Working Paper 62 - Policies for Regional Integration in Africa

The paper agues that experience and empirical evidence have shown that Africa’straditional trade-focused model of regional integration has failed not only in promotingintra-regional and African trade but also economic growth. However, regional integrationremains a basic ingredient towards the attainment of high and sustainable economic growthin the continent. To realize this potential, there is therefore, the need to search for newmodalities of regionalism that lean more towards co-operation, less rigidity and morepragmatism. The paper suggests that the principles of variable geometry and subsidiaritycould be usefully applied in this more pragmatic modality for defining the functions andpowers of the various layers of the new regional co-operation institutions. The principle ofvariable geometry permits integration to proceed on the basis of progressive steps, allowingsmaller sub-groups to move faster than the whole group while providing that many decisionsbe made by the majority rather than by consensus. On the other hand, the subsidiarityprinciple provides a clearer basis for distributing powers and responsibilities across severallayers (from national to regional) of the organizational structure of a regional integrationscheme according to the comparative advantage of each in respect of the different functions.These new co-operation arrangements have important contributions to make in helping todevelop African infrastructure and thus in reducing the region’s unusually high transactionscosts, which inhibit trade, investment, and economic growth. They could also play a majorrole by assisting African countries to establish a stable macroeconomic policy environmentthrough regional co-ordination and harmonization of macroeconomic and sectoral policies,trade, and growth- and investment-enhancing institutions. In addition, in an era ofglobalization, the multilateral approach to the fuller integration of African countries into theglobal economy is a sine qua non. To derive the most benefit from this approach, Africancountries must not only participate more actively and effectively in the World TradeOrganization (WTO) process, they also need to accept and implement appropriate tariffbindingobligations.

INTERESTS AND OPTIONS OF DEVELOPING AND LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN A NEW ROUND OF MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS

Negotiating interests and options have to be identified against the background of the possible agenda of a new round. Several important elements of this agenda are codified in what is referred to as the "built-in agenda", including: (i) an assessment of the implementation of Uruguay Round Agreements (RAS); (ii) specific reviews of particular agreements that were mandated by the Uruguay Round; and, as the core of a new round, (iii) new negotiations on agriculture, GATS, and Trips. Possible further components of the agenda could be negotiations on trade and investment, competition policy, trade facilitation, transparency in government procurement, environmental and labour standards, and further liberalization of industrial tariffs, and textiles and clothing. Many developing and least-developed countries are reluctant to support such a comprehensive agenda, because they are still pre-occupied with difficult administrative, institutional and financial problems arising from the implementation of various RAS. They also have difficulties in articulating the strategies that could underpin the identification of their negotiating interests and options. Their preparation for a new round is likely to be mostly inadequate owing to a lack of human knowledge and institutional capacity that an effective participation in the WTO process requires. They will thus have to take decisions on complex issues that they may not have adequately analyzed and understood. But a new trade round will also present an important opportunity for developing countries to press for enhanced market access and to undo some of the damages imposed by the RAS dealing with rules and standards. They have taken on many mandatory obligations in exchange for non-binding and "best endeavour" concessions from the developed countries. Rebalancing this situation should be a major concern for both the developing and the least-developed countries. The new round should also offer the low-income countries an opportunity to be more pro-active in terms of defining its agenda, for instance in proposing multilaterally negotiated decisions regarding the criteria for categorizing WTO member countries, as well as the form and context of "special and differential treatment" for the developing and least-developed countries. This paper discusses the trade-strategy options of low-income countries, the areas of greatest interest to developing countries, as well as those that are to pose the greatest difficulties, the question of how developing countries can enhance the effectiveness of their participation in the new Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, and also makes some suggestions on how to change WTO governance and management structures in order to ensure that the concerns of flow-income members are given greater prominence in the organization´s activities.

Does Remittances and Output Growth Improve Household Welfare in Nigeria?

Remittances are welfare-improving private external inflows that directly alleviate poverty levels and inequality by raising living standards via increased consumption of non-durable (food and clothing etc), and durables goods (education and health), a significant part is kept as savings. At the macro level, remittances serve as a stabilizer by providing foreign currency that increases capital formation, employment, and national income. This study apply secondary data spanning from 1981-2012 to analyze the impact of remittances and economic growth on poverty in Nigeria using various econometric techniques such as Augmented Dickey Fuller test to ascertain the stationarity and Johansen Co-integration test to establish the long-run relationship among the variables; Granger causality test is employed to test pair-wise causality while, the Two Stage Least Square technique is used to estimate to impact of the variables on each other. Our results confirm that remittance exerts a positive significant impact on consumption and economic growth, while real GDP is negatively significant, contributing about -2.3% to consumption. The study concludes that remittances are valuable complement to broad-based development efforts, and has a paradoxical impact on poverty and economic growth. Thus, government should implement an apt policy sufficient to checkmate the adverse effects of remittances (e.g., over dependency), and create an enabling environment for business growth. Keywords: Remittances, economic growth, consumption, Two-stage least squar

