The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Developmental Regionalism: A Handbook

By Faizel Ismail

This handbook is intended to provide negotiators, policymakers and other stakeholders with an overview of the theory and implementation of the AfCFTA and regional integration in Africa, and to raise questions that could facilitate discussion and dialogue by all stakeholders at the country, Regional Economic Community and African Union levels. It is also about ideas and values and the importance of critical thinking when considering appropriate policies for the development of the African continent. This is particularly important as African countries accelerate the process of structural transformation and industrialisation of Africa.

It is envisaged that this manual will become a building block and point of reference. In this context a few questions are raised after each chapter to stimulate questions for discussion and learning.

Professor Faizel Ismail is the Director of the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town. He has a PhD in Politics from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom (2015); an MPhil in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex (1992), and BA and LLB Degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg) in South Africa (1981 and 1985). He has served as the Ambassador Permanent Representative of South Africa to the WTO (2010-2014). He was also South Africa's Special Envoy on the South Africa-USA AGOA negotiations between January 2015 and June 2016. He is the author of three books on the WTO: Mainstreaming Development in the WTO: Developing Countries in the Doha Round (2007) and Reforming the World Trade Organization: Developing Countries in the Doha Round (2009). His latest book was published by the South Centre and TIPS: WTO Reform and the crisis of multilateralism: A Developing Country Perspective (2020).

Download a copy for read online The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Developmental Regionalism: A Handbook 

Published by Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies

This FDI Tracker presents an analysis of foreign investment projects captured in Q3 and Q4 of 2020. It covers two quarters due to low investment activity in Q3 2020 combined with general delays in the release of company and aggregated data, such as those which inform the investment environment analysis. The slowdown in economic activity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted global investment throughout 2020; however, as strict lockdown regulations were eased in the latter half of the year and the South African economy began to gradually resume operations, investment activity appeared to increase again. A crucial driver of the rise in investment projects in Q4 2020 was the South African Investment Conference held in November 2020 where a number of foreign investment pledges were made. In the report, investments from the conference and those announced separate from the conference are distinguished when relevant. A total of 37 projects were recorded over the two quarters with nine projects identified in Q3 2020 and 28 projects in Q4 2020.

Download the FDI Tracker or read online

Media

Press release: South Africa’s manufacturing sector gets a boost of foreign direct investment

South Africa's manufacturing sector gets FDI boost, TIPS Trcker finds - By Tasneem Bulbulia, Engineering News, 26 May

South Africa’s robust third quarter recovery in merchandise exports continued in the fourth quarter of 2020, growing at an even faster pace by 16.6% (quarter-on-quarter), amounting to R412 billion. The decline in imports moderated to -6.3%, amounting to R307 billion, in constant rand terms compared to the -19.6% decline in Q3 2020 (quarter-on-quarter). The fourth quarter of 2020 recorded a trade balance of R104 billion (US$6.7 billion), marking South Africa’s seventh straight quarter trade surplus. 

In US dollar terms, merchandise exports were up by 13.4% (quarter-on-quarter) to US$26.4 billion, while imports declined by 8.9% in Q4 2020 to US$19.7 billion. Taking into account the COVID-19 containment measures and possible effectiveness of the mass vaccination programmes being implemented in most countries globally, and the ongoing surge in metals prices, South Africa’s export performance is expected to continue on a steady growth path.

Download a copy of the Export Tracker or read online

The Import Localisation and Supply Chain Disruption study is a quarterly report that seeks to identify goods from the list of imports identified in the Import Tracker report that South Africa could possibly viably manufacture. Each quarter focuses on five manufactured items from the list of imports in the corresponding quarter's Import Tracker report. The five products in this report are:

Product 1: Semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed
Product 2: Parts for boring or sinking machinery
Product 3: Medical instruments and appliances
Product 4: Parts and accessories of printers, copying machines and facsimile machines
Product 5: Oilcake and other solid residues from the extraction of soyabean oil

See: Import Tracker - Fourth Quarter 2020

The purpose of these Terms of Reference is to develop a forest product roadmap with a specific focus on:

• Addressing the use of timber and engineered timber products in the built environment;
• Identifying and promoting the development of short- and long-term efficient bio-refineries technology innovation opportunities to drive forestry sector competitiveness and productivity improvement in the emerging market sectors of bio-based chemicals, materials and bio-energy
• Identification, development and commercialization of products
• Human capacity building on efficient forest products development and utilization technologies.

You can download a copy of the full ToR document or read it online.

Closing Date: 11 June 2021 at 16h00

Proposals should be sent to Trade & Industrial Policy Research Strategies (TIPS) for the attention of Ms. Daphney Mabuza (daphney@tips.org.za)

This handbook by Faizel Ismail is intended to provide negotiators, policymakers and other stakeholders with an overview of the theory and implementation of the AfCFTA and regional integration in Africa, and to raise questions that could facilitate discussion and dialogue by stakeholders at the country, Regional Economic Community and African Union levels. Download a copy. 

