Calls for telecoms infrastructure sharing falling on deaf ears?

News Update as @ 1530 hours, Thursday 3 July 2014Feedback: [email protected]: [email protected]

By Lynn Murahwa

•'Special Youth Fund has the most defaulters'

CABS has suspended disbursement of monies to the Youth Fund due to the high rate of default on re-payments.

CABS managing director Kevin Terry told a Parliamentary Portfolio Com-mittee on Youth, Indigenisation and Empowerment that the financial institution needed to "re-strategise" because it was losing out on money.

"$5 million has been distributed, the other $5 million has been suspended since the end of May because of a re-do strategy by Trustees, a re-evaluation to re-strategise because of loss of money and unpaid loans," said Terry.

According to figures provided by Terry, CABS currently has 3 600 accounts under the Youth Empowerment Fund

and $4,2 million of the money dis-bursed through them is not "perform-ing."He added that the Youth Fund is not performing well because the youth are not equipped to be business people

“The Youth fund is not working that well and the problem is youth don’t have the capacity to operate as busi-nesspeople,” he said.

The documents supplied by CABS show that as from 20 June this year 78 percent of the loans disbursed under

the Youth Empowerment Fund are not performing and keeping up with pay-ments. Also appearing before the com-mittee was CBZ Bank.

CBZ chief executive Never Nyemudzo said the Government has taken a 100 percent risk of the Special Youth Fund as they contributed $1,8 million towards it.

“The Special fund how it operated was that the Ministry of Youth Devel-opment, Indigenisation and Empow-erment was taking 100 percent credit risk while with the ordinary fund the Ministry was taking 80 percent credit risk with 20 percent sitting in the bank.

“They brought in seed fund of $400 000 followed by $150 000, over the years this seed fund has grown to about $1,8 million.

A beneficiary would then approach the Ministry offices in their various prov-

inces and districts get approval then come to the bank for disbursement and that is under the special fund” he said.

He said out of the $1,8 million under a million has been disbursed from the Special Youth Fund.

“Over the years out of the $1,8 million we have disbursed about $ 945 thou-sand with $1,4 million outstanding under the Special Fund with the com-ponent of interest. Under the Ordinary Fund we have done $1,3 million in terms of disbursement and about $1 million outstanding” he said.

According to CBZ 55 percent of loans are performing and 45 percent are in default largely in the areas of manu-facturing, poultry and in cross border trading.

The bank has a total of 1 859 benefi-ciaries under the Youth Empowerment Fund. •

CABS stops Youth Fund disbursements

Kevin Terry

2 News

By Rumbidzayi Zinyuke

Government is working on legislation that will facilitate the setting up of a debt management office to monitor the country’s debt and minimize friv-olous borrowing in state enterprises and local councils.

This is a bid to make sure that the country’s $10 billion debt is settled and that it does not grow through excessive borrowing.

Addressing journalists at a press briefing in Harare, Finance and Eco-nomic Development minister Patrick Chinamasa said the framework for the bill had already been approved by cabinet.

“The measures that we have taken as we go into the future are to make sure that we have an institution which monitors debt obligations. Through legislation we are going to create a debt management office in this minis-try and this will be under the supervi-sion of the secretary for Finance who will be responsible for government debt, lending and guarantees includ-

ing local councils and public enter-prises debt,” he said.

He said the debt management office would maintain a database of all pub-lic and publicly guaranteed external debts, formulate a debt management strategy and prepare annual borrow-ing plans.

The formulation of the bill will put a cap on excessive borrowings that contributed to the country’s huge external debt.

minister Chinamasa said this would result in centralized borrowing for all public entities.

“We feel that the power to borrow should reside in a single authority. We should not have a situation where everybody is signing on debt instru-ments and we only get to know about them after they have been signed.

“The legislation will make it clear that the minister of Finance will be the single authority to borrow money, so any borrowing by a local authority or parastatal must receive our approval. We will have any debt that is incurred

by a public entity in the database. It is not something we are going to dis-cover haphazardly,” he said.

He added that the legislation puts a limit on the amount to be borrowed and any need to exceed limits will have to be approved by parliament depending on the urgency and impor-

tance of the reason.

