The selection: Monday, 8 June

The African leadership will need to speed up the implementation of the integration agenda as the continent urgently needs to create jobs for the over 60 percent of its population who are the youth, the Chairman of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Task Force Sindiso Ngwenya has said. Speaking at Sharm El Sheikh after the opening of the meeting of Technical officials preparing for the launch of the Tripartite Free Trade Area on Wednesday June 10, Mr Ngwenya said the current upsurge of illegal migration out of Africa with its attendant risks is testimony of the youth frustration in getting employment. Africa has the world's youngest population at over 60% of its population.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim to deliver TFTA keynote address (World Bank)

Africa negotiates 'one trade regime' for common market (New Vision)

Egypt seeks export increase to African countries over next 3 years (Daily News)

AU Commission: CFTA, Agenda 2063 updates (African Union)

Mr Mwencha highlighted progress in the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area, informing the meeting that the CFTA will be launched during the on-going summit. He described the project as having the capacity to bring industrialisation and prosperity. The Deputy Chairperson said Africa does not have the time to do things slowly. “We cannot wait for another two decades” to emerge out of poverty, he said, adding that it is for this reason that the first ten year implementation plan of Agenda 2063 has agreed to fast track a number of initiatives that will transform the continent.

CFTA: 'Towards one African market' (African Union)

The need for action on the CFTA is urgent. The world is changing with the countries in other parts of the globe joining Mega-Regional Trade Agreements, and that is reshaping the global trading system. Africa must act now, or risk being left behind. Research by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa shows that the establishment of the CFTA will better position the African continent vis-à-vis the rest of the world.

We are not starting from scratch. Progress is already underway with the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), launching in June 2015, which includes 26 African countries, and the 15 countries of ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, which have already come together.

There are also significant gains that can be made by negotiating certain issues that have been less controversial. It is also possible for a coalition of countries to go forward with negotiations for more contentious issues and for other countries to join when they are ready. Ideally, all AU member states should participate in the negotiations and consider making commitments on specific issues as and when they are ready to do so.

DRC-Zambia STR outcomes (COMESA)

A bilateral meeting was held on 2nd – 4th June, 2015 between the DRC and Zambia to discuss and agree on a common list of products eligible to trade under the COMESA Simplified Trade Regime (STR). The meeting was facilitated by the COMESA Secretariat in partnership with the AfDB and the EU. The meeting was attended by Senior Government Officials from the two countries, members of the Cross Border Traders’ Association, Cross Border Network Africa and other cross border trade related SMEs. The DRC delegation informed the meeting that the process regarding the DRC joining the COMESA FTA has reached a very advanced stage at the level of His Excellency the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The two parties agreed on the following:

Doubts over Trans-Kalahari (Southern Times)

The envisaged multi-billion dollar Trans-Kalahari Railway line connecting Botswana to Namibia’s Atlantic coast hangs in the balance as legislators and relevant authorities in Botswana have questioned and raised doubt about its viability.

Northern Corridor Integration Projects: 11 outcomes (State House Uganda)

The highlights of the summit are as follows: Creation of a Northern Corridor Projects Authority body with permanent senior officials from each member country to follow up on the implementation of the projects 

Signing of the Memoranda of Understanding that included the aspect of Cyber Security, Total Free Movement of labor, Total Free Movement of Services and the Co-ordination of Foreign Policy

EAC summit endorses projects authority (Daily Monitor)

East African heads of state under the Northern Corridor cluster on Saturday expressed frustration at the slow realisation of projects agreed on during their summits, and agreed to establish a joint authority to fast track project implementation.

Presidents to boost private sector (New Vision)

Regional business council, manufacturers partner (New Times)

Northern Corridor countries establish common intelligence centre in Nairobi (The EastAfrican) 

Paving a new route for trade in East Africa (The Commonwealth)

Convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat, the meeting will take place from 8-9 June 2015 in Arusha, Tanzania. Participants will address national and regional issues relating to implementing the Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) system in East Africa. At the meeting in Arusha, the Secretariat will share key findings and recommendations from work carried out with the Export Promotion Council of Kenya to institutionalise the TIR system. Without regional interest, the initiative will have limited impact.

East Africa's Budget Week – selected previews: EAC member states budget expenditure swells (Daily Monitor), Kepsa pushes for key Bills to attract foreign investments (Business Daily), Government to fund 44.5% of Uganda’s Budget (Daily Monitor), No common ground yet on taxes as EAC member states read budgets (The EastAfrican), Will one currency counteract volatility in the region? (The EastAfrican)

Developing rail network will unlock East Africa infrastructure potential (The EastAfrican)

Rail traffic density in East Africa is the lowest on the continent with none of the lines having more than one million traffic units per route kilometre. By global standards, these traffic volumes are a little more than what might be carried by a moderately busy branch line. Moreover, such low traffic volumes do not generate the revenue needed to finance infrastructure rehabilitation and upgrading.