The African Programme on Rethinking Development Economics (Aporde) and the South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARChI Industrial Development) are delighted to announce the inaugural Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in African Political Economy and Economic Development. This prize is to be awarded annually to recognise outstanding research papers by African scholars. A second award, the Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Young Scholars in African Political Economy and Economic Development, is specifically for young researchers.

The call is now open for submissions for the 2021 award. Submissions close on 30 June 2021.

The awards:

Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in African Political Economy and Economic Development

• The author/s of the winning submission will receive an award of $6 000 and a certificate. There are no conditions attached to the utilisation of the prize.
• The winner/s will be invited to present the winning paper at Aporde, and to attend any lectures of interest.

Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Young Scholars in African Political Economy and Economic Development

• The author/s of the winning submission will receive an award of $2 000 and a certificate. There are no conditions attached to the utilisation of the prize.
• The winner/s will automatically be invited to attend Aporde 2021 (should they not already be Aporde alumni).
• Should the winner/s wish, they will receive mentorship from a leading scholar linked to Aporde, on preparing the research for publication.

The winners will be announced in early August. The decisions of the selection committees are final and no correspondence will be entered into. The selection committees reserve the right not to make awards.

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Quality of the research (in particular: originality and contribution to knowledge, rigour, and clarity and coherence).
2. Alignment with the theme of African political economy and economic development, and with the intellectual legacy of Thandika Mkandawire.

Eligibility:

1. Authors must be citizens of an African country.
2. For the Young Scholars award, applicants must be under 35 years of age as of 30 June 2021.
3. Submissions may be co-authored, with no more than two authors in total. In the case of co-authored submissions, both authors must meet the citizenship eligibility criterion, and the age criterion in the case of the Young Scholars
4. The research may be published or unpublished. If already published, it should not have been published before 2020.
5. All submissions should be between 8-9 000 words in total, inclusive of all references, footnotes/endnotes, abstract, tables and figures, and appendices.
6. Papers may be from any relevant disciplinary background and may use any methodological approach.

Submissions must include the following:

1. Original research paper, in word format, without any identifying information (such as names of authors or acknowledgments), with word length strictly as per the above.
2. A signed cover page stating: the title of the paper; names and contact details of author/s; abstract; acknowledgments; total word length; an indication of which award the submission is for; a declaration that the paper is an original piece of research; and details of publication (where papers have already been published). The cover page should be signed by both authors in the case of co-authored submissions.
3. CVs of all authors.
4. Copy of passport or national identity document for each author

Submissions should be sent to koketsom@uj.ac.za by the closing date of 30 June 2021. No late, incomplete or non-compliant applications will be considered.

About Professor Thandika Mkandawire

Thandika Mkandawire (1940-2020) was a Malawian political economist who made fundamental contributions to thinking around African economic development. He held various positions, including as Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and Executive Secretary of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). At the time of his passing, he held a Chair at the London School of Economics, having previously been a professor at universities in Zimbabwe and Sweden. He passed away in Sweden, where he had lived for many years.

As the reality of a coal transition and coal power decommissioning draw nearer, South Africa’s just transition plan is both urgent and glaringly absent. There is a pressing need to manage the impacts of the transition on workers and local economic development, particularly in coal-dependent regions and affected communities. A credible fact base is required, from which to make appropriate and broadly supported decisions. In this conceptual clearing, several specific political consensuses must be brokered to enable policy design and implementation as well as investment for a green and just transition. This policy brief speaks to the current policy vacuum, proposing steps to address it. First, it considers the implications of the coal transition for employment in South Africa, with reference to national policy and available research. It then seeks to characterise the key issues, points of contestation, and the current just transition/ employment policy vacuum. Finally, recommendations for the facilitation of shared understanding and consensus-building are outlined.

Dowload Policy Brief or read online

Presentations

Neva Makgetla  - Senior Economist, TIPS

Presentation: The pandemic and the economy in southern Africa

Klaus Schade - Independent Economic Analyst in Namibia

Presentation: The economic impact of Covid-19 on  SADC: The Namibian experience

Gibson Chigumira - Executive Director, Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (ZEPARU)

Presentation: Synopsis of COVID-19 situation and policy responses in Zimbabwe

Itumeleng Mokoena - Intern, TIPS

Presentation: The COVID-19 pandemic and the economy in Southern Africa: Botswana's response

Additional Research

The COVID-19 pandemic and the economy in Southern Africa

Media

Tourism bears brung of Covid-19 pandemic across SADC - researchers (Lameez Omarjee, Fin 24, 21 May 2021)

Southern African countries' Covid-19 economic recovery rapid – TIPS (Donna Slater, Engineering News, 19 May 2021)

Press release

COVID-19 leaves SADC poor worse off

This Development Dialogue takes place in the context of the SA-TIED programme. It provides an overview of the economic impact on SADC, and then unpack the specific issues impacting on Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.