IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Second survey on COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact on African countries : Survey extended until 20 July - The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and International Economics Consulting Ltd teamed up in April 2020, in order to carry out the first survey and provide insights into the economic effects of the pandemic on economic activity and trade for businesses across Africa. The analysis and full report has been published and can be accessed here.

Based on the positive responses of the April Survey, and with a view to shedding light on the policy responses and understanding how businesses are progressing during the pandemic, the team is proposing a second round of the survey. Please also note that the scope of the questionnaire has been slightly expanded (compared to the first round) to account for issues that are gaining even more importance in the context of the pandemic and relating to supply chains, technology, competition and gender.

This survey should take 15 minutes to complete, and please rest assured all responses will remain strictly confidential. Please click on the link below to begin the survey, the deadline for completing the survey is Monday 20 July. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Covid-19-Africa-Impact

Thank you very much for giving your time to help us with our research. If you have any queries or comments about the survey or the research study, please do not hesitate to contact us by mail eca-atpc@un.org.  

INTERNATIONAL

Should digitally delivered products be exempted from customs duties? – As the digital revolution unfolds, more products are leaving their physical carriers and being traded online. For example, movies and music are being traded digitally rather than through CDs, CD-ROMs or DVDs. Similarly, books are being traded as e-books and video games are being downloaded or played online. While customs duties were applied on the physical imports of these digitalized products, their online imports escape customs duties, thanks to a World Trade Organization (WTO) e-commerce moratorium, which bans countries from applying customs duties on electronic transmissions. It dates back to 1998 when a few products were digitally traded and a couple of countries had the capacity to collect customs duties on intangible imports. Further, no one had anticipated the onset of a digital revolution.

Developing countries fast losing revenues - The moratorium has continued since 1998. However, with rising product digitalization, developing countries, the net importers of digitalized products, are fast losing tariff revenues due to the moratorium. UNCTAD estimated that the potential tariff revenue loss to developing countries due to the moratorium was  $10 billion in 2017. In March, India and South Africa outlined the adverse implications of the moratorium for developing countries. These include the loss of policy space together with potential tariff revenues and the possible impact of digital technologies like 3D printing on manufacturing. A decision on continuing with the moratorium or not will be taken at the 12^th WTO Ministerial Conference in 2021.

COVID-19 worsens effects of moratorium - COVID-19 and the subsequent prolonged lockdowns have led to an exponential rise in imports of digitalized luxury items like movies, music, video games and printed matter. While the crisis is expected to push millions of people in developing countries to extreme poverty, precious domestic financial resources are being spent on imports of these luxury items. (UNCTAD)

Key Words: COVID-19, Global Trade, UNCTAD

Global Productivity: Trends, Drivers, and Policies – The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged the global economy into its deepest recession since the Second World War. Per capita incomes are expected to decline in about 90 percent of countries in 2020, the largest fraction in recorded economic history, and many millions will be tipped into poverty (World Bank 2020a). The pandemic is also likely to leave lasting scars through multiple channels, including lower investment, erosion of human capital because of unemployment and loss of schooling, and a possible retreat from global trade and supply linkages. These effects may lower productivity and limit the ability of economies to generate growth of real incomes in the long-term. 

The likely adverse impact of the pandemic on productivity would be a worrisome outcome, as growth of labor productivity is the main source of lasting per capita income growth, which in turn is the primary driver of poverty reduction. Most cross-country differences in per capita incomes have been attributed to differences in labor productivity.1 Whereas the one fourth of emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) with the fastest labor productivity growth during 1981-2015 reduced their extreme poverty rates by an average of more than 1 percentage point per year, poverty rates rose in EMDEs with labor productivity growth in the lowest quartile (Figure 1). 

