For many African long-distance drivers, 2021 began in a traffic jam. In southern Africa in particular, border traffic is only possible under difficult conditions: on 12 January, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa tightened entry restrictions. Initially, only important goods such as food, gasoline or medical equipment are allowed to cross the strictly guarded borders for months until mid-February. Long queues of trucks are therefore formed, especially on the Zimbabwean and Mozambican sides. At the Beitbridge border crossing in Zimbabwe, drivers have to wait up to four days to enter South Africa. The daily losses to the economy are immense. Southern Africa: Borders tight, illegal cross-border commuters The small border traffic of traders and day laborers has also become more difficult. If you don't have a permanent visa for South Africa, you won't be able to get into the country easily. In addition, all those wishing to enter must have negative Corona tests. Legally, the border between Mozambique and South Africa can hardly be crossed "Many Mozambicans have casual jobs in South Africa, others regularly buy products in South Africa as traders that they sell in Mozambique. These people are suffering greatly from the current situation," says Mozambican journalist Milton Maluleque. A few days ago, he took stock of the Lebombo border crossing between South Africa and Mozambique. "Long queues form every day at the border," Maluleque told DW. Few trucks would pass through, most small dealers and workers turned away. Many Mozambicans are therefore trying to cross the green border into South Africa illegally,...

THE East African Community (EAC) economy will rebound in 2021 if partner states strengthen macro-economic policy coordination and adopt a regional coordinated approach in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. Disruptions brought about by the pandemic last year provided a learning curve on the need to have sustainable EAC regional value chains integration for the development of finished products with a view of reducing industrial and trade risks arising out of external shocks. East African Business Council (EABC) Chairman Nick Nesbitt has noted that the region is projected to recover steadily but it was dependent on how the pandemic is handled. He was speaking in Nairobi at a media breakfast meeting on the state of EAC economies amid the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB) East Africa Economic Outlook 2020, the East Africa region is projected to recover to 3.7 per cent in the baseline scenario and 2.8 per cent in the worst-case scenario under the assumption that Covid-19 would be contained in the short-to-medium term. Mr Nesbitt emphasized the need for the EAC secretariat to fast-track a regional harmonised approach to promptly facilitate interventions at EAC border points to unclog trade blockages and facilitate faster clearance of goods. EABC has been emphasizing the need for EAC partner states to harmonise Covid-19 related charges and stop testing at border posts to avoid delays in truck and cargo clearance. This year, East Africa's inflation is projected to stand at 15.4 per cent in the baseline scenario and 16 per cent...

With the African Continental Free-trade Area (AfCFTA) now operational, there are new opportunities for the UK and Africa to strengthen their trade and investment ties. AfCFTA came into effect on 1 January – a significant milestone in the journey towards creating a single market for goods and services. With a combined GDP of $3.3 trillion and a market of 1.2 billion people, AfCFTA has the potential to increase growth in Africa by $450 billion over the next decade, according to the World Bank’s estimates. By removing tariffs, reducing trade barriers, and standardizing regulatory frameworks, intra-African trade could rise from 15% currently to 25% by 2040, according to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The benefits of intra-regional trade are well known, and some examples already exist on the continent. Trademark East Africa, an initiative supported by the UK government that is aimed at driving trade across the East African community, has been effective in increasing trade flows and reducing trade costs by up to 10%. This initiative should be scaled to other regions in Africa to supplement AfCFTA and accelerate its rollout. Although the initial benefits will stem from increased intra-African trade, we believe that AfCFTA also provides a huge opportunity to boost the UK-Africa trade corridor. It will also stimulate significant investments into the continent, particularly in sectors such as technology, manufacturing and infrastructure. To achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that Africa requires up to US$600...

