ISSUE Vol. 20 No.1 2017 US$5.00 GB£3.00 €5.00

• HOW LONG WILL BARROW’S HONEYMOON LAST? Find out what's on the African Agenda

To subscribe, please fill in the form and post it to the address shown

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES

(INDIVIDUALS)

Africa & Global South $35.00

North America & Australia $55.00

Europe €55.00 The African continent is mostly reported as a land of poverty, civil strife and end- U.K £35.00 less lines of begging hands. Problems facing the continent are portrayed and communicated mostly by foreign eyes through the monopoly-controlled news Ghana GH¢9.00 media.

Rarely are Africans themselves given a forum to highlight what they see as press- INSTITUTIONAL/ CORPORATE ing problems, and offer analyses and solutions to tackle the challenges. By pub- lishing African Agenda, Third World Network Africa aims to provide exactly that Africa & Global South $45.00 forum. Open your eyes and ears to an African perspective on critical issues such as trade, the environment, gender and sustainable development. North America & Australia $70.00

I wish to subscribe to AFRICAN AGENDA and I enclose Europe €70.00 A cheque/bank draft payable to Third World Network

U.K £45.00 AMOUNT ………………………...... ………...... ………......

NAME: ...... ………...... ………... Ghana GH¢10.00 ADDRESS: ...... ………......

CITY: ...... ………...... POSTCODE: ......

COUNTRY: ...... STUDENTS Send to Third World Network, P.O. Box 19452, Accra-North, Ghana

METHOD OF PAYMENT Ghana GH¢8.40 Cheque/Bank draft payable to Third World Network Direct Bank Transfer: Account Name - Third World Network Bank Address:- Standard Chartered Bank, Foreign Services Africa & Global South $30.00 Branch High Street, P.O. Box 768, Accra-Ghana Account No. 2800202240700

North America/Australia $50.00 CREDIT CARD

Please charge the amount of ...... to my credit card U.K £30.00 AMERICAN EXPRESS MASTER CARD VISA Account No. Europe €50.00

Signature:...... Expiry Date:......

West Africa Telephone +233 -302- 511189 fax 233-302-511188 Email: [email protected] /[email protected] Contents

COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER Aftershocks of peaceful transition……...... page 5 Can the NPP deliver on its promises?...... page 9 Female head of Electoral Commission boosted by elections…...... page 12 How long will Barrow’s honeymoon last?...... page 14

DEVELOPMENT UN report finds 48 countries in a poverty trap…...... page 16 Bond to happen?...... page 18 UN: diminishing power of small-scale cocoa farmers…...... page 20 New OECD measure for SDGs highly problematic…….... page 24

TRADE Global services agreement poses risk to workers page 5 photo: President Akufo-Addo and customers…...... page 27 Commodity prices crash hits Africa……...... page 29 Trade deals threaten peasant farmers' stewardship of seed biodiversity…...... page 32 African Agenda WOMEN Published by TWN Africa Farmer field schools help women lead on climate change…...... page 34 Editor-in-Chief: Yao Graham INTERNATIONAL Editor: Cornelius Adedze Design: David Roy Quashie US trade hawks and the China bogey……...... page 36

EDITORIAL, SUBSCRIPTIONS AND ADVERTISING: SHORT STORY TWN-Africa Oh Mama……...... page 36 P.O. Box 19452 Accra-North Ghana, West Africa Tel: (233) 302 511189/503669/500419 Fax: (233) 302 511188 Email: [email protected] Website: www.twnafrica.org Note to subscribers As part of efforts to improve our data management all TWN INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT subscribers have been allocated identification numbers. You will always find them on your address labels. Please President: Mohammed Iddris quote these numbers in all correspondence regarding Director: Martin Khor your subscription. 131 Jalan Macalister 10400 Penang Malaysia The material in this magazine may be freely reproduced and distributed without prior permission, provided that the source of the material is attributed to African Agenda ISSN 0855-3378.

African Agenda is published six times a year by Third World Network (TWN) Africa. TWN is an international network of groups and individuals who seek greater articulation of the needs and rights of the peoples of the Third World, especially marginalised social groups, a fair distribution of the world’s resources and forms of development which are ecologically sustainable and fulfil human needs. TWN Africa is grateful to Development and Peace, InterPares (Canada), TrustAfrika and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Post election billboard

4 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER

President Akufo-Addo Aftershocks of peaceful transition

From the wholesale purging of heads of public institutions by the new government to NPP militants forcibly taking over public toilets, there are many reminders that Ghana's much applauded peaceful transfer of power still has some way to go to escape the legacies of regime change through coups d'etat, writes *Cornelius Adedze.

t the January 7 inauguration of Nana present queued to congratulate Ghana's of his route to power and continued uncer- Akufo-Addo as the 5th President of new President and in the process offered a tainties in his country. There was Teodoro AGhana's Fourth Republic there was kaleidoscope of the worthy, the dubious, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial an important yet unintended illustration of the troubling and the illegitimate founda- Guinea, in power since he ousted his uncle why the fuss about Ghana's peaceful transi- tions of the power of African governments. in 1979 and who runs the country like a tion. After Akufo-Addo's swearing in and The guest of honour Cote d'Ivoire's family business and tolerates no dissent. the speeches, various African Presidents Alassane Ouattara attended despite a Also in the queue were Ali Bongo of Gabon, and leaders of government delegations mutiny by soldiers which offered reminders Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, disputed

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 5 COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER

Who is afraid of free elections? : some of the African heads of state at Akufo-Addo’s inauguration successors to their autocratic fathers. At the expectations of better performance from The government itself at the higher lev- other end of the spectrum were Senegal's the new government. High among these are els continued with the sacking of heads and Macky Sall and Nigeria's Muhammadu jobs and improvements in economic condi- other high level staff of public and state Buhari. tions, free secondary school education, institutions, replacing them with party stal- On the home front, the euphoria of reduced taxes, lower electricity tariffs, and a warts or cronies. Among those sacked electoral victory by the opposition New government ready, willing and able to deal include head of the National Patriotic Party, NPP, for the second time ruthlessly with corruption. These are but Communications Authority, the Ghana since Ghana's return to multiparty rule in some of the promises made before the elec- Investment Promotion Authority, COCO- 1992 seems to have, momentarily, masked tions by then opposition NPP. BOD (the marketing board of the country's the many challenges the country faces. It The smooth transition of power has highest export earner, cocoa) and some was a great sigh of relief when the elections been marred somewhat by suspected grass- security heads. This has become a pattern of not only successfully came off but also roots supporters of the party who have been post- elections political dividends payoff ended peacefully despite the numerous at their rampaging best driving out man- where every electoral cycle change of gov- challenges and near escalation of violence agers and workers, believed to be sympa- ernment goes with replacement of public that characterized the campaign and the thizers of the defeated, National officials. High unemployment and patron- sporadic violence recorded in some polling Democratic Congress (NDC) party, from age seem to be providing the triggers of stations during the elections. Even as politi- toll booths, public toilets and other public these actions. Others talk of retaliation as cal observers praised Ghana for peaceful offices like National Health Insurance presumed supporters of the NPP were at elections and transition to a new govern- Authority and the Youth Employment the receiving end after the NDC won the ment, developments following the elections Agency. All these took place as the security elections in 2008. For some these reprisals highlight the many challenges that Ghana agencies, the police especially, looked on represent a throwback to the days of coups shares with other Africa countries which helpless, even as some of the leaders of d'etats, when all hell broke loose and need to be address for the consolidating these activities, brazenly, carried out the appointments were terminated haphazardly and deepening of a democratic culture.. unlawful evictions in broad daylight or justi- and continuity in public administration was In addition to the economic hardships fac- fied their actions in the media. Some have undermined. For others still, these are just ing many Ghanaians, the NPP's victory was attributed the seeming inaction of the secu- ways of paying back some stalwarts and aided by public perceptions of widespread rity agencies to the fear of commanders who activists of the party for their contribution corruption and nepotism, poor manage- rightly or wrongly believed any attempt to to the electoral victory. ment of the economy and the sheer arro- rein in supporters of a victorious political The continued creation of new min- gance of the political appointees of the party may lead to punitive actions against istries and re-designation of others with defeated National Democratic Congress them through victimization by political every change of government reared its head (NDC) government. This has generated authorities. again. Some of these are a repeat of earlier

6 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER

Table: Approved and Recommended Salary levels for Article 71 Office holders (GHC)

Office *Appr. #Recomm. Appr. Recomm. Appr. Recomm. Appr. Recomm. Appr. Recomm. holder 2016 2016 2015 2015 2014 2014 2013 2013 2012 2012

MP 19,430 13,686 17,663 13,364 16,057 13,049 14,598 12,742 14,598 12,742

Speaker 24,287 17,791 22,079 17,372 20,072 16,963 18,247 16,564 18,247 16,564

President 30,359 22,809 27,599 20,865 25,090 19,087 22,809 17,460 22,809 15,972

*Approved #Recommended ministries created by the first NPP govern- ments.” (yesiyesighana.com, January 31, President is 74 percent, Members of ment (2001-2008) but scrapped by the 2017). Parliament, 54 percent and the Speaker of NDC government (2009-2016). Such min- Parliament, 56 percent when workers on istries as, Ministry for Railways Management of government government payroll got 30 percent over the Development, when there is a Ministry of information period. These approved rates fly in the face Transport, Ministry of Regional Re-organi- Conflicting information and public of the recommended rates by the Edu- sation and Mobilisation, the Ministry of verbal spats between members of the transi- Buandoh Committee that was set up to Inner City and Zongo Development, when tion teams of the outgoing and incoming determine emoluments for Article 71 office there is a ministry of Local Government governments also raised some hairs. Vice- holders (political office holders from the and Rural Development, a ministry of President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia's President to ministers, parliamentarians Monitoring and Evaluation as well as the stoked the fires further with his announce- and others defined under Article 71 of the post of Senior Minister. ment that they had just discovered that 7bn Constitution etc). Although the Commenting on the issue, Prof. could not be accounted for by the NDC Committee's recommendations were ini- Ransford Gyapong, of the department of government. Spokesperson for the NDC, tially accepted by outgoing President Political Science, University of Ghana, former deputy Finance minister, Cassiel Mahama, they were roundly rejected by Legon, said, 'By the current arrangement Ato Forson derided the Vice-President's Parliament which in the end carried the day. there will be a Chief of staff, an Executive accusations saying 'the amount in question Auction of fairly used government cars to Secretary to the President and a Senior was the result of a reform on government politicians at giveaway prices especially Minister. This is duplication of roles that contracts and expenditures which formed when they lose power is another exchange can create some confusion.' This more like- part of the Ghana Integrated Financial that the two parties are good at without any ly to feed into the perception that gover- Management System (GIFMIS) project' qualms. Top range cross country vehicles nance in Ghana has become like the cre- and were reported in the handing over and saloon cars are mostly the target. Public ation of 'job for the boys', an attempt to notes of the Transition Team. He further lands have not suffered less as they are ensure party members get their share of the stated that 'the project, which the new gov- 'appropriated' by politicians. spoils of political victory. A possible recipe ernment was expected to continue imple- The two major political parties, the for chaos and invariably a drag on the over- menting, was covered in the new Public NDC and NPP who have so far rotated burdened coffers of the country as each Financial Management Act under the power between them seem to know how to appointment goes with its financial and Budget Responsibility provision'. 'share the spoils' of political power when it logistical arrangements. Meanwhile, as the supposed misunder- comes to taking care of themselves even as A satirical online publication, Yesiyesi, standing between outgoing and incoming the citizenry is told there is not enough put the situation thus, “The new govern- governments went on, retirement packages money to go round. ment led by Nana Akufo Addo will have a for former officials attracted no disputes new ministry to oversee the creation of from any quarter possibly because both par- Bribery in the Legislature more jobs for friends and other party func- ties stand to benefit from them. Not even a Long- held public suspicion of bribery tionaries. The new Ministry for Strategic whimper was head from either quarter and in Parliament was given a lease of life when Development of Jobs For The Boys has Members of Parliament would go home some members of the legislature accused been tasked with the development of new with their ex-gratia just like other former others of attempting to bribe them. A min- and innovation ways of splitting up existing government officials. No arguments here. isterial nominee was alleged to have ministries and creating a multitude of need- These political office holders are going attempted bribing members of the less bureaucracy. An official statement said home with back-dated increases in salaries Appointments Committee of Parliament to the new ministry is in line with the presi- from 2013 as well as 4 months' salary for ease his approval process. Some members dent's promise of insisting on “value for each of the 4 years served. What this means of the minority on the committee raised the money” by ensuring that all his campaign is that between 2013 and 2016, the percent- issue when they said the supposed bribe funders are able to recoup their invest- age increase in nominal wage for the was offered them and they rejected it. Once

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 7 COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER

Pupils election banners on a school fence in Accra and parliamentary elections were unprece- dented with the party losing as many as 50 seats in the legislature. The party leadership has set up a committee to investigate why the party lost the elections. This move will buy the different factions time to plan their next moves but a struggle for control of the party ahead of the next elections in four years is inevitable and has already broken out. There are conflicting signals about what ousted president John Mahama will do but the scale of his loss to Akufo-Addo may have fatally undermined the prospects for another run for the top job. Ex- President Jerry John Rawlings, reportedly marginalised by the Mahama bloc has already signalled an intention to return as a key influence on the NDC's future. Speaking on the 35th anniversary of his 1981 coup Rawlings, who sees himself as the embodiment of the party's values, blamed the party's election defeat on the corruption and arrogance of Mahama and his government. The intra NDC power struggle is certain to intensify and other fac- tions will show their hands. NDC members are currently united in a defensive posture as the NPP government seeks to reinforce the legitimacy conferred by its election victory with disclosures about the failings and misdeeds of the Mahama government. The new govern- ment intends to create a new office of Special Prosecutor to deal with corruption, though it is yet not clear how it will fit in with existing offices and institutions with a mandate to tackle corruption. No doubt many misdeeds will come to light. However, now, as in past post-election tran- sitions there is a troubling and difficult chal- lenge of how the new regime deals with the infractions of officials of its predecessor. Should it go for short term political gain of dramatic gestures drawn from the autocrat- ic culture of Ghana's past military regimes, which feed red meat to its support base or more, the denials and hot exchanges investigations into the matter. At the heart take a considered, less populist, approach between the NPP and the NDC (and even of the matter is transparency, fairness and which reinforces the processes of rule of law within the NDC, where the Minority Chief rule of law, the very tenets of democracy and democratic accountability? Wittingly Whip, who supposedly was the conduit of that Ghana's legislature seem to be losing or unwittingly both the NPP and the NDC the bribe to the minority committee mem- sight of in this case. Even as the president in have shown a preference for the traditions bers initially, denied) have characterized his inaugural address assured that Ghana left by the soldiers, thereby ensuring that a the debate on the matter. The appointment would under his leadership see a true sepa- gray zone of powerplay, marked by both of a 5-member committee by Parliament to ration of powers, this seems to have been legal and dubious use of power by election look into the issue has however, been rub- lost on the legislature. victors continues to bubble below the bished by some groups as an attempt by Predictably the election defeat has trig- peaceful surface that the wider world keeps Parliament to cover up as it cannot be a gered soul searching and arguments in the its narrow gaze on. judge in its own case. Calls have therefore NDC, now the main opposition party. The gone for an independent body to conduct margin of defeat in both the Presidential *Cornelius Adedze is Editor, African Agenda.