The pandemic struck the global economy after a decade that witnessed a broad-based decline in productivity growth. The productivity slowdown, prior to the pandemic, affected around 70 percent of advanced economies and EMDEs. In advanced economies, the prolonged deceleration in productivity growth before the pandemic sparked an intense debate on how it would evolve in the future.2 Some innovations that had held the promise of considerable productivity gains, including digital technologies and automation of production processes, seemed to have been disappointing in this regard. 

Meanwhile, EMDEs experienced the steepest, longest, and most synchronized productivity slowdown over recent decades. In these economies, decelerating productivity growth has put at risk hard-won gains in terms of catch-up with advanced economies achieved prior to the 2007-09 global financial crisis (GFC). Labour productivity gaps with advanced economies remain substantial, with workers in the average EMDE producing less than one-fifth of the output of those in advanced economies.  Against this backdrop, this book presents the first comprehensive study of the evolution and drivers of productivity growth and policy options to rekindle it. It makes several contributions to a large literature.  (World Bank)

Key Words: COVID-19, Trade, World Bank

The WTO's contribution to achieving the SDGs - The WTO is playing an important role in the achievement of the UN's Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and collaborates closely with the UN's Department for Economic and Social Affairs in monitoring progress in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WTO reports annually to the UN's High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on WTO efforts to achieve trade-specific targets in the SDGs. The HLPF is the UN's main means of reviewing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and allows all UN members and specialised agencies to meet annually to evaluate progress on achieving the SDGs. In 2020, the HLPF takes place from 7 to 16 July 2020 under the auspices of the UN's Economic and Social Council. The theme is "Accelerated action and transformative pathways: Realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development."

During the event, participants will review progress on the SDGs in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They will reflect on how the international community can respond to the pandemic to put the international community back on track to achieve the SDGs. The WTO will provide a comprehensive review of its efforts over the past year to achieve trade-specific SDG targets. These include SDG 17.10 on promoting a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system and SDG 14.6 on prohibiting certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The WTO will also highlight the contribution of trade across all the SDGs, including goals on ending poverty, gender discrimination, food security and human health.  The WTO's contribution will also look at the potential impact of COVID-19 on global trade and the steps that WTO members are taking to tackle the crisis. The WTO will emphasize that maintaining open trade and investment flows is critical for protecting jobs, reducing disruptions in global supply chains, and ensuring that vital products are available for all. The WTO's 2020 report to the HLPF. (WTO)

Key Words: WTO, Global Trade, SDGs

Women as drivers of economic recovery and resilience during COVID-19 and beyond – 527 million women work in the four hardest-hit sectors – accommodation and food services, real estate, business and administrative activities, manufacturing, and wholesale/retail trade, unsuitable for remote-working. This represents 41 per cent of total female employment vis-à-vis 35 percent of total male employment. Of 740 million informal economy women workers, 42 per cent work in these sectors vis-à-vis 32 per cent of men. Women comprise 70 per cent of the global health workforce, at the front lines of response. Already encumbered by gendered labour-market disadvantages, women workers have been disproportionately affected by job loss, reduced working hours and bankruptcy. Also, health risks to health workers, paid and unpaid care work and violence against women have escalated with COVID-19 and lockdowns.

Women contribute 37 per cent of the global GDP. Moreover all types of women’s care work, including unpaid work generate USD 11 trillion globally (9 per cent of global GDP).  Deploying women’s full potential is critical to economic recovery. However, it is unclear how much the sizeable G20 (or non-G20) economic packages have invested in women’s priorities, despite evidence that the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 are worse for women. The crisis will worsen economic loss, including the  USD 160 trillion loss in wealth globally due to gender earning gaps. If shrinking fiscal space in countries of the Global South prompts spending cuts in public services, this will have further harsh impact on poor women and girls. Intentional expansion of fiscal space that recognizes and invests in women’s specific priorities must be central to the design of recovery packages. Enabling women’s potential fully and equally with men promotes sustainable, balanced, inclusive growth, improves the representation of women within institutions and intergenerational development outcomes, and is also thus crisis-cushioning. This will ensure BUILDING BACK BETTER beyond COVID-19, achieving G20 commitments to gender equality, accelerating the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

