SRO-EA: DRC Consultant- Trade in goods at UN Economic Commission for Africa: (Deadline 20 September 2020)

SRO-EA: DRC Consultant- Trade in goods at UN Economic Commission for Africa: (Deadline 20 September 2020)

Result of Service

The deliverables for this mission will include:

i. An initial five-page report describing the understanding of the task, the problems to be addressed, the methodology and the sources of information. An annotated overview of the national strategy and action plan as well as a list of references should be included in the inception report;

ii. Report of the national stakeholder consultation forum for the AfCFTA national strategy and action plan;

iii. A provisional version of the AfCFTA national strategy and action plan for the DRC to be distributed to stakeholders for comments;

iv. A PowerPoint presentation of the national strategy and action plan of the AfCFTA in the DRC during a national validation meeting to be organized; and

v. A final version of the AfCFTA national strategy and action plan for the DRC in electronic and printed form.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

The consultant will be recruited for a period of 2 months, spread between September 2020 and November 2020. The consultant will be remunerated in the amount of US $ 15,000 in total, distributed according to the following product submission schedule:
– 30% after submission a plan for the consultation process; a report on the results of the initial stages of implementation of the consultative process (at least one consultative workshop organized to formally launch the development of the strategy; some meetings held with senior officials from the public and private sectors) and a detailed overview of the AfCFTA document;
– 40% after presentation of the preliminary document of the AfCFTA strategy;
– 30% after receipt of the revised and final ZLECAf strategy document for the DRC.

Responsibilities

Context

The agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) signed in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018 is a key step in Africa’s integration agenda. The Agreement included the Protocol on Trade in Goods, the Protocol on Trade in Services and the Protocol on Dispute Settlement Rules and Procedures. AfCFTA should be a key driver of economic growth, industrialization and sustainable development in Africa in accordance with Agenda 2030 adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations and Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU) for “The Africa We Want”.

For the AfCFTA to produce the expected results, priority actions must be undertaken in the short and medium term. First, the ratification of the AfCFTA is essential. Efforts to support Member States in seeking consensus to secure ratification of the Agreement should be accompanied by strengthening of the AfCFTA market through continental policies on competition, investment and trade. intellectual property rights. Second, there is a need to build on the political momentum behind the AfCFTA to support political reforms that aim to implement the Accord as well as the domestication required. In this regard, It is essential that Member States take deliberate actions and make the necessary efforts through effective and integrated national AfCFTA strategies in order to maximize the benefits of the Agreement while minimizing the potential negative effects induced. The strategies will be supported by an effective monitoring and evaluation framework that will monitor the progress of the implementation of the Accord. Likewise, strategies will be informed by regional commitments in favor of economic integration and industrialization.

As part of its role of technical assistance to member states, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is leading the implementation of a project aimed at deepening Africa’s trade integration through the domestication and the effective implementation of aspirations to the AfCFTA. A main component of the project is to help African countries to develop national AfCFTA strategies. These strategies should identify the comparative advantages of each country for the diversification and development of priority value chains in order to support economic diversification and maximize trade potential within the context of the Agreement. Beyond the sectors identified as having a comparative advantage, the document must be forward-looking and identify the sectors and industries of the future, which can allow the DRC to integrate in the long term into regional and global value chains and goods with higher added value. Cross-cutting issues to be taken into account in strategies and action plans include gender, environmental and climate change mitigation, and technologies.

Trade liberalization policies will not achieve the planned development objectives if they are not designed and implemented with adequate consideration of gender issues. Trade liberalization affects men and women differently because of the different economic and social positions they occupy. Thus, the development of a gender sensitive approach is necessary to mitigate the negative effects of trade policies on women and improve positive outcomes for women, which will enhance the overall effectiveness of these policies.

It is in this context that ECA – the African Trade Policy Center and the Sub-Regional Office for East Africa – intends to recruit a national consultant to lead country-level activities on the development of a national strategy for the AfCFTA in support of the implementation of this project in the DRC. The consultant will specifically develop a national strategy and action plan for trade in goods.

