INTERNATIONAL

G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting Ministerial Statement – We, the Trade and Investment Ministers of the G20 and guest countries, reaffirm our determination to cooperate and coordinate to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade and investment and to contribute to laying a solid foundation for global economic recovery based on a strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth. 

 We endorse the “G20 Actions to Support World Trade and Investment in Response to COVID-19” prepared by the Trade and Investment Working Group (Annex). While the short-term responses are designed to alleviate the impact of COVID-19, the long-term actions support the necessary reform of the WTO and the multilateral trading system, build resilience in global supply chains, and strengthen international investment. 

 We welcome the collective work carried out by the international organizations to provide a consolidated in-depth analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on world trade, investment and global supply chains. We will continue working with these organizations, within their mandates, to facilitate investment and flows of essential goods and services.

 We will continue monitoring the situation closely, assessing the impact of the pandemic on trade, and convene again as necessary. We task the G20 Trade and Investment Work Group to continue paying the highest attention to these actions and to provide status updates on the implementation of the agreed actions.    (G-20)

Key Words: COVID-19, G-20, Trade and Investment

Partnership for maritime digitalization to support flow of trade by ship – The WCO and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) strengthened their partnership recently to further facilitate the exchange of information in a harmonized way by updating the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business and mapping it to the WCO Data Model. The updated Compendium, which is a set of standards on the submission of maritime related data, will enable the integration of Maritime and Customs Single Windows and allow closer coordination between Customs administrations and Maritime authorities.  It is known that when ships enter and leave ports, vital information concerning cargo, dangerous goods, crews, vessel details and other pieces of information have to be exchanged with the authorities ashore. However, under the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL), public authorities are now required to set up systems for this all to happen digitally.

With a view to sustaining the maintenance work of the Compendium and to allow more involvement of different stakeholders in the maritime supply chain, within the framework of existing partnerships, the IMO, the WCO, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) and the International Standards Organization (ISO) have come together to support this increased maritime digitalization.  The renewed partnership paves the way for updating the IMO Reference Data Model and for its further development towards the harmonization of data standards in other areas, beyond the FAL Convention, such as exchanging operational data that could help facilitate the just-in-time operation of ships. Just-in-time operations allow ships to optimise their speed, so they arrive at their destination port when their berth is ready for them, thereby saving energy and cutting costs and emissions.

The partners involved have been cooperating to develop the IMO Reference Data Model, which is a key element of the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business and covers the reporting requirements defined in the FAL Convention to support transmission, receipt, and response of information required for the arrival, stay, and departure of ships, persons, and cargo via electronic data exchange.  This work ensures interoperability between the respective standards of each organization, such as the WCO Data Model.  (WCO)

Key Words: COVID-19, Trade, Maritime Digitalization

Trade and COVID-19 Guidance Note Recommendations to leverage E-Commerce during the COVID-19 crisis – Key Messages:

• In the fight against COVID-19, economic activities that require close physical contact have been severely restricted. In this context, e-commerce – defined broadly as the sale of goods or services online - is emerging as a major pillar in the COVID-19 crisis. E-commerce can help further reduce the risk of new infections by minimizing face to face interactions. It can help preserve jobs during the crisis. And it can help increase the acceptance of prolonged physical distancing measures among the population. 

• Public policy can only play an enabling role, tackling market failures and creating an environment in which digital entrepreneurship can thrive. This guidance note highlights 13 key measures that governments can take in the short term to support e-commerce during the ongoing crisis. The first group of measures aims to help more businesses and households to connect to the digital economy during the crisis. The second group of measures aims to ensure that e-commerce can continue to serve the public in a way that is safe, even during the COVID-19 lockdown. The third group of measures aims to ensure that the government’s e-commerce strategy during the crisis is clearly communicated, implemented, and coordinated with other policy measures.

