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tralac’s Daily News selection
The selection: Tuesday, 12 January 2016
New AGOA deadline set as Obama announces SA suspension date (Fin24)
South Africa has until March 15 to fully comply with the US import of poultry as well as other meat. This is the new deadline that has been set for South Africa, after US President Barack Obama on Monday ordered the suspension of duty-free treatment to all AGOA-eligible goods in the agricultural sector from South Africa, effective on March 15. The suspension will be revoked should South Africa comply with the requirements to ensure the imports are on SA shelves, sources said. It is in effect another 60-day deadline for South Africa, after it concluded negotiations over health issues last week. That could happen within a month, but does put added pressure on the country to comply. [EFF statement on AGOA]
Supporting export competitiveness through port and rail network reforms: a case study of South Africa (World Bank)
The paper draws on interviews with a wide range of exporters along with secondary research to examine South Africa's port and rail network, and explores the underlying factors contributing to these constraints, including chronic underinvestment, an inadequate regulatory environment, insufficient private sector participation, and weak regional integration. The paper concludes with a review of the reforms needed to deliver a more broadly accessible and competitive rail and port sector based on international case examples. [Download]
Extract: The virtual collapse of the regional rail services prompted governments to take action with renewed focus on regional railways supported by interest from large and resourceful private sector investors. Significant improvements have taken place over the past 2 to 3 years, with transit times becoming more predictable and costs declining. Although locomotive changes still take place on the borders (a major cause of delay in the past), it is now more coordinated. Among the most important improvements in recent years was the establishment of a Joint Operating Centre (JOC) in Bulawayo to control and monitor the railway operation on the north‐south corridor (a similar JOC has been operating successfully on the Maputo Corridor). [The authors: Martin Odendaal, Andre Steenkamp, Duncan Pieterse, Thomas Farole]
Beira port expansion lags behind expanded Sena rail capacity (Zitamar News)
The long-running rehabilitation of the Sena railway line from coal-rich Moatize to the port of Beira is set to be completed by June 2016, according to a government official, allowing 20 million tonnes of coal to travel down the line each year. However Beira port will not be able to handle even half of that capacity until at least 2020.
Botswana: MTI issues trade facilitation paper (Daily News)
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has issued a paper that disseminates information on the concept of trade facilitation, its importance and developments around the subject. On how the WTO agreement on trade facilitation will benefit traders, it notes that the ATF has potential benefits to traders which include the provision on publication of information, which will benefit traders by ensuring availability of information and encouraging transparency. It also says duplication of customs controls between border agencies will be decreased thereby reducing the costs for traders. It notes that it will lead to reduced costs to consumers and exporters thus assisting exporters of agricultural goods. The agreement calls on member countries to establish or maintain a single window, a trade facilitation tool which connects border agencies within a country through a single electronic data information exchange platform.
Seychelles ratifies Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO)
Mozambique: CTA to restart business environment monitoring forums (Club of Mozambique)
The Confederation of Business Associations of Mozambique (CTA), which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2016, has announced that it will resume the monitoring of the business environment at central and provincial level this year. The CTA also plans to complete the implementation by June of this year of the reform agenda outlined in the memorandum signed in August 2015 between the government and the private sector. In 2015, Mozambique fell six places from 127 to 133 in the international Doing Business ranking, an important indicator of Mozambique’s image among foreign investors. The decline, coupled with the current economic climate, will only exacerbate investor uncertainty regarding Mozambique.
Kenya: Why businesses should pay attention to new commercial laws (Business Daily)
Kenya has undergone major legislative changes in the past 10 years. New laws geared towards making the country the region’s trading hub have been enacted and implementation is expected to begin in earnest. The changes represent the largest reform of commercial law the country has ever seen. And although much of the concepts of the repealed Acts will remain the same, some significant changes have been introduced, many of which are designed to open up ways to operate a corporate business in Kenya. The business fraternity has welcomed this robust move that will seek to revolutionise commercial practice. This is more so because the old regimes, albeit having served us for over half a century, had many lapses. [The author: Nicholas Kokita]
Banks in EA pin hopes on technology and partnerships to catalyse growth (The East African)
Namibia: New agricultural policy launched (Namibia Economist)
New developments within the agricultural sector, which include new bilateral, regional and multi-lateral agreements as well as the current and expected impacts of climate change and agricultural land reform have prompted the revision of the National Agricultural Policy which has been in existence since 1995. The new policy was launched in December by the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa. The Namibia Agriculture Policy is the overarching policy and will serve as a base for drafting new as well as aligning existing policies, law and regulations. The policy presents a framework for the design of programmes and projects that will steer the performance of the sector. According to Mutorwa, countries belonging to the Southern African Customs Union have also initiated a process for the harmonisation of agricultural and related policies.
