The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has adopted a regional strategy to accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement in the ECOWAS region and leverage on opportunities for growth and prosperity. The 90th Session of the ECOWAS council of ministers endorsed the ECOWAS implementation strategy for the agreement on July 6 and 7, 2023, in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. This step follows the Strategy’s adoption by ECOWAS Ministers of Trade and Industry (ECOMOTI) at the 3rd ministerial meeting which was held on April 27 and 28, in Abidjan Implementation Strategy for the free trade agreement to effectively integrate West African economies into the continental market, by building on the progress and success of regional integration in West Africa to better take advantage of the economic gains of a common African Market. The ECOWAS implementation strategy for the free trade agreement is timely, as it responds to the African Unions 2023 ambition geared towards the acceleration of AfCFTA’s Implementation, which came into operation on January 1, 2021, marking the commencement of trade in a single African market of 54 countries, including 13 ECOWAS Member States. The strategy is geared towards improving the effectiveness of the region’s trade integration framework, increasing coordination between member states on their national implementation strategies, strengthening the productive capacity of Member States, building the capacity of member states to engage in strategic African trade policy and ensuring the AfCFTA is a positive tool for women’s and youth economic empowerment. “The strategy is...

The Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday lifted visa restrictions on Kenyans, reciprocating to a gesture by Nairobi announced five days earlier. The Directorate General of Migration in the DR Congo said the move, in fact, was effective on the same day Kenya lifted its visa requirements on Congolese on September 01, 2023. A circular publicised on Wednesday by the Directorate said Kenyan nationals will no longer be required to get visas before travelling to the DRC. This is a new policy between the DRC and Kenya, both sides say, is to facilitate the movement of people for better integration into the East African community to which both countries belong. The DRC says this could also offer an opportunity to increase trade with Kenya through which it imports goods to eastern regions of the country. With the size of 2.4 million kilometres squared and a population of 100 million, the DRC has been seen by Kenya as a potential market for its banking sector, and other sectors such as transportation. Less than 10 percent of the population have bank accounts and just 13 percent can access mobile financial services, according to official data. Kenya has already increased its investment in this sector with Equity bank and KCB Bank already in the DRC. DRC joined the East African Community in May last year, becoming the seventh member. It is yet to ratify some of the Community’s instruments, however. But it has received favourable welcome.  Tanzania has also lifted the visa requirement for Congolese citizens. In a...

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The first African Climate Summit opened Monday with heads of state and others asserting a stronger voice on a worldwide issue that affects their continent the most even though its 1.3 billion people contribute to global warming the least. Kenyan President William Ruto’s government and the African Union launched a ministerial session as more than a dozen heads of state began to arrive, determined to wield more global influence and bring in far more financing and support. The first speakers included young people, who demanded a bigger voice in the process. “For a very long time we have looked at this as a problem. There are immense opportunities as well,” Ruto said of the climate crisis, speaking of multibillion-dollar economic possibilities, new financial structures, Africa’s huge mineral wealth and the ideal of shared prosperity. “We are not here to catalog grievances,” he said. And yet there is some frustration on the continent about being asked to develop in cleaner ways than the world’s richest countries — which have long produced most of the emissions that endanger climate — and to do it while much of the support that has been pledged hasn’t appeared. “This is our time,” Mithika Mwenda of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance told the gathering, claiming that the annual flow of climate assistance to the continent is a tenth or less of what is needed and a “fraction” of the budget of some polluting companies. “We need to immediately see the delivery of the $100 billion” of climate finance...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0d4tfgGvlw Climate finance, loss and damage and climate justice were the big themes emerging from Africa Climate Week and the Africa Climate Summit 2023 held in Nairobi, Kenya. African heads of state, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Andersen all spoke of the need for climate finance for Africa that is commensurate with the scale of the crisis facing the continent Policymakers, business leaders and environmental campaigners came to Nairobi to find solutions for mitigation, adaptation and finance for Africa – the continent least responsible for carbon emissions but suffering its impact the most. Temperatures are rising faster there than in many other parts of the world, causing more frequent extreme weather events and prolonged droughts, leading to food shortages and loss of lives. Africa Climate Week is one of four regional weeks held this year that will build momentum ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai. The Week is organized by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Development Programme, the UNEP and the World Bank, with the support of regional partners. Read original article  

Agricultural and allied experts yesterday raised another red alert on food insecurity in East Africa Agricultural and allied experts yesterday raised another red alert on food insecurity in East Africa, largely blamed on climate change. They have called for urgent interventions to address the crisis, noting that 63 percent of the bloc’s population is undernourished. “The impact of climate change is visible everywhere in the region. We should tackle it from the underlying causes”, warned Jean Baptiste Havugimana, the Productive Sector director at the East African Community (EAC) secretariat. He said that despite last-minute rains during the last farming season, he was still worried that there would be sufficient rains during the coming season. Mr Havugimana challenged governments and other stakeholders in the EAC partner states to waste no time in tackling the underlying causes of the crisis. He raised the alert here before a group of cyclists moving across the region to raise awareness of the impact of climate change at the Arusha Technical College (ATC). A programme manager with GIZ, a German aid agency, Max Middeke, said the situation was worrying because more than half of the bloc’s population (63 percent) was food insecure. “In East Africa, climate change is causing devastating impacts on food security, leading to harvest failure and livestock losses,” he pointed out. He implored the regional leaders to act swiftly to help manage the adverse impacts of climate change “and reduce the threat of food insecurity.” In the EAC, Mr Middeke went on to...

