Janet Wilhelm
Economic, social and environmental consequences of the global crisis of sustainability are hindering growth and development, particularly in developing countries. In response to the awareness of a changing climate, and ratified commitments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve sustainability, South Africa has embraced decarbonising the transport sector, the second highest emitter of GHG emissions in the country. Beyond environmental sustainability, the high costs of importing crude oil or producing and refining these fuels, growing congestion and long commuting hours, means reforming the transport sector is a priority. Attaining sustainable transport systems requires a modal shift towards environmentally-compatible, energy-efficient and low-carbon vehicles, the promotion of public transport and non-motorised transport, as well as spatial planning to reduce travel distances for commuters.
While spatial planning and modal shifts present longer-term opportunities for transformation, this policy brief focuses on improving vehicle efficiencies, a suitable complementary option for transitioning to sustainable transport systems in the short term. The South African government should provide the necessary fiscal certainty and support to facilitate the uptake of gas-based and electric vehicles. These present low-carbon alternatives, to enhance energy efficiency and improve vehicle technologies, reduce reliance on imported crude oil and decrease harmful emissions while creating and supporting local industry in the process.
This policy paper reviews the valuation, protection and management of nature in South Africa. It forms part of a series of papers aimed at providing a barometer of South Africa’s transition to sustainable development.
TIPS hosted a Development Dialogue on the Continental Free Trade Agreement and industrialisation on Wednesday, October 17. Speakers were Carlos Lopes (UCT) and Faizel Ismail (TIPS and UCT). For more information and a copy of the presentation go do Development Dialogue.
The Continental Free Trade Agreement and Industrialisation
10:30 - 10:45: Opening and Welcome
10:45 - 12:00: Presentations by:
- Carlos Lopes, UCT
- Faizel Ismail, TIPS and UCT
12:30: Lunch
BACKGROUND
The negotiations for the Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) are underway. Among other things, this massive undertaking has the potential to establish a sizeable market for a range of manufactured products and in doing so support the industrialisation of African countries. Yet it holds many pitfalls that could undermine industrial capacity and contribute to deindustrialisation in those countries with existing capacity.
This Development Dialogue aims to discuss some of the challenges and issues for consideration in the negotiation of the CFTA and its alignment with Africa’s ambition of supporting industrialisation on the continent.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Carlos Lopes: Professor Lopes is a Bissau-Guinean development economist, who served as the eighth Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2012-2016). He is a Professor at the Mandela School of Public Governance, UCT and Visiting Professor at Sciences Po, Paris. In 2017 he was a Visiting fellow at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. Lopes previously served the United Nations as Kofi Annan‘s Political Director, Head of Policy at UNDP, Director of the United Nations System Staff College and Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). He is a Chatham House Associate Fellow and currently serves as the African Union High representative for negotiations with Europe.
Faizel Ismail: Dr Faizel Ismail is an Adjunct Professor at the UCT School of Economics and a TIPS Research Associate. He has previously been an advisor to the Department of Trade and Industry on International Trade and Special Envoy on the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and served as the Ambassador Permanent Representative of South Africa to the WTO (2010-2014).
Import Tracker - Q2 2018
Quarter 2 2018 continued a trend of recovery in trade volumes. 2018 also featured a trade surplus for the quarter, although the 5% surplus was lower than the previous two years - 8% in 2017 and 10% in 2016.
Import Tracker - Q1 2018
Quarter 1 2018 marked the first trade deficit since Quarter 1 2016, but nevertheless featured a continued recovery in general trade volumes following a contraction in trade after the end of the commodity super cycle.
No-win power shut-offs block industrial development
Business Day - 11 September 2018 by Neva Makgetla (TIPS Senior Economist)
Read online at Business Day.
Or read as a PDF.
The Real Economy Bulletin - Second Quarter 2018
Main Bulletin: The Real Economy Bulletin - Second Quarter 2018
In this edition
GDP growth: South Africa’s GDP shrank by an estimated 0.17% in the second quarter of 2018. Excluding agriculture, however, the economy essentially stagnated over the quarter. Mining expanded by 1.2%, while manufacturing and the rest of the economy excluding agriculture remained essentially unchanged. The second quarter of reported decline in the GDP means that the economy officially entered a recession. More important, however, is that growth has been slow and uneven since 2014. Read more.