8 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER Can the NPP deliver on its promises?

Difficult economic and social conditions in the country and popular anger at widespread corruption were important factors in why John Mahama became the first Ghanaian President to be voted out of office. Sharp increases in electricity tariffs amidst a long drawn power shortage and blackout and the strictures imposed by an IMF stabilisation agreement were some of the more visible expressions of the problems, writes *Yao Graham.

hirty years of steady growth, two increased. While in the 1990s a child in highly profitable transnational banks and decades of an open political culture, Ghana was 15 percent is more likely to live telecom firms dot a sea of millions of low Trelatively peaceful multiparty elec- in poverty than an adult, this has risen to 40 productivity and low income petty service toral politics and administration transitions percent today. Significantly economic, providers and businesses.In2015 (again illustrated by the defeat of the ruling social and political inequalities persist and Agriculture was 20.2 percent of GDP NDC in the December 2016 presidential economic inequality has been rising (employing 53% of labour force); and parliamentary elections) have bur- throughout the life of the 4th Republic, that Manufacturing 5.1 percent, Mining 5.4 per- nished Ghana's status as an African model, is, since 1992. Over the past decade the cent and Services 49.5 percent. often referred to in the 'Africa rising' narra- consumption gap between the poorest 10 The most glaring failure of the growth tive. percent and the richest 10 percent has model has been its inability to deliver Since 1984 Ghana's economy has widened. Men predominate in the owner- decent and secure jobs. In April 2016 a pub- grown steadily, at a rate widely considered ship of residential property and agricultural lic controversy erupted over claims by the to be among the most spectacular in Africa. land and make up the majority of formal ousted Mahama Government that it had The growth rate averaged 4.7 percent sector employees. Maternal mortality created hundreds of thousands of jobs, between 1983 and 2000, and 7.2 percent remains a problem. some directly as part of social protection from 2000 until 2013, reaching an all-time Historically the public education sys- programmes and others indirectly through high of 14.4 percent in 2011 with the onset tem served as an important leveller of economic policies. The scepticism and dis- of oil production. As a result of steady opportunities. No more. Increasing num- putation that greeted the claim underlined growth and the rebasing of the economy bers of poor people feel the need to send the critical status of this issue. Fully 86 per- Ghana became a lower- middle income their children to private schools, the prefer- cent of Ghana's working people are country as per capita GDP increased from ence of the rich and middle classes, as they involved in the informal economy, engaged US$502 in 2005 to US$1,604.9 in 2012. lose faith in public basic schools. Even as largely in low income and low productivity Over the past 25 years, the number of peo- more health facilities are being built and the jobs, ranging from illegal gold mining to ple in poverty has dropped significantly, National Health Insurance Scheme, the selling in the streets. The precarious nature from 52 percent in 1992 to 24 percent in most important delivery institution in the of many of these jobs makes them more 2013. There have also been notable public health service, has improved basic survival undertakings than sources of improvements in education, health and accessed for many, the quality of health care meaningful livelihoods. other indicators. leaves much to be desired. Rising inequality Ghana has been urbanizing whilst de- The positive developments in Ghana's is of course not only a Ghanaian problem or industrializing. Millions have fled poverty political economy over the last three even an African problem. in the countryside looking for non-existent decades today co-exist with many troubling Over the past three decades a process jobs in urban areas. This is resulting in huge realities. These are a combination of per- of perverse structural transformation has housing, social services, and sanitation sisting problems of Ghana's political econo- been unfolding in Ghana, as in many problems in overcrowded poor neighbour- my unresolved by 30 years of growth and African countries, as a result of the pattern hoods, especially in the main cities of the also the new problems created by the strat- of economic growth and its associated country: Accra-Tema, Kumasi, Tamale and egy and policies responsible for the growth effects and outcomes. There has been a Sekondi-Takoradi. In these cities sprawling and the weaknesses in the political system. steady fall in the share of agriculture in poor neighbourhoods lacking basic utilities Whilst the percentage of persons living in GDP which nonetheless remained the main poverty has decreased significantly the sector of employment with poor productiv- coexist with well-furnished gated commu- actual numbers have not dropped by much, ity and low quality of employment and nities. Urbanization is growing at an annual falling from 7million in 2006 to 6.4million income. The manufacturing sector has con- rate of 3.55 percent: 31.3 percent of the in 2013. In addition, the chance of a tinued to decline. The services sector has population lived in urban areas in 1984 and Ghanaian child living in poverty has become the biggest economic sector where 43.8% in 2000.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 9 COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER

Who needs a footbridge?

Ex-President Mahama’s failed re-election campaign made much of high profile infrastructure projects like the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange in Accra

Pedestrians in a high density lower income area in Accra scrambling across a busy road in the shadow of a footbridge which remained uncompleted through 8 years of NDC rule

10 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER

Currently more than half the popula- and order' response of criminalization and that created the current neoliberal econom- tion live in urban areas with Tamale, Accra- raids but this has dismally failed to curb the ic model and growth path involved strong Tema, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi being the problem. The Akufo-Addo government has and purposive actions and choices by the fastest growing poles of concentration. signalled its determination to continue with state, an authoritarian state. State power Tamale, with a population of close to the policy. Given how profitable gold min- was used to silence dissent and resistance to 380,000, is said to be the fastest growing ing has been for foreign investors it is hard- privatizations, layoffs and massive job loss- city in West Africa. The growth of three ly surprising that hundreds of thousands of es, commercialization of public goods and dormitory towns in the Accra-Tema area unemployed young people break the law, the reordering of the focus and objectives of exemplifies the extremes of the urbaniza- risk their health and lives whilst wreaking public institutions and the establishment of tion process. Ashaiman grew from 50,000 environmental damage so as to also earn a the hegemony of the new order. people in 1984 to 190,972 people in 2010; living from the sub sector. There is a wide- Thirty years on, purposive state action Kasoa grew from 863 people in 1970 to spread perception that the biggest galamsey is required to break away from this model 34,000 people in 2000 and 69,000 in 2010; operatorsare aided by official corruption and advance inclusive and equitable socio- Madina grew from 7,500 people in 1970 to and complicity; this is an aspect of the per- economic transformation. Such an 28,000 people in 1984 to 137,000 in 2010. vasive public perception of key public insti- approach will also be a process of deepening These areas suffer a highly visible discrimi- tutions and political leaders as corrupt and Ghana's democracy beyond the focus on nation in allocation of public investment in not acting in the public interest. the procedural elements represented by infrastructure and other facilities compared Ghana'sConstitution has some clear multiparty elections and regime alternation. to high income areas in Accra such as East mandatory provisions on the right to work This focus has elevated electoral politics Legon and Cantonments. andthe state's responsibility in that regard. onto a pedestal as being the essence of The jobs crisis is rooted in the sectoral Under the Economic Objectives of the Ghana's democracy rather than being an drivers of growth and exports over the past Directive Principles of State Policy [Article instrument for selecting political office 30 years and the resultant intensification of 36 (1)] the State is enjoined to take all nec- holders. A broader view will be consistent raw material commodity export depend- essary steps "to ensure that the national with the statement in Article 36(2) (e) of ence and the heavy reliance on imports of economy is managed in such a manner as to theConstitution which state that “the most basic foods and most manufactures. The maximize the rate of economic develop- secure democracy is the one that assures the discovery of oil has merely intensified this ment and to secure the maximum welfare, raw material commodity export depend- freedom and happiness of every person in basic necessities of life for its people as a ence. In 2014 with three products--gold, oil Ghana and to provide adequate means of fundamental duty". and cocoaaccounted for 82 percent of livelihood and suitable employment and This Constitutional injunction calls export earnings.Ghana's most impressive public assistance to the needy". Article 36 into question The shift towards policies and period of growth (2000-2013) coincided (2) (a) states principles of decent work. politics of inclusive and equitable transfor- with the peak of the commodity boom, Article 24 (1) provides that "every person mation will require the development of not which also produced Africa's best period of has the right to work under satisfactory and only appropriate policies and practices but growth in 30 years.Gold mining, which is safe and healthy conditions and shall also institutions and the orientation of state dominated by foreign transnational corpo- receive equal pay for equal work". cadre to be more democratic and account- rations, has attracted the most FDI into Although Ghana's policymakers pro- able. It will also require a readiness by the Ghana since the 1990s and has been the pri- claim the importance of industrialization state to challenge the power of vested inter- mary export earner for many years. for job creation, the country's policies and ests in the economy and society -whether it Over the period of the commodity actions do not match these proclamations. is to abolish cultural practices that perpetu- supercycle, specifically the decade to 2013, For example, industrial policy is fragmented ate patriarchy and the subordination of the high price of gold and the employment and there is nocoherent and overarching women in economic and social life; reform crisis in the country triggered an upsurge in relationship among industrial policy frame- land relations in favour of the users of the illegal artisanal and small scale (ASM) gold works and local content in specific sub-sec- land against chiefs and landlords, or pro- mining popularly called 'galamsey'. tors such as mining and oil and gas. The mote domestic production in the face of the Currently one third of gold production is potential of agro-industrial linkages for import lobby. from ASMproducers with the bulk coming increasing agriculture output, reducing Ghana has rightly received for its rela- from illegal miners. Galamsey operators post-harvest losses, improving the supply of tively peaceful electoral transitions from range from highly capitalised businesses foods and raw materials, creating jobs and ruling parties to the opposition. This can- enjoying political protection through self- raising incomes is well known. not however mask the growing public disil- employed gangs to students scratching for Over the past 30 years ideology of the lusionment with the policy continuities school fees. Galamsey is an environmental role of the state as merelycreating an among successive governments and the fail- disaster which is killing many rivers, trailed enabling environment for actors in the mar- ure of these policies to address the most by un-reclaimed devastated lands. On the ket has gained a strong holdin Ghanaian pressing concerns of most Ghanaians and other hand the poverty reduction and eco- public discourse. In practice however state the seeming cross-party consensus within nomic livelihood benefits have been sub- is heavily deployed selectively in support of the political and economic elite to tolerate stantial for most of the illegal miners, their the elite, be it land acquisition for a mine or families and poor farmers who let them dig a large-scale agricultural or housing proj- the self-serving use of public office and up their farms. ect.This selective use of state power is con- political power. The attitude of the state to this com- sistent with how the foundational processes plex problem has been a heavy handed 'law and implementation of key policy decisions * Yao Graham is Coordinator of TWN-Africa

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 11 COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER Female head of Electoral Commission boosted by elections Unsubstantiated political suspicions and misogyny fuelled the storm of criticism Charlotte Osei faced ahead of the elections, writes *Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey.