Minister Chinamasa said Zimbabwe’s public external debt stands at $5 billion and debt guaranteed by gov-ernment is $1,3 billion. The Reserve bank of Zimbabwe’s $596 million external debt brings the tota public and publicly guaranteed external debt to $6,9 billion.

He said the private sector’s external debt stands at $1,9 billion bringing the total external debt to $8,9 bil-lion. A domestic debt of $994 million brings the total amount owed by Zim-babwe to $9,9 billion.

“Total public and publicly guaranteed external debt at end-2013 was 54 percent of GDP, of which 43 percetn of GDP were arrears. Zimbabwe’s overdue financial obligations to the worlf bank, African development bank, European investment bank and the IMF Amount to $2 billion,” he said.

he said a debt resolution strategy would unlock new financing from multilateral and bilateral creditors. •

Government puts a cap on borrowing

Minister Chinamasa

By Tawanda Musarurwa

• ...as Telecel Zimbabwe announces new fibre deploy-ment project

Government's drive for local telecoms companies seems to be falling on deaf ears as the firms continue to set up separate infrastructure.

This has resulted in a lot of duplica-tion of communications infrastructure resulting in high investment costs in network infrastructure such as base stations and specialised equipment. This in turn is reflected in high service tariffs, stunted expansion of network range and, at times, poor service deliv-ery.

But local telecoms companies have largely ignored Government's pleas.

Telecel Zimbabwe has just announced a fibre deployment project between Harare and Gweru that has seen the company laying its own optical fibre cable between the two cities and will be extended to Bulawayo. Telecel says this will avail more high capacity data provisioning for the network nation-

wide, which will enhance data speeds and connectivity helping it to meet increased consumer demand.

Telecel Zimbabwe’s transmission man-ager Alice Chikumbo said the fibre pro-ject which links the two cities and all the towns in between will also include an upgrade of the metro fibre network which will improve capacity and speeds for the current 3G network.

“The fibre project is about laying our own optical fibre to link major centres to improve the experience of our cus-tomers when they are using our data services. Already Telecel has linked Gweru and Harare together with the backbone sites along the way and under the next phase we expect to cover other cities and urban areas like Bulawayo,” she said.

Telecel expects to "include other urban areas and cities over the next few months." Econet already has in place the widest largest fibre network in the country, which was constructed by Liq-uid Telecom.

Although it provides broadband voice

and data in all the major cities and towns and can be utilised by all the three mobile telecommunications ser-vice providers, there is apparent unwill-ingness on the part of these players to share infrastructure.

However, giving oral evidence to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communication, Technology, Postal and Courier services earlier this week, Telecel general manager Angeline Vere said the infrastructure sharing needed to be guided by law.

“Government should make it compul-sory for us to share the infrastructure. We feel it should be done on a com-mercial basis where the person who put up the infrastructure benefits more from their investment but allows other players to benefit from it as well,” said Vere.

Establishment of legislation of manda-tory network infrastructure sharing will see a regulated partnership of com-petitors in setting up and maintaining network infrastructure, thus reducing investment costs and improvement in the customer experience. •

3 News

Calls for telecoms infrastructure sharing falling on deaf ears?

BH24 Reporter

NewZim Steel will temporarily resort to importing several steel products to sustain its operations in the pro tem as investors Essar Africa re-constructs the Kwek-we-based steel plant.

With the re-constructed steel plant now expected to be operational in "24 months”, Minister of Industry and Commerce Mike Bimha has said the company the steel imports will go towards reviving Lancashire steel.

"We will import steel billets that will then be channelled to Lancashire Steel to produce what Lancashire Steel used to produce, so that while we wait for that time when we can produce the liquid steel work can take place...and within six months Lancashire Steel will be operating," Minister Bimha told Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Commerce and Industry yesterday.

According to the Minister, the other imported steel products will be

retailed through NewZim Steel cen-tres across the country.

"We have also identified that there are certain steel products that we can import, and make and distrib-ute through the existing NewZim

Steel distribution centres."

