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National

Aviation industry anxious as COVID-19 resurgences force new travel bans (The South African)

With a host of countries – mainly across Europe – announcing over the weekend that they have now banned air travel due to the wave of COVID-19 infections stemming from a rampantly spreading mutation of the virus, the future of South Africa’s tourism and aviation industries are yet again in serious jeopardy. Six nations – including Germany and France, countries where many of SA’s regular tourists hail from – have imposed restrictions on flights from South Africa, as of 10:30 on Monday 21 December and two others have issued an outright ban on all travellers entering from our shores.

Flower firms call for expedited review of the minimum wage bill (New Vision)

Workers in flower firms have called for expedited review of the Minimum Wage Bill as means of protecting workers from exploitation. The bill which was passed by parliament in 2018 suffered a setback when the president declined to ascent to it. “All along, we have been pulling ropes with the union but the introduction of floor wage made the union lose words since what they were agitating for was much lower than what was introduced and being paid to workers currently,” she said.

Ugandan dairy industry reels from Kenyan ban (Business Daily)

That Kenya is a lifeline for the dairy industry in Uganda is not in doubt. Therefore, when Kenya slapped the Mbarara based Lato Milk with an import ban early in the year, the effects were devastating for farmers in the neighbouring state. After several complaints by Kenyan farmers over the influx of Ugandan milk, which had seen a litre touch the historic low of Sh17, the government reacted by confiscating thousands of tonnes of milk from Uganda and consequently stopping imports. The move did not only cause an uproar in Uganda, but also saw hundreds of workers in Pearl Dairies, the makers of Lato Milk sent on leave with production at the firm cut to bare minimum.

Fintech stakeholders want national payments systems law reviewed (New Vision)

Despite Uganda passing the National Payments Systems (NPS) Act in May to regulate electronic money service providers, stakeholders are opposing the law, saying it will stifle innovation. The sticky issue that Financial Technology companies (Fintechs) are opposing is the minimum paid-up share capital requirement which they say is stringent and might push many startups out of the market. Speaking during the 2020 Digital Impact Awards Africa at Hotel Mestil in Kampala on Friday, the Mallan Company chief executive officer, Malcolm Kastiro, said that “With all that minimum paid-up capital share capital, where is fair competition? This is creating a barrier to entry; we need to ensure that this regulation does not stifle the sector.”

Uganda issues tough guidelines to avoid congestion at main international airport (CGTN Africa)

Uganda’s civil aviation authority (UCAA) has released guidelines to reduce crowding at the main international airport in Entebbe amid concerns over rising coronavirus cases in the East African nation. While noting that the airport had witnessed an increase in human traffic, the UCAA said all arriving and departing passengers will be picked or dropped by a maximum of two people, including the driver of the car, to avoid unnecessary crowding.

Indecision, hard ball tactics blow to Uganda’s oil dream (The East African)

Even as Uganda waits for the final investment decision for its oil project expected this month, years of indecision by government have cost the country and major investors billions of dollars over the past decade, based on the current price of oil. By press time, the indecision continued as Ministry of Energy had not received any signal that Total would submit Final Investment Decision proposals, as scheduled, Permanent Secretary Robert Kasande said. Uganda discovered oil in 2006, but dithered on oil production, with costly delays over the choice of a route for the crude oil pipeline, as well as years of haggling between the government and oil companies over the economics of a large refinery vis-à-vis a pipeline as a more feasible plan for commercialisation of the resource.

Tanzania to resume oil, gas negotiations in 2021 (The East African)

The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) is optimistic that the Host Government Agreement (HGA) negotiations between the government and International Oil and Gas Companies on the liquefied natural gas will resume in January 2021. This is after they stalled for about a year following the government’s decision to review Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs). According to reports, Tanzania is seeking to scrap sections on the contract that seem tilted against it. The government and project developers were initially expected to have concluded the negotiations by September 2019, a key decision that could pave the way to the final investment decision to be made.

Spare SMEs from paying turnover tax, says lobby (The Standard)

Manufacturers’ lobby has warned that the move to start taxing small businesses turnover tax will have a huge impact on their business operations. The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) now wants the minimum tax abolished or suspended, until when effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the economy, is managed. The manufacturers argue the introduction of the minimum tax will hurt the economy and reduce Kenya’s attractiveness to investors. “Introduction of a new tax based on turnover will hurt a company’s financial well-being such as creating cash flow constraints,” noted the manufacturers’ body.

China dominates Namibian exports The Southern Times)

Sino-Namibia trade relations are at an all-time high following increased exports from the Southern African country to the Asian giant. Figures from the Namibian Statistics Agency (NSA) for the last quarter of 2020 also show that the country’s trade with fellow SADC members is on an upward trend. China is Namibia’s largest export market, while South Africa is the number one source of Namibia’s imports. The NSA said China, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia continued to be Namibia’s major trading partners. The agency said the composition of goods exported to China mainly consisted of non-ferrous metals, metalliferous ores and metal scrap; as well as non-metallic mineral products and non-monetary gold.

Ghanian expert says AU must tap Chinese technology in AfCFTA implementation (CGTN)

The African Union (AU) must tap into Chinese technology to derive maximum benefits from the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement next year, said Albert Fiatui, Executive Director for the Center for International Maritime Affairs (CIMA) in Ghana. Speaking with Xinhua, he observed that win-win cooperation between Africa and China will help Africa’s rapid economic transformation with the AfCFTA agreement coming into force. “Africa cannot trade with itself just alone and succeed, so Africa needs China as much as China needs Africa,” he said.

AfCFTA: CPC to leverage on implementation to turnaround ill-fortunes (Ghanaweb)

Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) Limited says it plans to leverage on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement come next year. The trade pact is expected to come into force on January 1, 2020 with Ghana serving as the host of the secretariat. According to a member of CPC’s management, the move has become necessary to reverse the ill-fortunes that have impacted on the operations of the cocoa processing company. “We have started rebranding our confectionary products to make ready for the AfCFTA market. We are also targeting entry into the Chinese market,” he is quoted in an interview with the B&FT newspaper.

Ghana to secure COVID-19 vaccines for population: president (CGTN)

Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said late Sunday preparations were afoot to secure COVID-19 vaccines for the country’s population. In his national COVID-19 broadcast, Akufo-Addo said he had put together a team of experts to work out a program for purchasing the vaccines now in use in some countries. Ghana “is not going to be left behind in having

MPS positions for AfCFTA as it builds capacity for ‘Tema Industrial City’ (Ghanaweb)

Meridian Port Services Limited (MPS) and EIFFAGE Génie Civil have reached an agreement to extend the original FIDIC Yellow Book Contract to include land works for the fourth new berth of the MPS Terminal 3 – which is part of Phase 2 of the Tema Port Expansion Project. Transhipment remains a key goal for ports in the region as West Africa still lacks a well-developed transhipment hub. “This state-of-the-art terminal and its enhanced capacity are purposely aimed at catering for the anticipated volumes increase that will come in as more shipping lines realise the added value that MPS Terminal 3 contribute to their market range and share of the West African trade volume,” said Mr. Mohamed Samara, MPS’ Chief Executive Officer.

Report Calls for Strategies to Nigerian Boost Export (THISDAYLIVE)

Despite the immense opportunities it presents to the economy, Nigeria currently lacks targeted and systematic strategies for exporting services. According to a report by the Centre for Trade and Development Initiatives (CTDI) titled: “Analysis of Potentials of Nigeria’s Services Sector for Economic Diversification, Employment and Foreign Trade”, which was commissioned by the PDF II Bridge Programme, there is need for a holistic services sector policy with strategic development plans for priority sectors. The report noted that the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) currently directs the bulk of export promotional work to the goods sector largely sidelining the services potentials.

Why Buhari re-opened Nigeria’s land borders – Presidential source (Vanguaurd)

The harsh economic situation occasioned by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and negative impact of the border closure on the private sector and the ordinary Nigerians made President Muhammadu Buhari to order the re-opening of shut land borders, a top Presidency source has revealed. “According to the report of a Presidential Committee which recommended the reopening of the border, one of the significant issues that stood out in the summary of the Committee’s findings and recommendations include the negative impact of the border closure on the private sector.

AfCFTA: Nigeria To Protect Home Industry, Implement Sugar Master Plan For 10 Years (Leadership)

The Nigeria Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has said that the take off of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in January would not affect the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) as the country has already secured under the trade agreement , an allowance of 10 years to implement fully, the sugar master plan before it would start producing sugar locally. The Plan contains fiscal and investment specific incentives designed to stimulate and attract new investors to the industry in order to increase local sugar production and reduce the nation’s dependence on imports.

AfDB board approves $10.4 billion borrowing plan for 2021 | Nairametrics

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has announced US$20.1 million in catalytic investment grants to accelerate the response to the protracted crisis in northeast Nigeria. According to ECW, this is in reaction to the armed conflict and escalating humanitarian crisis in northeast Nigeria, that has left over 1 million girls and boys in need of educational support. According to the organisation, the initial programme will run for three years, with the goal of leveraging an additional US$98.7 million in co-financing from national and global partners, the private sector and philanthropic foundations, to reach over 2.9 million children and youth.

Bring on AfCFTA, says Malawi (The Southern Times)

The Malawi government says it has put in place measures in readiness for the Africa Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as it rolls out on January 1, 2021. Trade Minister Sosten Gwengwe told The Southern Times Business that the country was committed to the historic agreement that creates one of the world’s largest ever free trade pacts. “As a ministry, with the help of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, we have formulated a strategy on national implementation of the AfCFTA. The strategy outlines mitigation measures on any possible impacts of the AfCFTA,” Minister Gwengwe said.

Liberian gov’t Launches Cash Transfer Program (The News Newspaper)

The Government of Liberia, in collaboration with USAID, has launched a COVID cash transfer program which is expected to benefit about 85,000 petty traders and market women across the country. US$150 will be disbursed to the most vulnerable in the Liberian society in three installments in an effort to cushion the effects of the global pandemic. “In the PAPD [Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development], we look at social protection as a valuable investment, particularly in vulnerable rural settings,” the statement quoted Finance Minister Samuel Tweah as saying at a virtual conference meant to launch the program.

GRA-Bissau Customs bilateral meeting ends (The Point)

Addressing the closing ceremony, Yankuba Darboe, commissioner general of GRA, expressed appreciation for the warm hospitality accorded to him and his delegation by his Bissau Guinean counterparts. “This signifies the good intention to make this collaboration a huge success. This is because we are one people in two different countries which is an opportunity for closer and excellent trade relations and the development of our region.” he added. Commissioner Darboe acknowledged that as close trading partners, there is an urgent need to enter into a tripartite agreement involving Senegal to minimise bottlenecks in the free movement of goods and people.

The trade between Morocco and the rest of Africa is on the rise since 2009 (Born2Invest)

Trade between Morocco and the rest of the African continent is doing well. That is confirmed by the 66th issue of Al Maliya magazine, published every four months by the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Administrative Reform. Trade transactions between Morocco and the rest of Africa increased by 6.1 percent for the 2009-2019 period. Based on data from the Exchange Office, the document highlights that the share of this trade in Morocco’s overall trade volume is 5.1 percent in 2019. According to the same source, during this period, trade was marked by a structural change as of 2015, the year from which Morocco’s trade balance became in surplus.

Egypt’s trade deficit declines 32.4% in September 2020 (Daily News Egypt)

Egypt’s trade deficit decreased by 32.4% to $2.7bn in September this year, compared to $4bn during the same month in 2019, according to a report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Exports also declined by 2.8% to $2.3bn in September 2020, versus $2.4bn in the comparison period. The monthly report attributed the decline to a decrease in prices of some commodities, such as garments by 5.1%, petroleum products by 36.5%, crude oil by 38.4%, and fertilisers by 33.4%. However, the value of other exports increased during September 2020, such as plastics in their primary forms by 15.2%, pasta by 17.8%, carpets by 23.6%, and pharmaceuticals by 4.9%.

Africa

Long way before Africa’s single market moves at full steam (Yahoo!)

Border controls between African countries can be arduous -- red tape, tariffs and other hurdles are a major discouragement to trade, say experts. Touted as the world’s largest single market in terms of the number of member nations, Africa’s ambitious blueprint for free trade kicks into gear on January 1, bringing together more than 50 economies from Algeria to South Africa. Jakkie Cilliers, head of African Futures and Innovation at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, says it will be a long way before tariffs are scrapped, red tape is slashed and much-trumpeted gains are realised.

Kagame: AfCFTA will rebuild economies and foster resilience (The New Times)

Collaborative action in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area will support rebuilding of African economies following disruption by the Covid-19 pandemic and strengthen resilience to future shocks, President Paul Kagame has said. Kagame made the remarks while speaking at the Virtual AfCFTA Business Forum on Friday 4th December 2020. The summit was held as the continent prepares to commence trading under the new regime in January 2021 following postponement of the previous launch date, July 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

AfCFTA strategy to chart a path for lifting millions out of poverty in DRC (UNECA)

Experts attending the meeting to formulate the AfCFTA implementation strategy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) discussed a range of sectors that could help the country benefit from the agreement. The meeting to discuss the AfCFTA strategy was organized in Kinshasa by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) through its office for Eastern Africa in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Trade in DRC. ECA estimates large potential gains from the AfCFTA for Eastern Africa, including an increase in intra-African exports by over US$ 1 billion and the creation of nearly 2 million new jobs. DRC is well placed to take advantage of those new opportunities.

Mr Wamkele MENE, Executive Secretary of the AfCTA Secretariat who addressed the meeting explained that if Africa must benefit from the agreement, greater attention must be geared towards stopping the colonial economic model of exporting primary commodities to Europe and the rest of the world. Mr Mene reminded participants that intra-African trade is very low. it is at 18% at best.

Strong case made for deepening agro-industrial value chains in Central Africa (UNECA)

The alarmingly high rates of food importation in Central Africa should be a phenomenon of the past, economists and agriculturalists argued Thursday. This, because all countries of the subregion are abundantly blessed with arable land and ecological zones favorable for animal protein production, necessary for developing strong agricultural value chains that should bring greater prosperity to the subregion in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Covid drives contraction for African trade figures (IT-online)

The last two years haven’t told a good story for African trade, according to Afreximbank’s annual African Trade Report (ATR). This year’s report examined trade and economic developments in Africa in 2019, a year dominated by trade wars and escalating tariffs that resulted in a sharp deceleration of global trade growth. This has been compounded by Covid-19, and as a result, following a fall of 2,8% last year, global trade is expected to shrink by 9,2% in 2020. The ATR conducted an extensive study of informal cross-border trade (ICBT), the first attempt at measuring in a detailed manner the size and composition of informal trade.

Africa can finance its development but needs a paradigm shift (Sierra Leone Telegraph)

Africa faces its worst economic recession in 25 years, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is estimated that the continent’s economy will contract by 2.6% at worst, pushing about 29 million people into extreme poverty and causing 19 million job losses, while remittances to sub-Saharan Africa are likely to decline by 23.1% ($37 billion) in 2020 alone. Africa’s challenge is not the absence of liquidity or funds to finance development. Its problems are massive illicit financial flows that are draining funding capacity and the lack of ownership over natural resources, coupled with a whole narrative built around managing poverty instead of development, and depicting Africa as a poor continent in need of help from the international community. The continent’s leaders urgently need to look at new ways to finance development, or risk falling further behind.

IATF2021 Advisory Council Holds its 8th Meeting (Afreximbank)

The Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021), scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from 6 to 12 September 2021, will enable stakeholders to share trade, investment and market information as well as trade finance and trade facilitation solutions designed to support the implementation of AfCFTA, boost intra-African trade and deepen and consolidate African economic integration. A Conference will run alongside the exhibition and will feature high-profile speakers and panelists addressing topical issues relating to trade finance, payments, trade facilitation, trade-enabling infrastructure, harmonization of trade standards, industrialization, regional value chains and investment.

The African Union Commission organized Virtually the 9th Industry Stakeholders Strategic Retreat (African Union)

The Department of Trade and Industry of the African Union Commissions (AUC) organized Virtually the 9th Industry Strategic Stakeholders Retreat to formulate, implement and harmonize industrial development policies on the continent. “We need to take steps to utilize such opportunities to drive a continental industrialization agenda utilizing mutually reinforcing and beneficial partnerships” Mr. Victor Djemba, Chief. UNIDO Regional Division – Africa said. “It must be appreciated by all of us… the impact of the COVID-19 has also provided us with an opportunity that needs to be harnessed”

‘Africa needs $9b to buy, administer Covid vaccine’ (The East African)

Africa needs $9 billion to vaccinate 780 million people over the course of two years, pan-African multilateral trade finance institution (Afreximbank) has said. The money is estimated to cover the cost of purchasing the vaccines and administering them to 60 per cent of the population. Two doses of the vaccine are required for full protection from the coronavirus .John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), estimated in an article in the science journal Nature, that it could take until October 2021 to secure the total 1.5 billion vaccine doses needed to reach 60 per cent of the continent’s 1.3 billion people. The financing requirement, estimated at $9.1 billion will come from four sources; donors, country self-financing, the World Bank, and Afreximbank, said Prof Benedict Oramah, president of the Afreximbank.

Debt forgiveness will top the African agenda in 2021 (Mail & Guardian)

The year 2020 will, of course, be remembered for the Covid-19 pandemic. Many African countries have handled the public health effects of coronavirus well compared with neighbouring continents, with some 55 000 related deaths and 2 million recovered out of a population of just over a billion. This can be credited to quick action and leadership by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and others. Climate, prior exposure to other coronavirus strains and effective community health networks set up in response to contain other epidemics such as Ebola also clearly played a role. Unfortunately, many African countries will be much more seriously affected by the socioeconomic consequences of the global economic slowdown triggered by the pandemic.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Riskiest investment region (Africanews)

Sub-Saharan Africa has been named riskiest region in the world for business and investors due to militant violence and abuses by security forces, according to new report by risk consultants Verisk Maplecroft. Wilson Khembo, Director for “Seven Oaks Road” a political and security risk consultancy firm in West Yorkshire, England tells our Ignatius Annor that “Africa needs foreign direct investment that can be pumped into manufacturing, investment that can be pumped into infrastructure development. If we are able to get this sort of investment, then obviously we’ll be able to diversify our exports and increase our global share on the global market. For investors to come to Africa and invest their money, they need to be assured that their investment is going to be safe.”

Harvesh Seegolam: Opening of the informative session on the MauCAS and the SADC and COMESA cross-border payment systems (Bank for International Settlements)

Regional payment systems enable settlement of cross-border transactions faster without having to rely on intermediary banks outside the region. This offers several advantages to countries in the region in terms of cost savings and transaction time. As Intra-Africa and regional trade continues to grow, the MauCAS will play a key role in further facilitating the integration of our domestic payment infrastructure with regional payment systems. The MauCAS platform, through the IPS – the Instant Payment Switch – has far-reaching potential for commercial transactions.

Biggest vaccine rollout in history (The Southern Times)

Africa is prepping itself for its largest vaccination drive in history – a multi-billion dollar effort to combat the spread of COVID-19. The World Health Organisation estimates the cost of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine to priority populations in African at around US$ 5.7 billion. Up to another 20 percent of this figure will be needed for related materials, distribution and training of health professionals. The costing is based on an estimated vaccine price of US$10,55 per dose for a two-dose regimen.

Migration: A force for inclusive, social and economic development in eastern Africa (The East African)

The recent African Migration Report says over 26 million international migrants are on the move across the continent. There are almost eight million migrants in East and Horn of Africa, representing 30 per cent of Africa’s migrant population, making it host to the largest share of international migrants on the continent by region. According to the same report, migrants, including those in the diaspora, remitted over $81 billion to Africa in 2018, with $48 billion coming to sub-Saharan Africa in 2019, according to the World Bank data. By matching the labour market’s demand with supply, migration is making important contributions to the economies of both migrant source countries and destination, changing lives by increasing productivity and facilitating trade and investment.

International

AfCFTA: Commonwealth to strengthen capacity of African countries export (Vanguard)

The Commonwealth has reiterated its commitment to work with African countries to deepen export capacity and, particularly, take advantage of trading opportunities like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth, stated this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. She explained that the Commonwealth Secretariat had been working with the 19 African member states to strengthen their institutional capacity and develop trade policies over the years. This, according to her, will enable the countries engage in trade negotiations, agreements and deepen their national capabilities at export, and exploit the huge opportunities provided by AfCFTA.

EU-UK trade talks floundering over fish as cutoff day nears (Bay News)

With yet another Brexit deadline disappearing in the rearview mirror, a breakthrough on fishing rights remained elusive for the European Union and Britain on Sunday – leaving both without a trade agreement that would dull the cutting edge of a chaotic, costly economic break on New Year’s Day. With hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake throughout the economy, the tiny sector of fisheries continued to drive a wedge between the 27-nation bloc and the U.K., highlighting the animosity that drove them to a Brexit divorce over the past four years. Britain left the bloc in January, but a 11-month economic transition period ends on Dec. 31.

UK trade envoy on latest British-Egyptian trade deal and bilateral ties after Brexit (Ahram Online)

On 5 December, Egypt and the UK inked an agreement that aims to strengthen political and trade ties between the two countries. The agreement, which will come into force by the beginning of January, will allow British businesses and consumers to benefit from continued preferential access to the market after the end of the transition period caused by Brexit, which will help boost vital trade and investment. In an exclusive interview, Jeffrey Donaldson, the UK’s Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Egypt, shared with Ahram Online the details of the agreement and how the UK seeks to deepen economic and commercial cooperation in the phase after Brexit. Donaldson also said that the UK is one of Egypt’s leading investors with the value of total trade amounting to about £3.5 billion annually, adding that the UK’s priority is to ensure the continuity of the EU-Egyptian Association Agreement and to deepen the bilateral relationship between both governments.

New benchmark for cooperation (China Daily)

Since its founding, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has proved to be an effective platform for deepened and upgraded interaction From 2000 to 2010, the FOCAC showed its strength in promoting China-Africa cooperation and African development. China-Africa trade grew from $10.6 billion in 2000 to $106.8 billion in 2008 at an annual growth rate of over 30 percent, and China became Africa’s largest trading partner. Those 10 years also witnessed rapid development in Africa with an annual economic growth of 5 percent to 10 percent. Today, the world is being reshaped, while China-Africa relations have come to the best time in the history. With humanity at a crossroads in its development course, the Chinese and African civilizations will add impetus and inspiration to the development of human civilizations.

If COVID-19 changes finance, will that help development funding? (Devex)

As global markets contracted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, investing; sustainable investing; and impact investing appears to have accelerated. But whether that potential shift will result in finally unlocking more capital to finance development remains an open question. The ESG market is expected to reach $45 trillion in assets under management this year, though Europe and North America account for more than 90% of the market, according to research released by J.P. Morgan earlier this year.

The production gap report: 2020 special issue (ODI)

The Production Gap Report, first launched in 2019, measures the gap between Paris Agreement goals and countries’ planned production of coal, oil and gas. It finds that the ‘production gap’ remains large: countries plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with a 1.5 °C temperature increase limit. This year’s special issue looks at the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic – and governments’ stimulus and recovery measures – on coal, oil and gas production.

En Route to Investment (IFC)

In much of the world, logistics companies use technology to match available vehicles with shippers that need to move goods, ensuring that every mile is paid for. But automating freight management has been difficult in Africa, where drivers are typically solo operators scheduling their own jobs. The process regularly results in “empty runs” – trucks with no cargo for the return route, forcing drivers to idle for days. That’s part of what makes logistics costs in Africa almost double that of North America, according to data from supply chain firm Armstrong & Associates. But technology created by African e-logistics companies is beginning to patch the supply chain gaps. Industry observers like Hashi say that e- logistics companies are becoming well positioned to meet a projected increase in intra-regional trade when the African Continental Free Trade Area opens next month.

Financing the Sustainable Development Goals: The Contributions of the Multilateral Development Banks (AfDB)

The year 2020 marks 75 years of multilateralism since the United Nations (UN) came into existence and 5 years since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The financing needed to realize this vision has grown from billions to trillions. With only 10 years to go before 2030, we have entered a Decade of Action to achieve the SDGs. In this context, the multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the International Monetary Fund have come together to highlight our efforts to support countries in achieving the SDGs, by providing finance, technical assistance, policy support, and knowledge.

World trade volume rallies in third quarter after COVID-19 shock (WTO)

Global merchandise trade volumes bounced back in the third quarter of 2020 from a deep second quarter slump brought on by the COVID-19 crisis according to statistics released by the WTO on 18 December. In the third quarter, the volume of merchandise trade rose 11.6% compared with the previous quarter after falling 12.7% in the second quarter (revised up from an initially estimated decline of 14.3%).

Ban on food aid restrictions blocked at WTO (Reuters)

World Trade Organization members were at odds on Friday over a proposal that would ban countries from restricting food aid deliveries, potentially complicating the response to a feared COVID-fuelled humanitarian catastrophe next year. The proposal was one of two related to the pandemic that failed to make headway at a three-day meeting of the Geneva-based trade body, an outcome its spokesman described as “disappointing” in a difficult year for the institution.

OPEC Fund for International Development approves $50M financing to boost international trade with ECOWAS (Togo First)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms. In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the “Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

Chair of services domestic regulation talks issues revised negotiating text (WTO)

The Chair of the negotiations on services domestic regulation, Jaime Coghi Arias of Costa Rica, circulated a “far advanced” negotiating text on 18 December capturing the progress made in 2020 on domestic regulation disciplines. Next year will be “crucial” for the talks, he stressed, given the commitment of “all participants to deliver a significant outcome” at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) scheduled for 2021.

The Last-mile Internet Connectivity Solutions Guide (ITU)

The Last-mile Internet Solutions Guide consists of guidelines that can help policymakers and professionals select and customize appropriate last-mile connectivity solutions. This guide is part of a broader Last-mile Connectivity Toolkit, which aims to drive new collaborative strategies to extend connectivity to those at the bottom of the social pyramid, and to enable key stakeholders to take a more holistic approach that treats broadband as a basic public utility and core tool for socio-economic development.

Electroneum, the only crypto with in-app electricity top-ups expands this service to four more countries

With four more countries now live in the Electroneum app for electricity top-ups for a total of nine, the award-winning cryptocurrency startup continues on the forefront of providing use cases that solve real-world problems for its users worldwide. And with nearly 4.1 million registered users, the British blockchain startup is to date the only one providing electricity top-ups with crypto. The new countries that went live today are Sierra Leone, Togo, Benin, and Ivory Coast, said Electroneum CEO, Richard Ells. Electroneum in-app electricity top-ups were already live in Nigeria, Mali, Gambia, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau.

Five years since the Paris Agreement: The race to net zero is on (Eco Business)

As 2020 comes to a close, the date is fast approaching for all parties to the Paris Agreement to submit their updated commitments, or nationally determined contributions (NDCs), that specifically delineate how each country will meet the common climate goals within the United Nations framework. Due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, COP 26 climate talks were postponed to 2021, and instead, a series of virtual events including the Climate Ambition Summit was held on 12 December 2020, where countries were given the opportunity to provide updates on their adjusted NDCs.

Related News

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WTO issues new report on how COVID-19 crisis may push up trade costs

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43 minute read

National

South Africa misses Covax deadline to secure vaccines (Engineering News)

South Africa, the country hardest hit in Africa by the coronavirus, missed a December 15 deadline to make a deposit to secure vaccines to fight the pathogen, and hasn’t arranged a guarantee to make the full payment. The payment to the Covax program will be made in coming days, according to Tandi Nzimande, the chief executive officer of the Solidarity Fund, a philanthropic organization backed by some of South Africa’s richest people and biggest companies. The fund undertook to make the R327-million ($22-million) deposit, which represents 15% of the R2.2-billion rand that will ultimately have to be paid, after the government failed to do so.

Export earnings hit five-year high (Business Daily)

Kenya’s export earnings for the 10 months to October grew the fastest in five years, indicating continued resilience of the sector against the pandemic, and its support in the rebound of the economy. Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows that total exports in the period grew by 6.4 per cent to Sh532.91 billion from Sh500.79 billion in the corresponding period last year. The growth in earnings has been attributed to better performance of the traditional exports such as coffee, tea and petroleum products.

Nigeria to reopen border with Benin for goods trade (Africanews)

Nigeria is lifting the closure of borders with neighbouring Benin and Niger which it imposed in August 2019 to curb the smuggling of rice and other commodities, the government said Wednesday. "Four land borders will be reopened immediately while the remaining borders are directed to be reopened on or before 31st of December," Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed told a press conference. Under President Muhammadu Buhari's instructions, "the ban on importation of rice, poultry and other banned products still subsists and will be implemented by border patrol teams," she said.

Buhari stunned Nigeria's neighbours when he unexpectedly closed the country's borders to goods trade, saying the time had come to crush contraband trade. The unilateral move was criticised for violating commercial and freedom of movement treaties signed under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The closure had a major impact on Benin, a key exporter of foodstuffs to Africa's most populous country via its port of Cotonou.

Related: Nigeria backs down after 16-month border closure (The Guardian Nigeria)

Despite concerns about Nigeria’s readiness to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the race to meet the January 1, 2021 deadline appears to have forced the Federal Government to reopen the land borders, having recorded very little gains from its 16-month border closure. The Federal Executive Council (FEC), yesterday, approved the recommendation of a committee for reopening of four of the nation’s land borders with immediate effect while stating that others would be “reopened in due course.”

CBN approves new license categorizations for payment systems (Nairametrics)

MUFG and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have signed a $520 million facility, following Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) agreement to support and cover the arrangement. Afreximbank will use the $500 million proceeds from the signed agreement with MUFG Bank for its Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA). The facility fully aligns with Afreximbank’s strategic priorities in the area of intra and extra African trade and investment, export manufacturing, as well as industrialization. These objectives find common ground with NEXI’s objectives of supporting sustainable African growth and development in line with TICAD objectives.

Govt rallies SMEs to tap into AfCFTA opportunities (The Chronicle)

With only a few weeks left before the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation begins, the Government has called upon small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to position themselves for lucrative export opportunities. Zimbabwe has one of the vibrant SMEs sector in Africa, which plays a critical role in job creation, empowerment, wealth generation and the economy as a whole. Minister Nyoni said since Covid-19 has disrupted traditional trading models, Zimbabwe would seek leverage on digital technology to enhance its export market advantage. She, however, admitted there was a gap in relevant infrastructure provision, which the Government and private sector players would need to urgently address.

Rwanda, DP World sign deal to boost exports (The New Times)

Logistical challenges that impede local producers from accessing international market could soon come to an end following the entrance of a new e-commerce platform by DP World, into the local market. The global logistics firm has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rwandan Government which will see Rwandan producers use the firm’s newly launched e-commerce platform, Dubuy.com to get their products to the international market. The development is expected to bring to an end supply-chain logistics challenges that have held back local producers, from accessing the international market especially in markets where there is demand for Rwandan products. The platform will operate as a Business to Business platform meaning exporters will be trading with other business operators and consequently large volumes of orders.

KQ launches expanded Southern Africa operations to fly cargo directly from Johannesburg (Capital Business)

Kenya Airways has launched its expanded Southern Africa operations that will see the airline fly cargo directly from Johannesburg to other countries in the region. Currently all connections are done through its hub in Nairobi and going forward all cargo from Southern Africa will be delivered directly, resulting in shorter connecting times and speed to market, one of the unique selling propositions to its customers.

Hundreds of MSMEs Apply for the Recovery Funds as Disbursement Begins (Capital Business)

Over 200 local businesses in Kenya have applied for COVID-19 relief loans under a programme run by Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and Mastercard Foundation. The Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Programme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) aims to benefit 400 MSMEs through the partnership with KEPSA, whose operations have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are working to spur economic recovery with a focus on small businesses, and these loans can be used to restart and rebuild businesses as the pandemic-related restrictions continue to be lifted and recovery begins,” KEPSA Chief Executive Officer Karuga says.

Cash in Kenyans’ pockets jumps to 19-month high (Business Daily)

The amount of cash circulating outside the banking system and in people’s pockets hit a 19-month high in October, buoyed by more firms resuming operations after the easing of some restrictions imposed to stem the spread of Covid-19. Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows that cash outside banks rose to Sh223 billion in October from Sh217 billion in September and Sh194 in April. The jump in circulation came in a month when Kenya eased Covid-19 restrictions, reducing the nationwide nightly curfew by three hours to between 9 pm and 4 am and lifting lockdowns on Nairobi and Mombasa.

Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda rank top for rapid digital growth, demand (The East African)

Kenya ranked top within the region in digital growth and demand, according to the latest Digital Intelligence Index payments firm Mastercard and the Fletcher School at Tufts University. According to the Digital Intelligence Index, Kenya is followed by Rwanda and Tanzania. Together, the three countries are categorised as “Break Out” economies for evolving rapidly and their significant growth. Growth in internet penetration, improved infrastructure and more young people who are digitally savvy are some of the factors that made Kenya and Rwanda more attractive to investors.

Madagascar Needs Bold Reforms to Reopen the Country, and Rebuild Stronger After COVID-19 Crisis (World Bank)

The latest World Bank economic update for Madagascar, Setting a Course for Recovery, estimates that the economy contracted by 4.2 percent in 2020 due to COVID-19 disruptions to global trade and domestic activity. The depth of the recession is therefore comparable to that of the 2009 constitutional crisis and was primarily driven by a sharp drop in export revenues and private investments. According to the report, a sudden stop in activity led to significant increase in extreme poverty, with vulnerable populations in urban areas being particularly affected. In the first semester of 2020, 64.4 percent of households reported a loss of revenue and 97 percent of companies a decline in the demand for their products and services.

