African economies must reduce trade barriers and make it easier for people and goods to cross borders to boost growth in the face of headwinds from a commodity price drop, African officials and delegates at the World Economic Forum in Rwanda said. The International Monetary Fund said average growth in sub-Saharan Africa would fall to its lowest in nearly two decades this year, at 3 percent, with commodity exporters struggling and government finances coming under pressure. "As we develop the regional markets in Africa, we’ll reduce the susceptibility of Africa to these global commodity price shocks," African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina told a news conference in the Rwandan capital Kigali. Trade between African nations accounted for just 11 percent of total transactions, compared with Asia where regional trade accounted for 40 percent and Europe where it was 70 percent. Adesina said there were some positive signs - Africa-to-Africa investment had climbed, rising from $10 billion to $50 billion a year - although he didn't give a time frame. But he said high tariffs and non-tariff barriers such as poor roads, railways and ports hindered progress. "If there were a real willingness to dismantle trade barriers, you could get growth gains regardless of what was happening in the rest of the world because of broader markets," said Razia Khan, Africa economist at Standard Chartered Bank. While there are several trading blocs in Africa, few have acted swiftly to completely dismantle barriers to commerce, though the six-member East African Community...

African economies have changed and trade relations need to evolve since the U.S. first started offering duty-free access to certain countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a Bloomberg interview. Since AGOA first started in 2000, African economies have become more integrated and they’ve changed in terms of demographics, development and technology, Froman said in Kigali, Rwanda, at the World Economic Forum. A deadline is looming for Froman’s office to update Congress on sub-Saharan African countries that want to negotiate free-trade agreements with the U.S., Politico reported. The U.S. is consulting with African officials, business leaders and regional experts on what should happen next. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 1 percent of U.S. trade in 2015, according to Bloomberg. When AGOA was renewed in 2015 for 10 years, Congress mandated a progress report and re-evaluation of the overall trade and investment relationship between the U.S. and sub-Sahara by June 29, the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama signing the bill into law. “It’s time to start looking at what comes next,” Froman told Bloomberg. “Part of what motivates us is that we are hearing from Africans that they want to move towards a more permanent, reciprocal kind of relationship.” Many in Congress have grown tired of extending one-way trade preferences to Africa without gaining reciprocal access for U.S. goods, Politico reported. The U.S. started free-trade talks with South Africa and other members of the Southern African Customs Union in 2003, but never reached a deal....

A new action agenda to help African economies improve their economic competitiveness has been published by the World Economic Forum, the African Development Bank, OECD and the World Bank. The agenda comes at a time when shocks such as low commodity prices and a strong US dollar have highlighted the region’s chronic lack of competitiveness and the need for urgent diversification. Africa’s competitiveness challenges are well known and have been highlighted in the Forum’s “Africa Competitiveness Report” series since 1998. In a quest for long-term solutions to this chronic challenge, the four partners staged a series of high-level competitiveness workshops across Africa’s regional economic communities (RECs) between October 2015 and April 2016 with the aim of prioritising actions available to leaders. The resulting “Action Agenda for Raising Africa’s Competitiveness” synthesises more than 120 recommendations of more than 200 participants from government, business, academia, international organisations and civil society from across the East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and francophone North Africa. Across all regions, two elements were emphasized by participants: * Better public and private collaboration can be achieved by increasing levels of trust, establishing regular channels of collaboration and consultation, agreeing on a shared vision and working towards shared goals. * Greater regional integration can improve competitiveness and growth by opening markets, leveraging economies of scale, lowering costs and increasing the diversity of goods and services. Partners collaborated with the Rwanda Development Board and Brand South Africa for...

The African Union (AU) said on Saturday it has started the process of issuing the continent’s passport. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amina Mohamed told a briefing in Nairobi that African ministers of foreign Affairs have began filling in the forms for the Africa passport which will be issued at the AU summit in July. “I have the honor to inform you that in line with the decisions of the AU Summit of Heads of State and Government to facilitate free movement throughout the continent, through the creation of African Passport for Heads of States and Ministers, the issuance process commenced on Friday,” Mohamed said on the sidelines of the Fourth AU Executive Council Retreat. This is the first time the retreat is being held in Kenya as previous ones were hosted by South Africa and Ethiopia. African Passport holders should receive a 30 day visa on arrival at all AU member states. Mohamed said that regional economic blocs such as the East African Community have already introduced regional passport to ease travel within the blocs. “The African passport will build on the success achieved by the trading blocs and help to achieve the dream of free movement of Africans across the continent,” she said. The CS noted that the continental passport will help to speed up the process of establishment of the Africa Economic Community. “It will also boost intra-Africa trade that is below the level of other continents,” she added. Source:...

While Europe is on the verge of breaking up, Africa is reaping the benefits of integrating, growing and developing its trading blocks The collapse of virtual borders is one of the most remarkable things to have happened in our lifetimes. In the world of cyberspace, time and distance have become almost peripheral considerations when it comes to doing business. Services from software development to accounting can be delivered across the world in the blink of an eye. Future business leaders will struggle to imagine an era when communication was neither immediate nor virtually free. But in the physical world, integration between and even within countries has happened at a much slower pace. In some regions, high freight costs are made worse by antiquated working practices, such as demanding cash deposits of $1,000 to $5,000 instead of accepting insurance. At too many borders, goods still hang around and wait needlessly, raising costs and hurting business competitiveness. There are plenty of successful examples of regional economic integration, from Europe’s single market to, increasingly, the East African Community (EAC), the fastest growing bloc on the African continent. But for every success there is a graveyard of stalled or stunted regional initiatives to remove barriers to trade and investment. This is unfortunate, because for many smaller economies, especially landlocked ones, regional integration is not a policy option, it’s a necessity. Building trade blocs with neighbouring countries can help small countries to get access to ports. It can help them achieve economies of scale, facilitate...