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing Sub-Saharan Africa to face its first recession in 25 years. Government and business leaders must focus on four key priority areas, including implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area and harnessing the digital transformation. These efforts can help support an inclusive, sustainable recovery for the region. The COVID-19 pandemic is driving Sub-Saharan Africa into its first recession in 25 years — putting decades of economic progress at risk. An inclusive, cohesive and sustainable recovery will depend on how effective governments and private sector partners are at addressing four key priorities. Implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) The African Continental Free Trade Area, which came into effect 1 January, can serve as a framework for the region’s economic recovery. The zone aims to connect 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion. It is estimated that the AfCFTA will increase the volume of intra-African trade by more than 81% by 2035, creating new opportunities for African manufacturers and workers. The World Economic Forum’s Regional Action Group for Africa, in collaboration with Deloitte, recently published a report that addresses how governments and the private sector can leverage this opportunity by building effective regional value chains. Indeed, implementing the AfCFTA, which will require the cooperation and coordination of public and private stakeholders, will help usher in the kinds of reforms necessary to enhance long-term growth, reduce poverty and broaden economic inclusion. According to the World Bank, most of the...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) helps to improve the attractiveness of Africa for investors, as the potential markets companies can tap have become much larger. This also places the continent in a stronger position to negotiate fair trade terms with other countries and blocs, African Union Commission (AUC) Commissioner for Trade and Industry Albert Muchanga said during a seminar on January 27. Companies can already start to trade in goods that have been designated under the rules of origin protocols, with the finalised agreement on rules of origins expected to be tabled before the AUC in June, he added during the seminar, which was hosted by nonprofit organisation Invest in Africa. "The rules of origin protect Africa from transshipments − imported goods that are not produced within the continent, but [whose manufacturers] want to take advantage of the larger addressable markets. "This is done on a product-by-product basis, and rules of origin and local content requirements for products in 85% of sectors have been finalised, allowing traders to immediately benefit from trading them within Africa," he noted. Additionally, the ongoing work of the AfCFTA secretariat to reduce and minimise tariff and nontariff barriers, which have historically contributed to fragmented markets in Africa, will also improve the prospects of investing in infrastructure and returns, and help to overcome the challenge of poor or misaligned infrastructure links between countries, said Muchanga. "Throughout the history of independence of Africa, most investors were hesitant to invest because the markets were too small...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which implementation phase took effect from January 1, this year, has the potential to build Africa’s capacity to manufacture, change the narrative of the continent’s economy and give Africa a stronger voice and positioning in the global economy. Making this known in Lagos, President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mansur Ahmed, expressed confidence that there would be a tremendous opportunity for growth and development for every one if the countries were willing to to make it a success. Ahmed, who spoke at this year’s ‘MAN Reporter of the Year Award/Presidential Media Luncheon at MAN House, Ikeja, Lagos, commended the Federal Government for its decision to re-open the land borders for ease of trade engagements, particularly under the implementation phase of the AfCFTA. Trading under the long–awaited AfCFTA finally began on January 1, this year, marking a very important milestone for African trade. The free trade agreement creates a single continental market for goods and services, with the aim of increasing intra-African trade by reducing tariffs by 90 per cent and harmonising trading rules at a continental level. The AfCFTA has the potential to increase intra-African trade by 52.3 per cent by 2022, but this, according to Ahmed, could not come without challenges, one of which is the issue dumping. “The dumping issue frankly is a matter of political will. Do our governments and political leaders have the political will to agree on those things that we have to do?,” he asked. The...

JOHANNESBURG – AFRICAN delegates on the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Friday agreed that the continent might speed up the build-up of productive infrastructure via the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo mentioned it was essential that Africa harnesses its personal resources and deploy them as creatively as potential if it was to supply an inclusive, sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Akufo-Addo mentioned Africa should return to macroeconomic stability and monetary accountability, and leverage quickly the use of digital applied sciences to reinforce our socio-economic lives. “The multilateral system is under strain, and we must do all that we can to generate the needed resources to achieve sustainable development,” Akufo-Addo mentioned. “We in Africa should make every effort to generate for ourselves the additional funds we need to advance, and hopefully our external partners – private and public – will lend their backing to the priorities we set.” AfCFTA is a key pillar for the area’s financial recovery and the world’s largest trade settlement, spanning a market of 1.3 billion folks and a gross dpmestic product of $3.4 trillion. Akufo-Addo echoed President Cyril Ramaphosa, who advised the digital WEF Davos Dialogues on Tuesday that South Africa had mobilised round $51 bn (R774bn) in new funding commitments during the last three years. Ramaphosa mentioned round one-fifth of the dedicated worth had already been invested in development and important gear for mining, manufacturing, telecoms and agriculture. “These interventions will enable South Africa to better realise...