Morocco-Africa trade: Average annual increase of 6.1% between 2009 and 2019 (The North Africa Post)

Trade between Morocco and the rest of Africa showed an average annual growth of 6.1% over the period 2009-2019, according to “Al Maliya”, the magazine of the Moroccan Ministry of Economy & Finance. The share of this trade in the Kingdom’s overall trade volume stood at 5.1% in 2019, according to data from the Foreign Exchange Office. Morocco-Africa exchanges were marked by a structural change from 2015, as Morocco’s trade balance started being marked by a surplus, the magazine indicates. This result is due to a greater increase in exports than in imports.

Africa

ECA’s ERA 2020 launched; focuses on innovative finance for private sector development (UNECA)

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on Tuesday launched its flagship Economic Report on Africa, titled: “Innovative Finance for Private Sector Development in Africa”, which looks at innovate financing as a way of providing solutions to the challenges of private sector financing, hence enabling Africa’s private sector to thrive and drive the continent’s economic growth and recovery; and, importantly, to increase the private sector’s resilience to the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic. Executive Secretary, Ms. Vera Songwe expressed her hope that the analysis in the ERA would allow stakeholders, particularly during, and in the post-COVID-19 pandemic, to look at how financing and innovative tools for infrastructure, agriculture and technology, are designed as the Continent tries to build forward out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intra-Africa Trade Key To Cushioning The Blow Of Trade Tensions And External Shocks, Says Afreximbank (Africa.com)

Afreximbank released yesterday its annual African Trade Report (ATR). This year’s report examined trade and economic developments in Africa in 2019, a year dominated by trade wars and escalating tariffs that resulted in a sharp deceleration of global trade growth. This has been compounded by Covid-19, and as a result, following a fall of 2.9% last year, global trade is expected to shrink by 9.2% in 2020. The ATR conducted an extensive study of informal cross-border trade (ICBT), the first attempt at measuring in a detailed manner the size and composition of informal trade.

Africa trade deal could tap $84bn in export potential (Moneyweb)

A continent-wide free-trade pact could help to realise more than $84 billion in untapped intra-African exports, according to a new report by the African Export-Import Bank. If the export potential is tapped under the deal, intra-continental trade could rise to more than $231 billion, or about 22% of total African commerce, even if all other conditions remained the same, Afreximbank said. Most of the untapped gains would come from southern Africa, from sectors “already proven to be internationally competitive and which have good prospects for export success in other African markets,” such as mineral commodities, machinery, food products, vehicles and parts, plastics and rubber, Afreximbank said.

Afreximbank expands Trade Finance Intermediary Initiative (Afreximbank)

During 2020, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has increased the number of its Trade Finance Intermediaries (TFIs) to more than 65 in 30 African countries. A key component of the Bank’s business model, the Trade Finance Intermediary initiative enables a smoother delivery of Afreximbank’s initiatives and credit solutions. In line with its charter and mandate, Afreximbank delivers its products and services with and through central banks, commercial banks and other eligible bank and non-bank financial institutions. The Trade Finance Intermediaries also act as Local Administrative Agents for Afreximbank’s facilities. The Bank has put in place the Trade Finance Intermediary initiative to establish lasting relationships with these partner financial institutions. New guidelines for appointing Trade Finance Intermediaries were introduced in 2017.

Africa on the Right Track to Implement its Infrastructure Priorities for the Next Decade (2021-2030) (African Union)

The First extra-ordinary meeting of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Intercontinental and Interregional Infrastructures, Energy and Tourism (STC-TTIIET) kicks off virtually on Monday under the theme “Africa’s Infrastructure Priorities 2021-2020” On its first day, the meeting brought together more than 170 experts drawn from African Union Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional and Continental Institutions, and partners. Officially opening the Experts’ meeting, Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Mohina, First Undersecretary Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, current Chair of STC-TTIIT, said that Africa, is the land of promises with untapped potential in natural resources and human capacity. Dr. Mohina highlighted that it's urgent for Africa to invest in infrastructure and enhance interconnectivity thereby improving the standard of living of its citizens. “We require massive investments in the infrastructure sector. So far, much of Africa’s infrastructure has been financed by governments that strain public resources. We need to promote the full participation of the private sector to pull appropriate financial and technical resources to the sector”.

‘Imported Vehicle Prices To Increase Next Year’ (Economic Confidential)

The prices of vehicles imported into Nigeria will increase significantly from next year once the Fuel Grade and Vehicle Emission Standards Regulations of the Economic Community of West African States is implemented, the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON) has said. AMDON said the plan of ECOWAS was to implement the regulation next year, which would restrict the importation of passenger vehicles of not more than five years old and heavy duty vehicles of not more than 10 years old into ECOWAS member states, including Nigeria.

Financing cost impedes agribusinesses in Africa (BusinessGhana)

Access to finance emerged as the greatest priority for agribusinesses in Africa and cost of finance cited as the biggest impediments, a new survey has revealed. This is not surprising, given that across the continent less than five per cent of commercial bank lending goes to agribusinesses. The inaugural ‘Africa Agribusiness Outlook’ has noted that the issue is not just about access to finance, it is about the cost of finance and availability of financial instruments that are adapted for the agricultural sector. “It is also about making agriculture attractive, viable and profitable rather than being looked at as a risky endeavour. Given the importance of the agricultural sector to many African economies, we believe this is an area that needs to be given urgent attention,” the survey stated.

ECA’s Chinganya calls on national statistical systems to maintain efforts to modernize & transform (UNECA

The Forum on Statistical Development in Africa (FASDev) continues to play a critical role in contributing to partnership building for statistical development on the continent for informed decision-making, says Oliver Chinganya, Director of the African Statistics Centre at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Its main aim was to have an overview of statistical activities, including technical assistance and training in Africa; set up a permanent system for monitoring statistical development in Africa; and to strengthen modalities for cooperation, with a view to leveraging each partner’s comparative advantage. “These objectives remain valid today after 16 years of FASDev’s existence,” said Mr. Chinganya, adding over the years FASDev has established linkages three areas - producers of official statistics; statistics training centres, and partners supporting statistical development resulting in an improvement in quality of data and statistics, and increased capacity building and training of young statisticians.

The African Development Bank secures nearly $90 million in new donor funds to transform the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa

The African Development Bank announced $90 million in new donor commitments for the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) during a virtual launch event held on Monday, in which SEFA’s transformation into a Special Fund was also unveiled. The new SEFA Special Fund is expected to expand, be more flexible, as well as more responsive to Africa’s fast changing energy market, with a sharper focus on green mini-grids and green baseload, and offering a wider array of catalytic finance instruments. Over 300 development partners and financiers attended the launch event, as well as representatives of African governments and energy sector institutions, project developers and sponsors, commercial banks and infrastructure funds.

Opinion: Build Africa back to 'better'...not just to 'normal' (CGTN Africa)

Since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March 2020, countries, societies, and individuals have struggled to respond to the pandemic’s devastation of health systems, economies, trade, and human wellbeing. While Africa has been spared the pandemic’s harshest health impacts, it has absorbed a heavy economic burden. The economic crisis caused by the pandemic has demonstrated the need to rethink Africa’s development model, as the world contemplates emerging from the pandemic and aims to build back economies quickly following the current shock—and ensure resilience against future ones. Africa must do more than get back to normal: it must build back even better, an idea captured in the theme of Africa Economic Conference 2020, Under the theme: Africa beyond COVID-19: Acceleration towards inclusive and sustainable development, the conference, being held 8-10 December and jointly organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and the United Nations Development Programme, provides a platform for established and up-and-coming academics to present solution-oriented research to policymakers and decision-makers.

Majority of Africans would take a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine (Africa CDC)

A survey conducted by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has shown that a predominant majority (79% average) of respondents in Africa would take a COVID-19 vaccine if it were deemed safe and effective.

International

Transforming trade, backing productive capacities is key to fixing global economy (UNCTUD)

The COVID-19 crisis has been both an accelerator and a decelerator for already rooted trends in the global economy. On the downside, the pandemic hit amidst widening inequality, declining economic prospects, mounting vulnerabilities to climate change, and a weakened multilateralism. But there is a solid route out of a fractured picture: expanding the transformative productive capacities of all could form the core of a new, more resilient multilateral consensus for accelerating achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This according to UNCTAD’s Secretary-General, Mukhisa Kituyi, who outlined that the pandemic demands new economic and intellectual beginnings in his new report to member States. The report sets the scene for the UN trade and development body’s quadrennial conference due to take place next year in Barbados.

"Building productive capacities that facilitate structural transformation and economic diversification will be vital to overcoming the current fractured global economic landscape and addressing the new challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Kituyi. In his report, Transforming Trade and Development in a Fractured, Post-Pandemic World, Dr. Kituyi lays out the key issues on which UNCTAD member States could find consensus and frames the discussion for the fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, or UNCTAD 15, where the organization’s mandate is updated and adapted to new and emerging needs.

UNCTAD’s Statistical Handbook Reveals Partial Recovery in Merchandise Trade Amid Declines in Services Trade (ISSD)

The UN Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) 2020 Handbook of Statistics shows that COVID-19 has contributed to significant declines in international trade, with services trade experiencing a drop not seen since 1990. The handbook provides a range of statistics and indicators on international trade in merchandise and services, investment, population, maritime transport, and development. This year’s online edition adds new interactive charts and maps, enabling increased visibility of small territories and allowing for user customization. The handbook notes that the total value of world services exports in 2019 was valued at USD 6.1 trillion, after a “modest” 1.9% rise. Prior to COVID-19, between 2014 and 2019, all main service categories exports – transport; travel; insurance, financial, intellectual property, and other business services; telecommunications, computer, and information; and “other” categories – were increasing, with telecommunications experiencing the highest growth rates. However, in the wake of the pandemic, trade in services is likely to fall by 15.4% in 2020 compared with 2019, the handbook projects.

Year-on-year, the handbook notes in a “nowcast” – UNCTAD’s data-led projections for the immediate future in response to increased demands for up-to-date statistics in light of the pandemic – that a 19.9% decline of services trade is expected this quarter relative to the third quarter of 2019. The plunge has been driven by sharp declines in travel, transport, and tourism activity, UNCTAD finds.

Legislation for the UK’s independent tariff policy (GOV.UK)

From the 1 January 2021 the UK Global Tariff will replace the EU’s Common External Tariff as the UK’s Most Favoured Nation tariff – the framework it will use to trade independently outside of free trade agreements. The UK Global Tariff is tailored to the needs of the UK economy, backing British business to compete on the world stage.

It’s simpler to use, greener, and cuts red tape and other unnecessary barriers to trade. It will make it easier for businesses to import goods from overseas. Today, 16 December, steps will be taken to bring this into law, with the laying of Statutory Instruments before Parliament as part of a wider legislative package. This legislation implements the announcement of the UK Global Tariff in May 2020.

Alongside the UK Global Tariff, the Government has also acted to: establish the UK’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences to support trade with developing countries roll over existing trade remedies to protect domestic sectors from unfair international competition.

Africa visit by EU officials set off coronavirus super-spreader fears (POLITICO)

A visit to Addis Ababa in October by a high-level delegation including EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was designed to showcase a donation of 7.5 tons of coronavirus testing kits. Instead, it ended up setting off fears of a super-spreader event at the African Union headquarters and among top Ethiopian officials. The events surrounding the visit — and EU-Africa relations in general — came under renewed scrutiny after the surprise, last-minute cancellation by the African side of a planned videoconference summit that was to be held last Wednesday.

COMESA & the European Union sign EUR 7.6 million Financing Agreement for Institutional Capacity Building Programme

COMESA and the European Union have signed a EUR 7.6 million Financing Agreement for the COMESA Institutional Capacity Building Programme. Secretary-General Chileshe Kapwepwe co-signed the Agreement with the Ambassador of the European Union to Zambia who is also the Special Representative to COMESA, Mr. Jacek Jankowski on Wednesday, 16 December 2020 at the COMESA Secretariat. The objective of the programme is to deepen regional integration in the COMESA region, and to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of the COMESA Secretariat in the implementation of regional cooperation projects and engagement with its Member States. The programme will support COMESA in the domestication and implementation of regional commitments at Member States level. It will further facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue on regional economic integration, in the Tripartite framework of COMESA, the East African Community (EAC) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

Southern African Development Community :: SADC and EU working on increasing intra-regional trade

The resolution of Non-Tariff-Barriers to trade under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union (EU) Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) is ongoing and playing a key role in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. SADC and the EU signed the TFP in 2019 and this is aimed at addressing several elements identified by stakeholders as crucial for developing an improved international market access and for increasing intra-regional trade between SADC Member States. The programme has to date seen trade flows within the SADC Region and with the outside world increasing along the North-South Corridor. The TFP programme, which will run from 2019 to 2025, is funded to the tune of Euro 15 million by the EU under the 11th Economic Development Fund. The TFP addresses non-tariff barriers to trade and facilitates harmonisation of technical, sanitary and phytosanitary standards and provides cross-border management tools to speed up processes and reduce the costs of exports within the SADC countries and with the EU. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures set out the basic rules for food safety and animal and

At WTO, a battle for access to COVID-19 vaccines (Devex)

High-income countries appear to be maneuvering to avoid a showdown at the World Trade Organization’s General Council meeting, beginning Wednesday, over a proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property protections for all COVID-19 vaccines and other technologies.

There is some skepticism over whether countries are actually in a position to take advantage of the proposal, introduced by South Africa and India, or if mechanisms already exist to address these concerns. Supporters of the plan are willing to address these issues, as long as that debate is not being used just to sideline the conversations around access to COVID-19 vaccines.

WHO vaccine scheme risks failure, potentially leaving poor countries with no COVID vaccines until 2024 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The global scheme to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries faces a "very high" risk of failure, potentially leaving nations that are home to billions of people with no access to vaccines until as late as 2024, internal documents say.

The World Health Organization's COVAX program is the main global scheme to vaccinate people in low and middle income countries against coronavirus. It aims to deliver at least 2 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021 to cover 20 per cent of the most vulnerable people in 91 low and middle-income countries, mostly in Africa, Asia and Latin America.In internal documents — reviewed by Reuters — the scheme's promoters say the program is struggling due to a lack of funds, supply risks and complex contractual arrangements which could make it impossible to achieve its goals.

WTO Members Delay Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies to 2021 | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD

World Trade Organization (WTO) members did not conclude negotiations on an agreement on curbing harmful fisheries subsidies by the 2020 deadline. A new schedule for meetings in 2021 is being developed, with the aim of bringing “this negotiation to the finish line.” The WTO’s 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11) and SDG target 14.6 give negotiators the task of securing an agreement on eliminating subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and to prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing by the end of 2020. In March 2020, the COVID-19 crisis resulted in the suspension of in-person meetings, and members used online meetings and written exchanges to continue negotiations. Despite their efforts and “almost daily” meetings in late November, WTO members were unable to finish negotiations at the 14 December informal meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee.

The draft text addresses all the main pillars of the negotiations, including prohibitions on subsidies, a placeholder for a capping mechanism and a list of non-harmful subsidies, provisions for special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries (LDCs), technical assistance and capacity building, notification and transparency, institutional arrangements, and dispute settlement. During the final “cluster” of discussions in the 2020 work programme, heads of delegations provided drafting suggestions on IUU fishing, overcapacity and overfishing, and special and differential treatment for developing countries.

WCO publishes updated version of the Coordinated Border Management (CBM) Compendium (WCO)

The latest version of the Coordinated Border Management (CBM) Compendium contains a number of new features and aims to comprehensively support Customs administrations, Cross-Border Regulatory Agencies (CBRAs) and international organizations in strengthening implementation of CBM in various fields. The concept of CBM has existed for many years and refers to a coordinated approach by border control agencies, both domestic and international, in the context of seeking greater efficiencies in managing trade and travel flows, while maintaining a balance with compliance requirements

The Compendium also includes a new section on cooperation between the WCO and the UPU. This section sets out potential opportunities for cooperation between Customs administrations and designated postal operators, including the exchange of advance electronic data aimed at improving risk management, trade facilitation and control of postal items, particularly in the context of growing e-commerce via post.

Policy Brief: Coherent Global Trade Policy Frameworks Needed for Circular Economy for Plastics (IISD)

As the consequences of COVID-19 continue to be felt around the world, one of its unexpected impacts has been the increased use of single-use plastics, fueling concerns that plastic waste levels will grow with it. In parallel, the push by many governments to adopt measures at the domestic level to address this issue, which in some cases includes trade policy measures, requires better coordination to be effective. Part of the COVID-19-related increase in single-use plastics comes from the rapid transition to online shopping instead of traditional in-shop purchases. This has increased by 6-10%, according to a recent survey by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and is likely to grow further in the holiday season. The pandemic also spurred the use of disposable products due to health and hygiene concerns, many of which are largely or entirely composed of plastics – such as utensils, bottles, wet wipes, masks, and other personal protective equipment.

People, planet on ‘collision course’, warns UN Development Programme (UN News)

The coronavirus pandemic is the latest crisis facing the world, and societies everywhere need to “release their grip on nature”, or risk more of the same, the agency said in this year's Human Development Report, entitled The Next Frontier, released on Tuesday. “Humans wield more power over the planet than ever before. In the wake of COVID-19, record-breaking temperatures and spiraling inequality, it is time to use that power to redefine what we mean by progress, where our carbon and consumption footprints are no longer hidden”, said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. “As this report shows, no country in the world has yet achieved very high human development without putting immense strain on the planet. But we could be the first generation to right this wrong. That is the next frontier for human development.”

DESA Identifies 16 SDG Good Practices to Inspire Governments, Stakeholders (IISD)

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs is showcasing 16 examples of successful SDG implementation efforts from around the world, in hopes of helping governments and stakeholders deliver on the 2030 Agenda while addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and reducing the risk of future emergencies. The success stories are described in the first-ever ‘SDG Good Practices’ publication and featured on a data visualization dashboard. The publication titled, ‘SDG Good Practices: A compilation of success stories and lessons learned in SDG Implementation,’ consists of examples submitted through an open call from DESA conducted in 2018-2019. DESA reports that it received over 700 submissions from all types of stakeholders. An inter-agency expert team from UN bodies identified over 500 “good practices” from the submissions. On the visual dashboard, 513 good practices are displayed by the implementing sector, the associated SDG(s), and their location. Another feature enables the user to see all of the good practices being implemented in a selected country. Individual examples also can be viewed in detail on a dedicated website.

Feeding the world's growing population while limiting the impacts of climate change will require urgent and radical transformation of our agri-food systems, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said at a High-Level event commemorating the 5th anniversary of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. "We need to interact differently with our environment," the Director-General said, pointing to the need for high-impact action focused on better production, better nutrition, a better environment for a better life . "Let us show nature the reverence it deserves and prepare ourselves to set the table for 10 billion people by 2050 with healthy diets."

Agriculture, including forestry, fisheries and livestock production, generates around a fifth of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, which must be reduced by 2030 to achieve the goal of limiting the global warming increase to 2°C.

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National

Full Quarterly Bulletin - No 298 - December 2020 (South African Reserve Bank)

Following a fourth successive quarterly contraction in the second quarter of 2020, the real gross value added (GVA) by the primary sector increased markedly in the third quarter, supported by a significant rebound in the real GVA by the mining sector and a further sizeable increase in real agricultural output.

The continued expansion in agricultural output reflected favourable weather conditions as well as the bumper maize and citrus harvests. The rebound in mining production was broad-based and reflected the easing of the lockdown restrictions, supported by higher international commodity prices and increased demand from China, in particular.

The value of South Africa’s net gold and merchandise exports surged to an all-time high in the third quarter of 2020, along with a more muted increase in merchandise imports as global trade recovered following the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and the related rebound in economic activity. As a result, South Africa’s trade surplus widened significantly to 9.0% − the largest ratio of GDP since the third quarter of 1988. Mining, manufacturing and agricultural exports all increased strongly in the third quarter of 2020, boosted by higher international commodity prices, increased global demand and an improvement in loading rates at domestic ports. The value of merchandise imports increased, although by a much lesser extent than exports, in the third quarter of 2020 and remained well below the level of a year earlier, reflective of weak domestic demand.

The larger trade surplus coincided with a significantly smaller shortfall on the services, income and current transfer account, which resulted largely from a significantly smaller deficit on the income account, as South Africa recorded a first quarterly dividend surplus in almost 25 years. As a consequence, the balance on the current account of the balance of payments switched from a deficit in the second quarter of 2020 to a notable surplus of 5.9% in the third quarter − the largest surplus as a ratio of GDP since the third quarter of 1988.

Dept invests in innovation in tourism sector (SAnews)

The Department of Tourism is set to introduce a programme that will stimulate and encourage innovation in the travel sector. The department, in collaboration with the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), will implement the Tourism Technology Grassroots Innovation Incubation Programme (TTGIIP). The programme aims to stimulate entrepreneurship and new start-up enterprises in the tourism industry, underpinned by technology, innovation and new business ideas that have the potential to enhance services in tourism. The department and the TIA are co-funding the two-year project, with the TIA being the implementing agent. The department said developments in technology have played a fundamental role in the growth of the tourism and travel industry, and now with the impact of COVID-19, the “use of digital solutions is ever more apparent”.

Communications and Digital Technologies SOEs merge (SAnews)

The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has embarked on a process to merge some of its entities in line with the state owned enterprises (SOE’s) rationalisation plan. These mergers are in line with last year’s State of the Nation Address by the President, committing government to undertake a process of rationalisation of SOEs, in an effort to ensure that they serve strategic economic or developmental purposes. “The Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa will be repurposed to establish a state-owned digital fund company,” the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies said on Tuesday.

PM Abiy, Kenyatta commit to increased trade (The East African)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed marked his two-day state visit to Kenya last week with an inspection of the progress of the Lamu port construction, and the launch of the Moyale one-stop border post on Wednesday along with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The leaders committed to boosting trade between the two countries by reducing trade barriers and jointly funding projects, and to allocate more resources for infrastructure projects to ensure the seamless flow of people and cargo between their two countries. The Ethiopia-Kenyan border stretches for over 830km, making the Moyale border post a significant trading point between the two countries.

Kenya loses bid for tax on EAC bottle imports (Business Daily)

Kenya has lost a bid to impose a 25 per cent excise tax on imported bottles from the East African region after the court ordered that the move be frozen. The order by the East African Court of Justice presents a major relief for local beverage manufacturers who were hit by the directive that saw them absorb extra cost as they could not pass down the costs to consumers given the low sales during a pandemic year, according to the manufacturers’ petition to Parliament in April. Previously, the bottles had no excise duty on them but the government introduced it in April, causing Tanzanian bottle manufacturer Kioo Limited to move to court seeking to freeze the tax contained in the Business Laws (Amendment) Act. The order served to Attorney-General Paul Kihara will be a major relief to the brewers and manufactures of other beverages using glass bottles who had decried the new tax that came at the height of a pandemic disrupted business season.

Zim engages Francophone countries (The Herald)

Zimbabwe’s attendance at today’s inauguration of Guinean President alpha Conde cements the already existing relations between the two countries and opens doors to trade throughout West Africa, Vice President Kembo Mohadi has said. VP Mohadi said it was critical for Harare and Conakry to forge bilateral relations beneficial to citizens, especially in the context of the African Continental Free Trade area (AfCFTA), which is set to revolutionise trade from next year.

U.S. move is first step on Sudan’s long road to get debt relief: IMF (Reuters)

The International Monetary Fund on Monday said it stood ready to help Sudan as it moves toward a broader package of debt relief after Washington’s removal of the country from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Carol Baker, IMF mission chief for Sudan, said removal of Sudan from the U.S. list eliminated one of the hurdles toward debt forgiveness under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative launched in 1996. But Sudan remains in arrears to the IMF, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, and cannot receive fresh funds from them until it clears up those debts, she said. To reach that point, four other key conditions must be met that are outside the control of the IMF, including strong performance by Sudanese authorities under an IMF staff-monitored economic program for at least six months, Baker said.

Declare services export sector priority sector − Dr Obiora (Vanguard)

As the Buhari-led administration continue to harp on diversifying the economy to non-oil sectors, the National President of the Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria, AOPN, Dr Madu Obiora, in this interview tasked the government on declaring the services export sector a priority sector and also showcase Nigeria as reliable and quality service destination in Africa, as he spoke on other salient issues that would boost the economy.

Nigeria suspends licensing of free trade zones (Premium Times)

The Federal Government has suspended the issuance of licences for the operation of the Free Trade Zones (FTZ) in the country. According to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, Nigeria is yet to see the potential of FTZs as an instrument for economic growth due to poor implementation. Mr Adebayo said this Monday at the inauguration of the panel set up for the evaluation of the performance of FTZs in Abuja. According to a statement by the minister’s spokesperson, Ifedayo Sayo, all applications for FTZ licences will henceforth not be processed pending the completion of the panel’s assignment. The panel’s key objective is to provide a set of recommendations to inform government strategy on FTZs based on a thorough evaluation off the current operations of FTZs.

Manufacturers may not open next month over COVID-19, Forex crises (Vanguard)

Manufacturing sector operators have indicated that many factories may not open for activities next month due to the impact of COVID-19 fallouts as well as scarcity of foreign exchange supply. Dropping this hint at the 2020 Workshop of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria, CICAN, the Acting Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Mr. Ambrose Oruche, said that the manufacturing sector has been near dearth before lockdown, because of the neglect by government. He stated: “During the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic most countries stopped sending their raw materials to us and then most industries began to shut down. After that there was a foreign exchange (Forex) issue that was threatening the survival of the manufacturing sector. “It would be difficult for some of the manufacturing companies to come back in January 2021.

World Bank Group to Boost Nigeria’s Efforts to Reduce Poverty

The World Bank Group (WBG) discussed a new five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) from 2021 to 2024 and approved a $1.5-billion package to help build a resilient recovery post-COVID19. Nigeria is at a critical juncture. With the sharp fall in oil prices as a result of COVID-19, the economy is projected to contract by over 4% in 2020, plunging the country into its deepest recession since the 1980s. Government revenues could fall by more than 15 billion dollars this year, and the crisis will push an additional 5 million Nigerians into poverty in 2020.

Africa

Informal Trade And Dynamics Of African Trade In The Wake Of Covid-19 Key Features Of 2020 African Trade Report (Africa.com)

The African Trade Report, produced annually by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), will be launched on 15th December. This year’s report focuses on Informal Cross-Border Trade (ICBT) and provides ground-breaking insights into the scale, composition and approaches to informal cross-border trade in Africa. It is estimated that the formalisation of informal cross border trade could potentially increase official trade numbers by between 30-50%, depending on the region. “ICBT has been a key contributor to job creation, income growth and household consumption, as well as to the development of competitive cross-border regional value chains” explained Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, while emphasizing the importance of ICBT to the continent’s economies.

The Report was done in collaboration with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). According to Dr. Hippolyte Fofack and Dr. David Luke, Head, African Trade Policy Centre at the ECA, this year’s report will help put in place the structures to better account for ICBT as well as help formalise these value chains.

AfCFTA: Afreximbank supports factoring as a viable alternative source of finance for SMEs (Afeximbank)

“SMEs constitute the greatest proportion of the continent’s industrial fibre, accounting for about 80% of businesses and employing not less than 70% of the continent’s workforce,” noted Ms. Awani. “Given that access to finance remains a key constraint to SME operations, availability of sustainable trade finance, especially for SMEs, will remain the key lubricant to propel the AfCFTA, the single largest trading bloc globally, towards the realization of its aspirations,” she added.

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) considers factoring as a viable alternative financing instrument for supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) at a time when traditional commercial bank lending is tightening while trading is about to begin under the African Continental Free Agreement.

Local Sourcing in Africa Can Aid Economic Growth and Poverty (BORGEN)

Many countries in Africa have turned to local sourcing for economic stimulation as COVID-19 progresses. The new change in business trade is proving to be successful thanks to some initiatives and programs that made local sourcing in Africa possible. One of the initiatives responsible for the growth of local sourcing in Africa is the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The initiative calls for an increase in local raw material sourcing to 50% over the next few years. Farming Better Futures is a program associated with the SDGs.

Visa openness solutions can boost Africa’s economic recovery, the 2020 Africa Visa Openness Index reveals (TravelDailyNews)

A record 54% of the continent is accessible for African visitors who no longer need a visa to travel or can get one on arrival; in 2020, The Gambia joins Seychelles and Benin in allowing visa-free access for all African travelers; 24 countries offer e-Visas reflecting 44% of the continent. The upward trend in African countries liberalizing their visa regimes and welcoming African travelers continues, according to the 2020 Africa Visa Openness Index published by the African Union Commission and African Development Bank on Thursday. This fifth edition of the Index highlights the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatens to reverse Africa’s economic gains of recent years, affecting sectors from tourism through to investment. As travel restrictions ease and safety measures are put in place to contain the pandemic, sustaining progress and momentum on more comfortable continent-wide travel is vital.

Truck drivers hail guidelines on movement of goods to curb COVID-19 in SADC-EAC-COMESA Region (SADC)

The outbreak of COVID-19 has affected economies globally, prompting countries to impose measures which have restricted movement of goods, services and people across borders in efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic. When COVID-19 broke out, most border posts were closed for the general public and only allowed the movement of essential goods such as medical supplies. Truck drivers have played a crucial role of delivering goods to various destinations. The introduction of these measures has helped greatly to curb the spread of COVID-19.

SADC records notable progress in financial markets and regional integration (SADC)

There has been notable progress in the area of payments systems in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).At national level, all the 16 SADC Member States are implementing Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) which facilitates quicker transactions and brings about efficiency in payments. In her report to the 40th SADC Summit hosted virtually by Mozambique in August 2020, SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, said at regional level, harmonisation of payments and clearing systems through the SADC-RTGS is ongoing. The SADC RTGS supports the modernisation and harmonisation of payments and clearing systems both domestically and regionally with the objective of improving safety of payments and efficient settlement and payment processes in the region. It is also intended to lower transaction costs as it removes the need for correspondent banks.

FDI in the region records double digit growth as China invests $7b (The East African)

Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into East Africa more than doubled in 2019 buoyed by China’s increased interest in the region’s manufacturing, construction and services sector. EAC’s Trade and Investment Report (2019) shows that FDIs into the region surged to $11.5 billion in 2019 from $5.7 billion in 2018, with all East African Community countries except Tanzania posting increased inflows during the year. Inflows to Tanzania declined by 16 percent to $2.6 billion in 2019 from $3.1 billion. According to the report China was the largest investor in 2019, accounting for 59.7 percent of the total FDI inflows into the region, with significant realised investments in construction, manufacturing and services. Inflows to Uganda increased by almost 20 percent mainly on account of investments in the extractives sector as well as major infrastructure projects like power dams and roads.

Related: EA loses billions in tax exemptions and remissions in five years (The East African)

Comesa counts pandemic linked economic losses (The East Africans)

According to a new report, Comesa has experienced contraction in economic growth, with only six countries out of 21 expected to post positive growth for 2020. The pandemic has wiped out 4.6 percentage points from Comesa’s economic growth this year, and see the bloc slump to a 0.6 percent growth, just 12 months after it grew 5.2 percent in 2019. The report titled Socio-economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic: Evidence from Comesa region echoes the International Monetary Fund’s October 2020 regional economic outlook for sub Saharan Africa. Both note that Covid-19 will see contraction cut across all countries and sectors, but countries that are oil, resource and tourism dependent are the most hit, while more diverse non-resource economies like Rwanda, will be more resilient. It agrees with the assessment that agriculture based businesses have only experienced a marginal impact of Covid-related restrictions.

What do FTAs mean for African women? A critical look into the African Continental Free Trade Area (CADTM)

The AfCFTA pursues the same goals of trade deals that African countries have engaged with in recent decades, but unfolds them now on a much broader scale. It is the continental extension of a corporate driven trade agenda previously imposed on distinct African blocs through numerous trade and investment deals and processes. It is important to bear in mind that a large part of trade within Africa, both within countries and across borders, is informal. The track record of past FTAs in regard to the position of women, addressing their concerns in these processes and subsequent benefits have not been good at all. In fact, feminist critiques of free trade and investment policies and agreements in other regions mesh very strongly with the experiences in Africa.

Unpacking the misconceptions about Africa’s food imports (Brookings)

Sub-Saharan Africa’s spiraling food import bill − which stood at $43 billion in 2019 − has attracted mounting attention as a worrisome trend. For years, many pundits have wondered why Africa seems increasingly unable to feed itself, despite having much of the world’s remaining unutilized arable land. This alarming narrative is largely inaccurate. Our research, which disaggregates sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) agricultural trade performance by country and type, shows that four countries − Nigeria, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Somalia − account for most of SSA’s net agricultural import position. The rest of the countries in the region are actually net agricultural exporters. This is good news not only today, but for Africa’s future economic growth through trade, as we explain below. Three key facts emerge from our analysis.

New ECA and GSMA report urges an overhaul of mobile services to boost e-commerce in Central Africa (UNECA)

A new report by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) has outlined practical measures that Governments and key stakeholders in the mobile telephony sector can adopt to boost the subregion’s sustainable development through electronic commerce. The report titled “The Role of mobile services in Enabling E-commerce in Central Africa and policy implications” was reviewed in an online meeting today by experts from government, the private sector, academia, the development community and civil society from Africa and Europe, Monday. It encourages Central African States to overhaul their overall business environment in order to facilitate transactions in the sector which can bring about socially inclusive economic growth.

This is Africa’s digital shift opportunity (The Exchange)

Africa rarely positively leads on the global scene but this does not mean that nothing good is happening on the continent. Even though the Covid-19 has hot the continent leading to massive losses just like elsewhere in the world, it is noteworthy that 19 of the top 20 fastest-growing countries in the world are in Africa. The continent has registered increased urbanization where an increasingly young and educated population is driving higher consumption of online services. One of the largest overlooked investment opportunities of the past decade for the African continent is the Internet economy which has the potential for profound impact on development. The mobile Internet is transforming lives across the continent with the support of growing local connectivity and mobility and a dynamic, young urban population. With a potential to add up to US$180 billion to Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, depending on the usage intensity of digital technologies by businesses, the Internet economy is improving productivity and efficiencies across large swaths of the economy, including agriculture, education, financial services, healthcare, and supply chains.