The move will likely push up Zim-babwe's levels of imports of stain-less steel in primary form.

Official figures from the United

Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database show that in 2006, Zim-babwe value of imports of primary stainless steel was effectively at zero, rising incrementally to $121 in 2007, $1 788 in 2009 and $28 372 in 2010. •

4 News

Govt, Essar import raw steel

BH24

BH24 Reporter

The Industrial Development Corporat-The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe should use the Universal Services Fund to develop ICT knowledge in under-serviced areas and circumvent the delays in putting up passive infra-structure under the fund.

The USF is a pool of money into which the country’s licensed telecommunica-tions companies contribute to finance the expansion of telecoms services in outlying areas, which are under ser-viced.

Although the fund was essentially designed to channel investment in ICT infrastructure, it was also put in place to assist in training of personnel in the

provision of postal and telecommunica-tion services.

The fund has however not been fully utilised despite companies having con-tributed close to $43 million to it since its inception in 2011.

Telecel managing director Angeline Vere said the funds had been lying idle for too long and should be put to use.

“We are worried about the delays in the utilisation of the USF. We feel it could be useful to develop other areas such as putting up incubators and ICT centres for the benefit of communities that are still not serviced,” she said.

She said Telecel had already acquired active infrastructure to set up on pas-sive infrastructure that Potraz was sup-posed to install under the fund.

The regulator was supposed to put up 43 base stations by end of last year to add to the 11 already installed but the project hit a snag. Potraz cited delays in getting State Procurement Board approvals for projects, the require-

ment and need to consult operators on disbursements of funds, consulting affected stakeholders and Govern-ment, site acquisition for construction of rural passive telecoms infrastructure as other challenges affecting projects, apart from lack of funding.

Potraz acting director general Alfred Marisa recently said the problem of inadequate funding worsened after operators negotiated to review down-wards their contribution to the USF from 2 percent to 0,5 percent of a mobile network operator's revenue.

Telecoms companies have however questioned the way the fund has been disbursed.

Econet Wireless chief executive Doug Mboweni in May said although they were the biggest contributor to the fund, they had not seen any meaning-ful deployment of the funds to benefit the targeted communities.

The set back has affected the roll out of towers as well as other projects includ-ing schools under the $12 million "con-nect a school connect a community" project, e-Government projects worth $7 million and connectivity to rural post offices at a cost of $3 million.. •

6 News

Mr Marisa

Universal Services Fund delays riles operators

BH24

AdM-DI156506-

BH24

CDE. JOSHUA NKOMO

a moral man, an archiever, a role model,the hero who was all of these things and more

A moral man, who possessed an unbreached commitment to reality and never indulged impulses.

An archiever, who attained ends that were objectivelylife-promoting, fulfilling reality-conforming purposes and

making freedom possible for all.

A role model, a rational archiever, worthy of emulation.

“ Your legacy lives on; because legends never die”

BH24

The equities market today extended yesterday's gains going up 0.25 per-cent following significant foreign pur-chases of Econet, Delta and Innscor's stocks.

Activity was also improved as the num-ber of counter that traded increased to

51 up from yesterday's 38.

Five counters traded in the positive, led by Cottco which was up 25 percent or 0.20 cents to settle at 1 cent.

Bankers NMB traded at 5 cents after going up 11.11 percent, while AFDIS

moved up 9.03 percent to trade at 35 cents.

Zimplow traded 7.69 percent higher at 7 cents after gaining 0.50 cents, while telecoms giant Econet bumped 2.9 percent to trade at 70 cents.

On the downside, Meikles lost 0.99 cents to trade at 19 cents, while Old Mutual was 1.9 percent in the negative at 255 cents. Conglomerate Innscor traded at 74 cents, down 1.33 percent.

Market turnover stood at $1,1 million as foreign buyers again dominated trades as they sold shares to the tune of $197 553, while their purchases amounted to $903 056.

The mining index was up 0.24 percent to 56,36 points. — BH24 Reporter •

10 Zse ReVIew

Equities extend gains

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BH24

It probably ranks among the greatest of ironies that most, if not all, countries on the African continent are pushing for a greater stake in of global trade yet they do not mind keeping their borders closed.