• The crisis may have a permanent impact on the private sector landscape, consumer preferences, and shopping patterns. Many brick-and-mortar shops have been forced to move online. Customers are more willing than ever to adopt online shopping and to experiment with new services. Governments need to play their part and make sure that the e-commerce sector can rise to its full potential in this public health and economic crisis. (World Bank)

Key Words: COVID-19, World Bank, Trade

Trade in COVID-19-Related Medical Goods: Issues and Challenges for Commonwealth Countries – The pandemic has had immediate and pronounced consequences in terms of medical supplies in the Commonwealth and globally. As countries tackle the virus, there has been a significant spike in demand for diagnostic kits, critical medicines and artificial respiratory equipment like ventilators, as well as personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare professionals. The scramble to acquire these essential medical goods has led to various unilateral trade measures – from curbing exports to eliminating import tariffs (Evenett, 2020a; WTO, 2020a) – as well as price wars and more extreme tactics, including allegations of ‘modern piracy’ as vital shipments are seized or contracts  nullified. The disrupted production and supply of these goods, as well as global port closures and logistics hurdles, have led to difficulties meeting the increasing demand for medical supplies.

After a period of intense social distancing, shelterin-place measures and economic lockdown, the peak of the pandemic appears likely to pass soon in most of Europe, East Asia and North America. However, with a COVID-19 vaccine still to be developed, there is a risk of a second wave of infections. This would compound the obstacles to any eventual recovery. Yet, as the pandemic slows in developed economies, it is accelerating as both a health and an economic crisis in many developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs). Africa, Latin America and South Asia still have to endure the worst of the first wave of COVID-19. Many of these countries already have existing public health challenges; now they must tackle COVID-19 as well with inadequate healthcare infrastructure and constrained health services.

Only a few Commonwealth countries are major producers and exporters of the medical devices used in treating COVID-19. This means a vast majority of Commonwealth members depend on international trade and undisrupted supply chains to support their national health policy responses: 47 of 54 Commonwealth members are net importers of COVID-19-related health supplies (Figure A1). In the mercantilist scramble to acquire scarce medical goods and technologies, meanwhile, many developing countries, especially small states, LDCs and sub-Saharan African countries are at a competitive disadvantage. For this reason, some countries have started locally producing their own PPE kits, such as face masks.   This policy brief provides an overview of the trade in COVID-19 medical goods by Commonwealth member countries. It provides a factual mapping of medical supply chains in the Commonwealth during 2017–2018, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. The purpose is to identify the main suppliers of COVID-19-related health supplies as well as two key categories of medical devices needed to treat the illness – PPE and ventilators – and to assess their potential exposure to recent trade measures like export curbs.  (The Commonwealth)

Key Words: COVID-19, Trade, Commonwealth Countries

PAN AFRICA

AfCFTA: Implementing Africa’s free trade pact the best stimulus for post-COVID-19 economies - Wamkele Mene was recently appointed Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat. Because of the effects of COVID-19, free trading for countries that have ratified the agreement cannot begin on 1st July 2020, as was originally scheduled. In this interview with Africa Renewal’s Kingsley Ighobor, Mr. Mene explains the way forward, and how increased intra-African trade can help lift economies post-COVID-19. These are excerpts:

Q: Describe the impact of COVID-19 on AfCFTA so far?

A: The African economy was set to grow at about 3.4 % in 2019 and projected to increase to 3.9% in 2020, but COVID-19 has had a very negative impact. We know that over 53% of Africa’s exports go to countries, particularly Europe, that are themselves suffering from the pandemic. That has had a subdued effect on our export markets. Our services sector is set to fall by between 20% and 30%, particularly travel and hospitality. We must find ways to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, but the primary focus for now is to save lives.

Q: Given the current situation, any idea when free trading can begin?

A: We have recommended to the AU Assembly of Heads of State, which is the body with the authority to delay the trading date, that given the current public health crisis and the need for some technical work to be concluded, that we cannot meaningfully trade [under AfCFTA] on 1 July.

Q: Does this mean free trading will not begin until the pandemic is defeated?

