Some eyebrows were raised when South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma announced last weekend that Comoros had been admitted as the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) 16th member. The announcement came after the 37th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the organisation in Pretoria. Officials disclosed that Burundi had also applied but had been declined, for now. They said Burundi first needed to resolve the internal political instability that President Pierre Nkurunziza provoked in 2015 when he took an apparently unconstitutional third term in office. But they seemed confident that Burundi would eventually be admitted. Why the interest in joining? SADC doesn’t, on the face of it, seem a very alluring organisation. Vera Songwe, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) executive secretary, painted a rather bleak picture of the region’s economy in her speech to the summit. She said overall growth in the region had declined to 1.4% in 2016, from 2.3% in 2015. The share of manufacturing in the region’s overall GDP had also declined, from 14.1% in 2005 to only 11.1% in 2015. SADC countries continued to rely heavily, for over 60% of total exports, on raw commodities, in particular minerals – with minimal value added. In 2016 the region also registered a deficit of $17 billion in goods and services, while lower revenues from diminished global commodity prices and depreciating currencies inflated fiscal deficits and public debts. SADC’s overall government debt rose from 42% of GDP in 2014 to 46.8% of GDP in 2015....

African countries will incur at least $4.3 trillion, or $174 billion a year, in financing infrastructure projects to support economic growth over the next 23 years, according to a recent report by G20’s Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub). The Global Infrastructure Outlook calls upon African countries to raise the continent’s infrastructural investments to $240 billion per year ($6 trillion by 2040) in order to match their peers. According to the study covering infrastructure investment needs globally, Africa’s infrastructure segment remains small, accounting for just six per cent of the global tally. The continent’s needs are 39 per cent more than the forecast investment under current trends. “Total infrastructure investment in Africa was equivalent to 4.3 per cent of GDP between 2007 and 2015. The continent will need to maintain investment at around this proportion of GDP to accommodate economic and population growth to 2040,” the report says. In East Africa, the three countries included in the report; Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania will cumulatively spend $837 billion on infrastructure projects by 2040. But the three will require at least $308 billion more to meet their infrastructure spending needs over the period. Striking differences Kenya must spend at least Ksh969 billion ($9.3 billion) every year on infrastructure to meet its infrastructure spending needs of $223 billion. Ethiopia has the highest forecast spending against current spending trends gap of $154 billion, followed by Tanzania at $115 billion followed. To bridge the gaps, the two countries will need to raise their infrastructural spending to...

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) began Monday a consultative process within member states which is expected to lead to a pact that will enable free movement of people in the region. According to the IGAD secretary general, Amb. Mahboub Maalim, when the body was established on January 16, 1986, one of its core objectives was to enable free movement of people among member states. "One of the core ambitions of IGAD was to enable migration. Unfortunately we have been dogged by many challenges such as internal conflicts in member states. We were thus forced to focus on priority areas such as peace, security and disaster management," he said. He added that regional co-operation has been vital in solving conflicts in Somalia and South Sudan, citing Uganda's contribution as key in stabilising both nations. "Migration is not about to stop anywhere. People cross borders every minute. It is unfortunate that many of the migrants dying in the Mediterranean Sea are from the IGAD region, yet we could have worked out a mechanism to help them by easing intra-migration. And that is why the entire world is concerned about migration," said Maalim. The three-day consultative meeting (August 21-23) dubbed The Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in the IGAD Region, brings together key players in the migration sector, including civil society, academia, private sector, the media, the Police, the military, and the ministries of health, internal affairs and foreign affairs. The stakeholders are expected to give their views on free movement...

