Informal cross-border trade in Sub-Saharan Africa offers a great deal of untapped potential to feed, integrate and industrialize the region, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has affirmed. According to TradeMark Africa (TMA), an organisation works closely with East African Community (EAC) institutions to increase trade by unlocking economic potential, Cross Border Trade (CBT) plays an important role in poverty reduction. TMA argues that it provides trading opportunities for a good number of people. TMA notes that in places like Rwanda, women are the most active traders along the country’s borders. In fact, EAC Partner countries recognize that women make a significant contribution towards the process of socio-economic transformation and sustainable growth. The States agree that it is impossible to implement effective programmes for the economic and social development of the Partner States without the full participation of women. A study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2017 found that 70% of informal traders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are women. In West and Central Africa, informal cross-border trade among women represents more than 60% and generates about 40 to 60% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the countries concerned. This cross-border trade, which is driven by increasing population, growing urbanisation and agriculture, provides the foundation for a diversified and globally competitive economy. The baseline studies, which were conducted in recent years in Sub-Saharan regional economic communities have demonstrated the positive impact of informal trade at both the macro and micro levels. “Due to...

Nigeria’s steering committee on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Impact and Readiness Assessment will present its recommendations to President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2019, official said. Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu made the announcement in a statement in Abuja, noting that Nigeria had not yet signed the AfCFTA agreement, which seeks to remove all restrictions to trade and investment within Africa. Mr Shehu, however, said that Nigeria had launched a nationwide consultation to accommodate a wide range of views on the technical instrument. President Buhari had on October 22 inaugurated the committee to assess Nigeria's readiness to join the agreement. The committee, which was given 12 weeks to conclude its assignment, has held consultations with stakeholders, including the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). According to Mr Shehu, while opinion was still divided on Nigeria joining AfCFTA, the committee had commissioned a study to shed more light on the public debate in the aftermath of a recent report by MAN. The report by MAN, among others, noted that “if Nigeria ratifies the agreement, import surges will range from 27.6 per cent for textile, apparel and footwear sub-sector to 180.7 per cent for chemical and pharmaceutical products during the 3 phases of liberalising tariff lines with 5 per cent tariff rates’’. According to MAN, in contrast, the import surge would be as high as over 2000 per cent in motor vehicle assembly sub-sector over 15 years, when 10 percent tariff rates are liberalised. “This will instantly spell doom for the automotive...

  The prospects of maritime trade are promising buoyed by expected growth in the global economy, a report has said. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its Review of Maritime Transport 2018 said the global sea trade will continue to rise in the short and medium term. “Global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by more than 3.0 percent over the 2018–2023 period, and merchandise trade volumes are set to rise by 4.4 percent in 2018 and four percent in 2019,” the report says. According to the UNCTAD projections, world seaborne trade will expand at a compound annual growth of 3.8 per cent during that period, based on calculated elasticities and the latest figures of GDP growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund for 2018–2023. “It is expected that containerised and dry bulk commodities trades will record the fastest growth. Tanker trade volumes should increase, although at a slightly slower pace than other cargo types. Locally, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) says it had by December 5 surpassed its cargo throughput target of 1.2 million twenty foot equivalent units (Teus) at the Port of Mombasa. Speaking in an interview with Shipping, KPA managing director Daniel Manduku said the prospects at the port are also high, reflecting the global trends. Dr Manduku said after recording a good business growth at the port, KPA now eyes the Great Lakes region countries market. “As of December 5, KPA had hit its annual target in terms of container...

