INTERNATIONAL

COVID-19: Pledges of 7.4 billion euro raise several ambiguities – The Coronavirus Global Response pledging event on 4 May celebrated raising 7.4 billion euro for the collaborative development of vaccines, treatment and diagnostics, but there is lack of clarity on ensuring equitable access and the role of the World Health Organization (WHO). The European Commission pledged 1.4 billion euro, while other leading contributors included France (510 million euro), Germany (525 million), Japan (762 million), Spain (125 million), Canada (551 million), Norway (188 million), UK (441 million) and Italy (71.5 million). The USA was conspicuously absent. The “pledging marathon”, as it was called by the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, will continue, and is supposed to be the start of a process to mobilise more resources.

Questions remain on whether developing and least developed countries, where hundreds of millions of people are suffering the severe health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19, would receive an equitable share of the needed resources, both financial and in terms of the medical products concerned. [The initial 7.5 billion euro target was based on an estimate of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board. It is an independent monitoring and accountability body to ensure preparedness for global health crises. The Board was established on the recommendation of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Health Crises Task Force co-convened by the World Health Organization and the World Bank in 2017.] The on-line pledging event was co-organised by the European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Italy (also the incoming G20 presidency), Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (also the current G20 presidency), Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. It was first announced during a World Health Organization (WHO) press conference on 24 April that launched the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. (TWN)

Key Words: COVID-19, WHO, Economic Impact

What National Farm Policy Trends Could Mean for Efforts to Update WTO Rules on Domestic Support – Global trade rules on the support governments can provide to their farm sectors need urgent reform if countries are to make progress on Agenda 2030—and in particular on Sustainable Development Goal 2, which aims to end hunger and malnutrition, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture. Trade rules must balance the need to ensure that domestic support does not harm producers elsewhere with the need to increase public investment in agriculture and food systems. With the coronavirus pandemic and climaterelated volatility affecting global markets, improved rules on domestic support would also help improve stability and predictability in the global food system.

 At the Twelfth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), governments will have a critical opportunity to take action in support of more equitable, sustainable, and efficient markets for food and agriculture, delivering on their commitment to trade reform under article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture (WTO, 1994) and their stated intention to address unresolved issues on the agricultural trade agenda.

This report looks in detail at agricultural support in a dozen WTO members. It examines how this support relates to public policy goals, the type of domestic support instruments chosen, and countries’ current WTO limits on support. It finds that as much as three quarters of all support classed as trade-distorting by the WTO is concentrated in a handful of members—China, India, the United States, and the European Union. It puts this spending in context, looking also at the value of agricultural production in each of these members and their share of the total global value of agricultural production. The report also looks at support in a cross-section of eight other WTO members: Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Canada, Norway, Panama, and Togo. The country-level analysis informs a discussion of what the evolution of agricultural domestic support implies for future WTO rules.  Current WTO rules fail to discipline the considerable leeway to increase domestic support enjoyed by those members that historically provided the largest amounts, such as the United States and the European Union. The rules also have no answer to the fast-growing support in emerging economies, such as China and India. Nor have WTO members yet redressed underlying problems of inequity in the Agreement on Agriculture. (IISD)

Key Words: COVID-19, Global Business, WTO

PAN AFRICA

COVID-19: Trade expert says AfCFTA could help Africa bounce back– The director of regional integration and trade at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Stephen Karingi, told an online group of journalists on 11 May 2020 that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could help African economies recover from the impact of COVID-19. “Boosting intra-African trade can serve as an alternative stimulus package for job creation, foreign exchange, industrial development and economic growth,” said Mr. Karingi. He said if Africa had implemented agreements and frameworks such as the AfCFTA, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, and the Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa plan, “our economies would have been more diversified, stronger, and less affected by COVID19.”

