About the speaker

Dr Babatunde Omilola is the Economic Advisor with the UNDP in South Africa. Previously, he served as the UNDP Regional Poverty Reduction Practice Leader for Eastern and Southern Africa. Prior to joining UNDP, he worked with the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He has served as an Economic Advisor to many African governments and institutions. He holds both MPhil and DPhil degrees with specialty in Development Economics from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

Review of the regulation in the ports, electricity supply industry and renewable industry –

Project: Regulatory Entities Capacity Building: Review of Regulators Orientation and Performance

Client: Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development, University of Johannesburg

Duration: 2013-2014 - to be completed by March 2014

Effective performance by economic regulators is important for growth and development. In recognition of the importance of their role, the Economic Development Department has commissioned the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development to undertake a research and capacity building project for economic regulators in South Africa. The Regulatory Entities Capacity Building Project involves a review of the performance of the economic regulators as well as identifying the constraints impacting their performance. The University of Johannesburg aims to use the information from the reviews to create customised training course in regulatory economics for both employees of the economic regulators in South Africa and for students.

TIPS is undertaking reviews of the following sectors as part of the project:

• Ports
• Electricity sector
• Renewable energy sector 

The emphasis of these reviews on understanding the issues at a practical level, looking at how the regulator has been able to address the challenges it has faced, and how it can be assisted to improve, including from learning from other regulators.

Review of Regulation in the Ports Section

Review of Regulation in the Electricity Supply Industry

Review of Regulation in Renewable Energy 

Ports

The South African Ports Regulator, established in terms of the National Ports Act 12 of 2005 is a relatively new institution. Time taken to establish the institution has meant it has only recently begun to be effective. Over the past three years it has flexed its regulatory muscle with significant revisions to the tariff book and pricing proposed by the National Ports Authority. Studies have been conducted on the tariff adjustments and the stakeholder submissions to the Ports Regulator. However, limited work has been done on the effectiveness of the regulator.

TIPS’s assessment the regulation of ports in South Africa includes:

• Reviewing the role of the regulator, linking this to the broad policy framework and economic development priorities of the government.
• Assessing the work of the regulator, including through looking at case studies of ports regulation in other jurisdictions.
• Considering the role of the regulator in contributing to the efficient and cost-effective operation of the ports, including the impact of the ports on the broader economy.
• Considering the role of ports in attracting investment and supporting the growth of service sectors related to port operations such as ship repair, boat building and servicing the offshore oil and gas sector.
• Considering the regulator looking at more than pricing, and going broader into the terms of access and quality of service of South African ports.
• Looking at international experiences in Australia, India and South America.

Resources

Review of Regulation in the Ports Section

Electricity Sector

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) is the regulatory authority established in terms of the National Energy Regulator Act, 2004. 

The Regulatory Entities Capacity Building project will provide a comprehensive review of the regulators' role, linked with the policy framework and powers.  

The review includes:

• Examining the linkages with economic development in a number of areas including links with industrial policy.
• Assessing the key issues at each level of the Electricity Supply Industry value chain.
• Examining electricity pricing and the process of setting prices by NERSA.
• Evaluating the regulatory and institutional framework.
• Looking at the role of Independent Power Producers and municipalities.
• Undertaking case studies that highlight how actions by Eskom and the regulator have implications for industrial policy.
• Identifying specific areas of capacity building to inform short learning programmes (SLPs).

Resources

Review of Regulation in the Electricity Supply Industry

Renewable Energy Sector

The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) was established to encourage new entry into the market.

The Regulatory Entities Capacity Building project review of the renewable energy sector includes:

• Assessing the problems and difficulties in implementing South Africa's first option for the expansion of renewable energy through feed-in tariffs (REFITs), initiated by the Department of Energy, and its abandonment by the government.
• Assessing, with the assistance of the National Treasury's Public-Private Partnership Unit, the motivations for opting to pursue competitive bids tenders through the REIPPP instead of the REFIT system.
• Assessing the outcomes of the competitive bidding process as a regulatory mechanism with reference to its impact on market entry, expansion of capacity, investment, pricing and linkages to industrial policy and job creation.
• Explore NESRA's role in this process.

Resources

Review of Regulation in Renewable Energy 

There is growing concern that measures already in place or potentially adopted by developed countries to combat climate change could be trade distortionary, introduce new forms of 'green protectionism' and/or be discriminatory. Such policy and regulatory measures may range from emissions trading schemes (e.g. the EU's deferred airlines tax) to border tax adjustments that price carbon, subsidies, new public and/or private standards (including carbon labelling schemes), taxes on maritime transportation and, among other non-tariff barriers to trade, could entail the introduction of specific legislation.

Discussion bocussed on the following three questions from an industry/sector perspective:

• Using specific examples, is your industry/sector vulnerable to existing/new climate- or environment-related regulations/measures in international markets?
• Are any existing regulations/measures already impacting on your competitiveness, or would the latter be affected if these were to be introduced – and if so, how?
• What measures could your industry or sector take to reduce its carbon footprint?

For a summary of the roundtable discussion, see attachment below.

Project: Benefits of AGOA to South Africa

Client: Department of Trade and Industry (the dti)

Duration: 2012-2013

TIPS assisted the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) to carry out a study into the benefits that have accrued to South Africa as a result of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The research is intended to inform the South African government’s position on AGOA as the 13-year old piece of US legislation enters the last two years of its existing phase. Initially set to expire in 2008, AGOA was extended to 2015 allowing Sub-Saharan African beneficiary countries, including South Africa, to continue to enjoy preferential access to the United States market. US President Barack Obama also recently pledged to revamp AGOA before its September 2015 expiry.

