) technology to develop gas resources. Although generally much smaller (in terms of output), th...read more
Downbeat start to funding South Africa’s carbon transition
20 Nov 2022 ~ David Christianson
The release of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) shortly before the opening of COP 27 in the Egyptian City of Sharm El Sheikh was rather subdued. The JET-IP ...read more
Kenya and South Africa sign deals to deepen bilateral relations
14 Nov 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
Economic integration is vital for Africa. The domestic markets of many African nations are small; several are Least Developed Countries (LDCs), land-locked, or island economies. Economic i...read more
Could Safeguards be used to promote Industrialisation?
14 Nov 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
Industrialisation depends on many policy inputs. African countries face unique challenges and must develop industrialisation policies suitable for their conditions. Such polices must now p...read more
A Promising Start to COP27: Climate Change Loss and Damage Makes it onto the Agenda
10 Nov 2022 ~ Gita Briel
The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) was officially opened on the 6th of November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The conferen...read more
5 Key Developments from COP27
10 Nov 2022 ~ Gita Briel
Delegates from nearly 200 countries have gathered in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27). COP...read more
Will Dispute Settlement Proceedings be a feature of the AfCFTA?
05 Sep 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
It will be a major advance towards rules-based trade if the AfCFTA Dispute Settlement Protocol will be used by the State Parties. They do not settle disputes about trade and regional integ...read more
Why South Africa won’t hit the gas
05 Sep 2022 ~ David Christianson
The widely expected development of a South African gas economy, especially after the discovery of massive reserves in neighbouring Mozambique in February 2010, has failed to take off. At f...read more
The role of Negotiating Principles in the design of the AfCFTA
05 Sep 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
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Since the launch of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA),[1] negotiations on trade liberalisation among African States have been based on a specific set of principles. When...read more
Digital Trade in Trade Agreements: Lessons for the AfCFTA
31 Aug 2022 ~ John Stuart
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is in the process of taking shape. While continental free trade has not yet been fully realised, progress has been made in the number of si...read more
New thinking about a US-Kenya Trade Deal
30 Aug 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
When in February 2020 the then US President, Donald Trump, and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya announced that the two countries would start formal trade talks aimed at concluding a bilat...read more
The AfCFTA holds more than economic Promises
30 Aug 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus, Trudi Hartzenberg
Most commentaries on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) emphasise the massive commercial opportunities which will be unlocked, and more recently how industrialisation on the ...read more
South Africa’s Intractable Illegal Gold Mining Problem
25 Aug 2022 ~ David Christianson
Earlier this year, the London Bullion Market Association estimated that there are 15 million artisanal and small-scale gold miners in the world, responsible for 15-20 percent of global ann...read more
South Africa energy security – Ramaphosa lets the private sector in
04 Aug 2022 ~ David Christianson
South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, took a step towards restoring the country’s energy security with his Energy Action Plan, announced on the 25th July. At a single stroke he bo...read more
The African Union Releases the Continent’s First Collective Climate Response Framework
03 Aug 2022 ~ Gita Briel
In February 2022, the African Union endorsed the continent’s first collective climate response framework. The AU’s Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy and Action Plan (20...read more
Dispute Settlement in and about the AfCFTA: What to expect?
29 Jul 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
African Governments do not settle their disputes about compliance with obligations in intra-African trade and economic integration agreements through adjudication. Adjudication is the lega...read more
Challenges women traders face at border posts and what can be done to address these challenges
25 Jul 2022 ~ Edina Moyo Mudzingwa
Surveys indicate that about 70-80 percent of informal traders are women. Women traders face gender based barriers at borders affecting potential for inclusive growth. It has also been esta...read more
How will the war in Ukraine change the global Order?
25 Jul 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The war in Ukraine has been described as the world’s biggest security crisis since the Second World War. It is also changing global relationships, policies and institutional affiliations...read more
Tanzania’s LNG ambitions back on track
19 Jul 2022 ~ David Christianson
The signing, in June, of a framework agreement between the Government of Tanzania and two oil and gas majors, Shell and Equinor (previously Statoil), is an important milestone in getting t...read more
South Africa’s Twin Peaks model looks strong but needs more independence
13 Jul 2022 ~ David Christianson
This blog comments on the findings of the IMF/World Bank’s Financial Sector Assessment Programme’s (FSAP) 2022 report on South Africa, published in February 2022, and the three subsequ...read more