News
tralac’s Daily News selection
The selection: Monday, 25 January 2016
Addis AU Summit updates: 31st Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee: closing statement, AU Ministerial Retreat of the Executive Council: implementing Agenda 2063, Suspense ahead of crucial AU elections (ISS)
After the 'rising' – now reform and realism (Africa Confidential)
Five developments fuel the gloomier outlook for Africa. How are African governments likely to react to the tougher conditions?
From ODI's recent discussion 'Africa’s industrialisation: reversing the decline': download the event report, Helen Hai’s contribution
How to reform the Democratic Republic of Congo (TIME Ideas)
As a DRC native who has worked for 25 years in some 85 countries as an international development economist, mainly in country management and private sector and financial sector development, I believe turning the country around demands no less than an updated version of the Marshall Plan that rebuilt post-war Europe. The 15-year plan I propose for DRC comprises seven pillars of development, with the private sector driving growth and international and diaspora expertise tapped as needed. What will this plan cost? I estimate about $800bn over 15 years, in domestic resources, bilateral and multilateral aid, and foreign direct investment. It will also require a wholesale rethinking of development strategy and governance, with transparency a top priority. Executed wisely, it could turn one of the world’s poorest economies into a driver of African growth. [The author, Noel K. Tshiani M., is an economist at the World Bank]
A reminder: the Private Sector Investment Conference for the Great Lakes region concludes today in Kinshasa
Related: ICGLR's open letter on mineral market crisis, Amnesty International, Afrewatch report on DRC's cobalt mining sector
Full plate awaits Nigeria's Buhari in Kenya (Daily Nation)
Trade between African countries, regional security, United Nations reform agenda, climate change and economic development will form the fulcrum of discussions between President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria when the latter jets into Nairobi on Wednesday for a three-day state visit.
Implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement in Ghana (UNCTAD)
This will be the first event in Ghana organized within the framework of the UK-funded project to assist in the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, in close cooperation with the World Customs Organization. The event will address the National Road Transport and Transit Facilitation Committee, as well as other stakeholders. The objectives are to:
Malaysia-Africa bilateral trade to grow 4% to 5% in 2016 (Malaysian Digest)
Total exports to Africa increased by 11% y-o-y to RM19.5bil in 2014. By industry, palm oil and palm-based products accounted for the biggest export share at 32.2% of total exports to Africa for the January-November 2015 period, he said. “This was followed by petroleum products (24.4%), chemical and chemical products (7.4%), processed food (7.1%) and so on,” he said. To facilitate business networking between Malaysian and African entrepreneurs, Matrade will organise a series of seminars, forums and exhibitions this year to provide platforms to industry players to better understand the opportunities there.
ECOWAS signs MOU with China’s CGCOC on development projects (ECOWAS)
In continuation of its efforts to ensure development across the West African region, the ECOWAS Commission has signed five MoUs relating to various development projects with a Chinese conglomerate, CGC Overseas Construction Group. The five MoUs are those covering, including; the Trans-West African Railway, and the Trans-West African Coastal Highway. Others are on the West African Telecommunication Infrastructure Facilities, and the West African Regional Aviation Field as well as that of Construction of New ECOWAS Headquarters and related facilities in Abuja, Nigeria.
West African Common Position towards UNGASS 2016 (WASCI)
We, representatives of government ministries, law enforcement agencies, drug policy experts and civil society who participated in the Regional Consultation on Drug Policy Reform on “The Road to UNGASS” which was held in Ghana from 19-20 January 2016, which attracted 11 West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone) hereby make the following declaration with respect to drug policy reform in West Africa:
Business groups endorse intercontinental highway from Sicily to Cape Town (BusinessDay)
Not less than 90 business groups around the world have endorsed the proposed intercontinental highway, known as the Europe-Africa Business corridor, that is to run from Sicily in Italy, through strategic countries including Lagos to Cape Town in South Africa. Twenty out of the 90-business group expected to drive the gigantic project designed by a team of Italian professors are said to come from Africa. The groups are mostly societies of engineers from different countries. The outcome of the business corridor would be the emergence of a powerful business block between Africa and Europe, and later Asia, which they said, would be co-opted. The World Bank is said to be behind the project.
Rwanda aims to be EA’s logistics hub (The East African)
According to Dubai Port, the first phase of the Inland Container Depot, at the Kigali Logistics Platform, is set to be complete in 18 months’ time, raising hopes that it will contribute to the ease of doing business in the country. When completed, analysts are optimistic the dry port, which is linked to both the Northern and Central Corridors, will allow Rwandan importers and exporters to consolidate volumes of cargo.