The research, which confirmed that AGOA has the potential to support export-driven jobs in South Africa, fills gaps in AGOA’s impact on specific South African commodity value chains: the agro-processing, textiles and apparel, and automotive sectors.

A joint workshop between TIPS and The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) on AGOA took place on 17 September, 2013. This was timed to coincide with the lobbying visit by a South African government and business delegation to Washington led by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies. The objective of the session was to present the TIPS research and to encourage debate among stakeholders on the future of AGOA. The event benefited from participation from the Department of Trade and Industry, the US Embassy in Pretoria and a range of business representatives.

For the workshop outcomes, presentations and articles on AGOA click here.

Summary articles – extracted from the research: 

• Overview

• The strategic automotive industry

• The labour-intensive citrus industry

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a unilateral trade policy concession governing United States and sub-Saharan Africa trade and investment relations. AGOA enhances US market access for 40 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, including South Africa. Signed into law by the US Congress in May 2000, AGOA has been renewed several times and is now set to expire in September 2015.

With the review of AGOA currently underway, this seminar, will bring together the region's foremost trade think tanks (i.e. South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), TIPS and trade law centre (Tralac); industry leaders and key government officials, to discuss and engage the impact of AGOA and what this unilateral dispensation means for South Africa.  Specifically, the session will provide an overview of AGOA's policy successes and challenges and engage participants on AGOA's impact on South Africa's competitiveness, with specific focus on the citrus and automotive sectors.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

José Gabriel Palma is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Economics, Cambridge University. He has a D. Phil in Economics from Oxford University, a PHD from Cambridge University (by incorporation) and a D. Phil in Political Science from Sussex University.  He worked during the Government of Salvador Allende in the nationalisation of the copper industry, and after his graduate work in the UK he worked as a lecturer at the universities of London, Sussex, Oxford and Cambridge. He has published articles and books dealing with the economics of developing countries, with a strong focus on Latin America and Asia. He has also written extensively on inequality, financial liberalisation and financial crises, industrial policy, the history of ideas in development economics and politics, and Latin American economic history.

Document can be found at: http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/dae/repec/cam/pdf/cwpe1111.pdf

Green Economy Coalition

TIPS joined the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) in 2013.

The GEC is a diverse set of organisations and sectors including non-governmental organisations, research institutes, UN organisations, business and trade unions. Its vision is of a resilient economy that provides a better quality of life for all within the ecological limits of the planet. Its mission is to accelerate the transition to a new green economy.

The GEC is governed by a Steering Group which meets every month to discuss strategy and management, and is coordinated by a small secretariat based at the offices of the International Institute for Environment and Development.

www.greeneconomycoalition.org

Research Collaborative: Tracking Private Climate Finance

Susan Newman currently holds the position of lecturer in international economics at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University of Rotterdam. Her main research interests include the political economy of post-apartheid industrial development in South Africa, the relationship between financial and physical markets for commodities, and the relationship between finance and the restructuring of production. She holds a visiting position at the University of the Witwatersrand and has contributed to industrial policy research for the South African Department of Trade and Industry and the Gauteng Department of Economic Development.

Samantha Ashman is currently a Post- Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg. She is also a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her research interests include the financialization of the global economy and its implications; the relationship between real and financial accumulation; the evolution of South Africa's Minerals Energy Complex; and Industrial Policy.

Sheila Farrell is an experienced international ports consultant who has undertaken around 120 port consulting assignments in more than 50 countries, most of them concerned with port economics and finance, tariff setting, port reform and privatisation, and regulation.  Several of the projects have been linked to the development of port-related industries. She has over 40 years of experience of port and shipping consultancy. As well as working as a port consultant, she is also a Visiting Professor in Port Operations Research at Imperial College London. She is a member of an EU-funded multi-national group of academics undertaking a four year research programme into improving the effectiveness of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in transport, and has written two books on the subject of financing transport infrastructure.  She also writes and teaches on economic and financial issues relating to ports.

Abstract

CDI's Context of Public Primary Education Research Project is an extension of this South African Community Capability Study, in that it further zooms into the education dimension within communities by investigating its relationship to formal schooling in its location. Part of this project attention is paid to the Community Work Programme (CWP) that is implementing its meaningful work for basic income intervention in certain schools, including in four of the communities in the study. This report presents the findings of the perceptions and experiences of public primary schools that are beneficiaries of the CWP as well as the experiences of CWP participants' in working in public primary schools.

About the speaker

Melani Prinsloo is a founding member of the Centre for Democratising Information (CDI), where she undertakes the strategic leadership of the organisation as a whole. CDI has positioned itself as a significant and unique research entity – operating a community-based research platform focussing on under-developed communities. CDI and Infusion's clients include Department of Basic Education, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Health, Business Trust, SoulCity, Finmark Trust, Standard Bank, FNB, African Life, Sanlam, Metropolitan, Shoprite, Vodacom, Microsoft, MultiChoice, Financial Services Board and more. CDI aims to address the shortage of reliable, detailed information on under-developed by training unemployed people from communities to act as information agents, gathering data for surveys designed to investigate the context in which people live and make their decisions. A significant part of Melani's role is to identify and manage a network of people who engage on these research projects to ensure that each project is supported by a suitable, relevant and well-aligned team.