Summary A meeting held at the AfCFTA headquarters in Accra found that without these provisions no trade can take place. East Africa’s private sector was represented in Accra by the East African Business Council’s (EABC) Chief Executive John Bosco Kalisa. Rules of Origin determine which products can be subject to tariffs and duties. The implementation phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which went live on January 1, is still bogged down by technicalities as key provisions of the agreement are yet to be concluded. The technical provisions that are proving to be a hurdle to trade are the rules of origin, the tariff offer and Customs Union. A meeting held at the AfCFTA headquarters in Accra, Ghana on September 18-19, to review the agreement nine months after its inception, found that without these provisions no trade can take place, at least not as easily as envisaged. East Africa’s private sector was represented in Accra by the East African Business Council’s (EABC) Chief Executive John Bosco Kalisa who emphasised the importance of establishing the Rules of Origin in the continent’s FTA. “So far no trading has taken place because we are still ironing out issues. Before anyone starts trading, there are a number of key components such as tariffs and Rules of Origin — the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product — which have to be agreed on. The rules of origin are basically the ‘passport for goods’ and if these rules are not...

The value of Intra-COMESA total exports declined by 11 percent from Ksh.1.2 trillion (US$.10.9 billion) in 2019 to Ksh.1 trillion (US$.9.7 billion) in 2020 due to adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic and pre-existing factors such as supply-side challenges and prevalence of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs). The low intra-regional trade resulted from existing gaps in information availability on trading opportunities, regulatory requirements in markets and factors that inform business decisions on production of goods and trade. This was revealed during an update that was presented at the ongoing 37th Meeting of the COMESA Trade and Customs Committee, October 13 – 15, 2021. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Assistant Secretary General in charge of programmes, Dr Kipyego Cheluget observed that regional trade could flourish if Member States embraced the COMESA trade and customs facilitation instruments and policies. “If well implemented these could significantly increase intra-COMESA trade, reduce time and cost, increase regional competitiveness, create jobs and positively impact on living standards of our people,” he said. He also said that the implementation of regional commitments and full participation of all Member States in COMESA FTA required greater efforts and improvement. In 2020, COMESA developed COVID-19 guidelines and an online platform for exchange of information on movement of essential goods and services. The aim was to ensure safe trade continued across the region. The utilization of the platform is, however, still low and member states have been urged to mobilize national business bodies to ensure its full utilization not only to address...

Vaccine inequity leaves people in developing countries vulnerable to new virus strains and slows down economic progress. Trade facilitation measures are a fast, cost-effective way to enable the smooth flow of vaccine supplies across borders to aid recovery. We outline how trade facilitation can address these key challenges and highlight the success of a project in Mozambique. As vaccine inequity hinders economic recovery in less-developed countries and threatens to reverse progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), trade facilitation measures offer a fast, cost-effective solution. From digitizing trade documents to cutting red tape and making border processes more efficient, they ensure vaccines travel more easily to those who need them most. While boosting COVID-19 vaccine production – especially in the countries with low immunization rates – resolving licensing disputes and eradicating trade barriers such as export restrictions are also vital for equitable vaccine access, they require significant time and investment. In contrast, implementing trade facilitation measures – as laid out in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement – can reap results within months rather than years, and ensure that when vaccine supplies do ramp up, they flow quickly to where they are needed most. Facilitating trade in COVID-19 vaccines also brings long-term benefits for countries’ broader health systems and economies, reducing the future cost of importing anything from perishable foods to pharmaceutical inputs. Why vaccine inequity matters According to the Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity, a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Oxford, just 2.14% of people...