If goods and services are allowed to cross national and international bor-ders without restraint, wouldn't it make sense then that the people who produce or facilitate those goods and services be allowed to free movement?

But of course, free movement can never be really completely free. There are all these issues around migration that every nation has to consider. It is therefore heartening that a regional bloc that Zimbabwe is a party to - the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) - is nearing the execution of a visa that caters to the needs of traders and businesspeo-ple.

Yesterday deputy Minister of Home Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi told BH24 that Comesa had made progress in implementing a business visa for the regional bloc. This will be a positive development for the members of bloc as this will enhance intra-regional free

trade.

The move is part of a broader regional integration agenda that will see the effective introduction of the Comesa Free Trade Area. It mirrors the Single Tourist Visa system for tourists coming to East Africa that was implemented for Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda in February this year. Notably, here in

Zimbabwe, the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Walter Mzembi announced last month that Zimbabwe and Zambia had agreed to remove the visa system between themselves.

These are definitely key steps in ensur-ing that these regional blocs and the continent in general becomes a key player in global business and trade.

Going back to the issue of the Comesa open border strategy, it is notable that Zimbabwe has made inroads in playing its part in the wider agenda. Ziyambi said Zimbabwe is complying with the Comesa protocol on the gradual relax-ation of visa requirements on a bilateral basis. Significantly, and in line with this commitment, the country has already appointed a National Focal Point on Immigration and is in the process of setting up the National Committee.

It is this committee that will monitor the implementation of the Comesa Pro-tocol on the gradual relaxation of visa requirements and the Protocol on Free Movement.

In this simple regard, Zimbabwe is making key strides in enhancing trade facilitation. •

12 BH24 COMMeNT

Open borders important for enhanced trade

BH24

Ghana’s biggest mutual fund is buying debt in the West African nation for the first time since 2011 as accelerating inflation drives up Treasury bill yields.

“With the cedi falling and inflation rising, fixed income has become the safest way to cushion your funds,” Nii Ampa-Sowa, 34, who helps manage the equivalent of $232 million as chief investment officer at Databank Asset Man-agement Services Ltd., said in an interview in the capital, Accra, yesterday.

“Coupled with that is the fact that the Ghanaian stock market is not doing well.”

With stocks in West Africa's sec-ond-biggest economy headed for the lowest returns in three years, Databank is being enticed by investments pegged to Treasury bills, which are paying the highest yields since December 2009.

Inflation at a four-year high is being fueled by a 29 percent slide in the Ghanaian currency, the cedi,

against the dollar this year, the most among 24 African currencies monitored by Bloomberg.

Epack, the largest mutual fund operated by Databank, put 4 per-cent of its 130 million cedis ($39 million) in local fixed income in the first five months of 2014, and may increase that to 7 percent by year-end, according to Ampa-Sowa.

The fund, named for the initials of its first five investors, bought three-year bonds in HFC Bank Ghana Ltd., an Accra-based bank, and fixed deposits priced off bills offered by local lenders that don’t have commercial banking licenses, he said, declining to be more spe-cific. ― Bloomberg •

14 ReGIONAL News

Databank shuns Ghana stocks to buy debt first time since ’11

enjoy the CAIO ride!

BH24

16 DIARY OF eVeNTs

The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.

POWER GENERATION STATSGen Station

1 July 2014

Energy

(Megawatts)

Hwange 518 MW

Kariba 750 MW

Harare 38 MW

Munyati 32 MW

Bulawayo 20 MW

Imports -50 MW

Total 1360 MW

16 July - Mobile Markets & Telecoms Forum Conference & Exhibition, Place: Holiday Inn (Harare), Time: 8:00am

23 -25 July - Mine Entra, Place: Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre, Bulawayo

24 July - OK Zimbabwe Thirteenth Annual General Meeting Place: OKMart Functions Room, First Floor, OKMart, 30 Chiremba Road, Hillside, Time: 15:00 hours.

