Tag: Business

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has observed that removing barriers and deepening trade integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), will increase trade flow among African countries by 53 per cent.

The Fund also observed that removing trade and non-trade tariff bottlenecks will lead to an increase in the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of the median African country of more than 10 per cent.

'This result resonates with findings in the literature that trade reforms could help reduce extreme poverty by an additional 30-50 million people across the continent,' the IMF observed in its Trade Integration in Africa paper.

The paper was launched in Kenya on Friday on the theme: 'Unleashing the Continent's Potential in a Changing World'.

Intra Africa trade is about 16 per cent at present.

It noted that: 'Greater trade integration can help the continent take advantage of the opportunities provided by technological change and demographic trends and enhance its resilience to shocks such as climate change and geopolitical fragmentation.'

Speaking at launch and the discussion of the outcome of the research paper, Madam Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF said: 'If the African

Continental Free Trade Area agreement is implemented, trade barriers removed, non-trade barriers removed, and logistics and transportation is improved upon on the continent, intra continental trade can grow by 53 per cent. Trade outside the continent can grow by 15 per cent, and this translates into tremendous benefits in terms of increase in income - 10 per cent increase in real income.'

She, therefore, urged African governments to work collaboratively with all trade and development stakeholders and financial institutions to bring down trade barriers from six per cent to one per cent.

She said that: 'Even more important is the removal of non-trade barriers' and urged that Africa used trade as an engine for integration in the global supply chains and make regional supply chains vibrant, and diversify its economy.

Madam Georgieva said that when African countries traded amongst themselves, the more, they would deepen specialisation, which was a boost to productivity and diversification.

On her part, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), said that recovering from the recent global economic challenges and chain supply vulnerabilities required strengthening of global trade.

'At this particular time, making the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement work is important so that we can strengthen our regional economic activity with each other,' she said.

She noted that the cost of the continent trading with the outsider cost the equivalent to a tariff of 350 per cent, which was one and half times larger than what you would find in developed countries, while intra-trade was equivalent to a 435 per cent tariff.

The WTO Director-General urged that the cost of trade was reduced to actualise the good implementation of the continental free trade area.

'At the WTO, we're supporting it [AfCFTA implementation]; we've spent about pound 4 million in the past three years to help different countries build capacity to implement the protocols,' Dr Okonjo-Iweala said.

The AfCFTA trade pact is one of the flagship projects of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, with the goal of significantly boosting intra-Africa trade, value-added production and trade across all sectors of Africa's economy.

Currently, 55 African countries have signed on to the free trade pact, out of which, 46 of them have ratified the agreement.

It is expected to be the world's largest free trade area by population (1.3 billion) and with a combined GDP of $3 trillion.

To make this a reality reduce poverty and improve the living conditions of the African population and make the continent prosperous, the report recommends that Africa invests in physical and human capital, and have a robust macroeconomic and business environment conducive to private sector-led growth.

The report also calls for a modernised social safety net that support the most vulnerable during the transition to a higher growth trajectory, and enhance vocational training and job search assistance during the transition.

It notes that improvements in the trade environment would boost Africa's trade with the rest of the world, making exports from Africa to the rest of the world would grow by 29 per cent, and imports from the rest of the world by seven per cent.

'While trade integration would eventually lift the income levels of all countries in the continent, it is important to be mindful that the pace of progress may differ across countries and the impacts on households and workers may vary,' the report underscores.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) has been named the mobile operator with the fastest internet speed in Namibia for the third and fourth quarters of 2022, according to user-initiated tests done on Speedtest by Ookla.

Ookla, a global leader in mobile and broadband network intelligence, testing tools, and solutions, compared 93,908 user-initiated tests performed on various Speedtest iOS and Android mobile applications connected to a mobile or fixed network, including tests performed on mobile phones via Wi-Fi.

MTC Chief Technical and Information Officer Monica Nehemia in a press release on Thursday said MTC received a Speed Score of 22.13, indicating that it provides quicker internet speeds to its subscribers than other major mobile providers.

During the review period, the digital enabler also reached the greatest download speeds of 73.96mbps and upload speeds of 53.67mbps in Windhoek, she said.

This new award serves as validation that the digital enabler's efforts to provide superior internet services to the customers have been acknowledged and are on the right track.

