News
tralac’s Daily News selection: 21 July 2015
The selection: Tuesday, 21 July
SADC, working towards agenda 2063 (The Herald)
The advent of Agenda 2063 is an opportune moment to attend to systemic capacity needs of AU institutions as we gear for its implementation which should connect RECs strategic plans post-2015, NEPAD and other priorities. Let us not lose sight of the fact that the overall capacity of Africa and the African Union’s institutions, including RECs, will ultimately determine the quality of regional integration that will be attainable. That the effective delivery of regional integration in Africa implies a strong, robust, learning and transformational network of both national and regional institutions and in particular the RECs, as the building blocs for Africa’s transformation. This fundamentally implies the dire need for effective RECs, as co-ordinating and facilitating institutions, whose own capacities are strong enough to drive regional integration, while also fostering the institutional reforms and development. [The author, Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, is SADC Executive Secretary]
SADC Financial Inclusion Indaba (FinMark Trust)
FinMark Trust, in partnership with the SADC Secretariat, South African National Treasury and the SADC Banking Association, will host an SADC Financial Inclusion Indaba from 23-24 July 2015, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The overall aim of the Indaba is to promote financial inclusion in the SADC region for the purpose of inclusive economic growth and poverty alleviation. The Indaba will provide a platform to take stock of the various policy initiatives at country level to promote financial inclusion and to assess the impact on the livelihoods of the most vulnerable sections of the population. It will also draw on the experience of South Africa, which has focussed on increasing financial inclusion over the last decade, with resultant successes and unintended consequences. The key objectives of the Indaba are: [Further details will be posted on FinMark Trust www]
Recent trends in banking in Sub-Saharan Africa: from financing to investment (European Investment Bank)
This study follows up on our 2013 study on “Banking in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities”, with the aim of providing an update on the latest developments and trends in the banking sectors of sub-Saharan Africa. This year’s study discusses the challenges to – and opportunities for – further development of sub-Saharan Africa’s banking sectors, including those related to access to finance, mobile banking and pan-African banks. In this second edition, we also launch our first survey of pan-African banks to capture key strategic positioning and market perceptions by the banks best placed in the region to contribute to financial sector deepening, private sector development and regional integration. [Download]
EIB expands in Africa (Club of Mozambique)
The European Investment Bank plans to open offices in four more African cities as it strengthens its foothold on a continent looking for financing to build infrastructure, said a senior official with the lender. The EIB will open an office in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, later this year, followed by Abidjan in Ivory Coast, Zambia’s Lusaka, and Maputo, Mozambique in 2016, EIB Vice President Pim van Ballekom said in an interview.
Botswana: Making Access Possible report (Mmegi)
About 90% of Batswana earn not more than P10, 000 per month, a trend that has contributed to the low uptake of financial services such as mortgage finance, a diagnostic study on financial services provision shows. Results of the Making Access Possible (MAP) report released in Gaborone this week, show that a combination of high cost of land as well as low incomes has excluded the majority of the population from mortgage finance. The MAP study derived the income distribution figures from the 2015 Finscope survey, which was conducted between October and December last year sampling 1503 respondents from Botswana’s total population of 1.3 million adults.
Kenya: Treasury sees number of banks falling to 30 (Business Daily)
The Treasury expects the number of Kenyan commercial banks to drop from the current 44 to about 30 in three years as an outcome of mergers and acquisitions in the industry triggered by higher capital requirements. The minimum core capital requirement for banks is to be steadily raised from the current Sh1 billion to Sh5 billion by 2018, affecting 22 lenders that will be forced to raise funds, merge or sell stakes to comply with the law.
SADC energy ministers meet in Sandton this week (GCIS)
An unfinished agenda: the progress of US-backed economic development goals in Africa (Brookings)
The president’s departure for Kenya and Ethiopia later this week offers an important opportunity to assess where African countries have progressed on these Obama administration goals during the president’s two terms in office. A quick review of relevant indicators reveals that progress has been mixed, so presenting this data might also help both African and U.S. policymakers use this moment to address areas in need of attention and leverage successes to date. [The authors: Amadou Sy, Andrew Westbury]
Statement by President Kenyatta on Global Entrepreneurship Summit
Firms eye deals during Obama summit (Business Daily)
Tourism banks on global summit to reverse dwindling fortunes (Daily Nation)
EAC trade ministers ask US to relax measures on agricultural exports, reduce tariffs on sugar, cotton (The Citizen)
AGOA review could see SA lose on trade benefits (Business Day)
The scope of the review, to be announced by the office of the US Trade Representative in the Federal Register, is broader than that mandated by Congress when it extended Agoa for 10 years last month. The review will examine whether South Africa still qualifies for benefits under the US generalised system of preferences, eligibility for which is a precondition for enjoying Agoa preferences. The generalised system of preferences is the core programme under which developing countries get preferential access to the US market. It is governed by the 1974 Trade Act, whose section 502 requires exclusion of any country that "affords preferential treatment to the products of a developed country … which has, or is likely to have, a significant adverse effect on US commerce".
Five lessons of regional integration from Asia, America, and Africa (World Bank Blogs)
More than 50% of today’s international trade goes through regional trading arrangements. While trade is a critical component of regional integration, integration has several other dimensions including energy cooperation and intra-regional investment, to name a few. After carefully examining cases of regional integration in Southeast Asia, the Americas and Africa, we present five lessons for South Asia.
Louis Berger to support sub-Saharan Africa transportation sector development (Global News Wire)
Louis Berger, as part of a consortium led by NTU International A/S, has been hired to support the development of the transportation sector in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (A.C.P.) Group of States, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. This 2.3 euro million ($2.6 million USD) project aims to promote inclusive political, economic and social development through enhanced regional integration by strengthening African countries' ability to regulate, organize and finance better inter-regional and continental transportation infrastructure through safe transboundary transportation corridors and integrated transportation policies. The project also will support progress toward the Millennium Development Goals in A.C.P. countries.
Southern Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Project: implementation status, results report (World Bank)
World Bank funding for Kenya-South Sudan road rehabilitation (Coast Week)
Namibia: Retail sector charter enters next round (New Era)
Stakeholders in the retail sector recently held a consultative meeting to further thrash out ideas on the proposed Namibia Retail Sector Charter, which is set to be implemented in September. The chairpersons of the three task teams – fast moving consumer goods, building materials/hardware and clothing/apparel – presented an overview of their activities since September 2014. Participants discussed the status of the proposed charter with emphasis on its aim, mechanics, stakeholders, project milestones and transformational principles. Challenges highlighted were definitional issues attributed to retailers’ different business models, which relate to product and supplier categories. Other significant issues raised were the non-participation of leading retailers, limited local decision-making capacity due to foreign ownership and control of retailers, and the fact that participation is voluntary.
Manufacturing in Namibia: what it really means (New Era)
Namdeb produced 431 000 carats in second quarter (The Namibian)
Uganda mines close as export ban hurts (East Africa Business Week)
Miners under their umbrella association, the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP) have asked the government to remove the ban that was instituted on the exportation of unprocessed minerals. They argue that this will help to avoid more economic losses for investors, government and other sector players within the mining sector.
EU and Liberia sign deal on WTO accession
The Republic of Liberia applied for WTO membership in mid-2007. The accession talks started half a year later with the establishment of a dedicated Working Party made of interested WTO members. In order to join the WTO, Liberia must complete bilateral negotiations with each of them and obtain the endorsement of the entire Working Party.
From drift to deals: advancing the WTO agenda (Peterson Institute)
IGAD: first regional regulatory authority conference
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, through the active role and engagement of its federal Ministry of Health and Ethiopian Food, Medicine and Health care Administration and Control Authority, initiated the advocacy and sensitization for the need to have a policy framework for regulatory system strengthening of pharmaceuticals and medical products, based on the declaration and recommendation made by the IGAD Member States, during the First IGAD International Scientific Conference on Health held in Addis Ababa, in December last year. The objectives of the Regional Conference are to:
Brazil aims to partner in sub-Saharan Africa (IT-Online)
A Brazilian trade delegation will head to South Africa next week, to seek new trade opportunities with sub-Saharan Africa. The group of leading Brazilian manufacturers and exporters, representing around 30 companies in the construction, food & beverage, home furnishing, electrical & electronics, agricultural and industrial equipment, catering, medical, transport and automotive sectors, will meet South African importers, distributors, agents, retailers and wholesalers.
What BRICS Summit achieved: an interview with Ambassador Tian Xuejun (IOL)
We need to build a partnership for common development. We should form a Brics community of shared interests. For the purpose of building a value chain of shared benefits and a big market of integrated interests, we should jointly build an even closer economic partnership.
BRICS bank launches in Shanghai, to work with AIIB (Reuters)
A new institutionalist analysis on emerging donorship (UNU-WIDER)
This study aims to provide a neo-institutional explanation of why South Korea increasingly intends to share its developmental experience with the rest of the world. South Korea’s knowledge sharing projects are the leading example of expansionary and self-defining efforts of its aid administration. By analysing the aid policy-making process, this paper explores the inside dynamics of an emerging donor government—pinpointing why aid bureaucracy stands at the centre of the rise of the knowledge dimension.
Transparency of aid agencies: are those high grades deserved? (Brookings)
World Bank launches recruitment drive for nationals of African countries
Enrique Mendizabal: 'The future of think tanks in Africa: trends to look out for' (on think tanks)
Germany donates EUR 1 million to help developing countries participate in Doha Round (WTO)
The government of Germany is contributing EUR 1 million (CHF 1,042,478) to the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund in 2015 to help developing countries and least developed countries improve their participation in the Doha Round, the latest round of trade negotiations among WTO members.
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This post has been sourced on behalf of tralac and disseminated to enhance trade policy knowledge and debate. It is distributed to over 300 recipients across Africa and internationally, serving in the AU, RECS, national government trade departments and research and development agencies. Your feedback is most welcome. Any suggestions that our recipients might have of items for inclusion are most welcome. Richard Humphries (Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @richardhumphri1)