We, UN Women and W20, call upon G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to lead and co-ordinate global efforts to promote:

1. Gender responsive impact reviews of the crisis, recovery packages and plans worldwide, especially for the worst-affected women and girls, in order to guide investment priorities.
2. Greater fiscal space for countries of the Global South, including through debt relief/ cancellation, increasing their global liquidity via Special Drawing Rights, and expansionary monetary policies that enhance credit availability including to women-specific sectors via loan guarantees and other loan instruments.
3. Greater investment in gender-responsive budgeting globally to ensure that fiscal policies advance gender equality in short and long-term recovery via legislation enshrining it in the design of fiscal policy and budgetary and financial management processes.

 (UN Women)

Key Words: Investment Policy, Global Trade, UN Women

PAN AFRICA

Digital trade is the next big thing in Africa– Wamkele Mene was recently appointed Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat. Because of COVID-19, free trade for countries that have ratified the agreement did not begin, as planned, on 1 July 2020. In this interview with Africa Renewal’s Kingsley Ighobor, Mr. Mene explains the way forward, how increased intra-African trade can boost economies post-COVID-19 and how digital trade will be next big thing on the continent:

Q: You have said that digital trade is the next big thing in Africa. Most of the trade in Africa is informal and is usually carried out by women, especially cross-border trade. How does digital trade fit that picture?

A: First, digital trade is possible through mobile phones. We know, for example, from the experiences of various countries across the African continent, that you can access distant markets using your mobile phone. So, the digital platforms are already there. We also know that Africa has one of the fastest-growing penetrations of mobile subscribers. It is a question of leveraging all those technological innovations and advantages into a common platform for free trade in Africa, under the AfCFTA agreement.

In countries where women are most active and contribute significantly to the economy—I am thinking here of Kenya and Nigeria, among others—there are examples of women who use digital solutions in informal trade. We seek to establish the requisite regulatory environment and architecture, through laws and digital platforms. The other area that is very important is customs authorities. We need to find a way to digitize our customs capabilities such that they are seamless across the continent. It is going to take quite a lot of work, but I believe it’s possible.

Q: Do you have any plans to capture the imaginations of young people, to bring them on board?

A: During my appointment and election process, I identified young Africans and women in trade as segments of society that we must bring with us, to benefit from the implementation of this agreement. If it benefits only the big multinational corporations in Africa, it will have failed. We are going to create a platform to engage young Africans, women in trade and small- and medium-sized enterprises in a dialogue to put this vision into practice. We don’t have all the answers. We want to hear from young Africans. We know that if you go to Kigali, you will find young African software engineers at the forefront of innovation. These are the people that we want to bring into the fold of the agreement. We can create the appropriate environment for young Africans to benefit. Our rule will be to establish the conducive environment for young Africans to leverage their ideas. This is especially important. We don’t have the answers to innovation, but we can create and establish regulatory frameworks within the context of the AfCFTA.

Q: It appears that many young Africans are not yet aware of some of the lofty goals of the AfCFTA. How do you encourage countries to raise awareness among young people?

A: It’s going to be a joint effort between the Secretariat and individual countries. We take advocacy and awareness-raising seriously. The basic iterate of the agreement is only one month old, but we are already recruiting the best and the brightest Africans to ensure that we reach our mandate. We are going to engage each of the five regions of Africa through regional outreach and advocacy programs. We will work with national governments. And we will complement the efforts of national governments to raise awareness about the benefits of the agreement, as well as the potential risks, and advise African populations—young people, women in trade—on how to take advantage of this unprecedented agreement. So, we are going to roll out a robust awareness-raising campaign in the five regions, in a way that complements the efforts of individual governments.

Q: What’s your idea of success in the short and long terms?

