“Without doubt, AfCFTA could be considered as the game changer for the post COVID-19 economic recovery and transformation of Ghana, if we as a country can harness the numerous benefits of the agreement,” the minister said. To harness the benefits of AfCFTA, he said the government complemented the ongoing industrial transformation agenda by launching the National Export Development Strategy in 2020 to increase non-traditional export revenue to $25.3 billion by 2027. Inauguration Mr Kyerematen was speaking at the inauguration of 36 council members of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), in a speech read on his behalf by the Technical Advisor to the Minister, Mr Anthony Nyame-Baafi, on Wednesday, April 28 in Accra. The council members are expected to provide the needed support and guidance through their technical expertise and wealth of social capital to promote activities of the chamber. Private sector’s role The minister called on the private sector to spearhead the economic transformation of the country by taking full advantage of the African single continental market. He said the initiative would boost Ghanaian exports, stimulate investments and innovation, foster structural transformation, improve food security, enhance economic growth, and export diversification, and provide fresh impetus and dynamism to the economic integration of Ghana into the African market. “There are many benefits that Ghana will derive from effective implementation of the AfCFTA, including better harmonisation and coordination of trade between Ghana and other African countries,” he added. He said the government had developed a National AfCFTA Policy...

AfCFTA As countries rebuild their economies following the impact of COVID-19, Africa needs to step up productive and infrastructural integration, stakeholders at a regional presentation of the African Regional Integration Index (ARII) have said. The index, a joint publication of the Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission, provides up-to-date data on the status of regional integration in Africa and assesses the level of integration for every regional economic community and its member countries. The Index report underlines the need for a renewed commitment to regional integration within Africa, speakers said. They noted that the beginning of trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area in January 2021, amid the Covid-19 pandemic and its disruptive impact on movement and economies, had thrown this into a sharper focus. Director of Trade at the East African Community Secretariat, Rashid Kibowa, said the Index report has great potential to address the three major challenges currently facing the continent: the Covid-19 pandemic, implementation of the AfCFTA, and poverty reduction. “There is a need for more dialogue on the ARII and methodology issues to expand the scope of coverage of the assessed integration areas. The fundamental issues behind the ARII ought to be whether integration exists for Africa and whether it is effective in terms of achieving poverty reduction and socio-economic transformation for the continent,” said Kibowa. The report, released in May of last year, found that overall scores for countries in Southern and Eastern Africa show huge room...

Tourism is among the industries that have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis. Over a year since the onset of the pandemic, the numbers are staggering: Tourism destinations recorded one billion fewer international arrivals in 2020 than in 2019. A deep decline in international travel led to a loss of about USD 1.3 trillion in export revenues, more than 11 times the loss during the last economic crisis in 2009. 100 to 120 million tourism jobs were put at risk, a large portion in small and medium-sized enterprises. This is a grave concern for developing economies as they chart a course towards recovery. Driven by both public and private sectors, not only is tourism a vital source of foreign currency, it has the potential to serve as a development 'tool' to strengthen supply chains, improve local firm productivity, creates one out of ten jobs and provide income for women and young people. As a former minister for tourism myself, I have seen up close, the value tourism creates for local communities and how sustainable tourism creates economic value while preserving culture and natural assets. At a recent panel on tourism resilience and building forward better, during the WTO's Aid for Trade Stocktaking event last month, we discussed the future of tourism given the current challenges. Industry leaders from Costa Rica, Jordan, Kenya and Sri Lanka shared experiences from their own countries in responding and learning from crises, and insights on how they see the way forward for tourism. Three...