Sub-Saharan African businesses are optimistic about 2021 (IT-online)

Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) reports released by IHS Markit in the first week of December shows that sub-Saharan African companies are optimistic about the improvement in business activity during 2021. PwC expects the Sub-Saharan African economy to return to growth in 2021 as the pandemic abates and global trade improves as lockdowns ease. The IMF expects the East Africa Community (EAC) economy to grow by 4,5% in 2021 compared to an expansion of only 1% this year – while the 2020 number was positive, it was significantly lower than an average of 6,1% per annum seen over the preceding four years. The IMF expects the Southern African Development Community (SADC) economy to expand by 3,3% in 2021 following a contraction of 5,5% in the preceding year. IHS Markit data shows that companies in Mozambique expect higher output next year linked to new investments and expectations of an end to the pandemic.

New African Stock Exchanges linkage project targets $1trn market capitalization (Businessamlive)

A new African Stock Exchanges linkage project being promoted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) with other stakeholders, which would integrate stock exchanges across Africa, is set to create an integrated capital market on the continent with capitalization in excess of $1 trillion. The incoming African Stock Exchanges capitalization would represent 90 percent of Africa’s total equity market. According to stock market experts, the new African Stock Exchange linkage will increase liquidity and enable seamless trading platforms across the continent’s 55 sovereign nations, 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.

Clean energy sector growing in South and East Africa (ESI-Africa.com)

A new report exploring recent developments in the clean energy sector in southern and eastern Africa shows market entry is challenging and requires targeted awareness-raising activities, increased financial inclusion and access to financing. EEP Africa used data collected from a call for 2020 proposals, their annual survey and active portfolio to develop its 2020 Market Report Productivity and Circularity in the Clean Energy Sector. The report looks at three rapidly developing areas of the clean energy market: the evolution of productive use of energy (PUE); role of clean energy in a circular economy; and impact of COVID-19 on early-stage companies.

International

2020 Year in Review: The impact of COVID-19 in 12 charts (World Bank Blogs)

This time last year, concepts such as “lockdowns,” “mask mandates” and “social distancing” were unknown to most of us. Today they are part of our everyday language as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact all aspects of our lives. Through the following 12 charts and graphics, we try to quantify and provide an overview of our colleagues’ research in the face of a truly unprecedented crisis.

WCO Council maps the road ahead to ensure the recovery, renewal and resilience of the Customs and trade community for a sustainable supply chain (World Customs Organization)

Heads of Delegation of some 150 WCO Member Customs administrations took part in the 137th Session of the WCO Council, the Organization’s supreme decision-making body, which was held virtually from 10 to 12 December 2020 under the chairmanship of Mr. Ahmed Al Khalifa, Vice-Chair for the North of Africa, Near and Middle East region and President of Customs Affairs in Bahrain. “Customs worldwide have played a critical role during the pandemic and we need to keep the momentum going and be ready for the recovery phase, especially by continuing to ensure the rapid movement of essential goods, including COVID-19 vaccines, and by increasing support to economic operators”, said the Acting Chairperson of the Council in his opening remarks.

European Union, AU sign new partnership to tackle epidemics (The Independent Uganda)

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has launched a new partnership to strengthen the capacity of Africa to prepare for and respond to public health threats. The four-year project dubbed ‘EU for health security in Africa will be implemented through harmonising surveillance and disease intelligence, and supporting the implementation of the public health workforce strategy of Africa CDC. The agreement will come into force on January 1st, 2021. Extending funding worth 9million euros for the activities and a million euros to cover staffing costs at the Africa CDC, he said is aimed at building capacity not only for handling COVID-19 but also to tackle future health threats on the continent.

No subsidized imports in post-Brexit trade deal, CS Maina affirms (KBC)

Industrialization, Trade, and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina has assured local manufacturers and producers of various goods that the post-Brexit trade deal Kenya signed with the United Kingdom will not open the floodgate for cheap and subsidized goods. On Monday, CS Maina said the post-Brexit Continuity Trade Agreement which was signed on 8th December 2020 between Kenya and the UK adheres to the fidelity of the EAC Customs Union Protocol and provides room for accession by the willing EAC Partner States as Kenya backs the deal to ensure a 5% increase in exports within the first year of implementation.

Access, funding stand in Africa’s path to getting Covid-19 vaccine (The East African)

As many countries around the world are making important decisions about who gets vaccinated against Covid-19, Africa is increasingly on a razor edge as access to the vaccine is not guaranteed. The challenge facing Africa is access: availability of the required vaccine doses and access to financing to make purchases. Specifically, Africa is scaling walls in the ongoing global race to access the vaccine as rich countries, representing just 13 percent of the world’s population, have already cornered more than half (51 percent) of the promised doses of leading Covid-19 vaccine candidates, according to Oxfam International.

2.7 billion people have had no social protection to cope with Covid-19 economic crisis (Oxfam International)

New Oxfam research shows that over a third of the world’s population has had no public money to cope with the effects of the pandemic. A new report “Shelter from the Storm”, done in partnership with Development Pathways, reviewed government programs used to inject additional money to help people, such as disability, unemployment, child, and elderly benefits, for 126 low and middle-income countries. It found none of them were adequate to meet everyone’s needs. Overall, the world has spent an additional $11.7 trillion this year to cope with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Of this, $9.8 trillion (83%) was spent by 36 rich countries against just $42 billion (0.4%) in 59 low-income countries.

COVID-19 will likely widen yawning migrant pay gap − U.N. (Thompson Reuters Foundation)

Migrants earn up to 42% less than national workers in high-income countries, with the COVID-19 pandemic likely to exacerbate the pay gap and women worse affected than men, U.N. labour experts said on Monday. The pay discrepancy has widened markedly in many countries in the last five years, notably Cyprus, Italy, Portugal and Ireland, according to research by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The U.N. agency said much of the overall migrant pay gap could not be explained by differences in education, skills or experience, and was likely due to entrenched discrimination.

Thousands of Migrants from West and Central Africa at Risk as Critical Funding for Humanitarian Interventions Comes to an End (IOM)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is appealing for EUR 100 million to continue providing urgent protection and critical assistance to vulnerable migrants from West and Central Africa along the Central and Western Mediterranean routes, as funding under the EU Trust Fund (EUTF) comes to an end. “Through the EU-IOM Joint Initiative, we have been able to assist over 100,000 migrants who might otherwise have been left in conditions of great peril; in detention centres, stranded and left for dead in deserts, or living in extremely difficult environments conducive to trafficking and smuggling, with no safe alternatives to better their lives and those of their families,” says the IOM Director General.

Update on the Joint IMF-WB Multipronged Approach to Address Debt Vulnerabilities (IMF)

Amid rising debt risks in low-income developing countries and emerging markets, the IMF and the WB have been implementing a multipronged approach (MPA) to address debt vulnerabilities. Amplification of debt risks owing to COVID-19 has upped the urgency to implement the MPA and highlights the importance of debt sustainability and transparency for long-term financing for development. At the same time, it should be noted that countries have limited capacities which are further stretched by COVID-19 and that implementation of the MPA by itself may not be sufficient to address debt vulnerabilities and risks from global economic shocks.

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33 minute read

National

Second wave of Covid-19 threatens economy (IOL)

South Africa is on tenterhooks over the second wave of Covid-19 infections with experts warning the newest outbreak could wreak havoc on an already battered economy. Economists this week warned that this, coupled with the end of Covid-19 relief funds, could threaten the steady economic recovery and put consumer spending in jeopardy. Statistics South Africa said its data showed that the recovery in mining and manufacturing production had stalled due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in key trading partner countries and the associated lockdowns.

Sugar sector eyes master plan to protect its turf from big imports (IOL)

The South African sugar industry is looking to the recently signed Sugarcane Master Plan to stabilise the sector in 2021 after a flood of sugar imports devastated it. South African Sugar Association (Sasa) executive director Trix Trikam said last week, “We are particularly concerned about high volumes of sugar imports from Eswatini. India and Brazil have continued to be the main non-African countries importing sugar into South Africa. These issues are being addressed through the recently signed Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan to 2030.”

Manufacturers urged to bolster internal mechanisms (Dailynews)

Zanzibar’s Second Vice-President Hemed Suleiman Abdallah has said it was crucial for local manufactures to strengthen internal system to satisfy the domestic market and surplus be sold in the international market. “From a production perspective, strengthening internal system means a companywide commitment to eliminate errors at every stage of the product development process – product design, process design, and manufacturing. It also means working closely with suppliers to eliminate defects from all incoming parts,” he noted.

‘Trading’ requires something to trade (Mmegi Online)

For Botswana’s aspirations of an export-led economy, AfCFTA is a dream come true. On the ground, however, is the recurring nightmare of AfCFTA leading to a swamping of the local market by cheap imports, drowning out the little manufacturing capacity available. Voices in certain circles fear that AfCFTA could be a ‘mega-South Africa’, which for decades has overshadowed the local productive sector empowered by the provisions of the SACU agreement.

Zimbabwe domestic power consumers get option to settle bills in foreign currency (Xinhua)

Zimbabwe’s power utility ZESA Holdings on Saturday joined the growing list of state entities which are charging for their services in foreign currency. The generated foreign currency will be used to procure equipment for the utility’s transmission and distribution network. “The power utility has introduced a system where all post-paid customers can optionally settle their bills in foreign currency at the prevailing bank rate in line with the multi-currency regime,” a statement from the company’s stakeholder relations unit said.

DR Congo now ratifies African Court Protocol (The Citizen)

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has ratified the African Court protocol bringing the signatory countries to 31. The giant country in the heart of Africa deposited its instrument of ratification at the African Union (AU) on Tuesday this week. As of to date, only six of 31 state parties to the protocol have deposited the declaration recognizing the competence of the Court to receive cases directly from NGOs and individuals.

Egypt to implement Arab Africa Trade Bridge programme in December (MENAFN.COM)

Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea announced, on Sunday, that her ministry will start implementing the Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) programme, which was launched by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), during this month. Gamea added that the AATB programme will last until the end of September 2021. She noted that the programme aims to enhance capacity of Egyptian exporters and encourage exporting to new markets in Africa. The minister said that the Export Development Authority (EDA) would implement the programme in Egypt in cooperation with the ITFC, export councils, and the Federation of Egyptian Industries.

Group Seeks Delay in Implementation of ECOWAS Fuel Grade, Emission Regulations (THISDAYLIVE)

The Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON) has urged the federal government to request for a delay in the implementation of the Proposed ECOWAS Fuel Grade and Vehicle Emission Standards Regulations, which is expected to be in operation from January 1, 2021. The association further asked the government to independently review perceived errors in the regulations and address them to provide accurate assessment of the multi-billion-dollar costs and benefits, particularly in the light of the current financial stress occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, instability in the global oil market and recession.

Africa

MPs urged to learn from COVID-19 (The Herald)

As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the world with no immediate end in sight, SADC Members of Parliament have been urged to learn from the pandemic and work towards retaining their healthcare professionals, which has become a major challenge in some countries. Trudi Hartzenberg, the Executive Director of the Trade Law Centre (tralac), made the call recently when she addressed parliamentarians who represent their countries on the Standing Committee on Human Social Development and Special Programmes (HSDSP) of the SADC Parliamentary Forum.

Report: Implementation of AfCFTA will shape Nigeria’s international trade in 2021 (TheCable)

SB Morgen, Africa focused geopolitical research firm, has identified events that would shape Nigeria’s international trade dynamics in 2021. These are the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement by the federal government, and the emergence of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the director-general (DG) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) SB Morgen in its latest report, titled: ‘The year ahead: Light at the end of the tunnel, What to expect’ in 2021 said with a transition to the Biden-led United States (US) administration in January 2021, consensus will likely be reached for Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment, noting that a Nigerian nominee landing the position would give the country’s international reputation a much-needed boost.

AfCFTA: NAFDAC Harps on Adherence to Best Practices (THISDAYLIVE)

As the world awaits the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has called on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country to embrace best practices as well as ensure that they have Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Satisfactory Analysis Report (SAR) for their products. The GMP and SAR will position local manufacturers to take competitive advantage of the nation’s involvement in the continental trade agreement and help in reducing the number of Nigerian made products that have been rejected internationally.

What opportunities does the AfCFTA hold for women? (NewsDay Zimbabwe)

According to the African Union chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will help advance the empowerment of Africa’s women, by improving women’s access to trade opportunities which will in turn facilitate economic freedom for women, and expand the productive capacities of countries. “We must ensure that there is sufficient support given to women-owned SMMEs and co-operatives in both local and regional economies,” he emphasised.

KRA Commissioner-General to Lead African Tax organization (Capital Business)

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Githii Mburu has been appointed as the first Chairperson of the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes Africa Initiative. Africa Initiative is a continental program launched in 2014 by the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum), its African members, and various partners. It aims at unpacking the benefits of tax transparency and exchange of information (EOI) to fight tax evasion and other illicit financial flows (IFFs) and serve African countries’ development.

AfDB says new strategy will address debt distress risks in Africa (Ghanaweb)

The African Development Bank (AfDB) will from next year roll out a five-year strategic economic governance plan for the continent, the Director of Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting and Research at the bank, Dr. Morsy Hanan, has said. According to her, the “New Strategy for Economic Governance in Africa” (SEGA), expected to run from 2021 to 2025, deals with a comprehensive collation of data to inform regular debt sustainability analyses, and supports the design and adoption of legislation and regulations on implicit guarantees and contingent liabilities of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Africa expected to see a subdued economic recovery in 2021 (The Exchange)

Analysts at the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) annual roundtable noted that Africa is expected to see a subdued economic recovery in 2021 and not likely to reach 2019 growth levels until 2022. One of the striking features of the impact of the pandemic that was revealed as a key factor that should guide the continent’s recovery is that the pandemic is affecting a broader number of countries including more diversified economies and those who rely on aviation and tourism, unlike previous economic shocks that left their mark largely on commodity-dependent countries.

The speakers also noted that by 2021, six African countries are expected to record government gross debt over 100 per cent of GDP while debt burdens overall are expected to rise then stabilize by 2021/2022 above 60 per cent of GDP.

Africa’s Infrastructure Ministers to Meet Virtually to Validate Second Phase of PIDA and Launch of AfSEM (African Union)

The First extra-ordinary meeting of the Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Intercontinental and Interregional Infrastructures, Energy and Tourism (STC-TTIIET) will be held from 14-15 December 2020 virtually, under the theme Africa’s Infrastructure Priorities 2020-2030. The meeting eyes at validating the priority list of projects for the Second Phase of the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA-PAP2).

Biennial Review Report: Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) (African Union)

The Second Biennial Review Report of the African Union Commission — on the Implementation of the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity, and Improved Livelihoods – finds that considerable efforts have gone into improving the quality of the data, with more countries reporting in this round, and there is an overall positive trend in the performance of countries, even though only four countries achieved the required milestone to be on-track. This trajectory should be maintained, and the rate of progress accelerated while measures are put in place to address weaknesses.

African countries cautioned to wake up on sleeping ecommerce (UNECA)

As African countries, in general and those in Central Africa in particular, gear up towards going-live with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021, they must tidy-up smart strategies for ecommerce, without which they would lose out considerably on the promise of the fourth industrial revolution – a scenario which is simply not acceptable. Ecommerce, which is the monetary exchange of goods, services and information products via the Internet, will be a key component of phase two negotiations of the AfCFTA.

Member states look away as EAC 2020/21 budget stalls (The Citizen)

The East African Community (EAC) and its organs will now be compelled to agree on the bungled budget for 2020/2021. After settling down for the $97.6 million estimates, the contentious issue is now on re-allocation of funds within the same ceiling. The main contenders are the Council of Ministers, a powerful policy organ of the Community, and the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala).

Related: EALA Speaker urges to settle budget matter (The Citizen)

EAC states pledge to ease trade (The East African)

Regional countries have agreed to make trade between them and with other countries cheaper, faster and simpler, in a significant boost for economic integration in East Africa and continental trade facilitation. Meeting in Nairobi under the first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Africa e-Commerce Week, representatives from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda said they would implement trade facilitation reforms. These include reducing non-tariff barriers such as burdensome and incompatible product regulations.

EAC contributes to safer One Stop Border Posts (EAC)

The training of trainers’ course on COVID-19 preparedness and response at 12 One Stop Border Posts between the EAC Partner States started in October 2020 and will end on Sunday, 13 December 2020 at the Gasenyi border post in Burundi. By then about 230 staff will have been trained and will scale up the measures by teaching further colleagues. “The scope of the training has focused on operations at the OSBP with close contact to travelers and their luggage including traded goods,” explains Anthony Kihara of AMREF Flying Doctors.

Here’s Africa’s ‘fire exit’ from Covid-19 pandemic (The East African)

Increasing intra-African trade, innovation, and the blue economy will provide African economies a “fire exit” from ravages of Covid-19 pandemic. These were some of the recommendations from the Kusi Ideas Festival, 2020 edition. “Why is Kenya importing things it used to export? Is it not because the informal sector is not being treated as an engine for growth?” he asked. Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, the secretary general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) said that all the economic recovery plans on the continent should be embedded within the health recovery plans.

The dangers of playing politics with COVID-19 cures (African Arguments)

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, court proceedings against the Gambia’s former president and his fraudulent HIV “treatment” underscore the dangers of politicians promoting unproven cures. In April 2020, President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar announced that a plant-based tonic, Covid Organics (CVO), was an effective treatment for COVID-19.

International

Kenya-UK trade deal provides for other EAC member states to join in by 2025 (The East African)

Kenya is hoping that East African Community member states join the new trade agreement it signed on Wednesday with the UK. Although the agreement between Nairobi and London protects Kenya’s coffee, fresh vegetables, cut flowers and tea exports from taxation in the UK market, it also provides for exports of local products whose raw materials have been sourced from other developing countries. Kenyan officials say the deal has a framework for other countries in the region to join.

UK plans Africa conference for January (Energy Voice)

The UK Department for International Trade (DIT) will hold the Africa Investment Conference on January 20, 2021. The virtual event will focus on four areas: sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, financial and professional services, and agriculture and agri-tech. The UK will no longer be part of the European Union as of January 1. As such, it is making a push for new trading relationships, seeing Africa as a key region. The country has struck new trade deals with 14 African partners. 35 African partners will receive preferential access. The UK-Africa Investment Summit at the beginning of 2020 saw 27 trade and investment deals signed, worth £6.5 billion. Participants made commitments of £8.9bn.

Kenya to gradually remove taxes on UK goods in pact (Business Daily)

Kenya will gradually remove taxes on imports from the UK after seven years following a trade pact the two countries signed Tuesday last week. Mr James Duddridge, the UK minister for Africa, said the deal – strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) – is aimed at “doing more trade with less friction” between the UK and the six-nation East African Community bloc. The pact, which will now have to be ratified by respective lawmakers, preserves duty- and quota-free access for exports originating from the EAC free trade area (FTA) after the UK formally leaves the European Union bloc at the end of this month.

UK-Africa trade after Brexit: Time for a reset (African Arguments)

As the UK prepares to leave the transition period with the European Union at the end of December 2020, there has been much discussion of what its newly independent trade strategy will look like. Much of this debate has focused on potential trading agreements with the EU and US, but far less on Africa. This may be understandable given that trade with Africa, amounting to £36.2 billion ($48 billion), represented just 2.5% of the UK’s total in 2019. However, Brexit combined with changing dynamics on the continent provide a huge opportunity for the UK and African countries to rethink their trade relations.

Aim for better Kenya, US trade deals in Biden era (Business Daily)

Kenya and the United States have strong and deep-rooted diplomatic relations, which have existed since Kenya attained self-rule. On February 6, 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Donald Trump in Washington DC announced the intent for Kenya and the US to negotiate and conclude a Free Trade Area Agreement (FTA). On July 8, the two countries officially launched negotiations for FTA. According to the World Bank, Kenya is one of Africa’s most dynamic economies and the second-largest beneficiary of Africa Growth Opportunity Act’s (Agoa) tariff benefits. The US views Kenya as a strategic partner in the region not only in terms of trade but also security. If successful, this agreement would be the first US FTA with a country in sub-Saharan Africa. Find out more.

China’s Southern Africa Debt Deals Reveal a Wider Plan (Chatham House)

Africa is experiencing its first continent-wide recession in 25 years due to the impact of the COVID-19, but many southern African states were already in economic distress prior to the pandemic – with Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe partly because of unsustainable debt burdens they owe to China. The COVID-19 crisis propelled African debt – and repayment and forgiveness – to the top of the international agenda once again, although this time much of the debt is bilateral, non-concessionary, or commercial in origin.

As Pandemic Rages, Debt Burden on Developing Nations Grows (Voice of America)

As the coronavirus began to spread across the globe in the first half of 2020, international aid organizations began sounding the alarm about the outsized impact the virus would likely have on poor countries – especially those that are already forced to dedicate significant amounts of their annual budgets to paying off sovereign debts. Now, nearly a year into the pandemic, many of those warnings are coming true, and activists say efforts to relieve the debt burden on developing countries have been ineffectual at best, and a handout to private sector lenders at worst.

WTO may hold TRIPS meet early next year for further discussion on waiver proposal (@businessline)

To ensure that India-South Africa’s proposal for a temporary waiver of TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights) obligations to fight the Covid-19 pandemic does not get buried without further discussions, World Trade Organization (WTO) members are likely to consider an early meeting of the TRIPS Council in January or early-February, instead of sticking to the scheduled mid-March slot, according to a Geneva-based official. “As countries could not arrive at a decision on the waiver proposal at the TRIPS Council meeting on December 10 because of strong opposition by some developed nations, the chair proposed that members should consider holding the next formal meeting, which is scheduled on March 10-11 2021, in January or early February. This would allow further consideration of the waiver request in the more immediate future,” a Geneva-based official said.

Calibrating technology to tackle sustainable development challenges in Africa | UNCTAD

Technology can provide solutions to many development problems and new and emerging technologies can improve access to modern energy services and enhance agricultural productivity and livelihoods. But a deeper understanding of the full spectrum of change that these technologies can unleash across different socio-economic contexts, particularly in developing countries is needed. UNCTAD, which this week at the annual Science Forum in Pretoria, South Africa, announced a new technology assessment project it aims to roll out in key African countries.

African Development Bank, 11 leading Multilateral Development Banks, IMF launch first joint report on financing the sustainable development goals (AfDB)

The African Development Bank joined a group of 11 multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday in launching a first-ever joint report on financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The launch took place during a virtual ceremony attended by the heads of the institutions. The report is released at the end of a critical year, with the COVID-19 pandemic threatening to reverse progress on the SDGs. In response, MDBs have collectively mobilized a global response package of $230 billion between 2020 and 2021, to reduce the pandemic’s impact, of which $75 billion will be directed to the world’s poorest countries before the end of 2020.

AU signs MoU with EU’s International Centre for Migration Policy Development (African Union)

The African Union Commission on Thursday, signed MoU with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) to enhance existing cooperation on Migration, and Mobility Governance between the two organisations. The Memorandum of Understanding is the result of continuous engagement, informed by the priorities and objectives of the African Union in an effort to improve political stability, enhance safety and security, advance social development and economic prosperity. Migration governance, particularly in the areas of the free movement of people, labour migration and mobility, trade, and remittances, amongst others is central to this effort.

Package of declarations and recommendations adopted to help small businesses trade globally (WTO)

The Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) officially adopted at its meeting on 11 December a package of six recommendations and declarations aimed at addressing challenges smaller businesses face when they trade internationally. The package will be presented to all WTO members at a meeting of Heads of Delegation on 14 December. Ambassador José Luís Cancela (Uruguay), the Coordinator of the Group, noted that MSMEs often struggle to participate in international trade and have been hit very hard by the current pandemic. He added that by endorsing this package, the Group signals that it stands ready to help them.

Report shows marked decline in trade restrictions by WTO members amidst COVID-19 pandemic (WTO)

The Director-General’s latest annual overview of trade-related developments shows a marked slowdown in the number of trade-restrictive and trade-facilitating measures adopted by WTO members related to goods trade over the past year. The report, presented at a 11 December meeting of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB), notes the decrease observed in regular measures between mid-October 2019 and mid-October 2020 was mainly the result of the sharp decline in overall global trade since the COVID-19 outbreak. The document at the same time provides information about the numerous trade-facilitating and support measures introduced by WTO economies in response to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in order to ensure a solid economic recovery.

Annual overview of trade-related developments

How domestic Financial Institutions and Local Currency Investments Can Accelerate the Energy Transition (Renweable)

It is widely accepted that the deployment of renewable energy technologies must be scaled up significantly to accelerate the global energy transition. To achieve the target of generating 57 percent of total power from renewables by 2030 will require a doubling of current investments – amounting to over USD 700 billion per year in total. As the costs of renewable energy steadily decline, the sector is becoming increasingly attractive to those looking for stable and cost-effective investments that offer consistent and predictable returns alongside significant potential to stimulate employment and global economic recovery.

Africa: Climate change and sustainable development must be a two-way street (The Africa Report)

Fossil resources have enabled a revolutionary wave of innovation in our societies since the start of the 20th century, but there are hidden costs in fossil resources to society. An IPCC Special Report defines climate risk as the likelihood of unfavourable impacts occurring as a result of severe climate events interacting with vulnerable environmental, social, economic, political or cultural conditions. This category of risks continues to dominate World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Perception Survey

Five years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement: ECOWAS is more mobilized than ever for climate action (The New Dawn Liberia)

Five years after its adoption in Paris at COP21 organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement became effective in 2020 and the ECOWAS Commission intends to reaffirm its commitment to support the global response to the threat of climate change. According to Mr. Sékou SANGARE, Commissioner in charge of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources of ECOWAS “There is no time to waste in responding to the climate emergency, and this requires the action of all, in a spirit of solidarity and responsibility.”

Japan, S. Africa agree to beef up post-pandemic business ties (The Mainchi)

Japan and South Africa agreed at their foreign ministers’ meeting in Pretoria on Saturday to strengthen post-pandemic business ties, with many Japanese companies looking to enter the emerging market as a key gateway to the whole African continent. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said in his talks with Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations and cooperation, that Japanese companies have resumed full-fledged operations in South Africa following a suspension due to the pandemic. The ministers agreed to convene a forum at an early date to spur bilateral investment, the ministry said.

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Agricultural sector contribution to South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (NAMC)

South Africa’s economy bounced back in the third quarter (July to September) of 2020, coinciding with the easing of corona virus (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by an estimated 13,5% in the third quarter, giving an annualised growth rate of 66,1%. This follows the significant slump of 16,6% (annualised: -51,7%) in the second quarter (April to June) of 2020 during the most restrictive months of the lockdown (April, May and June). Since the first quarter of 2020, agricultural sector has been a positive contributor to the country’s GDP growth with an increase of 28.6%, becoming the strongest performer (15.1%) in the second quarter of 2020 despite the unpleasant conditions of COVID-19 pandemic. Agriculture continued to increase at a rate of 18,5% in the quarter of 2020.

SA needs structural reforms to bolster business confidence (Engineering News)

Business confidence continued its upward trend in November, but poor economic performance remains a concern. The business climate is still plagued by poor economic performance, recessionary conditions and high unemployment and fiscal unsustainability, says the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI). SACCI on Wednesday released the business confidence index for November, which is at 93.4 points. The index has climbed 23.3 points since the low of 70.1 points record in May 2020, amid harsher lockdown restrictions.

IMF asks Zambia to re-draft economic policy in return for funding (Eyewitness News)

Zambia must re-draft economic policy to make its public debt more sustainable, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday after the copper-rich country requested IMF funding for reforms. Zambia, which has seen its external debt surge to nearly $12 billion this year, had made a formal request to the IMF on Tuesday. But wrapping up a visit to Lusaka, the director of IMF Africa’s Department, Abebe Aemro Selassie, said that “given the deep-rooted challenges faced, policies would need to be calibrated to restore sustainability while protecting the vulnerable and creating more inclusive growth”.

Kenya, Ethiopia border point to boost trade ties (Business Daily)

Kenya and Ethiopia have signalled an intent to deepen integration with a new border crossing after years of struggling to conduct robust bilateral trade under a regime of poor infrastructure. There has been subdued bilateral trade between the two countries as a result of non-tariff barriers such as long bureaucratic procedures, bans and sanctions. Officials see the Moyale One-Stop Border Posts an important signal to start implementing several key trading agreements reached between the two countries but which had largely been untouched.

Uganda’s Textile Industry Is Well Protected (New Vision)

The National Budget Framework Paper (NBFP) for FY2020/21 laid out planned interventions for Uganda’s economic transformation. In light of this agenda some tax policies were put in place to achieve this vision. Until this financial year 2020/21, the East African Community Common External Tariff (EAC CET) structure provided for a maximum import duty rate of 25% on textile fabrics. However, it was realised the duty rate of 25% was not providing the level of protection that is adequate to attract investments and add value to the cotton and create jobs and thus guarantee a market and better prices to farmers.

Yemi Osinbajo launches Process Manual on Port Operations (Nairametrics)

The Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, has launched the Process Manual on Port Operations to boost efficiency and accountability in Nigeria’s port industry, and also ensure predictability. “The process manual is expected to ensure predictability, promote efficiency and accountability, reduce corruption in the port processes, eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks faced by port users and reduce the opportunity for illegal demands in the ports,” he said.

Sustaining and Deepening Policy Reforms Is Critical To Mitigate the COVID-19 Crisis in Nigeria, says New World Bank Report

In the next three years, an average Nigerian could see a reversal of decades of economic growth and the country could enter its deepest recession since the 1980s. The latest World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU) argues that this path could be avoided if progress in the current reforms is sustained and the right mix of policy measures is implemented. The report “Rising to the Challenge: Nigeria’s COVID response” takes stock on the recently implemented reforms and proposes policy options to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and foster a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive recovery.

Nigeria’s crude oil export earnings rebounded by 116% in November – OPEC (Nairametrics)

OANDO Plc has disclosed the reason why the integrated oil giant has delayed the release of its third (Q3) Unaudited Financial Statement for 2020. The company stated that the inability of the oil company to meet its 2020, Q3 filing of accounts obligation, which was due on November 20, 2020, is as a result of the indefinite suspension of the company’s 2018 Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Africa

Visa openness solutions can boost Africa’s economic recovery, the 2020 Africa Visa Openness Index reveals (AfDB)

The upward trend in African countries liberalizing their visa regimes and welcoming African travelers continues, according to the 2020 Africa Visa Openness Index published by the African Union Commission and African Development Bank on Thursday. This fifth edition of the Index highlights the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatens to reverse Africa’s economic gains of recent years, affecting sectors from tourism through to investment. As travel restrictions ease and safety measures are put in place to contain the pandemic, sustaining progress and momentum on more comfortable continent-wide travel is vital.

Nobel Week Dialogue: Africa’s recovery from COVID-19 will depend on its ability to mobilize resources – Adesina (AfDB)

Africa’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will depend on the continent’s ability to mobilize resources, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said on Wednesday. “The speed and quality of recovery will depend on how much we are able to mobilize resources to deal with this,” Adesina said, adding that Africa needs global backing in many areas, but principally in three areas: fiscal support, healthcare provision and youth employment.

Expert Group Meeting: Governing the Interface between the AfCFTA and Regional Economic Communities Free Trade Areas: Issues, Opportunities and Challenges (UNECA)

The Regional Integration Section of the Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD) of the United Nations ECA seeks to carry out in-depth research and write an analytically rich and policy-relevant report on the governance of the interface between the AfCFTA and RECs FTAs, including the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite FTA. The overall objective is to provide concrete policy actions that need to be adopted and implemented, including strategies on how to leverage the trade integration achievements of RECs for the benefit of the AfCFTA; as well as lessons that could be drawn from areas of failure of RECs FTAs towards enhancing the successful implementation of the AfCFTA.

pdf Governing the Interface between the AfCFTA and regional economic communities free trade areas: Issues, Opportunities and Challenges (3.01 MB)

‘No African nation yet to meet AfCFTA requirements’ (The Guardian Nigeria)

The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), yesterday, said no nation had met the requirements for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), despite the political will to get the pact ratified in good time. They noted that with the coming of AfCFTA, Nigerian and African practitioners were on the verge of being relevant globally, adding that this could only be achieved by expanding frontiers of practice and knowledge base beyond the Nigerian context.

Mauritius holds a meeting to review its National AfCFTA Response strategy (UNECA)

The government of Mauritius, with technical assistance from the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and financial support from the European Union (EU), held a one-day meeting in Port Louis, Mauritius. The main purpose of the event was to review the Mauritius National Response Strategy, which is being developed to help Mauritius take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. The meeting also sensitized private operators in the country about the market opportunities offered by the continental agreement.

Indaba panel unpacks challenges to Africa’s industrialisation agenda (Engineering News)

The African export basket continues to lack manufactured products and is overly-reliant on raw materials and in cases, a single commodity; as a result, African countries continue to be affected by commodity volatility and to experience high inequality. Speaking during the Manufacturing Indaba on December 9, consultancy Deloitte emerging markets and Africa MD Dr Martyn Davies said countries with high levels of manufacturing value-add (MVA) had better opportunities to create employment and achieve higher equality. He explained that the countries with the highest Gini coefficients, or most inequality, had lower MVA as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).

Data, platforms and analytics helping Africa combat COVID-19, says ECA’s Chinganya (UNECA)

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD) on Wednesday hosted a virtual webinar showcasing the power of data partnerships in combating the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic in Africa. The webinar brought together UN Resident Coordinators and their teams, Heads of National Statistical Offices and COVID-19 surveillance teams in Africa, and providers of data, interactive data, platforms, analytics and tested solutions to share their experiences, showcase results from their work and share learning from their collaborative efforts.

