MONDAY
1. CURRENT ISSUES
2. STATISTICS
3. ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY
WEDNESDAY
4. THEORY
Regional Integration in Africa
5. ANALYTICS
Making African Trade Work
VOCABULARY & GRAMMAR
KEY TERMS
| pillar | a fundamental principle or practice |
| partnership | a cooperative relationship between people or groups who agree to share responsibility for achieving some specific goal |
| capability | power; ability; the quality of being capable |
| supranational | above the authority or scope of any one national government, as a project or policy |
| rationale | the fundamental or basic reason or reasons serving to account for smth |
| scope | extent, limit or range of view, outlook |
| allegiance | loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause, or the like, esp. loyalty of citizens to their government |
| hegemon | a leading or paramount power |
| equitable | characterized by equity or fairness; just and right; fair; reasonable |
| transboundary | crossing the border between two or more countries or areas and affecting both or all areas |
FOCUS WORDS
| precipitate | ускорять; усугублять |
| commitment | обязательство, приверженность; убеждения |
| underscore | подчеркивать, акцентировать |
| encompass | заключать, касаться |
| reconcile | согласовать, согласовывать, примирять |
| expedite | ускорять, содействовать |
| epitomize | воплощать, резюмировать |
| dispense | обходиться (без чего-л.) |
| contentious | спорный |
| blueprint | план, проект, программа |
PREPOSITIONS
- commitment to
- respond to
- regardless of
- envisioned in
- account for
- priority for
- on average
- compliance with
- gear up for
- appeals for
- focus on
- implication for
- incorporated into
- along with
- dispense with
WORDS FOR REPORT
| a clear age gap on the issue |
| compared with a smaller share |
| more likely to favor |
| the survey explored the public’s views about |
| Overall, |
| In regard to the negative consequences, |
| substantial majorities |
| no statistically significant difference by age |
GRAMMAR PATTERNS
National leaders must guide their ministries and step in as needed to resolve stubborn issues.
Technical experts and policymakers must stay focused on analyzing excluded and sensitive products’ implications for intraregional trade and value chains, so that governments and industries can adapt accordingly.
The COMESA and EAC regions already have functional competition-policy regimes and institutions, which can serve as models for the CFTA.
The phase-two negotiations can be expedited by drawing on global, regional, and national models that have already proved effective.
The annex discussions can be streamlined with a more efficient procedural framework.
Another immediate priority is to persuade 22 countries to ratify the CFTA agreement so that it can enter into force before the end of 2018.
It is hard to say when the next 19 ratifications might arrive.
Now, similar roles might be assigned at the micro level to facilitate the process of formalizing individual annexes.
To expedite the process, the AU Commission should dispatch emissaries to aid national leaders in securing ratification from their governments or legislatures.
The lessons from the first phase should come in handy for the second, assuming they are heeded.
Those talks need to be finalized, and their protocols submitted for adoption, by the time of the January 2020 AU Summit.
Delegates could then refer areas where there is no immediate consensus to the ministerial level, thereby ensuring that all annexes are at least subjected to technical review.
Contentious and unresolved issues could then be revisited later, perhaps with instructions from the relevant governments.
If new proposals did not readily invite a consensus, discussions would revert back to the existing text.
But time is pressing, and policymakers will need to maintain the momentum if they are to meet looming deadlines.
If all of this happens, Africa will take a giant step toward achieving continental economic integration.
Though structural issues will remain high on the development agenda, the immediate priority is to finish the basic unfinished work needed to get the CFTA up and running. Securing ratification from each member state will require gentle pressure on governments, so that the agreement can enter into force sooner rather than later.