For groupage
operators into Africa,
streamlined border
procedures are key.
And while some African
countries have implemented
reforms and technologies to
improve the ease of doing
business for importers and
exporters, in many countries
cross border transactions
remain cumbersome and
costly according to economists
and the World Bank.
KPMG Services economist
Christie Viljoen, who provided
FTW with a brief overview
of the continent’s growth
forecast, said there were
difficulties for traders at
border posts although several
countries had aimed to
address the challenges.
Viljoen said Africa was
expected to grow at a rate of
almost 3% this year, up from
around 1.5% in 2016.
“Many of the highest
growth performers will be in
East Africa, with Ethiopia,
Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya
and Uganda all likely to see
growth of more than 5%.
Other top performers with
expected growth of at least 7%
are Liberia, Senegal and Ivory
Coast. Conversely, troubled
countries like Burundi, South
Sudan, Chad and Equatorial
Guinea will most likely see a
decline in real GDP,” Viljoen
said.
Paperwork at border posts
presented a “costly and timeconsuming”
exercise for
traders, she
added.
“The
countries
with the
highest cost of
documentary
compliance for
imports in US
dollar terms
include the
Democratic
Republic of the
Congo (DRC),
the Republic of the Congo,
Cameroon, Tanzania, Gabon,
Djibouti, Sudan and Nigeria,”
Viljoen said.
“The countries with the
lowest US dollar compliance
costs are all located in
southern Africa – Botswana,
Swaziland, Malawi, Namibia
and Lesotho. This is good
news for South African
companies who often look
close to home for their first
export destinations.”
Countries that had taken
positive steps to improve
their border systems included
Madagascar and Mauritania,
which both recently
implemented upgraded
electronic
systems for the
preparation
and
submission
of customs
declarations,
while Niger
and Rwanda
had removed
the mandatory
pre-shipment
inspection
for imported
products, he
said.
“Morocco and Togo made
strides in the implementation
of single window systems,
thereby reducing border
compliance time for
importing,” Viljoen added.
Deloitte Africa Services
Group associate director
Hannah Edinger said Rwanda
had implemented 47 business
reforms over the past decade.
As a result it is ranked 56
out of 190 countries in the
World Bank’s Ease of Doing
Business 2017 rankings.
However, several countries
in the SSA region posed
considerable difficulties in
the “trading across borders"
category.
The DRC ranked 188, while
Cameroon came in at 186 and
Liberia at 185.
“On the other hand,
Swaziland placed a
respectable 31, with Lesotho
and Botswana coming in
at 39 and 51 respectively,”
Edinger said.
“Closer to home, the launch
of Trade Invest Africa under
South Africa’s department
of trade and industry is
set to provide invaluable
assistance to South Africanbased
companies looking to
access and navigate African
markets.
“On a more regional
basis, the Tripartite Free
Trade Area (T-FTA) marks
a notable step forward in
providing a solid framework
from which to promote trade
across the African continent,”
Edinger said.
The launch of Trade
Invest Africa marks a
notable step forward
in helping promote
trade across the
African continent.
– Hannah Edinger