It probable that among the 1,200 visitors due in Kigali for the World Economic Forum for Africa (WEF 2016) this week, many will be surprised that they can hop over to either Kenya or Uganda using the same visa. The visa goes for only $100 and more convenient than before when one had to tackle each country’s immigration singularly. Now with the one visa, it allows access to the three countries for up to 90 days. The visa can be bought at the point of entry into any of these countries. For those who are interested in visiting one of the East African countries only, the fee will remain at $50 for Uganda and Kenya, and $30 for Rwanda. This is a great opportunity to tout the merits of the East African Single Visa launched two years ago and currently incorporating Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Burundi and Tanzania have more than once indicated a strong interest to join the club. The East African Community (EAC) sees itself moving towards a common agenda and by showing visitors the convenience of the Single Visa, they may just become more intrigued into investing in the region. If not right way, but at least take the time to go out and look about for opportunities. However even if their sole aim is to relax after the Forum, the tourism receipts will be much appreciated. Hosting international conferences is a very serious business. A host of cities around the world including Las Vegas, Vienna, Geneva,...

TradeMake East Africa (TMA) through the Logistics Innovation for Trade (LIFT), a development finance instrument that provides grant finance for innovative business projects proposed by the private sector operating in the transport and logistics sector in East African, has secured $7.6 million for Round 2 funding. In an interview DAVID MITCHELL, LIFT Fund Manager tells Sam Okwakol, how and what one needs to do in order to benefit from the Fund.  QUESTION: Briefly explain, what LIFT is to an ordinary reader? ANSWER: LIFT is a challenge fund that rewards innovation ideas/project in the logistics and transport sector within the East African Community with grant funding. LIFT funds innovative logistics projects (not companies) ideas that provide sustainable solutions with measurable socio-economic impacts. Funds are provided by means of grants, matching applicants funding up to $1 million (LIFT contribution) per project. Why did you choose this approach in implementing LIFT? This is a historic idea which has been used successfully in different parts of the world. We have adopted it to harness the potential and energies of individuals in the private sector to derive solutions that can reduce the logistical and transport challenges facing the region. East Africa has well educated people with good ideas, can do research and most of all care about the development of their countries. Therefore capturing their potential will help us find solutions to reduce transit time and transport cost challenges faced by the logistical and transport sector, while at the same time helping in reducing the...

NAIROBI.- The African Union (AU) said on Saturday it has started the process of issuing the continent’s passport. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amina Mohamed told a briefing in Nairobi that African Ministers of Foreign Affairs have began filling in the forms for the Africa passport, which will be issued at the AU summit in July. “I have the honour to inform you that in line with the decisions of the AU Summit of Heads of State and Government to facilitate free movement throughout the continent, through the creation of (an) African passport for heads of states and ministers, the issuance process commenced on Friday,” Mohamed said on the sidelines of the Fourth AU Executive Council Retreat. This is the first time the retreat is being held in Kenya as previous ones were hosted by South Africa and Ethiopia. African passport holders should receive a 30-day visa on arrival at all airports in AU member states. Mohamed said that regional economic blocs such as the East African Community have already introduced a regional passport to ease travel within the blocs. “The African passport will build on the success achieved by the trading blocs and help to achieve the dream of free movement of Africans across the continent,” she said. The cabinet ecretary noted that the continental passport will help to speed up the process of establishment of the Africa Economic Community. “It will also boost intra-Africa trade that is below the level of other continents,”...

African countries can boost growth by cutting tariffs and removing "soft" barriers to trade, while still supporting their industries without completely protecting them. Imagine you are a Malaysian truck driver. In the back of your truck is a big cargo of stinking durian fruit. The Singaporean border heaves into view. What will happen? Will you pull over and fill out some paperwork? Wait around to get the documents stamped – hours spent in the sun – with your precious durian rotting in the back? Of course not. Africa needs to realise that its future lies within the continent You whip out your smartphone and send your pre-filled cargo passage form. It is immediately routed through the relevant ministries in Singapore. The authorities e-stamp the form and send it back to your smartphone. Beep. Job done. No need to stop. You don't even need to slow down. Welcome to Singapore. The benefits of frictionless trading with neighbours seem clear. The farmer buys more inputs with the money saved on transporters, and the consumer gets fruit cheaper, allowing him to spend more on other items and boost the economy. The trucker also has more time to carry other loads. Africa is not quite there yet, and border crossings often involve waiting. Of Africa's total trade, just 11% of it is done within Africa, compared to 50% intraregional trade in developing Asia and 70% in Europe. The world economy is going through a period of slower growth, just as tens of millions of young Africans...

The World Bank has assured it will work with the East African Community (EAC) partner states to help the economic community achieve full integration. The World Bank programme Manager for South Sudan, Jean Lubega-Kyazze told Xinhua in Nairobi that the project will begin before the end of 2016 and will take three years to complete. She explained that the project aims at helping the EAC overcome the constraints that have prevented full implementation of the EAC Common Market protocol. “We have identified the constraints that each country needs to overcome in order for the EAC to be fully integrated. Each country is unique and therefore has different constraints,” she added. According to the financial institution, regional integration holds a lot of promise for the partner states. “It will create a seamless market for goods produced in each member state,” Lubega said. The programme manager observed that one of the key constraints to full integration is the lack of integration of regional policies into national policies. “So national policies don’t reflect what has been agreed upon at the EAC level and it is common to find cases where national policies don’t include positions reached upon at the regional level,” she added. EAC Common Market Protocol was signed in 2010 but the trading block is yet to fully liberalize the free movement of goods, services and labour. EAC member states include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi. Source: Africa News