Building Resilience for Climate in Coastal Settlements in the Gambia: A Project Proposal for Problem-Solving

This project essay discusses the climate problems of the Gambia, the smiling coast of Africa and the various damages these are causing the ecological environments, especially in the coastal settlement areas. Such damages have resulted in the worsening degradations that have brought untold hardships that have unleashed hunger and starvation on the people, including farm and fishing sites that have been washed ashore, leaving the rural people to be more vulnerable in the future, should steps not be taken to curtail the surge. The essay looks critically into necessary modalities for these steps and what the government can/ought to do to fight the menace and increase food production for food security, since, the greater percentage of the rural population that is more affected are into farming; the mainstay of the nation’s economy. The paper sees the need for cooperation between the nation’s government and existing governance institutions resident in the country like the European Union for a project development that can be put up as resilience for climate in coastal settlements of the Gambia towards realization of a sustainable socio-economic, ecological and political growth and development. This compels the authors to put this into project perspective and costing that can become a reality within the range of twenty million euro, through mutual cooperation and synergy between the Gambian government and the European Union office in the Gambia. Through this project, a memorandum of understanding is agreed upon by the parties to undertake interventionist program as corrective measures against the odds and consequences of climate change in the coastal and marine zones of the country for project implementation/execution.Available literature and fact-finding information from both the government institutions concerned, the EU office and other concerned partners (public and private) as well as archives and scholarly journals and texts are consulted for data gathering and analysis, using descriptive and prescriptive methods for interpretational analyses that are value-free. The essay crops suggestive measures for broad project implementation and realization as well as over-arching problem-solving institutional approach project, presumed acceptable to both parties in practical situations. Keywords: Project, Resilience, Climate Change, Coastal and marine Settlements and Budge

Hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties of extract of Carmellia sinensis (black tea) in rats

Hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of water extracts of black tea (Camellia sinensis) were studied in sodium oxalate treated rats. Lipid peroxidation was induced in rats by administration of 100 mg/kgbody weight sodium oxalate. The protective effect of black tea was assessed by monitoring the serum and tissue levels of malondialdehyde, catalase activity, aspartate transaminase (AST) and alaninetransaminase (ALT) as well as serum vitamin C content in the normal, control and experimental rats after 10 and 20 days of tea administration. It was observed that tea administration lowers significantly (p<0.05) the serum and tissue levels of malondialdehyde, as well as AST and ALT activities in a dose dependent manner. The serum level of vitamin C and activity of catalase in the serum and tissues were however shown to be significantly elevated (p<0.05). After 10 days of administration of 200 mg/kg bodyweight of tea extract, serum level of malondialdehyde was  reduced from 47.855±1.050 to 32.186±0.882 nm/h, AST activity from 59±2.95 to 31±1.40 IU and ALT activity from 39±2.51 to 25±1.25 IU. Moreover, administration of 200 mg/Kg body weight of tea for 10 days caused an increase in serum catalase activity from 7 to 10% and serum vitamin C level was increased from 45.39±9.75 to 79.11±5.13 mg/100ml. In the tissues, the same trend was observed. The result also indicated that prolonged tea administration (for 20 days) significantly increased serum vitamin C level and the activity of catalase in both the serum, liver and the kidney (p<0.05). Also, the serum and tissue levels of  malondialdehyde and transaminase activities (AST and ALT) were significantly reduced (p<0.05)

The Gambia and the 2016/2017 Political Impasse: An Impact Assessment of the Peace and Security Implications on the Nation’s Economy and the International Legal Justifications for/against ECOWAS Intervention, January, 2017- February, 2018

A synopsis of the December, 2016-January, 2017 political impasse in the Gambia is made in this piece as a prelude to its impact assessment and general overview on the political economy of the country. Given the occurrence and the role played by the sub-regional body called ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African States) in settling the impasse from outside, the piece pays attention to the reasons underscoring these ECOWAS diplomatic and military moves and the politics behind the action. The piece unveils the arguments generated from quarters, especially the intellectual and expert circles on the international legal justification (s) for ECOWAS military wing’ involvement and the manner such action was dispensed to help the new government claim its mandate and make the out gone government abdicate peacefully.A literature review of the relevant texts and available legal instruments from existing international institutions like the United Nations, the African Union among others is undertaken for empirical- verifiable justifications that are value-free. This is complimented by a historical-descriptive analysis narrative that details the accounts of events, using intellectual lenses for investigative conclusions. The research offers useful recommendations that provide both the government of the Gambia and ECOWAS as the sub-regional institution or regime necessary answers to permanent peace and development in the Gambia and the region at large, alluding to the fact that the peace attained in the country and its ECOWAS sub-region is a concomitant reflection of the world peace and relative security that the UN stands for. Keywords: Political impasse, Economy, ECOWAS, Other Institutions, Preventive Diplomacy, Peace and security, Justifications, The Gambia