Global Britain should look towards supporting the development of Africa’s digital landscape, argue Pauline Girma and Oona Palmer (LSE). In this post, they explain that given that seven of the ten fastest-growing internet populations are located in Africa, and that it is home to what is the youngest population in the world, the future growth of the global e-commerce market depends upon unlocking the continent’s potential. The British Prime Minister has invited President Ramaphosa of South Africa to join the G7 summit in Cornwall, England in early June. The summit will discuss among other things trade and the digital economy. A number of African states are taking part in the WTO negotiations on digital trade, but South Africa has opposed the whole idea of the current WTO negotiations on the topic. Africa presents both significant opportunities and challenges for those looking to expand e-commerce. Despite changing demographics and improving business environments, which have contributed to rising household consumption, infrastructural and technical constraints continue to undermine efforts to scale e-commerce, and hinder Africa’s integration in the global digital economy. Fewer than a quarter of Africa’s roads are paved according to the World Bank, and even the relatively large markets of Nigeria and Kenya struggle with access to electricity. Moreover, the lack of widespread internet connectivity remains a fundamental barrier to the uptake of e-commerce in Africa, with less than one-third of Africans able to access the Internet. Yet the potential for the widespread adoption of e-commerce to facilitate technological ‘leapfrogging’ has led to...

Nairobi hosts EU-Africa Green Talk dialogue on sustainable development impact of local projects Dialogue between European Investment Bank, Portuguese Embassy in Kenya, financial community and development stakeholders confirms importance of green investment. The Secretary General of East African Community today joined more than 150 African business leaders, financial experts and diplomats in the Nairobi EU-Africa Green Talk to share investment best practice and outline how to mobilise private sector support for sustainable development across Africa. “Recent innovative investment across East Africa has transformed access for millions of people to clean water, renewable energy and finance essential for a better and more sustainable future. Today’s Nairobi Green Talks allow innovative solutions and technical best-practice to be shared with the rest of Africa and the world. The East African Community commends the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union and the European Investment Bank for their engagement with East African partners to further strengthen sustainable investment in the years ahead.” said Dr Peter Mathuki, incoming Secretary General of the East African Community. Participants highlighted how recent and future private sector led clean energy, sustainable transport and business investment across East Africa can unlock economic opportunities, strengthen resilience to COVID-19, increase protection from a changing climate and ensure more sustainable use of resources in the future. “Partnership between Africa and Europe is key to increasing investment essential to combat climate change and create new opportunities. The Portuguese EU Presidency and European Investment Bank are pleased to join forces with East African business, political and...

A six-lane concrete link road that is expected to ease cargo movement from Mombasa port has been completed, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said recently. KPA General Manager for Infrastructure Development Vincent Sidai said the Sh2 billion road is co-financed by KPA and TradeMark Africa. The 1.2-kilometre road extends from Changamwe roundabout to KPA Gate 18 with additional 200 metres inside the port area. It will replace the old four-lane road. "The road will boost port capacity by improving traffic flow with other economic benefits including improved service delivery, reduced port congestion and delays with faster gate clearance," he said. The road will also accommodate a 40-metre railway bridge and a gate canopy for custom and security purposes. Mr Sidai said the road will improve port productivity and reduce the cost of doing business. "The construction of the new road was necessitated by cracks after it was noted that the ground had continued to be unstable and could not withstand the increased frequency of heavy commercial trucks plying the route due to the increased capacity at the port," he said. Initially, the existing four-lane dual carriageway was affected by traffic congestion from the Changamwe roundabout - disrupting the fluidity of cargo movement. For KPA, the completion of the road adds credibility to the management’s plan to increase efficiency through the Mombasa Port Development Programme (MPDP) initiative. Among the highlights of MPDP is the completion of the dockyard jetty at the port. Sidai said the new road will improve drainage, reduce vehicle...

The East African region is experiencing unprecedented obstacles to food trade, hurting livelihoods and derailing economic progress. Food insecurity, in its various forms, is one of the most significant challenges facing East African region and the wider Nile Basin member countries. About 140 million people in the basin (or 34 percent of the population of the basin states) are undernourished, with the level of severity varying from country to country, according to the ‘State of the Nile Basin’ report 2012. A rapidly growing population, coupled with increasing urbanisation and climate change, point to a worsening food security situation. Trade is usually one of the ways by which countries meet their food requirements, beyond what they can produce locally. The region possesses immense untapped potential not only to meet its own food needs but also to grow extra food to support other counties and use proceeds to improve the economies of the region. This potential to use food trade between member countries of the Nile Basin, however, faces numerous challenges. Several studies carried out on the subject of food security point to the low levels of production within member countries and generally much of Africa, as the most significant impediment to food trade. Too little is produced, leaving households with nothing left for sale. In Uganda, for example, one of the major food producers in the region, subsistence farming still accounts for more than 50 percent of the country’s farming households, according to the Uganda Census 2014. Lack of investments and...

