Trade Facilitation to promote Intra-African Trade

Committee on Regional Cooperation and Integration

Fourth Session

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
24-25 March 2005

Introduction

Generally, there is a tendency for policy analysis by researchers and policy makers to focus more on policy than natural barriers to trade. However, recent evidence suggests that natural barriers may in general, and certainly in some African countries, be a more important source of trade cost than trade policy, and may well be a significant contributing reason for the sluggish response to trade liberalization in Africa (see box 1 for trade barriers). Indeed a study reported by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), (2004), indicates that for the majority of sub Saharan African countries, transport cost incidence for exports (the share of international shipping costs in the value of trade) is five times higher than tariff cost incidence (the trade weighted ad valorem duty actually paid)

It is increasingly being realized that tariffs, quotas and other trade policies are only one element of the overall cost of trade and that efforts to improve customs procedures, minimize the trade distorting impact of standards and reduce transport costs may have higher payoff than reciprocal reductions in overt trade policy barriers, because logistical, institutional and regulatory barriers are often more costly and generate no offsetting revenue (World Bank, 2005).

For instance, Milner, Morrissey and Rudaheranwa (2001) calculated and compared the effective protection of imports, and implicit tax on exports, due to transport costs, to the protection due to trade policy barriers for Uganda. The results of their investigation revealed that natural protection on domestic sales arising from transport costs was high, being equivalent to an effective rate of protection of 48% on average in 1994 (about a quarter higher than protection due to trade policy). They also found that the implicit tax associated with transport costs was as high as 100% for manufactured goods, almost 40% for food products, almost 25% for coffee, cotton and tea, and about 25% for fish.

However, transport costs are only one of the transaction costs associated with trade. If other constraints, such as market information and reliable utilities such as electricity and telecommunications, could be quantified, the implicit taxation of exporters associated with transaction costs would be even higher. Therefore, while trade policy reforms are important to improve incentives and encourage efficiency, they would be more effective if transaction costs resulting from natural barriers are also lowered.

Indeed, the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK), (2003), attributes recent growth in value of intra-African trade (an increase in the rate of growth in value from 4.7% in 2002 to about 13.5% in 2003, and in the share of intra-African trade in total African trade to 9.6 in 2003 compared to 9.1% in 2002 and 9.5% in 2001) to improvement in shipping and air-links between southern and west Africa; pursuit of external trade and payment reforms; and reduction in tariff and non-tariff barriers to intra-African trade aided by more intense pursuit of regional integration. Other contributing factors to the growth in intra-African trade, according to AFREXIMBANK, include the increasing competitiveness of some African exports (in African markets) arising from improved intra-African trade infrastructure and better intra-African trade information flow.

Box 1:Policy and natural Barriers to Trade

Non-Tariff Barriers

Non-tariff barriers are the set of trade distorting measures and policies other than tariffs. In a narrow sense, non-tariff measures are quantitative restrictions that are explicitly recognized as trade barriers, such as quotas. In a broader sense non-tariff measures include unfair measures or misuse of policies such as technical barriers to trade and unfair government policies. Other non-tariff barriers include illegal practices and violations of the current multilateral trade legislation.

Potential fields were non-tariff barriers arising from technical requirements could be found include Custom Valuation, which comprises the set of measures to check that the quality, price, origin, and other features of imports are in accordance with the information provided by foreign exporters; sanitary and phytosanitary measures, which are measures to protect human, plant and animal health and safety (for example, to ensure that food is safe for consumers, and to prevent the spread of pests or disease among animals and plants); and technical barriers to trade, which include technical regulations and standards that set out specific characteristics of a product - such as its size, shape, design, functions and performance, or the way it is labeled or packaged before it is put on sale.

Natural Barriers

The distinction between policy and "natural" or non-policy barriers is not unambiguous, but natural barriers include: transport-related trade costs; infrastructure-induced increases in trade costs; additional trade costs induced by inefficient/excessive bureaucracy; and extra trade costs induced by uncompetitive trade-related services. In a general sense, natural barriers refer to all non-policy reasons why the same product can sell for different prices in different locations. They fall primarily into two categories: (i) transportation costs; and (ii) a variety of factors resulting in lack of information on the part of buyers or sellers. Transportation costs include all direct and indirect costs related to transport, storage and handling operations. The other factors reflect among other things, the impact of communication costs and the fact that different countries have different customs and trade regulations.

Man -made barriers

These are similar to non-tariff barriers, and encompass all policies which create or add to price differences. They include policies such as import restrictions, special incentives or restrictions on export, foreign exchange policies, preferential national treatment, etc. It also includes policies, which increase the costs imposed by natural barriers, such as regulations in the transportation and communications areas that keep prices of these services artificially high.

Source: ECA from official sources

The objective of this paper is to present an overview of the constraints to intra-African trade, focusing on natural barriers, and to examine efforts made so far by African countries and RECs to eliminate these barriers. Such barriers are sometimes referred to as supply side constraints, but they are generally discussed under the banner of trade facilitation (see box 2), and include the physical movement of consignment (transport and transit); (b) import and export procedures, including customs and border-crossing problems; (c) information and communication technology; (d) Payments, insurance and other financial requirements which affect cross-border movement of goods in international trade; and (e) International trade standards.

Section 2 of this paper discusses the different elements of trade facilitation, section 3 examines ongoing efforts to facilitate intra-African trade, section 4 discusses trade facilitation within the WTO framework, highlighting the challenges and possible benefits of multilateral negotiations to African countries, and section 5 provides recommendations for the way forward.

Box 2: Evolving definition and scope of trade facilitation

Although several attempts have been made to define trade facilitation, up to date no consensus has been reached on a standard definition.

In a narrow sense, trade facilitation efforts simply address the logistics of moving goods through ports or more efficiently moving documentation associated with cross-border trade. More recent definitions have been broadened to include the environment in which trade transactions take place, that is, the transparency and professionalism of customs and regulatory environments, as well as harmonization of standards and conformance to international or regional regulations.

For instance, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) defines trade facilitation as "the adoption of a comprehensive and integrated approach to simplifying and reducing the cost of international trade transaction, and ensuring that the relevant activities take place in an efficient, transparent and predictable manner based on internationally accepted norms and standards and best practices".

