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‘Enormous potential’ for aftermarket suppliers of two African countries’ as importation of vehicles, spare parts ‘skyrocket’; Report by German consultancy Africon indicates high demand from USA, Europe, or UAE – host of Automechanika Dubai  (www.AutoMechanikaDubai.com) 2022

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A new whitepaper authored by Africon, the German consultancy firm that supports companies worldwide with business expansion in Africa, has outlined key insights into the automotive markets of Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Among the data are details on the rise of imported vehicles as well as a growing spare parts market in the two countries, making the pair increasingly important in the African automotive aftermarket going forwards.

The paper outlined that while Ghana and Ivory Coast are both smaller markets than the likes of African heavyweights Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa, they hold enormous potential.

Total vehicle imports into both countries skyrocketed in the past six years, with the value of light vehicles in Ivory Coast more than doubling and heavy vehicles almost doubling since 2016.

In Ghana, growth has been slightly slower, yet figures remain impressive at an average of 11 percent and 10 percent annually for light and heavy vehicles respectively. For both countries, most of the total supply came from the USA, UAE, and Europe.

Similarly, in Ivory Coast, despite the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s new light vehicle market growth in recent years has been relatively strong, with volume increasing from 7,500 in 2012 to relatively consistently more than 10,000 units over the past few years. In total, there are around 800,000 vehicles on the road in the country (excluding trailers, and two- and three-wheelers), while Ghana is home to approximately 1.2 million.

“Spare parts markets are equally growing for both countries,” the whitepaper reads. “While the Ghanaian parts market is around twice as large as that of its francophone neighbour, Ivory Coast has been catching up quickly with annual growth in imported parts increasing by almost 20 percent between 2015 and 2021. In Ghana, growth stands at ‘only’ 10 percent per annum over the same period.”

Africon believes that with growing market sizes, the two countries are likely to be the focus of parts manufacturers, while the localisation of distribution infrastructure is likely to increase. As it stands, both Ghana and Ivory Coast have a very similar distribution structure, with global parts manufacturers supplying through international trading firms based often in the UAE or EU.

E-commerce so far plays a rather limited role in both countries, the paper asserts. Foreign online platforms are sometimes used to import parts, especially due to a higher trust in foreign sources. For the resale within the countries, a vast majority of buyers prefer to “see and touch” the products before ordering. Additionally, logistical challenges to enable reliable e-commerce systems are yet to be solved. Nevertheless, many stakeholders believe in future solutions to these challenges and are increasingly keen to explore opportunities in the digital space in Africa.

* As a strategic infrastructure project, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is aiding the realization of Kenya’s two flagship socio-economic transformation blueprints — the Vision 2030 and the Big Four Agenda.

* The SGR has enhanced Kenya’s trade with neighboring countries and offered an economic lifeline to member states of the East African Community.

* Within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the SGR is among many China-Kenya infrastructure cooperation projects which are leading the Sino-Africa cooperation.

by Xinhua writer Bai Lin

NAIROBI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — As a veteran insurance sales agent, Farahana Mghoi used to spend seven hours on matatus, the public service vehicles in Kenya, from her hometown of Voi in southeastern Kenya to Nairobi to meet a potential client. It was both slow and tiresome.

Since 2018, time spent on the 328-km journey has been reduced to four hours thanks to the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) passenger train service launched in May 2017.

Financed mainly by China and constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation, the 480-km railway connecting Mombasa, the largest port in East Africa, and Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi is a flagship project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and is Kenya’s largest infrastructure project since its independence in 1963.

Mghoi said the efficient, reliable and affordable mobility, which the SGR has always guaranteed her whenever she travels to meet new clients, has boosted her career.

The SGR is “an extremely good experience in the last few years,” James Macharia, Kenya’s cabinet secretary for transport, infrastructure, housing and urban development, told Xinhua. “We can expect a lot more profitable operations going forward.”

As a strategic infrastructure project, the SGR is aiding the realization of Kenya’s two flagship socio-economic transformation blueprints — the Vision 2030 and the Big Four Agenda, said Philip Mainga, managing director of Kenya Railways Corporation.