Ghana’s Electoral Commission Chair, Charlotte Osei

hana's National Electoral Charlotte Osei, a 45 year old lawyer, the main opposition candidate Nana Akufo- Commission, (the EC) under the was appointed chairperson of the EC on Addo challenging the conduct and results of Gleadership of its first female chair- 25th June 2015 by the then President John the presidential elections revealed some person, Mrs. Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei, Mahama following the retirement Dr. Kojo irregularities which affected the credibility has been widely praised for the conduct of Afari-Gyan who had headed the EC since of the EC and increased public mistrust. the December 2016 presidential and parlia- 1993. She inherited an institution facing In the period before Mrs. Osei's mentary elections. A number of reputable credibility and trust issues. Dr. Afari-Gyan appointment there was a lot of speculation, bodies including the National Peace had gained renown and respectability dur- especially in the mass media, about which of Council have expressed their satisfaction ing his tenure during which he supervised many, mainly male, names, that were with the EC's management of the elections. elections for four Presidents and thrown up would be selected for the job. In the period after the election social media Parliaments. This standing however was Some of these men, through media inter- was buzzing with comments giving the EC sullied by the controversial aftermath of views subtly projected themselves by tout- and its chair the thumbs up. 2012 elections. The court action brought by ing their credentials such as political neu-

12 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 COVER: GHANA ELECTIONS AND AFTER

trality, academic and work pedigree. sons who popularised this assertion. don't talk bad or harsh against Although her name was discussed in the However, the most explosive moment them…''.One of the intervening factors media speculations, Charlotte Osei, who came when a member of parliament, Ken which also came out strongly after her was the Chairperson of the National Agyepong, of the then main opposition appointment was her age. She was too Commission for Civic Education, NCCE, party, the NPP, alleged that she traded sex young for the position. And therefore, even at the time, did not appear a front runner as for the job and this triggered a lot of reac- in apologising, the journalist had to dimin- the EC chair's job appeared to be synony- tions. Many women groups demonstrated ish her first. mous with maleness. and sent a petition to Parliament to sanc- A bold decision by the EC in October Women in leadership positions have tion the MP. The petitioners argued that by 2016, just two months to elections, to dis- been subjects for discussion because of insulting the EC Chair, the MP had also qualify a number of presidential aspirants social attitudes about what men and insulted the women in the country. But, for various acts of commission or omission women should do or cannot do. These are these reactions also came with politically provoked the most important furore about drawn from social/gender roles which divisive counter reaction since the support Charlotte Osei's leadership. The decision translate into their perceived leadership she had from the women groups appeared angered the candidates and their supporters capabilities. The appointment of Charlotte to be engineered by the ruling NDC who launched series of attacks on the EC Osei as the first female EC chair seems to activists. Chair. In the ensuing melee, one disquali- have confounded cultural notions of leader- With this background, it was not sur- fied presidential aspirant described her as a ship. The long tenure of her predecessor prising that the counter reactions came “foolish” and “stupid” woman who was not and the tense character of elections from some women from the opposition fit to lead the Electoral Commission. Some appeared to have synonymised the position NPP who chastised the women groups sup- pastors also threatened her with curses if with maleness. porting her. In their criticism, they argued she attempted to rig the election in favour Charlotte Osei's appointment immedi- that by supporting the EC chair, the of the ruling NDC. Some sent the issue to ately generated controversy and some neg- women's groups were picking and choosing court and were cleared to contest the elec- ative reactions. Such reactions to a high who to support as other women were mal- tions, an outcome which dented the EC's profile appointment are not unusual. In this treated in similar manner in the past with- standing. case however the debates dragged on and out any reaction from such groups. Another On December 7, 2016, Ghanaians the negative comments had a strongly sexist prominent woman in the opposition party voted and many deemed the process to be flavour. Also her relative youthfulness in a even proposed that a probe be made into free and fair. However, the EC's communi- society that makes much of gerontocracy her sex-for-job allegation saying it should cation of wrong voter turnout, little clarifi- made it even harder for her critics to accept not be simply dismissed. With two political- cation on an alleged hacking of its system her appointment. Her credentials were not ly aligned groups of women discussing the and the u-turn on that announcement were in doubt having come to the EC job with an issue, it was clear that politics rather than black spots on a rather well- organised elec- impressive CV as a legal practitioner, public real concern for a fellow woman was the tion. Closely related to this was the delay in office holder and member of several boards. real motive for the reactions. announcing the final results of the elections But that did not deter her critics. She expe- The next phase of the criticism came which only came after the incumbent con- rienced multiple levels of criticism ques- when she settled to work. The first few ceded defeat. These administrative and tioning her nationality, allegiance, impar- administrative decisions that the EC under communicative blunders generated debates tiality and the constitutionality of her her leadership took generated public furore about the competence of the EC and its appointment. and she took the flak for them. In April chair. The delay in the declaration of the The, then main opposition New 2016, the Electoral Commission commit- results provided another opportunity for Patriotic Party (NPP) was one of the first to ted a faux-pas by changing its logo in a Charlotte Osei's critics to doubt her impar- criticise her appointment. A 2008 campaign rebranding effort. Ghanaians questioned tiality as they claimed she had to consult the poster of her look-alike National the cost of the rebranding, the authenticity Democratic Congress contestant in the of the logo, the timing of the rebranding president and seek his opinion before she Western Region was put forward to argue amongst others. Some even alleged that the could declare the presidential results. that she was politically aligned to the ruling EC chair's husband won the contract to The appointment of the first female government which appointed her. That redesign the logo, an allegation the EC Electoral Commission chair in Ghana claim was debunked. The follow-up was chair denied. In fact, her response to the appeared to have overwhelmed many whether one individual can occupy two suc- rebranding and the logo angered many peo- Ghanaians who did not know how to cessive public offices since prior to her ple who called her arrogant as she was quot- receive the news and relate to her. Valid appointment, she was the Chair of NCCE. ed to have said, 'we liked, it, we pick it'. criticisms against her were overshadowed With no strong constitutional backing, that During the heat of the discussion of the by those that were sexist and prejudiced. too was shot down. Others argued on her rebranding issue, a popular sports journalist With the elections over, some of her affinity as a step daughter to a Nigerian and openly attacked the EC chair by using strongest critics on social media, are asking said she was not fit for the position because unprintable words such as 'thief', ' dumb', themselves if an apology would not be a her allegiance was in doubt. Others ques- 'stinking' and 'incompetent' during a live proper thing to do but they are yet to do so. tioned her citizenship status. Interestingly, show. When his employers impressed upon a former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman him to apologise, he said “I'm very emo- * Gertrude Dzifa Torvikeyis a PhD student of Rawlings, was one of the prominent per- tional today, women are our baby girls, we the University of Ghana, Legon.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 13 COVER

Former President Jammeh New leader Adama Barrow How long will Barrow’s honeymoon last? *Louise Hunt asks whether faced with the numerous challenges, Adama Barrow could redeem himself on his promises to the Gambian electorate.

he Gambia's new president, Adama they have major challenges ahead in dent who went into exile in Norway after Barrow, received a hero's welcome reforming a country that effectively has to being arrested and imprisoned in 2014 for Twhen he returned to Banjul after his be rebuilt from scratch within a self- his human rights work. “Everything under makeshift inauguration in neighbouring imposed three-year term. Jammeh's regime was tailor-made to suit his Senegal at the end of January. If the honeymoon period is to last, interests, so for us to move forward, the Tens of thousands of well-wishers their first test is to prove to the nation that government has to show it is different from came out to rejoice at the democratic victo- “New Gambia” really is a different country. the former regime.” ry that ended more than two decades of rule After 22 years of not being allowed to by autocrat Yahya Jammeh. Great expectations criticise the government, Gambians - espe- Barrow and his coalition government “We have got to start on the right footing,” cially the younger generation of educated are riding high on a wave of popularity. But said Sait Matty Jaw, a Gambian PhD stu- professionals that played a major role in

14 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 COVER

pushing for political change - are already Speaking before he was appointed as scrutinising the new administration. foreign minister, Ousainou Darboe, a for- For some, Barrow's cabinet announce- mer opposition leader, acknowledged that ments last week carried disappointing three years was too short a time to repair all echoes of the old ways of appointing: enti- the damage, but said “the foundations will “So far, the government has tlement over merit. have been laid”. Out of the 11 filled posts (there are So far, the government has not shared not shared any kind of seven remaining), each of the seven parties any kind of roadmap for what it specifically roadmap for what it specifical- that form the coalition got a major post, aims to achieve, and it runs the risk of failing while Barrow's United Democratic Party to manage expectations. ly aims to achieve, and it runs got three. One blog suggested he had cho- “The government needs to identify the the risk of failing to manage sen a “cabinet that attempts to reward and magnitude of the challenge and where to preserve the coalition that brought him to prioritise its interventions,” said Grey- expectations.” power”. Johnson. “People need to be reassured that “The potential for patronage is still the coalition understands the challenges Monetary Fund, as well as the signing of the there,” noted Jeggan Grey-Johnson, a and to communicate there is a plan in place first World Bank-funded project to pro- Gambian who works for the Open Society and how they're going to go about it.” mote child and maternal health. Initiative of Southern Africa and hopes to A decision by the European Union to play an active role in the reform process. Economic crisis reinstate its 33-million-euro development “Barrow doesn't (yet) have the experi- The economy is in dire straits. The fund, frozen from 2015/16 over human ence and gravitas as a politician, and those Gambia's poverty rate is 50 percent and its rights concerns, is also a welcome move. surrounding him have 10 times the amount debt repayment rate is 100 percent of GDP, Abdul Aziz Bensouda, secretary gener- of authority, so he will have to defer to their according to Grey-Johnson. “So, whatever al of the Gambia Bar Association, believes competing interests.” we make goes straight out of the country,” that establishing a truth and reconciliation The cabinet is old (the average age is he said. “Gambia is insolvent. We are commission will also be an important part above 60) and predominantly male, and broke.” of the reform process - a step towards heal- that demographic has also come in for criti- Add to this the thousands of tourists ing after decades of human rights abuses cism. during the December election crisis that and embezzlement under Jammeh. “They may have the wisdom, but they went home in the middle of the season, the “We need a commission of inquiry to lack the dynamism required to deal with the hotels that are only half booked, and the investigate the crimes over the years, to modern challenges of the Gambian youth reality is “unemployment is about to shoot allow civil society to decide what to do with population,” argued Salieu Taal, a lawyer up”, Grey-Thompson added. them,” he said. and founder of the #GambiaHasDecided It is unlikely the rate of youth unem- Momodou Sabally, a former minister opposition umbrella movement. ployment can be tackled anytime soon. And who was imprisoned twice by Jammeh, this is the most urgent employment prob- agrees on the need for a truth and reconcil- Youth power lem the government faces, with thousands iation process, but sounds a note of caution. It is the younger generation that has of youths attempting the illegal “backway” “I know there's a lot of anger and zeal been the driving force behind political Mediterranean route to Europe. for vengeance, but we should be careful,” he change, voting in unprecedented numbers “The backway trend is only going to be said. “So many people have served in in the 2016 election. It is no surprise they addressed if there are policies to attract the Jammeh's regime; some of the victims now want to make sure their voices are heard young people to come back and fulfil their have been villains too in this long stretch of and represented in government after dreams,” Employment Minister Isatou time.” decades of repression. Touray told IRIN. If not handled properly, “the govern- Last week, youth groups staged the That means “finding jobs and address- ment won't be able to do any work,” said country's first peaceful demonstration with- ing the human rights situation, and having Sabally. “They'll be having to deal with out worry of harassment by the authorities. freedom of movement so that they can help these things piecemeal until their time is up. Around 1,000 youths protested outside the themselves under this regime”. So, it's important to address this in as National Assembly, calling for all members mature a manner as possible.” of parliament that supported Jammeh's Donors on board The young, in particular, are in a rush motion for a state of emergency to resign. The coalition is already making good to create New Gambia, but how much real The National Youth Council is also launch- on its promise of improving international change can be achieved in just three years ing the Not2Young2Run campaign to relations and encouraging long-term busi- under a coalition government? For encourage and support young people in ness investment, development, and, ulti- Bensouda, simply “righting the wrongs and contesting for parliament in the National mately, job creation. democratising the country” would be a Assembly elections in April. In its first weeks, ministers have met start. The coalition government has already with officials from several donor countries, made clear it is a transitional administration including China. There have been talks *Louise Hunt is freelance journalist and regu- with the primary goal of righting the wrongs with the World Bank, the African lar IRIN contributor specialising in social perpetrated under Jammeh. Development Bank, and the International affairs and international development

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 15 DEVELOPMENT UN report finds 48 countries in a poverty trap

Least developed countries are still lagging far behind in terms of development. This will hurt progress on achieving the UN poverty goals writes *Ronald Joshua.

s the first year of Sustainable action. 2016: The Path to Graduation and Beyond Development Goals (SDGs) to be "These are the countries where the - Making the Most of the Process on 13 Aachieved by 2030 came to a close, a global battle for poverty eradication will be December 2016. new United Nations report finds that a won or lost," said UNCTAD Secretary- Without mincing words, the report group of 48 countries is falling further General Mukhisa Kituyi, launching the declares that in the 48 LDCs the share of behind the rest of the world in terms of eco- Report. "A year ago, the global community those without access to water has also dou- nomic development. pledged to 'leave no one behind', but that is bled since 1990 to 43.5 per cent. The proportion of the global poor in exactly what is happening to the least devel- Furthermore, these countries now account those countries has more than doubled oped countries (LDCs)." for the majority (53.4%) of the 1.1 billion since 1990, to well over 40%, and that the UNCTAD is the UN Conference on people worldwide who do not have access situation will not be remedied unless the Trade and Development which released to electricity, an increase of two thirds. international community takes concerted The Least Developed Countries Report In six LDCs, the rate of extreme pover-

16 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 DEVELOPMENT

“The report also stresses the need to combine economy- wide industrial policies direct- ed towards market failures with policies aimed at promot- ing productive activities that contribute to development. Building capacities in science, technology and innovation is also of crucial importance.”