The trade expert noted, however, that “COVID-19 has proven that African countries can adapt and respond to demand.”  He cited, among others, the examples of South Africa where U-Mask has redirected its production from protective masks for mining and agriculture to that for medical respiratory masks, and Nigeria where the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure produced made in Nigeria ventilators. An ECA report on the impact of COVID-19 on Africa states that between 300,000 and 3.3 million Africans could lose their lives as a direct result of the pandemic. Therefore, given the urgent need for governments to focus efforts on protecting lives from COVID-19, the 1 July 2020 start date for trade under the AfCFTA has been moved to at least 1 January 2021.

Mr. Karingi said such delay offers a window of opportunity for creative thinking on how the AfCFTA can be reconfigured to reflect the new realities and risks of the 21st century, stating “this is needed to better position the African economy in the face of future adverse shocks emanating from novel viruses and climate change, among others.” He emphasised the need to maintain the AfCFTA momentum and ambition that existed before COVID -19. This, he said, will enable Africa recover and build long-term resilience.

David Luke, Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre, reiterated the need for Africa to diversify its sources of supply chain, stating “even developed countries that depended on only one or two countries for critical parts of their supply chain are now talking about localising production.”  He noted that COVID-19 has shed light on the underdeveloped status of African supply and value chains and that supply chain diversification fits very well into the industrialisation agenda that Africa already has.  “We need to think creatively about how our existing development frameworks could be adapted to emerging opportunities generated by this crisis,” he underlined. (UNECA)

Key Words: COVID—19, AfCFTA, UNECA

Deepening and democratising African capital markets – Facilitating resurgent global investor interest in Africa requires connecting the continent to international financial markets. Africa offers investors unique diversification opportunities for their portfolios as well as new and sometimes lucrative sources of alpha investment returns. The London Stock Exchange has benefited from the UK’s deep historical, political, and commercial links with the African continent, and this has supported the momentum behind several of its Africa initiatives.

“The London Stock Exchange has been very fortunate to have linkages with the continent for many, many years. The first listing of an African stock on the London Stock Exchange happened over 80 years ago. Interestingly that company is still listed on the exchange today… One of the things that has been important to us as an organisation is to continue to be relevant to the continent as it continues to change. We firmly believe that well-functioning equity markets are the best way for a country to democratise its wealth and meet its goals around social development and economic growth.”

The bourse enjoys strong links with its counterparts on the continent. It has close historical ties with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and works closely with exchanges in Kenya, Nigeria and Morocco. Each of these countries has its own separate and unique challenges, which the LSEG takes into account in collaborating on capital markets strategies. The LSEG’s Africa Advisory Group, which was set up in 2016, is a vehicle which enables the group to benefit from the advice of industrialists, investors and policymakers from across the continent.

The LSEG is also focused on stimulating intra-African investment through the launch of its Companies to Inspire Africa report, which aims to bring the attention of Africa’s most inspirational and dynamic private, high-growth companies to a global market. The 2019 report features 360 companies from 32 different countries across the continent boasting an average compound annual growth rate of 46%. (African Business Magazine)

Key Words: COVID—19, Africa, Intra African Investment

3 ways COVID-19 could actually spark a better future for Africa – The African Development Bank estimates that Africa will lose between $35 and $100 billion due to the fall in raw material prices caused by the pandemic. The World Economic Forum estimates that global losses for the continent will be in the order of $275 billion. There is a real risk therefore that Africa’s inequality gap will worsen in the coming years. Ever since the virus crossed the continent's borders, regular bilateral and multilateral consultations among African finance ministers have philosophically revolved around the need to rethink our multifaceted responses to COVID-19 and other future threats that have equal or greater potential for disruption.