However, trade facilitation should not only be perceived as a "transportation or customs problem", but rather a broader issue, which straddles many aspects of weak capacities that exist in many developing countries, which inhibit their effective participation in international trade. This aspect is nowhere more true than in Africa. This notwithstanding, trade facilitation is not just the concern of developing countries. Indeed, developed countries are leading the clamor for trade facilitation measures in the WTO. Trade facilitation has become prominent among WTO issues because the international business community is increasingly demanding for greater transparency, efficiency, and procedural uniformity of cross-border transportation of goods; as well as the need for an efficient legal redress mechanism, proper co-ordination between customs and other inspection agencies, use of modern customs techniques and improvement of transit regimes.

Source: ECA from official sources

II. Key Issues Of Trade Facilitation

A. The Physical movement of consignment (transport and transit): High transport costs

Assessing Regional Integration in Africa (ARIA, 2004), an ECA flagship publication, shows that transport costs are high in Africa in general and in landlocked African countries in particular - averaging 14% of the value of exports compared to 8.6% for all developing countries - and higher still for many countries, such as Malawi (56%), Chad (52%) and Rwanda (48%) (see table 1).

Table 1: Transit costs in selected African countries and world groups, 2001

Source: ECA, 2004 (compiled from UNCTAD data)

Other studies also indicate that transport costs in Africa are the highest in the world. A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that the freight cost as a percentage of total import value was 13 percent for Africa in 2000 compared to 8.8 percent for developing countries and 5.2 percent for industrial countries. At the sub-regional level, the freight costs of West Africa as a percentage of total import value was 14 percent while those of East and Southern Africa, including the Indian Ocean region was 15.2 percent. The ratio of North Africa stood at 11 percent (UNCTAD 2002).

In practice, data on the costs of inland transport are extremely difficult to obtain, except for some specific case studies. Table 2 provides some examples of land transport costs for selected routes in Africa. The table shows large differentials in road transport costs across routes. An additional Kilometre on the route from Douala to N'djamena, for example, is three times more expensive than on the route from Maputo to Johannesburg (World Trade Organisation, 2004). Other studies also find large cost differentials across routes. For example, the cost of shipping from Durban to Lusaka, 1,600km away, is 2,500 dollars, whereas the cost of shipping from Durban to Maseru (Lesotho), only 347 kilometres, is 7,500 dollars (Limoa and Venables, 2001).

Table 2: Estimated unit transport costs for container and selected routes

Source: World Trade Report 2004

Relationship between transport cost and trade

Transport costs of high proportion of the value of goods result in an increase of consumer prices for imported goods, and undermine the competitiveness of exports in foreign markets. Overall high transport costs limit a country's participation in international trade. It is therefore not surprising that Africa in general and sub-Saharan Africa in particular that has the highest cost rates in the world also has the lowest share of international trade. In 2000, Africa's share of world export was only 2.7 percent and sub-Saharan Africa's share of export of goods fell from 1.9 to 1.4 percent during the 1990s (African Development Bank 2003).

The Economic Report on Africa (ECA, 2004) shows a strong negative impact of transport cost on trade, especially for landlocked countries. Keeping distance constant, transport costs for landlocked countries are on average US$ 2000 higher than for non-landlocked ones, an estimated 35% difference.

Other researchers have also been preoccupied by the impact of transport cost on trade. For example, a study by Limoa and Venables (2000), that used a sample of countries from Africa and the rest of the world, indicates that in general a 10 percent increase in transport cost will lead to a reduction in trade volumes by approximately 20 percent. They also compared the transport costs of land and sea leg of a journey, using data on the cost of transporting a standard container from Baltimore in the US to selected destinations, and found out that the former is around seven times more costly for the same distance. An extra 1,000 kilometers by sea adds on average US$190 whereas the same distance by land adds an average US$1,380 to transport costs. As a consequence, at a given distance, being landlocked increases transport costs and represents a disadvantage for trade (This is a significant finding for Africa that has 15 landlocked countries¹). The same study found that transport costs for intra-African trade are well over twice what they would be for trade within other regions of the developing world, and that nearly half of this cost premium is due to weak infrastructure. This paper therefore lays emphasis on the factors that contribute to high inland transport costs in Africa.

The factors that contribute to high transport costs in Africa include: (a) inadequate infrastructure network as mentioned elsewhere in this paper; and (b) inefficient transport operations.

Inadequate transport infrastructure

African countries recognized the importance of transport infrastructure in general and regional transport infrastructure networks in particular to their development prospects as far back as the 1960s, just after most of them attained their independence. As a result, several transport infrastructure development initiatives have emerged over the years. One of the most ambitious of these initiatives is the Trans African Highways network², conceived in the early 1970s.

However, several years after its conception, missing links still exist in the TAH network, especially at border areas. An analysis of 103 cross-border TAH links (TAH sections leading to border posts) shows that 33 % are unpaved roads in various conditions - good, fair and poor, 16% are paved roads in poor condition and 38% are paved roads in good or fair condition. This clearly illustrates the poor state of physical integration between African countries. This is significant to intra-African trade because the physical condition of cross-border links generally affects traffic levels and the quality of transport services between countries. Improved land transport linkages reduce transport costs, which in turn promote economic activity and cross-border trade.

Generally, using the missing TAH links as a measure of road integration, ECA (2004) shows in ARIA (flagship publication - Assessing Regional Integration in Africa) that there is a disparity in the level of physical integration across the continent (see table 3)

Table 3: Physical integration of RECs

Source: ECA, 2004

Overall, the road sub-sector in Africa is in a deplorable state. The total length of roads in the region is 2,064,613kilometres out of which only 29. 7 percent is paved, the remaining portion being either earth or gravel roads. In addition to its low density, distribution, and the fact that a large proportion is unpaved, a sizeable chunk of Africa's road network is in a state of disrepair. For instance, 34 percent of paved roads and 55 percent of unpaved roads in CEMAC were in poor condition in 1999. Similarly 34 percent of paved roads and 68 percent of unpaved roads in COMESA were in poor condition in the same period.