Smart Africa Convenes 27 African countries for its 9th Board Meeting (News Anyway)

The Smart Africa Alliance hosted its 9th Board Meeting virtually on the 7th of December 2020. The meeting welcomed the Islamic Republic of Mauritania as the 31st country member of the Smart Africa Alliance. Additionally, the meeting outcomes included approval of the Bulk broadband capacity project and launch of the Digital ID Blueprint for Africa, Smart Broadband 2025 Blueprint for Africa, ICTStartUps and Innovation Ecosystem Blueprint, and the Smart Villages Blueprint.

Africa is more prepared to fight new COVID-19 wave (UNECA)

Africa is better prepared to deal with a second wave of COVID-19 after stakeholders put measures in place to counter the initial pandemic’s adverse health effects. This is according to a panel of experts who took part in a special event on the second day of the 2020 virtual Africa Economic Conference, with the theme, “Africa beyond COVID-19: Acceleration towards inclusive and sustainable development.”

Assessing Impact of COVID-19 on W’Africa’s Economies (THISDAYLIVE)

The past one year has been tough for countries that depend heavily on primary products as their major source of revenue. COVID-19 saw many countries face turmoil linked to commodity dependence as commodity prices reacted negatively to the crisis, reflecting changes in supply and demand due to measures to limit contagion. Among those that were worst hit were West African countries because of their heavy dependence on primary products.

Airlines back in the sky, raising hope of recovery (The East African)

Tourism stakeholders are optimistic over industry’s recovery following Kenya Airways resumption of service on the Nairobi-New York route on November 29, despite low bookings ahead of the Christmas holiday. Regionally, last week, Uganda Airlines announced resumption of direct flights from Uganda to Mombasa. The flights, which resumed on December 4, have also lifted prospects of business between the two countries.

SADC and Africa Risk Capacity commit to strengthen cooperation (SADC)

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, has commended the African Risk Capacity Group (ARC) for the cooperation that continues to exist with SADC in a number of areas of collaboration, both at the national and regional levels. The cooperation between SADC and ARC is guided by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in October 2019.

International

UK and Kenya sign trade agreement (GOV.UK)

The UK has today (Tuesday 8 December) signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with Kenya. The deal was signed in London by International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Trade, Minister Betty Maina. This trade agreement will ensure that all companies operating in Kenya, including British businesses, can continue to benefit from duty-free access to the UK market.

Top goods imports to the UK from Kenya last year were in tea, coffee and spices (£121 million); vegetables (£79 million); and live trees and plants, mostly flowers (£54 million).  The UK market accounts for 43% of total exports of vegetables from Kenya as well as at least 9% of cut flowers, and this agreement will support Kenyans working in these sectors by maintaining tariff-free market access to the UK.

UNCTAD presents policy pathway to COVID-19 recovery (UNCTAD)

As the world reels from the deepening impacts of the coronavirus pandemic across health systems and the global economy and considers the protracted knock-on effects of a second wave, solutions are needed. A new report from UNCTAD, “Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade and development: transitioning to a new normal”, plots both the economic impacts of the pandemic through 2020, and tangible first steps toward a better recovery. The greatest long-term risk, the report says, is worsening inequalities and vulnerabilities even long after a vaccine becomes available. But policy solutions do exist.

Fund COVAX to reduce COVID vaccination distribution inequity – UN chief (UN News)

The COVAX international vaccine initiative requires $4.2 billion over the next two months to ensure that “sooner rather than later”, World Health Organization (WHO)-approved inoculation can get underway in Africa, UN chief António Guterres said. While expressing his “hope that we will be able to do it before the second quarter”, he acknowledged that several countries have made “an enormous effort” to ensure vaccinations for their own populations while at the same time, the COVAX financing requirements have yet to be fully met.

Nine in 10 in poor nations could miss out as West hoards vaccines (Thompson Reuters Foundation)

Nine out of 10 people in dozens of poor nations could miss out on getting vaccinated against COVID-19 next year because rich countries have hoarded far more doses than they need, campaigners said on Wednesday. Rich nations home to 14% of the global population had bought 53% of the total stock of the most-promising vaccines as of last month, said the People’s Vaccine Alliance. They said pharmaceutical companies working on COVID-19 vaccines should openly share their technology and intellectual property through the World Health Organisation (WHO) so more doses can be manufactured.

Urgently waive intellectual property rules for COVID 19 vaccine (Amnesty International)

Governments should stop blocking a temporary waiver of some global intellectual property rules that will help boost global access to COVID-19 vaccines, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today ahead of a key World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Geneva on December 10, 2020. If adopted, the waiver proposal would enable more governments to fulfil their obligations to respect the rights to life and health. The warning comes as vaccinations for COVID-19 begin in the United Kingdom, and are likely to begin in other countries in the near future.

WTO meet today to take up India, South Africa’s proposal to waive IP rights for Covid drugs (The Print)

The General Council of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is set to take up a proposal floated by India and South Africa in October to temporarily suspend intellectual property rights (IPR) to make Covid-19 vaccines, medicines and medical devices accessible to poorer countries.

UNCTAD Evaluation Highlights LDCs’ Progress, Implementation Gaps on E-commerce Development (IISD)

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published its first comprehensive review of its eTrade Readiness Assessment Programme. Initiated in 2017, the programme aims to identify and address challenges to the development of e-commerce, primarily in least developed countries (LDCs). Titled, ‘Fast-tracking implementation of eTrade Readiness Assessments,’ the report evaluates implementation measures taken in response to earlier recommendations made in seven policy areas:

Growing dimensions of Chinese presence in African continent (The Financial Express)

The evolving dynamics within the post-Brexit EU and the new US Biden Administration will need to take into account the growing influence of China in the African continent. The paradigm is changing and both Europe and the United States, in all likelihood, will try to even the scales within the matrix. This will be required because Africa is slowly developing its own narrative on the global stage.

Rebalancing Algeria’s Economic Relations with China (Chatham House)

The bilateral relationship between Algeria and China dates back to the Afro-Asian Bandung Conference in 1955. Their trade and investment relations took off in earnest in the 2000s during the era of high hydrocarbon rents, evolving gradually into a relationship of economic asymmetry and political expediency. Although China is likely to remain its preferred economic partner, strategic rebalancing would help Algeria hedge its bets and optimize relations with Beijing and beyond.

Brexit: SA’s wine exporters will actually be smiling (Food For Mzansi)

The South African wine industry will be able to export close to 71.5 million litres of wine tariff free to the UK in 2021 despite the country’s exit from the European Union, says Michael Mokhoro, stakeholder manager of Vinpro and the SA Liquor Brandowners Association’s Winebiz desk. This follows the signing of a trade agreement between the UK and members of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which includes South Africa, Lesotho, eSwatini, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique that took place in September last year.

How cotton and its by-products can help create resilience for African smallholders (Trade 4 Dev News)

Cotton is a commercial crop grown mainly for its fibre or lint, a raw material used by the textile industry. In most least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa, raw lint is widely produced for export, creating vital revenue. But long and complex cotton-to-textile value chains are highly sensitive to external factors. These include policy-induced international price distortions, competition with manmade fibres and shocks such as the cancellation of orders from overseas textile manufacturers caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

UN and EIF launch interactive guide on cross-border paperless trade (ESCAP)

Cross-border paperless trade has great potential to not only grow trade competitiveness but also to address new challenges associated with e-commerce and the digital economy. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in collaboration with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), today launched an interactive guide to support readiness assessments on cross-border paperless trade.

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This is the single biggest threat to South Africa right now: Ramaphosa (BusinessTech)

President Cyril Ramaphosa says that South Africa’s 13.5% rebound in GDP during the third quarter of 2020 shows that a strong recovery is possible, even as the economy remains below its pre-pandemic levels. However, he warned that a second coronavirus wave in the country could derail recovery efforts. Commenting on the data released by Stats SA on Tuesday (8 December), the president said that GDP growth in the third quarter surpassed even the most optimistic market expectations.

“The mining and agriculture sectors in particular have demonstrated robust growth in the context of favourable market conditions. As a result of large trade surpluses, a record current account surplus is anticipated. The strong rebound in GDP growth for the third quarter provides support for the approach that we have taken both to confront the pandemic and to protect the economy. Our task now is to ensure that this momentum is sustained, to enable a full recovery of the economy.

Poultry Industry Meets Government on Industry Master Plan Amid Optimism About Sector Performance (Department of Trade, Industry and Competition)

Poultry industry executives met with the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition: Mr Ebrahim Patel and the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development: Ms Thoko Didiza yesterday to review implementation of the Poultry Master Plan signed in November 2019. “In a difficult year, we have seen promising gains in the South African poultry industry. We have had more than R1 billion invested by domestic companies, resulting in nearly 1 000 additional jobs and an encouraging increase in production. The next year will require more work to open up export markets and further drive transformation across the entire poultry value chain,” said Minister Patel.

Kenya eVisa system to be extended from 2021 (Business Daily)

The Kenya eVisa is being extended to travelers from all countries as part of a shift towards digitalisation. Previously, the Kenya eVisa had been available to people from select nations only. From January 1st, however, all nationalities that require a visa will benefit from the electronic system. The Kenya eVisa will be a mandatory entry requirement for non-exempt passport holders and will replace other visitor visas for Kenya. Increased use of the electronic visa will also boost security. New, biometric technology is being introduced at airports in preparation for a full transition to eVisas.

Poor govt policy hindering investment in renewable energy – report (Daily Monitor)

Inadequate government support and limited financing from commercial banks, among others, are hindering the private sector from investing in renewable energy, a new report has revealed. Dubbed, ‘Financing Mechanisms for Private Sector Investment in Renewable Energy Access in Uganda,’ the report shows that renewable energy is a profitable venture for investors as well as saving the environment. However, it indicates that the government does not provide the incentives in form of taxes, electricity subsidies and other sources of financing to attract the private sector to invest in renewable energy sources.

Tackling Corruption in the Nigerian Ports – A story of collective action highs, lows, and wins (CIPE)

Nigeria loses up to $1.95 billion USD in government revenue and $8.15 billion USD in private sector revenue annually due to corruption at the Nigerian ports. Money lost because of illicit financial flows at ports weighs very heavily on the economy of a country that as of May 2020 projects to borrow more than $14.1 billion USD to finance the 2020 budget. These losses severely constrict government programs and the capacity to develop and improve much-needed public infrastructure. At the same time, corruption at the ports can operate as a major deterrent to sustainable returns on foreign direct investment.

FG signs trade pact with Morocco, Singapore (Daily Trust)

The Federal Government of Nigeria has signed an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) with Morocco and Singapore to raise investing confidence. Dr. Sani-Gwarzo said, “Efforts are being made to collaborate with the Ministry of Justice for the production of the Instrument of Ratification for the signature of Mr. President.” The permanent secretary revealed that the trade ministry had embarked on the review of the Industrial Policy of Nigeria, Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and the Trade Policy, while Investment Policy formulation was in progress with consultations with stakeholders.

Somalia making steps toward WTO accession (Trade 4 Dev News)

Becoming a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) isn’t automatic – it’s a process that involves commitments and consensus, questions and responses, meetings and negotiations. Somalia started on its accession path in 2016 with an application to the WTO Director-General. Now, in 2020, the country has made some strides forward. This includes submitting in April the required Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR), a document that outlines the country’s trade and economic policies as well as trade agreements with other countries. Based on the MFTR, WTO members have submitted over 150 questions to Somalia that the country will be responding to.

Africa

A Manchester Trade Paper: Despite the Dislocation of COVID, Africa Defies the Odds with the Commencement of AfCFTA Trading on January 1, 2021 (The Habari Network)

Even though a particularly disruptive global pandemic has had a negative effect on global trade, economic activity, and international cooperation, there is a bright spot shining from Africa. The continent is now on the verge of entering into a free trade regime that should stimulate intra-Africa trade and economic growth beyond its borders.

Our understanding is that there is a specific framework for the AfCFTA tariff reductions and eliminations. Specifically, Africa’s least developed countries (LDCs) will have ten years to complete the elimination of customs duties on 90 percent of their total products, while the more developed ones will only be entitled to five years. Overall, 7 percent of total African products will be classified as sensitive, with more extended tariff elimination transition periods, while 3 percent will be excluded from this exercise. For trading to effectively commence by January 1, 2021, the tariff schedules must be certified to meet the trade protocol’s liberalization requirements.

AfCFTA, AIDA: Africa’s dual pathways to economic integration, industrial development (African Newspage)

It was in a bid to promote intra-African trade and Pan African industrialization towards attaining the major objectives of African Economic Community (AEC), that the AU has continued to evolve various policy frameworks that will facilitate the successful realization of its vision “for an integrated, people-centred, prosperous Africa,” as enshrined in Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.

Speaking on Africa’s journey towards industrialization, Mr Chizema said unlike other developing regions of the world, Africa had experienced what he called “a relative deindustrialization” with the share of manufacturing value added to Africa’s GDP falling from 12.8 percent in 2000 to 10.5 percent in 2016. “This does not mean that Africa’s industrial output is lower than 20 years ago but the pace of industrialization was slower than other sectors and far lower than that of other developing regions. For instance, Africa’s share in the global Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) has stagnated at around 1.5% between 2000 and 2013 while developing Asia’s share has almost doubled to 25% over the same period,” he add

Africa calls for international taxation systems reforms as it forges a common position on digital taxation (African Union)

In Africa, the renewed focus to raise additional financing for development and narrow the resource gap by accelerating Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM), has been at the center of the development strategy in recent years. However, to fully harness the potential in domestic resources, sealing existing loopholes associated with the Tax revenue under-collection remains a critical issue. Africa must address the structural issues such as tax loopholes; illicit financial flows and device innovative systems that facilitate trade and reduce the inefficiencies associated with cross-border payments and settlements.

COVID-19 Worsening Debt in Countries (COMESA)

Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa which includes the COMESA region need to prioritize medium term policies such as structural transformation and economic diversification of individual economies, reforms in revenue mobilization and increase trade integration to deal with the worsening debt situation caused partly by the COVID-19 Pandemic. According to a special report authored by Senior Economist at the COMESA Monetary Institute, Dr Lucas Njoroge, the long term, policy priorities should be on ensuring that the debt plays a meaningful role and must be used for revenue generating activities that increase the productive capacity of the economies of the region.

pdf Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic on Debt for Sub-Saharan African Countries - COMESA Special Report (519 KB)

African Economic Conference opens with calls for African solutions to COVID-19 challenges (UNECA)

The 2020 edition of the African Economic Conference (AEC) opened virtually on Tuesday with calls for the continent’s policymakers, researchers, development partners, and champions of policy change to design solutions to ensure Africa builds for the future in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the annual meeting, with the theme; Africa beyond COVID-19: acceleration towards inclusive sustainable development, senior officials from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) agreed that Africa’s key challenge now was how to build better and return the continent to the path of sustainable development.

Dealing with the micro- and macroeconomic impacts of COVID-19 on Africa (UNECA)

Experts agree that Africa’s governments will have to strike a balance between health, economic and social policy interventions in the coming months to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures to prevent the spread of the virus have dampened prospects for economic growth on the continent, due to the prolonged impact of lockdowns and restrictions on travel and movement of goods. While Africa’s young population shielded it from the worst of the pandemic, countries now face weak growth and a diversion of resources that may aggravate the economic impact of COVID-19.

Hope for a more prosperous Africa beyond COVID-19 (UNECA)

Beyond the dark cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic is a silver lining of a more sustainably prosperous Africa. This was the message from the panellists who gathered virtually on the first day of the 2020 African Economic Conference. To emerge stronger from the pandemic, African governments were advised to put in place transparent and accountable governance structures, that would ensure inclusivity and fiscal sustainability. Dr. Hanan Morsy, Director of the Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting and Research Department at the African Development Bank (AfDB), said the pandemic gives a “one-in-a-century chance” to build a better Africa going forward.

Kagame: Africans must connect easily despite Covid-19 pandemic (The New Times)

President Paul Kagame on Tuesday, December 8, made the case for continued collaboration among African countries, which he said will be critical for the continent to emerge from the current Covid-19 period in safety and prosperity. The head of state was speaking virtually at the Kusi Ideas Festival, 2020 Edition. Kagame noted that there has been a lot of speculation about why Africa is handling the Covid-19 pandemic better than expected. “What really matters is that lessons we have learned and the solutions we have applied will help us to recover together,” he said. “We will only get there if we harness the power of technology,” he added.

COVID-19 recovery: African youth-led Policy Paper makes case for better governance and innovation (Africa Renewal)

Skills development relevant to the digital economy “is one of the most critical investments that need to be made to ensure a sustained economic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic,” the paper states, calling for restrictions on internet freedom to be criminalized. The paper is loaded with sector-specific recommendations. For example, on the economic front, it demands immediate stimulus packages for young people who lost jobs as a result of the pandemic, as well as “increasing investments in youth entrepreneurship and innovation by financially supporting SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises], by giving grants, loans, tax relief, payroll protection and loans.” Young people would like African governments to “adopt e-healthcare by engaging youth digital innovations to provide quality, affordable and timely health services,” according to the policy paper.

Ten years on – reviewing the trends driving Africa’s allure (Standard Bank Research)

In this report we continue our review of the five structural trends that we outlined, almost a decade ago, to be behind Africa’s underlying economic and institutional appeal. Thus far we have reviewed Africa’s demographic and income developments, as well as the opportunities and risks that emerge as a result of the continent’s rapid urbanisation. We now look to the ICT sector, considering how technological advancements in Africa continue to drive economic activity; attract investment; enable income and efficiency gains; and, in so doing, allow the potential for institutional and developmental leapfrogging in key economies on the continent.

African leaders commit to reduce internet cost by 50% (The New Times)

African leaders under the Smart Africa Alliance on Monday, December 7, committed to bring down the cost of the internet in their countries under an ambitious project that will be implemented starting next year. The alliance has 30 member countries, representing over 750 million people and over 40 private sector members committed to the advancement of Africa through digital transformation. Mauritania became the latest member of the alliance, bringing member countries to 31.

Nigeria to spearhead Africa refinery capacity additions by 2024 (EnergyNews)

Nigeria is expected to drive the refinery capacity growth in Africa by 2024, contributing around 71% of the region’s total growth. Nigeria is likely to add 1.5 million barrels per day (mmbd) of refinery capacity by 2024, says GlobalData, a leading data, and analytics company. lobalData’s report, ‘Refining Industry Outlook in Africa to 2024‘, reveals that refining capacity in Africa is expected to increase by around 55% from 3.7 mmbd in 2020 to 5.8 mmbd by 2024.

Access to climate funds, challenge for ECOWAS members (The Punch)

The ECOWAS Commission has lamented the inability of the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States to access funds to tackle climate change. The regional body noted that the ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement by the ECOWAS member states in 2015 marked an important turning point in the process of combating climate change. Speaking at the opening of a four-day training for national experts in the development of climate projects to access Green Climate Funds in Abuja on Tuesday, the Director, Environment and Natural Resources, ECOWAS, Dr Johnson Boanuh, said despite the existence of several funds, difficulties in

EABC Urges EAC Partner States to market Region as a single investment destination (Capital Business)

The East African Business Council (EABC) is urging East Africa Partner States to harmonise investment incentives and market East Africa as a single investment destination. Speaking at the two-day Virtual Conference on Trade & Investment Opportunities in East Africa Beyond COVID-19, Nick Nesbitt, EABC Chair and the Chief Guest said: “We all have a responsibility to improve the investment climate in East Africa to attract more investments into the region.”

IRENA and African Development Bank partner to scale up renewable energy investments in Africa (AfDB)

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the African Development Bank have agreed to jointly support investment in low carbon energy projects, a move expected to advance Africa’s energy transition. Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General said, “this agreement represents the type of coordinated international cooperation that is the cornerstone of the realization of sustainable development in Africa and the achievement of Paris Agreement goals. We will pursue an action-oriented agenda that puts African countries on a path to realizing their full renewable energy potential.”

Africa CDC, COMESA to Collaborate in Promoting Safe Trade (COMESA)

Discussions between the Africa Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) and COMESA are on course to establish useful collaborations on healthy trade during and post Covid-19. The envisaged partnership will include provision of technical support on public health to trade facilitation initiatives to protect lives and livelihoods. The collaboration will be on trade related issues to ensure harmonized messaging across the region and capacity building on health. “As trade guidelines are developed and implemented across the region, Africa CDC would like to be involved to ensure public health measures are incorporated to prevent likelihood of possible diseases transmission through trade,” Dr Ouma said.

SADC MPs call for debt waiver (The Herald)

The 48th Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum has adopted a motion exhorting the regional body to support an initiative by Speakers and heads of African national parliaments to call for total cancellation of the continent’s foreign debt. Speaker of the Parliament of South Africa, Honourable Thandi Modise said: “Well before the outbreak of COVID-19, most African countries were heavily indebted, with statistics showing that more than half of African countries spend more on debt servicing than they do on education or healthcare – sectors crucial to Africa and our region’s socio-economic development.”

International

Kenya seeks to cement UK market after trade deal (The East African)

Kenyan officials say the new trade agreement with the United Kingdom will protect an invaluable market for local producers, creating continuity after Brexit. On Tuesday, Kenya formally inked the deal with the UK, ending an era of doing business with Britain through the protocols of the European Union, which London will be officially exiting at the end of this month. “We have agreed on a comprehensive package of benefits that will ensure a secure, long-term and predictable market access for exports originating from the EAC free trade area,” Trade and Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina said in a statement on Tuesday. “This agreement is expected to drive growth & expand exports of priority sectors and value chains identified in the national export and development strategy, including in agricultural, manufacturing, fisheries, and livestock sectors.”

Mo Ibrahim: Why Africa must emerge more resilient from the COVID crisis (Atlantic Council)

The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed economies and societies around the world, and in Africa the crisis risks reversing the governance and development successes of the last few decades. That’s the message Dr. Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-British entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, conveyed during an Atlantic Council Front Page event on December 8. A well-known Afro-optimist, Ibrahim has invested in the continent’s democratic progress and has focused on tackling practical governance issues. While the pandemic has exposed such problems across the world, he noted, one of its lessons is that Africa must be “more self-sufficient” and “resilient.”

Leveraging Digital Transformation in a post-COVID Era: Panel Focuses on Africa’s Digital Opportunities and Obstacles, Striking an Optimistic Note (Portulans Institute)

On Monday, 30 November, Portulans Institute, in partnership with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), hosted a virtual panel event focused on leveraging digital transformation in Africa in the post-COVID era. This special event complements the series of launches previously organized by the Portulans Institute in cooperation with UNESCO. The session targeted stakeholders involved in nurturing and building a digital ecosystem in Africa, in particular policymakers, entrepreneurs, financial leaders and academics. During the panel, Portulans Institute Co-founder Dr. Bruno Lanvin also presented regional data and insights from the 2020 Network Readiness Index.

pdf The Network Readiness Index 2020: Accelerating digital transformation in a post-COVID global economy (10.75 MB)

How to reignite Africa’s growth and avoid the need for future debt jubilee (Brookings)

Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) forecast a sharp decline in aggregate growth because of the global health crisis. Africa is set to experience its first recession in about two decades. When you take apart these aggregate forecasts and examine individual sectors, it becomes obvious why Africa stands to lose the most. Economies of the continent are heavily dependent on external flows that emanate from countries hit hard by the pandemic. Those flows include trade in oil and other commodities, foreign direct investment, remittances, development aid, and tourism. A more conducive international architecture of sovereign debt coupled with a shift in the governance system in Africa would not only help align debtors and creditors’ incentives to resolve debt problems. It may forestall any need to consider a debt jubilee down the road.

COVID-19 drives large international trade declines in 2020 (UNCTAD)

According to UNCTAD’s latest nowcasts (run on 8.12.2020), the value of global merchandise trade is predicted to fall by 5.6% in 2020 compared with last year. This would be the biggest fall in merchandise trade since 2009, when trade fell by 22%. This is a significantly more optimistic nowcast than only a few weeks ago when UNCTAD nowcasts were estimating a fall of 9%. The nowcasts – data-led projections for the immediate future – were published today as part of UNCTAD’s comprehensive annual Handbook of Statistics for 2020, which presents the statistical landscape for 2019 with nowcasts for 2020. The predicted decline in services trade is much greater, with services likely to fall by 15.4% in 2020 compared with 2019. This would be the biggest decline in services trade since 1990, when this series began. In 2009, following the global financial crisis, services trade fell by 9.5%.

Should trade continue to be global after the pandemic? (World Economic Forum)

Ten months in, the pandemic still poses a threat to lives and livelihoods in many parts of the world. Among its many impacts are the cracks in our international supply chains, which are crucial to keeping globalized economies ticking along. Continued globalization, with a focus on equitable distribution, and sustainable free trade are crucially important enablers on the road to collective recovery. Standard Chartered’s Trade Opportunity Report points to a combined opportunity of almost $40 billion for exporters to grow bilateral trade between India and 10 key markets, across multiple sectors.

China-Africa trade falls 10 per cent on pandemic, commodities slump (South China Morning Post)

Trade between China and Africa fell by 10.6 per cent in the first 11 months from a year ago amid the pandemic, but analysts expect a rebound next year as key commodities like oil and copper recover. Chinese customs data released on Monday showed two-way trade amounted to US$167.7 billion from January to November, driven down by lower commodity prices and a coronavirus-fuelled economic slump, according to analysts. China’s exports to Africa edged up by 0.6 per cent to US$101.47 billion in the period from a year earlier. But China’s imports from Africa plunged 23.6 per cent to US$66.3 billion.

Developing countries raise climate ambitions to plot path out of pandemic (UN News)

UNDP is supporting 115 developing countries, to enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – the specific steps that each country intends to take to help meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which committed the international community to restrict global warming to “well below 2 degrees Celsius” and aim, if possible, for 1.5C. Signatories to the landmark Agreement are due to meet online for a Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday, marking the fifth anniversary of the pact, and to set out new and ambitious commitments for the next five years, which could provide a major boost for the next landmark meeting, COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, next November.

MSF calls on World Trade Organization to waive Covid vaccine IP (Health24)

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières - MSF) is calling on governments to put lives before profits in ensuring that there is equitable access to the Covid-19 vaccine. The international medical humanitarian organisation is running a campaign ahead of the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s General Council meeting on 10 December to consider a proposal from South Africa and India. The proposal also seeks to increase the capacity of vaccine production in middle and low-income countries in order to improve the chances of accessing life-saving treatment. Moderna said that it can only produce between 100 million and 125 million doses available globally in the first quarter of 2021.

Breaking: AU-EU meeting postponed ‘until further notice’ (Devex)

A videoconference between European Union and African leaders planned for Wednesday has been postponed at the last minute. With the 6th EU-African Union summit originally planned for this year postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wednesday’s meeting was billed by the EU as “an opportunity to build further momentum towards the upcoming summit and discuss the partnership between Europe and Africa.”

Related News

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In wake of COVID-19, African Union to keep AfCFTA on track with digital technology

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24 minute read

National

SA GDP grew by 13.5% y/y in third quarter of 2020 (Eyewitness News)

Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke on Tuesday released the results of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2020, revealing that the South African economy grew by an annualised rate of 66.1% in the third quarter – or 13.5% year on year. Manufacturing, trade and mining were the biggest drivers of growth in the third quarter. The manufacturing industry rose at an annualised rate of 210.2%, mostly driven by increases in the production of basic metal products, petroleum, vehicles, and food and beverages.

SA production of hand sanitisers earns export revenues of R1.6bn (Business Report)

Local production of hand sanitisers had contributed to saving lives in South Africa and had so far earned export revenues of R1.6 billion for the country, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel said yesterday. He said at the release of data on South African exports of hand sanitiser products that between June and November this year, permits for the export of hand sanitisers to 30 other African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique and Botswana, amounted to R1.66bn billion.

Sugar Master Plan hits the sweet spot (SAnews)

Small and large scale farmers in Pongola, KwaZulu-Natal, have welcomed the recently signed Sugar Industry Master Plan. The farmers are looking forward to seeing their sugar cane farming businesses growing after having been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cabinet recently welcomed the plan which seeks to take urgent action to protect thousands of jobs, rural livelihoods and businesses, and at the same time create a bold new ambition for the future, which seeks to create diversified revenue streams for sugar producers, and create significant new job opportunities.

the dtic, International Partners Launch Project to Drive Green Industrial Parks Revitalization in South Africa

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA), in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), has launched the Global Eco-Industrial Parks Programme (GEIPP) on Monday, 7 December 2020. According to Deputy Director General of the dtic, Mr Sipho Zikode, the launch marked a very important chapter in building capacity of state-led industrial parks in the country towards the articulation of green economy.

Zim, SA to deepen trade ties (The Herald)

South Africa wants to scale up trade and economic cooperation with Zimbabwe. “Engaging South African companies involved in work in Zimbabwe, engaging economic organisations in Zimbabwe to try and understand the key priorities that should be there between the two countries. I think there has been a lot of progress on that and there have been a few investors that came from South Africa during my period here.” However, there have been concerns that trade is one way with most of the products coming into Zimbabwe and not the other way round.

Government destroys cars – for being illegally imported into SA (HeraldLIVE)

Motorists are warned to make sure they are buying legal vehicles – otherwise it can be confiscated by the state. This comes as a joint government task force will on Tuesday crush a number of illegally imported second-hand vehicles. The proliferation of second-hand motor vehicles into the country from Europe, Asia and the rest of Africa has become a serious risk to the survival of the legitimate motor vehicle industry in the country, the SA Revenue Service said in a statement.

Zimbabwe: Losing millions from illicit gold mining trade (The Africa Report)

In Zimbabwe, the majority of the working population can be found in the informal sector. And in mineral-rich areas of the country, people are continuously risking their lives digging underground in search of gold, hoping to make enough money to take them out of poverty. The recent case of Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya demonstrates the government’s dealings in promoting illicit financial flows and smuggling of gold outside the country.

Relief for cross border traders (The Herald)

Cross border traders have received a huge relief following an agreement between the Cross Border Traders Association and Kei Laboratories. While other local laboratories charge up to US$60 for such a test, Kei Laboratories will charge US$15 for cross border traders, making it much easier for them to afford the service. Cross border traders have been stranded since the major borders opened last week, as they could not afford the Covid-19 tests that will enable them to show border officials a positive result before they are allowed out.

‘ICTs to anchor growth’ (The Herald)

Zimbabwe will continue adopting information communication technologies (ICTs) to facilitate economic development and transformation, President Mnangagwa told the 9th Smart Africa virtual board meeting yesterday. “To fully exploit the immense potential of ICTs, inclusive guidelines continue to be developed, deployed and managed for national development and transformation. Key among these is Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan, which permeates through integrated sector specific pillars. This will see Smart Solutions being deployed to achieve Smart Government, Smart Agriculture, Smart Cities, Smart Education, Smart Transport and Smart Health,” said President Mnangagwa.

Trade Grew in Q3 2020 Due to Faster Increase in Imports But Slower Recovery in Exports (Proshare)

The value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade stood at N8,374.4billion in Q3 2020. This represents an increase of 34.15% in Q3, 2020 compared to Q2, 2020 but a decline of 8.85% compared to Q3, 2019. Total trade year to date amounted to N23,203.9billion. Nigeria’s imports, by country of origin, shows goods were imported mainly from China (N1,641.87billion or 30.51%), United States (N482.3billion or 8.96%), The Netherlands (N443.5billion or 8.24%) and India (N354.1billion or 6.58%) respectively.

Namibia concerned over AfCFTA trading (New Era)

While Namibia is appreciative of the three initial draft tariff offers that are ready for implementation, government said it is concerned about the commencement of trading guided by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. The government says the three offers are not per the objectives of the AfCFTA, which aims to increase intra-Africa trade from the estimates of 18%. Mbumba said Namibia applauds the seven member states of SACU and CEMAC that have already submitted their initial draft tariff offers. Equally, Namibia commended the 11 African member states that have submitted their schedules of Specific Commitment on Trade in Services with the AU.

EPZA calls on Tanzanians to buy local products (Dailynews)

The Export and Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) has urged Tanzanians to buy goods made from local industries because they have high quality than the imported goods. “When we continue buying imported goods with low quality is sabotaging the government efforts to put enabling environment and attracting more investments in the industrial sector,” EPZA Director of Investment Promotion and Facilitation James Maziku said. He emphasized that the 20 per cent of goods sold in the local market have the same quality as those meant for exports.

Minister Nshuti explains $35 fee on Tz cargo trucks (The New Times)

The $35 fee paid by each truck entering Rwanda, from Tanzania, is for drivers accommodation in Covid-19 pandemic isolation centres so as to prevent the spread of the pandemic and “is not a tax per se”, Manasseh Nshuti, Rwanda’s Minister of State in charge of EAC affairs, has told The New Times.

Africa

The Governing Council of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System Holds Inaugural Meeting (Afreximbank)

The interim Governing Council of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) held its inaugural meeting in Cairo on 3 December 2020. Developed by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), under the auspices of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and the African Union (AU), PAPSS will enable intra-African trade and commerce payments to be made in African currencies in furtherance of the goals of the AfCFTA. The meeting was the start of the implementation of a system that would minimize the financial cost of cross border trade and improve financial integration as well as Africa’s trade and investment competitiveness, Afreximbank President, Professor Benedict Oramah said.

African Union: Long-awaited Africa-wide free trade zone opens on January 1st (Daily Maverick)

The AU summit had made a push for those countries not yet ready to trade on January 1 ‘to get on the bus’. The summit had decided these countries should ratify the AfCFTA and submit their tariff offers by June 30 2021. Many of Africa’s most important economies – including South Africa – will start duty-free trading of goods among themselves on January 1 when the eagerly awaited Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) goes into operation.

‘$140bn yearly loss to corruption can address Africa’s power challenge’ (The Guardian Nigeria)

If Nigeria and other African countries checkmate the yearly loss of $140 billion to corruption, the continent might be able to reduce rising production costs and improve citizens’ access to the regular power supply, members of the organised private sector have said. Citing data from the African Union (AU), the Executive Director, Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) Andrew Wilson, stated that the lost income is enough to provide power 24 hours every day to every citizen in the continent for the next three years.