“It amplifies the ethos of MTC and speaks to our route to creating sustainable value for all our stakeholders through innovative digital solutions and a high-performance culture. If anything, it only says that we are on the right path and our work here continues to be recognized,” she said.

MTC Managing Director Licky Erastus stated that the mobile operator aspires to ensure that every person in Namibia has access to and enjoys the benefits of a modern connected world, and thus it continues to invest in its network with the latest technologies to ensure that these services are delivered to its customers in a quality manner.

“MTC Namibia has invested N.dollars 1. 2 billion (approximately US$ 66 million) since 2017 with the hope of expanding its geographical network coverage to at least 90 per cent countrywide,” he stated.

Ookla CEO Doug Suttles was quoted saying in the statement that the awards are an elite designation reserved for the fastest and top-performing fixed broadband and mobile operators around the world.

“This recognition is a testament to their exceptional performance in Q3-Q4 2022 based on Ookla’s rigorous analysis of consumer-initiated tests taken with Speedtest,” he said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) has graduated 4,335 individuals, who completed its digital skills training project.

The Digital Transformation Centres Project targets the youth and women entrepreneurs, providing them with knowledge in basic ICT and tech-based platforms to aid their development within a growing digital environment.

The three-year project is being supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and has a target of about 14,000 beneficiaries.

Mr. Prince Ofosu Sefa, Chief Executive Officer of GIFEC, addressing the national climax of the project at the Ho Digital Transformation Centre, said the programme would enroll its last batch, whose graduation is expected to increase the number of beneficiaries to more than 17,000.

He commended partners and stakeholders, including international IT organisation Cisco for the success of the initiative, adding that several expert trainers and trainers had been produced.

Beneficiaries were trained in Cisco-certified basic and intermediate ICT courses and were charged to make the most of the skills acquired in transforming themselves and society.

'I would like to urge all participants across the country to capitalise on the skills acquired through this rare opportunity, to enhance your businesses, employability and your lives in general, for economic benefits,' Mr Ofosu Sefa stated.

He said the investment fund, in its two decades of existence, had won several feats within its mandate of deepening access to communication technology, and that together with its partners, the impacts would be sustained.

Mr. Alex Boamah of the International Telecommunications Union, which also is a major partner to the project, said participants had been equipped with digital entrepreneurship skills and could utilise social media and other web-based platforms to explore opportunities within the expansive world market.

He said beneficiaries had the power to surf the web to enrich their knowledge while their visibility as entrepreneurs improved.

Mrs. Cynthia Mamle Morrison, Member of Parliament, and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communication, said participants should realise the essence of the training and seek to elevate themselves and industry.

She called on young industrialists to consider working as groups and cooperatives, saying strength in numbers helped survive a complex and dynamic modern marketplace.

Mr. Divine Bosson, Ho Municipal Chief Executive, said the government had designed the programme to address the skills gap while it pursued a total digitisation agenda.

'The digital age is coming, and we must adjust to the transformation agenda,' he said, adding that beneficiaries in the Municipality would find use within the widely promoted oxygen city project.

Togbe Kasa III, Divisional Chief of Ho Ahoe, said the initiative was 'a critical component of economic transformation and growth, and that graduates should be able to use the skills and tech acquired to 'give meaningful change' in their communities.

Some beneficiaries shared stories of the training impact, with some getting the enlightenment to explore new entrepreneurial pathways, while others including a female security officer, appreciated the knowledge acquired in cyber security.

The Volta Region has 10 out of 155 training centres across the country. The trainees were awarded certificates at the graduation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday commissioned the Kia automobile assembly plant in Ghana, urging the vehicle manufacturer to work towards making their products affordable to the local consumer.

Set up by Rana Motors Limited, a local licensed dealer for the South Korean automobile company, the plant, situated at Amasaman near Accra, will assemble various Kia brands for Ghana and the West African markets.

At a ceremony, President Akufo said the opening of the plant was a major boost for Ghana's industrial transformation agenda.

He said the development would enable his government to achieve its vision to make the country a fully integrated and competitive industrialised hub of the automotive industry in West Africa.

The President said the establishment of the plant had been made possible by the conscious initiative of his administration to attract investment in the automotive sector under the Ghana Automotive Development Policy initiated by the Government.