A: In the short term, success is having an institution that is established and functions smoothly. Institution building is never easy. Building a Secretariat of eventually 55 countries is not going to be easy. It’s a big challenge. Establishing a dispute settlement mechanism is going to be a particular challenge, because it signals to African investors that they should have confidence in the market. If we can operationalize a credible mechanism, that will be a short-term success. In the long term, we aim to reach our objectives and action plans in industrial development. We might have value chains in two or three priority sectors, especially in critical areas such as agro-processing and automobiles. These are the areas that have a direct impact on job creation and economic growth in Africa. That, for me, would be a long-term success. (Africa Renewal)

Key Words: Digital Trade, Africa, AfCFTA

Africa has no choice but to integrate now – AU Deputy Chairperson – The Deputy Chair Person of the African Union Commission, Thomas Kwesi Quartey, has admitted that the continent of Africa has in years past not been able to integrate effectively – particularly in the areas of commerce and economics – as a result of deliberate partitioning and division of the African continent by the Europeans who created the modern African nations. He said this is why the continental body of the African Union had struggle to use the over half-century period gone by to disentangle the continent politically and is now focusing on trading among itself through formation of the Continental Free Trade Area. “All that the African Union has been trying to do and with the arrival of the Continental Free Trade Area was in significant part to disentangle the knots we were tied in, bring ourselves closer together, and trade with each other.”
Speaking to Eye on Port, the Deputy Chair of the African Union said the continent had initially focused on political integration of its people, but the most opportune time has now presented itself for economic integration. “It was not until the liberation of South Africa that the whole continent was said to be politically liberated; and the issue now is what to do with this independence through liberation, because liberation is nothing if you cannot improve your economic lot. “Intra Africa Trade is 10%. Whenever there is an increase in Intra Africa Trade by even 2%, GDP rises by a factor of 10. So it is important for us as Africans to move freely within our continent to trade within ourselves and create a larger economic space, which will attract investment.” He said the coming into being of the African Continental Free Trade Area is only a first step to many targets set by the continent to liberate itself and develop together.
“And the more the Free Trade Area begins to yield benefits, the more people will warm-up to it. We have to see more and more of the continental interest and less of the international interest.” H.E. Kwesi Quartey admitted that one of the major challenges to integrating the continent has been member-countries focusing on their national interests far beyond those of the region. “One also has to be realistic that sovereign nations can only be persuaded and not compelled.” He said it has been difficult to push or force sovereign nations to comply with protocols or treaties and policies, but added that AfCFTA has been received with renewed enthusiasm by member-countries. “I think that the Continental Free Trade Area was received with a certain amount of enthusiasm that has been above average.” He commended efforts by member-countries and institutions for the commitment demonstrated thus far. (Ghana Web)

Key Words: Regional Integration, COVID-19, AfCFTA

82% of NTBs in COMESA are operational and easy to monitor: but behind-the-border type of NTBs are more complex – At least 82% of the reported Non-Tariff Barriers in the COMESA region are those imposed on imports and exports of goods and services and are largely operational by design. According to trade experts, these type of NTBs are easy to identify and monitor. Thus, from an analytical perspective, the relatively high rate of resolution of NTB cases in COMESA, which is over 95%, does not necessarily imply that the mechanisms established to eliminate NTBs are effective. Rather it shows that mechanisms in place capture more of the operational as opposed to the behind-the-border types of NTBs. The behind-the-border measures are mainly imposed internally and include domestic legislations covering health, technical, product, labor, environmental standards, internal taxes or charges, and domestic subsidies.