Organization negotiations. • Full and timely operationalization of a UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres technology bank for LDCs in 2017, with adequate financing and due ty is between 70% and 80%, and in 10 more Graduation itself is only a first step regard for each country's level of the rate is between 50% and 70 per cent. towards long-term development. To weath- development. There are only four other countries in the er the loss of the international support they • Improved monitoring of technology world where the rate is above 30%, and received as LDCs and confront the chal- transfer to LDCs. nowhere else is it above 50 per cent. lenges that lie further ahead requires what • A more systematic, smooth transition This, says the report, leaves many the Report calls "graduation with momen- process for graduating countries, to LDCs stuck in a poverty trap, a vicious cir- tum" - a process of structural change to limit the impact of losing access to cle in which poverty leads to poor nutrition increase the productivity of their international support measures when and health, and lack of education, under- economies. But many of the countries pro- they graduate. mining productivity and investment. This jected to graduate will not achieve this. in turn blocks the sustainable development "Graduation is not the winning post of For LDC Governments, moving from needed to reduce poverty. Countries can a race to escape from the LDC category. It graduation strategies to graduation-plus only break out of such vicious circles with is the first milestone in the marathon of sus- strategies aimed at achieving graduation international support in finance, trade and tainable long-term development," says with momentum is also essential, says the technology, declares the report. UNCTAD Secretary-General Kituyi. "So report. Key priorities include transforming The LDC category was created largely how a country graduates is just as important rural economies by developing rural non- to target such support for those countries as when it graduates." farm activities in parallel with upgrading that needed it most. Countries graduate He warns that likely failure to meet the agriculture. from the LDC category by satisfying a com- graduation target, or to achieve graduation The report also stresses the need to plex set of economic and social criteria. But with momentum, highlights the inadequacy combine economy-wide industrial policies only four countries have graduated in the of international support measures to the directed towards market failures with poli- 45 years since this classification was estab- developmental needs of LDCs. The Report cies aimed at promoting productive activi- lished. therefore calls for improvements to such ties that contribute to development. "In 2011, prompted by this glacial rate measures, for example: Building capacities in science, technology of progress, the international community • Fulfilment by donors of their and innovation is also of crucial impor- set a goal that half of all LDCs should satis- long-standing commitments to tance. fy the criteria for graduation by 2020. But provide 0.15-0.20% of their national Other steps calling for action are: halfway to the target date, this goal already income for assistance to LDCs, to Strengthening tax systems, improving appears out of reach," notes the report. make aid more stable and predictable, financial systems and addressing financial Only one country (Samoa) has gradu- and to align it more closely with inclusion; pursuing macroeconomic poli- ated since 2011; only three more national development strategies. cies that combine stability with investment (Equatorial Guinea, Vanuatu and Angola) • Faster progress towards 100% duty- dynamism and employment generation; are scheduled to do so in the coming years. free and quota-free access for LDCs' and strengthening efforts to address gender Looking ahead, the Report projects that exports to developed country markets. inequality across all policy areas. only 13 more will qualify for graduation by • Renewed efforts to break the stalemate 2021, far short of the 21 needed to meet the on special and differential treatment The above article is reproduced from IDN- goal in 2020. for LDCs in World Trade InDepthNews, 14 December 2016.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 17 DEVELOPMENT

Goldman Sachs planned new headquarters Bond to happen? Recurring debt crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa and the rise of sovereign bond issuance may not be mere coincidence writes *Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven.

ver the past decade, sub-Saharan international system for responsible lending tainability and the principles to be observed African countries have been issu- and borrowing? As financing for develop- by debt investors. Oing sovereign bonds at an unprece- ment is central to attaining the Sustainable dented rate and many are now facing new Development Goals (SDGs), the question Sub-Saharan African Debt: repayment difficulties. A recently-released of whether the existing frameworks for and Levels Rising, Transparency report, Bond to Happen Recurring Debt practices of contracting debt are likely to be Lacking Crises in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Rise of pro-development is of particular concern. The report finds that many sub- Sovereign Bond Issuance, explores the eco- So, too, would be the question of their Saharan African countries have undergone nomic and financial situation of a selection alignment with the human rights frame- substantial transformations with respect to of African countries, with a focus on the role work. Issues where human rights principles the type of finance they have been attracting of sovereign bonds. It finds that although are set to make a crucial contribution could over the past decade. Private flows are there are substantial opportunities associat- be important in the mitigation of the risks becoming more important while the impor- ed with sovereign bond issuance, there are posed by high volumes of increased bond tance of public flows is diminishing, particu- also substantial risks. issuance. Among other such mitigating larly for the middle-income countries in the The report asks the question: Is there a aspects, the report discusses transparency region. A crucial characteristic of the chang- debt crisis waiting to happen on the sub- and respect for the rule of law in debt con- ing flows to the region is the growing impor- continent? And how can we improve our traction process, the estimation of debt sus- tance of sovereign bonds issued in foreign

18 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 DEVELOPMENT

currency, so-called Eurobonds. Although rating agencies highly influence the level of faced recently). this form of financing is a form of debt interest countries will pay on their loans, as issuance, this report finds that investors their credit rating tends to signal the How can the risks be mitigated? rarely apply principles for responsible lend- strength of their economy. However, there When asked what kind of conditions ing when making such investments. is little openness about how these ratings lenders should require of issuing govern- Since 2006, sixteen sub-Saharan coun- are determined and they tend to focus on ments before investing in their bonds, civil tries have issued Eurobonds and many have short-term issues such as a change in terms society groups brought up a range of condi- issued more than one. Such bonds are con- of trade, rather than more structural issues tions. For example, that the government sidered to be a much-needed source of such as the type of investment a govern- should publish how it is planning to spend financing for development expenditures as ment is making. (Thus a country experienc- the money in an accessible way and it well as a convenient way to plug budget ing an oil boom will be considered a good should provide space for non-state actors to deficits. These issuances have amounted to borrower in times of high oil prices and a intervene. The report also finds that one over $25 billion in total, which represents worse borrower in times of low oil prices). cannot simply assume that a country is fol- lowing the due process of law, as govern- Figure 1. Sub-Saharan African Eurobonds by Country for 2006-2015 (million USD ments often circumvent the constitution. There has been growing awareness of the ethical behavior of investors in sover- eign bonds internationally over the past decade. Not only have individual asset man- agers sought to establish ethical guidelines for their sovereign bond investments, but the UN also published their own Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2006. In this context of increasing awareness of ethical investor behavior combined with continuing risks associated with Eurobond issuances, the report recommends that a comprehensive framework for responsible lending practices applied to investments in sovereign bonds be developed in order to ensure: • that the borrower is complying with the due process of law, Source: The report Bond to Happen • that the bond issuance is transparent and open to public debate, about 20% of foreign aid to the region. Furthermore, the investment banks con- • that contractual instruments such as However, last year the IMF cautioned sulting with sub-Saharan African countries collective action clauses are included in African countries that they could be endan- on their bond issuances tend to recom- the bond contracts, and gering their debt sustainability by issuing mend exaggerated interest rates. Thus, the • that the debt is likely to be sustainable. sovereign bonds. sub-Saharan African countries end up pay- The case studies of a small selection of ing higher borrowing costs than what might Finally, the report recommends several sub-Saharan African countries expose a lack have been possible on the international areas for reform of the global financial sys- of accountability when it comes borrowing market, which is illustrated by how heavily tem. Firstly, the report recommends the processes. In fact, the process of bond many of the sovereign bonds issuances have application of the UNCTAD principles on issuance is often plagued by lack of trans- been oversubscribed. promoting responsible sovereign lending parency and ultimately legitimacy, from the As this is playing out in the context of a and borrowing internationally, and particu- perspective of the citizens of the issuing defective framework for sovereign lending country. In some cases, civil society and and borrowing and a flawed system for debt larly in relation to lending through sover- parliamentarians have little information restructuring, issuing Eurobonds entails eign bond investment. Furthermore, the about the loan contracts and what the funds many serious risks. These risks are ampli- report recommends the development of an are being used for. Additionally, civil socie- fied by the fact that many of the Eurobonds independent, global debt-workout mecha- ty groups are demanding to be a part of the issued in sub-Saharan Africa do not contain nism, as well as an improvement in the qual- decision-making process and for there to be collective action clauses. Such clauses are ity and objectivity of information regarding public debates about the use of the bor- designed to mitigate collective action prob- a country's economic situation and outlook. rowed funds and the terms of the loans. lems in debt restructurings and they help The global system for evaluating debt prevent creditors from refusing to cooper- *Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven is a PhD student sustainability and macroeconomic outlook ate in restructuring processes (in order to at The New School in New York and author of is also flawed and non-transparent. Credit avoid situations like the one Argentina the report Bond to Happen.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 19 DEVELOPMENT UN: diminishing power of small-scale cocoa farmers Farmers receive only about 7% of the total value added to cocoa beans sold, thus putting them in a weak bargaining position, asserts *Kanaga Raja.

Small-sacle cocoa farmers - are the smiles about to disappear?

he situation of small-holding farm- This is one of the main conclusions their output to cover production costs and ers - the backbone of world cocoa highlighted by the UN Conference on leave them a margin for a decent liveli- Tproduction - is of particular con- Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in a hood," it said. cern, as their already weak position in glob- Secretariat Note prepared for the sixty- Estimates suggest that farmers only al value chains (GVCs) continues to be third session of its Trade and Development receive about 7% of the total value added to undermined by other well-integrated stake- Board (TDB) which took place in one ton of cocoa beans sold. The majority holders, including traders, processors and December 2016. of added value accrues to other stakehold- manufacturers of cocoa and chocolate "As a result, farmers have very limited ers, including manufacturers and retailers, products. room to negotiate appropriate prices for UNCTAD has pointed out.

20 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 DEVELOPMENT

To improve the situation of small- centrated, farmers - the mainstay of agri- holding farmers, UNCTAD has recom- food production worldwide, who operate at mended enacting or reinforcing competi- small-scale levels - remain dispersed and "A major cause of the consoli- tion law in agricultural commodity-produc- thus unable to wield countervailing power dation pattern in the trading ing countries, governmental actions for a against well-consolidated buyers and supportive environment for local small processors. segment of the cocoa value players such as small-scale traders and agri- "This situation raises concerns about chain is trade liberalizing food processors, to remain in business, and the state of integration of such farmers into the promotion of farmer-based organiza- value chains at a time when trade liberaliz- reforms. Liberalization in tions. ing reforms have increased their exposure producing countries was According to the Secretariat Note, to markets. Market concentration may concentration at all stages along agricultur- become problematic, especially if it fosters expected, among other objec- al commodity value chains - including hori- monopolistic trends along value chains." tives, to increase competition zontal concentration and vertical integra- Such behaviour increases the bargain- tion - has become a topical issue in recent ing power of large players to the detriment in domestic intermediation years. of small players, including small-holding and in the export of cocoa A limited number of large companies farmers and small firms. control a large part of the market, from trad- Such a market structure tends to beans by increasing the num- ing to the processing and retailing of agri- reduce the profits of the latter, as well as the ber of players." cultural products. share of value added captured in producing For example, in 2002, two companies countries. controlled nearly 50% of the global banana Concentration in wheat, rice and sugar organization. trade and two others handled three quarters value chains, for instance, has led to the Cocoa trading is also characterized by of the global grain trade. market power of international trading com- market concentration, although this is not In 2008, it was estimated that, globally, panies that, in turn, has contributed to necessarily a new development. 45% of coffee processing was carried out by widening the spread between global and From 1980 to the early 2000s, for the four largest companies in the industry domestic prices for these products. example, the number of cocoa trading hous- and 80% of tea markets were controlled by es in London decreased threefold, from 30 only three companies. Horizontal concentration in to less than 10 players. In 2012, it was estimated that four cocoa sector According to UNCTAD, the concen- transnational corporations controlled 90% According to UNCTAD, the cocoa tration pattern has accelerated in recent of the global grain trade. In the same period, global value chain (also referred to as the years due to several mergers and acquisi- the leading four players in cocoa markets in cocoa-chocolate global value chain) has five tions. As a result, it is estimated that in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria bought major segments: production; sourcing and 2013, the three largest cocoa trading and more than half of the cocoa beans produced marketing; processing; manufacturing and processing companies - Barry Callebaut, in these countries. distribution; and retailing to final con- Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland - trad- The rationale behind concentration sumers. ed 50-60% of the world's cocoa production. patterns in agricultural commodity value The first segment of the cocoa value At the national level, marketing chan- chains is the corporate objective of attain- chain, production, is handled by a few pro- nels for cocoa beans are also controlled by a ing economies of scale, amid increasing ducing countries. limited number of players. For example, in globalization of food chains, said UNC- At the global level, Africa remains the Cote d'Ivoire, three international compa- TAD. largest cocoa-producing region. It is esti- nies, through local agencies, bought about The resulting market structure could mated that in the 2013-2014 crop year, the 50% of the cocoa produced in the country effectively contribute to achieving a better continent produced roughly 3.2 million in the 2011-2012 crop year. allocation of resources while improving effi- tons of cocoa beans, representing 73% of "A major cause of the consolidation ciency in global value chains of agricultural global production. pattern in the trading segment of the cocoa products, with the ensuing benefits passed In the same period, about 60% of glob- value chain is trade liberalizing reforms. onto all stakeholders along the value chains. al production was handled by the two lead- Liberalization in producing countries was "Concentration patterns may also be ing producing countries, Cote d'Ivoire and expected, among other objectives, to explained, in part, by the fact that concen- Ghana. increase competition in domestic interme- tration at one stage of a value chain (for Cocoa supply may thus be considered diation and in the export of cocoa beans by example, processing) may have the same highly concentrated in a limited number of increasing the number of players." effect at other stages (for example, manu- countries. However, cocoa is typically pro- However, said UNCTAD, high operat- facturing or trading). This permits the bal- duced by a number of dispersed small-scale ing costs, including transport costs, have ancing of bargaining power along value growers: an estimated 5 million to 6 million contributed to strengthening the position chains." farmers globally. of transnational corporations, which have However, said the UNCTAD docu- In Cote d'Ivoire, for example, 80-85% better access than small-scale traders and ment, while global value chains of agricul- of cocoa is produced by individual farmers buyers to resources (finance and technolo- tural products are increasingly being con- who are not members of any cooperative or gy).

