SRO-SA International Consultant: Support to the development of the National African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation Strategy for the Republic of Angola

Result of Service

The consultant will be paid a total amount of USD 20 000 in four instalments as per the schedule below: I. First Payment will be upon delivering of a satisfactory Inception Report, 10% of the total remuneration, II. Second payment will be upon delivering of a satisfactory Diagnostic Report, 20% of the total remuneration. III. Third payment will be upon delivering of satisfactory Draft National AfCFTA Strategy and Implementation Plan and Revised Diagnostic Report, 30% of the total remuneration; and IV. Fourth and last payment will be upon delivering of a final National AfCFTA Strategy and Implementation Plan, 40% of the total remuneration. The Consultant shall provide the following deliverables: i. An Inception Report outlining the understanding of the assignment, issues to be addressed, methodology and sources of information and implementation schedule. An annotated outline of the National AfCFTA Strategy and Action Plan as well as a list of references should be included in the inception report. ii. Situational/Diagnostic Analysis Report – This report shall present a comprehensive situational analysis covering both trade in goods and trade in services. The report shall contain amongst others the assessment of Angola’s potential offering or opportunities for the AfCFTA, implementation mechanisms and the necessary skills requirement and costs. This should include Reports of the national stakeholder consultations validated by key stakeholders identifying all gaps revealed by the situational analysis and proffer possible recommendations for the AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy and Action Plan. iii. Draft Reports - Draft reports shall comprise a diagnostic report and the most appropriate and effective implementation mechanism to be employed by Angola to be presented to the Technical Working Group and national stakeholders for validation. The Draft Reports should also be inclusive of the AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy, the Action Plan and a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. iv. A power point presentation on Angola’s AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy and Action Plan to be made at a national validation meeting to be organized in Angola in consultation with the Ministry of Commerce. i. Organise the National AfCFTA Forum and the Validation workshop for the AfCFTA National Strategy and prepare a consolidated report. v. Final Reports - Final reports shall include a costed AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy and the Action Plan and a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework with all comments from the Technical Working Group and national stakeholders fully addressed.

