Sixty years since most African States attained independence, the Covid-19 pandemic has shone a fresh spotlight on the folly of the haphazard colonial boundaries. Long traffic jams at border posts across the continent, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, were the poster child of the non-tariff barriers that continue to hamper trade in Africa. These boundaries are the primary reason for the high cost of doing business in Africa and are the cause of low intra-African trade, investment, economic integration, and poverty. Covid-19 has also introduced a new economic paradigm, with digital technology taking the lead to ease the safe flow of goods across borders. If the pandemic persists late into 2021, some of the new digital technologies introduced to facilitate safe cross-border movement could become permanent fixtures across the continent and indeed other parts of the world. The concept of intra-African trade dates before the 15th century. Despite war and competitiveness among African empires, they traded among themselves, sometimes travelling long distances to do so. The Songhai Empire practically controlled the trans-Saharan trade whereby an array of goods and services including gold, slaves, ivory, silk, horses, and sugar were exchanged. As is the case today, trade was a mutual exchange of goods and services and it had two dimensions to it; commercial and societal. With increased trading activities came a well-developed system of trading. The barter trade system was eventually replaced by currencies such as coins used in northern Africa, brass rods used by the Tiv of Nigeria,...

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has brought profound social, political, economic, and environmental challenges to the world. The virus may have emerged from wildlife reservoirs linked to environmental disruption, was transmitted to humans via the wildlife trade, and its spread was facilitated by economic globalization. The pandemic arrived at a time when wildfires, high temperatures, floods, and storms amplified human suffering. These challenges call for a powerful response to COVID-19 that addresses social and economic development, climate change, and biodiversity together, offering an opportunity to bring transformational change to the structure and functioning of the global economy. This biodefense can include a “One Health” approach in all relevant sectors; a greener approach to agriculture that minimizes greenhouse gas emissions and leads to healthier diets; sustainable forms of energy; more effective international environmental agreements; post-COVID development that is equitable and sustainable; and nature-compatible international trade. Restoring and enhancing protected areas as part of devoting 50% of the planet’s land to environmentally sound management that conserves biodiversity would also support adaptation to climate change and limit human contact with zoonotic pathogens. The essential links between human health and well-being, biodiversity, and climate change could inspire a new generation of innovators to provide green solutions to enable humans to live in a healthy balance with nature leading to a long-term resilient future. Introduction In the mid-fourteenth century the bubonic plague was carried by the flea-borne bacterium Yersinia pestis on great gerbils (Rhombomys opimus) that were flourishing in the grasslands of Central Asia during a high productivity rainy...

Visiting Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia the Foreign Secretary signed new agreements on healthcare and climate change, saw how UK aid is helping those most in need and pressed for humanitarian access to help those affected by the Tigray crisis. On a three-country tour of East Africa, one year on from the UK’s Africa Investment Summit, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met with political leaders, NGO’s and civil society in Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia for important talks on tackling shared challenges including COVID-19, security and climate change. Starting in Kenya on Wednesday (20 January) the Foreign Secretary and President Uhuru Kenyatta met to discuss further opportunities to boost the UK-Kenya trade partnership – worth £1.4 billion annually - following the signing of one of the UK’s first trade agreements in Africa in December. The Foreign Secretary had meetings with senior politicians including Foreign Minister Raychelle Omamo and announced £48 million of new UK climate initiatives for Kenya as we build momentum ahead of COP26 in Glasgow in November. On a visit to KEMRI Laboratory in Nairobi the Foreign Secretary heard how Kenyan and British scientists have been working together to develop the Oxford Astra-Zeneca vaccine. Here he signed a new health partnership with Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe, to help maximise knowledge sharing between medical professionals in both the UK and Kenya. Alongside Defence Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma, the Foreign Secretary met soldiers at the UK-backed Counter-IED centre at the Humanitarian Peace Support School in Embakasi, and heard how joint Kenya-UK efforts are...