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 21 DEVELOPMENT

As a result, most small players have manufacturers, namely the Hershey (Dominican Republic) and Akuafo Adamfo been squeezed out of cocoa marketing Company and Mars, accounted for 65% of (Ghana). channels or have merged with transnational the sector's sales in 2014. None of their Concentration in agro-industry con- corporations that took control of their competitors individually exceeded a 5% tributes to a better allocation of resources activities. share. and economies of scale along value chains. "This has resulted in the dominant The cocoa value chain has also experi- This ultimately increases cost efficiency position of a limited number of companies enced significant vertical integration, with along a chain, with benefits passed onto var- with larger market shares in cocoa- produc- companies expanding their activities, from ious stakeholders. ing countries." sourcing beans to producing chocolate "A fair distribution of benefits, which With regard to processing, origin products. may not have the same meaning between grindings (grinding operations taking place UNCTAD noted that in the past, a stakeholders, is therefore a key determinant in cocoa-producing countries) have number of large chocolate producers man- of the success of concentration patterns." improved in recent years. aged much of the value chain themselves, UNCTAD said with regard to cocoa, A limited number of transnational cor- from buying beans to processing cocoa but- increased consolidation may have permit- porations dominate the markets. In 2006, ter and powder to making chocolate. ted the attainment of economies of scale four large companies, namely Barry Later, many cocoa and chocolate busi- and, as such, contributed to improving effi- Callebaut, Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland ness entities (re)positioned themselves in ciency in the industry. Moreover, vertical and Blommer Chocolate Company, con- specific segments of the value chain, with integration in the cocoa industry has helped trolled about 50% of the global cocoa grind- many of them exiting, for example, the less transnational corporations ensure the trace- ings capacity, and this share increased to profitable grindings segment. ability and quality required by customers. 61% in 2015. However, an increasing number of "However, concentration may become Concentration in cocoa processing has mergers and acquisitions in recent years has problematic, especially if it fosters monopo- been driven in recent years primarily by the resulted in a high degree of vertical integra- listic behaviour in an industry. Such behav- recent boom in commodity prices. High tion in the industry. iour increases the bargaining power of large prices of inputs, including cocoa beans and This pattern stems partly from the and integrated players to the detriment of energy, have increased production costs for motivation of large companies to gain small players, including small-scale produc- processing companies, resulting in narrow- greater control of cocoa and chocolate ers (that is, farmers) and traders as well as er margins for most. products, to satisfy demand in terms of purely chocolate manufacturers." "Merger and acquisition strategies in quantity, quality and traceability. It is common for concentration in a the segment have therefore been used by "The operations of some trading or segment of an agro-industry value chain to existing players as a means of increasing processing companies have extended down lead to similar changes in other segments; cost efficiency and attaining greater to the farm level (directly via cocoa-buying this permits the balancing of bargaining economies of scale." stations or indirectly through agency rela- power along value chains. In the chocolate retailing segment of tionships). This has created a blurred In the cocoa industry, while there is the cocoa value chain, a limited number of boundary between trading and processing considerable concentration in the process- confectionery and branded companies lead companies, as major trading transnational ing and distribution segments of the cocoa the markets. corporations are now also engaged in cocoa value chain, the supply segment (that is, the In 2013, for example, the total sales of processing and vice versa." production of cocoa beans) typically chocolate bars and other candies by the Other companies historically involved remains fragmented among scattered small- leading 10 companies amounted to 42% of in midstream activities along the cocoa holders. global confectionary sales, estimated at value chain have expanded their businesses "This situation creates an oligopsonis- $196.6 billion. to the upstream and downstream segments tic structure in the cocoa market, that is, a Chocolate products sold through mod- of the chain, that is, from the production of large number of sellers and a limited num- ern grocery retail channels, including hyper- semi-finished cocoa products to, at one end, ber of buyers." markets and supermarkets, accounted for the sourcing of cocoa beans and, at the As a result, farmers are entrenched in a 56% of total global sales. other end, the production of consumer weak bargaining position, which reduces At the national level, retail markets are chocolate. them to price takers, at a time when they also dominated by a few companies. For Large chocolate manufacturers and also have limited access to finance, market example, in France, the main chocolate con- brand owners, including Mars and Nestle, information and agricultural inputs such as fectionery companies in 2014 were Ferrero are now sourcing cocoa beans from farmers. improved seeds and fertilizers. (19% of the market), Lindt and Sprungli As a result of these developments, only a In chocolate-producing countries, high (13%) and Nestle and Mondelez (11% few companies remain with operations in integration - vertically along the value chain each). only one specific segment of the value or horizontally in the cocoa processing and In the United States, the chocolate chain. chocolate manufacturing segments - is like- confectionary market is highly diversified in In cocoa bean trading, for example, ly to shrink input supply possibilities for terms of suppliers, including transnational these include, at the international level, purely chocolate manufacturing enterpris- corporations and national, regional and Continaf, Novel Commodities and Touton es. local companies. Group and, at the national level, Saf Cacao UNCTAD said that a long-term impact In contrast, the leading two chocolate (Cote d'Ivoire), Roig Agro-Cacao of this may be the closure of enterprises

22 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 DEVELOPMENT

or their acquisition by major consolidated jurisdiction of producing countries. companies. The former challenge may be For example, the European addressed by improving institutional capac- Commission stated that the proposed ities at the national level, with strong com- merger of Archer Daniels Midland and petition agencies. Addressing the latter Cargill, by eliminating an important com- challenge almost certainly requires harmo- petitor, could reduce the choice of suitable nization of the rules dealing with anti-com- suppliers in already concentrated markets, petitive practices, as well as cooperation which could lead to price increases, with a between competition agencies at the inter- negative impact on consumers. national level, with effective oversight by an In July 2015, it approved the merger on international body. the condition that Cargill divest Archer Second, competitive domestic cocoa Daniels Midland's largest chocolate plant in markets require a supportive environment Europe to a competitor to allow cocoa “First, it is imperative to enact, for local small players, such as small-scale product markets to remain competitive. traders and agrifood processors, to remain UNCTAD cautioned that increasing or reinforce, competition law in business. consolidation along the cocoa value chain in agricultural commodity-pro- A key driver of the high concentration also increases the risks of anti- competitive of buyers in the domestic agricultural mar- practices and tacit or formal collusive ducing countries in order to kets of producing countries is the difficul- behaviour among large players. prevent anti-competitive prac- ties faced by local small players in compet- It noted that in absolute terms, cocoa ing on a level playing field with multination- farmer revenues are very low. The tices and limit the market al corporations, as the latter have better International Labour Rights Forum esti- power of trading or processing access to resources such as finance. mates that the net earnings of a typical Keeping local stakeholders, including cocoa farmer with 2 hectares of land in the companies that source their local small and medium-sized enterprises, leading two cocoa- producing countries, inputs from farmers.” involved in national value chains requires Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, are about $2.07 addressing the high costs of finance. and $2.69 per day, respectively. UNCTAD also recommended the pro- These amounts are just above the glob- One of the policy recommendations motion of farmer-based organizations. al poverty line of $1.90 per person per day made by UNCTAD is promoting competi- "Organizing farmers into well- functioning and do not permit farmers and their families tive agricultural commodity value chains. farmer-based organizations may help to enjoy a decent livelihood. It said the current structure of agricul- address the problem of dispersion and "As the average size of a rural house- tural commodity value chains results in counteract buyer power and, in turn, enable hold in these countries may exceed five peo- power imbalances between highly integrat- farmers to negotiate higher prices." ple, it seems evident that daily net income ed large players and smallholders, especially Moreover, farmer-based organizations per person in the cocoa-producing commu- small-scale farmers. facilitate member access to output markets nities may be much lower than the global Therefore, creating a level playing field and assist farmers to procure inputs such as for all stakeholders in value chains, by poverty line." seeds and fertilizers in bulk. ensuring competitive markets at national As seen in the cocoa sector, concentra- They also provide farmers with better tion prevails in agricultural commodity and international levels, is critical to access to finance and extension services, value chains, along with the scattered empowering dispersed small-holders, it which in turn reduces their production nature of small-holding farmers, who are added, highlighting two measures in this costs while increasing their productivity, the mainstays of most value chains. regard. thereby increasing their profit margins and "This results in power imbalances First, it is imperative to enact, or rein- incomes. along value chains and creates a favourable force, competition law in agricultural com- environment for the abuse of market power modity-producing countries in order to "Such policies should effectively be by large players. If such a market structure prevent anti-competitive practices and limit complemented by pro-farmer trade and prevails unchecked, it effectively under- the market power of trading or processing agricultural development policies and other mines competition in agrifood value chains, companies that source their inputs from actions that contribute to improving the adding further downward pressure to prices farmers. efficiency of agrifood value chains for all paid to farmers," UNCTAD underlined. Challenges in such countries with stakeholders," said UNCTAD. To promote sustainable agricultural respect to competition law are often related The role of Governments in shaping commodity value chains, UNCTAD said it to two issues, namely, how to enact and adequate policies and building strong insti- is critical to empower farmers, in the face of enforce such law and how to address the tutional frameworks is important, it added. increasing concentration along value difficulties faced by legislators due to the chains. In this regard, policies aimed at extraterritorial characteristics of national *Kanaga Raja is the editor of the South-North keeping value chains competitive and pro- markets, stemming from the fact that major Development Monitor (SUNS). moting strong farmer-based organizations transnational corporations active in trading This article is reproduced from SUNS #8372, are crucial. or processing agrifood do not fall under the 8 December 2016.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 23 DEVELOPMENT

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria New OECD measure for SDGs highly problematic, says study

A new statistic being developed by the OECD is riddled with flaws and are being written with limited consultation with developing countries, where 80% of the population of the planet lives writes *Kanaga Raja.

The proposed Total Official Support for Paper titled "New Development Finance predecessor, Official Development Sustainable Development (TOSSD), a new Measure Should Be TOSS[E]D Out The Assistance (ODA), the long-standing statis- statistic being developed by the OECD club Window!", was authored by Dr. Neissan tical term for foreign aid," it said. of donors to measure their contribution Besharati, the African coordinator of the "The problem with the new measure is towards the SDGs, comes with no commit- Network of Southern Think Tanks that, once again, it is being created without ments, no responsibility and no expecta- (NeST). consulting the main beneficiaries. In fact, tions attached, a new study has charged. According to the study, although still a developing countries didn't even ask for this Putting attention into creating, calcu- work-in-progress, TOSSD endeavours to new statistic," said Dr Besharati. lating and reporting TOSSD could easily count all financial flows (public and private, The study pointed out that the concept distract donor countries from existing concessional and non-concessional) from of TOSSD originated from and was driven Official Development Assistance (ODA) traditional and emerging donors aimed at by discussions within the OECD commitments and their historical responsi- supporting global public goods and sustain- Development Assistance Committee bilities, the study stressed. able development. (DAC). The study, in the form of a Working "TOSSD stretches the boundaries of its But in June 2015 at the third UN

24 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 DEVELOPMENT

used for the SDG framework. The study noted that contrary to the MDGs, the SDGs do not apply only to developing countries but to all countries, regardless of economic status. Thus, to qualify as TOSSD, an expen- diture needs to be either 'for the benefit of developing countries' or 'for global public goods.' "This however opens a can of worms on what to count and what not to count as TOSSD," it said. Donor countries in fact have convinc- ingly argued that many domestic expendi- tures such as scientific and health research, education and capacity-building pro- grammes, national efforts to reduce green- house emissions, assistance to political and economic migrants, or anything else which indirectly contributes to global develop- ment, may potentially be counted as TOSSD. By the same token, should points be subtracted from TOSSD when domestic policies of OECD countries hurt develop- ing countries, such as high carbon emis- sions, agricultural subsidies, and illicit finan- Conference on Financing for Development bility and no expectations attached. This cial flows, Dr Besharati asked. in Ethiopia, TOSSD crept into the text of makes the global South very suspicious. According to the study, another con- the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, when Putting attention into creating, calculating cern with TOSSD is that the OECD wants countries agreed "to hold open, inclusive and reporting TOSSD could easily distract to also include all non- concessional loans in and transparent discussions on the modern- donor countries from existing ODA com- the new measure. ization of the ODA measurement and on mitments and their historical responsibili- "If a financial institution from a the proposed measure of total official sup- ties," the study warned. Northern country is providing a loan on port for sustainable development". It pointed out that the architects of commercial terms and making profits from Unfortunately, said the study, the TOSSD have stated that the new measure is the misfortunes of poor beneficiaries, how process has not been open, inclusive, or about cross-border flows and will not can this be considered 'support to sustain- transparent. include in-donor costs. able development'?" The details of TOSSD have been writ- However, said Dr Besharati, the recent The study also said that including pub- ten up by OECD technocrats, while most of debates around TOSSD have seen many licly-mobilised private financing in the new the consultations between 2015 and 2016 OECD donors pushing for new spending statistic is very ambiguous as it opens the have been held among a small circle of items which they would like to report in the possibility for blended finance, public-pri- wealthy countries, with token representa- new measure, so they can say that they are vate partnerships, private capital raised by tion from the rest of the (developing) giving more towards sustainable develop- state-owned enterprises, and financing world, where 80% of the population of the ment than they currently are. where the state has minimal involvement planet actually resides. In 1988 the DAC decided that the first (such as reducing interest rates, providing It seems that Northern donors have year of in-country refugee support could be guarantees even though they are never still not learnt from their past mistakes with counted as ODA, and since then this has used), to be included as TOSSD. ODA, Dr Besharati underlined. become common practice in aid reporting. "This opens the door for governments "The old measurement contains many With the new wave of Syrian and to take credit for investments made by pri- flaws, such as counting in-donor costs like African refugees flooding Europe, EU gov- vate financiers, and for donor countries to administrative and marketing expenditures, ernments are strongly advocating for sup- count as TOSSD the support they provide refugee and student support, and aid tied to port to refugees beyond the first year to also to their own profit-making private sector," it products, services and institutions from the be included in TOSSD. cautioned. provider country. Nonetheless, ODA ODA was the main development Another dangerous trend, observed in remains a useful indicator of rich countries' finance measure for industrialised coun- the initial TOSSD proposals, is the use of generosity towards poor countries." tries' contribution to the Millennium the rhetoric of 'mutual benefit' which has "TOSSD is a sexy new measure, but it Development Goals (MDGs), and now traditionally been part of the discourse of comes with no commitments, no responsi- TOSSD is seen as the new measure to be South-South cooperation.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 25 DEVELOPMENT