According to the COMESA Director of Trade, Dr Christopher Onyango, the latter category is much more complex and difficult to identify and have in recent times become major sources of NTBs. He was speaking at the opening of the virtual 8th Meeting of the COMESA NTBs Focal Points which took place last week, 8 – 10 July 2020. Its objectives were to deliberate on the revised COMESA Non-Tariff Barriers regulations, the 2nd draft of the Working Procedures on implementation of COMESA NTBs regulations and to consider the outstanding Intra-COMESA NTBs. He said several strategies and mechanisms have so far been put in place to reduce the occurrences and eliminate NTBs since the establishment of COMESA, particularly following the advent of the FTA regime. However, the NTBs have remained prevalent and continue to constrain the growth and expansion of intra-COMESA trade and investments. “It is therefore important that we continue to review and improve existing regulations and mechanisms taking into account changing eco systems, understanding key causes, analyzing regulatory regimes, production techniques and technological advancements,” he said.

In the COMESA region, some NTBs have remained unresolved for long, some dating back to 2000. “In as much as willingness and commitment of parties involved may be critical, the effectiveness and capability of the mechanisms and institutional structures to resolving all types of NTBs require sustained review,” Dr Onyango explained. “Regulations should take into account the nature, forms and categories of various non-tariff measures, domestic policies, laws and regulations and the diversity of economic sectors. But even more importantly, the regulations and procedures should be inclusive, taking into account small scale enterprises, youth and women as important players in the integration process.”(tralac)

Key Words: Trade Policy, COMESA, AfCFTA

The Next Generation Africa Climate Business Plan: Ramping Up Development-Centered Climate Action – Africa has contributed the least to global warming, and yet the continent is at the sharp end of its most devastating impacts. Countries can face deeper, longer droughts and the ravages of storms and floods—even in the same year. Farmers see their crops fail; city dwellers see their infrastructure fray; everyone sees globally precious natural biodiversity being eroded. But no counsel of despair will be found in this report.   To the contrary, we believe Africa will seize the opportunity to grow its economies, reduce poverty, and contribute to the global fight against climate change. That is because the world has changed, and increasingly the best way of securing development is through the green route.  African countries need not follow old models of industrialization—they can chart a new course. And the World Bank’s Next Generation Africa Climate Climate Plan confirms our commitment to support that strongly.

Take the energy challenge—half a billion Africans are still without access to power as 2020 draws to a close. The technology that drives solar power is more efficient, accessible, and cheaper than ever before. The World Bank will partner with governments and the private sector to support 25 countries to strengthen energy sector planning toward transformative pathways that ramp up  access to electricity in Africa over the next six years.    Similarly, how shall we meet the imperative to ensure no African goes hungry—to deliver food security for the continent? Climate-smart agriculture—from the field to the markets to the consumer—is central to the answer. The World Bank is already supporting modern agriculture projects in Ethiopia, Niger, and Zambia that benefit poor rural communities. Under this Plan, we are targeting 28 million farmers to secure food and nutrition security across 20 countries.

These are just two of the five main strands in the clear medium-term path in this new Climate Plan, with new investments expected to reach US$22.5 billion by 2025, with at least half of this devoted to adaptation and resilience. Even as this Plan is ramping up, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned so much of our world upside-down. Like climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic underscores how global issues can ripple through economies, disproportionately affecting poor communities. But as Africa navigates through the pandemic, including with “green recovery” steps, it will emerge on the other side better placed to ramp up its development actions in a climate-informed way and grasp new opportunities.   (World Bank)

Key Words: Africa, Business Plan, World Bank

Tourism in Africa: Virtual safaris kick in as countries prepare to reopen to tourists – The COVID-19 crisis halted tourism worldwide. All UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) regions have experienced more than 65% of their destinations completely closed to tourism: Africa (74%), Americas (86%), Asia and the Pacific (67%), Europe (74%) and the Middle East (69%). The organization predicts a 20-30% decline in global international tourist arrivals this year. Before COVID-19, Africa was the second fastest growing region for tourism. In 2018, for example, up to 67 million international tourists visited African countries, generating US$38 billion for the continent, according to the UNWTO. An increase of 4.2% in travelers’ numbers in 2019 and 3-5% in 2020 had been forecast. The pandemic and measures to control it have hit Africa’s travel and tourism industry hard. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) nearly eight million travel and tourism jobs have been lost in Africa alone due to COVID-19. This, along with loss of revenues, prompted an international appeal last May from air transport and tourism bodies to save the sector.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the UNWTO, the WTCC, the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) and the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) asked international financial institutions, country development partners and international donors for $10 billion in relief to support the travel and tourism industry and protect jobs. Some of the countries affected include Côte d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, whose economies primarily benefit from the tourism industry. Other popular destinations such as the Botswana, Cape Verde and Rwanda, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, the Gambia, are feeling the pinch too.