Today, African States are developing strategic and in-depth approaches to human development, regional integration, digitalization, industrialization, economic diversification, fiscal and monetary policies, and international solidarity. In short, they are rethinking the causes of the continent's underdevelopment and coming up with feasible solutions. The outcomes will undoubtedly be good for Africa and for all humanity. To better understand the scenarios before us, there are three sparks that could light a flame in the brave new world that is before us:

1. In 2001, African leaders pledged to invest around 15% of their budgets in health. By 2020, only five countries have fulfilled this promise. No one doubts today that the health sector in Africa will be strengthened by COVID-19. There are decisions that can no longer be postponed. In mid-March, a Togolese activist, Farida Nabourema, mocked African elites who used to go to Europe to have their ailments treated, saying: I would like to ask our African presidents who travel to Italy, Germany, France, the UK and other European countries for medical treatment, please, when are you leaving? On April 2, Bloomberg published an article entitled: Trapped by Coronavirus, Nigeria's Elite faces squalid hospital. Things are going to change.

2. The vast majority of African countries, after COVID-19, will have to put in place social protection systems to mitigate the suffering of the continent's most disadvantaged. Kenya and Equatorial Guinea offer excellent examples of countries that have regulated and put in place social protection systems that will survive and outlast our battle against this common enemy.

3. The continent’s poor pharmaceutical capacity has been a source of amazement to locals and foreigners alike. Bangladesh, a poorer country than many African countries, produces 97% of the national demand for medicines, in contrast to Africa which is almost 100% dependent on imports  (weforum)

Key Words: COVID—19, Africa, Trade

CARE Rapid Gender Analysis for COVID 19 East, Central and Southern Africa - The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a devastating impact globally. Governments across East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA) are imposing lockdowns and other restrictions, which although critical in slowing the spread of the disease, can themselves impose significant social and economic costs on millions of people, especially those living in informal settlements or overcrowded refugee and internally displaced person (IDP) camps. Most countries in ECSA have little to no prior experience in responding to such a pandemic. The impacts – direct and indirect – of public health emergencies fall disproportionally on the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in society. Interconnected social, economic, and political factors pose complex challenges for the ECSA region’s ability to respond to COVID-19. The region already faces significant health challenges that would exacerbate the severity of COVID-19, such as high levels of malnutrition, malaria, anemia, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. Access to healthcare in the region is the lowest in the world, thus there is limited capacity to absorb the pandemic.

Gender-based inequality is extensive in the region. Women are at a higher risk for exposure to infection due to the fact that they are often the primary caregivers in the family and constitute 70% of frontline healthcare responders. Most women already face limited access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, and the region struggles with high levels of maternal mortality. For example, mother mortality rates recorded in South Sudan were 1150 per 100 000 live births. COVID-19 will only increase women’s safety risks and care burdens as health services become stretched and resources shift to COVID-19 responses. Women and girls are at increased risk of violence during the COVID-19 period. Current rates of violence against women and girls combined with the prevalence of harmful traditional practices leads to increased vulnerability. Income loss and limited mobility, compounded with existing gender role expectations, may contribute to increases in intimate partner violence and other forms of gender-based violence. (CARE)

Key Words: COVID—19, Gender, Economic Growth

NORTH AFRICA

Moroccan startups to get $35mln loan thanks to a fundraising – Moroccan startups with less than 18 months of activity and those with more than 3 years of recurring sales will benefit from a total of MAD350 million ($35.6 million) from development banks, banking groups, and insurance companies. This financing vehicle mainly targets service platforms and companies active in the energy sector and new technologies, which will receive about MAD5 million of the investment. This equity and quasi-equity financing operation is an initiative of Azur Innovation Fund. The latter is a vehicle set up by Azur Innovation Management, which is a subsidiary of the Moroccan fund manager Azur Partners and has recently completed its first closing at MAD350 million. The German development bank KfW, the Dutch government's development fund (Dutch Good Growth Fund), and the insurance company Saham Assurance participated as investors.

