Selected statistics from the World Bank’s Regional Brief on Africa:
7. Between 1990 and 1999 PPP GDP per capita growth was 15 percent ($1,158.9 to $1,327.8) for Sub-Saharan Africa; in between 2000 and 2008 it was 54 percent ($1,372.9 to $2,113.9).
8. Exports rose from $319.0 billion in 2007 to $413.7 billion in 2008, a 29.7 percent rise; conversely, imports rose less than exports, from $305.3 billion in 2007 to $372.1 billion in 2008, a 21.8 percent rise. Continue reading
Published at allAfrica.com – Trade Talk with Rosa Whitaker
by Rosa Whitaker
Bill Gates’ commitment at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to give $10 billion over the next decade to develop and distribute vaccines to children in the world’s poorest countries has stimulated an interesting discussion on what would be the best use for such a large charitable gift. It’s an important discussion too, as more very wealthy entrepreneurs use their charitable giving to change the whole paradigm of aid to the “bottom billion.” Continue reading
In This Issue:
Lesotho Stands Strong at Copenhagen Conference
Cellphone Technology Doubles E-Mail Access
Basotho Farmers to Grow Sorghum for Beer
Lesotho to Expand Safe Water Supply
Rural Homes To Gain Access to Solar Power
In this issue:
In this issue:
Africa is a place where many things have been changing and continue to change for the better, write Rosa Whitaker, Hassan Ba, David Applefield, Tumi Makgabo, Mugo Kibati, Kola Karim, Euvin Naidoo, and Ali Belhaj in Corporate Africa 2009.
For all the enthusiastic response to President Obama’s July address in Ghana and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first Africa visit in August, there is another Africa in which the Obama message of African accountability resonates differently.
President Kagame calls for strong health leadershipLays out Policy Imperatives for the Obama Administration during annual CBC Conference
Washington, D.C. (September 25, 2009) – At two headline events on US-Africa policy during the Congressional Black Caucus’s Annual Legislative Conference, Rosa Whitaker, President and CEO of the Whitaker Group and the first ever Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa, called on advocates for Africa to reach out to Congress and the Obama Administration in a concerted effort to support several new trade and investment initiatives for the continent. Continue reading
The United Nations Conference on Trade Development (UNCTAD) released its World Investment Report 2009 on September 17, subtitled “Transnational Corporations, Agricultural Production and Development.” The Report finds substantial decreases in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) around the globe due to the recession, but shows impressive pre-recession FDI growth in Africa in 2008 that positions the continent to be a strong investment destination once global economies begin to recover. Continue reading
Published at allafrica.com – Trade Talk with Rosa Whitaker
by Rosa Whitaker
In the aftermath of the annual AGOA Forum held last month in Nairobi, there has been a chorus of pessimists placing AGOA in the Hall of Shame of failed policy initiatives. They could not be more wrong.
In fact, AGOA is among the most successful US policies towards Africa-especially in terms of a return-on-investment ratio. According to the OECD, over the past 50 years the US has spent well over $325 billion dollars in foreign aid to Africa – yet Africa remains the only region of the world getting poorer. The returns on investments from US aid have been dismal. Continue reading
Published at allafrica.com
by Paul Collier and Rosa Whitaker
Writing after last week’s United States-Africa trade forum in Nairobi, Paul Collier and Rosa Whitaker call on both the U.S. and African nations to craft a meaningful strategy to prevent better trade relations from becoming “a casualty of the recession and of the drift towards political expediency and protectionism.”
This week in Nairobi, Kenya, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led a US delegation to the 8th Annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. This Forum, a meeting of US and African ministers, business and civil society leaders, was created as part of AGOA — the first comprehensive US trade policy towards Africa. Continue reading
At last week’s 8th Annual AGOA Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, TWG Managing Director Aubrey Hruby joined a distinguished panel of speakers from such organizations as USAID’s West Africa Trade Hub, South African sourcing agent Cool Ideas, and the Kenya ICT Board to address the topic “Development of and Access to AGOA Export Markets.” Continue reading
“If the Obama administration wishes to truly make a difference, it must do so as an equal partner.”
In a bold and compelling op-ed last week, President Kagame of Rwanda, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, President Seretse Khama Ian Khama of Botswana, and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal argued that the US needs to approach Africa as a partner, not a benefactor. I commend this piece and hope the Obama administration will take a close look at the approach it is taking to working with Africa. Continue reading
Published at allafrica.com – Trade Talk with Rosa Whitaker
by Rosa Whitaker
As the Obama Administration develops its Africa and trade policies, it is critical that it resists pressure from some development advocates and members of Congress to support legislation that extends the duty-free access to the US market enjoyed by African nations under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to all Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Continue reading
In this issue:
In this issue:
Coffee is Uganda's top export, earning $348 million in 2008.
Uganda’s economy is expected to be among Africa’s strongest in 2009 with a growth rate of around 6% thanks largely to strong regional trade and continued demand for its agricultural exports, according to the African Economic Outlook 2009, published in May by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Continue reading
Published at allAfrica.com – Trade Talk with Rosa Whitaker
by Rosa Whitaker
Slowly but surely, President Obama’s Africa policy is beginning to take shape. In my twenty-five years of work on African economic issues, I’ve seen consecutive US Administrations become increasingly more committed to Africa’s development. I don’t believe President Obama will be an exception. The fact that his overall foreign policy is driven by experienced-hands with Africa expertise gives reason to believe that Africa will be well-integrated and supported within the broader US foreign and economic policy construct. Continue reading
by Rosa Whitaker
Congressman Jack Kemp will be remembered for many things, but for me, Jack Kemp will always personify a particular vision of an Africa enjoying the prosperity that only integration can deliver, a full and active partner in the global community.
I was privileged to work with Congressman Kemp to make that vision a reality-first in the late 1990s, when he was one of the main advocates working with me in a bipartisan effort to pass the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and more recently as co-chair with me of the AGOA Action Committee advocating for enhancements to the legislation. Continue reading
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