Uganda: Government’s shift from dollar to shilling contracts sparks mixed reactions (Daily Monitor)
Mr Gideon Badagawa, executive director Private Sector Foundation Uganda, said this move plays a role in reducing demand for the dollar and gives an advantage to local companies. “My opinion on this has always been the same. We need to strengthen our economy and by reducing dollarisation, that is a good move. I do not see why local contracts have to be in dollars. If we are paying a local consultant, why do they have to quote dollars? Does it even make sense?”
EAC, Germany sign 37 million Euros agreement to support regional integration (EAC)
The Federal Republic of Germany signed an intergovernmental agreement with the East African Community to support the economic integration, regional health facilities and water resource management. Germany will support the EAC in promoting private investment especially in the pharmaceutical sector, including the establishment of a regional quality infrastructure for the pharmaceutical sector.
SADC Secretariat, China commit to enhance co-operation (SADC)
They agreed to strengthen SADC-China cooperation in line with the Resolutions and Plan of Action that was adopted during the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, held in Johannesburg on 4-5 December 2015. The Ambassador reiterated the Chinese government's commitment to strengthen cooperation with the SADC Secretariat and SADC Member States. In that regard, the two parties agreed to explore ways of the establishment of a platform of closer cooperation for mutual benefits. [US Ambassador in Botswana meets SADC Executive Secretary (SADC)]
Economic internet toolkit for African policy makers (World Bank)
Liberalization of the telecommunications sector is progressing across Africa. One of the most important benefits of this trend is that it will make value-added services, particularly internet access, more affordable and reliable for telecommunications users in the continent. The internet need not be a useful tool only for industrial societies. This toolkit is inspired by the African experience where access to the World Wide Web is helping doctors to save patients, schools to educate children, and communities to create businesses that will lift them out of destitution. This toolkit closely examines these issues. [Uganda: Tech meets agriculture at #Hack4Ag (World Bank Blogs)]
Women’s role in achieving a food secured Africa (IFPRI)
The importance of women empowerment to enhancing agro-productivity and hence combating poverty as underscored in the AU Agenda 2063 is indeed validated by the statistics. Women produce up to 80 percent of food in Africa, both for household consumption and sell, work more average hours in African farms – up to 467 minutes daily compared to 371 minutes for men in some countries, and yet remain marginalized from factors of production.
Price seasonality in Africa: measurement and extent (World Bank)
This study systematically measures seasonal price gaps at 193 markets for 13 food commodities in seven African countries. It shows that the commonly used dummy variable or moving average deviation methods to estimate the seasonal gap can yield substantial upward bias. This can be partially circumvented using trigonometric and sawtooth models, which are more parsimonious. Among staple crops, seasonality is highest for maize (33% on average) and lowest for rice (16½%). This is two and a half to three times larger than in the international reference markets.
New 'Champions 12.3' coalition inspires action to halve global food waste (UNEP)
A coalition of 30 international leaders launched their Champions 12.3 initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos today to inspire ambitious action on reducing global food loss and waste. The group's name is a reference to Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which seeks to halve per capita food waste and reduce food losses by 2030. The coalition will be Co-chaired by UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and Tesco Group Chief Executive Dave Lewis. [Collymore appointed to the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development (Daily Nation)]
Harnessing the power of Africa's swing states: the catalytic role of Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa (Brenthurst Foundation)
In August 2015 the Brenthurst Foundation and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung convened a high-level Dialogue to examine three countries in sub-Saharan Africa - Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa - which are particularly illustrative of the importance of swing states to regional and continental success. The three countries were selected on account of their relative economic and diplomatic weight, location and level of international integration (regionally and globally) - factors which could make them engines of regional growth and stability. Three key assumptions underpin why, this Paper argues, the performance of swing states bear particular attention:
World Trade Monitor November 2015: volume of world trade decreased 0.1% (CPB)
Why exports hold the key to Kenya’s economic take-off (Business Daily)
Angola and Zambia with five million dollars trade (Angop)
South Africa: Local manufacturers look beyond the borders to keep the lights on (Business Day)
Chinese deputy trade minister to make three-day visit to Senegal (Star Africa)
The Lake Chad development and climate resilience action plan: summary, main report
tralac’s Daily News archive
Catch up on tralac’s daily news selections by following this link ».
SUBSCRIBE
To receive the link to tralac’s Daily News Selection via email, click here to subscribe.
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.