LESS TIME ON ROAD, MORE OPPORTUNITIES

With the SGR, Mghoi is able to reach her destination on time and negotiate for a potential business opportunity with ease. She said the punctuality has helped her cement trust and confidence with her clients.

Mghoi belongs to a growing army of Kenyan skilled labor force, entrepreneurs and tourists who have embraced the SGR service.

The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR and the additional 120-km Nairobi-Naivasha SGR have also facilitated the hauling of bulk cargoes to the hinterlands.

With the SGR freight service, it takes eight hours to transport bulk cargoes like raw materials from the Mombasa port to an inland container depot in Nairobi, as opposed to around two days using the century-old Meter Gauge Railway constructed by British colonialists, said Edward Opiyo, terminal manager at Nairobi Freight Terminals Limited, a logistics firm.

As logistics firms are now able to transport bulk cargoes in a speedy, cheaper, efficient and environmentally-friendly manner, they have built a cordial relationship with major clients, Opiyo said.

Transit hours and the cost of hauling bulk cargoes to neighboring landlocked countries have also been reduced, injecting fresh vitality into regional supply chains, he said.

The SGR has enhanced Kenya’s trade with neighboring countries and offered an economic lifeline to member states of the East African Community, said Mainga.

In the last five years, the modern railway has transported 20 million tons of cargoes and about 8 million passengers, elevating Kenya’s status as a regional manufacturing, trade and logistics hub, he noted.

“I must say we are lucky. We are doing more exports and diversification of goods than before. We are seeing a dynamic change due to what the SGR is doing in terms of exports,” he said.

The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR is projected to contribute 2-3 percent to Kenya’s GDP, said Mainga, adding that the railway has become a dominant player in Kenya’s pursuit of inclusive growth, as it has revolutionized transportation of passengers and bulk cargoes, stimulated commerce and investments and fostered job creation for local youth.

MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, RESPECT, TRUST

Mainga said the SGR is also benefiting local people as skills transfer has reached 80-90 percent.

“Now our people are able to run the operations, to drive their locomotives, to carry on with signal work, to repair and maintain our wagons,” he said.

Recruited in 2017 by the SGR operator Afristar Railway Operation Company, Harrison Kinyanjui, a 26-year-old economics major, has received rigorous training on railway operation and management from Chinese tutors, and progressed quickly to become the first Kenyan to work at the SGR dispatch center in Nairobi.

Currently the assistant superintendent of the center, Kinyanjui said their work is to organize train operations using a centralized traffic control system in the center, which is “the brain and heart for all SGR train operations.”

“The Chinese experts have taught us very well. They now have the confidence to leave us to work independently, and we are very, very proud that we came here not knowing anything about train dispatching, but we are now very competent,” he said.

“You see the Kenyan government and the Chinese government work together. We want to thank both governments for the support they have given us,” said Mainga.

As Afristar has been committed to prioritizing safe operation, boosting movement of passengers and goods and enhancing localization, the SGR’s socio-economic outcomes have gained trust and recognition by the Kenyan government and people, Li Jiuping, general manager of Afristar, told Xinhua.

“To create high-performing Sino-Kenyan teams, Afristar fosters cross-cultural working relationships and promotes mutual understanding, respect and trust,” Li said.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is the first visiting head of state to travel by Kenya’s SGR in March 2019. He said the enhanced efficiency in handling cargoes has been beneficial to the economies of both Kenya and Uganda, and to other countries that depend on the Mombasa port for import and export, including Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the SGR is among many China-Kenya infrastructure cooperation projects which are leading the Sino-Africa cooperation, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Zhou Pingjian told Xinhua.

ECO-PROTECTION A PRIORITY

Before the SGR project started, there had been fears that the railway could harm biodiversity, as it would snake through the Tsavo National Park, Kenya’s oldest and largest wildlife sanctuary, home to iconic species such as elephants, giraffes and zebras.

To ensure their safety, the SGR contractor built electric fences on both sides of the track, and wide underpasses at short intervals to facilitate their movement.

Besides wildlife, mangrove forests are well protected, too. Ali Mohamed, a 44-year-old resident of a serene village overlooking a mangrove swamp on the northwestern edges of Mombasa, said that besides regulating coastal weather, the installation of overpasses and culverts has ensured that there was minimal disturbance to the mangrove forest, which is an important fish breeding site.