Empirical evidence suggests a strong correlation between the quality of road infrastructure and transport costs. For instance, road surveys in Tanzania designed to measure the impact of poor road condition found that over a 50 Kilometres distance, an increase in roughness of 50 percent would increase truck charges by 16 percent. It was also found that there were large changes in wet and dry season charges on poor quality roads. For example, on one of the surveyed roads, passenger fares increased by 60 percent in the wet season and freight charges increased by 65 percent (Ellis 1997). Similar figures were also found in Madagascar where on poor quality roads, wet season passenger fares were 70 percent higher than dry season fares (Ninnin, 1997).

Poor interconnection of Africa's railway networks increases delays in the transportation of goods

The African rail network is currently estimated to be about 89,380 km long, with a density of 2.96 km per 1,000 sq kms. Three railway gauges predominate in Africa, i.e. 1.067m, 1.000m, and 1.435m, thus causing limitations in the physical integration of the railway networks in various sub regions. The interconnections of the network is relatively poor especially in Central and Western Africa, and the available rolling stock is still very low compared to other regions of the world. Disjointed railway networks results in frequent loading and off-loading of goods, which increases delays and transport costs.

Relationship between infrastructure and trade

There is a direct relationship between infrastructure quality and trade. Poor infrastructure is reflected in higher direct transport costs and longer delivery time. An improvement in a country's infrastructure can make a big difference to the cost of trading. A study by Limoa and Venables (2001) shows that if a country's infrastructure improved such that the country moved from being at the mid-point (median) among 64 countries to being among the top 25 per cent of those countries, this would reduce transport costs by an amount equivalent to 481 kilometres of overland travel and 3,989 kilometres of travel by sea. It would also increase trade volumes by 68 per cent, which is equivalent to being 2,500 kilometres closer to other countries.

Exploring the potentials of air transport services

The inadequacy of land transport infrastructure and services in Africa provides an incentive to improve the efficiency of air transport in the continent. This is particularly relevant with regard to the enhancement of intra-Africa trade and the continent's trade with other regions of the world, especially for trade in fresh and high value products.

It should however be acknowledged that efforts have been made in recent years to improve the efficiency of air transport in Africa. For example, the Yamoussoukro Decision adopted in 1999 was major breakthrough in the sector. The Decision resulted in speeding up the liberalization of access to air transport market in Africa, and has also brought airport space management reforms. However efforts need to be made to ensure that the Decision is fully implemented.

Inefficient transport operations

Inefficiency of transport services is manifested in several ways including: high vehicle prices, poor market information, existence of transport cartels, poor knowledge of operating costs, poor operating practices, and poor routine maintenance, all of which lead to high vehicle operating costs and low vehicle utilisation. Transport operators usually transfer the burden of high vehicle operating costs to consumers by raising fares. Similarly, operators increase fares to offset low revenues due to low vehicle utilisation.

Numerous Roadblocks

The phenomenon of roadblocks poses a serious challenge to trade in Africa. It results in excessive delays and substantial increase in transport costs. The Economist (December 2002) reported 47 roadblocks between Douala and Bertoua in Cameroon, a distance of about 500kms. Nearly all ECOWAS member states also maintain numerous checkpoints, where drivers are sometimes subjected to administrative harassment and extortion (see table 4).

Table 4: Checkpoints along major ECOWAS highways

Source: ECOWAS Official Site (2003)

Payments at checkpoints include, among other things, various taxes, transit charges and bribes. Such payments also vary, with the type of vehicle, type of goods transported and nationality of transporter; and involve the police, customs officers, and gendarmes. Furthermore, while some of these checkpoints are legal, others are illegal.

According to the report of a review of the status of implementation of the Trans African Highways network, jointly commissioned by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (ADB) in mid-2002, the payment at checkpoints between Abidjan and Ouagadougou varies between 1,000 FCFA and 5,000 FCFA. On the Trans-Sahelien Highway between Ouagadougou and Niamey, a distance of 529 km, the payment by a loaded truck is estimated at about 100,000 FCFA, and on the Douala-Bangui road, a distance of 1450km, the total cost of passage is estimated to be between 250,000 FCFA and 300,000 FCFA. These examples illustrate a common reality facing transport in Africa.

The resultant loss of time and increase in vehicle operating costs from these stops are considerable. The trip from Bangui in the Central African Republic to Douala in Cameroon, which can be done in three days, usually takes between 7 to 10 days. A study on transit transport in ECOWAS in 1999 revealed that enormous amounts of time and money are wasted each year at checkpoints in the region. Overall, lost revenue was estimated at 2 billion FCFA.

Checkpoints are not limited to Western and Central African countries. Road users in Eastern Africa also suffer from the existence of numerous checkpoints. For example, there are 27 police controls between Mombassa in Kenya and the Ugandan border. Within Uganda, there are 4 checkpoints and 5 obligatory stop zones for transit vehicles.

Police escorts, limited use of containers and multimodal transport operations

Added to the numerous checkpoints is the risk of goods being diverted from their intended destination. To solve this problem, some countries such as Kenya and Cameroon have introduced a transit monitoring system in the form of police escorts. However, transport operators in Kenya complain bitterly about these escorts because they contribute to delays and result in additional costs - the police usually escorts convoys of trucks and the journey only begins when several trucks are ready to depart. Operators also have to pay for the security provided by these police escorts. A more efficient way of preventing the diversion of goods into the domestic market of transit countries could be the use of containers. Indeed, elsewhere in the world, the growth of containerization has given a new impetus to the door-to-door movement of goods under the responsibility of Multimodal Transport Operators (MTOs). MTOs represent an integrating factor of international transportation and, thus, for the expansion of trade since they ensure the non-interrupted flow of goods from origin to destination. However, the use of containers remains limited in Africa. For instance, in 2000, the total container traffic of African ports was only 11.5% higher than the traffic handled by the port of Rotterdam and equivalent to 40% of the traffic handled by the busiest container port in the World - Hong Kong, China (UNCTAD, 2003).

Variations in technical standards for vehicles

The proliferation of rules and regulations hampers international transportation of goods in Africa, as it leads to uncertainty and a multiplicity of forms and procedures. For instance, variations in approved technical standards for vehicles in different sub-regions of Africa block free competition between transport operators. Table 5 shows that if standards were applied, a 22 metres long truck operating in Nigeria a member State of ECOWAS would not be allowed to operate in neighbouring Cameroon a member State of CEMAC whose maximum allowable vehicle length is 18 metres. Similarly, transport operators would not be able to load their trucks to the maximum payload if they decide to do business across ECOWAS, CEMAC, COMESA since each of these sub regions apply different axle load and weight limits.