When it was launched in May 2020, the 10-year Azur Innovation Fund benefited from an initial investment of MAD200 million mobilized from the Central Guarantee Fund (CCG), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Moroccan banks CIH Bank and BMCE Bank of Africa as well as the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen). The amount rose to MAD350 million with the arrival of three new investors, including the German KfW, Dutch DGGF, and the insurer Saham Assurance. (Ecofin Agency)

Key Words: Morocco, COVID-19, Business

EAST AFRICA

Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on Supply chains, regional trade, markets and food security in East Africa – While the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in East Africa so far is relatively low compared to other regions, disruption in supply chains is already affecting the trade and flow of commodities (pdf). Despite the comfortable stock of cereals in the global market, most countries in East Africa are food deficit and thus likely to face challenges. The pandemic is adding severity to the situation as the region is already facing multiple shocks including severe desert locust infestation and floods since the past few weeks. WFP estimates that 34 to 43 million people, within the nine countries, are likely to be food insecure during the next three months, an increase from 20 million during March-April. (WFP)

Key Words: COVID—19, East Africa, Regional Trade

East African Community Partner States have been directed to support local production of essential medical products and supplies including masks, sanitizers, soaps, processed food, ventilators as part of efforts to combat COVID-19 in the region -  A Joint consultative meeting of Partner States’ Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries responsible for Health, Trade, Transport and EAC Affairs via video conference held on 8th May, 2020 to discuss a regional approach to COVID-19 further directed Partner States to facilitate farmers to continue farming activities during this pandemic and post COVID-19 period. The consultative meeting also directed Partner States to support agro-processing and value chains as an import substitution measure. The Ministers requested the Ministries of Finance in the Partner States to establish special purpose financing schemes for small and medium enterprises, to cushion them from the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministers gave these directives in response to information availed to them that that the region’s key productive sectors are already experiencing a slowdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with sectors such as agriculture, trade, manufacturing and industry, tourism, offline retail and catering being the worst affected.

Among the negative impacts on the regional economy are a food crisis in East Africa and severe disruptions in manufacturing and industry value chains. On the flipside are beneficial developments such as: increased production of face masks in the region; growing popularity of online retail using e-commerce platforms; growing popularity of online entertainment, and; increased Telecommuting and distance education. The consultative meeting which was called by Hon. Dr. Vincent Biruta, the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, and Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Vincent Biruta, discussed progress made on the facilitation of the free movement of goods and services in the region; assessment of state of play on cross border clearance of cargo and truck drivers at Malaba and Busia during the COVID 19 pandemic; Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region’s productive capacities and Impact on Macroeconomic stability. 

The Ministers commended the EAC Partner States, WHO and Africa CDC for the efforts being made towards addressing the COVID-19, and the steps taken to contain the disease and prevent further spread in the EAC region. On a harmonized approach to testing services across Partner States, the Ministers urged Partner States to undertake standardised COVID-19 testing based on approved WHO methodologies The Ministers/Cabinet Secretaries requested the Ministers of Finance to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fiscal and monetary sectors of the EAC region and recommend an appropriate plan of action. (tralac)

Key Words: EAC, Trade, COVID-19

Ugandans spent Shs49b on importing vegetables– Vegetables and certain roots and tubers last year cost Uganda close to $18m (Shs49b) in imports, according to details from a Ministry of Finance report. According to a Ministry of Finance report for the period ended December 2019, the country imported edible vegetables which are also locally produced such as potatoes, fresh chilled, tomatoes, fresh or chilled, onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and cabbages. Others were cauliflowers, kohlrabi, kale, lettuce, chicory, cucumbers and leguminous vegetables dried and frozen. This, according to a report seen by Daily Monitor, showed that in this period in review, frozen vegetables took the largest share of the import bill in this category worth $4.6m (Shs17b). More importantly, Uganda spent $4.2m (Shs15.5b) on onions, garlic, shallots and leeks for the period in review. Other vegetables largely grown locally but also imported were carrots, salad beetroot and turnips where Ugandans spent over $3m (Shs11.1b).Also in this category, Ugandans imported fried leguminous vegetables, cabbages, and cauliflowers among others.