“I visited the SGR when its construction started and witnessed restoration of the previously degraded sections of the mangrove forest in our locality,” said Mohamed, also founder of Bidii Creek Conservancy, a Mombasa-based green lobby.

The SGR has provided best practices on blending conservation with infrastructure development, he said.

Five years since its launch, the SGR has earned accolades from local officials and conservationists for prioritizing ecological protection along its corridor.

Nancy Githaiga, country director for Kenya at Nairobi-based African Wildlife Foundation, said wildlife protection measures initiated by the SGR contractor should inform future efforts to develop mega infrastructure projects while safeguarding integrity of biodiversity hotspots in Kenya.

Green ethos has been placed at the center of SGR operations, bringing benefits to local communities in terms of clean air and tranquil landscapes, said Mainga.

The design and execution of the project adhered to local environmental protection laws, ensuring a healthy relationship between the contractor and local communities, said Cosmas Makewa, station master at the Mombasa SGR Terminus.

Unlike trucks, SGR trains plying along the corridor have not been emitting smoke to the atmosphere, boosting Kenya’s quest for improved air quality, said Makewa.

The SGR project highlighted the viability of China’s vision of ecological civilization, according to Leopold Omondi, a campaigner with Nairobi-based green lobby Pan African Climate Justice Alliance. (Video reporters: Liu Chang, Li Cheng, Ruth; video editors: Ma Ruxuan, Zhu Jianhui, Hui Peipei) ■

Voluntary blood donation with the aim to enrich the National Blood Transfusion Service was conducted in connection with 12 August, World Youth Day.

The program that was carried out on 9 and 10 August was participated by youth from inside the country and abroad.

Mr. Gebreyonas Gebretensae, members of the National Voluntary Blood Donors Association, indicated that 86 units of blood has been collected and called on others to follow the noble example.

World Youth Day was announced by the United Nations in 2000 to be observed every year with the objective to develop the overall awareness of youth.

In related news, citizens that are taking computer technology training at ‘Poli-Tech’ voluntarily donated 80 units of blood on 5 August.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Ethiopian Government Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) appealed today for US$73m to provide food rations to over 750,000 refugees in Ethiopia, over the next six months. WFP will completely run out of food for refugees by October, leaving vulnerable families who are dependent on food assistance at risk of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, susceptibility to diseases/infection and increased protection risks, the three agencies warn.

Due to protracted funding shortfalls, WFP has already been forced to cut rations for 750,000 registered refugees living in 22 camps and five sites in hosting communities in Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Somali and Tigray regions of Ethiopia.  

Food rations for refugees in Ethiopia were first reduced by 16 percent in November 2015, by 40 percent in November 2021, and by 50 percent in June 2022. Food insecurity amongst the refugees has risen as a result of the cuts and is even further compounded by current global limitations to food availability, economic shocks, rising costs of food and energy, the fallout of COVID-19, conflict and insecurity.

To understand the impact of ration cuts on the food security and socio-economic situation of refugees, WFP, UNHCR and RRS conducted a rapid assessment in April which was based on 1,215 households residing in camps located in Afar, Beneshangul-Gumuz, Gambella, and Somali regions.

The results show that more households continued to adopt negative coping strategies by reducing the number of meals eaten in a day, consuming less expensive or less preferred foods, or limiting the portion of the meals served. More households reported to have engaged in demeaning activities, including engaging children in income generation activities, the collection and sale of firewood, while several borrowed cash, relying on friends/relatives for food. This forces refugees to rely on the resources of the hosting community and environment they live in which also increases the likelihood of resource-based conflicts between refugees and host communities.

More resources must be mobilized urgently to meet immediate food and non-food needs of refugees to avert further suffering, whilst similar investments are made to enable sustainable food solutions embedded in the commitments made under the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR)[1] and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF)[2] for refugees and hosting communities through livelihoods and cash programmes, in line with the UNHCR and RRS strategies. As a short-term measure, WFP and its partners continue to prioritize the needs of children aged 6 to 23 months and pregnant and breastfeeding women under the undernutrition prevention programme (blanket supplementary feeding). 