A: We are exploring other ways of continuing our technical work if the pandemic continues. Trade negotiations are very technical. We negotiate in four languages (English, French, Arabic and Portuguese). We must make provision for the different time zones in Africa. And there are requirements for confidentiality. All these have to be taken into account before we can continue the negotiations, if at all we are able to continue the negotiations on virtual platforms. We would like to resume our work as soon as the pandemic is contained.  But if for whatever reason, the pandemic continues, which we hope it will not, we are exploring other ways of advancing our negotiations.

Q: The pandemic could potentially decimate African economies. How will you regain momentum?

A: We have short and long-term tools. A short-term tool is that our Heads of State agreed to establish trade corridors to enable the transit of what the African Union Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) refers to as “essential goods” or germ-killing products such as soaps that are essential to combat the pandemic. These products get priority transit through the borders, particularly in landlocked countries. Second, the African ministers of trade are exploring the possibility of reducing duties on these essential products so that they become affordable and accessible to people. This is a temporary measure.

In the long-term, it is our view that accelerating Africa's industrial development is very important for reconfiguring our supply chains, establishing regional value chains and boosting the manufacturing of essential value-added products.

There is a review of our intellectual property rights; the extent to which our intellectual property regimes enable Africa to have a generic drug industry to ensure that we have access to affordable healthcare.

Finally, we are looking at the actual AfCFTA agreement. Many countries in Africa do not have the monetary policy space, the fiscal policy space to provide large bailouts in the trillions of dollars for economic recovery. Therefore, for Africa, the stimulus package is the actual AfCFTA, the implementation of this agreement. Increased intra-African trade is what will drive economic development post-COVID-19.

Free trade in Africa was expected to boost intra-African trade from 18% to about 50% within a given timeframe. Is your original timetable still valid?

We have an objective of reaching 50% intra-African trade between now and the year 2030. There is not much time remaining. Apart from COVID-19, reaching 50% intra-African trade, and hopefully above that, depends on our capacity to accelerate regional value chains and the manner and pace in which we implement the agreement.(Africa Renewal)

Key Words: AfCFTA, Business, COVID-19

Private Creditors Establish the Africa Private Creditor Working Group (“AfricaPCWG” or the “Group”) – The Africa Private Creditor Working Group is an initiative to represent the views of international private creditors invested in Africa and to work with countries on their financing needs during the COVID-19 crisis.  The AfricaPCWG will provide African Governments, the UNECA, the G20, the IMF and other Multilateral Development Banks (“MDBs”) a forum through which all stakeholders can engage transparently and constructively with different categories of private international investors in African sovereign and corporate debt to coordinate the resolution of broad issues arising due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The AfricaPCWG is coordinating the views of over 25 of the world’s foremost asset managers and financial institutions providing private finance to nations and companies through Eurobonds, syndicated loans, trade finance and other credit structures across the continent of Africa. These investors bring significant expertise and experience in Africa and other Emerging Markets, and represent total assets under management in excess of US$9 trillion.  The AfricaPCWG understands that private sector creditors have an essential role in assisting some of the world’s poorest countries to contain the economic impact of COVID-19, and stands ready to buttress efforts being made by the multilateral and bilateral sectors by offering its collective institutional experience to provide guidance and support on a case-by-case basis.

Participants in the AfricaPCWG forum have already established a number of core principles of engagement. Upmost amongst these is the belief that a one-size-fits-all solution will be counter-productive for the nations and people of Africa. Such an approach risks needlessly cutting many countries off from international commercial debt markets and is likely to lead to an overall increase in the cost of capital for all emerging market sovereign and corporate debt issuers for years to come. Each African country has its own very particular fiscal and social dynamics, with some governments having developed hard fought, low cost access to debt markets, and these distinct profiles must be acknowledged as part of any successful approach to debt management. Future generations of Africans will need to access private capital to invest in hospitals, roads, education, healthcare systems and other infrastructure critical for economic and societal development. A rushed, blanket approach developed during a time of crisis will put that crucial long-term access to capital at risk. (Business Wire)