Speaking during the Africa Business Forum, South African Trade Minister Rob Davies said that available colonial era infrastructure was only geared towards fulfilling its role as a mere producer and exporter. “Colonialism has created infrastructure that was only geared towards the continent fulfilling its role as mere producer and exporter of primary commodities that were taken to other people’s economies. There is a huge amount of catch-up that we need to undergo as a continent in order to achieve regional integration,” said Davies. The continent is also losing over 40 percent of its competitiveness due to the absence of infrastructure or inefficiency of established infrastructure. He emphasized the role of infrastructure saying it would provide roads, rail, ports, energy transmission lines and ICT connectivity which are all necessary to facilitate economic development. “Infrastructure can be an important counter-cyclical tool because by infrastructure development we can to generate economic activity even if some of the other forms of economic activities are suffering from the negative waves,” he continued. The continent, therefore, needs integration which is dependent on three factors: free trade areas, infrastructure development and cooperation which are essential in promoting industrial development across the continent. “We need to partner to build the required infrastructure and the real capability that will assist all of us build our countries. Adequate, effective, affordable and well-maintained infrastructure is an essential tool for Africa’s growth and development,” he said in conclusion. Source: Capital Business

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Rob Davies says the development of infrastructure is an essential and absolutely fundamental catalyst for regional integration for increased inter-regional trade and for industrialisation in Africa. Minister Davies was speaking during the opening the two-day Infrastructure Africa Business Forum that started in Sandton. “As the government of South Africa we categorically stated that the development of infrastructure is an essential and absolutely fundamental catalyst for regional integration for increased inter-regional trade and for industrialisation in Africa. Therefore, infrastructure develop lies in the very heart of our efforts to promote high levels inclusive growth and development throughout the continent,” said Minister Davies. Minister Davies added there was a huge deficit in the infrastructure that is necessary to support high levels of inter-regional trade that connects African countries to one another. “As a continent Africa has an infrastructure deficit estimated at $93 billion per annum for the next 20 years. Colonialism has createdinfrastructure that was only geared towards the continent fulfilling its role as mere producer and exporter of primary commodities that were taken to other people’s economies.  There is a huge amount of catch-up that we need to undergo as a continent in order to achieve regional integration,” said Minister Davies. He explained that in addition to the infrastructure deficit, Africa was losing over 40% of its competitiveness as a continent due to the absence of infrastructure or inefficiency of established infrastructure. “The critical role of infrastructure development in achieving integration, growth and development in Africa can never be overemphasised. Through Infrastructure development we can provide roads, rail, ports, energy transmission lines and ICT connectivity that are all necessary to facilitate economic development.  Also, infrastructure can be an important counter-cyclical tool because by infrastructure development we can to generate...

Just when Africa started to embrace the world, it is now being confronted with the rising tide of populism and nationalism from the developed nations. The outcome of Brexit in the United Kingdom and the election of Donald Trump in the United States resulted from popular rejection of free trade and globalisation. As a result, this popular outrage against the political establishment is forcing many political leaders in the developed world to re-assess, focus on and tackle their own domestic issues. Hence, the African continent is falling off from their main agenda. Unlike in the past, when Africa mainly depended on the assistance of the developed economies, the rise of the Asian economies brings about new opportunities for economic cooperation and partnership for Africa. Africa and Asia trade relationship According to data from the International Trade Centre, from 2006 until 2016, trade between the two largest continents in the world increased from US$167bn to $292.9bn, a 75.4% increase. This is in spite of the fact that the Africa-Asia trade dropped from its peak of $423bn in 2014 due to the fall of commodity prices. The main exports from Africa are hard and soft commodities, while Asia exports machinery and manufactured goods to the African continent. Africa exported about $108.1bn to Asia in 2016; the top-three African exporters are South Africa ($22.3bn), Angola ($18bn) and Egypt ($11bn). Their combined exports represented 47.5% of the total African exports. As for imports from Asia, the top-three African importers are South Africa ($32.4bn), Egypt ($24.7bn) and Algeria ($15.6bn). They represent...

