PO Box 602090, Tholo House, Plot 50668, Fairgrounds, Gaborone, Botswana, Phone: (+267) 3900884, info@satradehub.org

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

February 2014

The WTO’s Agreement on Trade Facilitation: How Will It Affect Southern Africa ? By Brian Glancy, Director of Trade Facilitation The “Agreement on Trade Facilitation” (ATF) was the focus of the World Trade Organization’s 9th Ministerial Conference held in Bali, Indonesia in December 2013. Trade facilitation has at its core the goal of lowering the transaction costs of doing business in international trade, specifically the cost of clearing goods for import, export and transit and the associated border controls. Trader transaction costs and the administrative burden of trader activities are generally highest in developing and least developed countries, particularly those which are land-locked. The Agreement on Trade Facilitation seeks to compel WTO member nations to remedy this current situation through the adoption of a rules-based system of trade policies and procedures that incorporates modernized business practices and processes, not only for customs authorities but for all government agencies that have a direct impact on international trade. The agreement was accepted in draft form by WTO members on December 11, and it is expected to be ratified and implemented in July 2014. All of the countries in which the Trade Hub works are WTO members and will be bound to implement the ATF within the dates prescribed in the agreement. What’s in the Agreement? The proposed Agreement on Trade Facilitation comprises two sections. The first section deals with trade facilitation measures and obligations. The second section relates to flexibility arrangements that will allow developing and least developed countries to phase in the agreement’s obligations over an extended period of time. During the Bali conference, 12 articles were agreed upon, which are as follows:

1. Publication and availability of information 2. Prior publication and consultation 3. Advance rulings 4. Appeal or review procedures 5. Other measures to ensure impartiality, non-discrimination and transparency

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6. Disciplines on fees and charges imposed on or in connection with importation and exportation

7. Release and clearance of goods 8. Border agency coordination 9. Movement of goods under customs control for import 10. Formalities connected with importation, exportation and transit 11. Freedom of transit 12. Customs cooperation

The first group of articles (Articles 1-5) essentially addresses transparency issues and expands on GATT Article X. The second group of articles (Articles 6-12) expands on GATT Articles V and VIII and is mainly concerned with fees, charges and formalities for the import, export and transit of goods. These articles require governments to develop new methodologies and business practices, introduce and expand the use of automation to enhance trade facilitation, and build a modernized border clearance service approach that is primarily based on the acceptance of “risk management” as a cornerstone to a significant reduction of border agency intrusions into the goods facilitation process. The implementation of the agreement fully supports the concept of “time shifting”—a border clearance process that implements both pre-arrival submission of documentation and post-release verification activities as risk-based audit controls—and payment schemes that are supported by security to minimize the impact on traders when goods actually arrive at the border. What about traders in Africa? For years, traders have been voicing their concerns regarding the costs and burdens associated with clearing goods through borders. In 2007, a list of common issues emerged from a study of business needs in East, West and Southern Africa. This initiative was carried out by the Business Action for Improving Customs Administration in Africa (BAFICAA) in response to the Commission for Africa Report in 2005. The six key facilitation issues for the African trade community were identified as:

1. The need for fast-track customs services for compliant and low risk taxpayers and traders 2. Regular private sector consultation to ensure support and acceptance for the changes and

reforms in border administrations 3. Speeding up the automation of border processes and procedures 4. A service charter between customs and the private sector setting out expectations, service

levels, and quality of service delivery 5. Elimination of duplication and bureaucracy in post clearance audit and valuation processes 6. Professional training and standards for the accreditation, certification and licensing of

customs clearing agents and professional training for customs services

The Agreement on Trade Facilitation provides remedial action for all six of these issues, all of which have been adequately addressed in the agreement. How will the Trade Hub support the ATF? The Trade Hub is well-positioned to support WTO countries in Southern Africa with technical assistance to allow these countries to meet their obligations to the ATF. For example, Articles 1-5 of the ATF deal with transparency issues. The Trade Hub will assist countries in developing a comprehensive communications strategy and action plan to promote public awareness and provide public consultation on border modernization initiatives like National Single Window, enabling access to government information, legislation, documentation and border obligation through systems such as trade repositories and websites. Articles 6-12 of the ATF focus on border agency formalities and fees. The Trade Hub is working closely with beneficiary countries to introduce modernized border services by giving them a toolkit

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to manage border process re-engineering efficiently and effectively. Overall, Trade Hub support activities will include training and technical assistance in:

• Communications Strategy and Plan (supports Articles 1& 2 ATF) • Project Management (supports Article 10.3 ATF) • Change Management (supports Articles 7, 8 &10 ATF) • Business Process Re-engineering (supports Article 9.3, ATF) • Readiness Assessments for OGAs to connect to Customs as part of a NSW environment

(supports article 10.4.1 ATF) • Implementation of a National Single Window environment (supports Article 10.4.1, ATF) • Legislative Reviews (supports Articles1 – 12. ATF) • One Stop Border Posts (supports Article 8.1 e, ATF) • Coordinated Border Management (supports Articles 6 & 8. ATF)

These technical assistance interventions will improve the countries’ ability to implement the ATF successfully and sustainably under prescribed conditions and within acceptable time frames. With cooperative and collaborative effort, WTO member countries in Southern Africa will reap the benefits of the agreement in a “win-win” situation for governments and the trade community. Zambia’s Agritech Expo Announced for April 2014 By Rob Turner, Director of Agricultural Value Chains

On April 4th and 5th of this year, the inaugural Agritech Expo will be held just outside Lusaka at Chisambo, Zambia. The event will be an all-encompassing professional, outdoor agricultural trade exhibition bringing regional and international agricultural products and service providers to the market. The expo will showcase some of the world’s leading companies in seed production, agrochemicals, irrigation, farm machinery, livestock management, financial services, insurance and agricultural commodities. Agritech Expo will feature live crop trials and product demonstrations, including a machinery area where attendees can observe and “test-drive” the latest equipment. The expo is the result of the vision and dedicated efforts of the Zambian National Farmer Union (ZNFU), the Golden

Valley Agricultural Research Trust (GART), Musika and events firm Spintelligent. Zambia is a nation on the rise, with an economy projected to be one of the fastest growing in the world. Critical to this growth is Zambia’s booming agriculture sector, which accounts for 35% of the nation’s GDP and equates to approximately US$4.5 billion in real money. The expansion of small scale farming and the development of emerging and commercial farms are key contributors to the growth of the agriculture sector. As a result, international companies are heading to Zambia to take advantage of and contribute to the opportunity in this developing new agricultural hub. USAID’s Southern Africa Trade Hub views the expo as an opportunity to support Zambian agricultural development. In addition, the Trade Hub is leveraging the event as a resource for neighboring countries also working to develop more productive and efficient emerging commercial farming sectors. To support this, the Trade Hub has provided a US$100,000 Strategic Partnership grant to the event to expand its regional reach and impact by including Malawi and Mozambique. Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia are the USG Feed the Future focal countries in the Southern Africa Region. The grant will:

• Partially subsidize attendance for up to 50 emerging commercial farmers and agribusiness

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suppliers from the region • Provide targeted buyer-seller matching for supported attendees • Partially subsidize exhibitor fees for up to 10 indigenous SME agricultural technology

companies from the region • Support a range of on-site technical and management workshops provided free-of-charge to

expo attendees

The Trade Hub is excited about this partnership and the potential value the expo offers to agricultural competitiveness in the region. Technologies represented at the Agritech Expo— including seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, storage and ICT—are critical to improving agricultural productivity, farmer incomes and food security. We encourage interested parties to attend the event and welcome any suggestions or referrals for the grant-supported activities above. African Delegation Visits U.S. for Benchmarking Mis sion on Standards to Improve Trade By George Makore, Director, Enabling Environment USAID’s Southern Africa Trade Hub, in conjunction with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), organized a five-day benchmarking mission to the United States from January 13-17, 2014. The mission brought a delegation of eight designated World Trade Organization (WTO) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) officials from the national standards organizations of select Southern African countries to the U.S.: two officials came from Lesotho and three each from Malawi and Zambia. The benchmarking mission was hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. and was part of the Partnership for Trade Facilitation (PTF) Standards Alliance technical assistance. The trip was designed to give the delegates an up-close and comprehensive understanding of the functioning of an Enquiry Point and Notification Authority as they prepare to launch similar initiatives in their own countries. In addition to responding to all enquiries for information concerning state and private regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures, an effective Enquiry Point maintains a reference collection of standards, specifications, test methods, codes and recommended practices for all WTO member countries. NIST is the federal technology agency that works with US industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards, while ANSI is the voice of the US standards and conformity assessment system. As explained in their mission statement, ANSI “empowers its members and constituents to strengthen the U.S. marketplace position in the global economy while helping to assure the safety and health of consumers and the protection of the environment.” In November 2011, the US government launched a new initiative, USAID’s Partnership for Trade Facilitation (PTF), which is a flexible funding facility to assist developing countries in the implementation of trade facilitation commitments currently subject to WTO negotiations. PTF is a collaborative initiative for practitioners and policymakers involved in trade and transport facilitation. The fund provides technical and financial resources to advance reforms in the global trading system while building the capacity of developing countries in areas of the proposed WTO agreement on trade facilitation.

