The suspense over the much-awaited decision on another 10-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) — often called the United States' General System of Preferences allowing duty-free imports — for African exporting nations is finally over with President Barack Obama recently signing into law the AGOA's extension for an additional decade. The AGOA bill was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support during a vote on June 11, 2015. But behind the scenes a cross-section of stakeholders — including African governments, the African Union, the African Diplomatic Corps and members of the U.S. and African private sectors — impressed upon U.S. lawmakers the significance of AGOA and its critical role in strengthening commercial and economic relations between the United States and the nations of Africa. President Obama, before his visit to Kenya and Ethiopia, said, "AGOA will be central to our efforts to boost the trade and investment that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs both in Africa and the United States, creating opportunities for all of us." Importers of African textiles and apparel at the TexWorld USA show in late July in New York City were pleased with AGOA's renewal, which they said created a "win-win situation" for both the U.S. importers and sub-Saharan African shippers. Mary Marino, the North American director of Cotton Made in Africa (CMiA), was enthusiastic about African exports of textiles and apparel. She expected cotton exports from Africa to grow following the AGOA's renewal. "We at the CMiA promote sustainable cotton which is...

Trade Mark East Africa has received the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply certification, becoming the first East Africa organisation to receive the accreditation. Globally, only 128 companies hold the certification given for the highest possible international standards in procurement and supply chain policies and procedures. West African based Africa Development Bank, is the only organisation in Africa with a similar accreditation, making Trade Mark the second. The certification came after a nine month evaluation which commenced last September and was concluded in May. TMA chief executive Frank Matsaert said the organisation will be expected to heighten transparency in its procurement and supply processes as required by the accreditation. He said the regional body currently handles a laarger budget and serves a wider regional population compared to five years ago. “When we began, our staff consisted of only two people. Now I have a team of more than 150 that is handling a budget of $300 million (Sh31 billion),” he said yesterday in Nairobi. He spoke when TMA received the certificate from CIPS Africa managing director Andre Coetzee in Nairobi. Coetzee said transparent and efficient procurement processes will seal bribery and corruption loopholes. “This brings value to those doing business especially the small and medium enterprises.” He said the world loses over a trillion dollars to corruption as a result of poor procurement processes with Africa contributing a significant amount. Source: The Star

China’s trade will continue to increase by more than 5 percent per year between 2015 and 2020 despite recent setbacks caused by its marked economic slowdown, the World Trade Service of IHS Maritime & Trade forecasts. One new trend is the move towards larger container ships to streamline the supply chain. Trade routes from China to Africa are expected to see a marked increase over the next five years, with the highest growth expected to be seen from the East African to China route, incorporating Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. “Trade between East Africa and China is expected to increase by 91 percent by 2020,” said Krispen Atkinson, principal analyst at IHS Maritime & Trade. “It’s all around manufactured goods. East Africa is becoming a new hub for the Chinese.” Chinese leadership has publicly announced its commitment to develop infrastructure and promote regional integration in East Africa. “In the coming years, China’s relationship with East Africa will change,” said Natznet Tesfay, head of sub-Saharan Africa analysis at IHS County Risk. “Right now, the focus is on importing raw materials and exporting manufactured goods. But, Chinese investments in enhancing regional interconnectivity will enable it to take advantage of comparatively lower operational costs and to onshore manufacturing activity in East Africa.” The four alliances that dominate east-west trade are pushing the trend towards container ships capable of carrying 20,000 boxes (20 foot equivalent units), in their quest to reduce unit costs with ever more efficient vessels. Current container ships hold around 13,000...

