There are a lot of statistics and projections of hope about Africa. For example, over 50 per cent of Africans are aged below 20. The global average age is around 30 years. By 2025, it is forecast that the continent’s population will rise to 2.4 billion and will continue to grow to 4.2 billion, nearly four times its present size in the next 100 years. This will mean its share of the global population will increase from 17 per cent to 40 per cent. It is projected that the continent will change more in the next 100 years than it did in the previous 1,000 years. By 2050, 40 per cent of all workers in the world will be coming from Africa. The rate of urbanisation on the continent is so high and by 2025, the continent will have three megacities comprised of more than 10 million people each, with Nigeria’s Lagos projected to be the largest city on earth by 2075. I have picked these quick facts from a compilation done by organisers of Kusi Ideas Festival, launched by the Nation Media Group. The aim of the festival is to build a Pan-African ideas transaction market to capitalise on the opportunities and innovations available to Africa to win in the 21st Century. Supporting statistics are available from many other sources. Furthermore, Africa has about 60 per cent of all the arable land in the world. By 2016, the African Development Bank Group reported that about 30 per cent of...

Tourism may be international or within the traveler's country. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments. Tourism suffered as a result of a strong economic slowdown of the late-2000s recession, between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009, and the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus, but slowly recovered. International tourism receipts (the travel item in the balance of payments) grew to US$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2005, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 3.8 pc from 2010. International tourist arrivals surpassed the milestone of 1 billion tourists globally for the first time in 2012, emerging markets such as China, Russia, and Brazil had significantly increased their spending over the previous decade. The ITB Berlin is the world's leading tourism trade fair. Global tourism accounts for ca. 8 pc of global greenhouse gas emissions. The word tourist was used in 1772 and tourism in 1811.[12] It is formed from the word tour, which is derived from Old English turian, from Old French torner, from Latin tornare; 'to turn on a lathe,' which is itself from...

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Burundi has joined a group of nine African countries at a high risk of debt distress while Kenya’s risk of default has increased to moderate from low. This has seen the International Monetary Fund raise a red flag over the rate at which East African countries are accumulating debt. The region’s economies have fallen into a financial fix as they attempt to fund persistent budget deficits and implement mega infrastructure projects against a backdrop of declining revenue collection. As a result, the economies have resorted to massive borrowing, both from the domestic and international markets to quench their loan appetite, with fears that the increasing uptake of commercial loans could push most of them into debt distress. “An over-reliance on commercial public debt exposes sovereign balance sheets to greater rollover and exchange rate risks. Also, an increase in debt from domestic creditors could crowd out financing for private sector projects,” said the IMF. So far Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are among the top 50 countries in the world that are highly indebted to China, according to US-based research firm Brookings Institution. According to Brookings, countries are now shifting away from official multilateral creditors who come with stringent conditions to non-concessional, (commercial) debt with relatively higher interest rates and lower maturities. But this trend is raising concerns around debt sustainability given the possibility of higher refinancing risks and foreign exchange risks. The IMF, in its regional economic outlook report for sub-Saharan Africa released last week, says that surging public debt-to-GDP ratios...

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has received and held a meeting with the United Kingdom Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda and Rwanda, Lord Dolar Popat, who called on him yesterday at State House, Entebbe. Mr. Museveni and his guest who was accompanied by the British High Commissioner to Uganda Mr. Peter West discussed issues related to investments and economic development between Uganda and Britain especially in the sector of agriculture in which, they noted, Uganda has great potential. Museveni informed Lord Popat that Uganda has gone the extra mile in churning out large quantities of agricultural and dairy products but the challenge is the low prices on the internal market. He added that the immediate solution to this challenge is to process them and add value to them for export markets. “Our farmers and processors of agricultural produce should adapt to the competitive world so that they are not eliminated in marketing,” Museveni stressed. Lord Popat and High Commissioner Peter West said that all that is required is for the produce from Uganda to meet both the European Union and United Kingdom uniform standard that pertains to food and beverage importation to Europe. Lord Popat commended Museveni for steering a fast, steady and progressive national economy in Uganda. Source: KMA News Agency