There are 42 currencies in Africa which makes it difficult to easily transact between countries due to conversion needs which create a lot of inconveniences. This challenge may however be a thing of the past if plans to have a uniform payment and settlement platform sail through under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The secretariat has announced seeking ways to ease the burden of doing business using 42 currencies on the continent which is a major boost to trade under the trade agreement. The AfCFTA secretariat is working with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to develop a pan-African payment and settlement platform which will help overcome the challenge posed by the multiplicity of currencies on the continent. AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene notes that a uniform payments platform will eliminate the costly process of converting currencies which contributes to the inefficient trade patterns on the continent. In addition to this good news, the Covid-19 pandemic was a silver lining for Africa’s integration since the continent has to create its own solutions to its problems. As such, Africa needs not only to harmonise its financial systems but also step up productive and infrastructural integration. The African Regional Integration Index (ARII) which provides up-to-date data on the status of regional integration in Africa and assesses the level of integration for every regional economic community and its member countries shows that Africa needs to do more to integrate its systems into the different sectors of the economy. ARII is a joint publication...

Trade has a critical role to play in rebuilding developing and least developed countries’ economies, alleviating rising poverty and creating a greener, more inclusive future for all. This was a unifying theme that ran through three days of panels discussions and debates at the Aid-for-Trade Stocktaking event the World Trade Organization (WTO) hosted online from March 23 to 25. Covid-19 has reversed 30 years of development gains, deepening inequalities from the household to country level and threatening to push 150 million into extreme poverty, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted in an opening plenary session that also brought together leaders from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), UNCTAD, World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO). The opportunity to take stock of Aid for Trade’s progress so far and steer its future direction comes at a critical juncture, especially for those least developed countries (LDCs) that were hit hardest by the steepest fall in global trade on record and have benefited least from its rebound. “The post-Covid recovery must not leave anyone or any country behind,” she stressed. Here are 6 takeaways from the event: Invest in pharmaceutical supply chains and ensure equitable access to vaccines With just 10 countries receiving 76% of the Covid-19 vaccines administered globally by the time of the event, ensuring more equitable access is critical. Ramping up vaccine production by investing more in LDCs’ and developing countries’ manufacturing capacity would help, as would boosting trade cooperation to address supply bottlenecks and...

The African Union unveiled the Animal Health Strategy for Africa (AHSA) 2018-2035 to strengthen animal health, animal production, productivity, animal safety, public health and a continent for a healthy environment. AHSA 2018-2035 is “a continental framework for delivering a sustainable animal health system that meets global standards. Healthy animals for more livelihood, a safe trading community and environmental health ”. The strategy, validated in Kigali, Rwanda, in November 201 8, was endorsed by the African Union Technical Committee, which included ministers responsible for animal resources, water, agriculture and the environment. The strategy was endorsed at the Summit of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2020. The Animal Health Strategy for Africa (AHSA) 2018-2035 is “a continental framework for delivering a sustainable animal health system that meets global standards. Healthy animals for more livelihood, safe public and environmental health ”. The aim is to address the challenges faced in the provision of animal health services on the African continent. It is aligned with the Animal Development Strategy for Africa (LiDeSA). In addition, it offers more targeted strategic interventions and approaches to holistically address the health of bees and water bodies as part of the One Health (OH) approach. The aim is also to align animal health services on the continent with the relevant global, continental and regional strategies and frameworks. Therefore, it serves as an overarching strategy to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of animal health measures on the continent. “The strategy builds on the achievements...