The selection: Friday, 21 August

Today in Kigali: The African Democratic Developmental State symposium  

Today in Zanzibar: Currency stability to dominate EAC central bank governors’ meeting  

Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority: communiqué

During the Policy Organs meetings, the bureau was reconstituted whereby the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took over the Chairmanship of the Authority for the next two years from the Republic of Burundi; the Vice Chair went to Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Kenya took over as the 1st Rapporteur while the Republic of Rwanda became 2nd Rapporteur. Uganda and Burundi are members. The Policy Organs adopted a number of key resolutions on program activities related to transport policy harmonization, advocacy and planning, customs and trade facilitation, infrastructure development and management and private sector investment promotion, Northern Corridor Performance monitoring as well as the budget for the financial year 2015/16 and administrative matters. NCTTCA Policy Organs launched the upgraded Transport Observatory Portal monitoring the performance of the Corridor.

Crude oil pipeline top of Kenyan growth agenda, says Uhuru (Daily Nation)

The Hoima-Lokichar-Lamu crude oil pipeline is a priority project for the government as Kenya looks to tap the crude oil billions to accelerate development. Speaking on Thursday at State House, Nairobi when he hosted a Japanese business delegation, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the pipeline will open up northern Kenya and accelerate the entire East African regional development. The pipeline is key topic among discussions at the Northern Corridor Integration Projects Summit next week in Nairobi. It is expected to serve Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan when complete. Ethiopia could also benefit from the same.

Uganda defaults on Shs24b Igad fees (Daily Monitor)

Uganda has defaulted on membership fees for the regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development , under which it plays key role in regional security. According to sources, the arrears have accumulated to $8 million (Shs24 billion) and government officials risk being blocked from attending Igad meetings. Other countries that have defaulted are Sudan with $2 million (about Shs7 billion), South Sudan with $1.5 million (about Shs5.3 billion), Kenya with $1 million (about Shs3.5 billion) and Ethiopia with $1.7 million (about Shs6 billion).

Cargo clearing at Dar port reduced to 0.9 of day, says Tancis (IPPMedia)

TRA’s deputy commissioner Customs Modernisation and Risk Management, Bellium Silaa, told ‘The Guardian’ in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that the number of days for clearance of goods has been reduced from 9 to 0.9 of a day which is almost one day. Silaa also said that businesspersons are now allowed to pay in advance for the clearance of their goods even before they arrive in the country.

Mombasa port dredging pays off as biggest ship ever arrives (Business Daily)

UAE closes Nairobi embassy amid falling trade (Business Daily)

The United Arab Emirates has closed its embassy in Nairobi indefinitely on undisclosed reasons as exports from the Middle East nation continue to shrink. The closure comes months after the emirate announced plans to upgrade its Nairobi mission to the largest in Africa. “They informed us of the closure about a month ago,” said Beldina Nyabochoa, an office administrator of Middle East division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She declined to offer details behind the closure and the Business Daily was unable to reach UAE for comment.

Sugar imports from Uganda to come under COMESA rules (Business Daily)

Sugar imports from Uganda will only be allowed under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) rules and not any other special arrangement, the government said Thursday. Acting Agriculture secretary Adan Mohamed said Uganda has been selling sugar to Kenya under the Comesa and the East African Community Customs Union rules, and that the agreement alluded to when President Uhuru Kenyatta recently visited the neighbouring country did not imply that this would change. “Being a member of Comesa, Uganda is entitled to access Kenyan market on Comesa treaty terms,” Mr Mohamed said at a press briefing Thursday.

Rwanda: Tourism stakeholders move to curb revenue leakages (New Times)

The growth of the tourism industry in the country has been characterised by an increase in foreign players and heavy reliance on imports of associated products and services. This has necessitated the introduction of measures to subsequent financial leakages, as well as ways to enhance local participation to increase the sector’s impact in the economy. It is against this backdrop that the Rwanda Development Board and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa have set out to intervene to enhance local participation. The two bodies began by commissioning a study of the value chain where it emerged that there are numerous opportunities that are not being exploited by local suppliers and producers.