Addis Ababa, January 22/2021(ENA) The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can help drive the continent’s economic recovery from the deadly coronavirus pandemic and spur transformation, according to Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). ECA Regional Integration and Trade Division Director,Stephen Karingi said during the 6th Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) Week that given that Africa does not have the fiscal space for trillion-dollar stimulus packages as it attempts to build, the AfCFTA, driven by the private sector, is going to be key in unlocking Africa’s potential. He stressed that Africa will have to look for innovative alternatives to push its recovery efforts. Quality infrastructure development is crucial, too, if the AfCFTA is to spur economic growth on the continent. Results from the liberalization of trade in goods alone under the AfCFTA reform show that Africa’s global GDP and exports would increase, the director pointed out. According to him, Africa’s GDP is forecasted to increase between 28 and 44 billion USD after full implementation in 2040, as compared to a baseline without tariff liberalization. The bulk of the benefits of exports would be for intra-African trade, with intra-African exports foreseen to increase by around 50-70 billion USD. “It is worth emphasizing that two-thirds of the latter gains would be realized in the manufacturing sector, providing invaluable opportunities for industrialization,” Karingi elaborated. Furthermore, he emphasized that “integration policies should lead to convergence of incomes, and our findings are an important result.” The AfCFTA agreement instructs state parties to liberalize trade...

African Development Bank President Akinwumi A. Adesina said on Wednesday that Africa remains a fertile ground for investment, hinging on the continent’s ability to boost its healthcare sector. Adesina was speaking during the U.K Africa Investment Conference, a virtual one-day event organized by the UK Department for International Trade, which brought together UK and African business and government leaders to discuss investment and partnership opportunities. The conference highlighted four sectors; sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, financial and professional services, and agriculture and agri-tech. As part of the conference, Emma Wade-Smith, Her Majesty’s UK Trade Commissioner for Africa, joined Adesina in a fireside chat on the theme “Building back better – utilizing UK private sector strengths and values, and business-to-business opportunities working with UK government and others going forward.” Africa, Adesina said, still possesses the same fundamentals that drove the continent’s phenomenal growth over the past decade. “The fundamentals in those phenomenal growth rates in Africa are still there. Africa still leads in terms of ease of doing business. It’s very exciting, the digital explosion that you see in Africa today,” Adesina said, listing among others the tide of mergers and acquisitions among African firms. Wade-Smith said she was heartened to learn that 10 of the fastest-growing economies were still in Africa, adding that there was not enough awareness of how much innovation was happening in the region. She said there was an opportunity to blend African and UK innovation. “I’ve been struck by how many opportunities there are,” Wade-Smith said. British...

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, January 14, 2021/APO Group/ -- On 1 January 2021, at the launch of the start of trading on the basis of the AfCFTA, the Pan-African Private Sector, under the umbrella body of the African Business Council (AfBC), issued a press statement in support of this initiative. In it, the AfBC acknowledged that the start of trading under the AfCFTA presents enormous business opportunities for the Pan-African Private Sector, SMEs, Women and Youths as the continent takes this bold move towards Boosting Intra-African Trade. The launch of start of trading on the basis of the AfCFTA on follows the African Union Assembly decision made on 5 December 2020 at the 13th Extra Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on the AfCFTA. The African Business Council thus took the opportunity in its statement to reiterate its support to the political leaders in this endeavour. It also highlighted the AfCFTA as an opportunity for the Pan-African Private Sector to build Africa through manufacturing, distribution, transportation, health eco-systems, among others. “The AfCFTA gives us an opportunity to drive our agenda. For many years, the African business community has been individualistic in driving the continent’s agenda. It is an opportunity for us as the African Business Council to come together and support the implementation of the AfCFTA. We are a united voice, and we can do this together”, Dr. Amany Asfour, Interim Chair Person of the African Business Council. “It is a new year, and new opportunities are emerging. As...

THE European Union (EU) says the signing of the €3.54 million COMESA agreement that sub-delegates the implementation of coordinated border management activities between Zambia and Malawi is a welcome move. Ambassador of the EU to Zambia and COMESA Jacek Jankowski said the signing of the agreement is also a major step towards a reduction in hindrances to trade between the two countries. He added that the move will also lead to an increased seamless flow of goods between Zambia and Malawi. Yesterday, the COMESA Secretariat and the Malawian government signed the agreement a month after a similar agreement was signed with the Zambian government to upgrade its side of the border post at Mwami. Zanis reports that the chargé d’affaires at the European Union Delegation in Malawi, Aurélie Valtat, also expressed optimism that as African states start trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the removal of any form of hindrances to cross-border trade is critical to ensure the benefits of open trade. Ms. Valtat said this is why the European Union remains committed to supporting Malawi’s trade facilitation efforts and to contribute to boosting intra-Africa trade. COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe and the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Trade in Malawi, Christina Zakeyo, separately signed the sub-delegation agreement in Lilongwe and Lusaka yesterday. The project will support the implementation of key pillars of One-Stop-Border-Post operations and the implementation of major activities among them being the upgrading of the customs e-management system and bandwidth, improving inter-agency connectivity,...