Uganda is a net importer with much of the country’s imports sourced from Asia, especially China, United Arab Emirates and lately Vietnam. However, there have been efforts by government to drive the import substitution agenda through policy shifts and formulation such as Buy Uganda Build Uganda.  Ms Victoria Ssekitoleko, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda vice chairperson and president of International Women in Coffee-Uganda Chapter, said in reaction to the composition of the import bill, “The Covid-19 pandemic has allowed us to understand and rethink where and when we spend our money. We should take on import substitution.” (Daily Monitor)

Key Words: COVID-19, Uganda, Import

Somalia’s internal revenue mobilization galvanised by UA 5.5 million grant from African Development Bank – The Federal Republic of Somalia (FGS) revenue mobilization strategy received a boost with a UA 5.5 million grant from the African Development Bank. The strategy aims to ramp up revenue collection through enhanced tax revenue and a more efficient collection system.  The grant, through the Bank’s Economic and Financial Governance Institutional Support Project (EFGISP) phase 2, offers support for Somalia’s state-building efforts. 

Somalia’s suite of implementing policies and reforms to underpin the next generation of public financial management, include the National Development Plan (2017-2019), the New Partnership for Somalia (NPS) of 2017 and measures to address public financial management and the public procurement. These planned reforms will enable the country to finance an increased share of its budget and expand the delivery of social services. Somalia is also now focused on increasing revenue collection levels from the current 1.9 % of GDP, to 2.5%. In addition, training in debt management, budget preparation, and financial governance will be conducted as part of ongoing efforts to enable Somalia’s re-engagement with the international community.

The project has already led to the refurbishment of dilapidated buildings in seven locations.  These include five revenue collection centers in the districts of Hoddan, Howlwadag, Wadajir, Yaqshid, and Hamar Weyne, a taxation-training institute, and a fiscal police station.  “The Bank’s contribution to strengthening our revenue mobilization and institution building is evident through these investments, which will enhance our capacity to collect domestic revenue,” Minister of Finance Abdirahman Dualeh Beileh said. EFGISP Phase 2 aims to build on previous Bank supported financial governance reform interventions in Somalia and complement the interventions of other development partners in the sector. Under the previous phase, the Bank supported implementation of two projects targeted at enhancing fiscal policy and ensuring public financial management become transparent and more effective.  (AfDB)

Key Words: AfDB, Somalia, Financial Sector

WEST AFRICA

Nigerians spent N22.78trn on imported food items in 2019, says NBS – Nigerians' spending on food rose to N22.78 trillion in 2019, up from the N12.77 trillion recorded in 2010 when the survey was last conducted. A report released yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that total expenditures of households in Nigeria on food and non-food items for 2019 was N40.21 trillion, up from N21.62 trillion recorded in 2018. The report showed that out of the total expenditures, food accounted for 56.65% of total household expenditure in the year under review while 43.35% accounted for expenditures on non-food items.

Food consumed outside the home constituted the largest expenditures followed by transportation costs. Dear valued readers, subscribe to the Daily Trust e-paper to continue enjoying our diet of authoritative news. Kindly subscribe here Analysis of the report showed that food consumed outside homes, transport fares, starchy roots, tubers and plantains were responsible for the largest proportion of household expenditures, representing a combined 24.16 percent of total household expenditure in 2019. State-by-state analysis showed that Lagos accounted for the largest share of the consumption expenditure at N5.07 trillion. Some other states' consumption expenditures on imported food items are Oyo (5.83%), Delta (5.38%), Rivers (4.99%) and Kano State (4.91%) trailed behind Lagos on the consumption index. (Daily Trust)

Key Words: COVID-19, Nigeria,  Business

CENTRAL AFRICA

Air-France announces resumption of its routes to Cameroon for June 15 – Air-France informs that it will resume its commercial flights to 10 African countries in June 2020. These include Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, Central African Republic, Gabon, and Cameroon. For its route to Cameroon, it plans to re-open them on June 15. According to the French carrier's schedule, there will be three weekly flights to the airports of Yaounde-Nsimalen and Douala from Paris Charles de Gaulle. This announcement comes at a time when Cameroon has closed its air, land, and sea borders since 18 March.

