Browsing: AfCFTA

Africa will require stimulus worth US$110-US$150 billion to provide social and economic relief to its economies.…

East Africa’s economy is tremendously dynamic and until now, it has been one of the fastest-growing sub-regions in Africa since 2013.

As of 2019, before the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, the region was expanding at more than double the continental average.

Boasting of having three of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies in 2019, the East African countries of Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania, it is now time for the region to put in place measures that will assure the growth of the region post the coronavirus pandemic.

Is Kenya abandoning trading blocs’ agreements for the US?

Despite the low per capita incomes that have prevailed for decades, the region has experienced some notable social gains including East Africans living 6.7 years longer now on average than they did a decade ago.

But even with these positive trends, the region still suffers from a number of serious vulnerabilities to its ability to sustain …

African countries should support each other if they are to bounce back fast after the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic which has paralysed the global economy.

The continent has immense wealth in resources including labour thus it can easily achieve economic freedoms without having to rely on aid.

With technology, Africa can also easily jumpstart its economy since the tried and tested methods which can support industries and agriculture among other sectors are easily available. Home-grown solutions for local problems are also easily accessible.

With the launch of the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) likely to be pushed from the July 1 date, the continent will have to wait longer to see the impact of opened borders and the free movement of goods between countries.

Intra-regional trade could create 2 million new jobs for East Africa

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has underscored the need for African countries to …

For almost a decade now, China’s presence in Africa continues rumbling the West which has been relegated to an almost observer state by the Asian giant.

As the latest scramble for the resource-rich continent gathers pace and with the shift from aid dependence to homegrown solutions, China has been a welcome handyman in fixing problems through expensive infrastructural projects commissioned by leaders who have a huge legacy stake in them. However, these projects are raising more questions than answers from citizens and observers.

The questions arise from the fact that in real life, the economies have not been growing as much as they are depicted in papers and flamboyant GDP plans. Again, many nations are now stuck in the red since in a state of distress as loans fall due and with no means to service them.

Golden opportunities at bridge connecting 8 African countries

These African nations are having …

Already, China, Russia and Pakistan are laying out plans to start conducting bilateral trade and investment while issuing bonds in local and national currencies instead of the US dollar.

The eight-member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are to finalise a road map introducing a system of mutual settlement of national currencies.

Other SCO members include India, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan while observer countries Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia are looking to become regular members of the SCO.

With the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, it seems that the world is realigning itself for a new way of doing business.…

With the covid-19 coronavirus global crisis affecting, Africa could be hit harder with a heavy and durable economic toll.

This hit will threaten progress and prospects, widen inequalities between and within countries and worsen current fragilities.

To survive this, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) says that African countries need support in preparing for the health crisis, and for the economic fallout.

Coronavirus: African leaders stuck with neglected, outdated healthcare systems

“The measures being taken in Asia, Europe and North America such as physical (social) distancing and regular hand washing will be a particular challenge for countries with limited internet connectivity, dense populations, unequal access to water and limited social safety nets,” notes ECA.

In line with the steps being taken across the globe, African countries are preparing for the worst effects of this pandemic.

To help Africa survive the crisis, ECA says that the G20 must support an immediate …

With the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic slowing down the global economy’s growth, Africa could just be in time for a revolution that could help it recover faster than the rest of the world.

For starters, the continent is advantaged by having fewer infections which could make it possible for Africa to successfully curtail the spread of the coronavirus if strict measures are taken. While this move may not be uniformly undertaken continent-wide, the ravages of the Ebola virus have prepared many to deal with the pandemic. From years of suffering from viral infections, the continent is well placed to stop the virus in its tracks.

But this comes at a cost since governments should be willing to spend on their people to ensure that the majority who live on daily casual wages are provided for to help them stay in during lockdowns.

Coronavirus: African leaders stuck with neglected, outdated healthcare systems

The East African region has a combined GDP of US$ 880 billion and a population of 437 million.

Despite this attractive combination, the economies of East Africa are still highly fragmented with low intra-regional trade and investment levels. To make matters worse, the trade and investment have been declining.

The region’s biggest economies of Kenya and Ethiopia have an annual bilateral trade worth less than US$ 100 million since they barely trade with each other.

While these two economise paint a rough picture of the trade imbalances in the region, trading within the East African Community (EAC) is higher with exports peaking in 2013 at US$ 3.5 billion. Again, unfortunately, by 2017 the exports volumes had declined with earnings reducing by 31 per cent to just US$ 2.4 billion.

The lack of trade integration poses a serious impediment to the future development of the region despite the fact that the …

The UK left the European Union (EU) in January after a long and tedious process which saw Prime Minister Theresa May quit as the Conservative leader on June 7, 2019.

Following the divorce, the EU and the UK will determine their future trade relations during the transition period which goes on until the end of this year.

With this reorganisation, developing countries could see their exports to the UK increase. The EU could also offer a slightly bigger market for goods coming from these economies. However, this is dependent on whether the UK increases tariffs for third world countries.

Trading with Britain under preferential terms

With this, it is time for Africa as Brexit could create new opportunities for the continent which just became one the largest free trade area in the world with the AfCFTA which will be operational starting in June 2020.

The UNCTAD notes that a no-deal …

The tool will help African governments monitor and eliminate challenges which slow trade costing the continent billions annually…