Regional integration and cooperation is the way forward in Africa as there are many regional externalities that can only be addressed through regional cooperation. Regional integration is also good politics as trade-creating exchange increases the opportunity cost of conflict. The Tripartite FTA (TFTA) and the proposed Continental FTA (CFTA) are the latest African initiatives towards regional cooperation. To succeed, these have to confront a very uneven distribution of resources that have sharpened the trade-off between the benefits of common policies needed to tackle cross-border externalities and their costs which are heightened by the sharp differences in policy preferences across members. Abandoning the linear model of integration and integrating in small groups should help. Following the implementation of the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) common external tariff (CET) in January 2015, this June saw the launch of the Tripartite Free Trade Area among 26 countries, accounting for over half of Africa’s GDP and, with 632 million people, 56 percent of the continental population. A Continental FTA is also to be launched in or around 2017. Phase I of the TFTA suggests modest efforts at integration as it is built on the principles of variable geometry eschewing a more ambitious “single undertaking” and the acquis (go forward but not backwards) with modest tariff reductions on the table, a list (rather than an economy-wide criterion) for rules of origin, trade remedies to address dumping, and import surges. The agenda for phase II is to be decided but should include services and...

Last month, I attended the African Leadership Forum in the Tanzanian capital of Dar es Salaam on the theme of "Moving Towards An Integrated Africa." The meeting was hosted by former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa's Uongozi Institute, and attended by former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), Festus Mogae (Botswana), Jerry Rawlings (Ghana), Bakili Muluzi (Malawi), and Hifikepunye Pohamba (Namibia). The Executive Secretaries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) were also present, as were invited civil society actors. Delivering the keynote address was Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, who has long fancied himself as a "Bismarck of East Africa", with dreams of creating a political federation in a subregion consisting also of Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda. These aspirations were reflected in his address which pushed for a larger regional market in East Africa to increase the leverage of the subregion to negotiate more effectively with external actors. Citing the high level of cultural integration in the subregion - reinforced by the common lingua franca of Swahili - he called for a political union, noting that for such efforts to succeed, East African leaders would need to explain to their 140 million citizens how regional integration could directly enhance their prosperity and security. I had the opportunity, from the audience, to challenge president Museveni - who has been in power for 29 years - on the issue of presidential term limits, noting that on assuming office in 1986, he had criticised African leaders for overstaying in...

Talks to formally allow South Sudan into the East African Community have resumed earlier this week in the Tanzanian town of Arusha, a senior official of the regional grouping said in Kampala on Wednesday. In an interview the East African Community Secretary General Dr. Richard Ssezibera said they have been in touch with the government of South Sudan over the country’s application to join the EAC. He said Juba’s request for membership is being carefully reviewed but did not elaborate whether the world’s newest nation would be accepted to the regional grouping. According to Dr. Sezibera, South Sudan will be an important member of the EAC thanks to its big market. He said a stable South Sudan will mean a secure East Africa. A team from the South Sudanese government is already in Arusha negotiating its entry into the East African Community to which the country had applied following her independence from the rest of Sudan in 2011. The East African Community (EAC) headquartered in Arusha, Tanzania is made up of several countries in the region including Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda among others. Source: Star Africa

Kampala — Talks to accept South Sudan as a member of the East African Community resume this week in Tanzania's City Arusha, according to Dr Richard Sezibera, the East African Community Secretary General. "We have been in touch with South Sudan and handling their request to join the EAC. Further negotiations resume this week in Arusha-Tanzania," Dr Sezibera said Wednesday while visiting Monitor Publications Limited Head Office in Kampala. South Sudan's plan to join the EAC is likely to add 11 million people to a regional market that has 140 million people in the five states of Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi. EAC member states like Uganda and Kenya stand to benefit most from South Sudan which gives them a significant market. Currently, Uganda and Kenya's annual exports to South Sudan are valued at over $200 million (Shs504 billion) and $180 million (Shs453.6 billion) respectively. Mr Sezibera added that EAC Secretariat is committed to work closely with South Sudan to ensure "a smooth negotiation process". Last year, South Sudan had halted negotiations because of an armed conflict that broke out, displacing close to 2.2 million people and claiming hundreds killed. The conflict put 4.6m people at severe risk of food insecurity, according to the UN. However, negotiations to return peace in South Sudan are under-way in Juba where regional leaders are expected to assign a peace pact. South Sudan marked its independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011. It had been at war for almost half a century when...