This border closure measure has already been renewed three times but there is no indication of when it will be repealed. Perhaps, those borders will be reopened next June since the government is planning to order the resumption of classes.   On May 10, the Minister of Public Health Malachie Manaouda listed Cameroon's arrangements for the resumption of air transport activities. "With the rapid tests, we will systematically do the tests at the airport, and decisions will be quickly taken,” he indicated.  (Business in Cameroon)

Key Words: COVID-19, Cameroon, Business

SOUTHERN AFRICA

SADC embracing electronic Certificate of Origin –  The review of the  pdf SADC revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP (1.04 MB) ) and subsequent approval by the Head of States and Government in August 2015 created new demands in the spheres of the regional integration agenda, in particular on the areas of trade facilitation to support the implementation of the SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap to consolidate the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA). In response to these demands, the Ministerial Task Force on Regional Economic Integration at its 16th meeting held in March 2016 developed and approved the SADC Trade Facilitation Programme which has 28 activities including the implementation of the electronic certificate of origin.

The certificate of origin is a required document by importing country for the purpose of granting duty free and tax free, statistics and risk assessment. It attests the origin of the goods as per the criteria provided in the Protocol on Trade. The Certificate of Origin presents the country were the goods was produced or manufactured and information regarding the product, its destination, and the country of export. Since the start of the implementation of the SADC Free Trade Area, the certificate of origin has been processed manually by the competent or issuing authority in a country of origin of the goods as provided in Annex I of the Protocol on Trade. This process and procedures although they have been facilitating intra-Regional Trade, but over the year have proven to have some challenges with regards to issuing the certificate of origin, submission of the specimen, stamp and the list of authorised signatories of the respective Member States to Secretariat for inward circulation to other FTA Member.  The implementation of e-certificate of origin is one of the activities meant to support the industrialization strategy and roadmap as part of the consolidation of the Free Trade Area. It is expected that this instrument will overcome the challenges which Traders and Customs Administration are currently facing in the management of the certificate of origin.

In order to implement the e-CoO concept regionally, the Secretariat facilitated the development of the regional eCoO framework with the view to harmonise the process of automation for registration, issuance and transmission of the certificate of origin. The Framework was approved by the Sectoral Committee of Ministers of Trade at the 31st Meeting held in June 2019 in Windhoek, Namibia. The Framework presents appropriate security features which include barcode encrypt and decrypt system.  (tralac)

Key Words: COVID-19, SADC, Free Trade Area

AU chair escalates sanctions removal call – African Union chairperson, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, has taken the fight against sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and Sudan to G20 countries, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank among other international organisations calling for unconditional lifting to allow Harare to battle the Covid-10 pandemic effectively. He told the G20 countries and multilateral institutions that it was not prudent to have sanctions against Zimbabwe and Sudan at a time when the world should join hands to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. President Ramaphosa said this last Friday during a video conference he held with seven other Heads of State and Government neighbouring South Africa, including President Mnangagwa, aimed at sharing information and experiences about the pandemic.

Other leaders in the virtual meeting were President Joao Lourenco of Angola, President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, Prime Minister Thomas Thabani of Lesotho, Prime Minister Mandulo Ambrose Dlamini of Eswatini, President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, and President Hage Geingob of Namibia. G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The 19 countries are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the United States. G20, is the premier forum for international economic cooperation and brings together leaders of both developed and developing countries from every continent.

President Ramaphosa said as AU chairperson, he attended several consultative virtual meetings to explore ways to fight the pandemic and one objective of such meetings was to mobilise resources towards a robust response mechanism. “We also took time on those engagements to call for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe and Sudan,” said President Ramaphosa. “In the course of our discussions one of the things that we agreed on as Heads of State and Government as we confront this challenge was that the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and Sudan must be lifted unconditionally because they are illegal and are going to infringe on the two countries’ ability to deal with Covid-19 and save lives. This is not the time for sanctions to continue being imposed. We want those sister countries to also have the ability to deal with this pandemic.” (The Herald)

Key Words: COVID-19, AU, Zimbabwe