At a time when the world has been shaken and businesses have been worst hit, it is now clear that future-proof establishments must adopt innovative practices to stay resilient.  Speaking during the World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum is driven by TradeMark Africa, Bidco Africa’s Group Director – Chris Diaz emphasized the need for collective responsibility bringing together the public and private sector players to realize the alignment and seamless operations of trade through digital technologies. “The East African region is an entrepreneurial hub and with the private sector’s contribution of more than 60% of the GDP, the economic growth potential steered by SMEs and MSMEs is massive in job creation. Adopting digitalization is at the centre stage to realizing this great vision of our motherland,” said Mr Diaz.  Bidco Africa’s Group Director – Chris Diaz Mr Diaz who is also a Director at the East African Business Council (EABC) lauded the WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for her leadership and championing joint Stakeholder Engagement of players across the Eastern Africa region which has seen up to 3% economic growth, in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) spirit. With the adoption in place and the resilience in trade, we will realize the free flow of goods and services, growth of trade and eventually globalization of markets. Together with the Trade Counsellor for Kenya European Union, KRA’s Deputy Commissioner for Customs and Border Control, the Chair at All-Party Parliamentary Group and the Trade Mark CEO, the forum emphasized the need to embrace...

Dr. Olusola Oloba, the Agriculture Sector Coordinator at the Secretariat of the National Action Committee of AfCFTA, Abuja, in this interview with EHIME ALEX, explains why AfCFTA may take longer time to realise its objective Could you bring us to speed with what African Continental Free Trade Area has been doing since it commenced work in January? The African Continental Free Trade Area is a trade body that aims to create a single market for goods and services in Africa, while the AfCFTA agreement is one of the major trade components that explain economic integration and talk about free trade. We also have the Customs Union. This happens when state parties begin to look at common external tariffs. Precisely, AfCFTA came into play in May 2019 after about 22 states ratified the agreement. But Nigeria signed the agreement in July 2019, making her the 53rd out of the 55 countries in Africa. What the agreement aims, majorly, is to create a single market for goods and services in Africa, as well as liberalise the market. When people are free to move across borders, goods and services are also free to move. It also contributes to the movement of capital and persons. What do I mean by this? The second phase of the agreement intends to look at what we call “cross-border investment” – the possibility of countries investing in other countries within the continent; for instance, a business tycoon from South Africa coming to invest in Nigeria. There are phases, actually....

A mantra that will be often heard in the corridors of power, whether in the developed or developing world, is that ‘the future belongs to the nations of the global south’. While this might seem like hyperbole, the potential of the Global South to become the driver of the world economy is absolutely real because the numbers reveal that to be true. Africa has 50% of the world's unused arable land (food demand is expected to increase on our continent by over 200% by 2030 and globally by over 50% by 2050). In addition, with improved logistics, the harnessing of better agricultural practices, and strong government and multilateral support, the future for agriculture and agri-business on the continent is bright. Among the many factors that will turn the obvious potential of Africa’s agriculture into reality is the strength of the continent’s commodity markets. Commodity markets have been dominated by the traditional global powerhouses (The United States of America, Japan, Australia, Germany, and Canada). However, what we are now seeing is that some of the largest commodity exchanges are now operating in emerging markets like India, Brazil, and China. While CME Group Inc (founded in 1848 at the Chicago Board of Trade) dominates the commodity exchange industry with over 20 million individual contracts transacted daily in recent years, others such as the ICE (International Exchange) and TOCOM (Tokyo Commodity Exchange) transact millions of commodity transactions daily worth tens of billions of dollars. The ability of these exchanges to connect producers to...

Uganda has waived all visa entry requirements for South Sudan citizens entering the country. The decision was taken in the 36th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the East African Community (EAC). The Council of Ministers recognized the “protocol of free movement of persons within the region.” “In the pursuance of the spirits of Pan Africanism, this is therefore to notify you that with effect 1st October 2021, citizens of the Republic of South Sudan will not be required to pay the visa entry fee to enter into the Republic of Uganda,” said Apollo Kasiita Gowa, the Director, Citizenship and Immigration Control. In response, South Sudan applauded Uganda for the decision. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of South Sudan welcomes the decision of the Government of sisterly Republic of Uganda to waive entry visa requirements for the citizens of the Republic of South Sudan with effect from 1st October 2021,” reads the statement from South Sudan Foreign Affairs Ministry. In reciprocity, South Sudan Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that South Sudanese Government has directed its Ministry of Interior through its Directorate of Nationality Passports and Immigration to waive visa entry requirements for Ugandan citizens holding valid passports issued by Uganda Government with effect from Monday, October 4, 2021. “The entry and exit points, including our Missions and Embassies abroad are directed to comply with the directive,” South Sudan Foreign Affairs Ministry said. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of...