Africa must forge strong partnerships, effectively manage its abundant natural resources, to rebuild faster post-COVID-19 – International Forum on African Leadership (AfDB)

African countries must strengthen governance and international partnerships, while also making better use of abundant natural resources to accelerate economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 period, the International Forum on African Leadership heard. African leaders must be at their creative best to secure critical global partnerships and to drive the continent’s economic resurgence, said Lazarus Chakweras, President of the Republic of Malawi. “The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that poor governance damages public trust in government interventions. We cannot attract the world to our nations if our nations are in disarray,” he said..

UN offers bleak outlook for East Africa due to Covid-19 (The East African)

Only four East African countries are still on course to record positive economic growth in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Mama Keita, the head of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) sub-regional office for Eastern Africa. South Sudan leads with an estimated 4.1 percent GDP growth, followed by Ethiopia and Tanzania on 1.9 percent each and Kenya on 1 percent. The region will see a sharp GDP growth slowdown from 6.6 percent in 2019 to 0.6 percent in 2020.

Morocco Seeks to Reduce Energy Consumption by 20% by 2030 (Morocco World News)

Morocco’s plan for the development of renewable energies plans to reduce energy consumption by 20% by 2030. Minister of Energy Aziz Rabbah participated in a virtual meeting of the Energy Transition Council on Friday. The UK organized the virtual meeting as part of its presidency of COP26.

Smart Africa Meeting: Museveni Pushes for Implementation of One Network Area (ChimpReports)

President Museveni has urged the Smart Africa Initiative to look into the possibility of One Network Area (ONA) to promote regional integration by bringing down the high cost of mobile roaming. “We believe if our people are able to call Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania freely – without any hinderance or high costs, it would facilitate regional integration,” said Gender Minister Frank Tumwebaze. Smart Africa is a commitment from African Heads of State and Government to accelerate sustainable socioeconomic development on the continent, ushering Africa into a knowledge economy through affordable access to Broadband and usage of Information and Communications Technologies.

AfCFTA: We need African Union protocol on women – AU Chairman (Nairametrics)

The African Union Chairman and President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has called for an African Union protocol on women to enable female inclusion in Africa’s economy, as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) goes into implementation next year. The AU leaders called on a treaty to boost female inclusion and small-scale enterprises to trade across borders, as the agreement goes into place.

Eswatini launches a SADC and EU-funded COVID-19 mitigation project, as Mozambique lays the foundation stones (SADC)

An 18-month project on mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on food and nutrition security using Climate Smart Technologies (CSA) funded to the tune of US$180,000 by the European Union (EU) was launched at a colourful event in Eswatini on 23rd November 2020, while Mozambique was still doing preparatory work. The EU has contributed Euro 8 million to the GCCA+ project to increase the capabilities of SADC Member States to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, and to have their voices better heard in the international climate change negotiations.

International

Brexit: Final bid to prevent huge new tariffs ruining African farmers amid allegations of UK ‘bullying’ (Independent)

A last-gasp bid will be made to prevent Brexit ruining African farmers – and hitting British exports – amid allegations of government “bullying” of developing countries. Farmers in Ghana will be hit with huge new tariffs on key exports including bananas and tuna, unless the country agrees to “roll over” its existing trade deal, from the UK’s EU membership, by the end of the month. But its government has protested it would be forced to break a legal agreement with other West African countries – and has condemned the “take it or leave it” approach pursued by London.

New Africa-Europe Foundation and five Strategy Groups launched to enhance a common vision for strengthened partnership (European Commission)

The Africa-Europe Foundation was established by Friends of Europe and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, in partnership with ONE and the Africa Climate Foundation. High Representative/Vice-President, Josep Borrell, stressed: “Our political ambition to strengthen the partnership between Europe and Africa has been made, loud and clear. And to make this a reality, we need to go beyond narratives and we need to think outside the box. We need to work with partners from backgrounds as diverse as possible, so that innovative ideas and proposals for action can emerge. The Foundation which is being launched today will help us reaching this objective.”

Africa and Europe join forces to fight Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Africa (European Commission)

The African Union is today launching a €7 million Multi Donor Action with the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation. The joint action will enhance efforts to combat the scourge of IFFs on the African Continent. HE Birgitte Markussen, EU Ambassador to the African Union said: “This project is of strategic importance both for Africa and Europe and aligns with the commitment made to fight IFFs in Africa during the EU-Africa Summit in Abidjan. Fighting illicit financial flows is part of efforts to collect more and spend better to support countries’ development.”

European Union and African Union sign partnership to scale up preparedness for health emergencies (European Commission)

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) launched a new partnership initiative to strengthen the capacity of Africa CDC to prepare for and respond to public health threats in Africa. The four-year project ‘EU for health security in Africa: ECDC for Africa CDC’, funded by the EU, will also facilitate harmonised surveillance and disease intelligence, and support the implementation of the public health workforce strategy of Africa CDC.

Electronics and automotive products lift merchandise trade in Q3, services lag behind (WTO)

The third quarter of 2020 saw a partial recovery of world trade in manufactured goods, led by electronics, textiles and automotive products, as production resumed and lockdown measures were eased in major economies, new WTO statistics show. However, despite substantial improvement in recent months, merchandise trade is still well below 2019 levels, and preliminary estimates suggest services trade remains severely depressed.

Leveraging trade to end hunger (FAO)

FAO’s Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP) today organized a special event to discuss the importance of food and agricultural trade for ending global hunger, seeking to identify critical trade-offs associated with different policy measures and possible priorities for action. “Trade is a powerful tool,” FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, emphasized, pointing to three cardinal ways to put that power to use: avoid raising trade barriers, especially in periods of crisis; formulate coherent and aligned policies to address trade-offs; and harness the power of digital solutions and innovation.

Guterres spotlights ‘critical role’ of aviation in pandemic recovery, marking International Day (UN News)

“Aviation is an important engine of our world, and will play a critical role in lifting the world to recovery from COVID-19. Let us ensure it receives the support it needs to keep the world’s nations connected and united,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message commemorating Monday’s International Civil Aviation Day. The sector has been hit hard by the coronavirus, which has disrupted travel, the transportation industry overall, and operations of airlines and airports globally.

Brief Explores Role of Finance and Technology in Achieving SDGs (IISD)

The IISD has published a policy brief on the role of finance and technology in achieving sustainable development. The brief argues that “technology, finance, and capacity building, together with inclusive and equitable globalization and trade, regional integration, and enabling environments” can help address climate change, biodiversity loss, growing inequalities, poverty, and hunger, among other challenges.

Experts advocate for ‘basic set of metrics’ to define women’s economic empowerment (Devex)

The growing number of tools to measure women’s economic empowerment makes it nearly impossible for programs to compare work across contexts, according to several gender data experts. Many gender data experts see the need to harmonize indicators, but debate continues over how realistic it is to unify metrics on such a complex issue across different contexts.

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African Union Ministers for Trade report progress in AFCFTA negotiations

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AfCFTA updates

Thirteenth extraordinary session on the AfCFTA: The Assembly of the Union adopts decision on the start of trading

African Union Heads of State and Government have underscored the urgent need for member states to kick-start trading activities, under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).The decision was adopted during a virtual meeting of the 13th Extra Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on the AfCFTA, held on Saturday 5 December 2020, under the Chairmanship of H.E. Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and Chairperson of the African Union (AU).

“Today we stand on the cusp of a new era in the progress of our continent. The moment that we have all been working painstakingly towards has finally arrived…We are all filled with a great sense of pride at how far we have come to reach this moment”.

Speaking from the headquarters of the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana, the Secretary General of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene stressed that integrating 55 markets will not be easy but giving up is not an option.

SG Wemkele called on AU Member States to aggressively implement the AfCFTA as one of the tools for effecting a fundamental structural transformation of Africa’s economy and placing Africa on a path of long term industrial development. He said “women in trade, young Africans and SMEs, confront significant challenges when attempting to benefit from trade agreements”. Adding that, for the AfCFTA to be inclusive and to ensure shared growth across the continent; women, young Africans and SMEs have to be at the heart of its implementation.

Select updates from member states

Other news

EAC beats AfCFTA tariff offer deadline (The East African)

With less than a month to the African Continental Free Trade Area coming into effect, the East African Community submitted its tariff offer on December 3, beating the December 5 deadline. EAC’s tariff offer now brings the number of countries to 40 that are ready to join the continent-wide duty-free quota-free movement of goods on January 1, when trading under the AfCFTA agreement starts. By press time on Friday, 14 countries that had signed the agreement had not yet submitted their tariff offers. These are Algeria, Angola, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Saharawi Republic, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.

China offers comprehensive support to kick-start African Free Trade (Vanguard)

China is prepared to assist countries in Africa launch a continental free trade and investment platform, drawing on its international trade experience, a senior Chinese official said in Nairobi on Sunday. Chang Hao, deputy director-general at the International Cooperation Centre of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (ICC-NDRC), said that China will enhance trade in Africa through its implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to connect 70 countries through infrastructure. “We are prepared to assist African countries through the promotion of trade facilities, building Africa’s industrial capacity to develop its value chain and building complete proposals for China and African countries to implement the various partnerships which exist between them,” Chang said.

Working Paper 342 - Market Integration Across Africa: Progress and Challenges Ahead (AfDB)

Treaties implemented by Regional Organizations (ROs) among which the eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have piloted integration across the African continent. This survey has two objectives: take stock of progress at market integration and understand the causes of the African ‘proximity gap’. The review singles out two areas for reducing intra-regional trade costs: adopting simple rules of origin, i.e. rules that are business friendly rather than business owned (details in annex A3) and ‘taking seriously’ the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). New estimates suggest that if the average time in customs for imports at the African Union level were to be reduced to the average time for exports, that is reduced by 49 hours, this would be equivalent to a reduction of 2.7% on tariffs in importing countries. The greatest challenge ahead is increasing the provision of Regional Public Goods (RPGs).

National

Good recovery data could be an early Christmas present for South Africa (BusinessTech)

Statistics South Africa is scheduled to release its GDP numbers for the third quarter on Tuesday (8 December), with analysts hopeful that the data will point to signs of a strong rebound after the country’s coronavirus lockdown. “Based on the large trade surpluses achieved in recent months, the consensus is for a blockbuster current account surplus of 3.7% of GDP after a 2.4% of GDP deficit during Q2,” the BER said. “If such a large surplus is achieved, or especially if it is even larger than expected, it is likely to add fuel to the fire of those investors who have turned more positive on the rand exchange rate, at least versus a weakening US dollar.”

CBN Governor discloses why Nigeria must stop dependence on crude oil (Nairametrics)

President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that African leaders should increase collaboration to battle insecurity in the continent through the implementation of arms control instruments and embargoes. The President disclosed this at the virtual 14th extra-ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU), in a speech themed, “Silencing the Guns.” On Sunday, Buhari stated that Africa also faced issues relating to peace due to terrorist threats across the nation. “The major challenge for Africa today is achieving a new trajectory of peace, security, stability and a conflict-free Africa, following threats of terrorist activities and other crimes across the continent,” he said.

KRA loses Sh7.7bn retail sector taxes on depressed sales (Business Daily)

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) lost Sh7.71 billion in collections from retail and wholesale traders such as supermarkets in the year ended June 2020 on the back of eroded consumer purchasing power amid reduced operating hours in the final quarter. The Treasury disclosures show total tax receipts from the wholesale and retail trade sector, which have been increasing by double digits in recent years, contracted to Sh53.81 billion from Sh61.29 billion the year before.

Ugandan manufacturers threaten to sue Kenya over trade barriers (Daily Monitor)

Kenya has not responded to threats from the Uganda Manufacturers Association to take the country to the East African Court of Justice to get redress on “unfair trade practices”, which the association claims its own government is abetting. In a statement released on Thursday, UMA, the umbrella association that brings together Ugandan industrialists and manufacturers, said that Kenya has barred a number of its exports from accessing Nairobi. UMA says Kenya is questioning the origin of Uganda’s products, even those with valid certificates of origin.

Government to set up infrastructure fund for electricity projects (Daily Monitor)

Cabinet has approved the setup of an Energy Infrastructure Fund, which will draw money from the Treasury to aid establishment of electricity projects. “We should be allocated money from the Consolidated Fund every year into that fund so that when we have some infrastructure to build, we get a hand from that fund,” Energy Minister Maria Goretti Kitutu said. The fund will be used to set up government infrastructure in the electricity subsector including power generation, transmission and distribution projects as well as any required feasibility studies.

Africa

Four years to go, single currency still elusive (The East African)

Only four years remain for the East African Community’s Monetary Union to come into effect, and analysts now say that it is almost impossible to beat the 2024 deadline. On November 30, 2013, EAC Heads of State signed the Monetary Union Protocol in Munyonyo, Kampala, outlining a 10-year roadmap to realise a single currency. In 2014, member states ratified the East African Monetary Union, which is the third pillar in the region’s integration process. However, governments in the region are still harmonising the policies required to attain a single currency by 2024.

COVID-19 pandemic offers African aviation a chance to reset (AfDB)

Africa’s aviation industry represents a huge market that the continent’s airlines need to exploit more fully, with technology and AI offering the way forward for expansion, regional development experts said Thursday. “Technology and smart technologies are offering this fantastic opportunity, so let’s make use of AI, let’s make use of the Internet of Things, let’s capacitate our people to revamp and to rethink our industry, to make sure that both our airports and our airlines cater for the very near future,” said Dr. Amani Abou Zeid, African Union Commission for Infrastructure and Energy, during the opening session of a virtual workshop.

Govts must rescue Africa’s aviation industry from pandemic turbulence (The East African)

Africa’s air transport industry is set to face another grim year with delays to the region’s economic recovery, job losses and without the continent’s governments urgently providing emergency relief to the entire sector. Governments are also yet to establish a vaccine distribution network, unblock the flow of pledged financial support and systematically implement common Covid-19 testing. Measured by supply, demand and profitability, Africa, which had previously seen modest growth, has been one of the hardest-hit regions in the world.

Importers defy ban by flooding market with illegal sugar (The Standard)

Unscrupulous businesses are having a field day bringing in huge amounts of sugar into the country illegally. The smuggling ring is also exposing Kenyans to substandard products and further weakening the ailing local sugar industry. Large imports of brown sugar have made its way here over the last five months despite a ban last July by the Ministry of Agriculture, partly aimed at enabling the local players to stay afloat. The excessive inflows are such that importers had by October exhausted the duty-free import quota they are allowed to get from Comesa countries over 2020.

AUDA-NEPAD is Supporting Recovery Plans for Africa’s Tourism

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on already slowing economies has made tourism particularly vulnerable, becoming the hardest hit sector so far in Africa. It has not just been a health pandemic, but it has impacted the economic and social life of communities. However, it is proven that tourism is uniquely placed to lead future recovery, exemplified in post economic depression, Ebola eras, oil crisis, financial crisis. The sector will provide the jobs that people need to bounce back and will drive economic growth that will help whole African countries to recover.

Kagame to chair Smart Africa board meeting (The New Times)

Heads of State and Government from 30 countries are meeting today virtually to discuss the work of Smart Africa, an alliance of African countries aimed at accelerating the continent’s digital transformation. The ninth board meeting will be chaired by President Paul Kagame, according to the statement from the organisation’s secretariat, currently based in Kigali. “This meeting will discuss Smart Africa’s core deliverables for the just-ended calendar year and the goals for the coming year,” the statement reads in part.

The role of digital transformation in kick-starting African economies (Bizcommunity)

As the business landscape transforms to leverage exponential developments in technology, the expansion and adoption of new business models have rendered the big giants potentially vulnerable due to complexity, scale and entrenched business models. The customer has moved to centre stage as convenience has transitioned from privilege to right, and choice has become ubiquitous. The rapid compounding of complexity has forced organisations to adopt agility as part of the fabric of business operations.

The rise of cryptocurrency transfers to Africa (Africa Feeds)

Cryptocurrency is steadily growing acceptance in Africa. Similarly, the use of cryptocurrency for money transfers to Africa is also on the rise. Fintech companies use cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin to mitigate problems associated with traditional money transfers to Africa and within Africa such as high fees. Africa is the most expensive region to send money to in the world. Intra-Africa money transfers are even higher than sending money to Africa. The use of cryptocurrency-powered money transfers is expected to lower these high costs.

AfDB launches $50 million facility to support energy access companies through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $20 million concessional investment from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to establish the COVID-19 Off-Grid Recovery Platform (CRP). The $50 million blended finance initiative, will provide relief and recovery capital to energy access businesses, supporting them through and beyond the pandemic. “This initiative underlines the African Development Bank’s commitment to the accelerated growth of Africa’s decentralized energy industry, based on renewables, as a key driver for universal energy access goals,” said Dr. Kevin Kariuki, the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth

Nigeria: Food insecurity looms as country’s reserves diminish (CGTN Africa)

A surge in attacks on Nigerian farmers is having a knock-on effect on the country’s food reserves, Bloomberg has reported. Citing the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, the news agency said stocks had declined to less than 30,000 metric tons, a fraction of what the country of 200 million people requires. President of the association, Kabir Ibrahim, said growing insecurity had made it difficult to augment those supplies.

Africa’s environment ministers pledge support for green COVID-19 recovery (CGTN Africa)

African environment ministers have pledged to rally behind efforts to accelerate a green and inclusive economic recovery to boost economies and social systems in the continent amid COVID-19 related shocks. The ministers said in a joint statement issued in Nairobi on Friday evening at the end of a virtual summit that promoting the health of ecosystems lies at the heart of efforts to hasten pandemic recovery in the world’s second-largest continent. “Whilst this pandemic is having a profound negative impact on sustainable development and our efforts to combat environmental degradation and eradicate poverty, it also presents opportunities to set our recovery on a path of transformative sustainable development,” said Barbara Creecy, South African Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.

OP-ED: The Covid-19 pandemic has tested Africa to the limits – but there are many signs of hope (Daily Maverick)

Never have Africans come together the way we have during this catastrophic situation – we have seen the best of humanity through this trying period. The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the most devastating global health and economic crises in modern history. The crisis has affected virtually every facet of socioeconomic functioning, including public finance, which is concerned with the capacity of governments to mobilise resources, primarily for building institutions to promote security, competition and market development, as well as for redistributive purposes.

A rendezvous to transform Central Africa’s routes into development trajectories (UNECA)

How can Central African countries reconfigure existing transport highways which interconnect them, while building and linking new ones in a way that engines and supports structurally transformative economic activities along and near these routes? “At this point in time when everyone agrees with us on the need for the structural transformation of our economies with particular focus on the productivity gains that stem from vertical and horizontal economic diversification, we see development corridors as a game-changer for countries across the subregion,” said Lot Tcheeko, an ECA official coordinating efforts towards the brainstorming exercise.

Leaders track progress on African bid to ‘silence guns’ (Thenews)

African leaders on Sunday held talks to review an ambitious plan for a conflict-free Africa as violent unrest escalates in parts of the continent. The Africa Union (AU) adopted in 2013 a plan to silence guns on the continent by the year 2020. Four years later the leaders signed off on a roadmap for practical implementation of the plan. On Sunday, heads of states and governments from across the continent met virtually to assess progress.

International

DHL Global Connectedness Index 2020 signals recovery of globalization from COVID-19 setback (Africanews)

The DHL Global Connectedness Index 2020 (GCI) is the first comprehensive assessment of globalization during the spreading COVID-19 pandemic. John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express, said: “Connected supply chains and logistics networks play an essential role in keeping the world running and stabilizing globalization especially at a time of a crisis that spans our globe. This reminds us of the need to stay prepared for any challenge. The recent vaccine breakthrough has put a spotlight on the systemic importance of fast and secure medical logistics dependent on a worldwide interconnected network that effectively ensures international distribution.”

Donald Trump’s forgettable legacy in Africa and what to expect from Joe Biden (The Citizen)

Notwithstanding the Trump administration’s rhetoric, Africa continued to receive roughly $7 billion in annual US aid allocations in its first three years. US-Africa trade fell to approximately $41 billion in 2018, down from a high of $100 billion in 2008. On the whole, African countries have continued to export natural resources, such as petroleum and metals, to the US.

Africa and India seek to increase trade, tourism (IOL)

Efforts are under way to increase trade and tourism between India and African countries, including the development of a VIP airport in Zimbabwe, smart cities in African countries, and the establishment of a furniture corridor. According to projections, India-Africa trade could double by 2021 if appropriate steps are taken by sovereign and corporate entities to raise the full benefit of the growth of the two trade partners. President of the Indian Economic Trade Organisation, Dr Asif Iqbal, said it was the right time to reshape this relation.

International Forum on African Leadership: Keynote Speech Delivered by Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, AfDB President (East African Business Week)

The negative impacts on economies have been massive. The African Development Bank estimates that Africa’s GDP will decline by $173-236 billion by the end of the year. Africa’s economic growth rate is expected to decline by 3.4%. The world has become more fragile as we all face common existential risks. Our greatest test and task is to build effective partnerships and reinforce leadership to navigate through the pandemic, save as many lives and possible, reverse the trend, and put the world and its economies back on more resilient recovery pathways.

European Commission reports on negotiating round with five Eastern and Southern African countries

The European Commission has published the report summarising progress made during the latest negotiation round to deepen the existing Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with five Eastern and Southern African partners (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe). The third round of negotiations was held virtually from 24 to 27 November 2020. The partners made progress on the five issues already discussed in the first two rounds, namely customs and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, food safety and plant and animal health standards, rules of origin and agriculture.

UK and Egypt sign Association Agreement (GOV.UK)

The British Ambassador to Egypt, Sir Geoffrey Adams, today signed an agreement with Egypt’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Europe, Badr Abdelatty to strengthen political and trade ties between the two countries. The agreement will allow British businesses and consumers to benefit from continued preferential access to the market after the end of the transition period – which will help boost vital trade and investment. The agreement will provide tariff-free trade on industrial products, as well as liberalisation of trade in agriculture, agri-foods and fisheries which will make trade easier and deliver significant savings to businesses in both the UK and Egypt.

New Africa alliance aims to tackle deadly COVID ‘infodemic’ (UN News)

The Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA), brings together 13 international and regional organizations, together with fact-checking groups which have expertise in data and behavioural science, epidemiology, research, digital health and communications. Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said the Alliance has the unique reach, knowledge and skills to help halt the impact of dangerous misinformation.

Making Industrialization in Africa Sustainable (United Nations)

Africa remains the world’s least industrialized region, with only one country on the entire continent, South Africa, currently categorized as industrialized. There is general agreement that this has to change, and I believe it can. There needs to be a fundamental shift in the structure of the economies of African nations. Industry, especially manufacturing, will have to account for a far greater share of national investment, output and trade.

How the relationship between the UK and Africa may change after Brexit (Lexology)

The status of Britain’s relationship with the European Union following the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 remains uncertain. However, one thing is certain – change is coming. Unless a comprehensive trade deal is struck at the last minute, the UK will cease to trade with African countries under the terms of the existing arrangements in place between them and the EU and will revert to trading on WTO terms. For some African countries, agreement has been reached to “roll over” the terms of existing EU agreements such that they apply on a bilateral basis with the UK. For others, the terms on which they will trade with the UK in the long term remains to be finalised.

Trade and Commerce in West Africa and How it Influences IP Rights (IPWatchdog.com)

To do business in Africa, it is important to understand how African countries conduct trade and commerce among themselves and with the rest of the world. Specifically, IP right holders navigating the continent would be better served by an informed economic roadmap into the continent. A proper understanding of the business terrain and IP regimes becomes important for global brands looking to pitch their tent in Africa.

ICC and Africa investor launch global eTrade partnership to digitise five million SMEs in Africa (International Chamber of Commerce)

Announced at the second Africa investor Global Trade Organization Leaders’ Summit by ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO and Hubert Danso, Chairman of Africa investor, the campaign will accelerate the digitisation and intra African and global market access for millions of African SMEs, in support of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). ICC and Africa investor will mobilise a worldwide network of multinational companies, African Corporates, chambers of commerce, media organisations and academic institutions, to provide market access, tools and training programs to digitise SMEs in Africa.

UNIDO paper focuses on factors driving successful industrialization (Modern Diplomacy)

More than 32 million of the world’s poorest people face being pulled back into extreme poverty because of COVID-19, leading UN economists said on Thursday, highlighting data showing that the pandemic is likely to cause the worst economic crisis in decades among least developed countries (LDCs). “The COVID crisis is leading LDCs to their worst economic crisis in 30 years, with per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for the group expected to fall by 2.6 per cent this year ,” said Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD Secretary-General, during a virtual press conference. “We project that absolute poverty indices will be expand by 32 million, and extreme poverty rates in these countries will rise from 32.5 per cent to 35.7 in the current year.”

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Statement by Secretary-General H.E. Wamkele Keabetswe Mene at the official commissioning and handing over of the AfCFTA Secretariat

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Thirteenth extraordinary session on the AfCFTA: The Assembly of the Union adopts decision on the start of trading

10 minute read

African Union Heads of State and Government have underscored the urgent need for member states to kick-start trading activities, under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The decision was adopted during a virtual meeting of the 13th Extra Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on the AfCFTA, held on Saturday 5 December 2020, under the Chairmanship of H.E. Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and Chairperson of the African Union (AU). The summit is taking place just four weeks before the AfCFTA commences trading on the 1st of January 2021, to consider the adoption of the legal instruments that will facilitate its operation.

Welcoming all the participants to the 13th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, Chairperson Ramaphosa said “today we stand on the cusp of a new era in the progress of our continent. The moment that we have all been working painstakingly towards has finally arrived…We are all filled with a great sense of pride at how far we have come to reach this moment”.

The AU Chairperson further recalled the collective journey embarked upon over four decades ago, with the adoption of the Monrovia Strategy in 1979, followed by the Lagos Plan of Action in 1980, the Abuja Treaty in 1991 and the subsequent Decisions and Declarations adopted during previous Summits relating to the economic development and integration of the African continent. “And now, we are about to witness the realisation of one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063.” Stated the Chairperson of the Union, with great relieve.

“Throughout this process, we have stood united, with 55 sovereign AU Member States rallying together, despite different levels of economic development and diverse strategic priorities. The commencement of trading under the AfCFTA on the 1st of January 2021 is one of the most significant milestones in the continental integration project”. Noted the AU Chairperson. He underlined that, this is going to be the clearest affirmation that Africa is determined to take charge of its own destiny, and that its success and development is fundamentally tied to harnessing the potential and energies of her citizens.

According to President Cyrl Ramaphosa, the AfCFTA will boost intra-African trade, it will promote industrialisation and competitiveness and contribute to job creation, and it will unleash regional value chains that will facilitate Africa’s meaningful integration into the global economy. The AfCFTA will also improve the prospects of Africa as an attractive investment destination. It will help advance the empowerment of Africa’s women, by improving women’s access to trade opportunities which will in turn facilitate economic freedom for women, and expand the productive capacity of countries. “To support this, we must strengthen women’s participation in the continental economy by ensuring there is greater public procurement earmarked for women-owned businesses. We must ensure that there is sufficient support given to women-owned SMMEs and cooperatives in both local and regional economies” Emphasised Chairperson Ramaphosa.

H.E. Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission on his part expressed satisfaction on the millstone achieved in the implementation of the AfCFTA. He said it is the fulfilment of the dream long aspired by the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), who have always wanted to create an African common market.

Moussa Faki noted that, for this dream to finally become a reality, this continental project had to go through several stages. First was the signing in 1991 of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, followed by the signing in March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, of the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA, during which 44 countries signed the Agreement, and it is with great satisfaction that in record time 34 countries have ratified the legal instrument on the AfCFTA . This, the AUC Chairperson said, shows the determination by member state to quickly achieve the economic integration of the continent. (See complete speech of the AUC Chairperson on the AU website: www.au.int )

Speaking from the headquarters of the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana, the Secretary General of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene stressed that integrating 55 markets will not be easy but giving up is not an option. He recalled that in August 2020, the Government of Ghana officially handed over the AfCFTA Secretariat building to the AUC Chairperson, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat. Reiterating that, H.E. President Akufo-Addo has given his full support and is committed to see the AfCFTA truly commercially start off trading by the announced date of 1st of January 2021. “Today, 54 countries have signed the agreement while 34 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification, and 41 countries/customs unions have submitted their tariff offers, including the EAC and ECOWAS” underlined the AfCFTA SG. He however noted that, none of this remarkable progress would have been achieved without the unwavering leadership and commitment of H.E. President Mahamadou Issoufou, the Champion and Leader of the AfCFTA”.

SG Wemkele called on AU Member States to aggressively implement the AfCFTA as one of the tools for effecting a fundamental structural transformation of Africa’s economy and placing Africa on a path of long term industrial development. He said “women in trade, young Africans and SMEs, confront significant challenges when attempting to benefit from trade agreements”. Adding that, for the AfCFTA to be inclusive and to ensure shared growth across the continent; women, young Africans and SMEs have to be at the heart of its implementation.

Worth recalling that it is the AU Assembly Decision adopted at its 33rd Ordinary Session held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 9th – 10th February, 2020, that recommended the holding of this 13th Extraordinary Summit to approve all instruments required for the start of trading under the AfCFTA. During the meeting, the Heads of State expressed their appreciation to the report presented by H.E. Mr. Issoufou Mahamadou, President of the Republic of Niger, the leader and Champion of the AfCFTA, and adopted the recommendations thereof on the progress achieved on the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). They requested the AfCFTA leader and Champion to continue his efforts to ensure that all fifty-five (55) African Union Member States become state parties to the AfCFTA Agreement.

The Assembly also commended H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the people of Ghana for offering to host the secretariat of AfCFTA in Accra thus, fulfilling the African dream. The Heads of State further commended the role played by all Member States, the African Union Ministers of Trade (AMOT) and other AfCFTA Negotiating Institutions, the African Union Commission (AUC), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the AU cooperating partners, for the significant progress made in advancing AfCFTA negotiations. They congratulated all the countries that have deposited their instruments of ratification of the AfCFTA Agreement, and called on those member states that have not yet ratified the Agreement to do so as soon as possible in order to increase the size of the market and the volume of trade under the AfCFTA.

The Assembly finally deliberated that the exchange of tariff concessions between State Parties will be conditioned by the principle of reciprocity in terms of product line coverage, and tariff reduction schedules that are aligned with the agreed modalities. They endorsed the declaration on the Risk of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) with respect to COVID-19 pandemic related measures, as adopted by the African Union Ministers of Trade (AMOT), and the establishment of the African Business Council (AfBC) which is part of the Architecture of the AfCFTA.

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National

SA has most developed digital economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, says study (BizNews)

South Africa has been described as having the most ‘developed digital economy’ in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is according to a global index by The Fletcher School at Tufts University. Dubbed the ‘Digital Intelligence Index’, it measures “the progress countries have made in advancing their digital economies, fostering trust and integrating connectivity into the lives of billions”. According to the Intelligence Index, connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging behind other regions. However, “digitalisation is advancing fast and being embraced by those who do have access”, says the report.

Draft one-stop border-post policy to be released for public comment in early 2021 (Engineering News)

Government will release its draft one-stop border post (OSBP) policy for public comment during the first quarter of 2021, after Cabinet approved the draft policy during its meeting this week. In a statement, Cabinet said that the OSBP policy would give effect to the framework adopted in 2018. The policy sought to harmonise the movement of people and goods between South Africa’s land ports of entry and its neighbouring countries, while also addressing the congestion that resulted in costly trade delays and frustrated travellers.

Africa’s post-Covid recovery provides major opportunities for South African aviation sector (Engineering News)

African recovery and return to economic growth following the Covid-19 pandemic presented a significant opportunity to the general aviation sector across the continent, but particularly in South Africa, SA Flyer editor Guy Leitch pointed out on Thursday. He was addressing the Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa’s virtual 2020 symposium. “South African general aviation is the single largest repository of aviation sector expertise in Africa,” he highlighted. “Intra-African connectivity is the big opportunity.” This opportunity was open to both the general and commercial aviation sectors.

South African economy should recover strongly next year, predicts economist (Engineering News)

The South African economy is already on course for a strong recovery and significant growth next year, economic adviser to the Optimum Investment group Dr Roelof Botha told the Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa’s virtual 2020 symposium on Thursday. The Covid-19 pandemic had hit the travel and leisure sector very hard, both globally and in South Africa. But the development of Covid-19 vaccines had radically changed the outlook for the sector. He pointed out that, on the world’s major stockmarkets, travel and leisure stocks had surged by 5% to 30% following the announcement of the development of the first vaccine, by Pfizer.

Government exceeds revenue target for August-November 2020 – GRA (MyJoyOnline)

The Chairman of the Implementation Team of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), Emmanuel Ohene has disclosed that government exceeded its revenue target in August and November, 2020 from Ghana’s ports. This, he attributed to the introduction of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) at the ports.

US$300m upgrade for Beitbridge border post (The Herald)

The Zimborders Consortium has secured nearly US$300 million for the upgrade and modernisation of Beitbridge border post, the country’s busiest inland port of entry and one of the region’s key transit points, the company has revealed. The project, to be implemented under a Public Private Partnership with the Government, will be privately funded with a 17 and half years’ operating concession period following the completion of the construction works expected within two years.

CBK raises alarm over rising borrowing by State agencies (The Standard)

Central Bank of Kenya has warned that increased borrowing by State firms from commercial banks could expose the banking industry and other financial institutions to the risk of bad debt. According to the Kenya Financial Stability Report released yesterday, the banking industry’s loans to parastatals amounted to above Sh100 billion by December 2019. The energy sector accounts for the largest share.