Obinna Chima The AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited has stressed the need for an improvement in infrastructure as well as product-handling efficiencies at the sea ports across the country. This, it stated, would lower overall costs of input imports and improve competitive advantage of exports. The commodity exchange stated this in its 2021 Annual Commodities Outlook. It also pointed out that lack of access to loans and fertilizers remained largely the biggest challenge to most farmers in 2020. Furthermore, it pointed out that the high interest rate environment in the country, coupled with the risk involved in agro- financing, could impede the capacity of farmers to pay back loans. These, it also stated had also been major impediments to loan access and disbursement over the years. “This explains the low exposure of banks to the agriculture space despite policy makers’ objective to enhance food security in the country,” it added. According to the National Bureau of Statistics data, credit to the Agriculture sector in Q2 2020 accounted for a meagre five per cent. Fertilizer on the other hand remains a core agriculture input which affects negatively or positively crop yield dependent on the usage per hectare. “At about 20kg fertilizer usage per hectare on the average, Nigeria lags Sub-Saharan peers like South Africa and Egypt that use over 100kg/ha and other developed economies that use above 200kg/ha. “This is despite measures to enhance the procurement and distribution of fertilizers to farmers during the farming season. While farmers according to the survey...

Sub-Saharan Africa will see moderate but positive growth of 2.7% this year, a welcome rebound from the region’s first recession of 25 years in 2020 when the region shrank by an estimated -3.7%. But 2021 is probably going to be just as tough for African economies as it was in 2020. Last year, there was a 6.1% decline in per capita income in the region, the “deepest contraction on record,” says the World Bank in its latest global outlook. There’ll be a further 0.2% decline this year. Like many observers, the bank is worried that despite the commendable early efforts of African governments to lock down their economies from Covid-19 the pandemic has not really let off. Several countries are going through a second wave that is more severe than the first. These persistent outbreaks and the uncertainty they create will inhibit economic growth and ultimately set living standards back by a decade, says the bank, reiterating its early pandemic warnings. One of the many reasons, African economies have struggled has been the unprecedented capital outflows needed to help manage their economic lockdowns even as foreign direct investment all but disappeared. In 2020, FDI to Africa collapsed by 30%-40% and remittances fell by 9% leaving little room to maneuver for African finance ministers. This is likely why despite ongoing concerns about mounting debt levels, government debt in the region jumped another 8 percentage points to around 70% of GDP, says the IMF. The fear now is that rising interest payment...

Africa50, in partnership with US based Foreign Policy magazine, has launched an exciting new podcast series called Africa Forward. Africa Forward tells the largely untold story of how infrastructure is transforming the lives of people in Africa. The four-part series, which begun on Tuesday 26 January 2021, brings major African infrastructure projects to life. It highlights the Benban Solar Park in Egypt, a solar park so massive that it can be seen from outer space and showcases how cross-border projects such as the Senegambia Bridge can support the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which was officially launched on 1 January 2021. The series also shares inspiring stories on the way Africans are leveraging ICT infrastructure and technology to shape the future, such as 21-year-old Betelhem Dessie in Ethiopia, who taught herself to code at nine, and has now trained more than 20,000 African youth to code. The program features visionary leaders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and heads of institutions, who will share their views and insights on the continent’s challenges and investment opportunities, and above all, on the way forward. A trailer for the show, which is hosted by journalist Carol Pineau and former CNN anchor and correspondent Isha Sesay, can be found here, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms, as well as the Foreign Policy Playlist’s website: https://foreignpolicy.com/podcasts/africa-forward/ The first episode, focusing on trade and transport infrastructure is now available and a new episode will be released every week until 16 February 2021. The other three episodes will be broadcast as...