He said the government would pursue policies that would stimulate patronage of locally assembled vehicles.

Kia is the fourth largest global vehicle manufacturer. The company joins other global car brands including Toyota-Suzuki, Nissan, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Sinotruck, and Ghana's indigenous brand Kantanka, who have already established assembly plants in the country.

Noting that the critical component for harnessing the full potential of the automotive industry was a demand for assembled vehicles, President said the

government was developing policies that would enable ordinary citizens to acquire locally assembled vehicles.

'As you may all be aware, I have directed the Chief of Staff at the office of the President, the prioritization of the procurement of domestically assembled vehicles by state institutions to fulfil the government's commitment to patronizing made-in-Ghana products.

'We are, however, mindful of the fact that the state alone cannot purchase the sufficient numbers of vehicles to be produced from our assembly plants and will thus require Ghanaians also patronise these vehicles', he said.

Consequently, the government, the President disclosed, would soon roll out an asset-based vehicle financing scheme, as pertained in other developed climes, to stimulate the demand for domestically assembled vehicles.

'We have also shown commitment by implementing the zero-rating of VAT on the sale of domestically assembled vehicles. This means that there is no VAT on the sale of domestically assembled vehicles even to the end user to make domestically assembled vehicles affordable,' he said.

President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that he had charged the finance minister to submit to Parliament the required legislative instruction proposing the implementation start date of the Customs Amendment Act (2020).

He said the implementation of those outstanding provisions would trigger the full implementation of the Ghana automotive development policy and drive further investment into the industry.

The President also disclosed that the trade and industry minister would soon submit to Cabinet for approval the Ghana automotive component manufacturing policy (ACMP), outlining incentives to attract investors into the component manufacturing sector.

The policy, he stated, would also support artisans at Suame in Kumasi, Kokompe in Accra, and other enclaves to upgrade their capacity to fit in the automotive industry.'

President Akufo-Addo expressed hope that the incentives granted to Rana Motors would translate into competitive pricing of vehicles for the Ghanaian consumer.

'We look forward to the transitioning of this assembly plant into a fully integrated vehicle production plant in Ghana,' he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

President Hage Geingob has paid tribute to workers for the crucial role they play in advancing socio-economic development and shared prosperity for the Namibia people.

Geingob in a statement on the occasion of the annual International Workers Day on Monday said the fight for freedom in Namibia has its origins in the demands of workers for fair labour practices and better working conditions for the black majority.

He said during the liberation struggle, Workers Day, was an occasion for the oppressed workers of Namibia to unite and sharpen their resolve to accelerate their fight against the Apartheid regime and to break the chains of oppression.

“Workers are a precious resource in the history and development of our nation,” he said, noting that 33 years after independence, working in a triumvirate that includes government, trade unions and the private sector, Namibia has made good progress in advancing workers' rights, consistent with the letter and spirit of the Namibian Constitution as a foundation of the Namibian House.

“I urge all stakeholders to deliver on their mandate of upholding and protecting workers' rights and interests by promoting sound labour relations and fair employment practices. In accordance with our processes, systems and institutions, employers should promote conducive working environments and fair benefits for workers,” he stated.

Geingob further called on stakeholders to engage in good faith in collective bargaining to mitigate the impact of the economic downturn on workers, noting that those bargaining for workers' rights should at all times resolve labour disputes in a spirit that advances the interests of the country.

Geingob also highlighted that as the world is rapidly changing, and with it the future of work, through the intensification of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), Robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence, more demands are placed on Namibian workers to retool and reskill.

“By establishing the 4IR Task Force in 2021, which has since completed its work by making recommendations to prepare Namibia for the 4IR, I urge the private sector and trade unions to accompany the Namibian government in preparing workers for the future of work,” he said.

The Head of State went on to say that government remains conscious of the fact that unemployment disproportionately affects the youth and the unskilled and assured that it will continue to create a conducive environment for jobs to be created.

To succeed in that endeavour, the private sector must be a major driving force in reducing unemployment, which is an important pillar in the fight against poverty.

The day was held under the theme, 'Workers United in ensuring productivity for National Economic Growth and Guarding against Unfair Labour Practices in the World of Work’.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency