News
tralac’s Daily News selection
The selection: Tuesday, 19 January 2016
AfDB launches 'High-Fives' application (AfDB)
The High-Fives application is designed to give periodic information about the performance of African countries in these priority areas and create opportunities for timely corrective action. It is also intended to serve as a unified tool to help track progress in meeting the High 5s agenda within the Bank and in addressing Africa’s transformative agenda. Through the High-Fives application, users can access a wide range of priority-area development data compiled from multiple international and national official sources, perform visual data comparison across time and countries, run ad-hoc analyses, and download results to external formats, such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc. [Download the app]
Trade facilitation and paperless trade survey 2015 (UN)
Notwithstanding the “buy-in” of the trade facilitation agenda by African countries, one of the key challenges in assessing the degree of implementation of reforms, and their impact on the real economy has traditionally been the lack of systematic and reliable information about what is happening on the ground. The present report represents a key step in tackling this very issue; it provides the basis for a more evidence-based discussion of trade facilitation in Africa, and for better tailoring capacity building and technical support in designing and implementing trade facilitation strategies. The report presents and analyses the findings of the Global Survey on Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade Implementation, a joint initiative of the five United Nations Regional Commissions, in cooperation with other interested international organizations. [Download Africa report, Global report]
How digital trade is transforming globalisation (E15 Initiative)
SADC Trade Related Facility: call for applications (SADC)
This Call for applications, is a rolling call which will remain open until 16 January 2017, the deadline for submission of applications. Member States may submit applications at any moment in time. Evaluation of applications will commence after every cut-off date. Three cut-off dates have been established for evaluation purposes, the first being 29 February 2016, the second being 22 July 2016 and the final being 16 January 2017. Member States will be expected to indicate if they need technical assistance for conceptualization of projects and developing the applications. [Downloads available]
Sub-Saharan Africa: Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index 2016
For the first time, logistics professionals see consumer spending in Africa as a more important driver of growth than energy and minerals. They identified Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya as Africa’s most promising markets. In spite of recent growth and investment, Sub-Saharan Africa remains a frontier market for most supply chain executives as only 21.2% said they have operations there. For the first time, supply chain professionals surveyed see India – rather than China – as the emerging market with the most growth potential. [Download]
African container trades is growing exponentially despite bottlenecks and ports inefficiency (Hellenic Shipping News)
In the mind of many, this study’s part of Africa forms an altogether insignificant trade. That may be true if comparing it with a high volume area such as the Far East. Yet, this region’s combined port throughput is approaching 8 million TEU, which is technically more than the whole of the Australian continent. And then, there is so much scope for growth of these 23 different African countries with their 437 million inhabitants. Imagine that the East and Southern Africa container trades would catch up, relatively and in one year’s time, with that of the USA with its population of 323 million. In that case, the relevant African TEU volume would grow to 42 million TEU, up 1,200% from the 3.2 million TEU of 2014. A period of 25 years may be more realistic. This would then translate into a compound annual growth rate of nearly 11%! [Dynamar’s East and Southern Africa Container Trades report - subscription details]
Rwanda: Govt to set up logistics platform to facilitate international trade (New Times)
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has signed a 25-year renewable concession agreement with Dubai Port World to develop and operate a logistics platform, expected to boost international trade and competition in external market. The envisaged Kigali Logistics Platform refers to a defined inland location for the consolidation and distribution of goods that has functions similar to those of a seaport and which includes customs clearance services. The logistics infrastructure to be located in Masaka, Kigali, will offer different services such as a depot to enable cargo trucks from Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports to load and offload containers without delay, according to Trade and Industry minister Francois Kanimba.
Egypt to have 12 logistics centres in Africa within 3 years (Zawya)
The Egyptian Exporters Association – Expolink is planning to establish 12 logistics centres in a number of African nations in three years, its chairman Khaled El Mikati said Monday. The first logistics centre will be established in Kenya's capital, Nairobi in the first quarter of 2016, El Mikati added, saying the EEA is set to visit the country by end of current January to discuss final details of the project.
Malawi: Unlocking trade opportunities through rail transport (Malawi News Agency)
Recently, the Malawi Ministry of Transport and Public Works gave a go-ahead for the renewal of a contract between the Central and East African Railways and the Zambian Railways Limited for the latter to operate trains in Malawi. Magwede said the company had pushed into the corridor three locomotives and seventy wagons which will be carrying goods between Chipata in Zambia and Nacala Port in Mozambique.
India: Our logistics are a major trade barrier (The Hindu)
An emerging economy such as India needs to expand international trade to sustain 7-8% growth. At present, exports contribute only 16% to India’s GDP - low compared to peers such as China (34%), South Africa (27%) and Indonesia (26%). Further, increasing supply of a semi-skilled, young labour force demands manufacturing growth supported by exports that would generate employment opportunities. Therefore, the implementation of sound trade facilitation policies for low trade and transaction costs is a prerequisite to attract investors to make in India and consider it their manufacturing hub.