Key Words: Africa, Business, COVID-19

COMESA Ministers Approve Harmonized Regional Trade Facilitation Guidelines – COMESA will develop an online platform for exchanging information on availability of essential products within the COMESA Member States as part of the response measures to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was among key decisions made by the extra-ordinary meeting of the COMESA Council of Ministers, Thursday, May 14, 2020. The virtual meeting was convened to approve a harmonized set of regional guidelines developed to facilitate movement of goods and services across the region during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was led by the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Madagascar, Hon  Madame Lantosoa Rakotomalala, who is the  chairperson of the Council. The new guidelines provide common measures and practices to be applied across the 21 COMESA countries. In developing the guidelines, reference was made to those of the those of the East African Community the Southern Africa Development Community and the African Union to ensure a seamless application of trade facilitation measures in the region.

The meeting brought together ministers in charge of coordination of COMESA activities at the national level. They underscored the need for an online platform for exchange of information on availability of essential products within the COMESA Member States during and after the COVID-19 pandemic period. In her statement to the Council, COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe, said the regional guidelines were now critical for a coordinated and harmonized response, to ensure the collective efforts  served to reinforce, and not undermine each other. “The impact of COVID-19 has made it clear that as a region we need to strengthen and integrate regional policies to take into account the adverse social-economic and political impacts and to develop strategies to support and facilitate quick recovery of our economies,” she said.

The Guidelines sees to address disruptions in the regional supply of essential goods, which have been attributed to the diverse  COVID-19 measures being applied in Member States. Such disruptions have affected the flow of  essential commodities including food and pharmaceuticals. Under the guidelines, Member States will electronically publish any newly introduced trade and customs- related measures in response to the pandemic and share it periodically with the COMESA Secretariat. (COMESA)

Key Words: COMESA, COVID-19, Regional Trade Facilitation

Electronic trade rekindling sales for African businesses during COVID-19 – Imagine using one second to sell three thousand (3000) bags of a coffee produce which lay fallow hitherto in storehouses in Rwanda for months due to freighting stand-stills caused by the COVID-19 global lockdown! This is what happened on  14 May 2020 during a livestream by coordinated by the Alibaba Business Group to position small-scale world brands on the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), a the six-year-old initiative  which facilitates business-to-consumer (B2C) sales. The UN Economic Commission for Africa is helping to bring unique African products and their promoters to the platform in a practical COVID-19 response move.

The sale was made by the Rwandan brand known as Gorilla's Coffee whose CEO, Mr. David Ngarabe, rejoiced at the feat following months of slack business as the COVID-19 lockdowns ruptured the supply chains especially to cafés and hotels. The cash-in is explained in terms of the wide reach to customers especially in China via the eWTP whose huge demand, in terms of economies of scale, would now lower overall freighting costs for the supplies.

Ms. Vera Songwe, Under-Secretary-General of United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), who addressed participants of the livestream from Addis Ababa, said the Commission was taking action to getting many more small brands from Africa with distinct products to access the platform and make sales during and after the current health crisis.  “COVID-19 is particularly endangering global trade. That is why I am very happy to be part of this Electronic World Trading Platform (eWTP) initiative with the Alibaba business group” she said. “Africa, which has already been trading with China, can improve trading at this time based on a number of goods on which it possesses comparative advantage. “Rwanda is already trading its Rwandan chili and Coffee. We hope that with the eWTP, we can put more goods from the continent notably, coffee from Ethiopia, Shear Butter from Mali, white pepper from Cameroon, Vanilla from the Comoros Islands and Saffron from Madagascar, among others, on the platform,” she told her viewers. Senegal’s peanuts are also on the discussion table. (UNECA)

Key Words: Trade, African Business, COVID-19

EAST AFRICA

Kenya eschews G20 debt relief initiative over restrictive terms – Kenya will not seek a suspension of debt payments under a G20 initiative aimed at helping poor countries weather the COVID-19 pandemic, its finance minister said on Friday, saying the terms of the deal were too restrictive. Minister Ukur Yatani told Reuters in an interview he was also concerned about the impact that debt relief might have on Kenya’s credit rating.  The Group of 20 major economies last month agreed to suspend payment obligations on bilateral debt owed by their least developed counterparts through the end of the year. The goal was to free up more than $20 billion that poor governments could use to buttress their health services.