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The Standards Alliance program is a new US five-year facility to support developing countries in implementing commitments under the WTO TBT agreement announced by the USAID and USTR at WTO in Geneva, Switzerland in November 2012. The objectives of the Standards Alliance program include increased understanding of WTO TBT principles, encouragement of transparency in the development and alteration of technical regulations, and improved implementation of the TBT Agreement’s Code of Good Practice for the preparation, adoption and application of standards, with the larger goal of promoting trade and economic development. The benchmarking visit followed three training sessions held by the Trade Hub on operating an effective WTO TBT Enquiry Point and Notification Authority in December 2013. The sessions were given in Lesotho, Malawi and Zambia and attended by a total over 60 participants from the private and public sector as well as nongovernmental organizations in the three countries. The in-country sessions gave participants an overview of the WTO and TBT agreement and the obligations of WTO members; outlined roles and responsibilities; and explained the operation of the TBT enquiry point. Once in the U.S., the delegates met with the Director for Technical Barriers to Trade and the Director of African Affairs in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for a discussion of Standard Alliance activities and other matters of mutual interest. The delegates also spent three days at the NIST Complex in Gaithersburg, Maryland where they visited the Enquiry Point and Notification Authority and were given a guided tour of the facility and a detailed explanation of its day-to-day operations. The Southern Africa delegation also received presentations from various experts from the US standards development organizations and different government officials involved in trade and WTO issues. Most importantly, the visit included demonstration of the U.S. WTO TBT Online Notification Submission System, operation of the WTO TBT Enquiry Point, completion of WTO TBT Notification, overview of good regulatory practices and WTO obligations for transparency. The visit also exposed the delegation to the appropriate tools and resources required to establish an effective WTO TBT Enquiry Point and Notification Authority. In addition to their comprehensive visit to the NIST Campus, the delegates spent two days at ANSI in Washington DC where they interacted with senior ANSI officials and stakeholders. During the two-day stop, ANSI staff provided the delegates with an overview of ANSI and Standards Alliance activities, while the ANSI stakeholders used the opportunity to highlight their own activities and potential opportunities for cooperation with the SADC country representatives in attendance. Following the successful benchmarking visit, participants returned home to Lesotho, Malawi and Zambia ready to establish effective WTO TBT Enquiry Points and Notification Authorities in their own countries to help benefit traders as part of the region’s effort to increase trade and stimulate economic growth.

Hub Digest

The Hub Digest offers views from a rotating panel of experts on issues related to trade and economic growth in Southern Africa, including trade facilitation tools and approaches; agricultural productivity and improvements especially in the maize, groundnut and soy value chains; developments in the textiles and apparel sector and regarding AGOA and exports; clean energy; enabling environment reform and initiatives; environmental compliance and gender integration.

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Write to info@satradehub.org with your suggestion for a topic or question. Or start a conversation via our Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/satradehub. Using Income Per Capita to Identify Textiles & Appa rel Opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa By Drew Schneider, Director of Textiles & Apparel Recent and rapid income growth across all of Asia is driving the industry to start looking elsewhere for opportunities in textiles and apparel manufacturing. Specifically, many eyes in the industry are now focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. As the situation continues to shift and change, it is useful to examine income growth as an important data point to develop a nuanced perspective on the long-term textile and apparel potential of the region. It is commonly understood in the garment industry that export production for global markets migrates to countries with the lowest labor costs. A quick review of the trade data reveals that there is certainly some truth to this claim, but the premise is difficult to substantiate through wage data alone. One reason for this is that officially-published minimum wage rates are often not the best indicator of actual wages paid. Even if they were, we know that labor costs are a function of both wages and worker productivity. This is important to keep in mind when promoting trade and investment into light manufacturing industries like textiles and apparel. When company executives and prospective factory investors consider different countries as possible platforms for sourcing garments and building new manufacturing capacity, they look at a combination of factors to estimate labor and other costs of production. A crucial area to consider are standardized measures of income per capita: these measures serve as an informative benchmark for capturing the relative costs of production as well as the relative expectations of a workforce in different locations. Income per capita is also a simple, high-level way of contextualizing opportunities available to sub-Saharan African countries trying to compete against the garment-producing powerhouses in Asia. Exhibit 1 presents gross national income (GNI) per capita data for the year 2012 for selected garment producing countries in Asia. The table organizes select countries from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC) and Asia into three common income tiers as established by the World Bank:

• The top group is composed of “upper middle” income countries with GNI/Capita greater than $US 4,000/yr.

