The selection: Monday, 17 August

Khama's SADC litmus test (Mmegi)

Today, an air of shock is expected at the SADC Council of Ministers' meeting when it is revealed that about 40% of the region lives below the bread line. The ministers will be informed that the latest African Development Bank and World Bank figures show that in some member states, four in five people live in extreme poverty. The ministers and the Heads of State, who start arriving on Sunday, will hear that the region is home to at least 17 million orphans and that child-headed households are on the increase due to HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

The Council of Ministers and the Heads of State Summit on Monday will also learn that the average unemployment rate in the region is 25%, ranging from nearly 50% in one country to as low as 2% in another. Unemployment among the youth, who are the worst affected, is more than double that of adults in the same predicament. Should technocrats hold back on the sugar-coating, the ministers and the Heads of State will hear how SADC's stated goal of eradicating poverty is drifting further away into an uncertain future. Progress on tearing down of borders and heightening regional economic integration have been slow and to date, numerous milestones, such as the formulation of a common external tariff and formation of a customs union, are still in the wind.

SADC finance ministers given task (Zambia Daily Mail)

The council of ministers of the 15-member Southern African Development Community states has directed the committee of ministers of finance to expeditiously finalise and operationalise the regional development fund to reduce dependence on external financing. SADC council of ministers chairperson Kenneth Matambo told journalists during a post-council media briefing here on Saturday that there is need for reduced external financial dependence if SADC is to survive the future years. “There is need to conduct a detailed research into various options of alternative sources of income while benchmarking with other relevant organisations such as the African Union and other regional economic communities,” he said.

Trade increasing among SADC Member States (SARDC)

On the SADC Regional Development Fund and Project Preparation and Development Fund, Gofhamodimo said a consultancy has been engaged “to look at issues of capitalization by different stakeholders, implications on shareholding in the fund”, as well as the appetite of the private sector to participate in regional development.

SADC needs $500m for strategic plan - Mozambican Foreign Minister (Club of Mozambique)

The Southern African Development Community is seeking to raise about $500m to finance implementation of its Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan, according to Mozambican Foreign Minister Oldemiro Baloi. “The idea is that the contributions from the member states should not be used just to pay the wages of the organization’s staff, but also to finance implementation of regional development plans” said Baloi.

On the TFTA: “Not all the countries have joined this initiative”, said Baloi. “Mozambique did not join because we need to hold internal consultations and solve tariff questions. It’s no good joining just for the sake of joining. We have to defend national interests, because integration involves risks”.

Dr Leonardo Simao: 'Regional economic development and integration in the SADC region' (SADC)

A second reason explaining our slow motion in regional integrated development may be the lack of focus and sense of priority in member states. Indeed, many members of SADC are also members of other regional economic communities namely the East Africa Community and COMESA, but of SACU as well, with development agendas similar to the SADC one. In those member states, to elect the organization targeted to be the national priority attention is not easy, due to lack of internal consensus. Therefore, the adopted attitude is to let these organizations to run their natural course and competition in the national institutional environment, hoping that time will establish their true hierarchical order. This will eventually happen, but may take a long time and valuable opportunities for development may be missed.

SADC Council of Ministers: speech by Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi  

Every year, our organization is confronted with the twin realities of an ever expanding list of responsibilities against a background of dwindling resources. We should, Honourable Ministers ask ourselves why we should continue to crowd our organization with institutions and programmes that we member states have no capacity to fund. We should concentrate on those programmes that have a direct bearing on regional integration and peace and security. We should not heap on SADC those programmes that Member States can implement on their own.

'SADC Success Stories' publication: remarks by Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax

Packed agenda for the 35th SADC Summit

SADC: Take concrete steps to improve rights (Human Rights Watch)

SADC to tighten monitoring of shaky Lesotho (Business Day)

King to take over SADC Chairmanship (Swazi Observer)

The coalition for an effective SADC Tribunal (SALC)

AU-CFTA: Training workshop on trade in services negotiations for negotiators (UNCTAD)

The main focus of the Nairobi workshop, 24-28 August, will be to introduce the participants with importance of the trade in services in economy, potential for export of services in the region and globally, treaty obligations of AU Member States in the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Service and best practices for negotiating services in other regional trade agreements. Experiences in services development and liberalization of regional integration groupings in Africa like ECOWAS and COMESA also will be examined. Experts from UNCTAD, AUC, WTO, FAO, TRALAC, ILEAP, Member States and other international experts will share their insights and experiences with the participants.