The United Arab Emirates called for enriching conversations on peace and security by centering African experiences at a United Nations Security Council meeting on sustaining peace in Africa. The open debate was convened under the Chinese presidency of the Council for the month of August.

“Since its founding, the UAE has steadily expanded its relationships with partners across the continent,” said H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab, Chargé d’affaires and Deputy Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN. He added that conversations on international peace and security would benefit from focusing on the experiences of the African continent. “Today, our partnerships have flourished into dynamic cooperation in critical fields such as renewable energy, food security, counterterrorism, and public health.”

Ambassador Abushahab also underscored the need to employ approaches that are informed by local contexts in order to effectively sustain peace in Africa and elsewhere. “While our immediate focus may be African challenges, we must remember how often their origins, and implications, extend beyond the continent. Equally, this Council must recognize that African solutions, not just challenges, have global dimensions.”

In his statement, Ambassador Abushahab further highlighted that sustainable peace also implies sustainable development. He stressed that protecting and ensuring access to basic goods and services and stabilizing food and energy prices must be central to any effort to sustain peace.

During the first week of August, U.S. Ambassador Claire A. Pierangelo visited Madagascar’s drought-stricken South where she met with regional officials, health care providers, and food security specialists and beneficiaries, and saw first-hand the positive impacts of U.S. government-supported economic development and innovative agricultural approaches and humanitarian assistance infrastructure.

Throughout the five-day visit, Ambassador Pierangelo witnessed both the extent of climate-related effects on the region’s residents and the scope of the response by the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to safeguard food security in partnership with United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the Government of Madagascar.

Through these partnerships, USAID-supported programs feed those who are most vulnerable, improve delivery of health services, expand livelihoods, and protect endangered animals and plants.

“The U.S government is committed more than ever to reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in Madagascar,” Ambassador Pierangelo said at the end of the visit. “On this trip I have seen innovative and effective ways to tackle the root causes of poverty and the issues stemming from this.”

In Ampanihy District on Monday, Ambassador Pierangelo met with health care providers and community health volunteers to discuss a recent USAID-supported training that has helped them provide better services in maternal child health, nutrition, and malaria prevention in the region.

In Tanambao in the Beloha District, at a USAID-supported growth monitoring site, mothers presented their children under five to be screened for malnutrition and sat for training on how to prepare nutritious meals for families with locally available ingredients.

Mundo Power LTD (Mundo-Power.com) is pleased to officially announce our Hybrid Power Solutions for the African Communities and businesses looking for robust renewable energy solutions.

David Brown, V.P. International Business Development at Mundo Power LTD said, “Many customers have already benefited from deploying Mundo complete turnkey system: small wind turbines, solar panels and batteries. Suziki School, internationally recognized renewable energy school has committed to a second turbine to provide further green renewable energy for the school.”  

NANJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) — The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continued its joint combat training exercises as scheduled on Sunday in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island.

The focus on Sunday was set on testing the capabilities of using joint fires to strike land targets and striking long-range air targets.

The air force under the theater command deployed multiple types of warplanes, including early warning aircraft, bombers, jamming aircraft, fighter-bombers and fighter jets, to conduct drills on such combat missions as joint reconnaissance, airspace control operation, strikes on ground targets, and air support and cover.

Supported by naval and air combat systems, the air strike forces, together with long-range multiple launch rocket systems and conventional missile troops, conducted drills of joint precision strikes on targets.

Multiple bomber formations flew across the Taiwan Strait from north to south and from south to north, while several fighter jets conducted joint drills with destroyers and frigates.

The operation has tested the tactics of systems warfare under information-based conditions, and honed and improved the capabilities to destroy crucial island targets with precision strikes, said Zhang Zhi, an air force officer of the PLA Eastern Theater Command. ■

Warplanes of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conduct operations during joint combat training exercises around the Taiwan Island, Aug. 7, 2022. The Eastern Theater Command continued its joint combat training exercises as scheduled on Sunday in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island.

