The African Development Bank said Monday that many countries still maintain unnecessary visa restrictions which are impeding the pace of integration. In its latest visa openness index released in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum, the Bank says few Africans can cross freely to another, but did not condemn any particular nation. In 2019, shows the index, only 26% of Africans are able to get visas on arrival in other African countries. This means that when one wants to travel to some countries, they have to either go to an embassy in a 3rd country or even strangely get the visa from embassy of a European country in their country. For example, this case shared by Patience Mutesi Gatera is typical of how rigid Africa borders are. On October 18, this is what she posted on Twitter: “Just met a friend who flew from #Kigali to #Nairobi just to get a Visa to #Malawi. The Visa costs $100, KGL-NBO return ticket $325 plus a full day wasted just to go get a stamp in your passport! Fam, we have a long way to go! #Africa WAKEUP!” Mutesi is no alarmist. She is Rwanda Country Director for TradeMark Africa, a trade development group, that among its projects has been building one-stop borders. The AfDB is calling on the continent to “make more progress on visa regimes, including introducing visas-on-arrival.” By breaking down borders,adds the Bank, Africa will be able to capitalize on gains from regional integration initiatives such...

Damali Ssali. There are several factors that influence the value and volume of trade. However, tariffs on tradeable goods and services are one of the most significant factors. International trade grew dramatically in the second half of the 20th century. As an example, total global trade in 2000 was 22 times greater than it had been 1950. This increase in multilateral international trade occurred when trade barriers, especially tariffs, were significantly reduced or in some cases eliminated across large trade blocks in Asia, America and Europe. Tariffs are taxes levied on imports and exports between states with the aim of generating government revenues and protecting domestic industries. Sometimes, depending on the tax policy of the country, a tariff could be set as high as 60%. This is usually to protect a young industry that is considered as very important to that state. Other times tariffs are imposed by states, against products and services of another state, to settle scores. The current trade war currently going on between the United States and China is one such tariff war waged between states. In 2017, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development reported that tariffs, on tradeable goods and services, between the developed states averaged at 1.2%. This is low compared to the average tariffs, on tradeable goods and services, between African countries, which stand at 8%.  Moreover, tariffs remain relatively high in important sectors, including agriculture, apparel, textiles and leather products. Unfortunately, these high tariffs make it easier for African countries to...

That’s the main conclusion from a new report Africa’s Development Dynamics  Achieving Productive Transformation, published by the African Union (AU) and the OECD on November 5. As it stands, productive transformation is not taking off, especially in the employment-intensive sectors where it is most needed, the report finds. Far from catching up, Africa is falling further behind emerging markets in Asia. The Africa-to-Asia labour productivity ratio has decreased from 67% in 2000 to 50% today, the report finds. African exports of consumption goods to African markets decreased between 2009 and 2016, both in dollar terms and relative to the continent’s GDP. “Without a strong and co-ordinated policy push,” the report says, “African firms risk losing out to new global competitors.” About 42% of Africa’s working youth live on less than $1.90 a day and only 12% of Africa’s working-age women were in waged employment in 2016, according to the report. The number of people on that income level increased by 31 million between 1999 and 2015 to 407 million. In some countries, almost 91% of the non-agricultural labour force remain in informal employment. The annual total of 29 million new entrants to Africa’s labour markets risks becoming a cumulative addition to the jobless total. If jobs for them are not found in one year, they will need to be created the next year. Clusters key Many entrepreneurs lack basic capabilities, the report finds. Most youth entrepreneurs in Côte d’Ivoire and Madagascar lack skills in areas such as bookkeeping, multi-year planning and human resources. The AU and...