Getting out of the woods - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, this past June issued a global video message supporting tourism and the role it could play, saying: “Tourism can be a platform for overcoming the pandemic. By bringing people together, tourism can promote solidarity and trust – crucial ingredients in advancing the global cooperation that is so urgently needed at this time”. As countries begin to ease COVID-19 travel restrictions, several in Africa are making plans to re-open their tourism industries, if they have not already. Tanzania is open to tourists, while Namibia has reopened its national parks. Morocco has announced plans to re-open in July, and South Africa hopes to welcome travelers by September 2020. Uganda and Mauritius may wait a little longer. Kenya and Zambia are taking this opportunity to promote domestic tourism as they wait for the lifting of travel restrictions in the following weeks with strict conformity to guidelines and protocols issued by experts.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili says the timely and responsible easing of travel restrictions will help ensure the many social and economic benefits that tourism guarantees will return in a sustainable way. However, despite the optimism in reopening tourism, the UNWTO Chief has called for coordinated protocols and procedures between governments, private sector, and communities on border management, air transportation, hospitality, travel agencies, events, and attractions. “It is vital, therefore, that the restart of tourism is made a priority and managed responsibly, protecting the most vulnerable and with health and safety as the sector's number one concern”.  (Africa Renewal)

Key Words: COVID-19, Africa, Tourism Industry

Why refined products standard is critical to Africa – A move by the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARA), and the African Union (AU), to ensure common standard for the importation and refining of petroleum products on the continent remains critical to trade, environment and the economy of the region, stakeholders said, Wednesday. Under the plan, Africa is expected to adopt harmonized AFRI Clean Fuel Specifications across. The Cleaner Fuel spec recommends adoption of AFRI five (50 ppm sulphur for gasoline and diesel) by 2025, and AFRI 6 spec (10 ppm for same products) by 2030. A move by the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARA), and the African Union (AU), to ensure common standard for the importation and refining of petroleum products on the continent remains critical to trade, environment and the economy of the region, stakeholders said, Wednesday. Under the plan, Africa is expected to adopt harmonized AFRI Clean Fuel Specifications across. The Cleaner Fuel spec recommends adoption of AFRI five (50 ppm sulphur for gasoline and diesel) by 2025, and AFRI 6 spec (10 ppm for same products) by 2030.

ARA Executive Secretary, Anibor Kragha, had told The Guardian that the objective is to stop the importation of fuels not meeting these AFRI specs into Africa by 2021, and give existing refineries until 2025 to upgrade their facilities to produce the cleaner specs. This comes when a number of refineries are already springing up in Nigeria, even as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), also considers rehabilitating its existing refineries. Kragha disclosed that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Council of Ministers of Hydrocarbons in February 2020 already recommended product imports to meet AFRI five specs by 2021, and regional refineries to meet AFRI five specs by 2025. While some stakeholders are concerned about the poor implementation of existing regulations in Nigeria, they noted that the new standard would allow petroleum products to be moved easily across Africa. (The Guardian)

Key Words: ECOWAS, AU, Regional Integration

NORTH AFRICA

Tunisia to host TICAD8 in 2022 [Upd 1]– The ECA Office for North Africa, the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Ministry of the The 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) will officially be held in Tunisia in 2022. Tunisia is the 2nd African country to host this event after Kenya in 2016, Japan’s embassy to Tunisia announced on Thursday. “Initiated by Japan’s government since 1993, this international conference aims to speed up political dialogues between African leaders and development partners on challenges facing the Continent. It is a multi-lateral forum that gathers Japan and African countries, international organisations, development partner countries, private enterprises and civil society organisations involved in the development of Africa,” the embassy pointed out.  Regarding TICAD 8, Japanese Ambassador in Tunis Shinsuke Shinizu had recently said that emphasis will be placed on the consolidation of private investment, specifying that a business forum will be held concurrently with government meetings.

