Analysis

Apart from the challenges presented by the pandemic, governments in developing economies have the current difficulty of providing essential public goods and social services even during normalcy. How quickly economies recover after the crisis may depend on the nature of coping initiatives employed during the pandemic. It is therefore pertinent that governments (especially in the global South) revisit their free zone policy architecture to create a reliable alternative economy with which to stimulate the macro economy especially when the risks associated with sustaining economic activities in the customs territory may be too high.

Faced with a public health emergency due to the Coronavirus, a few governments, such as Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea, have responded promptly and effectively. Some however are only recently beginning to provide substantial funds to counter and control of the spread of the disease, with other financial and economic measures designed to stabilize their economies and employment. These measures have included tax reduction, subsidies for certain sectors, and lowering interest rates. Other measures include shoring up investment in infrastructure projects.

The tragedy of the COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the frailties of African economies. COVID-19 has taught us, in the harshest way possible, that we are only as strong as the most vulnerable among us. This has compelled African leaders to recognize that regional cooperation is at the crux of the solution to the COVID-19 crisis. Hopefully, this positive momentum towards regional cooperation will extend to tackling the broader welfare issues challenging African societies.

It is hoped that the Covid-19 pandemic will be a wake-up call for Africa. And Africa needs to minimize reliance on Aid as this experience clearly shows that donors will only donate if they are not in the same situation as the recipient.

On the 24th of March 2020, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced a US$3 billion facility to help its member countries weather the economic and health impacts of Covid-19. In this interview, Prof Ben Oramah, President Afreximbank, discusses this pandemic facility, the African Continental Free Trade Area, (AfCFTA) and more.

Welcome to this symposium on COVID-19 and International Economic Law in the Global South. The essays in this symposium came from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, North America and Latin America. This symposium will last for a full four weeks because of the large number of good quality submissions we accepted.

In this blog, I continue discussing the broad understanding of informality while briefly touching on informal enterprise. And I hope to, simultaneously, point out a couple of proposed solutions to challenges of the informal economy in Africa. My very strong suggestion, though, is that African countries should embrace informality as a reality on the continent.

The African International Economic Law Network (AfIELN) is pleased to announce the publication of selected papers from their Fourth Biennial AfIELN Conference which held at Strathmore Law School, Nairobi, Kenya in July 2019. The conference theme was Africa’s Participation in International Economic Law in the 21st Century. The AfIELN is one of the regional networks of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL).

Multi-sided music platforms are part of the digital creative economy consisting of the various aspects and processes through which creative works are made/produced, distributed and used. In this reflective post, I will discuss the questions posed in the book talk and panel discussion I organised titled “The Digital Creative Economy in Africa: Copyright, Law and Policy”.

Multi-Sided Music Platforms and the Law is a book that provides a well-informed, thorough and rigorous treatment of relevant legal issues from an African perspective, whilst never losing sight of the ‘broader picture’. As such, it is expected to benefit a diverse group of readers, as well as policy and law makers in Africa and abroad in tackling relevant legal conundrums effectively.