Browsing: African Union

Should a common currency in the EAC come to fruition, the trade will be fueled by a reduction, albeit limited, in transaction costs, the elimination of exchange rate risk and region-wide price harmonisation – all of which will undoubtedly be underpinned by policy incentives.

• Monetary Union is the third stage towards EAC regional integration, capped through Political Federation.
• Considering individual economies are relatively small, currency harmonisation might play a significant role in improving intra-African trade.
• The IMF, through its chief Christine Lagarde, previously warned the EAC not to rush into a currency union, pointing to the issues faced in Europe.

Interest in regional integration, including monetary, in Africa has remained intense over the decades since independence. Consequently, various regional groupings have been formed. Those initiatives were stimulated by the generally small size of individual economies. This led to a desire to promote economies of scale in production and distribution. A …

Until substantial reforms are implemented, and remittance flows channelled towards long-term economic prospects, the diaspora will continue to be a net negative for weak African economies. Africa cannot depend on exporting its brilliant people abroad to bring money home forever. Thus, governments must establish vibrant economies that appreciate the continent’s human capital and enable bright individuals to prosper.…

Recent economic growth and development within Southern and Eastern Africa have created positive opportunities to expand water transportation services. Owing to the impressive growth of the East African economy, where countries like Tanzania and Ethiopia have experienced remarkable growth rates higher than the regional and continental levels, there is a prospect for expanding cargo traffic. A few of the sub-regions ports are experiencing capacity constraints and congestion.…

The current large-scale transition of the global economy, principally triggered by the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia as well as the standoff between China and the United States, creates a multipolar world map with new centres of power.

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, also known as the BRICS nations, have enhanced industrial and financial might and are pushing for a seat at the global new power axis table. These nations are essential participants in international markets for products, services, and money, having a considerable, sometimes decisive, effect on how the global economy operates.…

Africans and African diaspora across the world commemorated Africa Day on May 25, 2022.

The day truly serves to integrate the diverse continent into one identity. This year bears extra importance as it is also the 20th anniversary of the African Union (AU). The theme for this year was “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent”.

Yet, the celebration was tarnished by rising food prices as a result of Covid-19, climate-induced drought in parts of Africa, and the Ukraine crisis, according to Hindustan Times.

According to an article by Hindustan Times published on June 17, 2022, Africa Day is to commemorate May 25, 1963, when 30 independent African leaders signed the founding charter of the OAU (Organization of African Unity). Later to give more impetus to the organisation, many new areas were added and it was transformed into African Union (AU).

Yearly, the AU decides a …

• It is not easy to create a common currency since it needs the creation of a central monetary system for several nations
• The AU and ECOWAS should reconsider their approach—a common physical currency—and move their attention to building a common digital currency, as the EU is doing
• With the establishment of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which allows for the simple conversion of numerous African currencies, some progress—or maybe too little—has been achieved
• When turned into digital money, Africa’s weak currencies have little chance against stablecoins backed by the US dollar

It is not easy to create a common currency and it would need the creation of a central monetary system for several nations.

This is a regime that, given the diverse economic demands of countries, may be judged undesirable for some member states. Africa’s desire for economic and monetary integration dates back many years.

African Union

In practical reality, it aims at creating a continental market for goods and services, with free movement of businesspeople and investments in Africa.

Several reports indicate that the summit strives to bring Africa and Europe closer together through strengthening economic cooperation and promoting sustainable development, with both continents co-existing in peace, security, democracy, prosperity, solidarity and human dignity.

It is against this backdrop that the two partners are determined to work together on a strategic, long-term footing to develop a shared vision for EU-Africa relations in a globalized world.…

As usual, it is the scramble for Africa. This continues with the AU not condemning the anarchy by financiers of the chaos who are mostly not African.
Africa’s underground riches have for decades been driving a cabal of selfish dictators, in collaboration with their Western masters, to doing the unthinkable. Mali is the latest casualty.

Mali is rich in every sense.

The West African nation is the continent’s fourth-largest gold producer after Ghana, South Africa, and Sudan with the country’s natural resources industry dominated by gold. The country’s primary export is gold which accounted for more than 80 per cent of Mali’s total exports in 2020. …

There is need to rebrand Africa, to give it a better, truer image or in the words of the President for the African Development Bank (AfDB)) Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina to change the narrative on Africa to attract increased investments into the continent.

Granted the head of AfDB specified the Africa rebranding be specific for the USA but the idea stands true in general, the World needs to see Africa differently. The assertion comes ahead of the upcoming “Africa Investment Forum 2021.’

To be held this December (1-3), the event is one of the biggest flagship initiatives of the African Development Bank that is designed to attract billions of dollars in investment for strategic development projects across the continent.

“The annual forum has come to be an invaluable platform during which the Bank successfully attracts critical investment for the continent’s infrastructure, agriculture and health care system needs among others, especially …

In 1991, Ethiopia was among the poorest in the world having endured a devastating famine and civil war in the 1980s and by 2020 it was one of the fastest-growing economies in the world averaging 9.9 per cent of broad-based growth per year.
The GERD will help secure the future water supply not only in the Nile Basin but in the entire region, thereby curbing the occurrence of severe drought and famine.
The flow of the River Nile has been nothing but winding, peacefully meandering its way downstream, oblivious of the decade-old tension that besieges its much-needed waters.
Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are neighbours that have been embroiled in a row over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) by Ethiopia on the Blue Nile causing a diplomatic standoff among the countries.
Being the longest river in Africa, the Nile bears paramount significance across several African nations that …