The selection: Thursday, 20 August

SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap (SADC)

The SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap, 2015-2063, was approved by the Extra-Ordinary Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, in April 2015. The Strategy is premised on the conviction that regional integration will promote industrialization. It recognizes that industrial policy and implementation will be largely undertaken at the national level and that its success depends on forging a compact for industry consisting of the government, the private sector, civil society, labour and the development partners.

Industrial policy must be crafted within the context of a country’s competitive advantage, including future or nascent advantage. The essence of transformation is diversification via upgrading and climbing the technology ladder. Successful industrialization will be achieved not just by doing things better – though that is a key factor – but also by doing different things, implying industrialization is achieved through diversification. [Download]

Greece knocks monetary union off SADC's agenda (ISS)

There was a telling moment of candour at this week’s annual SADC summit when South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies acknowledged that the organisation had put the goal of a single regional currency by 2018 on the backburner because of developments in Greece. The organisation’s ambitious economic integration strategy had once envisaged a customs union by 2010, monetary union by 2016 and a single currency by 2018. But SADC’s current Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan emphasises industrialisation instead. Davies told the African News Agency that ‘monetary union is something for the longer term and not now.’

‘The experience of the EU and Greece was about constructing a monetary union among countries with very divergent development, and not all with the same value in currency,’ he said. ‘You can see it is becoming unstuck in Europe and it is only being held together in Europe under very difficult conditions. People are getting bailouts, and who is going to do that in southern Africa where its levels of diversification are even higher?’ he asked. [The author: Peter Fabricius]

What approaches and modalities should be followed for the establishment of the Continental FTA? (tralac)

A more workable approach that identifies key priorities to address the most pressing challenges to Africa’s integration and development is imperative in order to avoid getting stuck on sensitive market access negotiations. A practical sector-by-sector or issue-by-issue approach in which fundamental principles and minimum common points are outlined in an early agreement could provide the basis for continuous adaption and improvement in each identified area. Such agreements should be anchored in an overarching legal framework that sets out the new pathway for Africa’s integration and in line with the vision provided of Agenda 2063. This could offer a more sensible approach for the establishment of the CFTA. [The author: JB Cronje]

Competition looms as Nigeria gears up for continental free trade (BusinessDay)

What does the TFTA really mean for regional integration in Africa? (SAIIA)

Given the history and current nature of regional integration on the continent, the private sector will ultimately have to be the champion of regional integration in Africa. Whether the TFTA will be successful or not will depend on whether industrialists and entrepreneurs take advantage of the provisions of the agreement to invest in regional value chains across the continent. It is unfortunate that the TFTA does not make much mention of co-operation on FDI issues as foreign investors will hopefully see Africa as a more attractive investment destination due to the creation of a larger market, and there is scope for African countries to co-operate on FDI regulation. The creation of a regional FDI policy would makes Africa’s regional economic communities more appealing and provide impetus for investors to build cross-border operations. [The author: Mark Schoeman]

Building Bridges: East Africa regional workshop (Tanzania Daily News)

A renowned policy drafter and Kenya Senator, Prof Peter Nyong'o said that he feels that legislation harmonisation is paramount for economic integration to be complete. Prof Nyong'o said that regional integration has for many years been an exclusively inter-state affair and that there were no logical or economic imperatives for businesses to lobby for regional integration as well as no strong national business interests in individual member states to push for regional integration. He said that today the liberalisation of the economy has brought to the forefront the private sector in both policy and economy and that there is recognition of the potential of the role of the private sector in both regional trade and investment scheme projects.

South Africa’s agricultural trading relationship with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (tralac)

The objective of this paper is to analyse the Southern African Customs Union’s agricultural trading relationship with particular focus on South Africa’s dominant trading position vis-à-vis the rest of SACU member states, namely Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. Intra-BLNS agricultural trade is extremely limited. Namibia exports some beer to both Botswana and Lesotho and imports some beef from Botswana. Lesotho has virtually zero exports to the other BLNS partners but imports cotton from Botswana. Botswana imports various products in minor amounts from Namibia, while Swaziland is not actively involved with the BLNS partners. [Download]

Internal barriers in India will limit deal with SACU (Business Day)

Barriers to trade in India and the sensitivity of some of the products it has proposed for preferential treatment are the main stumbling blocks to concluding a trade agreement, MPs heard on Tuesday. "We are now looking at an early conclusion of the negotiations but at a reduced level of ambition," Ms Kruger said.