A STANDARD gauge railway (SGR) project that will link Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo with the Dar es Salaam port is one among major projects that will feature in the Africa Investment Forum that begun in Johannesburg yesterday. The President of African Development Bank, the organiser of the forum, Dr Akinwumi Adesina said the SGR project currently being undertaken by the Tanzania’s government using local resources would be on the table in the forum that has brought together global multilateral development and finance institutions and investors to tackle the continent’s infrastructure investment challenges and advance Africa’s economic transformation agenda. The three-day Africa Investment Forum billed a game-changer to tilt capital flow into the continent has been organised by the African Development Bank and partners in Sandton Convention Centre to advance projects, raise capital and close financial deals. Around 2000 delegates were expected to attend the innovative investment marketplace which has brought together heads of state, project sponsors, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors in 60 boardroom sessions to move projects from commitment to action. And the organisers of the forum are adamant that it will not be a talk shop but a unique platform to close financial deals for major projects that will boost economic growth and development in the continent. Africa Investment Forum is not a talk show. We deliver,” said Dr Adesina at the opening ceremony. “We promised (during the inaugural forum last year) and we delivered. We’re changing the investment narrative of Africa.” “When we laid...

$3tn GDP growth opportunity if the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is fully implemented Biggest potential economic gain and business opportunities will be from from growth in trade between African nations Countries with open economies and significant cross-border trade set to benefit most quickly South Africa, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya and Morocco will grow most from AfCFTA Conflicts with older regional free trade agreements a major hurdle Manufacturing among sectors with biggest growth opportunities Success dependent on African countries putting rules, regulations and mechanisms in place around Rules of Origin, digital payments and the elimination of non-tariff barriers. New research from global law firm Baker McKenzie and Oxford Economics – AfCFTA's US$ 3 trillion Opportunity: Weighing Existing Barriers against Potential Economic Gains - shows that if fully implemented, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will unlock significant but uneven growth opportunities on the continent. The African Union is putting the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) into operation. It will be the world's largest free trade area by number of countries and is so far in force across 27 countries. Open economy key to success Some countries are currently better placed than others to reap the rewards of intraregional trade and numerous obstacles mean that the tangible benefits of the agreement will likely only be realized from 2030. The report finds countries with good existing trade integration with their neighbours and which have open economies are most likley to benefit economically from lower trade tariffs. For example, South...

Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), on Tuesday last week opened the 23rd meeting of the intergovernmental committee of senior officials and experts from 14 eastern African countries in Asmara, Eritrea insisting on the importance of increasing regional trade and implementing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Leveraging new opportunities for regional integration was the theme of the ECA annual meeting. In the eastern trading Africa bloc, she said, the implementation of the continental free trade agreement could result in $1.8 billion welfare gains and creation of 2 million new jobs. The New Times’ James Karuhanga caught up with Songwe to talk about, among others, why the historic agreement is not just another trade agreement, what the meeting’s host country – which was hosting the meeting for the very first time – has to offer, and the importance of the continent’s aspirations for peace and harmony. Excerpts: In the discussions on leveraging new opportunities for regional integration in eastern Africa, the AfCFTA keeps coming up again and you particularly emphasised that this is not just another trade agreement. Why? Like I said, this is not just another agreement because it actually is, if it is taken right, a stepping stone for huge investment compact for the continent. The Continental Free Trade Area Agreement is, on paper, a policy statement but I think when you translate that policy statement into actuality, it means that we need to create industries, develop infrastructure, build roads, make our airlines...

Nyabihu Tea Factory majorly owned by Rwanda Mountain Tea Ltd, fetched a record price of US$7.22 (about Rwf6,624.89) per kilogramme for its processed tea at the Mombasa auction this month. The Mombasa trading is the second-largest black tea auction centre in the world after Colombo, Sri-Lanka where a dozen producers from the region sell their tea. At the 45th auction of the East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA), the company’s ‘BP1 grade’ – the highest quality – earned the highest bid two times in a row, reports New Times Rwanda. Thushara Pinidiya, the Director of Nyabihu Tea Factory said, “We follow basic, but best principles of manufacturing. Farmers also play a big role because they supply us with tea leaves whose quality determines the quality of tea we produce.” The recent highest bid in October last month at the Mombasa auction was earned by the same tea processing company at US$6.64 (about Rwf6,096) per kilo. Last month, the Rwandan teas were sold to UK, Pakistani, Egyptian, Kazakhstani, Afghanistan and Middle East markets among others. Last year, the company sold 1.5 million kilos of tea with Pinidiya saying that they anticipate to sell 1.8 million kilos and 2 million kilos this year and 2020, respectively. Nyabihu Tea Factory is based in the Nyabihu District, Western Province with tea plantation covering at 1,043.54 hectares. According to the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), last month Rwanda sold 1,968,267 kilos of tea at an average price of US$3.07 per kilo at the Mombasa tea...