The principle behind mutual benefit in gray areas still remain, such as the fight done by both providers and recipients, the cooperation between developing countries against international crime and trafficking, figures are unlikely to match, as donors are legitimises domestic interests of Southern intelligence gathering and counter-terror- typically incentivised to report more than partners, as both countries endeavour to ism activities. what they actually give (so they can look reduce poverty in their respective territories Are these really global public goods better). For this reason, one should give pri- through the development cooperation and who defines them as such, he asked. macy to data supplied from the beneficiaries arrangement. External interventions in the arena of of TOSSD transfers, rather than the "This modus operandi, however, is security, governance, and human rights are providers," the study emphasised. utterly inappropriate to apply to North- always politically sensitive, as they often Overall, said Dr Besharati, it is still South cooperation, which comes from a dif- imply infringement on national sovereignty unclear what the difference is between ferent tradition and carries a different set of and can therefore be questioned in terms of TOSSD, ODA and Other Official Flows or historical responsibilities that developed legitimacy. indeed if there is a need at all for a new countries have towards the global South." This is why financing of these activities development finance statistic. According to Dr Besharati, while it may should be counted as TOSSD only if the "Without a clear target, it is hard to see be acceptable for a lower-middle-income interventions have been mandated by the how the new measure of TOSSD can incen- country like India (with 60% of its popula- UN or other regional bodies, such as, for tivise the mobilisation of more resources in tion living under the international poverty instance, the African Union (AU), the Arab support of the sustainable development line) to provide non-concessional lines of League, or the Organisation of American agenda, as it claims to do." credit to other developing countries - tied to States (OAS). The stated purpose of TOSSD is "to its companies, products and technical According to the study, accounting for promote greater transparency of the full experts, in the name of 'mutual benefit'- it the 'inputs' towards sustainable develop- array of external officially- supported would be unacceptable (and almost ridicu- ment is certainly important, but most peo- resources available to developing coun- lous) if the United States or Germany ple and countries are more concerned with tries". would act under the same paradigm. the 'outcomes' of development efforts. While there certainly should be better The study further noted that although "However, these are not well captured information available on different develop- traditional donors would very much like the by the TOSSD framework. The excessive ment finance flows, is a new 'composite providers of South-South cooperation to focus on financial inputs over-shadows measure' needed, for rich countries to also be part of the new TOSSD reporting other non-financial contributions that are inflate their numbers and have a false beau- effort, the BRICS and other emerging equally important, such as technology ty contest on how much they are each con- economies have not shown any appetite for transfer, knowledge exchange and technical tributing to the SDGs, Dr Besharati asked. this new statistic and have made it clear that assistance." If the discussions around TOSSD are they do not want to be part of yet another The problems with comparing techni- going to continue in any legitimate manner, DAC-led initiative. cal cooperation from different countries is these have to take place in a forum more "Instead of succeeding in bringing that its value varies depending on the inclusive of developing world views, but emerging donors into the narrative of tradi- salaries and prices in each economy. also of private funders who are expected to tional donors, TOSSD is rather an illustra- "One million dollars of goods and serv- participate in the new reporting scheme, he tion of the 'Southernisation of the DAC'", ices in China gets you a lot more than a mil- said. the study said. lion dollars of goods and services from Before investing more energy into "TOSSD is opening up debate not only Switzerland." TOSSD, the OECD needs to go back to on commercial flows, but also on political, This is why the proposal to use pur- improving Country Programmable Aid cultural and religious cooperation. Should chasing power parity (PPP) when calculat- (CPA, a 2010 initiative of the OECD) and we start counting the language classes of ing TOSSD from different countries is a ensure that all DAC countries reach their Alliance Francaise or the mosques that welcome new feature of the proposed met- historical commitment of 0.7% of GNI to Turkey builds in developing countries as ric, said Dr Besharati. ODA. TOSSD as well?" The study also pointed out that one big A far better use of the time and Under the old regime, only 7% of non- flaw of ODA statistics is that data are gath- resources of OECD experts would be to military contribution to UN peace-keeping ered primarily from the donors' own report- improve national systems and statistical operations was counted as ODA. ing systems, which are easily susceptible to capacities directly within the developing But in Agenda 2063 - Africa's 50-year the inflation of figures. countries themselves. development vision - the continent has The draft TOSSD compendium docu- "These two lines of action would cer- made clear the central role that peace and ment put out by the OECD for public con- tainly be a better contribution the OECD stability play in its long-term development. sultation in June 2016, suggests that data could offer to the 2030 global development From an African perspective, therefore, are collected from both provider as well as campaign," Dr Besharati underlined humanitarian, safety and capacity-building recipient perspectives. operations conducted by security forces of a But some have argued that this might *Kanaga Raja is the editor of the South-North provider country upon request of a recipi- place an unnecessary burden on already Development Monitor (SUNS). ent country should be also counted as 'sup- weak statistical systems of developing coun- port to sustainable development'. tries. The above article is reproduced from SUNS Nonetheless, said Dr Besharati, many "What is clear is that if accounting is #8382, 18 January 2017.

26 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 TRADE

A global services agreement poses risk to workers and consumers A proposed new international agreement on trade in services could undermine labour and con- sumer protections writes *Yorgos Altintzís.

he Trade in Services Agreement texts of TiSA - after 20 rounds of talks over Americas. As services account for the (TiSA) is a new global deal in the the past three and a half years - which shows biggest part of global GDP, TiSA would Tworks that aims to remove barriers - that if it is agreed, signed, and ratified, the transform the world labour market. or what is left of them - for corporate service deal would have grave consequences in the For instance, TiSA would legally fortify providers to capture markets worldwide, world of work. and economically facilitate the operation of promote an employment model based on Its scope appears to be vast, spanning the “platform economy” - a term (also exploitation, and boost the financialization transportation, energy, retail services, e- known as the “gig economy” or “sharing of the economy. commerce, telecommunications, banking, economy”), describing the online, on- The International Trade Union construction, private health, education, and demand business model of international Confederation (ITUC) recently published more in the European Union, the United companies like Uber. a detailed analysis of leaked negotiating States, and countries in Asia and the Such companies thrive by injecting

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 27 TRADE

unfair competition among service and coupled with the possibility to take a if a toxic financial product is allowed in one providers, employing unprotected informal government to an investment tribunal - TiSA country, then all other countries will workers, and avoiding paying taxes. under the highly controversial investor- have to allow it to circulate. Such products Professional services, like auditing, state dispute settlement mechanism were at the heart of the 2008 financial melt- architecture, accountancy, and engineering, (ISDS) - they can have a watering-down or down. offer vast unexploited space for the plat- even chilling effect on regulators. Public services and public services pro- form economy to develop. And TiSA will curement are also to be opened up. make sure that these companies do not face Sectors at risk Although the EU and others have provided many hurdles like class action or the ban- The countries negotiating TiSA now reassurances that this is not the case, provi- ning of services, like Uber in France. are willing to fully open transportation serv- sions of the leaked texts show that reversing TiSA has more unpleasant surprises for ices. This includes maritime, air, and land privatization will be impossible. workers. Services are provided in four ways. transportation, and the express delivery of Adding an element of “competitive First, with cross-border supply, like when a packets. Transportation unions have made neutrality” between state-owned enterpris- patient goes to a hospital in another country to be treated; second, with consumption abroad, like tourism; third, with commer- cial presence, like when a bank opens a branch abroad; and fourth, with the pres- ence of natural persons. This fourth way of delivering a service, also known as Mode 4, is actually a form of short-term migration, for instance when an IT application developer works for a high- tech company on a particular project that lasts for six months. The employment terms - like wages, leave, and health insurance - for this worker are laid out in the same contract that speci- fies the project, the time of delivery and the quality safeguards. This works for high- skilled, mobile, and flexible professionals like IT application developers, but not for nurses, catering staff, or dental assistants. Depending on how broad commit- ments different governments will undertake in TiSA, many categories of workers, ILO Director General Guy Rider including the low- or middle-skilled, risk finding themselves employed abroad with a strong argument that this would only lead es and the private sector, and allowing terms far inferior to those stipulated in the to the further deterioration of wages and unfettered access of private providers into receiving country's labour law - simply safety of transportation workers - a bit like the market, we only need a third step to because the labour law will not apply if they what happened with truck drivers when the complete the puzzle. are hired with a project contract. EU borders opened to eastern Europe com- That is, austerity measures which cut How would governments ensure that petition. spending on public services, lower their professionals who benefit from Mode 4 TiSA also includes financial services. quality and, on the basis of lower quality, have appropriate skills? TiSA includes pro- There is hardly any financial transaction raise popular support for privatization. cedures that would converge or mutually that cannot by presented as a financial serv- We clearly face a downward spiral, for recognize licensing and qualification ice. By pushing barriers down, TiSA will workers, micro and small enterprises, and requirements, as well as technical standards help further the consolidation of financial consumers alike, if TiSA proceeds in its cur- such as those ensuring the quality of a serv- markets. This means that big international rent form. Governments should reconsider, ice. banks will get bigger either by out-compet- for the sake of their citizens and the very sta- Another part of TiSA goes deeper into ing smaller banks that currently only oper- bility of the global economy. the sovereign competences of regulation. ate on a domestic level, or through mergers Governments will have to give early notice and acquisitions. *Yorgos Altintzís is an economic and social of planned regulation, giving service corpo- Whatever the way, the result is the policy officer at the International Trade Union rations, including foreign ones, an opportu- same: the banks that are too-big-to-fail will nity to comment on them. become even bigger under TiSA, posing an Confederation. He advocates workers' inter- This might sound harmless, but taking increased risk to the financial system. ests in international trade and investment as into account that such comments come The designers of the deal also intend to well as global governance. The article is from before the regulation-making process starts, deregulate financial markets. For instance, Third World Network Features.

28 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 TRADE Commodity prices crash hits Africa

Volatile global financial markets and weaknesses in global growth to blame, contends *Kingsley Ighobor.

Gold pellets

ust three years ago, most of the world's nent's development potential. Buoyed pri- The Brookings Institution, a Washington fastest-growing economies were in marily by high commodity prices and mar- D.C.-based think tank, stated in 2013 that it JAfrica, among them Angola, Chad, ginal exposure to global financial markets, was a mistake not to “take into account the Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda the African economy as a whole was largely current realities of the emerging continent” and Sierra Leone. A middle class was undisturbed by the 2009 global financial and “leverage the potential that Africa pres- emerging, led by young, tech-savvy entre- crisis. And steady flows of foreign direct ents as a market for American goods.” Even preneurs who bought flashy cars, new hous- investment assured a sustainable growth The Economist, a usually restrained UK es and the latest smartphones. trajectory. publication, splashed an “Africa Rising” title Africa's impressive average economic During that period, China, India, Brazil on its 11 December 2011 cover, which growth of around 5%, over the 14 years to and European countries scrambled for a depicted a silhouette of a child flying a kite 2014, saw economists toasting to the conti- slice of Africa's investment opportunities. of an African map.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 29 TRADE

Fortune reversal “The fall in commodity prices A precipitous crash in commodity prices is changing that upbeat African narra- represents a significant shock tive. Already, Angola, Liberia, for the sub-Saharan African Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda - the African countries that depend region, as fuels, ore and met- most heavily on commodities - such as oil, als account for more than 60% gold, diamonds, bauxite, rutile, timber and copper - are in dire straits. of the region's exports. Economists also attribute this sudden Ordinary citizens feel the reversal of fortune to other factors such as volatile global financial markets, weakness- impact in currency deprecia- es in global growth, particularly in China, tion and rising inflation. The Brazil and India, rising borrowing costs and severe infrastructure constraints (particu- value of Nigeria's naira fell larly of electricity supply) in many coun- from 150 to 450 naira to the tries. But it is the plunge in commodity prices that has dealt the most devastating dollar between January 2014 blow. and October 2016. The Sierra The price of oil plummeted from $100 a barrel in 2013 to $26 a barrel in February Leonean currency faced the 2016, hovering around $50 a barrel in same fate, declining to 6,500 October. Without sufficient oil earnings, Africa's oil producers, particularly Nigeria, leones to the dollar, from Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Algeria 5,000 leones a year ago.” and Egypt, face serious economic head winds. For Nigeria and Angola, Africa's largest Zambian economy is currently growing at producers, oil proceeds account for more 3%, down from 7% in 2014. Although some than 90% of exports and over 70% of the analysts see a rebound in the Chinese econ- jectory,” maintains the African national budget. With low per-barrel prices, omy, in recent years China, which buys up Development Bank. economic growth in all of Africa's oil- to 40% of copper worldwide, has not been “The fall in commodity prices repre- exporting countries fell from an average of able to afford huge purchases due to eco- sents a significant shock for the sub-Saharan 5.4% in 2014 to an average of 2.9% in 2016. nomic slowdown. African region, as fuels, ore and metals Consider that Angola generated $60.2 bil- Sierra Leone is grappling with falling account for more than 60% of the region's lion from oil in 2014 and $33.4 billion in prices of iron ore, even as it recovers from exports,” notes the World Bank. 2015, a significant drop in revenue that mir- the Ebola epidemic. African Minerals, a Ordinary citizens feel the impact in rors the situation in other countries. London-registered mines company, used to currency depreciation and rising inflation. manage the iron ore mines in Tonkolili, The value of Nigeria's naira fell from 150 to Significant shock northern Sierra Leone, which are worth 450 naira to the dollar between January Copper-producing countries have not over $1 billion. Tonkolili has the biggest 2014 and October 2016. The Sierra fared any better as prices dropped to their iron ore deposit in Africa and the third Leonean currency faced the same fate, lowest level since 1998. The World Bank largest in the world. declining to 6,500 leones to the dollar, from reports that in February 2016, “copper The fall in commodity prices repre- 5,000 leones a year ago. prices declined by almost a third from their sents a significant shock for the sub-Saharan Nigeria's currency depreciation means peak in February 2011 to $4,595 per African region, as fuels, ore and metals it has lost the right to call itself Africa's tonne.” account for more than 60% of the region's largest economy. After rebasing (a process Tsidi Tsikata, who led an International exports. of adopting new prices to measure a coun- Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment mission In 2011 iron ore sold for $191 per try's GDP output) in 2014, the Nigerian to Zambia in March 2016, has issued a bleak tonne, but it fell to $45 per tonne in June economy was reported to be worth $488 report: “The Zambian economy is under 2016. Faced with corruption allegations billion. With the naira's depreciation due to intense pressure,” he warns, calling for and huge financial losses, Africa Minerals a decline in export earnings, the economy action to regain macroeconomic stability. sold the mines in December 2015 to has shrunk to $296 billion, according to More than half of Zambia's copper pro- China's state-owned Shandong Iron and data released in August by the IMF. ducers are losing money, and big players in Steel Group. Skyrocketing prices of goods and serv- the country such as Glencore, an Anglo- Iron ore is Sierra Leone's economic ices without a commensurate increase in Swiss multinational and Luanshya Copper lifeline. “The iron ore price decline affected earnings could affect prices of food and Mines, a Chinese firm, have shut shops, macro-financial stability and reversed the stoke social unrest across Africa, experts with thousands losing their jobs. The country's remarkable positive growth tra- fear.