 An equal partnership between Japanese and Tunisian enterprises will be established with the ultimate objectives of developing the private sector and improving the business climate. The health sector and post-COVID economic recovery for African countries is also on the agenda of TICAD 8. The Embassy of Japan to Tunisia said that "Japan will continue through TICAD 8 to provide strong support for the development of Africa, the largest promising area of the 21st century, but which is also facing various challenges such as conflicts and poverty. COVID-19 has revealed the vulnerability of Africa, particularly in the medical and health sectors." During the upcoming conference, Tunisia would be the meeting point between Japan and the African Continent. "This is an excellent time to mark the beginning of the implementation of the sustainable development programme for 2030 and the 2063 agenda," the Japanese embassy to Tunisia specified. (TAP)

Key Words: Regional Integration, North Africa, SDGs

EAST AFRICA

Intra-EAC trade up 60pc in decade of Common Market – Trade between East African Community member states has increased by 60.75 percent from $3.72 billion when the Common Market Protocol was launched in 2010 to $5.98 billion in 2018, latest trade data shows. The Common Market Protocol has boosted trade in the region by easing cross-border movement of goods and people, though numerous non-tariff barriers (NTBs) continue to hold back the region’s p The volume of trade among EAC member states increased rapidly between the years 2010 to 2013, but dropped for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016. The EAC Trade and Investment Report shows that the value of intra-regional trade increased 9.4 percent to $5.98 billion in 2018 from $5.46 billion in 2017. This growth was partly attributable to EAC member countries’ increased preference to trading with each other to offset falling demand for the region’s products in European and US markets. According to the report, all EAC member states save for Burundi recorded growth in trade with their regional counterparts. The Covid-19 pandemic has heavily impacted regional trade, which has seen a rise in NTBs, with most manufacturers now shifting attention to local markets, the East African Business Council said.

Unforeseen hiccup - The Council’s Executive Director, Peter Mathuki, told The EastAfrican that the volume of intra-regional trade is expected to decline by close to 50 percent this year. “The Covid-19 pandemic has wrought havoc on intra-EAC trade, leaving most businesses in the private sector badly affected. Because this pandemic was not foreseen, people have changed their focus to survival while some businesses have shut down,” he said. In 2018 Kenya’s trade with EAC partner states increased by 4.7 percent to $1.95 billion from $1.86 billion in 2017, mainly on account of increased business with Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. Kigali’s total trade with EAC increased by 13.4 percent to $638.8 million from $563.2 million in the same period. Tanzania’s trade with other EAC partner states increased by 14.6 percent to $811.3 million, from $707.7 million, while Uganda jumped by 21.2 percent to $2.05 billion from $1.69 billion. EAC’s exports included products such as maize, sugar, rice, coffee, and tea as well as manufactured goods.

In the first three months (January-March 2020) Kenya’s exports to neighbouring EAC countries grew by 30 percent to Ksh42.9 billion ($429 million) from Ksh32.92 billion ($329.2 million) in the same period last year while total imports declined by 10 percent to Ksh12.04 billion ($120.4 million) from Ksh13.35 billion ($133.5 million) during the same period, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data shows.