But Yatani said he was concerned that terms of the deal limiting countries’ access to international capital markets during the standstill could hinder Kenya’s ability to finance its deficit later in the year.  “We fear we might unnecessarily create a crisis,” he said.  The East African nation is instead engaging creditor countries including Germany, Sweden, Japan, China and France individually with the goal of securing moratoriums on debt service payments lasting around a year.  “We have not concluded (negotiations), but it is progressing well,” he said.

The G20 initiative only covers official bilateral debt, though it calls for the voluntary participation of private lenders on comparable terms.  A third of Kenya’s 3 trillion shilling ($28 billion) external debt is owed to private creditors including holders of the country’s two Eurobonds.  “The G20 debt relief initiative does not offer optimal benefit given the structure of Kenya’s debt portfolio,” he said. “Every country adapts to the situation based on its own circumstances.”  The pandemic has caused the government’s budget deficit to swell to 8.2% of GDP in the financial year to the end of June, from an initial forecast of under 7%, mainly due to reduced tax collection and foregone revenue in the form of VAT and income tax cuts. (Reuters)

Key Words: Kenya, International Capital Market, COVID-19

Ethiopian droughts prompt hydro rethink- Speaking to African Business, Belaynesh Birru, environment and climate change director at the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, says that water scarcity is forcing the government to augment its traditional dependence on hydropower with a new focus on renewable energy sources.  “Because of climate change we can’t use hydro throughout the year. When the season changes to summer, the temperatures [rise], there is no rainfall, the volume reduces and we can’t provide the water as before… so we are using renewable energies like solar, wind, and mini hydro. We have ample resources. We have a renewable energy master plan. The government gives priority to renewables, and now the private sector is involved in generating power from renewables.” 

Ethiopia’s dependence on temperamental hydropower owes much to its location amid eight major river basins. The most famous of these, the Nile Basin, holds some 32% of Ethiopia’s land area and around 40% of its population. The basin is dominated by the Nile’s largest tributary, the Blue Nile, which flows from Ethiopia’s Lake Tana and joins the White Nile in Sudan, where it contributes about 85% of the water that makes up the main Nile.   Given its geographical proximity to the great river, hydropower dominates government thinking. Ethiopia plans to increase generating capacity by 25,000 MW by 2030 in an ambitious bid to achieve 100% electrification by 2025. 22,000 MW of that is earmarked for hydro, with 1,000 MW of geothermal and 3,000 MW of wind energy.  But under the country’s stated policy scenario by 2040, solar generation is expected to increase from just 1 Terawatt-hour (TWh) to 18 TWh, and other renewables will increase to 10 TWh from virtually nothing today. Aside from decreasing the dependence on scarce water, Birru says that a greater uptake of renewables will have financial benefits.  

“Building dams is capital intensive. No one is supporting us to build these dams. It’s usually by government finance and loans. So generating power from solar and wind is better than building a dam. We have a lot of large and medium dams we’ve already constructed and we’ve generated about 4,800 MW. With the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, we’ll have 6,500 MW. So we’ll have around 11-12,000 MW, but that’s not enough for us. We need to generate power from wind and solar.”  The push for renewable energy generation will test prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s ambition to open the economy to foreign investment and his bid to “unleash the power of the private sector” after decades of state-led development.  Until recently, progress was piecemeal. As of 2018, Ethiopia had only made 22% progress towards its 2020 renewable target, according to the BloombergNEF. Power generation and transmission have historically been dominated by the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), but since 2017, the state has launched tenders to encourage foreign investors to build large-scale solar. (African Business)