• The middle group is the “lower middle” income countries with GNI/Capita between $US 1,000/yr. and $US 4,000/yr.

• The bottom group is the “lower” income countries with GNI/Capita less than $US 1,000/yr.

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1 Between 2009 and 2012 the GNI per Capita in Bangladesh rose by 35% and in Cambodia by 28%.

Exhibit 1: Income Categories

Asian Countries As the table in Exhibit 1 shows, most garment-producing countries in Asia now appear in the lower middle income category. This is the result of a sustained period of high levels of income growth in Asia, with China leading the way. China’s GNI per capita grew by 58% between 2009 and 2012, and in 2010 China made the leap into the upper middle income category. The data for Asia clearly depicts the upward pressure on production costs in China and explains the shifts we have seen in low-value garment production centers away from the wealthier nations towards Bangladesh and Cambodia, the only major Asian producers that are still classified as low income. While these two countries still represent the low-income end of the region, GNI per capita has also been growing quickly in Bangladesh and Cambodia the past several years, and this rapid income growth is putting pressure on costs at the low end of the industry.1 The garment industry expects that some of these cost pressures can be eased within the region as opportunities to manufacture in Myanmar mature, but the rapid income growth across all of Asia is also driving the industry to seriously consider sub-Saharan Africa.

SADC Countries Exhibit 1 depicts the fairly consistent distribution of SADC countries across the GNI categories. As in the case of Asia, the GNI levels are suggestive of the kind of success various countries are having in textiles and apparel production/export. For example, an upper-middle income country such as Mauritius that has been focused heavily on upgrading its industry is now manufacturing higher value products with leaner factories. Mauritius has also focused on functional up-gradation and is now successfully branching into merchandizing, design and branding. The country has diversified into a variety of different market channels including the U.S., EU and South Africa. Contrast this with Lesotho, a lower middle-income country that is also trying to upgrade its industry. Over the past four years Lesotho’s GNI per capita has grown by over 25%; without some form of corresponding up-gradation, Lesotho’s industry could become stagnant. In fact, based on the trade data available for the first three quarters of 2013, there is already an outside chance that Lesotho may lose its long-held spot as the number one garment exporter under AGOA. There are still some countries in the lower income category in SADC that could compete on a low cost basis with Bangladesh. However, the two most likely candidates (Madagascar and

Income

Category Country GNI/Capita Country GNI/Capita Country GNI/Capita

Mauritius $8,570.00 China $5,720.00

Botswana $7,650.00

South Africa $7,610.00

Namibia $5,610.00

Swaziland $2,860.00 Indonesia $3,420.00

Lesotho $1,380.00 Sri Lanka $2,920.00

Zambia $1,350.00 India $1,580.00

Vietnam $1,550.00

Lao PDR $1,270.00

Pakistan $1,260.00

Zimbabwe $650.00 Kenya $860.00 Cambodia $880.00

Mozambique $510.00 Tanzania $570.00 Bangladesh $840.00

Madagascar $430.00 Uganda $440.00

Malawi $320.00 Ethiopia $380.00

Gross National Income Per Capita by Country and Region (2012)

Upper

Middle

Income

Lower

Middle

Income

Low

Income

EAC CountriesSADC Countries Asian Countries

N/A

N/A

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2 Note that the data in Exhibit 3 does not include US export data from either Mauritius or Madagascar.

Zimbabwe) are not eligible to export under AGOA. This leaves Mozambique and Malawi as the most likely candidates for attracting low-value, commodity-type apparel export manufacturing ventures. Of the two, the opportunities in Mozambique look the most compelling, and this should be a focus country for investment promotion into commodity-type apparel manufacturing and vertically integrated operations, particularly once the political situation stabilizes.