President Paul Kagame told lawyers from member countries of the East African Community that they should continue to have an active role in realising the integration agenda for the region. The members of the East Africa Law Society are meeting in Kigali for the annual conference and General Assembly. Kagame, who is also the Chairperson of the EAC, said the bloc is the institutional embodiment of the region’s political will to integrate economies and cooperate closely. Among the achievements the regional body has made, he mentioned the Customs Union, the Common Market and the ability of citizens to travel freely. “Every aspect of the integration agenda is ultimately expressed as law. Without relevant legal frameworks, noble ideals can never be turned into reality,” he noted. “Of course, those agreements do not guarantee implementation. But they are a first and essential step. It is therefore highly significant that the East Africa Law Society is not only the largest professional association in East Africa, but one of the most vibrant,” he added. The Head of State applauded the East Africa Law Society’s commitment to the regional integration agenda over the past 24 years. “There have been difficult moments, but you have held together strongly. And there will certainly be more challenges on the road ahead. We are counting on you to continue in the same spirit,” he said. The East Africa Law Society comprises 19,000 members whose voices the President indicated were needed to drive the integration agenda, highlighting that the survival...

President Yoweri Museveni has urged African countries to promote trade as one of the strategies that will ensure the survival of the continent and the prosperity of the people. “Today, Africans must know that trade is a matter of survival. If you don’t trade, you will collapse because prosperity comes from trade,” he said. The President was opening the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) joint Business Forum at Munyonyo that is running under the theme ‘Promoting Bilateral Trade for Mutual Peace and Prosperity’. The one-day conference was attended by business delegations from  Uganda and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as well as the line Ministers from the 2 countries. It is taking place as DRC President  Felix Tshisekedi starts a two day state visit to Uganda. The Governor of Beni in the DRC, Nyonyi Bwanakawa and that of Ituri also in the DRC, Jean Bamanisa Saidi, among others, were also present at the business forum. President Museveni, who warmly welcomed the DRC delegation to Uganda informing them that we are one people divided by the colonial boundaries, said trade in the region started  very many years ago. “Congo and East Africa have been trading since time immemorial,” he observed. The President cited products that were being traded from the Indian Ocean coast such as textiles, glass, beads and guns in exchange with the interior areas that included such products like copper, ivory, iron and cows. Museveni asserted that by facilitating trade, a number of challenges are resolved including job creation,...

Amr Kamel, the executive Vice President in charge of Business Development and Corporate Banking at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has said they are ready to work with African banks and bankers and to ensure that the banks are well-equipped to deal with the risks in financing trade under a difficult politico-economic environment and changing trade counter-parties. Kamel was speaking at the Afreximbank Trade Finance Seminar and Workshop which was attended by more than 200 participants, including senior executives from African banks, financial institutions, regulatory institutions. It was organised by Afreximbank in collaboration with the South African province of Kwazulu-Natal. The training had been structured to ensure that participants acquired the capacity to structure bankable trade finance deals of varying levels of complexity, he stated. “As Banks, we all play a critical role in promoting trade,” said Mr. Kamel. He said that 2019 would go down as a watershed in Africa’s history, being the year when the continent came together to affirm its commitment to addressing its economic and social problems through the launch of the operational phase of the African Free Trade Continental Agreement (AfCFTA). “This should provide traders across Africa with preferential trading arrangements to enable them to enhance the level of intra-African trade and enhance economic growth for our countries,” he said. Also speaking, Sihle Zikalala, Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Province, said that the province aimed to position itself as the gateway to South Africa and the entire Southern African region. It aspired to act increasingly as a...