Southern Africa: funding shortfall threatens UN efforts to counter El Niño-exacerbated drought (UN)
Worst affected by last year's poor rains are Malawi with 2.8 million people facing hunger, Madagascar with nearly 1.9 million, and Zimbabwe with 1.5 million and last year's harvest reduced by half compared to the previous year due to massive crop failure. In Lesotho, the Government has declared a drought emergency and some 650,000 people, a third of the population, do not have enough food. As elsewhere, water is in extremely short supply for both crops and livestock. Also causing concern are Angola, Mozambique and Swaziland. Food prices across southern Africa have been rising due to reduced production and availability. The price of maize, the staple for most of the region, is 73% higher in Malawi than the three-year average for this time of year. [WFP statement]
This document builds on Oxfam’s recent briefing, ‘Entering Uncharted Waters: El Niño and the threat to food security,’ and calls on the affected governments, regional bodies and the international community to work together in early response and preparedness in the face of an unfolding crisis. Key messages:
Related: Uganda awarded grant to prepare strategic programme for climate resilience (AfDB), South Africa: Agriculture will feel the heat for years after dry spell (Business Day), Communique: 8th Berlin Agriculture Ministers's Summit 2016
South Africa: mode of travel for tourism (StatsSA)
In October 2015, 185 449 (89,1%) of overseas tourists arrived in the country by air, whilst 21 792 (10,5%) came in by road. This is in contrast to the number of tourists from the Southern African Development Community countries who came into South Africa predominantly by road [487 854 (92,9%)]. Only 37 450 (7,1%) tourists from SADC countries came in by air. The number of tourists who came into South Africa by air from 'other' African countries was 12 970 (92,2%), with 1 094 (7,8%) using road transport.
Zimbabwe: ‘Ebola, tax spur 20% tourism arrivals drop’ (NewsDay)
Tourist arrivals in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe’s prime resort, were down 20% in 2015 compared to the corresponding year due to the Ebola virus after-effects as well as tax introduced on foreign tourists, an industry official has said.
Where rich Africans hide their billions (IPPMedia)
Thirty per cent of all African financial wealth is held in offshore banking, costing an estimated $14billion (30.8trillion/-) in lost tax revenues every year, says a new report released yesterday by Oxfam International. It says that in South Africa, the continent’s economic superpower, the inequality is particularly staggering –with just two men owning the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the over 50 million population. [Download]
The road to regional integration (Crown Agents, The Guardian)
Crown Agents recently launched a project working with the African Development Bank on Zimbabwe’s Regional Trade Integration Strategy Paper Programme. RISP will provide the Government of Zimbabwe with a strategic approach to regional integration - both at a sub-regional and continental level - ultimately enhancing Zimbabwe’s presence in the global market-place, and increasing its intra-regional trade. [The author, Jon Walden, is Senior Adviser in Customs and Trade Facilitation at Crown Agents]
Reflecting on IGAD’s last 30 years and envisaging the next (IGAD)
Mauritius-EU: fourth political dialogue (Government of Mauritius)
The Foreign Affairs Minister underscored that the EU is the most important development partner for Mauritius and the only development partner providing direct budget support. He stated that the EU remains the most important market for Mauritius, accounting for approximately 70% of the country's export and that access to the EU market remains a priority for the Government. He also highlighted the current challenges that are being faced by Mauritius which include the blacklisting of Mauritius by some EU countries as a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction; the difficulties in the negotiations on full Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Eastern and Southern African region, to which Mauritius belongs; the decision of the EU to abolish sugar quotas by 2017; and the negative impact of the extension of Autonomous Tariff Rate Quota to non-ACP Countries for certain fisheries products for the period 2016-2018 on tuna loins exported to the EU.
Ethiopia: Business people’s views of paying taxes (ICTD)
Based on data obtained from a survey of business taxpayers in Addis Ababa, the study finds a statistically significant relation between tax-compliance attitude and factors such as the perception of probability of audit, corruption, satisfaction with the tax administration, peer influence, gender and education. The study emphasises the need for better understanding of why taxpayers are dissatisfied with the tax administration, including perceptions of corrupt practices.
Burundi: EALA Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution hearing (EAC)
EALA has responded to the Government of Burundi welcoming its decision to participate in the Public Hearing Workshop. The Assembly has thus set aside January 25th, 2016 as the new date to hold its second public hearing and notified the Government of the Republic of Burundi of the same. Any other stakeholder who has views to share with the Committee is also invited to attend the Public hearing upon prior arrangement. Once finalised, the Committee shall retreat and prepare its Report.
SADC suspends activities in Lesotho (eNCA)
SADC has decided to suspend all its activities in Lesotho until the bloc meets in August. There it wants the summit to suspend Lesotho if it refuses to accept the Judge Phumaphi report. But President Zuma says SADC will release that report without Lesotho consensus. SADC Executive Secretary, Dr. Stergomena Tax, says a full communiqué will be released on Tuesday.
Namibia: New property bill might discourage foreign investment - IPPR (New Era)
Services more than half of China 2015 GDP (Xinhua)
Chinese small commodities centre doing more trade with Africa (FOCAC)
Prof L Alan Winters: Harnessing trade for development in Africa - think mobility (pp38-43 in ACTS January newsletter)
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