THE BH24 DIARY

BH24

18 Zse

ZSEMOvERS CHANGE TODAY PRICE USC SHAKERS CHANGE TODAY PRICE USC

COTTCO 25.00% 1.00 MEIKLES -4.95% 19.00

NMBZ 11.11% 5.00 OLD MUTUAL -1.92% 255.00

AFDIS 9.03% 35.00 INNSCOR -1.33% 74.00

ZIMPLOW 7.69% 7.00 TSL -3.57% 27.00

ECONET 2.94% 70.00

IndicesINDEx PREvIOUS TODAY MOvE CHANGE

INDUSTRIAL 186.49 186.69 +0.20 POINTS +0.11%

MINING 58.03 56.12 -1.91 POINTS -3.29%

Stocks Exchange

BH24

20 AFRICA sTOCks

Botswana 8,664.65 -11.96 -0.14% 12July

Cote dIvoire 246.37 +2.18 +0.89% 07Mar

Egypt 7,949.60 -75.68 -0.94% 06Mar

Ghana 2,352.45 +6.43 +0.27% 27June

Kenya 4,885.09 +51.07 +1.06% 30June

Malawi 12,662.47 +0.00 +0.00% 07Mar

Mauritius 2,074.51 -3.51 -0.17% 07Mar

Morocco 9,544.10 +21.01 +0.22% 07Mar

Nigeria 42,482.49 +714.93 +1.71% 30June

Rwanda 131.27 +0.00 +0.00% 24Oct

Tanzania 2,018.97 +25.40 +1.27% 07Mar

Tunisia 4,624.39 -39.32 -0.84% 07Mar

Uganda 1,503.90 +0.81 +0.05% 10Sep

Zambia 4,242.74 +14.95 +0.35% 10April

Zimbabwe 186.56 -0.52 -0.28% 30June

African stock round up Commodity Prices

Name Price

Crude Oil 1,300.91 -0.21%

Spot Gold USD/oz 1,292.63 -0.26%

Spot Silver USD/oz 19.38 -0.46%

Spot Platinum USD/oz 1,421.25 -0.33%

Spot Palladium USD/oz 798.50 -0.64%

LME Copper USD/t 6,770 -0.18%

LME Aluminium USD/t 1,780 -1.17%

LME Nickel USD/t 18,230 -1.73%

LME Lead USD/t 2,095 -1.41%

Quote of the day —"I don't know the key to success, but the key to faIlure Is tryIng to please everybody." - bIll cosby

Globalshareholder.com

BH24

Oil extended losses in Asia Thurs-day on prospects that Libya will begin exporting more crude into a global market flush with supplies, while eas-ing concerns about the Iraqi crisis also weighed on prices.

US benchmark West Texas Intermedi-ate (WTI) for August delivery eased 47 cents to USD 104.01 while Brent crude for August was down 33 cents at USD 110.91 in late-morning trade.

Brent fell USD 1.05 in London Wednes-day after Libya`s interim Prime Min-ister Abdullah Al-Thani declared that authorities have regained control of export terminals blockaded by rebels. WTI fell 86 cents in New York.

"Crude prices dipped... due to the rel-atively quiet situation in Iraq and the Libyan port deal, both of which kept supplies up and sentiment subdued," said Sanjeev Gupta, head of the Asia Pacific oil and gas practice at business consultancy EY.

Libyan production has been severely limited for a year after rebels last sum-mer blockaded terminals in pursuit of a

campaign for restored autonomy to the country`s eastern region.

Its output currently stands at about 320,000 barrels per day, about a fifth of its normal output.

Rebel leader Ibrahim Jodhran said the lifting of the blockade on the Ras Lanuf and Al-Sidra terminals is in line with an April deal with Tripoli, and a sign of

goodwill towards the new parliament elected last week.

The reopening of the two terminals will "add 500,000 barrels of crude per day into the global energy market", Gupta said.

The government already has control of two other terminals that had been blockaded.

Concerns over a possible supply disrup-tion arising out of Iraq`s security crisis have eased considerably, analysts said.

