November 3, 2022
Burkina Faso to be excluded from U.S.-Africa trade deal
The White House announced that the United States will exclude Burkina Faso from the trade agreement linking the world's leading power to African countries. U.S. President Joe Biden said in a letter sent to the U.S. Congress, "I have made this decision because I have determined that the government of Burkina Faso has not established, or made continued progress toward establishing, respect for the rule of law and political pluralism," A respect for the rule of law is a necessary element of the African Growth Opportunities Act program. Under this Program, thousands of African products can benefit from reduced import taxes, subject to conditions being met concerning human rights, good governance, or worker protection. Other countries excluded from the program include Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea.
Nigeria inaugurates first deep sea cargo port with help from Chinese Harbor Company
According to AfricaNews, the China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd handed over Nigeria's first deep seaport to the government after the completion of the huge maritime project in the country's economic hub city of Lagos. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, state governor of Lagos said, "The benefit of this project and the benefits to our citizens can be left better imagined, providing jobs for close to 200,000 people with direct and indirect jobs in the next couple of months ahead. In addition, we can see the figure adding tens of billions in dollar revenue to our country and to our state and to the host community in taxes and revenue.” As a commercial project of cooperation between China, France and Nigeria, the Lekki port is of great significance for promoting Belt and Road cooperation in Africa.
Angola’s airline with a new CEO, routes and global alliance
According to AfricaNews, Angola’s National Airline, TAAG, is undergoing a transformation in order to confront the challenges of the times. Now that TAAG is again fully certified by European regulators, the alliance with the Spanish carrier is a major boost for TAAG to spread its wings across the globe. TAGG will use Iberia’s hub in Madrid, which will allow it to connect to the rest of the world. Furthermore, Angola is building itself as a major hub in Africa, with a new airport in the capital Luanda which is due to open at the end of next year.
England and Wales turn to East Africa
Andrew Mizner from African Law and Business writes that a group of barristers from England and Wales will visit Kenya and Tanzania next month to promote the Bar’s experience in international legal matters and exchange expertise with their East African counterparts. The delegation will highlight the Bar’s experience of dealing with China-related disputes and look for solidarity on rule of law issues. Mizner writes that both Kenya and Tanzania have growing economies and are increasing their presence in regional and global trade. The mission hopes to persuade East African businesses of the value of the Bar’s expertise when it comes to international dispute resolution, particularly in arbitration and regulatory matters, such as anti-money-laundering regulations.
UK’s development finance institution restates commitment to South Africa
Andrew Mizner from African Law and Business shares that British International Investment, the United Kingdom’s development finance institution, has relaunched in South Africa with plans to invest in clean energy and economic transformation. The African Forestry Impact Platform fund will receive $200 million through which it will acquire East African forest development and wood processing company Green Resources. This will help to build South African businesses and create more economic opportunities for the community.
Stakeholders seek replication of Ghana ports system in Nigeria
According to Adaku Onyenucheya at The Guardian, stakeholders have called for the replication of Ghana’s Single Window System and its electronic data interchange platform called Trade-Net in Nigeria. The platform has enabled operators in the sector to share information, exchange data and fast track the working process. Additionally, the Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM) has facilitated the ease of doing business in the nation’s ports and drastically reduced corruption tendencies.
Sundance Resources sues Cameroonian Government over Mbalam Iron permit
Australian mining junior, Sundance Resources, has taken a new legal action against the Cameroonian government. The reason for the dispute is that although the company has received several license renewals on the Mbalam deposit, it has always failed to find a technical and financial partner to implement the infrastructure related to the Mbalam mining project. Sundance referred to the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris to obtain the mining permit. After several arbitration hearings, the next step is to confer with the parties and establish the timetable and rules of procedure.
Kenya to fall short of Comesa sugar import quota on biting global crisis
Gerald Andae from the Business Daily shares that Kenya will fall short of meeting its’ sugar import quota from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) due to an acute shortage of the commodity in the world market, a move that will further subject local consumers to high prices. Head of the Sugar Directorate Wilice Audi says, “There is a shortage of sugar in our source markets and this, coupled with prevailing high prices has seen traders lag in imports.” Kenya has started the process of seeking another extension for sugar safeguards.
EVENTS- 11.03.2022
"Are ESG Policies a Priority for Business in Africa?" Invest Africa. Nairobi, Kenya. 9 November 2022.
"Industrialisation in Africa: Seizing Opportunities in Global Value Chains." Invest Africa. London, United Kingdom. 15 November, 2022.