EAC Countries Finally, Exhibit 1 shows that countries in East Africa are all concentrated in the lower income category. The concentration of countries in this lower income category, along with their large and quickly growing populations, has helped East Africa make a persuasive case to garment producers looking for alternatives to Bangladesh to supply the US market. Kenya’s year-to-year comparison numbers through the first three quarters of 2013 suggest that it may top US$300 million in garment exports to the United States in 2013, possibly overtaking Lesotho as the number one garment exporter under AGOA. Since 2009, Uganda’s exports of garments to the U.S. have grown by nearly 700%; last year Uganda’s garment exports to the U.S. overtook both Malawi and South Africa. In 2011 Ethiopia overtook South Africa to become the third largest exporter of garments to Europe from sub-Saharan Africa, trailing only Madagascar and Mauritius. As Exhibit 2 “Income Growth” demonstrates, per capita incomes in East African countries are also growing more slowly than incomes in Asia and Southern Africa. This helps to give the industry some confidence in terms of the long run viability of sourcing investments in EAC, at least on the issue of being able to control production costs.

Exhibit 2: Income Growth

Implications for Our Work at the Trade Hub Of course we need more than the single measure of income per capita to evaluate opportunities for textiles and apparel industries across sub-Saharan Africa. For example, a country with high levels of income inequality like Botswana can still offer low labor costs to prospective investors. But there are risks to that. As Botswana has already shown us over the past decade, there is a limit to the scope and sustainability of pursuing a low cost production strategy in a middle-income country with fairly rapid income growth. With the exception of opportunities in Mozambique and Malawi that could open up in the future, the primary garment-producing countries in Southern Africa are going to face increasingly stiff competition from the EAC in terms of sourcing to the US market on a pure cost basis. As Exhibit 3 shows, the gap is already narrowing.2 In order to stay competitive in the US market, countries from Southern Africa need to implement programs that better facilitate trade across borders and invest more decisively in training the workforce and reforming labor markets. Wider and more

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

China

Botswana

Vietnam

Bangladesh

Cambodia

Lesotho

Mozambique

Ethiopia

Tanzania

Kenya

Uganda

58%

45%

38% 35%

28% 27%

21% 19%

14% 10% 10%

Increase in GNI Per Capita from 2009 to 2012 for Selected Countries

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affordable access to trade finance will also be vital for enabling resident-owned factories to upgrade functionally into higher value activities like merchandising and design.

Exhibit 3: Apparel Exports to the US Market (EAC vs . SADC)

Because of the trade preferences extended to members of SADC and SACU, Southern Africa countries are unlikely to feel too much pressure from East Africa in terms of sourcing to the South African market. Thus there are clearly opportunities for regional producers, particularly inside SACU, to compete with Asia on a speed-to-market basis for an increasing share of the South African market. However, from a longer-term perspective, there is a risk that the protections SADC has erected for the region’s garment industry serve as a disincentive for countries and factories in the region to pursue strategies that make them competitive on a global basis. In order to continue to grow on a sustainable basis, Southern Africa’s textiles and apparel industries need to follow a multi-dimensional development strategy. For lower income countries like Mozambique, investments should be focused around the enabling environment—specifically measures to help attract foreign investors and enable the industry to start up and gain momentum. For lower middle-income countries like Lesotho and Swaziland, the focus should be on upgrading the industry, especially through workforce training and providing access to affordable sources of trade finance. For upper-middle income countries like South Africa and Mauritius, the focus should be on mastering the higher-value functions, facilitating capital intensive manufacturing operations and managing regional supply chains. There are opportunities for every country in the region. Drew Schneider is a private sector development specialist with 20 years of experience designing, implementing and evaluating economic growth programs in the United States, Central & Eastern Europe, South Asia and Eastern & Southern Africa. He has managed value chain development efforts across a wide range of industries including textiles & apparel, furnishings, horticulture, aquaculture, tourism and financial services. He focuses on developing technical approaches that anchor development solutions to market demand and draws upon innovations in managements systems, collaboration platforms and analytical methods to leverage the contributions of specialists into strategies and impact-oriented outcomes. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the USAID Forward initiative and writes about improving the business of development at http://www.getseriousaboutresults.blogspot.com

Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

EAC Countries $270,862 $211,813 $221,427 $289,336 $283,277

SADC Countries $540,028 $422,358 $421,193 $443,071 $397,304

Apparel Exports to the US (in $US Thousands)