Made in Africa? Why not? (Caixin Online)

In the search for competitive costs and acceptable quality, new actors continuously take center stage. There's always an unforeseen producer, an emerging country ready to offer more advantageous conditions to attract multinationals' investments. The combination is unchanging: low costs and favorable business climates. The affirmation of a few African countries in textile manufacturing is only the latest example of the sector's mobility. A recent study by McKinsey – drafted with the usual attention to data – finds that Ethiopia is one of the preferred destinations, No. 7 overall, for the first time. Giants like H&M, Primark and Tesco have already set up factories. Kenya is recording analogous growth, while smaller markets like Lesotho and Mauritius continue to improve their performance. [The author: Alberto Forchielli]

The Australian-Chinese Free Trade Agreement: implications for South Africa (tralac)

In the final analysis there are few implications for South Africa from ChAFTA. Australia gains some advantages in the Chinese resources market, but while these are important they are not massive. In general, the tariffs are low and there is limited South Africa-Australia head-to-head competition in most lines. Australia gains some advantages in agriculture, but these are mainly in commodities where South Africa does not compete – except for perhaps wine. [The author: Ron Sandrey]

SADC Financial Inclusion Indaba (FinMark Trust]

This report contains the deliberations and proceedings from the recently held SADC financial inclusion indaba. FinMark Trust, in partnership with the SADC Secretariat, South African National Treasury and the SADC Banking Association hosted the SADC Financial Inclusion Indaba from 23-24 July 2015, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Out next week: 2015 Financial and Digital Inclusion Report and Scorecard (Brookings)

Mozambique: workshop on SADC Trade Related Facility (AIM)

Celio Nhachungue, the deputy director of international relations in the Ministry of Industry and Trade - the TFR focal point in Mozambique - underlined the importance of regional integration for the economic development of Mozambique. As explained by Dumisani Mahlinza from the TFR Facility Support Unit, €2.6 million (of a total of €32 million) could be allocated to Mozambique through the TFR mechanism. In order to be eligible, projects must be worth at least €250,000.

A look at how Zimbabwe can benefit from the TFTA (The Herald)

Zimbabwe has realised that in order to meaningfully participate in the regional and even global economy, she has to enhance her competitiveness, and this has necessitated the writing of the National Competitiveness Assessment Report, which is due to be published in the second half of 2015. In this regard, the Government has instituted the National Competitiveness commission to spearhead competitiveness issues in the country. [The author: Tafadzwa Bandama]

The status of agricultural subsidies in the SADC region: call for proposals (FinMark Trust)

FinMark Trust would like to commission a service provider who will conduct research on the status of agricultural subsidies in at least 4 countries in the SADC region and develop guidelines for the implementation of an agricultural subsidy scheme in the SADC region. The overall purpose of the project is to assist the Southern African Development Community- Food Agriculture and Natural Resources (SADC-(FANR) and its member states to make informed decisions regarding the payment of subsidies in their own countries by using the research findings. As such, it remains important to:

Malawi: consultancy for agro-processing special economic zone (AfDB)

MITC, a parastatal under the Ministry of Industry and Trade has planned to develop an Agro-Processing Special Economic Zone (AP-SEZ) in order to support the promotion of commercial farming for priority National Export Strategy (NES) crops. MITC hence intends to engage a Consulting Firm to conduct a feasibility study for the development of an AP-SEZ in Malawi.

Economic zones in the ASEAN (UNIDO)

FMD threatens beef exports to Asia – Geingob (New Era)

President Hage Geingob yesterday said Namibia will collectively work with the Angolan government to address frequent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), if it is to penetrate beef markets in China and Indonesia.

South Africa: Finding the missing jobs (IOL)

We often hear that the main way to accelerate job creation is a single-minded focus on growth, without directly dealing with the distortions left by apartheid. This approach has two core weaknesses. [The author: Neva Makgetla]

Key interventions did not shift economy – ANC (Fin24)

IMF, USAID strengthen cooperation on capacity development (IMF)

India: Cabinet clears tax data sharing with Seychelles (LiveMint)

Liberalizing Africa’s skies to accelerate integration and promote prosperity (AU)

Tanzania offers cockpit view into Africa's soaring low-cost airline industry (CNN)

Nigeria: We’ll provide conducive environment for investors, says Ambode (BusinessDay)

Duncan Green: 'Have the MDGs affected developing country policies and spending?' (Oxfam/ World Bank)

China’s flash factory PMI drops to lowest level since March 2009 (LiveMint)

Miguel Arias Cañete: briefing on the state of climate change negotiations (EU)

Tracking intended nationally determined contributions: what are the implications for greenhouse gas emissions in 2030? (Grantham Research Institute)

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This week in the news

Catch up on tralac’s daily news selections for the past week:

The selection: Thursday, 20 August 2015

The selection: Wednesday, 19 August 2015

The selection: Tuesday, 18 August 2015

The selection: Monday, 17 August 2015

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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)