Work Location

Remote

Expected duration

6 months

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Background The Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) signed in Kigali, Rwanda, on 21st March 2018 is a key milestone in Africa’s Integration Agenda. The Agreement includes Protocols on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Rules and Procedures on the Settlement of Disputes, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Competition Policy, Women and Youth and Digital Trade. The negotiations towards the protocols on the first three issues were concluded in 2022 and the final protocols were adopted by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government at its meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 19 February 2023. Angola deposited the instrument of ratification on the 4th November 2020, thus becoming a State Party to the Agreement. The AfCFTA is expected to be a key engine of economic growth, industrialization and sustainable development in Africa in line with the 2030 Agenda adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, and the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 for “The Africa We Want”. For the AfCFTA to deliver the expected outcomes, priority actions are to be undertaken in the short to medium term. Firstly, the ratification of the AfCFTA is critical. Efforts to support Member States in consensus-building to secure the ratification of the Agreement should be accompanied by strengthening the AfCFTA marketplace through continental policies on competition, investment and intellectual property rights. Secondly, there is a need to build on the political momentum behind the AfCFTA to support policy reforms that are aimed at implementing the Agreement as well as the required domestication. In this regard, it is critical for Member States to undertake deliberate actions and deploy necessary efforts through effective and integrated AfCFTA national strategies with a view to maximize the benefits of the Agreement while minimizing potential induced adverse effects. The strategies will be complemented by an effective monitoring and evaluation framework that will track progress on the implementation of the Agreement. Similarly, they will be informed by regional commitments to economic integration and industrialization; as well as National Policies and overarching strategies such as the Long-Term Development Strategy for Angola, the National Development Plan and other sectoral strategies, among others. As part of its role in providing technical assistance to Member States, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is leading the implementation of a project aimed at designing National AfCFTA Implementation Strategies. AfCFTA Implementation strategies are expected to identify where comparative advantages lie for each country for diversification as well as priority value chains to be developed in order to support economic diversification and maximize trade potential in the context of the Agreement. Beyond sectors identified as having a comparative advantage, the document should be forward looking and identify sectors and industries of the future, which can enable Angola to ultimately integrate into regional and global value chains and higher value-added goods. Cross cutting issues to be considered in the strategy include gender mainstreaming, youth, people living with disabilities, environmental and climate change mitigation strategies as well as technologies. Trade liberalization policies will not achieve intended development goals if they are not designed and implemented with the adequate consideration of gender, youth and people living with disabilities issues. The liberalization of trade impacts men and women differently due to the different economic and social positions they occupy. Thus, developing a gender-sensitive approach is necessary to mitigate the negative impact of trade policies on women and enhance the positive outcomes for women which will strengthen the overall effectiveness of these policies. It is in this context that ECA – the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) and the Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa (ECA SRO-SA) intend to recruit an international consultant to lead activities on the development of a National AfCFTA Strategy to support implementation of the Agreement in Angola. The consultant will specifically develop a 5-year National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy that covers the full scope of the AfCFTA agreement its detailed action plan, a communications plan and the attendant Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism. 2. SCOPE OF WORK Working under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce working with ECA SRO-SA and the ATPC, the international consultant is expected to collaborate with various stakeholders at national, regional and global levels to develop a strategy for Angola. Specifically, the consultant will draft a National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy and Action Plan for Angola. The key components of the strategy should highlight but not limited to the following: Macroeconomic Framework, Production and Trade, AfCFTA Situational Analysis, AfCFTA- related Risks and Mitigation Actions, Identification and Prioritization of Production and Trade Opportunities, Constraints to overcome and Strategic Actions required, Strategic Objectives, Action plan and Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, Financing the Implementation of the Agreement, Communication and visibility plan and a budget. The scope of work is to be guided by ECA’s Guidelines for developing African Continental Free Trade Area national strategies taking into consideration cooperation; investment, intellectual property (IP), competition, digital trade and women and youth issues. In view of the above scope of work the Consultant will be expected to undertake the following activities: i) Analyse AfCFTA for Identification of Opportunities for Angola. a. An analysis of Angola’s production ecosystem and identification of priority and emerging goods and services for the AfCFTA market; b. Provide an overview of the architecture of the AfCFTA Agreement, together with all its Protocols. c. Carry out an analysis on Angola’s goods and services and identify export markets; d. Identify offensive interests within Angola’s trading partners and in the potential value chain markets; e. Provide a substantive analysis on how Protocols on competition policy, investment, intellectual property rights, women and youth and digital trade will impact on the Angolan economy; f. Integrate considerations in relation to MSMEs, value addition and value chains development, gender, youth and social inclusion in the AfCFTA; and g. Define an Awareness Plan or key messages including identified opportunities in the AfCFTA for publicity. ii) Situational/Diagnostic analysis of the implementation mechanisms, which shall entail; a. Review the national strategies, policies, national goals and or plans and Legislative framework available as well as administrative practices in the priority sectors and their sub-sectors for both goods and services to promote economic development in Angola and analyse how the AfCFTA can be leveraged to accelerate their implementation; b. Assess the national and regional (SACU, SADC, and Tripartite) industrialization, export and value chain production strategies and policies as they impact trade between Angola and the trading partners and recommend areas for possible reform opportunities for tapping into regional value chains for domestic production and/or further value addition; c. Analyse the potential for e-commerce and digital trade for Angola, and the implications of the protocols on investment, intellectual property rights, competition policy and women and youth; d. Assess services required to support potential value chains that Angola could tap into; e. Assess the institutional frameworks/ processes for implementation of the strategy and identify gaps and recommend how institutional framework can be strengthened. f. Review the skills availability and identify gaps that may be filled by importation of services; g. Provide an analysis of the types of reforms that will be needed by sectors to enable Angola to benefit from the AfCFTA and the rationale for such reforms. iii) Preparation of the National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy for Angola and its supporting Documents. a. Draft a National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy and Action Plan in line with ECA Guidelines for developing National AfCFTA Implementation Strategies and integrate feedback received from Government of Angola and ECA. b. Work closely with the two consultants on trade in goods and on trade in services to integrate their analysis and written inputs in the draft National AfCFTA implementation strategy; c. Incorporate digital trade as an enabler of trade in goods and trade in services in the AfCFTA Market; d. Make recommendations to establish and develop an operational plan for a National AfCFTA Implementation Committee (NIC) for the strategy; e. Advise on the Legislative amendments required for effective implementation of the AfCFTA goods and services sectors; f. Coordinate all project activities at country level and organize a National AfCFTA Consultation Forum for goods and services for the development and validation of AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy. g. Supervise and coordinate the work of the 3 national consultants (trade in goods, trade in services , local consultant (logistics support) and provide quality control to their work; h. Work closely with all the stakeholders involved in the development of the strategy including government officials, the private sector, women entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, youth groups, people living with disability and the academia; i. Hold regular meetings with the Government and UNECA and the team of consultants to inform on progress of the work on a regular basis; j. Identify training needs for effective implementation of Angola’s National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy; k. Mainstream gender, disability and youth interests into the strategy; l. Assist with any other ad-hoc requests from the Ministry of Commerce and UNECA within the context of the project; and m. Address comments by government of Angola, stakeholders and ECA to finalize the strategy. NSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS/REPORTING LINES The Ministry of Commerce in consultation with ECA is the lead of all processes. The Project Manager for the Project will be an official in the Ministry of Commerce. The International Consultant will liaise the Project Manager daily regarding the implementation of the project with the technical support of UNECA. The Ministry of Commerce shall appoint a Technical Working Group to provide oversight for the assignment. The International Consultant will be required to present all deliverables to the Technical Working Group and ECA for review and approval. The Consultant will also be expected to present the draft final reports to a national stakeholder forum for validation.

Qualifications/special skills

The consultant should have a minimum academic qualifications as follows; Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or above, a PhD will be an added advantage) in Trade Economics, International Trade Policy/International Trade Law, International Business or a related field. The consultant should have a minimum of ten (10) years of proven experience in trade policy formulation, regional integration, planning, strategy development and trade development issues. Proven ability to draft technical reports/papers is desirable. Knowledge of trade, development and regional integration issues in the African context is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this post, fluency in English (both oral and written) and fluency in Portuguese (both oral and written) is an added advantage.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.