Ireland has launched a new partnership worth €1 million (Tsh 2.6 billion) with Trademark East Africa to facilitate increased trade for Tanzania. Trademark East Africa’s work in Tanzania centres on strengthening the environment for trade and business, with a focus on increased physical access to markets; building an enhanced regulatory environment for trade; and promoting improved business competitiveness. This will be Ireland’s first grant to TMA and it is expected that further support will be provided over the coming three years. The Embassy of Ireland’s grant to Trademark East Africa complements its investment, announced in September, of an additional €2.76 million (Tsh 7.32 trillion) to improve income opportunities within Tanzania’s agriculture sector. The partnership was launched by Ambassador Sherlock and John Ulanga, Country Director, TradeMark Africa (TMA) Tanzania at TMA’s offices in Dar Es Salaam. Speaking at the launch, Ambassador Sherlock, underlined the importance of trade for sustainable economic growth: “Over the past 50 years, Ireland has evolved from being a relatively closed economy to one of the most open economies in the world. This experience has transformed our country beyond recognition. As a small open economy, trade and investment have become fundamental to achieving sustainable growth in Ireland and quality jobs for all our citizens.” ncreased trade is a powerful means by which to stimulate economic growth and job creation in Tanzania and it will need to be a central priority if Tanzania is to achieve its target of becoming a middle-income country by 2025.” Ambassador Sherlock also emphasised...

Last week,about 30 trade ministers and other officials from across Africa convened in Egyptian capital, Cairo to deliberate mainly on critical aspects that will advance Africa’s trade priorities. From the onset, the talks were largely about taking further the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the African Union flagship project that seeks to liberalise trade in goods and services. Albert Muchanga, the Commissioner for Trade and Industry at the African Union Commission, told the ministers that countries were on course to make AfCFTA work through their commitments. So far, the Commission have received nine deposits of the instruments of ratification of the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area. These are Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Niger, eswatini, Chad, Guinea, Uganda, and Cote d’Ivoire. According to him, the national assemblies of South Africa, Mali, Sierra Leone and Namibia have also approved ratifications and some of the governments of these member states will deposit instruments of ratification during the February 2019 assembly of the African Union Heads of State and Government. This makes thirteen ratifications with nine remaining to get the 22nd instrument of ratification that will facilitate entry into force of the agreement. The Trade Commissioner indicated that twelve member states have their ratification processes in their respective national assemblies and that all were at advanced stages of obtaining parliamentary approvals. “From this, it is clear that the mood to create and operate one African market is positive,” Muchanga noted. This update presented during the trade ministers conference outlines the kind...

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has expressed its support for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), saying the initiative will catalyse intra-African trade. The Director of Information at WTO, Mr. Keith Rockwell, said this during an interview with THISDAY, at an ongoing seminar for journalists from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean in Geneva, Switzerland. However, while Rockwell pointed out that Nigeria, being a sovereign country has the right to decide whether to sign the agreement or not, he added that the advantages of such agreements far outweighs fears countries that were yet to sign may be harbouring. Nigeria in March this year declined to sign the agreement to create the AfCFTA, which was signed at an extraordinary summit in Kigali, Rwanda by representatives of 44 of the 55 African Union (AU) member states. The deal was expected to improve the economic prosperity of the African countries by removing barriers to trade, like tariffs and import quotas, and allowing the free flow of goods and services between its members. The presidency had explained that President Muhammadu Buhari had yet to sign the pact because he wanted to consult widely with stakeholders, adding that when Nigeria was about to sign, key stakeholders in the country had said they were not consulted. Commenting on Nigeria’s reluctance to sign the agreement, he said: “It is for every government to decide what they want to do. And Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa. “What the Nigerian government decides to do is up to...

As Africa's ministers of Trade met in Cairo on Wednesday and yesterday, there was a quite bit to celebrate. Within nine months of its signature on March 21, in Kigali, the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) has been ratified by 13 countries, nine of which had deposited ratification instruments with the African Union Commission. Only nine more countries are required to reach the required 22nd ratification instrument for ACFTA to be in force and the free trade area formally launched at the next African Union Summit in February. Priority has now rightly shifted to fast-tracking the implementation of the agreement, so that economic operators can actually utilise the expected trade and investment opportunities. The issue is, Africa has been good at adopting agreements and taking numerous decisions but very bad at implementation. ACFTA should not join this lot of instruments that remain on the shelves and hardly of any value in the end. PLANNING Fortunately, quite some work has been done to publicise the free trade area around the world. The communication and visibility strategy mounted by the AU and its partners has been quite effective in mobilising and reaching out to political leaders, the media, civil society, the private sector and academia. But, although many have heard about the initiative, good knowledge of the rules of the game will be important to facilitate actual utilisation of the trade and investment opportunities. Long-term and executive courses will therefore come in handy as well user-friendly business manuals and targeted customised...