The Kenya Financial Stability Report 2019 | CBK

Manufacturers issue ultimatum, demand retaliation against Kenya (Daily Monitor)

Manufacturers have given government up to or before Christmas to come up with retaliatory measures against Kenya, which they accuse of unfairly blocking a number of Ugandan products from its market. In a statement released yesterday, manufacturers, under Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA), also expressed frustration “over government’s inability to decisively resolve the unfair trade practices subjected to Uganda by Kenya in blatant disregard to the EAC common market commitments”, noting the statement was a culmination of untold frustration by government in the pursuit of equity from EAC partner states.

Tanzania pays attention to Angola’s railway link (The Citizen)

The government said yesterday that it was closely following up on reports that Angola was mulling the construction of a railway line that would connect it (Angola) to Tanzania via Zambia. The plan was to build a trans-African railway between the ports of Dar es Salaam in the east of the continent and Lobito in the west. At present, Angola’s economy depends overwhelmingly on exports to China – in 2018 these accounted for more than $25 billion, more than its exports to the rest of the world combined, and consisted mainly of oil. There is almost no trade between Angola and Tanzania. In 2015, Tanzania exported less than $5m to Angola, and Angola less than $500,000 worth of goods to Tanzania.

Botswana: Economist predicts full economic recovery in 2022 (Daily News)

Although the Botswana economy is destined to bounce back next year, full recovery will only be realised in 2022. This was said by FNB chief economist, Mr Moatlhodi Sebabole during the virtual Youth Entrepreneurship Studio held Wednesday as part of De Beers Diamond Impact Week. Mr Sebabole, who was deliberating on the topic “Recovery and Growth” – Botswana and the Global Outlook from an Economist’s Perspective, said only in 2022 would the economy return to its 2019 size. Describing COVID-19 as a perfect storm in the world economy, he noted that it hit both the demand and supply sides and affected production of goods and services.

Nigeria’s diaspora remittance inflows could rise to $2bn monthly – Emefiele (Vanguard)

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has said that following the introduction of the new Diaspora Forex Remittances policy, the apex bank was targeting about $2 billion monthly from Diaspora remittances. Emefiele who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, said that the implementation of the policy has commenced adding that the Nigerian public can now receive remittances from their family members, friends and associates in Diaspora in the foreign currency of such remittances.

Border closure not sustainable – Economic Advisory Council chief, Salami (Vanguard)

Chairman of the federal government Economic Advisory Council, Dr. Doyin Salami, has said border closure was not a sustainable strategy. According to him, the nation must take pragmatic steps to reduce the costs of production for its products to be internationally competitive. He said Nigeria would lose out in the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, AfCFTA, unless its products could withstand international competition.

No significant reduction in cargo traffic at ports – GPHA boss (Ghanian Times)

The Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Michael Lujuge has applauded efforts being made by the government to expedite processes leading up to the realisation of efficient multimodal linkages that would complement the ongoing massive developments in Ghana’s port infrastructure. “Trade feeds on distance, time and cost. Connectivity is key. That is why the ideal situation is for you to have multimodal transport,” he said.

Africa

AU holds AfCFTA Extraordinary Summit (SAnews)

The African Union will this weekend host the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Extraordinary Summit, in preparation for the start of the AfCFTA on 1 January. Cabinet, in a statement following its meeting this week, said the AfCFTA holds “enormous benefits” for South Africa as it serves as a “catalyst to economic growth and investment”. “The free-trade area opens our exports of goods and services to a market of more than 1.2 billion people. As Chair of the AU, South Africa has been at the forefront of driving the implementation of the AfCFTA,” reads the statement. Cabinet reiterated that the agreement advances economic integration and development, women empowerment on the continent, and strengthens efforts towards peace and stability in Africa.

One month to start trading under AfCFTA, where does Africa stand? (The New Times)

With trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, expected to start January 1, 2021, officials and experts say, a lot of ground as regards outstanding negotiations and readying prerequisites to make things work has been covered. The negotiators are still busy trying to wrap up before the beginning of trade. Prudence Sebahizi, Chief Technical Advisor on AfCFTA at the AU Commission, told The New Times that “much progress has been made” to ensure that trading starts on January 1. “Member States have been able to conclude outstanding negotiations on rules of origin to the level above 80% and tariff offers have been submitted to allow trade in goods to start.”

President Felix Tshisekedi Warms Up For AU Chairperson (Taarifa Rwanda)

Moussa Faki, Mahamat the Chairperson of the African Union Commission flew to the DRC capital Kinshasa to meet President Felix Tshisekedi who is preparing to assume his new role as Chairperson of the AU in early 2021. Moussa Faki confirmed President Tshisekedi will assume the functions of head of the African Union during the Ordinary General Assembly in early February 2021 in Addis Ababa.

The promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) (ECDPM)

The hopes and aspirations attached to the AfCFTA – for trade, industrialisation and addressing the effects of COVID-19 – place it high on the agendas of African policymakers, but also of their partners who support the process. This paper provides an overview of some of the potential opportunities and benefits of the AfCFTA, particularly in relation to manufacturing, agriculture, services and e-commerce, but also of the challenges involved in moving from agreement to impact.

Morocco reiterates full support for African free trade area (The North Africa Post)

Morocco voiced its full support for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a lever of African integration and a development trigger, Minister delegate in charge of African affairs said. Morocco spares no effort to materialize the AfCTA on the ground, Mohcine Jazouli told an African Union meeting held by video conference. He recalled that King Mohammed VI had underscored Morocco’s commitment to promote an intra-African cooperation based on economic solidarity.

Figure of the week: Socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda (Brookings)

Although most African countries have, to date, been largely successful in fighting the spread of COVID-19, with far fewer reported cases and deaths from the disease than Europe, Asia, or the Americas, the pandemic has still had substantial socioeconomic impacts on African citizens. Policy measures to limit the spread of the disease, such as travel restrictions, lockdowns, and school closures – while both necessary and effective at limiting health impacts – have slowed economic activity worldwide. As a result of the health and economic effects of the pandemic, up to 49 million more Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty in 2020.

African Of The Year: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Forbes Africa)

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been adjudged the ‘2020 African of the Year’. Previous winners have been Rwandan President Paul Kagame (2018) and African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina (2019). Okonjo-Iweala is well-positioned to take on the next big role, transforming Africa and negotiating on the world stage.

President’s Remarks at the 5th Annual Meeting of the Africa Economic Zones Organization (AEZO) (Africanews)

Africa has had impressive economic growth over the past one decade, including 6 of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. While the pandemic has set us back now, with a decade of growth lost, I am confident that Africa will bounce back. The same fundamentals that drove growth are still there. At the core of this must be the growth of the private sector, and the deployment of supportive environments for their operations. Globally, Special Economic Zones have powered the economic growth of several countries. Collectively, they have contributed exports worth $3.5 trillion, roughly 20% of global trade in goods.

East Africa Is Backsliding Dangerously (Yahoo!)

Only decade ago, the map looked very different: South Africa was slipping into corruption and stagnation, Angola was a full-blown kleptocracy, and donor darlings, Rwanda and Ethiopia, were deeply repressive strongman technocracies. Meanwhile, across much of the East African Community and among its immediate SADC neighbors, progress – halting and complicated but unmistakable – was underway. If SADC and the African Union find themselves now ignored by leaders they have coddled, they have largely themselves to blame. Kenya’s hastily agreed free-trade deal with Britain, meanwhile threatens to drive a wedge into the East African Community.

African Development Bank launches new regional integration strategy 2020-2025 (Caribbean News Global)

On November 26, 2020, the African Development Bank launched the West African regional integration strategy for the period 2020-2025 during a virtual seminar, which brought together representatives of the Bank, regional economic communities and member countries. The main objectives of the webinar were to provide an overview of the new strategy and to create a platform for multi-stakeholder and multidisciplinary collaboration for high-level dialogue to mobilize regional member countries in favor of regional integration.

Local currency financing for off-grid energy solutions in Africa limited, needs scaling up – African Development Bank report (AfDB)

Although advantageous, local currency financing for off-grid renewables projects and businesses in Africa is still limited, according to a new report released by the African Development Bank. The report, Exploring the Role of Guarantee Products in Supporting Local Currency Financing of Sustainable Off-Grid Energy Projects in Africa, summarized findings of an in-depth study of documents on the off-grid energy and local currency financing sector, as well as interviews of energy stakeholders in the commercial and industrial and mini-grid sectors in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tunisia.

International

UN says private sector key to realize sustainability agenda in Africa (Xinhua)

African governments should leverage capital, technology and manpower from industry to hasten realization of sustainability agenda and pandemic recovery in the continent, a senior UN official said on Thursday. Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy secretary-general, said that targeted investments from Africa’s indigenous businesses are required to catalyze inclusive growth in the continent amid COVID-19 linked economic shocks. “The private sector in Africa should seize the opportunity to invest sustainably and create a peaceful, prosperous continent that is also resilient to the shocks triggered by the pandemic,” said Mohamed.

Will China create another African debt crisis? (ORF)

Europe’s preparation for the European Union–African Union Summit in 2021 needs to successfully provide a coherent African policy on security, immigration and climate change that goes beyond trade and provides, at the very least, an opportunity for dialogue with the Russian Federation, which is also re-engaging in Africa. The reality is the COVID-19 economic impact will have knocked back significantly Moscow’s Africa ambitions and this will result in a greater niche focus on key countries such as South Africa.

What do China’s economic plans mean for Africa? (WEF)

Last month the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP) laid out the country’s socio-economic blueprint for the next five years. As China’s 14th five-year plan, this particular one marks an important transition from China’s first to its second centennial goal. Ahead of next year’s Forum on China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), hosted by Senegal, it is worth examining the difference between the two centennial goals, and what that could mean for Africa’s own development prospects

DDG Agah: Trade key to mitigating impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Africa (WTO)

We are, today, living in an unprecedented time, with extraordinary challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. While governments, in all economies, are taking steps to mitigate its impact, trade, no doubt, continues to remain a key part of the solution to protect jobs, ensure steady income and improve standards of living of people in Africa. Against this challenging environment, the successful implementation of the AfCFTA could help mitigate the economic crisis; and set the continent on a common path for renewed growth.

The Need for EU-Russia Dialogue on Africa (Chatham House)

Africa is confounding predictions of a COVID-19 apocalypse, but widespread anxiety remains. Valuable lessons must be taken forward from the successful national responses so far across public health, security, and the economy.

Fintech Market Reports Rapid Growth During COVID-19 Pandemic (World Bank)

The fintech market has continued to help expand access to financial services during the COVID-19 pandemic – particularly in emerging markets – with strong growth in all types of digital financial services except lending, according to a joint study by the World Bank, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School, and World Economic Forum.

70% of Destinations Have Lifted Travel Restrictions, but Global Gap Emerging (UNWTO)

The number of destinations closed to international tourism has continued to fall. According to the eighth edition of the UNWTO Travel Restrictions Report, 70% of all global destinations have eased restrictions on travel introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In comparison, just one in four destinations continue to keep their borders completely closed to international tourists. Europe continues to lead the way in lifting or easing travel restrictions followed by the Americas, Africa and then the Middle East.

What Africa Needs Now Is Its Own Singapore (BloombergQuint)

When it comes to economic development, China’s amazing success soaks up much of the attention. But another huge region has quietly begun what looks like a new phase of exponential growth: Southeast Asia. The sustained enrichment of this region will transform the world, and carry important lessons for struggling countries like those in Africa.
Located far from booming Asia, Africa may have to wait its turn to be the next manufacturing hotspot.

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National

African Nation Worst Hit by Covid Falling Behind on Vaccines (BloombergQunit)

The African country with the worst confirmed coronavirus outbreak is yet to provide clarity on how it plans to order vaccines, even as the global race to secure inoculations accelerates. South Africa did confirm last week that it plans to sign up to Covax, a global initiative that strives to ensure that poorer countries have access to shots. The National Treasury has allocated 500 million rand ($33 million) toward the program and will need to find a further 4.5 billion rand to move to “the front of the queue,” Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said in an interview. That payment has yet to be made, according to Anban Pillay, deputy director general at the Department of Health. Still, that doesn’t mean South Africa will miss out on the first batch of available vaccines, he said.

Second Covid-19 wave may cut short improvements in trade sector confidence levels (Fin24)

The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) on Thursday released its retail trade survey results for the fourth quarter of the year. “Major improvements can be seen across all trade categories, with retailer, wholesaler and new vehicle dealer confidence all increasing remarkably on the back of improved operating conditions, a noteworthy uptick in sales volumes and an overall improvement in profitability,” the report read. However BER pointed out that headwinds lie ahead, with the special Covid-19 relief grant expiring early next year, “billions” could be wiped from consumer incomes and the trade sector.

Uganda’s GDP Contracts under COVID-19, Investing in Uganda’s Youth Key to Recovery (World Bank)

The latest World Bank economic analysis for Uganda projects the economy to contract by up to 1% in 2020 due to COVID-19 disruptions to trade activities and production, down from 7.5% growth in 2019. According to the Uganda Economic Update, Investing in Uganda’s Youth, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at only 2.9% in fiscal year 2019/20, less than half the 6.8% recorded in fiscal year 2018/19. Uganda should strive to maintain debt sustainability – it is in an enviable position compared to many other countries.

Uganda opens new alternative route to Kenya (The East African)

Ugandans can now travel to Kenya using the 44.5 Kilometre-long Bumbobi-Lwakhakha road, into Bungoma County, western Kenya. The road, which was commissioned on Tuesday by President Yoweri Museveni, has been upgraded to tarmac from all-weather courtesy of a Ush140 billion ($37.6 million loan from the African Development Bank in 2016. The road is expected to deepen regional integration and cross border trade with Kenya, and offers an alternative to the Busia and Malaba border crossings.

Uganda safeguards financial stability amid COVID-19, but risks remain (China.org.cn)

Uganda is so far succeeding in safeguarding financial stability, although risks remain as the east African country battles the economic effects brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank said here in a recent report. Decisive monetary and macro-prudential policies have reduced short-term risks to financial stability, said the financial stability report for the third quarter by the Bank of Uganda (BOU). While the short-term risks to financial stability arising from the pandemic have been relatively contained, the outlook remains highly uncertain and depends on the evolution of the pandemic and the pace of economic recovery, the report said.

Digital stamps have exposed dishonest industrialists – Govt (Daily Monitor)

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija has said government had anticipated manufacturers to resist implementation of digital tracking solutions because the system has exposed illegal activities orchestrated by some industrialists. Digital tracking solutions, which are being implementation by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and lately Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), seek to fight under declaration of production capacity and substandard goods. However, they continue to face resistance particularly from manufacturers, who say they have a high cost burden.

Botswana Oil aims for petroleum products security (FurtherAfrica)

Botswana Oil remains resolute in achieving security of petroleum products in the country, acting chief operations officer Mr Mosetlho Kenamile has said. Speaking at a media workshop in Gaborone recently, Mr Kenamile said the recent petrol shortage in the country had necessitated greater investment and participation of locals in the sector noting that capacities of storage needed to be reached in order achieve security for the country. He said Botswana Oil was embarking on an exercise to source petroleum-based products from other markets to achieve and maintain supply. He also noted that South Africa as the country’s main import partner experienced volatility from time to time which affected supply.

Ghana positioning itself to benefit from ECOWAS protocols and conventions (MyJoyOnline)

Ghana in its quest to improve the living standards of its citizens, has intensified stakeholders’ engagements on the Protocols and Conventions of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Among the ECOWAS protocols and conventions are the promotion of economic cooperation, integration, and fostering of relationships among member states to contribute to the progress and development of the sub-region.

Hope for border reopening (Vanugard)

News of the imminent reopening of the borders by the Federal Government is hugely relieving and eagerly anticipated by a cross section of players in the economy. The Nigerian government shut its borders due to certain alleged acts of infidelity by our neighbours and fellow members of the Economic Community of West African States. Throughout the period that the closure lasted, the Federal Government and the Nigerian Customs Service maintained that Nigerian farmers had benefited immensely from it. But it paid a blind eye to the fact that our manufacturers and other international business interests which also need the West African market suffered unquantifiable losses.

Zim targets AfCFTA market opportunities (The Herald)

Zimbabwe is scaling up efforts to take a strategic position in the exploitation of the 1,2 billion people African market that is set to be created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). As a key enabler in attaining an upper middle income economy by 2030, Zimbabwe has plans to boost the manufacturing industry and its export basket in terms of volume and variety. Under its economic revival strategy, the manufacturing industry has a critical role to play in satisfying the local and export markets.

Africa

The Futures Report: Making the AfCFTA Work for Women and Youth (African Union)

The Futures Report: Making the AfCFTA Work for Women and Youth is a groundbreaking UNDP Flagship Initiative produced in collaboration with the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area. It tells the story of the promise of the AfCFTA through the voices of women and youth producing goods and services in Africa. The high-level launch event convenes diverse stakeholders and partners to dialogue on how to support women and youth-owned enterprises to maximize the benefits in the AfCFTA as a means for attaining sustainable development.

E-commerce will enable young people to gain from AfCFTA but legal hurdles loom (The East African)

Young people in Africa could unlock the benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through e-commerce, which accounts for global online sales worth $26 million. The trading bloc comes into force in January 2021. However, even as e-commerce is touted as the panacea for growth of trade in Africa, countries are being warned about the sector’s legal hurdles. When well utilised, technology and online market places can drive inclusive growth across Africa, with e-commerce likely to create as many as three million jobs by 2025. This is according to a recent virtual meeting on Trade Beyond Covid-19: Unpacking the AfCFTA for East Africa.

Algeria, Nigeria will ensure success of AfCFTA, says minister (The Nation Online)

Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sabri Boukadoum has stressed the need for his country and Nigeria to work together to ensure the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Speaking on the possibility of the January 2021 commencement date of the AfCFTA and given the COVID impact, Boukadoum said the date is sacrosanct as the continent is eager for it to begin despite the hiccups.

‘Additional COVID-19 Testing Fee Hindering Trade and Movement in West Africa’ – ECOWAS Ambassador to Liberia Discloses (FrontPageAfrica)

The Special Representative of the President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to Liberia, Ambassador Babatunde Ajisomo, has underscored the need for coherence and harmonization in the fees being charged travellers for Covid-19 test by authorities of countries in the region. Ambassador Ajisomo pointed out that most people are finding it very difficult to travel to and from ECOWAS nations as a result of the disparity in the fees being charged for Covid-19 test in these countries. He further stressed that the Covid-19 testing fees must be harmonized to help boost trade and make

African Development Bank and partners roll out comprehensive report on the state of gender equality in Africa (AfDB)

The African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and UN Women unveiled details of its Africa Gender Index report during a virtual global dissemination event on Tuesday, 1 December 2020. “Our aim for the Africa Gender Index is to spark dialogue and informed debate and reform on gender equality at national and regional levels. We also hope the Index will enrich and inform the global conversation wherever Africa’s development is on the agenda,” Vanessa Moungar, Director of the Bank’s Gender, Women and Civil Society Department, told online attendees.

International

Africa strains seen growing, report finds (Chinadaily)

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected Africa’s economy and is likely to exacerbate its internal economic problems such as the “low growth, high debt” dilemma if proper measures are not taken, a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said. The Annual Report on Development in Africa (2019-20) was co-released by the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the China-Africa Institute, and the Social Sciences Academic Press (China). The report said given the vulnerability of African economies and their dependence on the outside world, the pandemic will have a profound impact on African economies far greater than the 2008 global financial crisis.

Improve productive capacities in the world’s poorest countries for stronger recovery, UNCTAD says

Efforts to rebuild the economies of the world’s poorest nations post-pandemic will fall significantly short unless their productive capacities are drastically improved, according to UNCTAD’s Least Developed Countries Report 2020. Least developed countries (LDCs) with the most developed productive capacities have best been able to combat the fallout from the pandemic, according to the report. Productive capacities are the productive resources, entrepreneurial capabilities and production linkages that together determine the capacity of a country to produce goods and services and 3 enable it to grow and develop.

Monitoring Small-Scale Cross-Border Trade in Africa: Issues, Approaches, and Lessons (World Bank)

Small-scale cross-border trade (SSCBT) is of substantial importance in African countries. While individual transactions are small, SSCBT volumes add up to sizeable amounts that sometimes exceed official customs-recorded trade across entire categories of goods particularly in agriculture. Thus, while it is often said that African countries trade more with the outside world than with each other, a very different picture of regional integration emerges when SSCBT is considered

Kenya keen on strengthening trade ties with the EU (The Exchange)

Kenya is keen on strengthening trade and investment ties with Europe, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said. Currently, Kenya’s exports to the EU are mainly agricultural commodities such as cut flowers, fruits and vegetables, which account for over 90% of total export value. Others are tea, coffee, fish and fisheries products, sugar, semi-processed tobacco, textile and clothing, coffee and handicrafts, among others. Though trade with the EU is heavily in its favour, it remains Kenya’s second largest market after COMESA.

Let’s not ask what can be done for Africa, Kagame tells Europe (The New Times)

President Paul Kagame has said the idea of always asking what should be done for Africa does not help the continent, but rather emphasized it was important to have mutual understanding between Europe and Africa. Kagame told leaders it was important Europeans and Africans understand each other better if the partnership between the two continents were to flourish, and that the platform was key to achieving that.

UNDP sign partnership to support reopening of Africa travel, trade (The Star)

The United Nations Development Programme has entered a new partnership seeking to support the safe re-opening of Africa to travel and trade in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The partnership with PanaBIOS Consortium, represented by AfroChampions will enable the use of tools such as digital testing certificates and vaccination e-certificates, often backed by machine learning and blockchain systems, to increase the capacity of governments to screen inbound travellers quickly, securely, efficiently, and in a manner that respects human dignity and rights.

Europe Leads the Way in Easing Covid-19 Travel Restrictions (GTP Headlines)

Europe continues to lead the way in lifting or easing travel restrictions, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said on Wednesday. According to the eighth edition of the UNWTO Travel Restrictions Report, as of November 1, a total of 152 destinations – 70 percent of all global destinations – have eased restrictions on international tourism that were introduced in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, up from the 115 recorded on September 1. The 152 destinations that have eased travel restrictions include 40 destinations in Africa (75 percent of all destinations in Africa), an increase of 14 destinations compared to September 1.

Cash flow the biggest problem facing business during COVID-19 crisis (ILO)

A new report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses shows that their greatest challenges have been insufficient cash flow to maintain staff and operations, supplier disruptions and access to raw materials. With businesses already undergoing significant competitive pressure prior to the crisis, government restrictions, health challenges and the economic fall-out brought by COVID-19 further set back many enterprises. Interrupted cash flow was the greatest problem, the survey found. More than 85 per cent reported the pandemic had a high or medium financial impact on their operations. Only a third said they had sufficient funding for recovery.

OP-ED: Developed market stimulus programmes boost emerging market trade surpluses (Business Maverick)

Developed market stimulus packages have lifted emerging market trade fortunes – and, so far, have kept financing pressures largely at bay. The outlook is expected to be favourable for this group of countries too, although South Africa is pinpointed as one of the few that has only a thin buffer to protect itself against any setbacks.

G5 Sahel-EU Summit: Debt cancellation is now a ‘necessity’, Mohamed el-Ghazouani says (Ecofin Agency)

On November 30, the organization of the G5 Sahel countries held a video-conference summit with the European Union (EU) to discuss the problems of the region. In line with their April appeal, they called on foreign countries, particularly those of the EU, to improve their support to the G5 Sahel governments through debt relief initiatives.

WTO Members Reveal “Entrenched” Differences as Fisheries Talks Approach 2020 Deadline (IISD)

The WTO negotiating group in charge of fisheries talks has met almost daily since 23 November in the run up to the end-of-year meeting of the WTO General Council – the organization’s highest-level decision-making body, alongside the Ministerial Conference. Meetings taking place from 30 November to 4 December are held at the heads-of-delegation level to address any deadlocks.

DDG Alan Wolff: “Pressing needs for a breakthrough” in WTO farm trade talks (WTO)

The COVID-19 pandemic should be a wake-up call for all of us. At the outset of the crisis, many policymakers feared that a global health crisis would turn into a food crisis as well. This fear was driven by the realization that food systems across the globe are now deeply inter-connected and that trade restrictions can create serious and irreversible damage to global food production. Today agricultural production takes place within Global Value Chains (GVCs). International trade in food has gone far beyond a bag of rice or a bushel of wheat crossing a national border. Primary commodities cross national borders on average at least twice, as they are exported for processing into food.

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SA virus fears cloud outlook for banks tied to economy (Moneyweb)

The outlook for South African banks is growing murkier amid the rising threat of a second coronavirus wave that could upend an improvement in economic activity. Africa’s most-industrialised economy is mired in a recession and unemployment is at a 17-year high. That follows restrictions in the second quarter that shuttered everything but essential services. “There remains considerable uncertainty and forecast risk,” Standard Bank Finance Director Arno Daehnke said on a call.

Presidential employment stimulus plan on track, more than 400 000 jobs created (IOL)

The presidential employment stimulus plan is on track to create thousands of job opportunities, the presidency says. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the employment stimulus initiative earlier this year as part of an effort to create employment opportunities following many people losing their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic. The move was announced as part of a broad effort to reconstruct the economy as it recovers from the pandemic, Ramaphosa had said.

KAM decries multiple national and county taxes (The Star)

Multiple levies and taxes by national and county governments are hurting businesses already reeling from effects of Covid-19, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers(KAM) has said. These include charges on agricultural produce headed to factories, mainly in Nairobi and supply of manufacturers goods across the country, where industry players have to pay in the inter-county movements. Nairobi is among counties that are making doing business hard, the manufacturers’ lobby group has said, citing the Nairobi City County Finance Bill, 2020.

Used car prices jump as shilling hits historic low (Business Daily)

The cost of second-hand cars has jumped by up to 12 per cent or Sh500,000 per unit over the past three months, propped up by the weakening of the shilling to historic lows against the dollar in the wake of coronavirus-related economic shock. The rise in car prices comes amid plunging purchase orders due to reduced cash flow from to the Covid-19 pandemic, which triggered layoffs and pay cuts as banks reduced credit lines in fear of defaults. Kenyans faced with Covid-19-linked hardships have gone slow on luxury spending.

CMA seeks to review Collective Investment Schemes Regulations in response to market dynamics (Capital Business)

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA), with the support of FSD Africa, has onboarded a consultant to review the Capital Markets (Collective Investment Schemes) Regulations, 2001 to make them more robust and facilitative to market dynamics. The CMA Chief Executive, Wyckliffe Shamiah, said that the proposed legal framework review is designed to address stakeholders’ concerns with the current framework and facilitate the development of a robust asset management sector, in line with the aspirations of the 10-year Capital Market Master Plan (2014-2023).

Kenya’s Year on Year Inflation Rises to 5.46 in November (Capital Business)

Kenya’s year-on-year inflation in November increased to 5.46 percent compared to 4.84 percent in October 2020. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reveals that the Consumer Price Index in November was up by 1.19 percent from 109.60 in October 2020 to 110.91 in November 2020. During the period under review, the food and non-alcoholic beverages index increased by 1.54 percent while the year-on-year food inflation stood at 6.09 percent in November 2020.

Kenya drops IPPs for KenGen to generate clean and cheap energy (The East African)

Kenya dropped Independent Power Producers as private project partners in geothermal power production due to their perceived “sluggishness” in supporting government efforts to generate clean and cheaper energy. Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter told The EastAfrican that the government will, instead, work with the state-owned power producer KenGen in the second and third phases of the 465MW geothermal power production at Menengai Geothermal fields, about 185 kilometres northwest of the capital Nairobi.

Nigeria’s gas programme to create 2m jobs annually – Minister (Vanguard)

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) of the Federal Government will create two million jobs annually in the country. Sylva disclosed this at the inuaguration of the programme by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Tuesday. He said the introduction of gas for the powering of automobile and other engines was a step in the right direction, adding it remained a cheaper and cleaner source of energy.

Customs explains multiple import counter-check system (Vanguard)

Cordinator of the Comptroller General of Customs Strike Force Zone ‘A’, Ahmadu Bello Shuaibu, has said the Service’s four layer import counter-check system is to safeguard the economy and national security against acts of sabotage. This is coming on the heels of the recovery of a staggering N417million within three weeks crack down by his operatives, bringing the full force of its mandate to bear in the mop up of import leakages from all the entry points within its territorial jurisdiction.

Export: FG Highlight Action Plans Ahead January 2021 AfCFTA (THISDAYLIVE)

The digitalisation of Nigerian ports, deployment of e-Customs, investment of over $300 million in inland dry ports and the overhaul of transportation logistics will position Nigeria to take maximum advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which will be operational January 1, 2021, the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello has said.

Zim scores high on debt management transparency (The Herald)

Zimbabwe has reasonably high ratings in the region in terms of debt management transparency according to the Open Budget Index (OBI). A country’s budget transparency score, reflected on the OBI, assesses the public’s access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. According to the Index, Zimbabwe is rated at about 48 percent, trailing behind South Africa and Namibia who are rated at about 87 percent and 52 percent respectively.

Africa

SA to chair AU Executive Council meeting (SAnews)

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Dr Naledi Pandor is set to preside over the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) today. Pandor will preside over the session in her capacity as the Chairperson of the Executive Council of the AU. “The meeting of the Executive Council is held in preparation for the upcoming 13th and 14th Extraordinary Summits on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and on Silencing the Guns in Africa, which will be held on 05 an 06 December 2020, respectively,” said the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) on Wednesday.

Cameroon becomes 33rd country to ratify AfCFTA one month to start of trading (UNECA)

Cameroon’s decision comes after Lesotho and Tunisia submitted their own instruments on 27 November, leaving only 21 countries yet to ratify the treaty. They are Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Libya. The others are Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

Ratification, border opening and stakeholders’ views, as AfCFTA is set to commence January 2021 (Nairametrics)

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to open up Nigerian businesses to a market of over 1.2 billion people and a GDP of $2.5trillion. The Nigerian Government ratified the agreement on November 12, ahead of the December 5 deadline issued by the African Union to its 55 member states, as AfCFTA is expected to commence January 2021. Despite this welcome development, some stakeholders are still concerned with the border closure policy of the Federal Government and dumping of substandard goods in the Nigerian market, with the recent disclosure by the FG that the borders will be reopened soon.

AfCFTA: Nigeria can ban 10% of sensitive goods, others at borders (Daily Trust)

In spite of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) starting in January, Nigeria has the right to restrict import of seven per cent of goods considered as sensitive for 10 years when the land borders reopen. The free trade pact also permits Nigeria to permanently deny tariff liberalization of three per cent of other goods from being imported.

The Executive Director, Trade Law Centre and member of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), Trudi Hartzenberg, said the AfCFTA clearly made provisions for phased tariff concessions. Hartzenberg said all member states have agreed that 90% of tariff lines are to be liberalised. Under the free trade pact, a distinction is drawn between Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and non-LDCs for the tariff negotiations. LDCs have 10 years to achieve 90% liberalisation, while non-LDCs, where Nigeria falls in, have five years. The remaining 10% tariff line is split into 7% for sensitive products and 3% may not be liberalised entirely.

Banks will play a principal role in AfCFTA – Azubike Chimezie Obi (MyJoyOnline)

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) seeks to liberalize trade and services across the African continent, making it the largest free-trade area in the world. It will produce a single market of more than 1.2 billion people with accumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in excess of US$3 trillion. While this will provide the continent with great opportunities, Mr. Azubike Obi,Group Head, Business Development at FBN Bank Ghana Limited believes that “the degree of success of any country with AfCFTA heavily depends on its financial services sector since it will serve as the engine that will drive the expected activities.”

‘Continued border closure negates AfCFTA’s liberalisation agenda’, says MAN (The Guardian)

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Federal Government to review its stance on border closure, citing that the trade protocol is premised on liberalisation of intra-regional trade in the continent. Indeed, the border closure has created rancour between Nigerian and its neighbours, especially Ghana, while its economic impact has been severe for Nigerians that depend on imported food to address the shortfalls in local production, as well as manufacturers that exploit the West African markets for expansion.

Action Committee on AfCFTA partners NSC on transportation infrastructure deficit (Vanguard)

National Action Committee on AfCFTA for Transportation is inking partnership with the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, to address deficits in transportation infrastructure in the country. Committee led by the Co-Champion, Mrs Funmi Folorunsho, paid a visit to the headquarters of NSC in Lagos. Some of these crucial factors as road infrastructure, railway connectivity to inland dry ports and hinterlands, speedy cargo evacuation, automation, single window platform at ports, availability of fleet for ships and aircrafts, among others. He said Nigeria could be ready for the AfCFTA take off in January 2021, adding that the port system would be fully automated in the first quarter of 2021.

African Union Commission set to launch a Multi-Donor Action against Illicit Financial Flows in Africa

Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) have been at the centre of discussions in Africa due to their negative impact on development financing, sustainable development and growth. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the fiscal deficit situation in some African countries, equally bringing to the fore, the urgency to address the vice of the illicit outflows. To enhance efforts to combat the scourge of IFFs on the African Continent, the African Union Commission through the Department of Economic Affairs, is scheduled to launch a Multi-Donor Action to add to the existing mechanisms established to stem the illicit outflows. The Multi-Donor Action will be launched during the African Union’s Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration from 1st to 4th December 2020.

African Union Directors General of Customs Meeting reviews AU Guidelines on COVID-19 (WCO)

At the invitation of the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Trade and Industry, H.E Albert M. Muchanga, the WCO Secretary General, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, spoke at the AU Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs Meeting held online on 27 November 2020. The Meeting listened to a WCO presentation on the role of Customs in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and considered the draft AU Guidelines on Trade and Transport Facilitation for the Movement of Persons, Goods and Services across Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Afreximbank launches MANSA, Africa’s Digital Due Diligence Repository

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) today in Cairo officially launched the operations of ‘MANSA’, a pan-African customer due diligence repository for financial institutions, corporate entities and SMEs, developed to address the perceived risk of doing business in Africa and with Africans. The Platform will also serve to address key trade related challenges facing the continent, including, the lack of market information, the high cost of doing business in Africa and discovering African counterparties

Inclusive governance and regional focus will help drive Africa’s industrialization (Africa Renewal)

What reforms does Africa need going forward? Much-needed reforms on the continent must be guided by two main streams. The first stream is governance that is more open to local communities, to civil society and to the private sector. And by the private sector, I do not mean big multinationals. I am referring to MSMEs. A governance system that is open to these actors will ensure that Africans’ interest is defended. The second type of reform is to have leaders who think regionally because national solutions are not optimal solutions.