Islamist militants have overrun swathes of territory in Iraq in a light-ning offensive since June 9, but have so far yet to directly threaten the key oil-producing region in the country`s south. - AFP •

22 INTeRNATIONAL News

Oil extends losses on return of Libyan supplies

An opportunity has arisen to enable HelpAge Zimbabwe to facilitate the implementation of the Rural WASH project, to improve water, sanitation and hygiene in Bubi District

1. Carry out an assessment of the WASH related health risks and needs within - General Bookkeeping- Cash book and petty cash management the targeted population and make recommendations for actions which are - Order and control office stationery consistent with agreed guidelines and protocols. - Liaise with project staff in procurement and maintenance of project stocks

2. In conjunction with the local authority and relevant government departments records make recommendations regarding HelpAge Zimbabwe response to unmet - Preparation of Donor Financial reports needs. - Bank reconciliations

3. Facilitate the implementation of SafPHHE in conjunction with the WASH - Filing all office documentsofficer and/or other stakeholders. - Financial and programmes reports, vouchers, program and office meetings

4. Involve affected populations in assessment of the situation and in planning minutes activities and the design of water and sanitation facilities. - Monitoring and securing adherence to organization and donor administrative

5. Identification and training of ward based SafPHHE facilitators and health club processes facilitators. - General Office Administration

6. Write regular reports adhering to HelpAge Zimbabwe and donor reporting

formats as required.

- Degree in Accounting or equivalency and/or accounting

- Computer knowledge 1. Degree in Environmental Science or other relevant qualification

- Knowledge in Pastel/accounting package 2. Knowledge of public health and one or more other relevant areas (e.g. health

- Skills to manage own work and meet deadlines promotion, community development, education, community water supply).

- Clean Class 4 driver's licence 3. The post holder should have at least two years` practical experience in

appropriate community health programmes. 4. Experience and understanding of community mobilisation in relation to water

Send CV and an application letter to [email protected] sanitation activities. Deadline for application 30th June, 2014.5. Sensitivity to the needs and priorities of disadvantaged populations.

6. Demonstrated experience of integrating gender and diversity issues into public health promotion.

7. Good oral and written reporting skills. 8. Good communication skills and ability to work well in a team. 9. Ability to work well under pressure and in response to changing needs. 10. Ability to travel at short notice and to work under difficult circumstances 11. Good written and spoken English and Ndebele are essential.

2. Vacancy: Administration Assistant

Station: Bubi District

Key Result Areas Job Description

Qualifications and Person Specification

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

To Apply

- 2 years` experience in office administration

1. Vacancy: Participatory Health and Hygiene Education Officer

TLM-DI

159207

-T26

Two vacancies have arisen in HelpAge Zimbabwe.

BH24

The 23rd Ordinary Session of the Sum-mit of the African Union concluded in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on 27 June 2014. The summit’s Assembly, com-prising Heads of State and Govern-ment of the African Union, was held from 26-27 June 2014. In their Assem-bly organised under the theme: “ 2014 Year of Agriculture and Food Security”, the Heads of State and Government adopted a number of key decisions with a view to enhancing the socio-eco-nomic and political development of the continent, notably in the areas of education, health, agriculture, trade, women and youth development.

The Assembly adopted the AU Budget for 2015 which amounts to a total of US$ 522,121,602.00, including US$142,687,881.00 for operational costs and US$379,433,721.00 for pro-grammes.

The Assembly received an update report on the development of Agenda 2063: the fifty year vision for Africa. The popular version of Agenda 2063; the Africa we Want was tabled, and the Assembly instructed the Commission

and the NEPAD Agency, together with the UNECA, the African Development Bank to popularise it widely and solicit further inputs from the African citizenry. Member states who have not yet made their submissions on Agenda 2063, further undertook to have national con-sultations and submit inputs on behalf of their countries as soon as possible.

The Assembly further mandated the AU Commission to explore Agenda 2063 flagship programmes, such as the Continental Free Trade Area, free movement of people, the continental integrated high speed rail network, and to report to the Summit in January 2015. The Summit in January 2015 will also adopt Agenda 2063 and its first

ten year plan.

The Assembly adopted the Protocol and the Statute for the Establishment of the African Monetary Fund. It further called on Member states to sign and ratify that Protocol as expeditiously as possible, for its early entry into force.