30 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 TRADE

of St. Cloud State University, United States, found that commodity price changes are linked to the pace of economic growth in commodity-dependent countries. In short, when prices fall, these economies falter.

Good news for some countries The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has over the years been encouraging countries to industrialize by diversifying away from commodities and, at the least, to add value to their commodities. Former ECA executive secretary Carlos Lopes repeatedly spoke about the paradox of countries' importing Toblerone chocolates from Switzerland when the continent pro- duces 70% of the world's cocoa, from which chocolates are made. As oil-exporting countries deal with economic anxieties, low oil prices are good news for oil importers like Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. It means these countries spend less and can redirect excess funds into critically needed infrastructure such as roads, bridges and energy. Robust growth in these economies will continue, forecasts the World Bank. Austerity measures among other measures. Going forward, mitigating efforts will Commodity-dependent countries are However, Herbert M'cleod, a leading require good financial management and faced with huge budget deficits, which is Sierra Leonean economist, says, “It is bad increases in revenue generation locally, why Angola, Ghana and Zambia have policies and bad management that have experts say. “As countries adjust to a more received or are intensely negotiating for brought us here,” and recommends using challenging global environment, stronger IMF bailout loans. proceeds from mining to boost jobs cre- efforts to increase domestic resource mobi- Nigeria is overhauling its tax system to ation and power supply and to construct lization will be needed,” says Makhtar Diop, increase revenues, aggressively fighting cor- roads, among other things. World Bank vice-president for Africa. ruption and recovering stolen money The Ugandan government has There may yet be a silver lining: experts stashed in foreign banks, and at the same scrapped gasoline and diesel subsidies, sus- expect the impact of current belt-tightening time intends to borrow money from China pended construction of new roads, banned policies in Africa to kick in in the medium to and local banks. The country wants to sell nonessential foreign travels and stopped the long term, providing a cushion for national off some of its national assets, including launch of a new airline. Zambia is cutting budgets. energy and oil corporations. subsidies on electricity and agricultural Also, countries will learn the lessons of Africa's most populous nation will inputs. commodity price movements and will be South Africa, whose largest exports are “seek a dramatic shift from spending on more inclined to continue diversifying their iron ore, coal, gold and other minerals, is recurrent expenditures to spending on cap- economies. The World Bank says that agri- also affected by the fall in commodity ital aspects of the budget,” said Udoma Udo culture and urbanization are important sec- Udoma, minister of budget and national prices. While presenting the 2016 budget, tors for investments. planning. It officially declared a recession in finance minister Pravin Gordham said, Finally, when earnings are in an August after two quarters of negative “There is no doubt that we are in crisis,” upswing, countries must save for the rainy growth. before announcing an unprecedented day, experts recommend. Last March, Sierra Leone announced a spending cut of 25 billion rand (about $1.7 30% cut in recurrent government expendi- billion). Liberia, Gambia and other coun- tures, suspended financing for capital proj- tries are also implementing various austeri- *Kingsley Ighobor is a Public Information ects and the purchase of official furniture, ty measures. Officer (Africa Section) with the United eliminated travel allowances for govern- The 2015 study, The Effect of Nations in New York. The article is repro- ment officials and began implementing a Commodity Prices on African Economic duced from Africa Renewal, December 2016 - 50% cut in vehicle maintenance allowance, Growth by Hangnile Nathalie Olga Tiawara March 2017

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 31 TRADE

Trade deals threaten peasant farmers' stewardship of seed biodiversity

Large seed corporations through international trade agreements attempt to secure more control over the world's seed supply that are developed and nurtured by peasants. A report by GRAIN

kilful selection and nurturing of the ty of seeds which forms the basis of peasant ments. Over 20 years ago, corporate seed seeds best suited to a particular loca- farming and agroforesty systems. corporations successfully lobbied for gov- Stion are at the heart of peasant farm- For millennia farmers have saved, ernments to include the obligation into the ing and agroforestry systems. The resulting exchanged and replanted seeds year after World Trade Organisation (WTO) agree- agrobiodiversity of hundreds of thousands year, and this practice has created the enor- ment that all countries provide for intellec- of crop varieties and animal races found in mous agrobiodiversity that the world now tual property rights on plant varieties. This peasants' fields around the globe provides has. This has always been a thorn in the side basically means that companies can claim the corner stone of the world's food system. of the corporate seed industries that are set ownership rights over the seeds they devel- Peasant farmers and the local varieties that on controlling the global seed market, and op and the genetic materials they contain, they developed are still feeding the majority thereby reducing seed diversity. They want thus preventing farmers to do what they of us. By contrast, industrial agriculture farmers to buy their seed every year, and are have done for millennia: save, exchange and dominated by a small number of transna- continuously pushing governments to improve seeds. This was an important start- tional corporations has drastically reduced adopt ever more stringent laws and treaties ing point for the corporate seed industry the agrobiodiversity of crop varieties grown. to force farmers into the corporate seed and they haven't stopped pushing their It has also encroached rapidly on the land market. agenda since then. Their next objective was that peasant farmers rely on to produce One of the main avenues to control to get countries to join UPOV, the Union of food and on peasants' access to the diversi- farmers' access to seeds are trade agree- Protection of new Varieties of Plants, a con-

32 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 TRADE

vention that grants intellectual property farm-saved seed”. At the same time, howev- rights over seed varieties. At the same time er, the Seed Treaty also recognises corpo- that corporate seed companies were lobby- rate intellectual property rights on seeds. At ing for intellectual property rights on plant an official meeting about the topic, held in varieties to be enshrined into the WTO October 2016 in Indonesia, the peasant agreement, the UPOV convention was also movement La Via Campesina expressed amended. In 1991 UPOV eliminated the strong disappointment that after 15 years, right of farmers to save and exchange seeds the Treaty has done little to implement and that were “protected” - owned by compa- secure farmers' rights. The movement nies that had acquired UPOV titles on called, again, on Treaty member countries them. In combination, these two develop- to stop negotiating intellectual property ments provided the perfect route for com- The good news amidst the agreements and laws that undermine and panies to secure more control over the criminalize peasants' rights to seeds. (2) world's seed supply. decade-long aggressive Another UN treaty dealing with the corporate encroachment on issue is the Convention on Biodiversity Bilateral and regional trade farmers' control over the seeds (CBD) which adopted the Nagoya deals used to further strengthen Protocol in 2010. The Protocol is focused corporate control over seeds they use is that opposition on access to, and the sharing of benefits In the past decade, bilateral and region- against trade and intellectual from biodiversity. In theory, this protocol al trade agreements have been used to fur- provides for prior informed consent and a ther strengthen corporate property rights property right deals is growing protection of the rights of local communi- over seeds. In July of 2016, GRAIN pub- by the day, and mobilisations ties. In reality, however, the Protocol has lished a new dataset with a list of trade been criticised for reducing seeds to a mere agreements that do precisely this. (1) Trade against the privatisation of commodity rather than regarding them as deal after trade deal is signed by govern- biodiversity are a central part an essential element of people's cultural ments to include requirements that coun- heritage. In June 2016, a Constitutional tries subscribe to the corporate UPOV rules of this opposition. Court ruling in Guatemala suspended the or otherwise strengthen intellectual proper- Protocol's implementation in the country ty rights over the biodiversity in their coun- it criticises Chile and Colombia for (see article in this bulletin), in large part as tries. The requirements written into these failing to adopt the most recent 1991 a result of campaigns by indigenous peo- trade deals therefore amount to nothing version of UPOV (UPOV91, which ples' and farmers' organisations who argued less than legalised theft, given that these that the goal should be to protect biodiver- corporate seeds were originally developed eliminates the right of farmers to save sity, not to commercialise it. (3) from seed varieties developed and nurtured and exchange protected seeds), as they The good news amidst the decade-long by peasants. agreed to do under their 2003 and Among the most recent bilateral and 2006 bilateral trade deals with the US aggressive corporate encroachment on regional trade agreements that further government. farmers' control over the seeds they use is restrict farmers' control over the seeds they • The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that opposition against trade and intellectu- cultivate are: binds 12 countries from Asia and the al property right deals is growing by the day, • The EU-Canada Comprehensive Americas to join UPOV 91. This, in and mobilisations against the privatisation Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), turn, will oblige many of them to clamp of biodiversity are a central part of this which is currently on a bumpy road down on farmers' ability to save seeds opposition. In many countries, such as in towards ratification. It gives seed from protected varieties. The US Chile, Argentina, Colombia and companies in Canada and the EU new biotech and seed industry believe that Guatemala, social movements have success- powerful tools to enforce intellectual this Treaty also opens the door to the fully challenged new seed laws. In others, property rights against farmers through patenting of plants more generally and new trade deals are increasingly being con- seizures of seeds and injunctions based they call TPP the “greatest tool” yet for tested from the streets. Here lies our on mere suspicion of infringement, imposing higher intellectual property strength to keep biodiversity in the hand of including seed saving. standards not only in Asia, but globally. indigenous peoples, peasant farmers and • The EU Economic Partnership local communities. - Third World Network Agreements (EPAs) with African There have been some efforts at the Features. countries which commit all signatories UN level to protect the rights of farmers to hammer out new standards on and local communities over the biodiversity * GRAIN (https://www.grain.org/) is an intellectual property rights, including that they have nurtured over centuries. One international non-profit organisation that on seeds. is the Seed Treaty negotiated and agreed 15 works to support small farmers and social • The US government, in the meantime, years ago at the Food and Agriculture movements in their struggles for community- is regularly pushing its trade partners to Organization of the UN (FAO). It includes controlled and biodiversity-based food sys- live up to their intellectual property a clause on Farmers Rights that recognises tems. The article is from Third World rights commitments. In a recent report the right to “save, use, exchange and sell Network Features.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 33 WOMEN Farmer field schools help women lead on Climate Change

Discussions around climate change have largely ignored how men and women are affected by climate change differently, instead choosing to highlight the extreme and unpredictable weath- er patterns or decreases in agricultural productivity writes *Sally Nyakanyanga.

omen constitute 56 percent of the country. change. Ugandan farmers and provide Stella Tereka, the U.N. Food and “The intensive labour burdens on Wmore than 70 percent of agricul- Agriculture Organization (FAO) focal per- women, especially the unpaid care work in tural production, nutrition and food securi- son on gender and climate change, says that the household, has resulted in women hav- ty at the household level, according to the discriminatory cultural practices that tend ing less time to practice the learning, knowl- Women of Uganda Network to favor men have limited women's owner- edge and skills gained from groups in their (WOUGNET). However, despite the fact ship and control over key productive farming activities,” Tereka told IPS. that women do most of the farm work, they resources in the country - a factor also exac- Winnie Masiko, the gender and climate only own 16 percent of the arable land in erbating women's vulnerability to climate change negotiator for Uganda at the United

34 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 WOMEN

education for my children,” she said. FAO has also utilized the Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) - a com- munity based tool that enables women and men to plan the future they want and take action against barriers, including societal norms that inhibit gender equality and jus- tice. Mercy Ssekide, a farmer in Mubende District, joined the Balyejjusa FFS. “If you don't cooperate with your family, the farm- ing won't be successful - that's why I had to encourage my husband to join the FFS in order for us to work as a team,” she says. “We are trained and encouraged to work hard to handle climate change and in order to meet our household needs. During off season we grow tomatoes and earn some money as locals and traders come and buy from us,” says Mercy's husband. Together, as a family, they have diversi- fied and ventured into poultry, goat and pig rearing, and kitchen gardening. The Ssekide Nations Framework Convention on of their family and nations,” Tereka said. family are now deciding as a team on the Climate Change (UNFCCC), noted the Through the Farmer's Field School use of their income - and are able to afford lack of clear guidelines to incorporate gen- (FFS) methodology, “commonly known as giving their two children a university educa- der in climate change projects. schools without walls”, FAO has enabled tion. “We need to develop a Gender and both men and women with a common goal FAO, with funding from European Climate Change Strategic Plan,” says to receive training, share ideas, learn from Union, is implementing the Global Climate Masiko. each other through observation and experi- Change Project in the central cattle corri- The Ugandan Land Policy of 2013 mentation in their own context. On average dor in the districts of Luwero, Nakasangola, grants women and men equal rights to own the FFS have about 60 percent women Nakaseke, Mubende , Sembabule and and co-own land, but this is not always the farmers participating. Kiboga. reality on the ground. Masiko says initia- Proscovia Nakibuye, a cattle farmer in Cognizant of women's labour burden tives should focus on addressing embedded Nakasongola district, said the FFS has and time poverty, FAO ensures that all proj- structural imbalances in order to bridge the taught her effective strategies to cope with ect activities are gender inclusive and par- gender gap, understand women and men's climate change. “We have been taught good ticipatory - particularly adjusting varying needs, and pave the way for effec- livestock keeping and to plant pastures,” meeting/learning time to ensure women tive adaptation to climate change. says Nakibuye. are involved and benefit from the skills and Edidah Ampaire, coordinator for “Farmer Field School offers space for knowledge on climate smart agriculture. Uganda's Policy Action for Climate Change hands-on group learning, enhancing skills Tereka believes that with an increas- Adaptation project, says that women's for critical analysis and improved decision ingly unpredictable climate, skills develop- rights and contributions are extremely con- making by local people,” Tereka explained. ment in climate smart agriculture is critical. strained, especially in rural areas, and that “FFS activities are field-based, and include She urged the Ugandan government to little is being done by government particu- experimentation to solve problems, reflect- revamp its agricultural extension system to larly through policy to address the imbal- ing a specific local context. be more gender-responsive, in order for ance. “Participants learn how to improve farmers - especially women to - effectively “Gender inequalities are rife in farming their agronomic skills through experiment- communities, putting women at a disadvan- ing, observing, analysing and replicating on put to good use the inputs being distributed tage,” says Ampaire. their own fields, contributing to improved by government under Operation Wealth Tereka stressed that promoting gender production and livelihoods, The FFS Creation. equality is at the core of FAO programmes process enhances individual, household The FFS methodology is now being and the U.N. agency has made deliberate and community empowerment and social implemented in 90 countries with 4 million efforts to ensure the inclusion of women in cohesion.” farmers across the globe having improved all their programs. Nakibuye and her husband are seeing their skills and adjusted positively to the “It's imperative that women get major changes both in their household and effects of climate change. empowered and take part in decision-mak- farming activities. “Before, my children ing at all levels - this way we can see them were not going to school but now through * Sally Nyakanyanga writes for the IPS from contributing effectively to the development increased sales of milk, I can afford a decent Kampala, Uganda.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 35 INTERNATIONAL US Trade Hawks and the China Bogey

New US President Donald Trump has long insisted that its major trading partners having been taking advantage of it. Changing these trade terms and conditions will thus be top priority for his administration, and central to overall Trump economic strategy to 'Make America Great Again', writes *Jomo Kwame Sundaram.