Key Words: Ethiopia, Renewable Energy Business

Relief for traders as Rwanda, Tanzania solve freight trucks stalemate – It’s a sigh of relief for cross-border traders, especially importers, after Rwanda and Tanzania finally agreed on a solution for cross-border movement of freight trucks. The stalemate had affected the flow of goods into the country as trucks destined for Rwanda had been stuck in the Tanzanian border-town of Benako for days after some Tanzanian truck drivers protested the requirements by Rwanda to adopt a relay system handing over their trucks to Rwandan drivers. Following talks on Friday, May 15, the two countries agreed not to implement the previously proposed swapping of drivers with immediate effect allowing resumption of movement of goods over the weekend, according to a statement from the government. In place of the previously proposed swapping of drivers, goods destined for Rwanda will be offloaded at border points with the exception of perishable goods.

 The drivers entering the country to deliver petroleum and perishable goods will undergo mandatory testing facilitated by the Rwandan government. They will however be only allowed to operate between the hours of 6am to 6pm. The meeting resolved that drivers can spend the night at designated accommodation facilities at the importers cost. Truck drivers will be tested for COVID19 facilitated by the Tanzanian government while leaving their respective starting points and at every overnight regional designated stopping centre. Rwanda uses the port of Dar es Salaam for much of its inbound and outbound cargo through what is commonly known as the Central Corridor.  (The New Times)

Key Words: East Africa, Trade, COVID-19

Tanzania, Kenya in line for fibre optic hook-up – Kenya and Tanzania are among 16 African countries set to benefit from 2Africa, a subsea 4G and 5G Internet project that will link them Europe and the Middle East. The 37,000-kilometre project brings together telecommunications companies including China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, Stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC. The parties have appointed Alcatel Submarine Networks to build the cable. The other African countries in the project are Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Egypt, Djibouti, Sudan and Somalia. In Europe, the cable will link the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Portugal and France while the Middle East will be served through Oman and Saudi Arabia. The system is expected to go live in 2023, delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa today, with a design capacity of up to 180 terabytes per second on key parts of the system. The project aims at delivering Internet capacity and reliability across large parts of Africa and push growth of 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access for hundreds of millions of people.

"In countries where the 2Africa cable will land, service providers will obtain capacity in carrier-neutral data centres or open-access cable landing stations on a fair and equitable basis. “This will support healthy internet ecosystem development by facilitating greatly improved accessibility for businesses and consumers alike," reads a statement on the project. The 2Africa cable has been designed to improve resilience and maximise performance, including the option of a seamless optical crossing between East Africa and Europe.  (The East African)

Key Words: East Africa, Business, Trade

WEST AFRICA

COVID-19 - Nigeria, Other Countries' Illicit Financial Flows to Worsen – Analysts – Analysts at Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington D.C.-based think tank, have projected that developing countries risk losing more funds in form of illicit flows in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact negatively on global economies. The experts, in a paper by Rick Rowden hoisted on the think tank's blog sourced by Daily Trust, noted that in the wake of the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, all illicit financial flows - engendering dynamics - were intensifying, driving up the imperative to illicitly move wealth out of developing countries as they are set to crash hard. The said global economic slowdown was hitting developing countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, especially hard, with oil exporters, including Nigeria, being badly affected as global market prices and export revenues had collapsed, and that countries dependent on tourism had similarly seen their incomes suddenly fall.

According to the analysts, indications are that developing countries will experience serious economic crises as their exports dry up, foreign investment capital flees and as their companies and governments become unable to raise new funds in current market conditions. The experts pointed out that in such circumstances, it would be nearly impossible for them to roll over their foreign currency-denominated debts in international capital markets, which could easily lead to large-scale sovereign debt defaults and the value of their currencies crashing.