Kenya: Cargo handled at Mombasa up 14% to 13.2m tonnes (Daily Nation)

Infrastructure imports and mineral exports have boosted activity at the Port of Mombasa in the first half of the year. The Kenya Ports Authority has posted 11.2% increase in performance. The port handled a total of 13.21 million tonnes compared with 11.88 million tonnes handled in a similar period in 2014. Container traffic increased by 14.2% to 529,000 this half of the year from 464,000 in the same period in 2014. Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director Gichiri Ndua said imports for the regional integration, improved economic performances, project cargoes and infrastructural developments, especially the standard gauge railway, helped KPA's performance record an uptick.

Kenya’s foreign direct investments to hit over Sh200bn (Daily Nation)

Kenya projects that foreign direct investment will surge to over Sh200 billion this year riding on renewed investor interest and confidence in the country’s business climate. Speaking at the Kenya-Japan investment forum in Nairobi on Wednesday, Kenya Investment Authority (KIA) managing director Moses Ikiara said the improving business environment coupled with planned, high profile investment forums continue to attract investors from across the world.

Kenya’s exports to Dar drop 30% in first half of the year (Business Daily)

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the country sold goods worth Sh12.2 billion to Tanzania in the six months to June, down from Sh17.7 billion in a similar period last year. “Tanzania has been investing in industries and it was obvious that our goods would not be going there in perpetuity,” said Joseph Kosure, a consultant in the external trade section at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Data from the Export Promotion Council shows that the balance of trade between the two countries has been deteriorating due to an increase of Kenya’s imports from Tanzania. Last year Kenya imported goods worth Sh18.3 billion from Tanzania, an increase from the previous year’s Sh11.6 billion, thereby narrowing the positive balance of trade to Sh24.3 billion from Sh28.8 billion.

Forget Uganda’s 1pc imports, our State protectionism policy killing sugar industry (Business Daily)

Role of the state in business, agriculture in Mozambique (SPEED)

Against this background, the private sector umbrella organization, CTA in collaboration with the USAID Support Program for Economic and Enterprise Development (SPEED), have commissioned this study to contribute to the discourse and generate a basis from which further understanding can follow on the state’s engagement in business. The state engages in the business environment as a policy maker, regulator, promoter and facilitator as well as an owner of state owned enterprises. The focus of this report is the state’s role as an owner of enterprises. The report investigates the historical, regulatory and institutional framework and the trends of state ownership in Mozambique; and it provides a comparative perspective on state owned enterprises in resource rich countries. [Downloads are available]

Agribusiness on rise in north Uganda region where rebels fought (Reuters)

Nigeria: second quarter trade report (Bureau of Statistics)

The total value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade during Q2, 2015, was recorded at ₦4,372.4bn. This was 0.5% less than the value of ₦4,392.7bn recorded in the preceding quarter. In comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2014, the value of the total merchandise trade decreased by ₦2,287.0bn, or 34.3%. Imports from Africa stood at ₦97.8bn, or 6.5% of total imports, while imports from ECOWAS amounted to ₦39.0bn, 39.9% of total African imports. Nigeria exported goods valued at ₦554.3bn, or 19.3% to the continent of Africa while exports to the ECOWAS region totalled ₦171.1bn, 30.9% of all exports to Africa. [Download]

How China's slowdown is affecting Africa (DW)

Over the past decades, Africa's resource-rich nations have attracted massive investments from fuel-hungry China. But its recent slowdown has left Africa vulnerable, as Fathom Consulting economist Oliver White explains.

Egypt to host Africa 2015 Business Forum (Graphic)

Zambia: Panic buying, speculation 'chokes' Kwacha (Daily Mail)

EAC Women in Business Conference (EAC)

Buhari leads Nigerian delegation to Commonwealth Business Forum (BusinessDay)

Tito Mboweni: 'BRICS bank to balance global order' (Business Day)

Donald Mackay: 'SA shouldn't kowtow to China on trade' (RDM)

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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)