Rwanda, one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, has called on the United States government to grant easier access to traders from across Africa doing business with America market under the renewed African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The East African nation is one of the beneficiaries of AGOA, the signature trade initiative by the US government to allow at least 7000 products from 39 nations in Sub Saharan Africa to America market duty-free.
“The process of acquiring visas remains lengthy even if we qualify through that trade window (AGOA). This doesn’t look good for companies seeking to make use of that market,” The New Times quoted Joselyne Bazubagira, the head of products at Kaliza Fashion and Design, a clothing company from Rwanda.
Erica Barks-Ruggles, the US Ambassador to Rwanda said that the US government has been trying to ease visa acquisition for AGOA traders.
The two spoke when Trade and Industry officials from Rwanda and the US launched the renewed AGOA action plan in Kigali, the country’s capital, on Tuesday.
AGOA, which builds existing U.S. trade programs by expanding duty-free benefits previously available only under the country’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, was introduced in 2000 by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
The 15 year treaty was renewed last September by President Barrack Obama, AFKInsider reported.
AGOA Review
In the review, US President Obama added 27 products to the list of duty-free imports into American market from the region, in June this year. The products included clothes, footwear, agricultural products, chemicals, steel and motor vehicle parts among others.
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Rand outshines global currencies
Johannesburg – The rand advanced 1.6% to 13.6886 against the dollar by 17:36 in Johannesburg, its strongest level on a closing basis since October 27 and the best performance among 31 global currencies.
The rand also led gains against the British pound, gaining 3% to 17.9807 after the Bank of England cut its main lending rate to the lowest on record as it tries to support the UK economy against fallout from Brexit. The move is likely to drive investors to high-yielding emerging market assets, such as South Africa’s bonds.
“The search for global yields is continuing and the rand has been a major benefactor of it,” said Wichard Cilliers, a trader at Treasuryone in Pretoria. “South Africa is a very liquid currency, the election is going smoothly too, that’s all benefiting the rand.”
The unit returned 1.3% in the carry trade, the most in the world and nearly three times the next-best currency, the Australian dollar, rewarding investors who buy riskier assets with money borrowed from countries with lower rates.
Orderly elections for municipal leaders held on Wednesday boosted sentiment toward South Africa, with the opposition Democratic Alliance increasing its share of the vote while the ruling African National Congress’ majority narrowed.
With about 70% of results in, the DA was leading in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and running neck-in-neck with the ANC in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
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Tough Visa Rules Are Locking Traders Out Of AGOA, Rwanda Tells U.S.
Rwanda, one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, has called on the United States government to grant easier access to traders from across Africa doing business with America market under the renewed African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The East African nation is one of the beneficiaries of AGOA, the signature trade initiative by the US government to allow at least 7000 products from 39 nations in Sub Saharan Africa to America market duty-free.
“The process of acquiring visas remains lengthy even if we qualify through that trade window (AGOA). This doesn’t look good for companies seeking to make use of that market,” The New Times quoted Joselyne Bazubagira, the head of products at Kaliza Fashion and Design, a clothing company from Rwanda.
Erica Barks-Ruggles, the US Ambassador to Rwanda said that the US government has been trying to ease visa acquisition for AGOA traders.
The two spoke when Trade and Industry officials from Rwanda and the US launched the renewed AGOA action plan in Kigali, the country’s capital, on Tuesday.
The 15 year treaty was renewed last September by President Barrack Obama, AFKInsider reported.
AGOA Review
In the review, US President Obama added 27 products to the list of duty-free imports into American market from the region, in June this year. The products included clothes, footwear, agricultural products, chemicals, steel and motor vehicle parts among others.
Source
ANC Takes A Beating In South African Election. Can Zuma Hold On To Power?
With about 85 percent of the vote counted, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress — the party that ended apartheid — is ahead nationwide but is seeing its worst electoral performance since the end of white minority rule 22 years ago.
The main opposition Democratic Alliance party is on course to hold Cape Town and has pulled ahead in Port Elizabeth, with a close fight between the DA and the ANC in Pretoria and Johannesburg, AFP reported.
The ANC has won more than 60 percent of the vote at every election since the country’s first democratic vote in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president.
Late Tuesday, the ANC recorded 54 percent of the vote, down from 62 percent in the 2011 municipal elections. The Democratic Alliance recorded 27 percent and the Economic Freedom Fighters, 7 percent, according to official results.
“We have shown some incredible growth,” Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane told 702 radio, BBC reported. “We call this the change election because we felt that it was a referendum on Jacob Zuma as a national figure, but we also had a referendum about the future of South Africa.”
The count is seen as an indication of how the next general election could turn out, Al Jazeera reported.
The poll is a mid-term comment on the performance of President Jacob Zuma, who has been the subject of scandals since taking office in 2009, and has been plagued by the country’s economic crises.
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The Zuma effect
BLUSTERY winter weather settled over South Africa on August 3rd as voters handed the ruling African National Congress a sharply diminished share of the vote in local-government elections, the most competitive polls since the end of apartheid. As The Economist went to press, incomplete results showed that the ANC had slid from 63% in the 2011 local polls (it won 62% in the 2014 national election) to around 52%. The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) appeared on track to boost its support to above 30%, up from 24% in 2011 and 22% in 2014. For Mmusi Maimane, 36, who only last year became the first black leader of what is still viewed as a white party, these results are a vote of confidence.
The populist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), under the young firebrand Julius Malema, looked likely to match the 6.5% of the vote they received in 2014, the first election the party contested. This will be a big disappointment for Mr Malema, who had hoped to triple the EFF’s tally by appealing to disgruntled young ANC supporters with promises of nationalising mines and seizing white-owned land.
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