South Africa: Jobs and South Africa’s changing demographics (World Bank)

South Africa could double its per capita income and eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 by generating jobs for its high and growing number of young workers, according to a recently released World Bank Group report. The report, South Africa Economic Update: Focus on Jobs and South Africa’s Changing Demographics, analyzes the complex challenges posed by changing demographics and its implication for jobs and labour markets. It explores the conditions necessary for the country to capitalize on its demographic transition by putting more of its working-age population to work to reap greater benefits from its historically high and growing working-age population. [Download]

Namibia: Trade deficit rockets 41.9% (Namibia Economist)

This week, the Namibia Statistics Agency reported that the trade deficit had spiked upward 41.9% in the second half of 2015 as measured against a comparative period in the second half of 2014, recording a deficit valued at N$9.85 billion in the second quarter of 2015. Commenting on the trade figures, Simonis Storm Securities analyst James Cumming said: "The widening trade deficit was mainly due to a decline in export revenue. The overall value of exports fell by 39%, which is 19% more than the decline in import expenditure, which fell by 20%. However, the fall in imports was not enough to offset the deficit." [Download]

Zambia: 'Our appetite for importing is very high' - Kalyalya (The Post)

In an interview after a media briefing last Tuesday, Dr Kalyalya said there was need to restrict imports to essential goods so as to contain the current scarcity of the foreign currency on the local market. “Our appetite for importing is very high [and] so, sometimes what we say is that when you have this adjustment in the exchange rate, when it depreciates, it’s also meant to moderate our appetite for foreign goods; If we can take advantage and produce some of those things locally,” Dr Kalyalya said. He said there was need to curtail the use of foreign currency in domestic transactions to reduce pressure on the foreign exchange market. “And that’s why we are talking about local transactions not being priced in dollar so that we don’t put unnecessary pressure on the market,” Dr Kalyalya said.

Kenya-Uganda trade policy issues: updates

Balancing trade: Uganda, Kenya sign bilateral framework on health, medicines (The East African)

How sugar barons arm-twisted state to accept imports (Daily Nation)

Uganda’s sugar turns sour in Kenya (Daily Monitor)

New Mumias boss to focus on winning back farmers (Daily Nation)

Bilateral deals could boost intra-EAC trade (New Times)

KRA reverses order on exports to EA bloc (Business Daily)

The Kenya Revenue Authority has reversed a directive compelling Kenyan traders to declare shipments to the east African market through its Simba system, ending a month of uncertainty. “All such goods will now be declared under the Single Customs Territory procedures only”, Mr Julius Musyoki, KRA’s acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Control, said on Friday.

NRZ volumes increase 150 percent (The Herald)

National Railways of Zimbabwe’s volumes have increased 150 percent since the beginning of the year spurred by an increase in raw sugar and coal production in the country. NRZ acting general manager Mr Lewis Mukwada told The Herald Business last Friday that there has been a growth in volumes since the beginning of the year with further uplift expected once chrome exports start. “The recent lifting of the ban on chrome ore exports is going to drive the company’s volumes and negotiations are in progress with different chrome companies. Since the beginning of the year we have started picking up in terms of volumes compared to last year’s performance where we were only moving less than 200 000 tonnes per month."

Power Africa Annual Report: second year in review (USAID)

Much of Power Africa’s initial achievements were due to its support of projects that were in development before our launch. Moving forward, we are focused on generating new deals to support, while continuing to ensure existing projects stay on track. In addition to the projects that have reached financial close, Power Africa has identified transactions in the planning stages with the potential to install more than 20,000 MW of cleaner power generation capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. [Download]

African trade partners feel the bite of China’s yuan devaluation

China’s in trouble; is that good or bad for Africa?

SA’s embargo on Ethiopian Airlines hurts Botswana

Reps investigate ban on Nigeria’s agricultural produces by EU

Fund standards bodies, ARSO urges African governments

China: 2015 IV Consultation report (IMF)

China is moving to a ‘new normal,’ characterized by slower yet safer and more sustainable growth. The transition is challenging, but the authorities are committed to it. They have made progress in reining in vulnerabilities built-up since the global financial crisis and embarked on a comprehensive reform program. With China now the globe’s largest economy, success is critical for both China and the world.

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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)