Geospatial information critical for Africa’s sustainable development (UNECA)

The Sixth Meeting of the Regional Committee of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management in Africa (UN-GGIM: Africa) opened Tuesday with the Director of the African Centre for Statistics at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Oliver Chinganya, emphasizing the importance of solid, reliable and accurate ‘place-based’ information for informed decisions needed to tackle Africa’s greatest challenges.

International

SA must learn from the scramble for Covid-19 vaccines, develop own capacity – Pandor (News24)

South Africa should use lessons from the pandemic to focus on ensuring that it can manufacture vaccines in future, rather than just advocating that these should be made freely available to all, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor has said. Pandor on Tuesday night told a Zoom lecture organised by the South African BRICS Think Tank, made up of researchers and academics: “There’s no better lesson than the pandemic towards the importance of research development and innovation and I believe, if there is anything South Africa should give attention to, it is that. If we don’t, we remain vulnerable.”

Reconsidering Africa as a potential growth market for US businesses (Forbes Africa)

While US companies began the year with uncertainty over continuing tensions between China and the United States, by March a new, wholly unexpected series of challenges emerged as a result of COVID-19. As we look ahead to a new year, the question on many businesses’ minds will be how to build greater resilience and where to look for growth opportunities that position them strongly for the future. However, entering a new market is never an easy undertaking. Cultural differences, contrasting operational styles, and mismatched regulatory expectations often present significant challenges.

Transition 2020 | Biden and Trade: Africa Policy Shifts Back to Traditional US Engagement (The National Law Review)

President-Elect Joe Biden’s campaign platform pledged the US would renew a “mutually respectful engagement toward Africa with a bold strategy.” His immediate focus, however, will be to tackle domestic matters like COVID-19 and the economy. Initial engagement with Africa may therefore be conducted through combatting the pandemic, bilaterally and multilaterally, and via the Global Health Security Agenda, as the new administration further refines its Africa strategy. The incoming administration will likely seek initially to “restore and reinvigorate” diplomatic relations with African governments and the African Union with respect to combatting the pandemic. Biden officials will focus more on multilateral trade relationships, and less on bilateral trade talks.

China’s African engagement? (The Express Tribune)

With China-Africa trade crossing $200 billion, China has become the largest trading partner in Africa and currently more than 10,000 Chinese firms are working across the continent. China’s commitment also reflects through Belt and Road Africa Reconstruction Fund amounting to $1 billion and African Aid Package of $60 billion. China helped Africa build some mega-infrastructure projects, which include a $12 billion coastal railway in Nigeria, $4.5 billion Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, and $11 billion port and economic zone at Bagamoyo.

South African wine could be a winner as China slaps Australia with massive import duties (Business Insider)

China has slapped import tariffs of between 107% and 212% on Australian wines from this weekend, as part of a tense – and growing – trade war between the countries. In recent months, China also banned exports from some Australian beef facilities, launched a crackdown on coal imports from that country, and imposed an 80% tariff on Australian barley. China says the barley and wine tariffs are anti-dumping measures, but commentators believe it has more to do with Australia’s call for an investigation into China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as its decision to exclude Huawei from the development of Australia’s 5G network.

Could China replace Australian iron ore with metal from Africa? (The Guardian)

Across China and around the clock, furnaces fuelled by Australian iron ore pump out the steel the country needs to build its way out of the coronavirus downturn. But as China’s trade war with Australia has become louder, working its way from unofficial stoppages to swingeing tariffs on barley and wine, so too have rumblings that the country may slow or end its use of Australian ore. For Australia, a lot is at stake.

Scientific and trade cooperation between China and Africa (Modern Diplomacy)

Africa, as China’s economic and trade partner, has brought huge mutual benefits. Africa has the 53 most important minerals on the planet and some rare strategic resources, but the rate of development and use of arable land is lower than 30%. Although China is the world’s richest country for mineral resources, its per capita share is less than half of the world’s level. Hence, together with the regular distribution of mineral resources, it is also necessary to establish greater China-Africa relations to broaden the trade channels for these resources.

Cairo is Africa’s Leading Fintech Ecosystem in 2020, Kampala Leads Sub-Saharan Africa- Report (Technext)

Egypt’s capital, Cairo is Africa’s leading Fintech Ecosystem and the only African Ecosystem listed among the world’s top “Ecosystems to watch” in 2020. This is according to the Global Fintech Ecosystem Report (GFER) produced by Startup Genome LLC. The ranking is based on a mix of quantitative (e.g., funding, exits, talent, focus and legacy) and qualitative factors (founders, experts and policymakers in the ecosystem).

First virtual trade mission for UK-Africa legal services (GOV.UK)

Legal services experts from the UK and Africa will be brought together for a landmark virtual trade mission, hosted by the Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland QC. Part of the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Services are GREAT (LSAG) campaign, it will promote the UK’s prestigious legal sector to some of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Nine countries oppose move to waive Covid vaccine patent rights (The East African)

A waiver on patents and other intellectual property-related rights to Covid-19 drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other technologies – lasting the duration of the pandemic – has been delayed by at least nine developed countries. The waiver, proposed at a World Trade Organisation meeting on November 20, will suspend various provisions of the body’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. The intellectual property waiver would allow all countries to choose to neither grant nor enforce patents and other IPs related to Covid-19 drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other technologies, until global herd immunity is achieved.

UN appeals for $35 billion to help world’s ‘most vulnerable and fragile’ in 2021 (UN News)

Mark Lowcock said that the global health crisis had impacted dramatically people already reeling from conflict, record levels of displacement, climate change shocks. He said that “multiple” famines are looming. The situation is “desperate” for millions and has left the UN and partners “overwhelmed”, he added. “The picture we are presenting is the bleakest and darkest perspective on humanitarian needs in the period ahead that we have ever set out. That is a reflection of the fact that the COVID pandemic has wreaked carnage across the whole of the most fragile and vulnerable countries on the planet.”

Global agreement on migration ‘taking root’ despite pandemic challenge: Guterres (UN News)

“The Compact reflects a growing global understanding of the great benefits of human mobility. But it also recognizes that, if poorly managed, migration can generate huge challenges, from a tragic loss of life to rights abuses and social tensions”, said Secretary-General António Guterres, launching his biennial report on the Compact’s implementation. Mr. Guterres outlined three key recommendations, the first of which is to embrace the spirit of collaboration “no country can address migration alone.”

The 2020 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals: Stories and insights through innovative visuals (World Bank Blog)

This year’s Atlas is a web publication that guides readers through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using interactive storytelling and innovative data visualizations. The Atlas aims to expand understanding of key SDG indicators and trends, which is important for measuring progress and directing action. The 2020 edition seeks new and creative ways to expand understanding of each of the 17 goals.

Challenges and Opportunities From COVID‐19 for Global Sustainable Development (Wiley Online Library)

We live in unprecedented times, faced with a pandemic of monumental proportions. COVID‐19 not only has wreaked havoc across the world, it has exposed fundamental weaknesses in the healthcare systems and capabilities in a number of countries, both rich and poor. Against this backdrop and addressing the systemic nature of the pandemic and related effects, we identify challenges and opportunities that COVID‐19 presents by linking the immediate need to curb the spread of the disease to the SDGs.

Opening Plenary, 19th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IMF)

It is especially important to zero in on corruption in the midst of this crisis – the worst health and economic crisis of our lifetimes. There is so much suffering that every penny counts towards saving lives and protecting livelihoods. And it is also a time when if people don’t trust government, they will not follow the recommended health and containment measures. Corruption corrodes this trust and it weakens the impact of policies and public spending.

Economy: Continued fiscal support and public health action needed to make hope of recovery a reality (OECD)

The prospect of a number of COVID-19 vaccines becoming widely available next year has lifted hopes for a faster recovery, but policymakers will need to retain both public health and fiscal support while acting decisively for the momentum to pick up, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook. Global GDP in the fourth quarter of 2020 is expected to be 3% below the same quarter last year, while for the Euro area and the US the decline is projected to be 7.3% and 3.2%, respectively.

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30 November 2020 - Trade Statistics for October 2020 (SARS)

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics for October 2020 recording a trade surplus of R36.13 billion. These statistics include trade data with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN). The year-to-date (01 January to 31 October 2020) trade surplus of R203.23 billion is an improvement from the R3.27 billion surplus for the comparable period in 2019. Exports increased by 21.5% year-on-year whilst imports declined by 5.7% over the same period.

SA ports tariffs are set to stay unchanged for 2021/22 (IOL)

The Ports Regulator of South Africa has elected not to increase the average tariffs for the financial year 2021/22 to aid the battling maritime industry amid Covid-19 disruption that has hammered SA’s ailing economy. At the end of July, the National Ports Authority (NPA) applied to the Ports Regulator in terms of a section of the National Ports Act for approval of the tariffs for services and facilities it offered for an average of 19.74 percent increase for the period April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, together with indicative tariffs of -0.29 percent for the period April 2022 to March 2023 and -7.86 percent for the period April 2023 to March 31, 2024.

Agbiz to focus on niche and labour-intensive value chains (IOL)

The Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) said on Monday that while there was room for the localisation strategy in South Africa’s agriculture, food and beverages sector, the focus would not primarily be on the top-ten imported products, but rather on niche and labour-intensive value chains that the country had not yet explored optimally. Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said determining such value chains would require deep research which the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) should lead, along with private sector players.

Nam advances regional logistics hub dream (The Southern Times)

The Namibian government’s plan of making the country a transport and logistics hub for Southern Africa got a boost with Monday’s ground-breaking ceremony for rehabilitation and upgrading of the railway line between Walvis Bay and Arandis. The project will be undertaken by China Gezhouba Group

Trade minister, UNBS to meet over digital stamps (Daily Monitor)

Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde has said she will this week hold a meeting with Uganda National Bureau of Statistics (UNBS) officials to discuss the planned introduction of digital tracking solutions. UNBS last week confirmed it was planning to introduce digital tracking solutions in which it would conduct a phased implementation starting with high risk products such as cosmetics and beauty products, construction material, electricals and electronics.

Weekly Economic Index: Nigeria’s economy enters a full-blown recession in Q3 (Ventures Africa)

Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the October 2020 Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 14.23 percent (year-on-year). The rise represents 0.52 percent, compared to the rate recorded in September 2020 (13.71 percent). The CPI is used to measure the inflation

Nigerian traders in Ghana raise alarm over fresh shops closure (P.M. News)

The National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) has called on the Federal Government to take urgent action as Ghanaian Authorities embarked on another round of closure of shops belonging to Nigerian traders on Monday. The National President of NANTS, Dr Ken Ukaoha, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, condemned the maltreatment of Nigerian traders in Ghana Ukaoha said that the entire process showed Ghana’s decision to undermine trade and economic integration process in ECOWAS.

Ghana among top 3 African markets in infrastructure investments – Report (Ghanaweb)

A total of US$7.9 billion of investments involving private participation in infrastructure since the year 2000 put Ghana among the top three Sub-Saharan African markets, after South Africa and Nigeria. According to Fitch Solutions latest appraisal of the Ghanaian economy, considerable Private Public Partnership track record and pipeline underscore private infrastructure investment opportunities in the country since the year 2000.

Africa

AfCFTA: Africa readying for free trade come January 2021 (Africa Renewal)

The AfCFTA agreement itself requires countries to protect the vulnerable, including women traders, and to address corruption. African states with bilateral trade agreements with foreign countries or other regions such as the European Union will need to walk a tightrope in meeting prior commitments while implementing the AfCFTA. Optimistic projections of the benefits of Africa’s free trade are, in theory, based on orthodox economic calculations – a linear demand and supply correlation that may not fully encompass externalities such as the availability of countries’ implementation capacity, requisite infrastructure, policy coherence and so on.

Tunisia and Lesotho join growing number of countries to ratify AfCFTA one month to start of trading (UNECA)

One month to the commencement of trading at the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, two more countries have formalized their ratification of the agreement. Lesotho and Tunisia submitted their instruments of ratification to the African Union Commission (AUC) which is the depository of the instrument on 2 November, according to the Commissioner for Trade Albert Muchanga.

More good news! The Republic of Cameroon became the 33rd AfCFTA State Party following deposit of its instrument

Virus Gives Top Sub-Saharan Container Hub Room to Revamp Systems (Bloomberg)

As Covid-19 restrictions wreak havoc on the world’s major ports by exposing inefficiencies and lengthening delays, trade at sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest container hub is functioning well after a strict lockdown gave it room to test and institute new systems .A lull in activity amid the curbs meant authorities at the Port of Durban on South Africa’s east coast was able to try new ideas and “had an appetite to take little bits of failure but quickly recover because there wasn’t a lot of pressure,” said Moshe Motlohi, its general manager.

COVID-19: Africa urged to allocate adequate resources to secure vaccines (New Vision)

A leading African Immunization expert has called on African countries and the international community to take concrete actions to ensure the continent has equitable access to the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. Dr Omu Anzala, a Kenyan professor of virology and immunology said Africa should start planning logistics and distribution of vaccines instead of being skeptical and hesitant. “The emerging global issue right now is acceptance of the vaccines, availability and its access,” said Dr Anzala.

ECOWAS Energy Forum 2020 calls for acceleration of decentralised renewable energy in West Africa (Journal du Cameroun)

The fourth annual Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF 2020) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has highlighted the collective progress in achieving the ECOWAS regional sustainable energy targets. The forum emphasized the remaining challenges faced by stakeholders in building a robust renewable energy and energy efficiency market. ECOWAS Commissioner for Energy and Mines, Douka Sediko described the renewable energy opportunities in the ECOWAS region as huge and called for a concerted effort in mobilising necessary finances.

Study on the Socio-Economic Impacts of Covid-19 Pandemic in COMESA Region Completed

COMESA Secretariat has conducted a study on the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. The study is expected to help Member States in developing policies to address the impacts of the pandemic on their economies. According to the study, only six Member States: Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda are projected to have positive growth rates post COVID-19 pandemic. The resultant contraction in economic growth in countries is likely to hit hard countries that are resource intensive, oil exporters, and tourism dependent. Non-resource intensive countries will be more resilient.

COVID-19 Food and Nutrition Security Response Plan Endorsed (COMESA)

The Council of Ministers has endorsed the COMESA COVID-19 Food and Nutrition Security Response Plan developed to help the region deal with the impacts of COVID-19 on regional food security. The plan is designed to address immediate, short-term and medium-term food security and livelihoods needs while integrating the response effort to the long-term regional agriculture development and integration agenda.

Inclusive and sustainable growth critical for West Africa’s successful transformation (UNECA)

There can be no meaningful and successful transformational development in West Africa in the absence of inclusive growth and development, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, said during the region’s just-ended 23rd session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICE) for West Africa. “It is now up to you to identify drivers that will move the sub region forward. It is therefore necessary to develop and deploy human capital and improve our infrastructure stock to increase productivity and competitiveness,” he said.

2 million Ugandan women to benefit from continental entrepreneurship program (The Kampala Post)

2 million Ugandan women involved in entrepreneurship are set to benefit from an initiative that the government has adopted to help them expand access to capital financing, business information and networks across the Africa continent to support their businesses, Sarah Kanyike, the minister of state for Disability and Elderly Affairs, said in a statement. The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform “is an online social network that allows women in Africa learn from each other and be able to share lessons, as well as conduct business,” Minister Kanyike said.

Economic outlook for the Central African Republic: Diversifying the economy to build resilience and foster growth (World Bank)

According to the World Bank’s latest economic update for the Central African Republic (CAR), entitled The Central African Republic in Times of COVID-19: Diversifying the economy to build resilience and foster growth, the country’s pace of economic growth for 2020 will have slumped to between 0 and −1.2% as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic following five years of robust growth (4.1%, on average). In 2019, although the country’s growth rate slipped to 3.1%, it was still higher than the rates recorded by neighboring countries that are facing a similar situation of fragility, conflict, and violence., the update notes that the global slowdown has not spared CAR, where production of its main export products, such as coffee and cotton, has plummeted. The health crisis has weakened public finances and deepened the country’s balance of payments deficit.

Beitbridge to get R4.5bn upgrade to stop delays – and bribes (Business Insider)

The Zimbabwean side of the Beitbridge border post is now on track to get a $296 million (R4.6 billion) upgrade after key investments. Bloomberg reported this week that private equity firm Harith General Partners and the Phembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund are buying stakes in Zimborders, which has a concession to design, build and operate the border post for more than 17 years as part of a public-private partnership project. Large banks in South Africa also committed funding to the project.

Beitbridge, Plumtree borders open on low note (The Herald)

The country’s southern borders with Botswana (Plumtree) and South Africa (Beitbridge) re-opened as planned at 6am today with low activity under a new set up where passenger traffic including motorists and pedestrians is now allowed passage through the port of entries. Strict and safe covid-19 screening methods are being carried on all those leaving or entering the country. Before the reopening of the borders to more traffic, today, Plumtree and Beitbridge were handling 5000 and 15 000 people daily.

International

COVID-19 Policy Briefing Series

COVID-19 and Commonwealth FDI: Immediate Impacts and Future Prospects

Wednesday 2 December 2020, 1500 – 1600 GMT

COVID-19 is affecting all aspects of foreign direct investment (FDI). The pandemic has led to a slowdown in the implementation of existing investment projects, resulting in delayed FDI flows; and many firms have deferred investment decisions amid heightened uncertainty, significant income losses and, in certain cases, factory closures and supply disruptions. As a result, FDI inflows into all Commonwealth countries are expected to fall by 50 per cent to US$178 billion in 2020. A significant loss of FDI will undermine economic growth and transformation in Commonwealth countries and could constrain Commonwealth trade in the medium- and long-term. This webinar will discuss the findings of a recent study by the Commonwealth Secretariat and UNCTAD.

The Trade Hot Topic is available here: https://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/inline/THT-170.pdf

Register for the webinar: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3588335773032029456

EAC upbeat Biden will revive stalled trade talks (The East African)

The East African Community is optimistic that the US President elect Joe Biden will revive the negotiations and implementations of the EAC-US Trade and Investment Partnership. This came to the fore as leaders from the EAC congratulated Biden for his election win, with many expressing hope that his presidency will boost ties with the regional bloc. The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which is a trade pact that establishes a framework for expanding trade and resolving outstanding disputes between countries, was agreed between US and EAC partner states in June 2012 but was never implemented.

UK-Kenya trade pact awaits approval from EAC Council of Ministers (The East African)

East African Council of Ministers will, this week, hold their last meeting of the year with Kenya hoping to get approval to separately sign a trade agreement with the United Kingdom ahead of the December 31 deadline. The EastAfrican has learnt that the virtual meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council of the Ministers of Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) will also discuss other regional matters such as EAC policies on trade, non-tariff barriers, Customs, budgets, standards and quality, industrialisation and the tripartite agenda.

China to cut back lending to Africa in the post-COVID-19 era (The Africa Report)

Chinese infrastructure lending to African countries is widely expected to slow over the next 1-2 years amid mounting debt sustainability concerns. This would mark a dramatic change over the past twenty years when Beijing emerged as a key source of development finance that helped Africa close its gaping $100 billion-a-year infrastructure deficit. At least 18 countries are currently renegotiating debts with China, with 12 others still in talks to restructure an estimated $28bn of Chinese loans, according to the New York-based consultancy Rhodium Group.

It’s Time for an Africa Policy Upgrade (Foreign Policy)

U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy toward Africa will be remembered by its tone of disrespect, from his calling African nations “shithole countries” to canceled cabinet-level trips to the region. But while he needs to restore civility to U.S. foreign policy, President-elect Joe Biden shouldn’t fully reject Trump-era Africa policy when he takes office. In part, that’s because Africa policy is unique. It has historically been uncontroversially bipartisan, and U.S. presidents from Bill Clinton to Trump have continued their predecessors’ Africa programs.

African agency in the new Cold War: Traditional power competition in the post-COVID-19 African landscape (Atlantic Council)

This paper explores the shifting roles of Africa’s traditional external powers: China, the United States, the EU, and India. Section 1 introduces the evolving postures and colliding interests of these powers. Section 2 maps out the competitive post-COVID landscape and outlines economic and security flashpoints. Finally, Section 3 identifies opportunities for African nations to pursue their own ambitions while resisting the imposition of a new Cold War–style competition on the continent.

COVID-19 crisis accentuating the need to bridge digital divides (OECD)

Improved Internet connectivity and skills have helped many countries to cope with the health and economic crisis from COVID-19. Yet the pandemic has raised the bar for the digital transition and underscores the need to close the digital divides that risk leaving some people and firms worse off than others in a post-COVID world, according to a new OECD report.

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South African Retailers Turn From China to Source Local Clothes (Bloomberg Quint)

South African retailers including The Foschini Group Ltd. and Woolworths Holdings Ltd. are increasing investment in local clothing manufacturers – both to reduce a dependency on Chinese imports and secure a supply chain thrown into disarray by Covid-19 restrictions. The companies have signed up to an industry plan that includes a target to source 65% of their goods from local manufacturers within the next decade. While progress toward the goal varies per chain, the spread of the coronavirus has sharpened their collective focus. The pandemic caused “such disruptions to the supply chain that everyone’s sitting back and saying do we ever really want to be that reliant on China ever again?” TFG Chief Executive Officer Anthony Thunström said in an interview.

Export taxes becoming more prevalent globally (The Herald)

South Africa has joined the bandwagon in imposing export taxes to either collect more revenue or alter the flow of goods across borders. The Customs and Excise Duty Act has been amended to allow the minister of finance to impose an export duty whenever he deems it expedient in the public interest. This amendment becomes effective from March next year. And on April 1 South Africa will introduce an export tax on nine tariff codes on scrap metal. There has been talk about a 30 percent export tax on chrome and further export duties on iron ore, leather and maize. However, no implementation dates have been announced.

Roundup: Online sites bring markets closer for rural Kenya farmers (Xinhua)

Poor road network and lack of transport and quality market are among challenges farmers in rural Kenya have grappled with for years, making agriculture less profitable though it is the source of livelihoods for millions in the countryside. These challenges had pushed many people to farm closer to urban areas like Nairobi where they can easily access good market and the road network is better. However, the advent of online marketplaces where farmers are selling their produce is eliminating many of the challenges for rural farmers, in particular access to quality market.

Rwanda’s GDP declines by 12.4pc in the second quarter (The East African)

Rwanda’s economy has been hit severely by the pandemic with various sectors registering a significant drop in production and consumption of services despite ongoing efforts by the government to revamp the economy. While there has been an increase in economic activity, it is yet to significantly improve the country’s economic prospects as some sectors of the economy remain closed. From July to September, the second quarter, Rwanda’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP) dropped by 12.4 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year, partly due to the prolonged impact of the total lockdown imposed in March for almost two months.

Covid exposes Kenyan banks’ bad loans (The East African)

Kenyan banks are figuring out how to recover as they face lower end-of-year bonuses and reduced dividends for shareholders. The banks are weighed down by the Covid-19 pandemic, the spillover effects of rate caps, stringent loan loss provisioning, demands of the international financial reporting standard (IFRS 9), and challenging economic conditions that have seen the government downgrade the growth prospects of this year to a record low of 0.6 percent, from 2.6 percent.

Do not use protectionism to achieve import substitution – experts (Daily Monitor)

Uganda should not use the excuse of import substitution to promote protectionist tendencies, according to Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, a lecturer at Makerere University Business School. Mr Ggoobi, who is also an economist, said there has been a clamor for import substitution, which apparently focuses on saving the country from spending on imports, which could be viewed as a form of protectionism. Government, in the 2020/21 budget introduced high import duties on some imports as a way of safeguarding local industries. While presenting findings of a research titled Import Substitution: Uganda’s Post-Covid-19 Industrial Policy Strategy in Kampala last week, Ggoobi said government should use industrial policies such as production subsidies, preferential access to credit and equity instead of using trade policies such as high tariffs, quantitative restrictions and import prohibition under the guise of promoting import substitution.

Nigeria: Stakeholders fear monopolies with selective border re-opening for Dangote, BUA (WorldStage)

Trade and Industry Stakeholders have said that the reported re-opening of the borders to allow Dangote and BUA companies to trans ship their goods across the closed borders was lopsided and amounted to a ‘selective decision’ that would engender monopolies. Key stakeholders made this assertion in a communique issued on Sunday after a Webinar and Physical “Stakeholders’ Review Meeting on the Recommendations of the Policy Dialogue on Border Closure and Matters Arising”.

Government cautioned on tax breaks for oil and gas sector (Ghanaweb)

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) has cautioned government to avoid granting tax breaks to companies in the oil and gas sector. The institute’s latest briefing, which assessed the risk of a “race to the bottom” in how oil- and gas-producing countries manage tax issues in the pandemic context, said with the drop in oil prices, some countries will likely have to decide whether they will give tax breaks to oil and gas companies to attract or retain investment.

GHS21billion spent to clean up the financial sector-Veep (BusinessGhana)

Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says government has spent GHS21billion to clean up the financial sector. He said 99 per cent of depositors of the affected banks, microfinance and savings and loans companies had been fully settled. The Vice-President was speaking at the 12th Edition of the Nation Building Updates at the Cedi Conference Centre, Department of Economics, University of Ghana. The event was on the theme, “Future of Ghana’s Economy”.

Africa

‘AfCFTA creates a new trade and integration reality’ (Global Trade Africa)

Industry experts meeting last week for a virtual discussion focused on resetting, retooling and restarting regional integration in Africa in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, underscored the importance of putting small scale traders at the heart of any initiatives. The joint webinar, organised by the African Development Bank and Korea Customs Service (KCS), looked at service sectors, e-commerce, digital platforms and value chain development as critical factors for accelerating trade and investment in Africa against the backdrop of the global pandemic.

“AfCFTA creates a new trade and integration reality…integrating unequal partners across the continent,” said Trudi Hartzenberg Executive Director of the Trade Law Center (TRALAC). Trade facilitation enjoys specific focus within the AfCFTA, with digital, e-payments, and e-commerce particularly

Strategy to ensure Namibia benefits from AfCFTA (New Era Live)

Namibia is in the process of developing a National Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation Strategy and Action Plan. Once implemented, this strategy is expected to enable the country to identify key value addition and trade opportunities while attending to operational constraints to optimally benefit from the AfCFTA. Minister of Industrialisation and Trade, Lucia Iipumbu, said the strategy will provide the private sector with important entry points into the regional markets as well as to alert the state to the required support to stakeholders.

Stakeholders outline how Nigeria should mobilise for AfCFTA (The Eagle Online)

Trade and investment stakeholders in Nigeria at the weekend outlined ways the country could effectively mobilise for the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). They made the submissions at a virtual ‘Nigeria Investment Conference’. Awe, who is the Chairman of NACCIMA’s Export Group, noted that the government cannot do everything given the myriad challenges it faced, as such the Organised Private Sector (OPS) should work around the challenges in the system, to effectively position its members for the AfCFTA.

African startups can secure development funding through AfCFTA Vision Challenge (Disrupt Africa)

African tech startups have been invited to apply for the AfCFTA Vision Challenge, which offers them the opportunity to secure investment from development finance institutions while also putting them in prime position to benefit from the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. The AfCFTA Vision Challenge, part of the broader Vision Initiative to boost access to funding and technological capacity for startups, SMEs, innovators and entrepreneurs across the continent, has been launched alongside the Sankoree Institute of AfroChampions, and is open to startups working in any one of eight critical issue areas, including education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, good governance, manufacturing and environment.

Digital Transformation in a post-COVID world: Africa continues to trail other regions says new report (UNECA)

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Portulans Institute, a research and educational think tank based in Washington DC, have teamed up to launch the results and rankings of the think tank’s latest edition of the Network Readiness Report (NRI 2020) in a bid to assess how countries are leveraging information technologies for future readiness. Titled, ‘Accelerating Digital Transformation in a Post-COVID Global Economy’, the Report will be launched virtually on 30 November.

Spectre of debt defaults haunts EA as Covid-19 shrinks exports, taxes (The East African)

East African countries face a higher risk of debt defaults as governments grapple with shrinking tax revenues, lower export earnings, as well as limited access to external resources. The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified this vulnerability with debt-to-GDP ratios exceeding 50 percent. Latest data by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) shows that on average over 10 percent of export revenues and primary income in the region is spent on debt repayments. The debt levels have been brought into sharp focus by recent developments in the region.

INDEPTH | Africa Industrialization Day 2020: Towards inclusive, sustainable industrialization in the AfCFTA era (African newspage)

The Africa Industrialization Week 2020 (AIW 2020) climaxed with a high-level session commemorating the African Industrialization Day 2020 (AID 2020), where President Mahamadou Issoufou of the Republic of Niger cum AU’s President Champion of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was honoured for his transformational leadership of the AfCFTA process. The week-long commemoration saw deliberations on key topics pertinent to the continent’s inclusive and sustainable industrialization. Pertinent issues discussed during the course of AIW2020 include Africa’s need for renewable energy and circular economy; Place of quality infrastructure in Africa’s trade, industrialization and economic policies; Place of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector as a game changer in Africa’s industrialization process, amongst many other crucial topics.

COMESA Extends Kenya Sugar Safeguard for Two Years

COMESA Council of Ministers has granted Kenya a two year extension of the sugar safeguard beginning March 2021 to February 2023. In its 41st meeting conducted virtually on Thursday, 26 November 2020, the Council urged Kenya to share the modalities used in calculating the projected sugar deficit with other member states by 30 November 2020. In its decision, the Council urged Kenya to give priority to COMESA originating sugar noting that the region produces enough to meet the deficit.

Securing Africa’s Energy Future in the Wake of Covid-19 (Modern Diplomacy)

African ministers from countries making up 70% of Africa’s total primary energy supply, nearly 70% of its GDP and more than half of the continent’s entire population met with global energy leaders via videoconference on 24 November 2020. A revitalised energy sector is key to Africa’s economic transformation. Participants agreed on the urgent need to enhance actions to ensure sustainable economic recovery and significantly scale up energy investments in Africa over the next three years in the wake of Covid-19.

International

Kenyans prefer US development model despite China forays (Business Daily)

Over the past five years, China has pumped billions of shillings into Kenya’s mega infrastructure projects covering roads and rails. From the Sh31 billion Thika Road, the Sh327 billion Standard Gauge Railway to the ongoing Sh59 billion Nairobi Expressway, road and rail networks have expanded, traffic jams alleviated and commuting hours slashed. Despite the improvements, nearly five in every 10 Kenyans still prefer the US’s development model over China’s, a survey shows. “43 percent of Kenyans rank the US model as ideal followed by China (23 percent),” the Afrobarometer report shows. This comes at a time Washington’s is warning of rising China’s debt on poor countries. Zambia could be the first country on the continent to default on its foreign debt after it failed to pay more than Sh4.4 billion last month.

Africa poised to benefit from strong European backing in its recovery – Optimize Agency (Bizcommunity)

The Covid-19 global pandemic may result in 2020 seeing the worst year of growth for the global economy in 40 years, but there remains “huge untapped potential” in the trade relationship between Southern Africa and Europe. This was the overwhelmingly positive message from an upbeat seventh edition of the Southern Africa Europe CEO Dialogue, held, this year, in a hybrid physical and digital format in Johannesburg.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala offers WTO global and local experience (The Africa Report)

The global economy faces profound uncertainties, particularly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, faith in the efficacy of international bodies such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been weakened by a power struggle between China and the US. As the process for appointing a new head of the organisation moves into its final phase, it’s worth considering what front runner Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala could bring to the complex role of managing an international organisation, including designing and implementing reforms.

African nations ‘far from ready’ for COVID-19 vaccination drive, says UN health agency (UN News)

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa highlighted the importance of strong planning and preparation for successful inoculations –against COVID-19. “The largest immunization drive in Africa’s history is right around the corner, and African governments must urgently ramp up readiness. Planning and preparation will make or break this unprecedented endeavour,” she said. “We need active leadership and engagement from the highest levels of government with solid, comprehensive national coordination plans and systems put in place,” added Dr. Moeti.

NGO-Private Sector Partnerships Key to Achieving Impactful Development Goals – Experts (Capital Business)

Increased partnerships between non-governmental organizations and the private sector has been touted as the key to achieving more impactful development goals. This is according to the findings of a recently released report dubbed “Private Sector Partnerships for Sustainable Development: A Guide to NGO/CSO – Private Sector Collaboration in Kenya” by Finnish Development NGOs – Fingo. “Private sector partnerships provide NGOs/CSOs with an opportunity to drive social-economic interventions, improve approaches to solution creation and implementation and leverage on mutual strengths to accelerate impact,” the report notes.

WTO launches new edition of Handbook on the TRIPS Agreement

The WTO launched today (27 November) the second edition of “A Handbook on the WTO TRIPS Agreement”, which describes the historical and legal background to the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), its role in the organization and its institutional framework. The publication coincides with the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Agreement.

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National

‘80% of truck drivers are South African’ (IOL)

The National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry has said by far the majority of truck drivers in SA, who fall under their jurisdiction, are local citizens. The bargaining council reacted to comments made by the All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF), which claimed this week that about 80% of truck drivers employed by SA companies were foreign nationals.

SA revisits disaster management strategies amid COVID-19 (SAnews)

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to strengthen government’s risk reduction strategies and disaster management frameworks, systems and personnel, says Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Strategies, she said, must also find tangible expression at provincial and national levels, and must have all stakeholders involved, “so that all of society can be active participants in prevention, avoidance and mitigation”.