$0

$100,000

$200,000

$300,000

$400,000

$500,000

$600,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

EAC Countries

SADC Countries

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Our People

Each month we introduce you to members of our USAID Southern Africa Trade Hub staff: Chandapiwa Mabengane, Office Assistant Chandapiwa Mabengane has been working as an office assistant at the Southern Africa Trade Hub since taking the position in 2012. She is working at the Trade Hub while completing her studies at the Chartered Institute of Purchase and Supply (CIPS) under the British Council, the leading body representing the field of purchasing and supply chain management. Chanda will finish her degree in 2015. What is the most challenging and/or interesting par t of your job at the Trade Hub? The most challenging aspect of my work is dealing with the complex preferences, tastes and requirements of Trade Hub Staff and attending to their needs. This jobs brings you in contact with people from ar ound the world – what do you enjoy most about meeting people from different countries/cultures? Meeting people from other parts of the world gives me an opportunity to learn about their cultures and to compare their lives with the way we do things in Botswana. I often sit with them to enquire about the way men and women relate to each other in their cultures, the food they eat and a host of other issues. What do you hope to do next in your career? For my next career, I am planning to complete my studies and divert to the business field. If you could choose any other profession/job, what would it be? My preferred career is to own and run my own business. I hope to one day start a supply company providing products for different organizations, such as building materials, cooking machinery or school art materials. What is the first place in the city that you would advise newcomers to Gaborone to visit, and why? The first place I would recommend for newcomers to Gaborone is Botswana Craft in Block 3. The place is a sanctuary of Botswana culture, showcasing various local arts and crafts, with a restaurant serving traditional Tswana cuisine that prides itself on very friendly staff. Which famous person most inspires your work and lif e? Well, the person who inspires my work and life the most is Jesus. By his word, his teachings and example, I am able to find my feet in my work and in my life in general. Which country in the world would you most like to v isit, and why? I would really like to go to China. China presents a lot of opportunities for business, education and other important things in life. Besides, 20% of the world’s population lives in China. Daniel Melkin, Customs IT Specialist Daniel Melkin is a development professional specializing in the application of ICT (Information & Communications Technology) for trade facilitation and customs modernization. At the Trade Hub, Daniel's work includes trade facilitation projects such as National Single Window, Customs Connectivity and multi-agency information sharing. Daniel has 16 years of experience in ICT, project management and development consulting. He is particularly interested in bridging the communication gap between ICT and operational teams to help organizations build ICT capacity and develop sustainable ICT strategies. Prior to

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joining the Trade Hub, Daniel managed the development of automated customs processing systems for the ADB-funded Regional Customs Modernization Project in the Kyrgyz Republic. He spent the three previous years building ICT capacity and delivering software solutions to the Customs Service of Angola as part of Crown Agents' Customs Expansion and Modernization Project. Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering from the University of Central Lancashire in the UK and is a certified Project Manager. What led you to a career in international developme nt? In 2007, I took a break from my ICT career and spent about eight months traveling through West and Central Africa. Before the trip was over, I had already decided to pursue a different career. After the trip I secured my first international development role in Angola and I’ve never looked back. What is the most exciting aspect of the trade facil itation tools you have been working on at the Trade Hub, and how will they help Southern Afri ca? I think the National Single Window program is currently the most exciting prospect for trade facilitation in Southern Africa. NSW facilitates inter-agency coordination, which is an essential step towards regional integration. It is widely recognized that regional integration will help Southern Africa’s smaller and fragmented economies to combine their resources, achieve greater economies of scale and ultimately stimulate trade and investment. If you could choose any other profession or job, wh at would it be? I really enjoy scuba diving and being in the water, but rarely get the opportunity living in a landlocked country, so I’d choose a job in underwater research, maybe scientific diving. You travel a lot for work: what is your favorite ci ty in Africa, and why? Though my travel for work is generally limited to the cities, my favorite places in Africa are away from the urban sprawl. It’s difficult to pick one, but the Marienfluss Valley in Namibia is probably the most beautiful and tranquil place I’ve ever been. What famous person most inspires your life and work ? I have drawn inspiration from a number of people throughout my life, though none of them famous. A friend and global traveler, Austin Vince, remains a constant reminder that my enjoyment of life is limited only by my imagination. What is your favorite thing to do for relaxation in Gaborone? As a new father, I like nothing better than spending time with my family. My son is 15 months old, and my wife and I are trying to teach him to swim. He loves the water, and I love the look on his face when he’s splashing around in the pool. What is the proudest achievement in your career so far? Overcoming the Portuguese language barrier in Angola. When I started the job, my Portuguese was almost non-existent. After three years’ immersion I was providing technical training and mentoring to government employees without resorting to English!

Upcoming Events

SADC Energy Thermatic Group Donor Meeting February 26-28 Gaborone, Botswana PowerGen Africa Conference and Exhibition March 17-19,2014 Cape Town, South Africa

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Source Africa 2014 May 6-8, 2014 Cape Town, South Africa