A number of West
African states
have made it
easier to obtain
credit by introducing reforms
and by establishing credit
bureaus and registries, as
well as making regulatory
changes, according to the
World Bank’s Ease of Doing
Business index.
They include Nigeria,
Senegal, Ghana, Burkina
Faso, Mali and Niger.
Nigeria is South Africa’s
biggest West African trading
partner, and is ranked by the
dti as SA’s seventh-largest
trading partner in 2017,
There is a strong two-way
trade, with South Africa
exporting R6 422 million
worth of goods to Nigeria
in 2016, according to dti
statistics. This is back to
the levels of 2012, due to
problems in the Nigerian
economy following the
collapse of the oil price.
The best year for Nigerian
imports from South Africa
was 2014, when SA exported
goods worth R11 161 m.
Nigeria exported R30 428
m worth of goods to South
Africa in 2016, which is
almost half the value of
imports in 2014, which
totalled R61 52 m.
It has become easier to
trade with Ghana – one of the
main West African trading
partners for South Africa
and gateway to the region. Its
competitiveness ranking has
improved from 111th to 108th.
Ghana reduced the
documentary and border
compliance time for
importing by introducing
electronic channels for
submitting and collecting
the final classification and
valuation report. Physical
improvements include the
upgrading of the port of
Tema.
However, imports have
been slowed down by Ghana
increasing its scanning of
imports and changing its
customs clearance system.
Ghana is South Africa’s
15th-largest African export
market, with the value
growing steadily to reach
R4 918m in 2016.
The country is ranked at
number 22 in Africa (up from
23 in 2016) as a supplier to
the South African market.
However the R193m worth
of goods imported from
Ghana in 2016 is a shadow of
the R8 191 high of 2014.
There are also problems
brewing in Cote d’Ivoire,
which has one of the
fastest-growing economies
in the world, and is South
Africa’s 18th-largest export
destination.
Tax revenue has fallen
in the wake of a collapse in
cocoa prices by a third this
year, and in early May the
government announced
cuts to its 2017 budget,
which “fanned the flames of
mutiny in the armed forces,”
according to Focuseconomics.
Four days of political
instability following the
announcement only came to
an end when the government
reinstated a promised salary
bonus for soldiers.
Landlocked Mali (SA’s
31st largest African market)
has reduced the time for
documentary compliance for
both exporting and importing
by introducing an electronic
data interchange system.
Mali also halted
redundant inspections of
imported goods, reducing
the time for trading across
borders.
But, according to the
Economist Intelligence
Unit, anti-government
sentiment is on the rise
and political stability is
described as being “fragile”
– a description which
fits many West African
countries.
Companies trading with
the region therefore need
to keep constant watch on
political developments to
ensure the safety of their
personnel, their customers'
freight and their operations.
CAPTION
The Port of Tema has recently been upgraded.