US President Trump Chinese leader Xi Ping

andidate Trump's trade policy without obstruction by either the US the World Trade Organization (WTO) paper was written by Peter Navarro Congress or court system. Internationally, should have rectified. As the world's largest Cand Wilbur Ross. Ross will now be no country will take on the US for a "very economy, consumer and importer, the US Commerce Secretary while Navarro will simple reason: America's major trading has the leverage to correct this by pulling head the National Trade Council. They partners are far more dependent on out of the WTO. As the WTO would view economic policy as integrated, includ- American markets than America is on their become irrelevant without the US, the dam- ing tax cuts, reduced regulations as well as markets". age would be minor. policies to lower energy costs and cut the Navarro and Ross argue that the US According to the plan, reducing the US chronic US trade deficit. In just 21 pages, has already lost out, mainly due to badly trade deficit will put more money in the they suggest how US growth will increase negotiated trade deals and poor enforce- during a Trump administration, with mil- hands of American workers who will then ment resulting in trade deficits. They claim lions of new jobs and trillions in additional be able to afford higher prices for US made that because the US does not use a value- income and tax revenues. products. As American products become One view is that President Trump can added tax (VAT) system, everyone else has more competitive over time, prices will fall, implement most of the policies advocated an unfair trade advantage, that, they believe, raising consumer welfare.

36 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 INTERNATIONAL

Electronics factory

China myths US. Defensive tariffs are proposed to deal On the campaign trail, Trump threat- “Trump team is proposing effectively with 'trade cheats'. With China ened to declare China a currency manipula- identified as the "biggest trade cheater" in tor and to impose tariffs of up to 45 percent remedies that, at best, rely on the world, it gets special attention. In the on Chinese imports during his first 100 a long outdated diagnosis. The US public mind, China remains 'the world's days in office. Under US law, Trump can workshop', where hundreds of millions of easily cite currency manipulation to impose current situation is very differ- lowly paid workers mass produce consumer defensive and countervailing tariffs against ent. Failure to make progress goods while its artificially low exchange rate others as well. Navarro and Ross not only and production subsidies ensure their point at China, but also Japan and the euro, with wrongly prescribed meas- goods remain competitive internationally. with the Germans getting special mention. ures may lead to even more While perhaps true over a decade ago, the Washington has long claimed that situation has changed radically since. China artificially depresses the value of its aggressive efforts, which risk At the height of global trade imbal- currency to benefit exporters. While a plau- leading to economic war in ances over a decade ago, China's trade sur- sible case could have been made to this plus was more than ten percent of GDP. effect a dozen years ago, the renminbi has which most, even spectators, However, with the sudden slowing of world greatly appreciated since then, following will become victims.” trade growth during the 2008-2009 Great tremendous US pressure, much amplified Recession, growth of the US trade deficit by the International Monetary Fund with China slowed significantly. While the (IMF). manipulation has kept the renminbi over- US still has a large trade deficit with China, Most serious economists today doubt valued rather than undervalued. China is also among its largest export mar- the renminbi remains undervalued. While All this suggests that the Trump team is kets. stable for about a decade before 2005, and proposing remedies that, at best, rely on a In 2014, services overtook manufactur- arguably undervalued for some of that peri- long outdated diagnosis. The current situa- ing as the biggest component of China's od, the renminbi has risen by 30-40 percent tion is very different. Failure to make economy. Net exports were equivalent to since, prompting the IMF to repeatedly progress with wrongly prescribed measures 1.7% of growth, tiny compared to domestic declare that it is no longer undervalued. may lead to even more aggressive efforts, consumption and investment. China will Indeed, weakening export demand and which risk leading to economic war in want to continue exporting to the US, but strong capital outflows have put tremen- which most, even spectators, will become the structural transformation of its econo- dous downward pressure on the Chinese victims. my and greater demand for various services currency, forcing its central bank to use its now generates more new jobs, not only in US dollar reserves to artificially support its * Jomo Kwame Sundaram wrote this for the China, but also elsewhere, including the currency. Thus, recent Chinese currency IPS from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 37 SHORT STORY

stored it in the bag, I boarded another taxi. This time, it was a direct one, a 'dropping,' which would take me alone to the last stop, avoiding the frequent stops to disgorge passengers and OH MAMA pick fresh ones, not a 'loading' one like the first. This meant extra cost for me. I was working A short story by Kwao Tordzro against time. I had to get to the last stop before the taxi got there. I chided myself for this sud- I got to the traffic rank in front of the shopping the shopping malls that seemed to be springing den shift in interest. I was slightly ashamed at mall. I made my way to the taxi with the sign up in our country were running pornographic this disembodied curiosity. The fact that I indicating the next taxi in line to move. The video business. Our country men and women could get a story out of it assuaged my con- driver recognized me, for I was regular user of could get in touch by leaving their contact num- science only a little. that route. He politely asked the gentleman sit- bers in the rest rooms of the malls. They would Presently, we were at the last stop. My first ting in the front seat to move to one of the two then get a call directing them to a place, usually surprise was seeing the tall, young man whom I empty seats in the back so that with my walking indicated by a plaque as an office. This was had seen giving the lady instructions at the stick, I could alight exactly where I usually did really a porn theatre. Before filming, the face shopping mall taxi rank. He was leaning against with ease. and other parts of the body of the actors were a tree, giving another woman fellow instruc- Beside the road facing us, stood a, tall often treated with a certain liquid usually tions in much the same way as he had done with young man who seemed to be giving detailed employed by undertakers to preserve cadavers. my fellow passenger. Clearly, this second instructions to a lady. The young lady had This was necessary as most of the women who woman was bound for the shopping mall beside her, two heavy travelling bags. To an took in this of activity were old prostitutes usu- 'office.' unsuspecting observer, she was just an ordinary ally the worse for wear. The function of the Finally, the first taxi arrived. The moaning shopper, about to embark on her journey embalming substance was to give the body of woman alighted, followed by Mr. Kindly, who home. From her facial expressions, however, the actor a false youthfulness for the viewing helped her with her shopping bags. At this she seemed to be having some difficulty keep- satisfaction of the viewer. point, things moved very fast indeed. An old ing her side of the conversation. Having come to this understanding on the lady appeared, whom the moaning lady greeted The driver seemed to have had an under- pain of my fellow traveler, my initial disquiet as Mama. So this was the mama whom she had standing with the man who had relinquished with the moaning lady was replaced with a been addressing in her painful soliloquy. The his seat for me. This became clear when he belated introspection and sympathy. Had I tall man quickly called two porters and gave finally took his seat. He revved the engine and been too quick in not understanding her? them some money. Together, they followed gave two sharp bursts of the horn. Apart from the understanding I had devel- the moaning woman and her mother and went The tall, young man heaved the travelling oped with the taxi drivers, today was a special off. bags and placed them on the shoulders of the day. The contents of my bag were of two types. Turning my attention to the tall instructor, lady. Straining her muscles, she made her way First, there was a biography of Paul Robeson, I realized he had been joined by an interesting to the taxi. First she came to the front .Seeing the outstanding African-American sportsman, group indeed. There were five women. He me in the front seat, her face showed anger and musician and actor and another book about seemed to be questioning them and inscribing confusion. The man who had given me his seat Pompeii and Herculaneum, ancient Italian their answers into a tiny note pad. There was gave a grunt from the back. She turned around. cities that were buried by earthquakes. These also a middle-aged man with a cane who spoke “Cool,” he said. books I had acquired from the personal library English with a Levantine intonation. He spoke Taking her seat finally, she started to make of my managing editor, with the intention of in short, quick-tempered gusts which reminded a lot of noise. She seemed to be trying to get her doing pictorial essays of the contents. Secondly, me of a few anecdotes about Levantines and my seat belt around her unwieldy baggage. Finally, there was a big tin of shito, a concoction of pep- fellow countrywomen. under some coaxing by the driver and the kind- per, ground shrimp and various spices. From Finally, some weaning process seemed to ly gentleman, she relented. The car moved. All the contents inscribed on the can, I was assured be taking place. Three of the, women were cho- seemed to be at peace at last. Soon we got to a the shito promised to be tasty indeed. sen, the rest turned away. These two seemed to long stretch before a toll booth. I directed the driver to a grocery. There, I be pleading. Finally, the Levantine man seemed Suddenly, the lady started moaning. “I am would alight. With my walking stick I would to decide on an inspection. He lifted their skirts dying,” she said. She repeated this statement in cross the wooden plank across the gutter, with his cane and peered closely at the skin Ga, Twi Fante, Akuapem, Ewe, Dangbe and a straight to the shop where I would buy my underneath. Then he spoke. The tall gentleman host of other Ghanaian languages that I could tinned/canned fish to go with my shito. then addressed the two women. To me, he not decipher. “I just can't carry this burden any- The taxi reached the spot. I disengaged the seemed to be explaining to them that since the more,” she said. “I can't!” seatbelt, hauled my bag after me and alighted. texture of their skin did not pass muster, they Apart from me, only the third passenger in Instead of crossing the gutter however, I stood would have to endure the embalming liquid. the back seat was shocked by this wailing. and took a last, long look at the moaning lady. The Levantine made some quick calculations Neither the driver nor Mr. Kindly seemed sur- Kindly gave me another nod. I finally crossed by ticking off his fingers. He seemed to be prised. over and the taxi moved on. The lady grocery telling them that as pensioners working on con- I turned in my seat and took a long look at owner asked me, “What problem did you have tract, they had to accept a reduced fee. The tall her. Suddenly, it occurred to me that something with the shopping mall woman?” Clearly, she gentleman did some amplification and explain- was amiss. The painful moaning of the lady had observed the whole thing. What surprised ing. seemed to be out of keeping with the creaseless me however was that she seemed to be As all seemed to have come to a decent nature of her face. Finally, it all dawned on me. acquainted with the lady. understanding, the Levantine walked away. I remembered a conversation I had once over- 'You know her?” I asked. Watching him I realized that he drove in a heard at a party. According to a man who “She lives at the last stop of the taxi.” brand new Mitsubishi Land Cruiser. He headed seemed to be quite savvy about the doings of I did not wait to find out how she knew. towards my part of town. foreign businessmen of our country, some of Having purchased my tinned/canned fish, and I had seen as much as I could take in a day.

38 AFRICAN AGENDA VOL.20 NO.1 SUBSCRIPTION FORM

Annual Subscription Rates (12 issues) Airmail Surface mail

Developed countries (Institutions) US$60 US$45 Developed countries (Individuals) US$45 US$30

Third World individuals & groups US$35 US$20

For India subscribers: Special rates Rs500(surface airmail). (For address, please see below). SUBSCRIBERS IN INDIA: Payments and enquiries can be made to: the Other For Malaysia subscribers: Special rates at RM35 per year or RM65 for 2 years India Bookstore, Above Mopusa Clinic, Mapusa 403 (Please send cheques/postal order to Third World Network). 507, Goa, India.

AUSTRALIA, BRUNEI, PHILIPPINES, SINGAPORE, THAILAND, UK, USA: NAME:……………………….……………………….……………………….……………………….……………………….………………….... You can pay by credit card or cheque/bank draft/ international money order in own currency, US$ or Euro. If paying in own currency or Euro, please ADDRESS:……………………….……………………….……………………….……………………….……………………….…………… calculate equivalent of US$ rate. If paying in US$, please ensure that the agent bank is located in USA.

……………………….……………………….……………………….……………………….……………………….……………………….………...... ALL OTHER COUNTRIES: Credit card or cheque/bank draft/ international CITY:…………………...... ……. POSTCODE:………...... …..…. COUNTRY:…………...... …...... …………. money order in US$ or Euro. If paying in Euro, please calculate equivalent of US$ rate. I would like to subscribe by AIR/SURFACE MAIL and If paying in US$, please ensure that the agent bank is located in USA. I enclose the amount of………………………...... CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: Please charge the amount of …………………...... ……. to my credit card VISA/MASTER CARD/AMERICAN EXPRESS.

American Express MasterCard Visa Please send payment/enquires to: THE WORLD NETWORK Account No. 131-JALAN MACALISTER 10400 PENANG MALAYSIA

Email: [email protected] .my Signature:…………………...... ……. Expiry Date:………………...... ………. Website:http://www.twnside.org.sg