With abundant resources and growing consumer market, Africa can become a prominent manufacturing destination for tech-intensive industries and a key link in global supply chains. Geneva, 16 August 2023 African economies can become major participants in global supply chains by harnessing their vast resources of materials needed by high-technology sectors and their own growing consumer markets, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its Economic Development in Africa Report 2023 launched today in Nairobi. Supply chains encompass the systems and resources needed to develop, produce and transport goods and services from suppliers to customers. "This is Africa's moment to bolster its position in global supply chains as diversification efforts continue. It's also an opportunity for the continent to strengthen its emerging industries, foster economic growth and create jobs for millions of its people," UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said. Africa's abundance of critical minerals and metals, including aluminum, cobalt, copper, lithium and manganese, vital components in technology-intensive industries, positions the continent as an attractive destination for manufacturing, as recent upheavals caused by trade turbulence, geopolitical events and economic uncertainty compel manufacturers to diversify their production locations. Africa also offers advantages such as shorter and simpler access to primary inputs, a younger, technology-aware, and adaptable labour force and a burgeoning middle class, known for its growing demand for more sophisticated goods and services. Strengthening African supply chains is key for the region’s growth The report highlights that creating an environment conducive to technology-intensive industries would help raise wages on the...

East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 16th August, 2023: Non-tariff Barriers (NTBs) and protectionism at the national level have been identified as the key factors impeding the growth of intra-EAC trade. The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki said that the region was therefore working continuously to eliminate NTBs with 26 NTBs having been resolved out of the 33 that had been reported as of June 2023. Dr. Mathuki added that seven (7) NTBs remained outstanding but were at different levels of resolution. “To facilitate free movement of goods, Partner States have effectively eliminated Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) as they arise and have cumulatively eliminated a significant number of 184 NTBs with only a few remain outstanding,” said Dr. Mathuki. The Secretary General who was delivering the annual State of the EAC Address at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, disclosed that EAC total trade increased by 13.4 percent to US$74.1 billion in 2022 from US$65.3billion in 2021, while the total Intra-EAC trade grew by 11.2 percent to US$10.9billion in 2022 from US$9.8 billion in 2021. The SG further stated that the percentage share of Intra-EAC trade to EAC total trade stood at 15 percent in 2022, and 2023 has indicated a positive trend with 16% in January and 19% in February recorded of total EAC trade. “The increase is attributed to a strong collaboration with Partner States to promote EAC trade including admission of DRC, timely resolution of Non-Tariff Barriers, enhanced trade facilitation initiatives, harmonization of 2,568 East...

Construction of the Rubavu port, which is anticipated to enhance tourism and facilitate cross-border trade between Rwanda and DR Congo, is making progress. With works underway, the port, covering two hectares, is located in Rubavu District’s Nyamyumba Sector along the shores of Lake Kivu. According to the Senior Engineer at Railway and Cable Car Transport at Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA), Jean Népo Ndayambaje, the development of the port will open up Western Province for tourism and trade. “It will increase connectivity between districts along the Lake Kivu shores as well as boost cross-border trade between Rwanda and DR Congo. It is anticipated that the port will reduce costs of existing trade flow along Lake Kivu,” Ndayambaje noted. The innovative facility is currently under construction and will be completed in two phases. It is comprised of two main sections: a cargo terminal and a passenger terminal. The cargo section meant for trade purposes has accommodation building for staff, a petrol station, waste water treatment plant, store and quay; whereas the passenger terminal has maintenance, an electrical substation, workshop, a-two-level building for a restaurant and the main offices of the port and security check.   Inside a break bulk store of Rubavu Port that is still under construction. The New Times recently toured the port, accompanied by Mohamed Salah Allani, a structural engineer from Société centrale pour l'équipement du Territoire (SCET-Tunisie), the company overseeing the construction. Allani, the construction supervisor who has 44 years of experience, mentioned that the construction project was...

In Summary So far, the EAC Partner States have agreed on 308 tariff lines under category B; hence they are remaining with 90 tariff lines that have not been agreed upon. Under Category C, the EAC Partner States have agreed on 75 tariff lines, remaining with 96 tariff lines that are yet to be agreed upon. East Africa is at an advanced stage in implementing trade modalities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), making it among the first blocs to embrace the continental deal. Led by the East African Business Council (EABC), with support from the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ) in EAC, the region is in the progress of developing the EAC Tariff Offer under AfCFTA for sensitive products and the exclusion list. According to AfCFTA modalities for the submission of tariff offers, the sensitive goods under category B require seven per cent of the tariff lines to be liberalised over a period of 13 years for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and 10 years for developing countries. For the EAC, the required tariff lines under this category are 398. The excluded goods, which are under category C, cover three per cent of the total tariff lines and must meet the anti-concentration clause; that is, not more than 10 per cent of intra-African imports should be excluded from preferential terms. For the EAC, the required tariff lines are 171. The exclusion list will be reviewed after five years from the commencement of trading. So far, the EAC Partner States...

As part of efforts to build a more resilient regional economy largely depends on several factors. What specifically is under discussion here is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and  the strategic mechanism through which the region’s economy can be raised up to standard, taking cognizance of the fast growing population and its associated demand for employment and ensuring food security as well as sustaining certain level of appreciable living standards. Understanding explicitly the enormous untapped resources, both natural and human, is very essential and indivisible interconnected to the West African region’s development. As we know, there are 16 member states constituting the regional bloc, ECOWAS. As mid-July 2023, the World Population Review and the World Atlas, both estimated population 439 million. More than half of the population is under the age of 25. In fact, Africa’s population is exceptionally young compared to other world regions that have been aging at a fast rate, and demographers indicated that the region’s population will experience either steady or rapid growth. For three decades, at least, in our faculty academic studies and research, part of the written research papers at conferences unpack lessons on the relationships between demographic growth and economic development in Africa. That is to say Africa’s demographic profile has played a key role in its development. Specifically for West Africa, governments have to capitalise on its demographic profile through policies, engage them with them in various sectors especially in food production sectors for two main reasons: to ensure...