Employment: Despite the slowdown in the GDP, employment in both the real economy and the economy as a whole reportedly increased by around 1% from the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter 2018. Manufacturing, however, lost some 55 000 jobs, or 3% of its total employment, over this period. Manufacturing typically sheds jobs in the second quarter, in a marked seasonal pattern, but at 110 000 the fall in the second quarter of 2018 was far larger than the norm. Read more.
International trade: The trade balance shows an improvement from the deficit seen in the first quarter of 2018. In the second quarter, the trade balance rose to a surplus of R17 billion. However, this is R9 billion (or 35%) less than the trade surplus in the second quarter of 2017. Read more.
Investment and profitability: Overall, investment declined, entirely due to a fall in investment by government and state-owned corporations. In contrast, in the year to the second quarter of 2018, private investment increased by 0.9%. Read more.
Foreign direct investment projects: Three new projects were reported in the TIPS Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Tracker in the second quarter of 2018, with a total value of R11 billion. Read more.
Briefing note: Responding to the slowdown: The figures for general government consumption and for public investment point to the pro-cyclical impact of the current fiscal policy, combined with consolidation at the state-owned corporations over the past year. The challenge is to return to a counter-cyclical stance given the limited fiscal space left by the relatively high deficit. Ideally, a stimulus package should be funded through off-budget sources. Read the briefing note online: Responding to the slowdown.
Briefing note: The President's investment drive: As part of the renewed push towards industrialisation, job creation and faster levels of economic growth, President Cyril Ramaphosa set an ambitious target of attracting US$100 billion in new investment within five years. Read the briefing note online: The President's investment drive.
Briefing note: Farming 4.0 - Implications for South Africa? Agribots, aquaponics, smart collared cows, fenceless farming and e-shepherds, and aero/vertical farming are some of the emerging technologies that fuse the digital, physical, automated and scientific systems in the new agricultural revolution, sometimes called “Farming 4.0”. The challenge is to achieve sustainable food security systems that incorporate scale production with affordable and cost-effective farming methods and environmental protection. Read the briefing note online: Farming 4.0 - Implications for South Africa.
Briefing note: Water and sanitation markets - An opportunity for industrial development? The evolution of the water and sanitation market in South Africa and globally opens opportunities for industrialisation. For this reason, the sector has been identified by the Industrial Policy Action Plan as a potential driver, notably through the establishment and growth of locally-designed and manufactured products and services. Read the breifing note online: Water and sanitation markets: An opportunity for industrial development?
Green jobs: Unlocking green jobs in South Africa - A catalytic intervention: Synthesis report
UNLOCKING GREEN JOBS IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Unlocking Green Jobs: A Catalytic Intervention was a two-year initiative and collaboration between the World Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa (WWF-SA) and Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS). Published reports include a synthesis report, Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention, which summarises the findings and three three case studies.
The reports were produced with the financial assistance of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
Main report
Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention - synthesis report
Case studies
Essential Amathole: A case study of unlocking green jobs in the bioprospecting sector
APORDE 2018: Alice Amsden Memorial Lecture
Topic: Observations from the Coalface: Five challenges and a Lacuna
Speaker: Adeyemi Dipeolu
About the Speaker
Ambassador Adeyemi Dipeolu is Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters in the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria. His work and interests have evolved around economic development, trade, industrial policy and economic integration. As Director of the Capacity Development Division of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), he led ECA’s innovative work on Transformative Industrial Policy and also on Conflict and Development in Africa. He was also Member of the Technical Committee and Head of Secretariat of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. Dr. Dipeolu also served in earlier roles at ECA including as Chief of Staff and also as Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre. Prior to this, he was a Nigerian diplomat and served in Geneva, Pretoria, Addis Ababa and Caracas. Dr. Dipeolu studied at the Universities of Ife, Oxford, Cambridge and South Africa.
About Alice Amsden
Alice Amsden was a leading thinker on industrial policy and an expert in economic development. She served as the Barton L. Weller Professor of Political Economy in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Amsden wrote extensively about the process of industrialisation in emerging economies, particularly in Asia. Her work has shaped thinking in how developing countries approach industrialisation and she was influential in understanding the importance of the state as a creator of economic growth. Her work challenged the idea that globalisation had produced generally uniform conditions in which emerging economies could find a one-size-fits-all path to prosperity.
Please RSVP to Rozale@tips.org.za
Finger food will be served