News
tralac’s Daily News selection
The selection: Thursday, 28 January 2016
Featured infographic, @Enugu62: 29 million already hungry, worse to come. Southern Africa’s food crisis in numbers.
New, from tralac: John Stuart - 'The use and potential of export taxes for Africa: an introductory analysis', David Christianson - 'What the 2016 WEF meeting in Davos tells us about the issues facing Africa'
Underway, in Nairobi: 'Enhancing capacities for trade in services policy making and negotiations' workshop
A four-day regional training workshop on 'Enhancing Capacities for Trade in Services Policymaking and Negotiations' will be held on 26-29 January 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya at the Monarch Hotel. In recognizing the extent to which these foundational challenges inhibit the progress of LDCs, LICs and LMICs in strengthening their services sectors, ILEAP, CUTS International Geneva and the University of Sussex’s CARIS have partnered, with support from the UK Trade Advocacy Fund, to undertake a series of interventions that seek to contribute to the increased and more effective participation of LDCs, LICs, LMICs and RECs in multilateral, regional and bilateral services trade negotiations. This workshop is a cornerstone in the implementation of this initiative, and will draw on a range of studies and toolkits developed to enhance stakeholders’ understanding on the collection and use of services trade statistics; institutional mechanisms for services-related decision-making; and improving competitiveness in the services sector. [For further details: d.primack[at]ileap-jeicp.org]
Union of African Shippers Council: 'Africa makes little progress in economic integration – Vice President' (Pulse)
Vice-President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur on Wednesday stated that Africa had made little progress over the last 30 years in building structures that would enable it to stimulate economic growth. He said it appears that the continent’s focus and concentration were more on diplomacy and political rhetoric without a corresponding effort at the micro level to remove the barriers impeding trading relations. Vice President Amissah-Arthur said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, Minister of State at the Presidency, at the 10th General Assembly of the Union of African Shippers Council in Accra. The UASC is made up of 18 countries from West and Central Africa. [UASC: comments by Ghana's Deputy Minister of Trade and Industries, Downloads]
Meeting of Union of African Shippers underway (GhanaWeb)
South Africa: ANC NEC urges review of trade agreements (ANC)
NEC further considered a report on the recently renewed trade agreement between South Africa and the United States in the form of African Growth and Opportunity Act. The NEC took a decision that there must be a review of all trade agreements entered into by the democratic government since 1999. The review must assess socio-economic impact and the extent to which the agreement advances South Africa’s economic interest. At all times, government must be alive to the need for an exit strategy where agreements have a potential to defeat the core objective which is - to expand, increase and grow our domestic industries and markets.
AGOA: The ongoing challenge (Tutwa)
Leaving aside the technicalities of the AGOA process, it is worth highlighting some broader lessons. [Finally] the AGOA review process has highlighted the challenge of entering into a trade negotiation where one party holds all the cards. South Africa’s current trade policy approach is built on a reluctance to consider broad based free trade agreements, with even those discussed with African neighbours being of limited scope. If South Africa were more open to the idea of a negotiation with the US (among others) then the issues under consideration currently would be part of a broader agenda that would enable a range of different trade-offs to play out in pursuit of a mutually satisfactory outcome. It is time for South Africa to take a fresh look at its stance on trade negotiations and take advantage of the opportunities that exist for trade to contribute to the development and growth of the economy. [The author: Catherine Grant Makokera]
Rwanda, EAC business leaders set to deepen commercial ties with US (New Times)
Considerable economic success in Rwanda and the larger bloc of the East African Community is attractive for American investors and the US government is focused on supporting stronger partnerships between US investors and members of the private sector in Rwanda and the rest of the EAC. The message was delivered in Kigali, yesterday, by US Secretary for Commerce Penny Pritzker during a business roundtable at Village Urugwiro that brought together business leaders from the US business and East Africa. Pritzker, who led a delegation of 13 members of the US President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa and African CEOs, spoke highly of the economic achievements in Rwanda and EAC.
Penny Pritzker's speech to Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship event
Of the many countries aspiring to lead Africa into a more prosperous future, Nigeria is the undisputed rising star. It recently surpassed South Africa as Africa’s biggest economy. And it is widely projected to grow into one of the top-10 global economies with a top-four population by the year 2050. As Africa’s largest and fastest growing economy, Nigeria’s potential is huge. But with President Buhari’s election and the changing nature of global oil markets, this is a genuine moment of truth for the nation. President Buhari has assembled a capable and experienced economic team that is committed to making sure Nigeria remains “open for business.” And we are encouraged by his commitment to create a diversified economy and business friendly environment in Nigeria that enables Nigerian companies to grow and thrive, while also attracting foreign investment.
UN commission warns Africa over foreign loans (Daily Nation)
Giving the briefing, Mr Adam Elhiraika, the director of the Macro Economic Policy Division at the ECA, described the condition created by countries that invest in foreign bonds as "imported inflation", but he noted that a country with strong macroeconomic fundamentals should be able to handle its debts. He added that countries that continue to borrow abroad need to adopt policies that would allow them to pay back the money without compromising their macroeconomic climate.