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) app will enable the SMEs to sell and buy goods via a cashless and contactless platform under the low duty regime that satisfies the “know-your-customer” requirements at banks and financial institutions. AfCFTA trade promotion and programmes director Francis Mangeni said SMEs admitted onto the app will be issued with a mark of identity. “It is true that Africa has seen a number of trade agreements at regional level, but AfCFTA is different because it is being set up to fulfil aspirations of a truly single market that competes for the biggest of global opportunities,” he said. Creation of the AfCFTA is aimed at opening the 1.2 billion people market whose launched has been deferred from January 1 to a later date owing to challenges on tariff concessions, rules of origin and trade in services. The Kenya Association of Manufacturers asserts that overlapping membership to regional trade blocs, underdeveloped transport infrastructure (road, rail and air), unfamiliar or different customs and trade procedures and weak value chains also hurt AfCFTAs dreams. Intra-Africa trade remains low at 15 per cent compared to Europe’s 68 per cent, North America’s 37 per cent and Latin America’s 20 per cent, solely blamed on “national” interests by member States keen on safeguarding their own industries, trade barriers and poor transport and telecommunication connectivity. Under the AfCFTA, liberalisation of trade is being carried out through regional trading blocs — the East African Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa...

Tanzania has joined the East African Community’s (EAC) harmonised mobile roaming framework, Chimp Corps report. The move expected to lower the cost of telecommunication in the region. The regional body’s 16th Sectoral Council of Transport, Communication and Meteorology (TCM) had given Tanzania until March 31, 2020 to finalize its analysis on the implementation of the EAC roaming framework. “We wish to inform you that the United Republic of Tanzania has concluded the consultations and is now ready to start implementation of the EAC roaming framework,” said Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Acting Permanent Secretary, Stephen Mbundi in a letter to the EAC Secretariat. The Roaming Framework which provides for the harmonisation of mobile calling and data charges had so far only been implemented by Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda. The initial deadline by the EAC Heads of State Summit for the implementation of the roaming framework was 2015. “We are, therefore, writing to officially inform you of this development as was directed by the 16th Sectoral Council of Transport, Communications and Meteorology held in June 2019, Kampala Uganda,” said Mbundi. Tanzania’s decision to implement the mobile framework will boost communication with its regional partners especially after the commencement of the African Continental Free Trade Area on January 1. Uganda’s Ambassador to Tanzania, Richard Kabonero, recently said investing in modern communication technologies and harmonizing mobile roaming charges were a prerequisite for fostering regional trade and cooperation. “If we bring down the cost of communication in the region, we will see more engagement among our people which ultimately enhances regional...

The African Union agenda 2063 is on course. After some delays due to covid, the African continental free trade area has become a reality. As part of the free trade area, the African Union passport will be availed this year. The passport launched in 2016 had been available only for diplomats and AU officials. It will now be rolled out to ordinary citizens of the African Union. What will an African Passport mean? The rationale for the passport is for African citizens to be able to cross all borders on African soil without a visa. The passport will facilitate easier movement for people to ease trade relations. As African countries strengthen ties and seek to reap strength in numbers, the passport will spell an easier transition into seamless trade on the continent. Modeled along the lines of the European Union passport, the passport will be biometric to prevent fraud and illegal issuances. AU passport and poverty: implications Africa is counted among the poorest of the poor. With over a third of Africans living on less than $1.90 a day. According to a UNICEF study, Africa’s population is expected to double by 2050 to over two billion people. The population doubling will only put more pressure on already scarce resources. Coupled with climate issues, conflicts, and uneven trade, this presents an enormous challenge that could further exacerbate the poverty situation. In light of these challenges, an African passport could serve as a useful tool for facilitating trade within the continent. This will...