Growth forecasts revised downwards as Covid batters economy (Lesotho Times)

Finance Minister Thabo Sophonea yesterday presented his mid-term budget review indicating that the Covid induced decline in economic activities such as diamond mining and textiles production had resulted in lower than anticipated revenue collection which would lead to a 14 percent decline in economic growth in the current fiscal year. “The pandemic is expected to have a negative impact on the balance of payments in 2020/21. The trade deficit will deteriorate reflecting a slowdown in exports. Although the income account will continue to register a surplus due to robust SACU receipts, remittances from mine workers will remain subdued,” Mr Sophonea said

Treasury Revises Kenya’s 2020 Economic Growth to 0.6pc (Capital Business)

Kenya’s economic growth for 2020 has now been revised downwards to 0.6 percent. Speaking during the public hearings on the financial year 2021/2022, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani said the new projection has been influenced by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global and domestic economy. “It is important for us to underscore that what happens in the global arena has major implications in the performance of our economy. The on-going COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic crises are likely to deplete domestic public resources by affecting tax and non-tax revenues,” reads Yatani’s statement.

Food insecurity, overdependence on food imports pose challenge to agric sector — Nanono (Vanguard)

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Sabo, Thursday, disclosed that food insecurity and overdependence on food imports currently pose challenges to the agricultural sector. According to him, his Ministry will work with key stakeholders to build an agribusiness economy capable of delivering sustained prosperity by meeting domestic food security goals.

A growth-centred Budget (The Herald)

Boosting production, getting infrastructure fixed and expanded, supporting the vulnerable and increasing the spending power of ordinary people are the main planks of the 2021 National Budget presented by Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube yesterday. The 2021 National Budget comes in the context of a two-year slow-down and Covid-19 induced economic slow-down that will see the local economy sliding by -4,1 percent this year, but the new measures are expected to drive gross domestic product (GDP) growth next year to 7,4 percent.

Financial Year 2021: PM Dion Ngute Presents Government’s Priorities (Cameroon-Tribune)

“The COVID-19 pandemic has weakened our public finances, already strained by the economic and financial situation faced by States of the Central Africa Sub Region. Mindful of the situation, we have defined and are implementing a strategy for economic recovery to mitigate the effects of the health crisis…. At the national level, the budget balance deteriorated slightly due to the effects of COVID-19. It stood at -2.3%, against an initial target of 1.1%.”

CGEM: Mauritania to Ease Visa Requirements for Moroccan Entrepreneurs (Morocco World News)

The General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) announced on Monday that Mauritania accepted to ease visa requirements for Moroccan entrepreneurs and companies. CGEM said that companies affiliated to the federation can obtain multi-entry business visas to Mauritania. Data from Tralac shows that Mauritania’s international exports rose by 6% between 2017 and 2018. The website said that Mauritania mainly trades with Morocco. The trade between the two countries accounts for 31% of Mauritania’s total exports and imports.

Oil production increment good for revenue generation - Barimah (Ghanaweb)

Paul Apraku Twum Barimah, the Aspiring Member of Parliament for Dormaa East, says the recent Fitch report on expected oil production of Ghana next year will strengthen the confidence of investors in the industry. The report said Ghana’s oil production was expected to increase by two per

Senegal joins World Logistics Passport as hub for Africa (Trade Arabia)

Senegal is to boost its position as a trade hub for Africa by joining the World Logistics Passport, a major initiative by Dubai to link nations around the world and increase South-South trade. The World Logistics Passport has been created to overcome trade impediments, such as logistics inefficiency, that currently limit the growth of trade between developing markets. South-South trade is already worth an estimated $4.28 trillion annually, more than half of total developing countries exports in 2018, according to the WTO.

Africa

AfCFTA a Vehicle to Lift African Citizens Out of Years and Depths of Poverty (Department of Trade, Industry and Competition)

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) provides a great opportunity for African countries to lift citizens of the continent out of poverty. This is according to the Chief Director of Trade and Invest Africa at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) (TIA), Mr John Rocha. He was speaking on the first day of a two-day South Africa-Ethiopia Trade and Investment Webinar. The event is held as part of efforts to increase bilateral trade and investment between South Africa and Ethiopia.

Why Tanzania should not fear AfCFTA (The Citizen)

“Tanzania is expected to experience a larger tariff revenue loss, equivalent to 1.3 percent of total government revenue but our estimates also indicate that it is one of the countries which will benefit most from the AfCFTA, through higher levels of trade and economic activity,” said ECA director for the Eastern Africa sub-region office Mama Keita who spoke during the online meeting yesterday. “The revenue losses in cases like this may well be considered by policymakers a price worth paying for the added dynamism of the domestic economy – which overtime will, in itself, lead to higher government revenues through VAT and other taxes,” she added.

How Nigerian businesses can benefit from Africa Free Trade Treaty — Osinbajo (Vanguard)

Just as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) treaty comes into force in January 2021, Nigerian businesses and the entire private sector have to become conversant and knowledgeable with the rules as this would be required so as to benefit maximally from the treaty. Prof. Osinbajo stated this Thursday at the opening session of the 52nd Annual National Conference of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM). According to him, “it is imperative for Nigerian businesses to also familiarize themselves with AfCFTA rules because they will have to assist in providing the evidence to trigger action on trade remedies by government.”

Put small-scale traders at the heart of efforts to accelerate trade and investment in Africa post COVID-19 (AfDB)

Industry experts meeting this week for a virtual discussion focused on resetting, retooling and restarting regional integration in Africa in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, underscored the importance of putting small scale traders at the heart of any initiatives. "AfCFTA creates a new trade and integration reality... integrating unequal partners across the continent," said Trudi Hartzenberg Executive Director of the Trade Law Center (TRALAC). Trade facilitation enjoys specific focus within the AfCFTA, with digital, e-payments, and e-commerce particularly important, she added, citing a 2020 WTO report that emphasized education and healthcare as fundamental to industrialization.

Tema Port ranked the largest port in West, Central Africa (Ghanaweb)

The President of Ports Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) and the Director-General of Ghana’s Ports and Harbours Authority, Michael Luguje has revealed that with the completion of phase 1 of the MPS Terminal 3, the Tema Port is currently the biggest in terms of capacity of all ports in the West and Central Africa. “If you look at single terminal volumes that are handled, we were able to do 1 million TEUs at the close of 2018 and 2019. Barring COVID-19, our target was to cross the 1 million mark,” the DG asserted.

Ports: six key recommendations for Africa’s growth (The Africa CEO Forum)

The AFRICA CEO FORUM and the strategy consulting and financial advisory firm Okan is publishing their report on the African logistics sector. This year’s edition, entitled “Africa’s ports: fast-tracking transformation”, gives an overview of the sector’s strengths and weaknesses while providing a list of six recommendations that have the power to turn Africa’s hubs into global giants. The Covid crisis has led to significant upheaval in the transport and logistics sectors. One of the most major impacts is no doubt the decline in trade flows, taking the form of a 30% to 40% decrease in traffic for certain African ports.

Uganda-Tanzania pipeline runs into legal challenges (Daily Monitor)

Four non-governmental organisations have moved to the East African Court of Justice to block the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) by Uganda and Tanzania. The NGOs are now seeking a permanent injunction against Uganda, Tanzania and the EAC, whom they have sued, from constructing the pipeline through protected areas, among other orders. The pipeline will transport crude oil from Hoima district in Uganda to Chongoleani in Tanga, Tanzania.

Truckers trapped in ‘60km-long’ queues at Kenyan border (Business LIVE)

The queue of lorries snakes down the narrow tarmac road, stretching back as far as the eye can see on both sides of a sign that reads: “Welcome to Busia, the gateway to east and central Africa”. Before Covid-19, Kenyan driver Joseph Kimani used to expect a five-hour wait to cross from there into Uganda with his cargo of diesel. Now the queue on the Kenyan side, which he and other drivers say extends for upwards of 60km, take five days to clear and, for them, life on the road has become literally that

Supporting farmer organisations to access regional markets (Daily Monitor)

Limited access to reliable markets is one of the constraints limiting commercialisation of agriculture among smallholder farmers. Without ready markets, smallholder farmers are unable to earn decent incomes from their production, and this limits their level of investment in agriculture in subsequent seasons. Mr Patrick Muganga blames the limited access to markets by farmers on limited market research and end market engagement by farmers and other value chain actors, resulting in the mismatch between market requirements and what is supplied.

New Market Realities for 2021 Expected to Drive Revisions of Fiscal Terms to Improve Competitiveness (African Energy Chamber)

Without bold fiscal reforms, Africa is doomed to further loose its global market share of oil & gas investment and production. This is a major takeaway, if not the most important takeaway, from the Africa Energy Outlook 2021 released this month by the African Energy Chamber. As oil prices settle around the $60/bbl threshold in a few years, the end of the super-profit era is over and adopting competitive fiscal frameworks will become increasingly central to maintaining investment in the sector. Across the continent, major projects are unlikely to be sanctioned because of challenging market dynamics, but especially because of uncompetitive fiscal regimes.

Chairs' Summary for the AUC-IEA Second Ministerial Forum (IEA)

African ministers from countries making up 70% of Africa’s total primary energy supply, nearly 70% of its GDP and more than half of the continent’s entire population met with global energy leaders via videoconference on 24 November 2020. A revitalised energy sector is key to Africa’s economic transformation. African countries must engage in robust, innovative actions to strengthen energy security, scale up infrastructure investment, and promote the growth of the green economy, making use of all available opportunities to continually accelerate Africa’s clean energy transitions. These interventions can be bolstered by enhanced rates of internal trade in Africa, including in the energy sector, through a speedy implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

SADC and ICPs convene ground-breaking virtual dialogue (SADC)

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the International Cooperating Partners (ICPs) have risen above COVID-19 circumstances and demonstrated attributes of true indomitable partnership. The SADC-ICP Dialogue Platform meetings are a key enabler in facilitating critical conversations with ICPs and create a common understanding regarding joint considerations and approaches for the implementation of the region's strategies and priorities. H.E Dr Tax highlighted that the SADC region remains vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19 and commended Member States for the swift and decisive response measures and adherence to safety protocols.

International

Africa Looks to China, Russia to Boost Scant Vaccine Supplies (Bloomberg)

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union have discussed Covid-19 vaccine trial partnerships with both China and Russia, part of an effort to ensure Africa is not last in the queue for vaccines when they become available. “We are not limiting ourselves to any particular partner,” John Nkengasong, head of Africa CDC, said Tuesday at the Bloomberg Invest Africa online conference. “As a continent of 1.2 billion people, we are willing to work with any partner who adheres to our strategy plan for vaccine development and access in Africa.”

Four key priorities for revisiting LDC vulnerabilities (Trade 4 Dev News)

Despite commendable progress implementing the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPOA) for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), structural vulnerabilities in LDCs continue to exist and warrant urgent attention. Many LDCs have limited productive capabilities, rely heavily on exports of a narrow range of primary commodities, and face high and unstainable debt levels. Pressing challenges related to climate change and the health and economic crises created by the COVID-19 pandemic are exacerbating these vulnerabilities. COVID-19 threatens to stall, or even reverse, the economic transformation gains already achieved by LDCs and stifle the prospects of countries looking to graduate out of the LDC category.

Why Africa’s small-scale fisheries “may not count” (SeafoodSource)

Despite the huge potential of Africa’s small-scale fisheries to boost the region’s food security, ramp up nutritional levels, alleviate poverty, and enhance environmental conservation, decision-makers across the continent have given the sector little attention – largely because of inadequate data to support its potential role in sustainable development. John Virdin, the director of the Ocean and Coastal Policy Program at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, is hoping to change the perception of Africa's small-scale fisheries as part of a continuing partnership with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

Keeping the Global Focus on Low-Income Countries | by Kristalina Georgieva & Sigrid Kaag (Project Syndicate)

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy is suffering its sharpest decline since the Great Depression. But while everybody is hurting, it is the world’s poorest countries that will pay the highest price unless they receive more help. Some 1.5 billion people live in low-income developing countries, struggling to overcome weak public health systems, limited institutional capacity, and, in many cases, high debt levels. All these countries entered the crisis with a limited capability to fight it. They faced a dramatic increase in spending needs just when the pandemic caused a decline in revenues from tourism, remittances, and commodity prices. While actions to protect advanced-economy businesses and workers amounted to some 20% of GDP, this support in low-income countries was only about 2%

Covid vaccine: TRIPs waiver patently needed (@businessline)

Last week, the announcement by Pfizer and its collaboration partner BioNT about their potential Covid-19 vaccine candidate showing an improved efficacy of more than 90 per cent in its Phase III, late-stage, study hit the headlines globally. Following this, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said they are close to a much-needed breakthrough to the world. But many of the developing and least developed countries are now concerned on how a fair distribution of the vaccine can be ensured. The concern on the fair distribution of the vaccine is now focussed on the decisions to be made by the WTO.

DDG Agah at ITC Joint Advisory Group: Open trade and economic inclusion key to post-COVID recovery (WTO)

Global trade has, thus far, held up better than many had expected, though WTO economists still expect merchandise trade to shrink by 9% this year. Fiscal and monetary support have helped prop up demand, and the scope of new trade restrictions has been relatively modest. Many of the export controls on food and medical supplies introduced early in the pandemic have been rolled back. Governments have cooperated with the WTO’s monitoring efforts.

The task facing us is two-fold. First, we must keep international markets broadly open, and continue the process of reforming the WTO and the global trade rulebook to respond to new commercial realities. And second, we must ensure that the benefits from trade, and from economic activity in general, are widely shared.

What the end of the UK-EU transition period means to UK-SA trade (Engineering News)

With effect from January 1 this year, the UK left the European Union (EU). But that day also inaugurated the start of a transition period, during which the UK remained part of the EU customs union and single market. That transition period ends on December 31 and thereafter the UK is free to implement its own trade deals with countries and blocs around the world. To date, the UK has signed, or agreed in principle, trade agreements with six African partner countries or groups. These are Côte d’Ivoire (signed), the Eastern and Southern Africa trade bloc (Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe – signed), Kenya (agreement in principle), Morocco (signed), the Southern Africa Customs Union plus Mozambique (SACU+M – signed) and Tunisia (signed). The agreement with SACU+M was one of the earliest that Britain negotiated with its international trading partners, being concluded more than a year ago.

Closer Africa-Europe Collaboration Needed to Deliver Food and Nutrition Security Roadmap, Says Leading Research Body (East African Business Week)

Africa’s apex organization for coordinating and advocating for agricultural research and innovation has called on more African and European countries to prioritize investment in science, technology and innovation for agriculture on the continent. The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) updated partners on a joint initiative between the European Union and the African Union to promote sustainable agriculture during its General Assembly this week. FARA also called on the agricultural research for development sector on the continent to unite and implement a roadmap for food and nutrition security.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: how global and local experience would play out in WTO top job (The Conversation)

The global economy faces profound uncertainties, particularly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, faith in the efficacy of international bodies such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been weakened by a power struggle between China and the US. As the process for appointing a new head of the organisation moves into its final phase, it’s worth considering what front runner Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala could bring to the complex role of managing an international organisation, including designing and implementing reforms.

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31 minute read

National

SARB warns rising public debt ‘will severely impact financial sector’ (The South African)

According to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), National Treasury’s October Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) projections – which indicate that public debt is expected to reach 82% of GDP in the current fiscal year, and rise to 95% in 2026 – will have dire implications on the country’s financial sector. In a financial stability review report on Tuesday, the SARB outlined the potential consequences and said that the sharp rise in debt could place the country in a precarious position.

How values, interests and power must shape South Africa’s foreign policy (The Conversation)

The COVID-19 crisis is one of many indicators that we live in dangerous and uncertain times. Others include the international community’s struggle to respond to technological and climate change, demographic shifts, growing poverty and inequality as well as increased global insecurity. The global governance arrangements for managing these changes are no longer fit for purpose. These changes are pushing countries to reassess how they use foreign policy to serve their national interests.

Africa’s economic giant Nigeria at a ‘critical juncture’ (Eyewitness News)

More than 200 million Nigerians will slide further into poverty as the coronavirus pandemic has sent oil prices tumbling and pushed Africa’s largest economy into recession. To many in oil-rich Nigeria, Saturday’s announcement of a recession was no surprise – even the president had warned a downturn was coming. The number of poor Nigerians was expected to increase by about two million largely due to population growth, according to the World Bank, but with the pandemic, the number could increase by 7 million.

COVID-19 Erodes Progress in Poverty Reduction in Kenya, Increases Number of Poor Citizens (World Bank)

The economic and social disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic have eroded progress in poverty reduction in Kenya, forcing an estimated two million more Kenyans into poverty. Using data to track the impact of the crisis on firms and households, the 22nd edition of the Kenya Economic Update, Navigating the Pandemic, finds that the pandemic and measures to mitigate the spread of the virus are creating multiple challenges for Kenya’s private sector, with severe consequences for household jobs and incomes.

Diaspora inflows increase Sh30bn in first 10 months (Business Daily)

Cash sent home by Kenyans living abroad grew by Sh29.97 billion in the 10 months to October, compared to a similar period of last year, despite pressure from the economic knocks of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows that the remittances amounted to $2.54 billion (Sh268.63 billion) in the first 10 months of this year, compared to $2.34 billion (Sh238.66 billion) in the same period in 2019 – a nine per cent growth.

Sugar companies want parliament to intervene on deteriorating market (The Independent)

Sugar companies from Busoga sub-region are seeking Parliament’s intervention in the fight against ‘unfair’ competition from ‘sugar bonds’ which has frustrated local manufacturers. While meeting Speaker Rebecca Kadaga today, the managing directors of sugar companies revealed that sugar bonds which were earlier banned by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni are still operating. Kadaga who said she was not aware of the illegal sugar trade, said Parliament has debated on the poor trade relations with neighboring countries and tasked the Minister of East African Community Affairs to address them at the regional level

Zimbabwe targets US$8bn industrial and commercial sector (The Chronicle)

Zimbabwe has set a target of achieving a US$8 billion Industrial and Commercial Sector by 2023 with Cabinet approving the ambitious roadmap on Tuesday. The growth of the industrial and commercial sector would be boosted by a number of investments scheduled for implementation under the roadmap, since it is private-public-sector-led. “The Roadmap outlines the plan to raise the manufacturing and commercial sector contribution to GDP from the current US$7,16 billion to US$8,03 billion by 2023, through the sector’s diversified 94 sub-sectors,” Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Minister, Mangaliso Ndlovu said in a post-Cabinet media briefing.

Africa

AfCFTA Secretariat rolls out ‘vision’ initiative backed by ‘super-app’ (Ghanaweb)

With barely two weeks left to the Extraordinary Summit of African Union Heads of State on 5th December, 2020, ahead of the expected start of trading under AfCFTA on 1st January 2021, the AfCFTA Secretariat is pleased to announce AfCFTA Vision, an Initiative in partnership with the Sankoree Institute, an affiliate of AfroChampions. In addition to building a community of visionaries (the “AfCFTA Visioneers”) and creating a platform for knowledge creation and sharing to help accelerate the pace of implementation of AfCFTA, a major component of the Initiative is a suite of apps (or, collectively, a “super-app”) that shall serve as the base for a continental business registry, trade directory, cross-border trade facilitation network, and a dashboard for the private sector to interact with the upcoming Africa Trade Observatory.

AfCFTA: African Finance Ministers to discuss payments system for trade bloc (Nairametrics)

The African Union has announced that its Specialised Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration will discuss the launch of a payment system for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) from the 1st to the 3rd of December. The African Union disclosed this on Tuesday evening, the meeting will be 2 days before the planned deadline on the ratification of the agreement.

Experts decry lack of hubs, trade facilitation to support AfCFTA (National Accord)

Mrs Dabney Shallholma, Chairperson, Sealink Promotional Shipping Company, on Tuesday decried the lack of hubs and trade facilitation to support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Shallholma spoke on the topic, ‘Hindrances to Maritime Transport, Intervention and Mitigation Actions to Unlock them’. “Hubs are international gateway that have a direct impact on the port, facilitate traffic along corridors, and it takes time to plan and develop. We are here today discussing on how to have trade facilitation and creation of hubs when we do not have such at home,” she said.

Nigeria to benefit as AfDB invests $25bn in African countries (TheCable)

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved the investment of $25 billion to develop agriculture in African countries. Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB’s president, disclosed this at the virtual conference to mark the 10th anniversary of Sahel Group, a private equity firm focused on agribusiness. He said the fund would be shared among African countries. Adesina said the fund provided to Nigeria will help the country transform from a net fertilizer importing country to a fertilizer exporting nation.

A policy paper to the Secretary General of AfCFTA (Ghanaweb)

Africa’s demographic distribution, abundance of natural resources, stable political and peaceful democratic transitions, and the potentials of AfCFTA serve as spokes and hub for the progress of the continent as has not been witnessed before. There are many policy interventions to consider because as has been demonstrated in this paper so far, the AfCFTA platform has the potential to raise productivity levels, promote higher investments, improve income levels, and reduce poverty on the continent. These positives must benefit the youth of Africa now.

AWIEF2020 Virtual Conference adds Prestigious Keynote Speakers

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women in business, amplifying concerns about gender inequality and the financial inclusion of women in Africa. On the positive side, the pandemic has accelerated progress in digital transformation and the expansion of the digital economy in Africa, which will continue to grow across sectors such as agriculture, education, healthcare, e-commerce and ICT.

This year’s Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) is themed ‘Reimagining Business and Rebuilding Better’ and will be held on 2-3 December 2020. African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretary-General, H.E. Mene, will also speak on Day 1, addressing the crucial role of AfCFTA in rebuilding the continent post-pandemic. This year’s event MC will be popular broadcaster and SABC TV presenter, Leanne Manas

Inside Africa’s new plan to tap power of e-commerce (Business Daily)

Africa’s dream of thriving e-commerce is taking shape following the rollout of an online trade platform. The initiative, launched on Monday, is part of the continent’s plan to accelerate its move towards plugging into, and reaping the rewards of, the global digital economy. Innovators and businesses across the continent will now enjoy a one-stop platform from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which eliminates hurdles in cross-border transactions while also reducing tariffs on 90 percent of all goods traded.

Africa considers merging national carriers to boost aviation (Business Daily)

Some African countries are deliberating on merging their national carriers to take advantage of economies of scale and make them competitive in the global market. The talks also include eliminating visa fees within the continent, simplifying immigration rules, improving air connectivity infrastructure and making airport charges affordable within Africa’s 54 countries.

New report reveals how Covid-19 has affected Eastern Africa (UNECA)

When the Covid-19 pandemic sent the global economy into a recession, the East Africa region was not spared. According to UN Economic Commission for Africa’s Economic and Social Impacts of Covid-19 in Eastern Africa report, the region’s labour market has been the worst hit on the continent, with an estimated 38 million jobs lost. Presenting the report during the 24^th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee, Ms Mama Keita, head of ECA in Eastern Africa, said that the region will barely grow in 2020 with only four countries on track to experience positive growth in 2020.

East African Community and Germany agree to continue and deepen longstanding partnership

On the 23rd/24th of November, the EAC Secretariat and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany successfully concluded their Government negotiations on development cooperation at the EAC Secretariat’s headquarter in Arusha, Tanzania. In total, Germany committed up to 42.9 Euros for the next two years. “We could build on the foundations that had been laid long before the COVID-19 pandemic struck – testing capacities could be made available quickly and cross-border cooperation created leverage in containing its further spread. Investments in human capital and laboratory equipment will continue in order to keep the regional level of preparedness high,” said Marcus von Essen.

The 41st COMESA Council of Ministers Meeting gets Underway

The 41st COMESA Council of Ministers meeting began this morning under the theme “COMESA – Towards Digital Economic Integration”. The core business of the two-day meeting is to make decisions on the implementation of COMESA programmes and the administrative and budget matters for the regional bloc for the next one year.

COMESA: Egypt acquired 32 percent of investments in COMESA members states during 1st half of 2020 (EgyptToday)

Egypt has acquired 32 percent of the number of investment projects which have been carried out at the COMESA member states since the beginning of the year and till July 2020, according to a recent report issued by COMESA. Around 100 projects of foreign direct investments (FDI) have been implemented during the period of January till July, 2020, compared with 228 projects during the same period of the previous year, recording a decrease of 56.14 percent due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

West African think tanks and experts meet virtually to discuss generational economy and structural transformation in the COVID-19 era (UNECA)

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Sub-Regional Office for West Africa, in partnership with the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, today virtually launched the proceedings of a meeting of West African Think Tanks and experts. In view of the many challenges associated with demographic dynamics in West Africa, aggravated by the adverse effects of the Covid-19 crisis, the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2063 Agenda for Africa’s future aspirations will require a better understanding of the region’s demographic transformations and the policies that are critical to achieving the demographic dividend.

The Republic of Seychelles ratifies the Treaty for the establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) (Africanews)

The Republic of Seychelles becomes the fourth AU member states to ratify the Treaty for the establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and deposited the instrument of accession to the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union on 23rd November 2020 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The African Medicines Agency will enter into force once ratified by fifteen African Union Member States. The AMA will serve as the continental regulatory body that will provide regulatory leadership, to ensure that there are harmonized and strengthened regulatory systems, which govern the regulation of medicines and medical products on the African continent.

Strengthening Rural Decent Jobs in Africa (AUDA-NEPAD)

Africa may not reach its transformation goals as defined in Agenda 2063, without fully harnessing the demographic dividend through Investments in Youth. While youths currently constitute approximately 40% of the working age population, over 60% of them are unemployed. However, Africa has policies and programmes to tackle unemployment amongst the youths, but the different policies at both continental and national levels do not adequately address the challenges of the rural youths in a holistic and coherent manner.

African Ministers stress need for greater investment to revitalise energy sector and drive sustainable recovery (IEA)

Ministers from African countries representing nearly three-quarters of the continent’s energy consumption and more than half of its population met with global energy leaders today to consider how to revitalise the African energy sector and enable a sustainable economic recovery after the pandemic. Under the theme of Securing Africa’s Energy Future in the Wake of Covid-19, the Second AUC-IEA Ministerial Forum was chaired by Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, and Mr Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa.

Regional resource Hub for protected areas and biodiversity launched (CGTN)

During an online event, the International Union for Conservation of Nature-IUCN, the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development-RCMRD, and partners on Tuesday officially launched the Regional Resource Hub and one of its flagship knowledge products, the most comprehensive analysis on the state of protected areas in Eastern and Southern Africa. “The establishment of this Resource Hub is a great milestone as it will facilitate the provision of relevant information and data to support policies and effective decision-making on protected and conserved areas which are our invaluable natural heritage,” said Luther Bois Anukur, Regional Director, IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office.

REIPPPP lessons: To build localisation, embrace importation benefits (ESI-Africa.com)

The South African renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme (REIPPPP) has contributed vastly to the country’s economic growth since its launch almost a decade ago. Though some of the REIPPPP requirements promote localisation to boost the growth of the renewable energy sector, it is importation that has largely dominated the industry. This factor has opened room for the industry experts to talk about how the updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a policy document, can better address sustainable localisation.

International

WTO boss: Coast clear for Okonjo-Iweala as South Korea withdraws candidate – Report (Vanguard)

South Korea has decided to withdraw its candidate from the World Trade Organisation, WTO, director-general race, according to Washington Trade Daily. Yoo Myung-hee is South Korea’s Trade Minister and its candidate for the top job at the WTO following the resignation of Roberto Azevedo. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s candidate in the WTO race, had secured the popular vote by a wide margin on October 28 but was not named DG because the US opposed her candidacy.

China may scale back investment in Africa, says new report (The Africa Report)

In the coming decade, China is expected to consume less raw materials and be more selective in its foreign lending and investment activities. In a report published on 10 November, the German insurer Allianz and its credit insurance subsidiary Euler Hermes revealed a disturbing finding: over the coming decade, China may no longer be able to provide Africa with the same amount of funding, taking the form of loans, investment and trade, as in the past. China has a heavy debt burden.

China’s resource-for-infrastructure deals (The Mail & Guardian)

Through the use of resource-financed-infrastructure (RFI) agreements, China is playing an ever-greater role in financing industrial and trade-related infrastructure projects in Africa. The RFI model is a financing mechanism whereby a government promises future revenues from a resource extraction project to repay a loan used to fund its infrastructure construction. China uses RFI deals to reach agreements with African nations that are dependent on commodities and eager to secure low-interest loans for infrastructure development.

China-Nigeria trade at $13.66bn in 2020 is largest in Africa (Vanguard)

The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria says China-Nigeria trade relations is the largest in the continent with an increase of 0.7 percent at $13.66 billion in 2020 over the previous year. “China’s exports to Nigeria were $11.58 billion, decreased by 2.4 per cent; imports from Nigeria were $2.09 billion, a year-on-year increase of 22.7 per cent,” spokesperson of Zhao Yong, Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of China in Nigeria said. “To China, Nigeria has remained the biggest importer and second largest trading partner in Africa. Our bilateral trade volume is more than tenth of China’s trade with the whole continent.”

Why US Companies are Investing in Africa (BORGEN)

Within the next 10 years, consumer spending in Africa is expected to reach 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars. In fact, over 20% of this spending will occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. The continent is also experiencing mass urbanization. Therefore, Africa has the potential to become the next big international market and source of investment. Although, international companies often avoid investing in Africa due to reports of corruption, unsafe business environments and poor government policies. Several organizations and government initiatives have now implemented strategies to eliminate these concerns, reduce poverty and promote investments, which is why U.S. companies are investing in Africa.

Regional trade will drive next phase of globalisation (Khaleej Times)

The coronavirus continues to redefine how the world stays connected and has triggered an existential moment for free trade and globalisation. In turn, pressure has mounted on governments and businesses alike to nationalise supply chains, nearshore operations, and set their sights on shorter, nimbler supply chains that don’t depend on trade flows with too few countries, too far away. But while the trajectory towards globalisation has certainly shifted in the wake of Covid-19, world trade isn’t fracturing into isolationist deadlock as many feared at the beginning of the pandemic. Instead, the world trade puzzle is being re-arranged into huge regional pieces that will determine new trade gravities, from the EU and other countries in Europe with which it trades, to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and much speculated African Continental Free Trade Area.

How a Collective Infrastructure Push Will Boost Global Growth (IMF Blog)

With vaccines around the corner, there is increased hope that the pandemic could soon be under better control. That said, the need for cooperative efforts to work toward a better future has never been greater. An IMF report published ahead of the G20 leaders meeting argues that a synchronized infrastructure investment push could invigorate growth, limit scarring, and address climate goals. In fact, when many countries act at the same time, public infrastructure investment could help lift growth domestically and abroad through trade linkages.

For Most African Carriers, Next Year Will Be Precarious (Aviation Week Network)

All regions face a steep uphill climb from the COVID-19 crisis, but the starting point for African carriers is much further down the mountain. Most were loss-making before the pandemic and are ill-equipped for the tough journey that will continue through 2021. African airlines carry just 2.1% of world airline traffic. The high level of connectivity that other continents lost to COVID did not exist in Africa to begin with. IATA figures show African traffic was down 90.1% in August, causing load factors to fall 41 points to just 34.6%, the lowest of any region.

The State of Tax Justice 2020 (Tax Justice Network)

The State of Tax Justice 2020, a first-of-its-kind annual report by the Tax Justice Network, reveals for how much tax each country in the world loses to international corporate tax abuse and private tax evasion. While there have been estimates in the past about the tax lost globally to tax abuse, it has been difficult to determine how much each country loses individually – until now.

Fresh kick-off for agri-food systems transformation (FAO)

Global leaders called today for an urgent action to transform agri-food systems to make them more sustainable and resilient in the face of COVID-19 pandemic and other crises, and ensure that everyone has access to affordable, healthy and nutritious food. “The resources – intellectual, financial and material – are not lacking, but unless we are well-organized and coordinated, the probability is that we will be too late and too ineffective for too many people in the Least Developed Countries, the Land-Locked Developing Countries and the Small Island Developing States”, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu noted. He singled out three critical drivers.

EIF launches virtual campaign to help ramp up trade in least-developed countries (WTO)

The Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) launched a digital campaign in October aimed at encouraging businesses in least-developed countries (LDCs) to share how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their participation in global value chains. Twelve businesses from 12 LDCs have shared their experiences so far.

Policy Brief: WTO Members Mull Easing Restrictions on Humanitarian Food Aid (IISD)

Negotiators at the World Trade Organization (WTO) are considering a proposal from Singapore that would ensure humanitarian food aid is exempt from export prohibitions and restrictions, ahead of the trade body’s General Council meeting on 16 December. Proponents say the move will make it faster and easier for the World Food Program (WFP) to provide urgently-needed assistance to save the lives of people in crisis situations – and ensure that trade rules support progress towards SDG 2, which commits governments to ending hunger and malnutrition.

‘Infodemic’ risks jeopardising COVID-19 vaccines (Eyewitness News)

Beyond logistics, governments must also contend with scepticism over vaccines developed with record speed at a time when social media has been both a tool for information and falsehood about the virus. “The coronavirus disease is the first pandemic in history in which technology and social media are being used on a massive scale to keep people safe, informed, productive, and connected,” the WHO said. “At the same time, the technology we rely on to keep connected and informed is enabling and amplifying an infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and jeopardises measures to control the pandemic.”

UNCTAD Offers Trade Policy Solutions to Aid Inclusive Recovery in Vulnerable Countries (IISD)

A report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warns that, despite growing confidence that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is near, the economic fallout will continue. The report projects that the global economy will contract by 4.3% in 2020. The report titled, ‘Impact of the Pandemic on Trade and Development,’ underscores that COVID-19 has hit vulnerable populations and sectors hardest, and that economic and social impacts have been felt most severely in structurally weak developing countries, with those in Africa, least developed countries (LDCs), and small island developing States (SIDS) grappling with the most drastic impacts.

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