Uganda is set to join regional neighbours including Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania in implementing Digital Tax Stamps Solution which official say is aimed at increasing revenue collections and fighting counterfeits goods. On Thursday 31st October 2019, the Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda convened a meeting of key stakeholders to reach a harmonized position on how to implement Digital Tax Stamps (DTS) Solution. According to the statement released by the Ministry of Finance and URA on Friday, the meeting was attended by the Uganda Manufacturers Association representatives led by the Chairperson, and officials from Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. “The meeting resolved that, with effect from today 1st November 2019, all the tax payers dealing in the gazetted products whether locally manufactured or imported shall have their products affixed with Digital Stamps. However, they have been given a 3-month grace period of up to 31st January 2020 to finish all stock that does not have stamps in the distribution chain,’’ the statement reads in part. In the same period that installation of stamps affixing technology will take place in the manufacturers’/importers’ production lines. According URA’s Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs, Vincent Seruma, government is expecting to collect Shs150bn in 2019/20 Financial Year after the affixing the technology at various factories. The joint statement adds that the main focus of the implementation of DTS is to enhance government’s revenues through combating counterfeit products on the market and protect consumers’ health and manufacturers’ earnings as well...

As the world’s economic giant – the United States – continues to wage economic war against China, Mexico, Turkey and, more recently, India in establishing tariff barriers against their products, African countries have opted to spurn protectionism and embrace intraregional trade. A significant and historic step was taken on 30 May, as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into effect. What does this all mean, and is it cause for celebration? A market potential for goods and services of 1.2 billion people, an aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.5trn, the reduction of tariffs and the free movement of labour is not to be sniffed at. I know this, as I come from a country of 2 million people and a GDP of circa $17.5bn. Investors want access to a large consumer base and the benefits of scale cannot be underestimated for attracting foreign direct investment. Yes, the agreement is indeed a cause for cautious celebration. The speed with which it has been brought into effect from June 2015, when the negotiations first commenced to establish the continental free trade area, to May 2019, when 51 of 54 African countries signed up, is nothing short of a miracle. We need to applaud the tenacity of our leaders in getting here.  As a continent, intraregional trade is an economic imperative. Currently only 12% of trade is within Africa, while 75% of our exports to the rest of the world are still mainly minerals (crude oil and copper), according to United Nations...

The Kenya Revenue Authority has deployed 12 staff to handle customs clearance operations at the Lapsset corridor ahead of the port's commissioning on November 8. On Monday, KRA board chairperson Francis Muthaura and other officials toured the Sh2.5 trillion Lapsset project to assess the level of preparedness for the commencement of operations. President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to commission the first berth at the port in a colourful event during which the first-ever cargo ship is expected to dock. Muthaura said all the personnel dispatched are well trained and have vast experience in handling customs clearance operations. The official met Kenya Ports Authority managing director Daniel Manduku and Lapsset Corridor Development Authority director general Sylvester Kasuku during the tour. “As required under the East African Customs Management Act, the KRA will help with offloading import and export cargo. That means KRA is well prepared to practice its full mandate once the Lamu port begins operations,” Muthaura said. The KRA team also held deliberations with county commissioner Irungu Macharia and Governor Fahim Twaha. During the visit, Muthaura and other top KRA staff also opened a new office block at Lamu Island to coordinate its operations across the county. The construction and rehabilitation of the building commenced early last year and took exactly 12 months to be completed at Sh18 million. The tax board chairman said the offices had come on time as the region continues to open up for more trade, industries and other investment opportunities with the new port in...

COMMENT | 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. 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...

Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it’s going next. By many measures, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has been a monumental success. Since 2013, when China launched the effort to expand trade links, more than 130 countries have signed deals or expressed interest. The World Bank estimates some $575 billion worth of energy plants, railways, roads, ports and other projects have been built or are in the works. But President Xi Jinping’s signature effort has also come in for criticism, including accusations that China is luring poor countries into debt traps for its own political and strategic gain. The mixed reviews abroad and worries at home about the cost have led China into something of a reboot as it tries to increase transparency, improve project quality and reduce financial risks. 1. Where are the problems? Several countries have run into trouble with Belt and Road projects or had a rethink, often after a popular backlash, change of government or both. Complaints include corruption, padded contracts, heavy debt loads, environmental damage and a reliance on imported Chinese labor over local hires. Some examples: • Sri Lanka borrowed heavily to build a new port, couldn’t repay the loans, and then gave a state-owned Chinese company a 99-year lease in exchange for debt relief. The port has little business now but provides China a strategic berth along key shipping lanes. • China was set to lend Pakistan $8 billion to upgrade a railroad...