Table 5: Technical standards for vehicles in different Regional Economic Communities

NA is not available

Source: ECA from official sources.

Variation in transit charges

Transit charges constitute an additional burden for transport operators in Africa. At present, there are divergences in transit costs among member states in different African sub regions, resulting in lack of transparency and high road user charges. However, COMESA has taken the lead in the harmonization of transit charges at the sub regional level. In lieu of national levies imposed on transit traffic, the following charges have been adopted:

Rigid truck of up to 3 axles $6 per 100 kolometres

Truck Trailer/Semi trailer of more than 3 axles $10 per 100 kilometres

Large buses $ 5 per 100 kilometres

Problems related to crew members.

Agreements regulating transport operations at sub-regional level do not always take into account questions relating to crew members, i.e. the driver and apprentices. These employees are confronted with administrative problems concerning their documents (driving licenses, residence permits, work permits, etc). For COMESA and SADC countries, visas are not required for Commonwealth citizens, but for countries not belonging to this institution such as Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, crew members on vehicles in transit must pay each time for entry visas into those other countries. This constitutes a barrier to the free movement within the sub-region and increases transport costs.

B. Import and Export Procedures

The key problems that plague customs operations in African countries are well known and include, excessive documentary requirements; outdated official procedures; insufficient use of automated systems; lack of transparency, predictability and consistency in customs activities; and lack of modernization of, and cooperation among, customs and other governmental agencies.

Excessive documentary requirements and outdated official procedures

According to estimates by UNCTAD, on average customs transaction involves 20-30 different parties, 40 documents, 200 data elements 30 of which are repeated at least 30 times and the re-keying of 60-70 percent of all data at least once. Frequently, documentation requirements are ill-defined and traders are not adequately informed on how to comply with them, thus increasing the potential for errors. This problem is even worse at borders, especially as border posts and customs offices, in most cases, are physically separated. In essence, there are two complete sets of controls for each border post, with each having a multitude of forms and documents to be filled and checked.

Insufficient use of automated systems

The lack of or insufficient use of automated processes and information technology is a major source of delays, costs and inefficiencies, as paper documents are usually presented at the time of border crossing, and verification of the information submitted takes place at that time. African countries have recognized the need to simplify and speed up customs procedures by use of automated systems. The case of Tunisia Trade Net is a good example (Box 3). Other African countries have also introduced the use of the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA).

Box 3: National effort to speed up customs operations - The Tunisian experience

The Tunisia TradeNet (TTN) is an automated system that provides a one-stop trade documentation-processing platform connecting the principal actors of international trade. It serves as a tool for exchanging international trade documents, maritime community documents and other administrative documents; payment of documentary credits and settlement of duty taxes. It is also a tool for business transactions such as processing purchase orders, shipment and delivery bills, invoices and transfer orders. In terms of international financial transaction, the TTN facilitates the exchange of bills of lading between Tunisian banks and European banks. In addition, the TTN serves as a marketplace where offers and request are made and transactions processed.

Prior to the creation of TTN in February 2000, the complexity of trade documentation processing in Tunisia resulted in delays in clearance of goods for imports. For example, the vessel turn time in Tunis varied from 5 to 17 days, with an average of 8 days, and port facilities were often overloaded. This led to reduced competitiveness, spoilt resources and the prevalence of non-productive activities. TTN is expected to reduce shipment clearance to 3 days. Overall, it is estimated that TTN will result in a productivity gain of 7%.

TTN was created with equity of USD2 million and is jointly controlled by the state (85%) and the private sector (15%). Investment in the corporation that employs 40 personnel, including 20 engineers, is valued at USD3.5 million. The technical solution for the system was ready in April 2001, and in April 2002, the customs was ready for its use. Today, 100 subscribers use TTN. In the long run, 2000 companies are expected to use the system, with brokers being the main target.

The main challenge to its successful implementation is the unfamiliarity with its benefits on the part of customs agents and other professionals within the trade community. A customs training centre has been created to deliver courses to the principal actors in Tunisia's international trade.

Source: ECA, from official sources

Lack of transparency, predictability and consistency in customs activities

Lack of transparency and predictability is a major source of uncertainty as regards costs and time involved for international trade transactions. When the necessary information on applicable regulations is not readily available, trade operators have to spend resources in order to obtain information. Enterprises operating in an environment that is not transparent need to spend more resources to obtain regulatory information. Furthermore, they will frequently have to add expenses for bribes, penalties and administrative or judicial appeals. As these additional expenses do not usually vary according to the value of the goods or the volume of sales, they serve to increase the operational costs per unit and put firms in developing countries in a weaker position than larger firms.

The key facilitation problem is not the danger to effective controls posed by practices in which irregular payments can move goods through the strictest regulatory systems, or the extra unofficial charges levied on innocent as well as fraudulent traders, but rather the logical obligation to maintain unnecessary complexities and foster endemic delays for consignments so as to justify bribes for "exceptional simplifications".

Lack of modernization of, and cooperation among, customs and other governmental agencies.

Customs departments and other government agencies involved in trade are often inefficiently structured internally. Common problems include inadequacies in physical infrastructure, training and education, inefficient emoluments of staff, and lack of co-ordination and co-operation between customs administrations as well as between customs and tax administration.

Safety and security

The need for more stringent security procedures in the face of the recent wave of international terrorism is becoming more and more important and poses a new and serious challenge to customs administration as well as to operators, especially in the maritime and air transport sub sectors. There is a growing need to balance between safety and security and the smooth flow of goods and services.

Consequences of inefficient customs administration

Overall, delays at African customs are on average longer than the rest of the world: 12 days in countries south of the Sahara, compared to 7 days in Latin America, 5.5 days in Central and East Asia, and slightly more than 4 days in Central and East Europe, adding a tremendous cost to importers each passing day at custom's warehouse (ECA, 2004).