The GFI analysts also projected that the unemployment crisis in the affected countries would be worse off due to high levels of informality in employment with the attendant implications of economic and food insecurity for millions of people. Rowden said, "For all of these reasons, those with wealth are very likely to try to get it out now more than ever, and by whatever means possible. When it comes to concerns about trade misinvoicing, Europe's top banking regulator, the European Banking Authority (EBA), has singled out the likelihood of international trade as a potential risk." He advised that, "Whereas global trade is presently expected to be slowing down across the board, institutions should carefully scrutinise the legitimacy of those cases in which the values of trade flows have actually increased, particularly among customers or regions badly affected by the virus." He also raised concern about the problem of Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML), saying that in both the cases of trade misinvoicing and TBML, the regulatory officials, including those in customs, lacked good data on the actual prices of goods being imported or exported. (Daily Trust)

Key Words: West Africa, Illicit Trade, Illicit Financial Flow

As COVID-19 takes jobs overnight, African Development Bank partners with ECOWAS Commission to share employment plan - The African Development Bank, in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), held a virtual stakeholder forum to outline the regional bloc’s human capital strategy. The forum, which rallied more than 100 stakeholders from across Africa on 30 April, has become imperative because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Millions of jobs have been threatened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some job functions now extinct – almost overnight,” said Martha Phiri, Director of the Bank’s Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department, in opening remarks at the forum. She said one of the Bank’s High Five strategic priorities – Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa – recognizes the need to train Africa’s youth for the jobs of today and the future.

Other speakers made presentations on the strategy and invited feedback on its goals and action plan from the participants, who included representatives of government ministries, departments and agencies from the 15 ECOWAS countries, development partners, civil society organizations, academia and the private sector. According to a recent African Development Bank report on the fourth industrial revolution in Africa, automation will replace about 47% of current jobs by the year 2030. Disruption, digitalization and globalization are causing rapid changes to the education, skills and labour landscape. These changes highlight the growing gap between the current skill level of prospective workers in the region, and employer demand for relevant skills.

“In order to anticipate and prepare the resilience of our states to cope with all situations, it has proven important to take stock of the situation on human capital, define a strategy and an action plan for the region,” Finda Koroma, ECOWAS Commission Vice President, told attendees. The ECOWAS strategy, being developed with support from consulting firm Ernst & Young Nigeria, focuses on education, skills development, and labour challenges and opportunities in the subregion. Feedback will be incorporated into the final report, which will present strategies and solutions for investing in human capital to accelerate development and economic prosperity. (AfDB)

Key Words: AfDB, ECOWAS, COVID-19

SOUTHERN AFRICA

SADC, World Bank reaffirm commitment to strengthen partnership for regional economic integration despite COVID-19 pandemic – Through a virtual consultative meeting held on 12 May, 2020, co-chaired by the SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax, and Ms. Deborah Wetzel, the Director for Regional Integration for the World Bank Group, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the World Bank recommitted to enhance cooperation on regional economic integration in SADC, and strengthen response to COVID-19. This follows the Bank’s efforts to align its new three-year Regional Integration Strategy to SADC’s regional priorities for the period July 2020 to June 2023.

During the meeting, the two parties underscored the need to strengthen collaboration to mitigate the socio-economic impact of COVID-19, which poses a risk to reverse progress made in reducing poverty and inequality. According to the preliminary findings of Secretariat’s analysis of the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 in the SADC region, the pandemic will have short, medium and long-term negative impacts on all social and economic sectors, given its cross-cutting nature. In view of this, SADC informed the meeting that the Region has taken various measures aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19, mitigating socio-economic effects, and ensuring economic recovery and growth at both regional and national levels.

SADC expressed appreciation to the World Bank for its continued support to the SADC region, through various programmes in Member States and at SADC Secretariat and affiliated organizations, adding that the development of the Bank’s Regional Integration Strategy comes at a critical time when the SADC region is developing its Vision 2050 and the new Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) for the period from 2020 to 2030, and the region would require innovative and practical support/partnership to recover from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to this, the World Bank indicated that the response of World Bank in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic is focusing on protecting lives, livelihoods and the future, which entail putting in place prevention, detection and treatment of the disease; supporting household incomes and supporting investment in recovery and growth, to create the foundations for the future. The Bank, further highlighted that the development of the Regional Integration Strategy demonstrates the willingness of the Bank to partner with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) such as, SADC in recognition of the need to create linkages between national and regional priorities to realise sustainable economic growth and, ultimately end poverty and inequality in the region.