Analysis and Performance Evaluation of Microbial Fuel Cells for Electricity Generation

This research work is focused on the analysis and performance evaluation of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) consisting of multiple one chamber connected in series and parallels for investigation of electricity generation. Using six units (i.e., unit A, unit B, unit C, unit D, unit E, unit F, unit G and unit H) stacked MFCs, the fuel cells were analyzed and evaluated for performance. The results obtained with a single unit microbial fuel cells show that, unit (A) produced an average power of 0.224mW, unit (B) an average power of 0.179mW, unit (C) an average power of 0.138mW, unit (D) an average power of 0.092mW, unit (E) an average power of 0.058mW, unit (F) an average power of 0.036mW, unit (G) an average power of 0.018mW, and unit (H) an average power of 0.005mW. It was observed that decrease in number of microbial fuel cells lead to a corresponding decrease in voltage and current generated, thus drop in power. Conversely, when the unit microbial fuel cells were connected together in series and parallel, improvement in power generation was recorded. An average power of 2.681mW and 2.572mW were obtained from series and parallel connection respectively.Keywords: Microbial fuel cells, anode, cathode, power, renewable energy, electricity generatio

Comparative Study on Biogas Yields of Plug Flow and Batch Reactors fed with Rice Straw at Mesophilic Temperature

The present energy crisis has stimulated various research activities to evaluate energy potentials of renewable energy sources. Improper disposal of rice straw constitutes nuisance to our environment especially in most rice producing states of Nigeria. To this end, the biogas potential of rice straw was evaluated in Plug Flow Reactor (PFR) and Batch Reactor (BR) operated at mesophilic temperature (37oC). A 140-litre capacity PFR was filled with 105 litres previously digested sludge as inoculum. The loading of the rice straw into the reactor was commenced at a low LR of 0.5 goTS/l.d and was increased weekly by 0.5 goTS/l.d until a LR of 4.5 goTS/l.d was attained. For the batch reactor, 10.15 g of rice straw was loaded into each of the two digestion vessels. Two additional vessels were filled with inoculum as control. For the PFR, the biogas produced was collected using gas bags and then measured with a multi-chamber rotor gas meter. The gas analyzes was done with an Infrared Gas Detector. The scale wet gas collectors were used for the batch reactor and the gas measurement done with the gas analyzer (Model GA 2000). It was established that the biogas yields increased with increase in LR (PFR).  The highest biogas yields of 0.20 l/goS and 0.167 l/goS were recorded in PFR and BR, respectively. In all, continuous feeding using PFR (at optimum LR) has been established to be better than batch feeding using BR at mesophilic temperature. Keywords: Renewable energy; rice straw; Biogas; Loading rate; Plug flow reacto

Effect of Co-Digestion on Anaerobic Digestion of Cattle Slurry with Maize Cob at Mesophilic Temperature

Attempt was made to determine the effect of co-digestion on anaerobic digestion of cattle slurry (CS) with maize cob (MC). The experiment was carried out in a laboratory scale batch experiment. Cow Slurry and Maize Cobs were co-digested at ratios 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3 using the percentage volatile solid of each substrate. Co-digestion of CS with MC at 3:1, 1:1 and 3:1 under mesophilic temperature (37oC) gave biogas yields of 453.38, 417.30 and 428.92 lN/kgoDM respectively while the methane yields were 334.18, 323.63 and 323.27 lNCH4/kgoDM respectively. Methane concentrations of 73.71, 77.55 and 75.37% were obtained at CS: MC combinations of 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3 respectively. The study revealed that co-digesting CS with MC at ratio 3:1 is optimum for biogas production. Keywords: co-digestion, cattle slurry, maize cob, batch experiment, mesophilic temperatur

Measuring Revealed Preference Hypothesis of the Theory of Consumer Behaviour Using Roy’s Identity: A Case Study of Oriade LGA of Osun State, Nigeria

The paper examines whether the Roy’s identity is applicable to the measurement of revealed preference hypothesis in Oriade LGA of Osun State, Nigeria using iteration technique. The paper revealed that Milo, a brand of beverages is most preferred because a greater percentage of the households consume Milo. In terms of preference, Bournvita came second preferred while Nescafe was least favoured. The iteration result shows that expenditure on Milo and Bournvita was positive and significant for total expenditure on beverages. However, the consumption of Nescafe proved insignificant. The iteration result finally shows that convergence takes place meaning that the Roy’s identity is applicable in the measurement of the revealed preference of the 120 households considered in the paper. The paper concludes that producers of beverages should increase the supply of Milo and Bournvita to the area while the producers of Nescafe should endeavour to find out why their product was least favoured