Generally, each day lost in transport delays is equivalent to a tax of about 0.5 % (Hummel 2000, reported in Global Economic Prospects, 2005, World Bank). The situation in crossing borders between African countries can be even worse. In southern Africa, delays at the main border crossing between South Africa and Zimbabwe (Beit-Bridge) amounted to six days in February 2003, leading to an estimated loss in earnings per vehicle of US$1,750, equivalent to the cost of a shipment from Durban in South Africa to US. Another study (Alvis 2004) indicates that crossing a border in Africa can be equivalent to the cost of more than 1,000 miles of inland transportation compared to an equivalent of 100 miles in western Europe (World Bank, 2005)

Border crossing delays are also linked to other trade costs as well, especially corruption in customs, and in the spread of HIV/AIDS. Reduction in border delays is crucial to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infection among commercial vehicle drivers.

C. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

The African region as a whole lags behind others in the use of modern information technology in domestic as well as international trade activities. Telecommunications services are inadequate, inefficient and very expensive, availability of mobile cellular phones is very limited, prohibitively expensive, and non-existence in some rural areas. Africa has the lowest internet diffusion in the world. However, there is a wide variation in the use of ICT across Africa, as shown by table 6.

Table 6: Mobile telephone and internet connectivity by Regional Economic Community, 2001

Source: ECA, compiled from ITU 2001

Communications in Africa depends largely on outside operators. In ECOWAS, only 2.8% of transit traffic relies on routing facilities within the sub region, while the rest uses Canadian, European, and US operators. Transit traffic represents 29% of total traffic and 41% of direct traffic. Only two countries (Benin and Mali) have transit traffic below the recommended threshold of 10% of total traffic.

UEMOA makes low use of interstate connection possibilities, lacks adequate direct links between member states, routes significant interstate traffic through operators outside the sub region, and has a wide range of tariffs for interstate communications.

As a result of the poor quality but expensive telecommunication services, businesses in Africa are less competitive as they lack up to-date information on prices of goods and services. However, there are some encouraging signs in the ICT sector. For example, fixed line telephone connectivity has increased in most regional economic communities as policies on foreign investment have been liberalized (ECA, 2004). The use of mobile telephone services has also increased with the greater openness of markets and cross-border investment in service provision. Egypt and South African telephone companies have been active in establishing mobile telephone companies in other African countries. Internet connectivity is also increasing rapidly in Africa.

At the sub regional level, COMESA is pursuing a regional telecommunications network (COMTEL) to facilitate trade among its member states. A private limited company, COMTEL, was registered in May 2000 for national communications operators and other partners to promote investment in communications. The company's goals are to attract investment, build institutional capacity, ensure efficient telecommunications services, introduce new technologies, and help establish regional operators.

In 1999 SADC approved a regional backbone, the SADC Regional Information Infrastructure, to link SADC countries through high capacity digital land and submarine routes using microwave and fibre optic cables. The Southern African Telecommunications Association is also involved in coordinating technical standards, tariffs, and public -private partnerships to improve connectivity among SADC member states.

Continental initiatives

Several continental initiatives are enhancing the effectiveness of communications at the national level and promoting intra-African trade and regional integration. These include the African Telecommunication Union, the Regional African Satellite Communications Organisation, and the African Information Society.

African Telecommunications Union

The African Telecommunications Union, established in 1999, seeks to foster the rapid development of information and communication technology in Africa to improve service, access, and interconnections between African countries. It has a wide range of objectives covering such issues as joint capacity building, regional policy convergence, financing of joint projects, exchange of information and standardization of tariffs and technology.

Regional African Satellite Communications Organizations

The Regional African Satellite Communications Organization (RASCOM), created in the early 1990s by African telecommunications ministers, has as its main objective to extend affordable telecommunications services to the entire population of Africa, by setting up telecommunications infrastructure based on satellite technology. It also aims to establish direct links between African countries.

African Information Society Initiative

The African Information Society Initiative, Launched by the ECA in 1995, was designed to bridge the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world. It intended to provide a guiding framework for African countries in modernizing and interconnecting their information and communication infrastructure and services.

The Pan-African Telecommunications Network (PANAFTEL)

PANAFTEL was aimed at setting up a continent-wide telecommunications network directly linking neighbouring countries. The project proved unsuccessful, however, due to political diversity, concentration on international links instead of national networks, cultural differences, and financial constraints.

D. International Payments Mechanisms; Insurance Requirements; and Customs Guarantees

ECA studies reveal that the documentary credit payment system is the most popular international payment system in Africa. However, this practice is characterized by cumbersome and complex procedures. The basis of the system is a series of checks in which the progress of goods towards the buyer is pinned to the progress of payment to the seller. The process is time consuming, requires physical movement of documents between different banking establishments in two different countries and is not well understood and badly managed by many users. Indeed it has been reported that half of all requests for payment are rejected on grounds of documentary inconsistencies. In addition, the system is open to fraud.

Insurance

Concerning road transport, African regional economic communities have introduced common insurance schemes. COMESA, for example, has the third party motor insurance scheme (Yellow Card) that provides for third party insurance cover, valid in all the transit and destination states including medical bills for crew. CEMAC and ECOWAS have also introduced similar schemes.

Customs guarantee

Customs security is one of the major difficulties in freight transit. This has to be ensured by the establishment of a financial guarantee and mechanism that makes sure that goods in transit do not enter the transit country market without the necessary taxes and customs duties being paid. Guarantee payments represent a high cost for transport operators. In Africa, however, no sub regional organization has managed to put in place a satisfactory system. In the case of ECOWAS countries, texts are applied differently. Customs services in Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal, for example, require bank guarantees. Burkina Faso, Benin and Niger have all instituted guarantee funds, with the guarantee being cumulative (paid in each of the countries transited) and non-reimbursable. The chambers of commerce manage the guarantee fund in all the three countries where it represents an important resource for these institutions.

Multiplicity of currencies and exchange rate arrangements

Monetary unions can generate potential large benefits for African countries through increased trade flows, and economic growth. Monetary integration implies a medium-to long-term move towards forms of fixed exchange rates, with countries eventually adopting a common currency. However, exchange rate arrangements in Africa are currently fragmented. Multiplicity of currencies increases international trade costs as businessmen are confronted with the cost of changing from one currency to another. This has been identified as one of the contributing factors to the high cost of international transport operations in Africa.

CEMAC and UEMOA are monetary unions, with CFA franc as the common currency. Although formally differentiated, the common currencies are exchangeable between the two communities one to one and are convertible into the euro at a fixed exchange rate. Southern Africa, Namibia and Swaziland are members of a Common Monetary Area, where the South African rand circulates freely as a common currency under a floating arrangement. In EAC, all three members (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) have floating currencies. Most of the non-UEMOA members of ECOWAS also have floating exchange rates.