THE East African Community (EAC) is moving towards getting energy solutions for the regional block as part of the integration factors. The EAC Deputy Secretary General, (Productive and Social Sectors), Mr Christophe Bazivamo, informed the second executive board meeting of the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE), that as the EAC integration was business oriented, energy was key to promoting trade in the region. A communiqué made available by the EAC Secretariat here from Kampala, Uganda where the meeting was taking place had the secretary noting that for some time now the region's development was troubled by low access rates of energy, where high price of the services and poor cooking solutions were partly to blame for the situation. "Low energy access rates, expensive electricity and poor cooking solutions have been hampering the region's development," Mr Bazivamo was quoted as saying. He reminded the meeting that the original plan of EAC was to have EACREEE as an EAC institution, but due to financial constraints, other innovative ways were devised and hence College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) was selected to host EACREEE as a Centre of Excellence. The secretary disclosed that efforts were underway for the EAC through the Inter -University Council of East Africa to ensure effective management of the EAC Centres of Excellence through the harmonisation of management guidelines. The meeting was attended by members from partner states except South Sudan and was a follow up of the first meeting that was...

The EAC Deputy Secretary General, (Productive and Social Sectors), Mr Christophe Bazivamo, informed the second executive board meeting of the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE), that as the EAC integration was business oriented, energy was key to promoting trade in the region. A communiqué made available by the EAC Secretariat here from Kampala, Uganda where the meeting was taking place had the secretary noting that for some time now the region’s development was troubled by low access rates of energy, where high price of the services and poor cooking solutions were partly to blame for the situation. “Low energy access rates, expensive electricity and poor cooking solutions have been hampering the region’s development,” Mr Bazivamo was quoted as saying. He reminded the meeting that the original plan of EAC was to have EACREEE as an EAC institution, but due to financial constraints, other innovative ways were devised and hence College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) was selected to host EACREEE as a Centre of Excellence. The secretary disclosed that efforts were underway for the EAC through the Inter -University Council of East Africa to ensure effective management of the EAC Centres of Excellence through the harmonisation of management guidelines. The meeting was attended by members from partner states except South Sudan and was a follow up of the first meeting that was held on June 10, 2016. Addressing the board members, the Chairman of the Executive Board and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry...

A new report has called for increased efforts to boost industrial development in the region, particularly through design and implementation of well-ground strategies and action plans, in order to achieve industrialisation objectives at both regional and East Africa Community (EAC) partner state level. Exploiting opportunities offered a the dynamic EAC market, and diversifying and upgrading through realistic, well-defined and comprehensive strategies are some of the relevant and concrete policy recommendations listed in a new regional industrial competitiveness report. Others are: strengthening of forward and backward linkages to boost industrial and overall economic growth, and supporting development of key industrial drivers to boost production and exports. The draft of the first regional Industrial Competitiveness report which is set to be officially made public in October by the EAC Secretariat is a joint initiative with the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), aimed at tracking industrial development performance in the region. Alphonse Kwizera, the assistant executive director of Rwanda Association of Manufacturers (RAM), was a member of the team of experts from partner states that compiled the report. He said it was developed to provide a compass to help the region navigate its way towards the industrialisation goals of the Community. Kwizera said: “It shows the competitiveness of our industries, as an entire region, and also highlights how countries trade; which products are mostly exported… and all this is to help industries to strategise. “It will help us determine what additional strategies can be used to increase competitiveness in the region. It will,...

Kenya’s move to adopt a regional electronic passport is on track after the government announced that electronic passports would be rolled out from September. The new generation passports are aimed at easing travel for East African residents. Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda are also set to roll out the electronic passports. They will feature a microchip containing details of the owner and will allow information contained in it to be verified with information displayed on the passport. One of the major hurdles to the integration of East African Community member states has been failure to ease travel, which hampers movement of goods and people as a result. According to the Immigration Department, the current passports in use will be phased out over two years. The electronic passport has been touted as a great step in curbing fraud and easing clearance at international passports. The new look passport will also curb counterfeit travel documents and tampering. Eradicating trade barriers is the only way that the EAC member states can help foster business in the region. The adoption of the electronic passport by the EAC member states will hasten the free flow of goods from one point to another and attract investment. Among the major hurdles to regional trade are bureaucracy and corruption. While trade in the bloc has increased exponentially after the launch of the Common Market Protocol in 2010, there is still a lot more that needs to be done. For the economies of East African Community member states to grow, there...