To achieve a world class system driven by technology where East Africa rail capacity and revenue are comparable to developed markets; I believe that the following areas need to be addressed in order to sustainably operationalise the region's rail network. [The author, Rajiv Sharma, is an infrastructure, capital projects manager with Deloitte East Africa]

Joint statement by the United States and South Africa on agricultural trade (USTR) 

The United States and South Africa are pleased to announce that in joint meetings, the two industries have agreed on the framework to provide for renewed market access for U.S. bone-in chicken into the South African market. The Governments also agreed to a firm set of actions this month to resolve the remaining sanitary issues related to poultry, pork, and beef. The framework provides for the return of exports to South Africa of U.S. bone-in chicken after the two governments complete necessary implementation steps. The South African government will implement the framework following a public consultation process.

While both sides recognize it may take some time for the South African government to complete its regulatory process, both sides are committed to expedite processes and resume shipments of U.S. chicken as quickly as possible. Both Governments and industries have committed to further engagements on development issues that will enhance production in South Africa as well as participation of Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs) into the poultry industry. 

US imports ‘could affect poultry jobs’ (Business Day) 

Sens. Coons and Isakson announce “significant progress” on deal to end US-SA chicken fight 

South Africa loses game of chicken in renewal of US trade agreement (RFI)

Delivering on the promise: leveraging natural resources to accelerate human development in Africa (AfDB)

The report is the fruit of an innovative partnership between the AfDB and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and highlights the options available for countries to use newly discovered natural resources to deliver a step change in human development outcomes. The report was spearheaded by the AfDB’s African Natural Resources Center with contributions from the Bank’s Development Research and Human Capital Development Departments. The publication looks at the cases of Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda in building accessible policy frameworks to link revenue management decisions to human development agendas. The report also examines how best to leverage extractives companies’ employment, procurement, infrastructure and social investments. [Download] 

Agriculture in Africa: telling facts from myths (World Bank Blogs)

Armed with solid nationally representative household survey data, filled with detailed plot level information on agriculture, from six African countries which together represent 40 percent of Sub-Saharan African population, the “Agriculture in Africa – Telling Facts from Myths” team has embarked on a myth busting journey. It articulates our understanding of African agriculture and rural livelihoods in 15 statements and subjects them to the data. The facts revisited include:

Power, People, Planet: seizing Africa’s energy and climate opportunities (Africa Progress Panel)

The report reveals that households living on less than US$2.50 a day collectively spend US$10 billion every year on energy-related products, such as charcoal, kerosene, candles and torches. Measured on a per unit basis, Africa’s poorest households are spending around US$10/kWh on lighting – 20 times more than Africa’s richest households. By comparison, the national average cost for electricity in the United States is US$0.12/kWh and in the United Kingdom is US$0.15/kWh. The 2015 Africa Progress Report urges African governments to:

Ghana: Poverty reduction over thirty years (UNU-WIDER)

Ghana is relatively rare among Sub-Saharan African countries in having had sustained positive growth every year since the mid-1980s. This paper analyses the nature of the growth and then presents an analysis of the evolution of both consumption poverty and non-monetary poverty outcomes over this period, showing improvements in almost all indicators over this period. At the same time, inequality has risen over the past 20 years and spatial inequality, in both monetary and non-monetary outcomes, remains an important concern. This increase in inequality is one reason why growth has not led to faster poverty reduction. [The authors: Andy McKay, Jukka Pirttilä, Finn Tarp]

Financing for Development: latest Global Investment Trends Monitor (UNCTAD)

This monitor includes a stocktaking of inward FDI and other external flows to LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS since Monterrey 2002, in addition to an analysis of recent trends, to assist policymakers and the international community in debating and agreeing policies and initiatives to further boost investment for sustainable development. For ease of reference, the stock-taking is organized as three fact sheets, one for each group. [Download]

Domestic resource mobilization in West Africa: missed opportunities (OSIWA)

ECOWAS at 40: the driving philosophy of multinationalism (ThisDay)

Shaping the Global Development Agenda after the MDGs and what it means for Africa, Rwanda (New Times)

SADC Technical Committee on Fisheries: update (SADC) 

How is the AU steering Africa towards a healthy blue economy? (ISS) 

China's exports down 2.8% in May (Xinhua)

In 5 years, submarine cables have brought a 20-fold increase in bandwidth in Africa (Quartz Africa)

This post has been sourced on behalf of tralac and disseminated to enhance trade policy knowledge and debate. It is distributed to over 300 recipients across Africa and internationally, serving in the AU, RECS, national government trade departments and research and development agencies. Your feedback is most welcome. Any suggestions that our recipients might have of items for inclusion are most welcome. Richard Humphries (Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @richardhumphri1)