The multiplicity of currencies and exchange rate arrangements that exist in Africa makes a case for the establishment of clearing mechanisms. ECOWAS and COMESA formally established clearinghouses to promote intra-community trade with the use of local currencies against a background of exchange control dictated by the scarcity of hard currencies in most countries (IMF 2001).

Financial institutions

Well-developed financial markets and institutions facilitate the exchange of goods and services and the mobilization of resources. To advance economic integration RECs have established institutions to support regional financial cooperation. Regional development banks operate in CEMAC, COMESA, EAC, ECOWAS, UEMOA, and UMA. These institutions provide finance to facilitate trade, to undertake projects at the national and regional levels, and assist poorer members in each region. In SADC, the South African Development Bank has taken on the responsibility of serving the interest of all community members.

The COMESA Clearing House was established in 1984 to lessen the effect of foreign exchange scarcity on intra-regional trade. With the reduction of exchange rate controls and the liberalization of current accounts since then, the clearinghouse requires restructuring. New priority areas are transferring clearing functions to commercial banks, transforming the clearinghouse into a regional SWIFT center and hub for electronic money transfer among regional commercial banks, and putting the new clearinghouse in charge of providing regional export guarantees against political risks.

In ECOWAS, the ECOWAS Fund for Cooperation, Compensation, and Development was formed in 1975 to provide finance for compensation of revenue losses from trade liberalization and for the development of less advanced areas in the region. Now the ECOWAS Bank for Investment, it has two subsidiaries: the ECOWAS Regional Development Fund, which focuses on the public sector, and the ECOWAS Regional Investment Bank, which focuses on the private sector. The UEMOA countries have also established a compensation and solidarity fund. Finally, ECOWAS Bank Group (Ecobank) is yet another successful model of regional financial cooperation. Ecobank is the parent holding company of subsidiaries in 12 countries in West and Central Africa. It provides commercial banking and other financial services to individuals and to private and public sector organizations. The ECOWAS Regional Development Fund is its major stakeholder.

In UMA, the Maghreb Bank for Investment and External Trade, headquartered in Tunis, aims at contributing to integration by financing agricultural and industrial projects in which UMA members have a common interest. It also aims to mobilize investments for other bankable projects and to promote trade and related payment arrangements. Finally, in CEN-SAD, the African Bank for Development and Trade has been opened.

E. International Trade Standards

As a barrier to trade, the issue of international trade standards is more relevant to Africa's trade with the rest of the world than to intra-African trade. In recent years, an increasing mass of standards and technical regulations governing the admissibility of imported goods into an economy has emerged. In principle, the purpose of such standards is to ensure that the products available on markets meet minimum requirements, whatever their origin is. Such requirements may refer to the safety of consumers (as for instance in the case of food products), or the protection of the environment (as for instance in the case of trade in manufactured goods), or other quality-related characteristics. In this sense, standards would serve the purpose of providing the society at large with a sufficient amount of a "public good", which would be otherwise undersupplied. Yet, it is often argued that some countries (mostly industrial countries) tend to use standards and regulations as a substitute for tariffs and quantitative restrictions. That is, while the process of trade liberalization has imposed the removal of most of classical trade barriers, these countries continue protecting some sectors by using standards to constraints imports from lower-cost developing countries.

Standards and regulations certainly impose higher production costs on firms seeking to export from developing countries. This follows from both technological and preferences gaps vis-à-vis industrial economies. The problem is made worse by the fact that demand for standards in advanced countries is highly elastic to income. That is, standards are a luxury good whose demand rises with rising incomes. Associated with continued advances in scientific knowledge about health and environmental hazards, this implies that standards tend to change frequently and to become more and more stringent over time. In this respect, they obviously reduce the ability of developing countries to access international product markets.

To reduce the negative impacts of the multiplicity of standards on Africa's trade, the following actions are paramount:

Establishing regional certification centers for diagnosis and analysis;

Introducing joint investigations of perceived health hazards; and

Simplifying the multiplicity of standards and ensuring that these standards conform to WTO levels.

III. Efforts to Facilitate Intra-African Trade

Over the years, considerable efforts have been made at regional, sub regional and bilateral level to facilitate intra-African trade. Such efforts have included, inter alia, the signing of conventions, protocols and agreements, and the development of institutions and trade facilitation initiatives.

Efforts to facilitate trade at sub regional level

RECs have been at the forefront of trade facilitation at the sub regional level. Most of their efforts are focused on, but not limited to, the removal of non-physical transport barriers along major transit corridors, especially those connecting landlocked countries to seaports. This section therefore focuses on activities that aim to improve transport and customs operations. In any case, efforts to address shortcomings in ICT and international payment mechanisms have been dealt with elsewhere in this paper.

In central Africa, several conventions governing international transport have been signed including the inter-state convention for the transportation of miscellaneous goods by road (CIETRMD); the inter-state Convention for multimodal freight transport; the regulation on transportation of dangerous goods, and the Inter State Transit agreement for Central African countries (TIPAC). CEMAC countries have also adopted a community highway code and a civil aviation code; created an international commission for the Congo, Oubangui and Sangha Basin; and signed a protocol on maritime cooperation as well as an agreement on air transport between member states. With regard to ECCAS, a community road network was adopted in 1988. In 2003, a transport master plan was also adopted in the sub region.

In West Africa, ECOWAS and UEMOA have adopted two conventions on transport: the Inter-State Transport Convention (TIE) and the Inter-State Road Freight Transit Convention (TRIE). These conventions, both of which were signed in 1982 and have entered into force, define the conditions of road transport between member states and provide the transit, without interruption, of freight.

ECOWAS has introduced a common vehicle insurance scheme known as the Brown Card. This is a scheme that covers third-party liability and medical expenses. In addition, ECOWAS adopted the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) in 1990, and in 1998 it launched the Trade Opportunity Management System to foster trade and investment by disseminating information on trade and business opportunities and promoting business contacts among economic operators in the community. Presently, ECOWAS, and UEMOA are working on the establishment of joint border posts, which, among other things, would address the issue of variation in working hours at adjacent border posts, which leads to delays. They are also in the process of establishing corridor management committees and observatories of abnormal practices along major transit corridors.