Uganda remained the leading export destination for Kenyan goods contributing 28.4 percent of the total export earnings from Africa during the period.On the other hand, Kenya’s export earnings from Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, and South Sudan jointly accounted for 55 percent of total exports to Africa during the period. The EAC Customs Union, the first pillar of integration that came into effect in 2005, provided for a free trade area where partner states reduce or eliminate taxes on goods originating from within the bloc and impose common tariff on goods imported from other countries. (The EastAfrican)

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

WEST AFRICA

Okonjo-Iweala Unfolds Plans to Rejuvenate WTO – Nigeria’s candidate for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, wednesday assured member-countries that if given the job, she will rejuvenate WTO. Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke during a media briefing after making a presentation to the General Council of the WTO, however, added that she would ensure that her plans for the Geneva-based institute are achieved by proactively working with member countries. “The WTO DG has no direct decision-making authority. But the WTO DG can work to make things move along with influence and that influence can be proactive. “And that is the kind of DG that I intend to be if I am selected; to proactively work with members, to deliver outcomes, starting with the next ministerial, to show that the WTO is back and that the WTO is rejuvenated. So, I intend to be a proactively supportive DG,” she said. The former Managing Director (Operations) of the World Bank added: “The organisation has never had a woman or an African as DG, but my insistence is that choosing a DG for WTO should be on merit. “The best person to lead the institution should be chosen. Now I will say to them, if that person happens to be a woman, let it be, if she happens to be an African, so be it,” she said.

While noting that micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) have been bruised by the COVID-19, she stressed the need for discussions on how to integrate such businesses in the multilateral trading system, which is very important. According to her, “One crucial thing arising from COVID-19 and the impact it has had on economic growth and the predicted contraction of the world economy and economies around the world is that MSMEs have been badly affected. So, they need liquidity. “So, we need to make sure that for them to survive, they should have adequate liquidity to keep their businesses going. My worry is that there have been countries globally who have been able to make this liquidity available to their MSMEs and there are others, like many developing countries and least developed countries who have not.

“And, one of my roles as African Union envoy, with my other five colleagues, has been to see how we can facilitate and encourage additional resources from outside and inside to these MSMEs, so that they can regain their position and be able to stand, not only to keep jobs but to thrive in the future and create more jobs. “So, I am very keen. I think it is a very important sector and the WTO would work hard to make sure such types of enterprises are supported.” (This Day)

Key Words: COVID-19, AU, Global Trade

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Bulletin 8: SADC Regional Response to COVID-19 – This Bulletin 8 of the SADC Response to COVID-19 covers a number of key aspects on the COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlights some key global updates on treatment trials that are currently underway. The Bulletin further provides guidance and updates on the release of patients from isolation as well as guidance on breastfeeding for mothers who are suspected or confirmed COVID-19, which will be useful for Member States. The report continues to place emphasis on the importance of testing, given the Continental Initiative on the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT) which Member States are urged to implement to be able to Test, Trace and Treat COVID-19 cases. Related to this, we present a case study on the interactions between COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, TB and other diseases based on data from the Western Cape Province in the Republic of South Africa whose results have been published widely to explain these disease interactions.

The region continues to take stock of the impacts posed by the pandemic on different aspects of the region’s economies and how Member States can re-build and implement post COVID-19 recovery strategies. Health systems have been impacted significantly, the shortage of test kits and other supplies continue to be a challenge across the majority of Member States. In a similar vein the economies of the SADC region have suffered significantly due to the contraction in economic activity and overstretched public finances, coupled with increased public debt.

The energy sector is one sector that has been hardest hit. With reduced economic activity, the demand for energy such as electricity, gas and oil has been at its lowest, as businesses and activities in industry have ground to a halt. As a result, companies generating energy, have suffered a serious slump. The region continues to observe challenges in the transport sector, especially cross border movement of goods and services, this has continued to delay delivery of goods and services to final destination. It is encouraging to note however that, these issues are being addressed through the implementation of the SADC Guidelines on Movement of Goods and Services across the region during COVID-19. The report provides some key recommendations which Member States can consider for implementation. (SADC)

Key Words: SADC, Regional Integration, COVID-19