Africa’s rise challenges the imagination. During the last decade, sub-Saharan Africa was home to six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies. During the next five years, the region’s GDP is expected to grow 30 per cent faster than that of the rest of the world. And, during the next 35 years, the continent will account for more than half of the world’s population growth, according to the United Nations. These trends will give African countries a more prominent role on the world stage, and provide new opportunities for people to better their lives. As African countries assume their new role, they want meaningful economic partnerships that deliver the sustainable, inclusive growth they seek. As US President Barack Obama said during his visit to Ethiopia last month, “Real economic partnerships have to be a good deal for Africa. They have to create jobs and capacity for Africans.” By those criteria, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been tremendously effective since its enactment in 2000. By removing tariffs on exports to the US from 39 sub-Saharan countries, it has stimulated growth, encouraged economic integration, and created opportunity where it otherwise might not have existed. Earlier, the US Congress, recognising these gains and underscoring the strength of America’s commitment to Africa, overwhelmingly approved legislation to re-authorise AGOA for another 10 years. To make the most of this extension – the longest in the programme’s history – the US and its African partners need to start working towards a more comprehensive partnership....

Two Rwandans are among 11 eminent private sector members who were unveiled yesterday in Nairobi, as the new ‘independent’ board of directors of TradeMark Africa (TMA), a non-profit organisation established in 2010 to support regional integration and trade. The new board members beat competition from over 500 East Africans who had applied to fill eight of the eleven director seats on a regional body that has funded the implementation of over 150 integration projects across the region. Rosette Chantal Rugamba, the managing director of Songa Africa Ltd, and Anthony Masozera, the chief executive of the Burundi-based Econet Wireless, are the two Rwandans on the board that will be chaired by prominent Tanzanian businessman Ali Mufuruki. Other members include Patrick Obath, the managing consultant of Edwardo and Associates; Duncan Onyango, CEO of Acumen Fund; Patricia Ithau, managing-director of Patricia Ithau Ltd; Earl Gast, an American independent consultant; and Jacqueline Lutaya, the managing-director of Kampala Accountancy Bureau. TMA chief executive Frank Matsaert said the new board is a reflection of a huge pool of talent in East Africa and draws from the leading business people in the region’s private sector. Matsaert also announced that Pascal Lamy, the former head of the World Trade Organisation, has joined TMA as a special advisor to the board of directors; he is one of three non East African members representing donor interests on the new board. Mufuruki, who is the CEO of Dar es Salaam-based InfoTech Investment Group, said he was happy to lead a board...

Regional artistes can play a vital role in the integration agenda of the East African Community (EAC), a lawmaker said, yesterday, during the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) as members passed the EAC Creative and Cultural Industries Bill. A private members Bill introduced by MP Dr James Ndahiro (Rwanda) seeks to boost the bloc’s creative industries by establishing a council charged with ensuring a favourable environment to enhance and stimulate creativity and innovativeness among EAC citizens. The assembly is currently sitting in Kampala, Uganda. Noting that the Bill was a vital piece of legislation that “should be supported” by everyone, MP Susan Nakawuki (Uganda) pointed out how artistes have been helpful in many respects. “Music and art have always been a tool for sensitisation. We have, for example, had musicians composing educative songs. Ugandan artiste Bobi Wine, for example, composed a song teaching the public about cleanliness,” she said. “Even when it comes to the integration process, we could have musicians singing about integration. Their music can reach far places where ministers cannot reach easily.” Nakawuki spoke of how the music industry is “also key to promoting tourism”. To achieve all this, however, she cautioned that the assembly should also bear in mind the importance of intellectual property rights. She proposed that an intellectual property legislation be enacted as soon as possible so that artistes benefit as they should. Creative industries originate from individual creativity, skill and talent. They have a potential for wealth and job-creation through the generation and...