South Africa has deposited the instrument of ratification of an agreement establishing the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Thursday. The TFTA comprises three regional economic blocks -- the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). South Africa did this on the margins of a meeting of African Union (AU) trader ministers in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 12-13. The deposit of the instrument means that South Africa has formally and legally committed to the TFTA. "It was the tripartite initiative that led to the work of broadening the integration beyond our existing regional communities and working toward establishment of large free trade areas across our continent," said South Africa's Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies. Chileshe Kapwepwe, chair of the Tripartite Task Force and the secretary general of COMESA, congratulated South Africa for the action. She said six other countries are in the process of depositing their instruments. The TFTA was launched in June 2015 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. It intends to integrate the continent and create a big market of 626 million people with a combined gross domestic product of 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars. Twenty-two of 26 member states have signed the agreement. South Africa signed the agreement in July 2017 and its parliament ratified the agreement in October this year. South Africa is the fourth country to deposit the instrument of ratification. The other three countries...

NATIONAL Kagame Concerned Insecurity, Bickering Derailing Regional Integration By Staff Writer Published on December 13, 2018 SHARE TWEET COMMENT   Efforts of regional integration are suffering setbacks because leaders in the region are involved in bad mouthing, beating war drums, and continuously engaging in arguments about petty and trivial matters. While presiding over the opening of the 16th National Dialogue (Umushyikirano), President Paul Kagame said the region is experiencing bad brotherly practices from some East African Community Member States. He said Rwanda has tried to play a role in attaining good cooperation in the region, “because we have many common interests in regional integration than what separates us…,” he said adding that, “but the problem is not that its not understood, but the problem is in the implementation.” Kagame said some neighbours have become unsafe for Rwandans and insisted that neighbours must stop destabilising others. Without mentioning any countries Kagame inferred to countries where some Rwandans have reported harassment, kidnapping and providing free pass to enemies of the state to conduct subversive activities against Rwanda: “You can not allow activities that destabilise others from your soil. That is not regional integration, that is not good relation,” he said. “You cannot talk about inter-trade, good relations, and then turn around to target Rwandans. This is not good, yet those who do it are the ones who are preaching regional integration.” “Regional integration also goes along with safety of people and goods. You cannot invite people to trade with you when people are [illegally] arrested and...

South Africa has deposited the instrument of ratification of the Agreement establishing the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), comprising three regional economic blocks – the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The instrument of ratification was deposited on the margins of the 7th African Union Meeting of Ministers of Trade (AMOT) taking place in Cairo, Egypt, which got underway on Wednesday. The deposit of the instrument means that South Africa has formally and legally committed to the TFTA, which was launched in June 2015 in Sharm El-Sheikh. South Africa signed the agreement in July 2017 and Parliament ratified the Agreement in October this year. A total 22 of 26 member States have signed the agreement, which will enter into full force once it has been ratified by 14 countries. South Africa is the fourth country to deposit the instrument of ratification. The other three countries are Egypt, Uganda and Kenya. Six other countries are in the process of depositing their instruments. South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, who is attending the two-day AMOT, said South Africa regards the tripartite initiative as extremely important. “It was the tripartite initiative that led to the work of broadening the integration beyond our existing regional communities and working towards the establishment of large free trade areas across our continent, the initiative that is now taken forward by the African Union,” he said. The TFTA has a combined gross...