In Eastern and Southern Africa, COMESA and SADC have protocols covering the area of transport. COMESA and SADC have also adopted measures aiming to facilitate transport and transit between member states (see table 7). In addition, some East African countries, form part of transport corridor initiatives such as the Northern and Central Corridor initiatives. The Northern Corridor links the landlocked Great Lakes countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, to the Kenyan seaport of Mombassa, while the Central Corridor connects the port of Dar es Salaam to the same landlocked Great Lakes countries.

Table7: COMESA and SADC transport and trade facilitation measures

Source: ECA, from official sources

Because two-thirds of the East African Economic Community (EAC) members also belong to COMESA, EAC applies many of COMESA's trade facilitation and promotion measures. EAC has also developed a protocol for cooperation on standardization, quality assurance, metrology, and testing. Furthermore, EAC is supplementing COMESA's trade facilitation measures with a regional database on trade and investment opportunities, laying the groundwork for a regional investment promotion center.

SADC has a Sub-Committee on Trade Facilitation, which is responsible for harmonizing trade documents and procedures. It tries to minimize confusion for the SADC members that also belong to COMESA. Several SADC members also use ASYCUDA, and the community has set up institutions to eliminate technical barriers to trade, promote quality production, and increase cooperation on standardization, quality assurance, accreditation and metrology. With the view to introduce joint border posts, COMESA and SADC are currently working on an initiative to harmonise the legal/regulatory arrangements at border posts. They are also working on the creation of corridor management committees and observatories of abnormal practices along transit corridors.

Bilateral Cooperation

Numerous bilateral agreements on international road transport have been entered between African countries. For instance, it has been estimated that in UEMOA, only 30% of the rules governing road transport are sub regional, the remaining 70% being either bilateral or national. It has also been indicated that there are more than 100 agreements between UEMOA member states in the area of transport.

Good examples of bilateral cooperation between transit and landlocked countries are those between Cameroon and its landlocked neighbours of Chad and the Central African Republic. Among other things, these conventions identify transit corridors to be jointly managed by the national land freight Authorities of Cameroon and its neighbours, specify the percentage of freight to be transported by Cameroonian transporters and their counterparts from the landlocked countries, and clearly stipulate that all vehicles in possession of specified documents plying the identified corridors should only be subjected to limited controls at jointly selected checkpoints.

According to some operators, the rules of these bilateral conventions are not applied on the ground. As at 2002, the system of escorts of convoys put in place by Cameroon customs was still operational for security reasons (guarantee against fraud), the number of control posts remained high (as discussed earlier) and irregular payments were still being made. Furthermore, long waits at border posts still exists because of closures (border posts don't open 24 hours a day). In addition, some operators report that certain towns unilaterally take measures to ban heavy goods vehicles on their roads at certain hours.

Another example of bilateral cooperation is the provision of special facilities in some seaports, notably in West Africa, to landlocked countries.

Efforts by International Organizations

International organizations play a key role in trade facilitation initiatives in Africa. They assist African countries and RECs in a variety of ways including capacity building and/or technical assistance, and funding of trade facilitation studies and projects.

The sub Saharan African Transport Policy Programme (SSATP)³, has been particularly active in the facilitation of intra African Trade. Indeed, Trade and transport facilitation is an important element in its regional integration and transport thematic area. The SSATP was instrumental in the setting up and operationalizing of the RECs Transport Coordination Committee in February 2005. It worked with this committee to develop an implementation plan for RECs activities to be funded by SSATP. These activities include, the establishment of observatories of abnormal practices, port security audits, establishment of corridor committees, harmonization of legal/regulatory arrangements at border posts, and technical assistance.

NEPAD has recognized transport and trade facilitation as a priority area in its infrastructure action plan, and within this framework, the African Development Bank (AfDB), European Union, USAID and Japan are providing support to RECs such as ECOWAS and UEMOA. The RECs are being provided with funds to set up observatories of abnormal practices, pay for the services of transport and trade facilitation experts at their Secretariat, and to evaluate the status of transit corridors as well as to reconstruct some of these corridors.

IV. WTO and Trade Facilitation

The WTO has always dealt with issues related to trade facilitation, and WTO rules include a variety of provisions that aim to enhance transparency and set minimum procedural standards. Among them are GATT Articles V, VIII and X, which deal with freedom of transit for goods, fees and formalities connected with importation and exportation, and publication and administration of trade regulations. There are also several provisions in agreements such as Import Licensing, Technical Barriers to Trade, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Customs Valuation, Rules of Origin and Preshipment Inspection.

However, as a separate topic, trade facilitation is a relatively new issue for WTO. It was added to the organisation's agenda when the Singapore Ministerial Conference in December 1996 directed the Council for Trade in Goods to undertake exploratory and analytical work, drawing on the work of other relevant international organizations, on the simplification of trade procedures in order to assess the scope for WTO rules in this area.

On 1 August 2004, the General Council of the WTO adopted the Doha work Programme. Among other things, it took note of the work done on trade facilitation by the Council on Trade in Goods and decided by explicit consensus to commence negotiations.

Africa's position

While acknowledging that trade facilitation measures are necessary and beneficial to all countries, many African countries have expressed reservations regarding the need for a "multilateral framework" on trade facilitation. Prior to the decision to commence negotiations on trade facilitation, these countries were of the view that trade facilitation issues are not a priority at this stage and that ongoing processes within and outside the WTO (e.g. customs valuation) should continue in order to prepare for possible future work in this area. They pointed out that improved facilitation would require increased technical and financial assistance to narrow the technology and human resources gaps that exist between developed and developing countries. Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including those in Africa, stressed the importance of the question of understanding of international standards, arguing that their standards institutions should be strengthened immediately, so that they can properly advise their exporters.

Challenges to African countries in WTO trade facilitation negotiations

There are ongoing efforts to develop a framework for discussing the implementation of WTO rules on trade facilitation. For instance, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is developing a document that explains how the instruments it has developed can support WTO in implementing its rules. In the light of this, it is equally important to examine how trade facilitation rules and regulations and programmes in Africa relate to GATT articles V, VIII and X, that is, freedom of transit, fees and formalities connected with importation and exportation, and publication and administration of trade regulations. As discussed elsewhere in this paper, many trade facilitation obligations are already built into regional agreements in Africa (protocols, RECs programmes etc.), and several bilateral agreements to facilitate trade between African countries also exist. To a large extent, these agreements address the issues raised in GATT Article V (freedom of transit).