Related: Nigeria: Oil revenue down by N28.4bn, as federal, state govts shared N387.8 billion in December (Premium Times), Egypt's budget deficit up to 4.9% in Jul-Nov on debt service, subsidies (Ahram), Angola: Securities market deemed alternative for country's economy (Angola Press)
Greening Africa’s industrialization: ERA 2016 update (UNECA)
Experts gathered in Addis Ababa, on 14-15 January 2016, to review the upcoming 2016 edition of the Economic Report on Africa, entitled “Greening Africa’s Industrialization”. The report employs a value chain approach in analysing the decoupling needs of key economic sectors towards low carbon intensive economic growth in Africa. Country case studies are used in demonstrating ongoing greening activities across key sectors.
Investing opportunities in the Indian Ocean Rim (Nasdaq)
The growth prospects of Indian Ocean Rim countries would certainly be improved by more regional cooperation, but unfortunately there are few signs of that so far. A preliminary map of China’s “21st-Century Maritime Silk Road” shows the linkages among the Indian Ocean’s cities, the Pacific and the Mediterranean, so it is possible that China’s initiative will help strengthen ties in the region. Modi has racked up the miles urging closer cooperation between Indian Ocean Rim countries, as well as many others.
India and Seychelles work together to combat piracy in Indian Ocean (Hellenic Shipping News)
The Seychelles and India have been steadily increasing their maritime and security cooperation in what was traditionally hotspot for piracy and illegal maritime activity. This move will be strengthened by the Seychelles taking over the chairmanship of the Contact Group on Piracy off the coast of Somalia (CGPCS) from the European Union this month. The CGPCS will be holding its first meeting in Mumbai on 31 January, following a strategy meeting in New Delhi on 28-29 January, in an aim to discuss the nature of The Seychelles’ future engagements.
South Africa: Operation Phakisa Oceans Economy Initiative launch (GCIS)
17 Member states of OHADA meet in Cotonou to discuss the Entreprenant Status (World Bank)
The Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) and the Government of Benin, in collaboration with the World Bank Group and the International Organization of La Francophonie organized a regional workshop to share experiences on the implementation of the Entreprenant Status in the OHADA space. The primary objective of this meeting is to enable OHADA member states to learn from the Benin example, the first country in the OHADA community to implement the new entreprenant status that was adopted by the regional institution in December 2010, and came into effect in May 2011.
ECCAS: appraisal report for university technology poles of excellence in Central Africa (AfDB)
This operation will contribute to addressing strategic, institutional and operational challenges in higher education, with a view to helping ECCAS to foster regional integration. It should also contribute to reducing fragility and building resilience at the regional level insofar as human resource capacity building is one of its key factors. The Bank has undertaken to support regional economic communities to implement the integration process and develop skills in line with the strategy adopted for the region.
Kenya's SGR 75% complete, says Transport PS (Daily Nation)
The construction of the Sh327 billion standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi is 75% ready, the Transport ministry says. In an interview with the Nation on Wednesday, Transport Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera said President Uhuru Kenyatta would commission the project on June 1, 2017 by travelling by train from Mombasa to Nairobi.
Related: Kenya: 2016 trade diplomacy and Kenya's interaction with the global community (Kenya Presidency), Nigeria-Kenya: A new era likely to dawn as East meets West (Daily Nation)
BRICS labour and employment ministers narrow down cooperation priorities (BRICS RU)
On 25-26 January, the Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Labour and Employment took place in Ufa. The meeting produced a signed declaration which stressed as priority the need to formalise the labour market of the BRICS countries. "Informality constrains our productivity, potential economic growth and efforts to improve the well-being of our people. Strategies to facilitate the transition to formality could include incentivising employers and supporting workers who seek employment in the formal economy and strengthening labour inspection and enforcement," the document states.[Address by Guy Ryder to BRICS ministerial (ILO)]
Transparency in international tax matters: MCAA update (OECD)
As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises, 31 countries have signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports. The signing ceremony marks an important milestone towards implementation of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project and a significant increase in cross-border cooperation on tax matters.
Global investors must play full role in shifting world to clean energy, says UN chief (UN News Centre)
More than 500 global investors gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York today to mobilize the trillions of dollars needed to move the world onto the path of clean energy, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon challenging them to, at a minimum, double clean energy investments to $660 billion by 2020. “Markets now have the clear signal they need to unleash the full force of human ingenuity and scale up investments that can generate low-emissions resilient growth,” he said , speaking just days after scientists confirmed that 2015 was the hottest year on record.
APRM ‘has not been properly applied’ (IOL)
Sixteen comprehensive country reports of the African Peer Review Mechanism over a decade have added great value to the understanding of governance in Africa, experts said here on Tuesday. But a thorough assessment of the reports by analysts of South Africa’s Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy (EISA) also concluded that the lessons of the reports had not been properly applied by governments, private corporations or societies in general. [Time to take the APRM off life support? (ISS)]
AGRA to unlock income opportunities for African farmers (Pulse)
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, has announced a new initiative, the Patient Procurement Platform, with a consortium to unlock income opportunities for smallholder farmers in the developing world during the World Economic Forum in Davos. The consortium members include Bayer, GrowAfrica, the International Finance Corporation, Rabobank, Syngenta, the World Food Programme and Yara International. In a blogpost, AGRA said its participation in the partnership is part of its "broader effort to harness the power of private sector ventures to become a force for social change for Africa’s smallholder farmers."
North–South Corridor: EOI for HIV/AIDS, STIs, malaria, gender mainstreaming on the Chinsali–Nakonde Road Rehabilitation Project (AfDB)
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.