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and AfCFTA Secretariat announced the operational roll-out of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a Financial Market Infrastructure to enable instant, cross-border payments in local currencies between African markets. By simplifying cross-border transactions and reducing the dependency on hard currencies for these transactions, PAPSS is set to boost intra-African trade significantly and underpin the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). PAPSS will serve as a continent-wide platform for the processing, clearing and settling of intra-African trade and commerce payments, leveraging a multilateral net settlement system. Its full implementation is expected to save the continent more than $5 billion in payment transaction costs each year. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank and Chairman person of PAPSS Management Board, said: “With the implementation of PAPSS, Africa can expect to begin to reap the fruits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. Afreximbank is proud to have contributed in the realization of the multi-decade dream that seemed unachievable just a few years ago. PAPSS is not positioned to replace existing regional and national payment systems but to collaborate and work with them in better integrating African economies for the benefit of all. We thank the African Union, the AfCFTA Secretariat, the West African Monetary Institute and African Central banks for a remarkable outcome.” The development of a pan-African payments infrastructure has been made possible by some of the continent’s leading institutions. The platform has been developed by Afreximbank, who also acts as the main Settlement...

SUMMARY The platform will enable traders to conduct cross-border trade using information technology to minimise physical barriers. Sokokuu is Swahili for big market. The platform enables manufacturers and suppliers in different member states to share information on their potential to produce and supply products. The Comesa Federation of Women in Business and the African e-Trade Group (Ae-Trade) have launched an online platform Sokokuu for traders in the regional bloc. The platform will enable traders to conduct cross-border trade using information technology to minimise physical barriers. Sokokuu is Swahili for big market. The platform enables manufacturers and suppliers in different member states to share information on their potential to produce and supply products. Sokokuu will complement existing platforms such as the womenconnect, which is used by women entrepreneurs in regional states to exchange information on the availability of essential products within the region. Two other Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) institutions, such as the Comesa Business Council and the African Leather and Leather products) have already signed memoranda of understanding with Ae-Trade to implement the Sokokuu platform. The AeTrade is a multi-stakeholder group of African professionals and business owners with a vision to develop and implement an e-empowerment programme, which will enhance intra-and inter-African trade. The group brings together public and private sector partners to develop projects that leverage the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the benefit of entrepreneurs in Africa. Speaking at the launch, during the Second Comesa Federation of Women in Business Annual...

Summary The two countries will form a committee to identify how to address hitches holding back the growth of the key economic sector summary The two countries will form a committee to identify how to address hitches holding back the growth of the key economic sector Arusha. Tanzania and Kenya have agreed to come closer in the tourism sector. The two countries will form a committee to identify how to address hitches holding back the growth of the key economic sector. The committee will, in turn, suggest ways to ensure the two states and the East African region in general, attracted more tourists. This was agreed during a high-level meeting of ministers/cabinet secretaries responsible for Tourism and senior officials from both sides in Arusha on Friday. The committee of technical experts will prepare a report on how to improve cooperation of the two countries which lead in attracting visitors from abroad. The recommendations would be forwarded to the ministers and be followed by drafting of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the same. Speaking at the meeting, the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Damas Ndumbaro said Tanzania was determined to work with its northern neighbour in tourism development. “Once recommendations are made we ministers will meet to agree on the way forward,” he told reporters at the Ngorongoro Tourism Tower. Dr Ndumbaro said tourism was a key sector for the economies of both Tanzania and Kenya despite the outbreak of Covid-19. For Tanzania, the sector contributed 21.5 percent of the...