Overall, an important first step in bringing the obligations of African countries to the multilateral level and to "lock them" into the WTO, is to compile all existing trade facilitation rules and regulations in the continent - at bilateral, sub regional and regional levels. It is also important to analyse the implications of adopting ECE conventions and other possible WTO rules on existing rules in Africa. African countries also have to articulate an African perspective on trade facilitation. The have to ensure that the challenges and problems as they see them are addressed in the negotiations. For instance, for many African countries, the main source of high trade costs are at the borders and weak transport systems (infrastructure and services) they share with other African countries. Therefore agreements with industrialized countries would not be enough to facilitate trade in the continent.

Benefits of WTO rules on trade facilitation

Basically, trade facilitation problems and their solutions are political in nature and thus require political support from the highest government levels. Bilateral and regional agreements have not necessarily brought this support. Commitment to WTO rules could trigger a renewed political impetus to address the situation.

WTO also provides a platform for better coherence in the activities of international organizations involved in trade facilitation related activities in Africa. For instance, in order to make technical assistance and capacity building more effective and operational and to ensure better coherence, one of the WTO modalities for negotiating trade facilitation calls on members to invite relevant international organizations, including the IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, WCO and the World Bank to undertake a collaborative effort in this regard.

Furthermore, WTO recognizes that the provision of technical assistance and support for capacity building is vital for developing and least-developed countries to enable them to fully participate in and benefit from trade facilitation negotiations. Members, in particular developed countries, have therefore committed themselves to adequately ensure such support and assistance during the negotiations.

In addition, WTO recognizes that negotiations could lead to certain commitments whose implementation would require support for infrastructure development on the part of some Members, and as a result calls on developed-country members to make every effort to ensure support and assistance directly related to the nature and scope of the commitments in order to allow implementation. Most importantly, it is understood, that in cases where required support and assistance for such infrastructure is not forthcoming, and where a developing or least-developed member continues to lack the necessary capacity, implementation will not be required

V. The Way Forward

Tackling the challenges of international trade in Africa requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach that entails improvements in infrastructure and provision of efficient and competitive services in the areas of roads, railways, ports, information and communications technology; the removal of illegal roadblocks; and the simplification and harmonisation of customs and border procedures.

Providing adequate and efficient transport infrastructure and services

Specific actions required to improve transport infrastructure include: maintaining and rehabilitating existing roads, expanding the road network to isolated areas, widening roads with narrow lane and shoulder widths, and where necessary, adjusting horizontal and vertical alignments taking into consideration the increased use of heavy vehicles; increasing the connectivity of railway sections with different track gauges; replacing obsolete and inappropriate equipment at ports with modern container handling facilities, developing container terminals at ports to facilitate efficient handling and storage of containers; developing more dry ports to serve both landlocked countries as well as interior areas of coastal countries; and training of local staff to run containerized systems that are highly mechanized and computerized, and quite useful for multimodal transport operations.

Efforts are also required to avoid inefficient monopolies and other rent-seeking behavior in essential service industries in general and transport industry in particular. In this regard, competition in freight forwarding and in the freight transport market should be encouraged.

Removing illegal roadblocks and preventing diversion of goods on Africa's roads

Without any doubt, the challenge of removing roadblocks and preventing the diversion of goods on Africa's roads is enormous. These problems are extensive, deep-rooted and inherently difficult to come to grips with. Overall, improvements have to be based on political agreements and interventions from the highest government levels. This, in fact, is a prerequisite to sustainable solutions. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), through its Peer Review mechanism, could play a lead role in this regard.

Speeding up customs and border crossing procedures

The problem of slow and cumbersome border procedures could be addressed by reducing the number of trade documents and copies required and harmonizing the nature of the information to be contained in these documents. Such trade documents should also be designed and standardized in accordance with international accepted standards, practices and guidelines and should be adaptable for use in computer systems.

Efforts should be made to ensure that customs administrations are technology based; greater reliance is placed on post-release audits; closer working relationship is established with the tax department; a service orientation and good relations with the trade community are adopted by introducing clear and transparent procedures; and customs administrations attain high levels of professionalism and integrity.

Promoting the use of new technology

Several African countries are using automated customs systems such as the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) or other systems like the Tunisia Trade Net for the case of Tunisia to simplify and speed up customs procedures (Box 3). However, there is a need to create training centers to deliver courses to the principal actors in international trade to enable them use these systems effectively.

A further example of an important technical aid to trade is provided by the newest shipment tracking systems, which are designed to keep track of vehicles so that customers can find out exactly where a shipment is located at any given time. The Advanced Cargo Information System (ACIS), designed by UNCTAD and currently used in a number of African countries, can track cargoes in port, as well as on roads, railways and inland waterways. Some East African countries already use both port trackers and rail trackers. Other African countries should be encouraged to use such systems.

Conclusions

Despite the seriousness of the issues addressed above, resource and capacity constraints faced by African countries in general and sub-Saharan African countries in particular, may make it extremely difficult to address all the problems simultaneously. Although a comprehensive approach is necessary in the long term, actions need to be prioritized in a rationale way in the medium term.

Furthermore, the need for regional approaches and strategic partnerships to complement national measures must be stressed, since international trade involves the use of infrastructure and services of at least two countries. This is especially true for landlocked countries with key transit facilities lying outside their territorial boundaries. A regional approach can be an efficient means of coordinating actions, setting priorities, reviewing progress, mobilizing resources, allocating funds, and monitoring contribution levels, with regard to solving common problems.

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1 Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe

2 The TAH network is made up of 9 highway sections namely: Cairo-Dakar, Algiers-Lagos (Trans-Saharian Highway), Tripoli-Windhoek, Cairo-Gaborone (Trans-East African Highway), Dakar-N'Djamena (Trans-Sahelien Highway), N'djamena-Djibouti, Lagos-Dakar (Trans-Coastal Highway), Lagos-Mombasa, and Beira-Lobito.

3 A joint initiative of the ECA and World Bank, with the involvement of the majority of sub Saharan African countries (32), RECs, and the private sector as partners.