The meeting noted that the Bank’s Thematic Areas of Connectivity; Trade and Market Integration; Human Capital; and Resilience to support regional integration, are in line with SADC’s priorities as outlined in the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP); the Regional Agricultural Investment Plan (RAIP) (2017-2022); the SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap (2015-2063); the draft Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (2020-2030), and other strategic frameworks.   (SADC)

Key Words: SADC, COVID-19, Regional Integration

Zambia reopens border with Tanzania to cargo after COVID-19 closure - Zambia reopened its Nakonde border with Tanzania on Friday for cargo after a five-day closure of the transit point for copper and cobalt exports and fuel imports, but people were not allowed to cross, a provincial minister told Reuters.  President Edgar Lungu shut the border on Sunday after the town of Nakonde recorded 76 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, the highest number registered by Africa’s No. 2 copper producer in a day.

“Trucks from both sides have been moving, starting with those destined for Tanzania,” Malozo Sichone, the minister of Zambia’s Muchinga province, said in response to a request for comment.  He added citizens were still barred from crossing the border.  Zambia’s Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya said the lockdown imposed on Nakonde town was lifted on Thursday and Friday, but restrictions on movement would come back into force on Saturday. to allow for mass screening.  Zambia’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 668 on Friday, with 7 deaths, the minister told a media briefing.  Sichone had said on Wednesday that talks were ongoing with Tanzania over the border closure, and an agreement could be reached soon. [nL8N2CV5JF]

A mining industry executive said the border had opened for copper exports from noon (1000 GMT) on Friday. A logistics official said: “We have trucks that have already crossed.”  The minister previously said priority would be given to trucks bringing essential goods such as fuel, medical supplies, and food into Zambia.  (Retuters)

Key Words: Zambia, Border, COVID-19

Mozambique: Government Reduces Fuel Prices – The Mozambican government has announced a price cut of around five per cent for petrol and diesel, taking effect on Thursday. The price of a litre of petrol falls from 67.49 to 64.22 meticais (from 99 to 94 US cents, at current exchange rates), a reduction of 4.8 per cent. A litre of diesel now costs 60.16 rather than 63.58 meticais, a price fall of 5.4 per cent. Other fuel prices remain unchanged: thus kerosene is still 48.44 meticais a kilo while domestic cooking gas still costs 68.23 meticais per kilo. Speaking at a press conference held on Wednesday to announce the new prices, the National Director of Hydrocarbons and Fuels, Moises Paulino, said the price cuts are justified by the fall in international demand for refined fuels, largely caused by the coronavirus pandemic. There had been a collapse in world oil prices, said Paulino. Thus the average price of a barrel of crude oil fell from 63 to 55 US dollars between January and February.

The price has continued to fall since then, but the new Mozambican prices are calculated on the basis of the costs of the fuel unloaded at the Mozambican ports between late January and early March. The fall in world fuel prices, he added, is to some extent counterbalanced by the decline in the value of the Mozambican currency, the metical. The metical has been slowly depreciating against the US dollar for most of this year. The reference exchange rate quoted by the Bank of Mozambique on Thursday morning is 68.25 meticais to the dollar. The general director of the fuel import agency Imopetro, Joao Macandza, told the reporters that the fuel tanks in the ports still contain products that were purchased at January and February prices. Orders made in April and May at a much lower price (around 31 dollars a barrel) cannot be unloaded at the ports, because there is no space for them in the tanks in Maputo, Matola, Beira, Nacala and Pemba.  (allAfrica)

Key Words: Mozambique, Business, Economy