Related: Eddie Cross: 'The outlook for agriculture in Southern Africa' (Southern Times), Africa takes fresh look at GMO crops as drought blights continent (Reuters)
Mauritius waits on a second economic miracle (African Arguments)
Construction of the first of eight ‘smart cities’, announced by Jugnauth last June, will also begin shortly. The idea is to build on the success of the 2001 government-initiated ‘Cyber City’ (also known as Ebene) to create (with private sector finance) sustainable business, entertainment and residential hubs that will boost both the number and quality of jobs open to the ever-growing number of well-educated young people. Increasingly, this demographic is looking for jobs not on the basis of kinship or political patronage but on merit – meritocracy is something of a buzzword in Mauritius these days. In addition, there are plans to regenerate existing urban areas such as Curepipe, Goodlands and Quatre Bornes. [The author: Seán Carey]
Rwanda's increasing import bill is short-term, experts say (New Times)
Rwanda recorded a 0.3% trade deficit over the third quarter of last year, spending $481.1m (Rwf370.4bn) on imports compared to $96.14m (Rwf74bn) from exports. Total exports decreased by 26.07% during the period. On the other hand, the import bill increased by 12.5% from $427.75m during the same period in 2014, and rose by 2.23% compared to the second quarter of 2015. Switzerland, Kenya, the DRC, the USA and the United Arab Emirates remained Rwanda’s top five markets for the country’s exports, accounting for 65.7% share of total value of domestic exports, valued at $63.2m (Rwf48.7bn). [Download Q3 export trade report]
IGAD bloc kicks off celebrating 30 years of progress (Coastweek)
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development which was established to address issues of drought and mitigate against the effects of desertification in the greater Horn of Africa said it will celebrate the achievements on 16 January. "At the end of the first decade, the organization was revitalized taking up broader mandates that included economic cooperation and social development, peace building and human security, as well as environmental protection and food security," IGAD said in a statement issued in Nairobi. The regional bloc has lined up a panel discussion which will be attended by three former executive secretaries to share their experiences and views on the prospects and challenges of peace, security, economic development and integration in the region, as well as how best IGAD can position itself for higher impact.
West African traders ignore ECOWAS market (Footprint to Africa)
“Intra-regional trade in ECOWAS is still consistently low at about 12%,” said Kalilou Traore, ECOWAS commissioner for industry and private sector promotion, while announcing plans to establish ECOWAS Business Houses (EBH). “Our expectation is that within the first five years of establishment of the regional EBH, apart from boosting the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the regional economies, made in ECOWAS States product will be viable and visibly present for business in the regional market and companies to reap the gains from international trade,” Traore said.
West Africa counts economic cost as Ebola outbreak ends (AFP/Daily Nation)
Gabon signs loans for port and major highway development (Africa Report)
South Africa: Festive season traveller statistics (Home Affairs)
From 1 December 2015 to 7 January 2016, a total number of 5,390,856 travellers went through our borders, much higher than the total earlier reported for 1 December 2015 to 3 January 2016, that is, 4,798,183. Of the 5,390,856, 1,487,148 were citizens, with 3,903,708 being foreign nationals. The top nationalities arriving in SA over this period were from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, United Kingdom, Germany, USA and Namibia.
Taking AfDB’s development impact to scale in fragile situations (AfDB)
In recent years, we have witnessed many cases of political instability that resulted in the advent of transitory governments. This poses challenges to our traditional business model to which we need to adapt, making better use of our country presence and partnerships. We recognize the importance of the private sector in promoting economic growth and generating much-needed jobs in these moments. However, engaging with the private sector in such environments calls for better risk mitigation mechanisms and appropriate instruments. The Bank has been called to play a leading role around issues of fragility in Africa and also think “out of the box” to find solutions. This study analyses constraints and opportunities in the Bank’s business model to deliver in fragile situations. The report identifies seven dimensions that have the potential to significantly strengthen the footprint of the AfDB in these settings: [Download]
Burundi: EALA to hold public hearing workshop (EAC)
The EALA Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution Committee has called for the public hearing workshop that is intended to review the petition by the Pan African Lawyers Union submitted to EALA in November 2015 on the subject matter. The Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution is set to establish the facts of humanitarian atrocities as reported in the petition and to make recommendations to the House during the next Sitting scheduled to commence on January 24th, 2016 in Arusha. Participants are expected from the Committee Membership, government officials from the Republic of Burundi, Civil Society Organisation representatives from Burundi, representatives from the country’s Political Parties and the petitioners.
Implementing the Mali Peace Agreement: UNSC briefing (UN)
Tokyo takes on Beijing in Africa, claiming quality over speed (Financial Times)
China Railway Construction Corp to modernise Senegal-Mali railway (IRJ)
Jamaica to Chair Group of 77 in Geneva in 2016 (UNCTAD)
The shock of widowhood: marital status and poverty in Africa (World Bank Blogs)
ProSavana advances but strategy should be reviewed - Notícias (Club of Mozambique)
New UBS report highlights the high cost of climate change to global middle class (UBS)
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