Regarding the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Assembly considered the report of the High Level Committee (HLC) on the Post 2015 development agenda and requested Member States to mobilize together, to ensure that the agreed Common African Position (CAP), which is to eradicate poverty in all its forms, is the key message for all African representatives in the inter-governmental negotiation process on that crucial subject for Africa. In this regard, the Assembly mandated the HLC to coordinate Member States with the support of the secretariat and in collaboration with partners and other relevant African stakeholders, as Africa engages in the negotiation process with the rest of the world on CAP. The CAP will serve as the basis for Africa's input at the global level into the on-go-

24 ANALYsIs

23rd Ordinary Session of the African Union resolutions

25 ANALYsIs

ing post-2015 sustainable develop-ment intergovernmental deliberations, including the work of the Open Work-ing Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing and the final phase of intergovernmental nego-tiations on the post-2015 develop-ment agenda. The assembly further requested Member States to enhance their statistical capacity to enable them to effectively monitor progress in the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and urged them to speedily ratify the African Charter on Statistics.

The Assembly called for the enhance-ment of the Pan-African Productiv-ity Association, to provide it with the capacity enabling it to act as a regional think-tank, catalyzer, research and knowledge developer and policy adviser on productivity at the conti-nental level. Additionally, it called for the establishment and enhancement of productivity organizations at national and regional levels, which would even-tually become members of the Pan-Af-rican Productivity Association.

The Science, Technology and Innova-

tion Strategy for Africa -2024 (STISA-2024) was adopted as the continental framework for accelerating Africa’s transition to an innovation-led, knowl-edge-based economy within the overall framework of the AU Agenda 2063.

Similarly, the Statute of the African Observatory on Science Technology and Innovation (AOSTI) was consid-ered, with the Heads of State and Gov-ernment calling upon Member States and development partners to avail the necessary technical and financial sup-port for sustaining the AOSTI. Further, the Assembly, while recognizing ARIPO and OAPI as building blocks of the Pan African Intellectual Organization (PAIPO), welcomed and endorsed the offer of Tunisia to host the Headquar-ters and Secretariat of the PAIPO.

A proposal by Republic of Congo to organize in Brazzaville every two years, an International Salon on Invention and Innovation under the auspices of the African Union; and to host a high level Ethics and Bioethics Forum in Brazzaville was welcomed and endorsed by the Assembly.

The Assembly underscored the impor-tance of Technical and Vocational Edu-

cation and Training (TVET) to Africa’s development, particularly for youth empowerment, employment and entrepreneurship and adopted the ten-year AU Continental TVET Strategy.

The Summit in Malabo decided that the APRM shall be an autonomous entity within the AU system. In this regard, the African Union Commission and the APRM Secretariat were requested to consult on the practical modalities for the integration of the APRM into the African Union system.

The following legal instruments were adopted in Malabo: Protocol on the Establishment of the African Monetary Fund; African Convention on Cross bor-der Cooperation (Niamey Convention); African Union Convention on Cyber-space Security and Protection of Per-sonal Data; African Charter on the Val-ues and Principles of Decentralization, Local Governance and Local Develop-ment; Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights; Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union on the Pan-African Par-liament. Furthermore, Member States were called upon to speedily sign and ratify the above legal instruments as

well as all the other legal instruments they have not yet ratified.

The Assembly, while considering the Report of the High Level Committee on African Trade (HATC), directed the AU Commission to prepare Draft Terms of Reference of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) Negotiating Forum based on best practices in the regional economic communities (RECs)/Tripar-tite, refined draft Guiding Objectives and Principles as well as Institutional Arrangements to be submitted to the next AU Trade Ministerial Conference for consideration, along with other negotiation-related issues, and subse-quent endorsement by the Assembly in January 2015 so as to facilitate the effective launching of the CFTA negoti-ations in June/July 2015.

In this regard, the Assembly called upon Member States to maintain the momentum to fast track the estab-lishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) as scheduled by providing the necessary financial and technical resources at national, regional and continental levels. ― AU •...to be continued in tom-morrow's edition