The focus on Sunday was set on testing the capabilities of using joint fires to strike land targets and striking long-range air targets. (Photo by Wang Xinchao/Xinhua)

A warplane of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) takes off during joint combat training exercises around the Taiwan Island, Aug. 7, 2022. The Eastern Theater Command continued its joint combat training exercises as scheduled on Sunday in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island.

The focus on Sunday was set on testing the capabilities of using joint fires to strike land targets and striking long-range air targets. (Photo by Fu Gan/Xinhua)

DHAKA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday during his visit to Bangladesh that the United States is mistaken in three aspects regarding a reckless tour to China’s Taiwan region by Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

He made the remarks in response to the latest situation and the quibbling of the U.S. side.

Firstly, Wang said, the U.S. side grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs, adding that despite China’s repeated notifications and warnings, the United States went on its own way, and arranged for the third-ranking U.S. government official to make the so-called “visit” to China’s Taiwan region.

It must be understood that Taiwan is not a part of the United States, but a part of Chinese territory, and the U.S. side has made a public commitment about this, said Wang, adding that the U.S. side’s action is therefore a serious infringement on China’s sovereignty.

Secondly, the United States connived at and supported the “Taiwan independence” forces, he said, noting that any country must safeguard national unity and never allows separatist elements to behave recklessly.

Wang said the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in the Taiwan region has included the pursuit of “independence” in its party platform, and in recent years it has tried every possible means to seek incremental “Taiwan independence” and create “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”

The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives openly backed it up, siding with the separatist forces against the Chinese people, he added.

Thirdly, it deliberately sabotaged peace across the Taiwan Strait. The United States, as known to all, always creates a problem first and then uses it to achieve its own strategic end, Wang said.

He noted that there are signs showing that the United States, by orchestrating Pelosi’s reckless tour to Taiwan, is trying to repeat its old tricks.

Washington is taking the opportunity to build up its military deployment in the region, which deserves high vigilance and resolute boycott from all sides, Wang warned.

He said China’s firm stance, as well as its justified, reasonable, lawful, necessary, open and proportionate countermeasures are aimed at safeguarding China’s sacred sovereignty and territorial integrity, preventing the U.S. attempt from “using Taiwan to contain China,” crushing the Taiwan authorities’ illusion of “seeking U.S. support for their independence agenda,” and earnestly safeguarding peace across the Taiwan Strait and regional stability.

Wang emphasized that the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs is the “golden rule” for the development of state-to-state relations and the “magic tool” for developing countries to protect their sovereignty and security.

Wang said China appreciates the understanding and support for China’s position by various countries, adding that as unilateral bullying acts happen from time to time, the international community should reach an even clearer consensus and make an even louder voice so as to jointly uphold the basic norms governing international relations and international law, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all developing countries.  ■

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) — As China demonstrated the strong resolve and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, anti-China politicians using Taiwan to contain China will be nothing more than “a mantis trying to stop a chariot,” as the Chinese proverb goes.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited China’s Taiwan region earlier this week despite China’s strong opposition. Her trip was made to seek personal political gains, build her so-called “political legacy” and divert public attention from her family scandal.

It is also the latest demonstration that anti-China politicians in the United States are using Taiwan as a pawn to strategically contain China. The Chinese people and international community have long seen the sinister intentions of Pelosi and others, which are bound to be shattered.

In response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, China has taken a series of firm and forceful countermeasures against “Taiwan independence” separatist actions and external interference.

China announced on Friday sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family members and eight other countermeasures. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has organized joint combat exercises and training in the waters and airspace off Taiwan.

Looking through the past century, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China has neither backed down in the face of oppression and bullying by foreign powers nor given in to external interferences. Any attempt to obstruct China’s complete reunification, delay or even block the historical process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will only make the Chinese people more united. Looking to the future, China will tackle all the obstacles with the utmost determination, confidence and endurance.

China must be reunified, and will surely be reunified, as is determined by the historical trend of the Chinese nation. The Taiwan question, which arose from national weakness and chaos, will be solved amid national rejuvenation. All the Chinese across the Taiwan Strait will share the glory of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. No one and no force can stop this.

History will prove that the despicable actions taken by anti-China politicians and attempts to rely on the United States to seek “Taiwan independence” are against the general trend of history. This is equivalent to a mantis trying to stop a chariot.  ■