Scope of work

Working under the general direction and direct supervision of ECA BSR-AE and the Senior National Consultant, the National Trade Consultant is expected to work closely with various stakeholders at national, regional and global levels involved in the project. More specifically, the consultant will:
i. Develop a national AfCFTA merchandise trade strategy for the DRC;
ii. Work under the supervision of the senior national consultant, with a team that includes a national consultant in trade in services, and an expert responsible for producing a survey of Congolese companies to produce an AfCFTA strategy in the DRC;
iii. Analyze the Congolese production and trade of specific goods and articulate the offensive and defensive problems of the DRC in the trade of goods;
iv. Identify opportunities to exploit regional value chains for national production or additional added value;
v. Develop export promotion strategies for the identified priority markets of the AfCFTA;
vi. Articulate the comparative and competitive advantages for the DRC compared to the AfCFTA;
vii. Collect relevant national data to be used in the development of the AfCFTA national strategy and action plan for the DRC with designated champions for specific deliverables and deadlines;
viii. Examine the relevant national and regional (SADC, COMESA and tripartite) industrialization and trade strategies and policies as they impact on trade between the DRC and tripartite member states;
ix. Contribute to the national strategy and action plan of the DRC AfCFTA on the basis of an agreed methodological framework and in full consultation with the national stakeholders identified in consultation with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The national strategy and plan of action should be concretely informed by national data and other national strategy documents;
x. Undertake a value chain analysis of priority production and trade products at the national level to map the chains and identify opportunities and challenges / constraints using an approach and scheme agreed with ECA;
xi. Assist the country in establishing and implementing a national AfCFTA committee to ensure meaningful participation of all stakeholders in the development and implementation of the national AfCFTA strategy;
xii. Collect all policies, laws and regulations containing non-tariff measures (NTMs) (in electronic copy) and classify documents by name, date of issue, issuing institution and some additional information on the law and regulation according to the agreed methodology;
xiii. Coordinate all project activities at country level and organize two national consultation forums for the development and validation of national AfCFTA strategies, in close collaboration with all stakeholders involved in the project, including government officials, private sector, women entrepreneurs, civil society organizations and universities;
xiv. Integrate the dimensions of gender and youth through disaggregated data and key gender indicators in the national strategy and the AfCFTA action plan for the DRC;
xv. Submit on time the national strategy and action plan of AfCFTA for the DRC, stakeholder consultation reports, data collection reports and a compendium of all policies, laws and regulations that contain non-tariff measures (MNT) (in electronic copy) and classify the documents by name, date of issue, issuing institution and some additional information on the law and regulations according to the methodology agreed at the Ministry of Trade and Industry;
xvi. Ensure the quality and on-time delivery of project products at the national level; and
xvii. Participate in any other ad hoc request within the framework of the project.

Methodological elements

– Documentary review of all strategic documents of the DRC, including long-term visions, medium-term plans, sectoral plans, in particular those related to trade, industrialization, innovation, ICT, infrastructure, competitiveness, etc. ;
– Review of performance in trade and other areas related to Intra-African Trade Intensification (BIAT) and other relevant guide on promoting intraregional trade and regional integration;
– Identify products with comparative advantages and competitive advantages that the DRC could market as quickly as possible on the new AfCFTA market;
– Identify / analyze the opportunities for the DRC to develop or integrate regional value chains in Africa;
– Identify the trade facilitation opportunities and challenges for the DRC in order to take full advantage of the AfCFTA;
– Work with the expert in charge of the AfCFTA-related survey in order to propose a solid questionnaire and a list of stakeholder groups to be interviewed;
– Prepare the inception report: The consultant will prepare an inception report in the week following the signing of the contract. The initial report should describe an understanding of the scope of the engagement as well as the issues to be investigated. The inception report should also include a work plan indicating the phases of the study and report preparation, the main deliverables and milestones and should be accompanied by an annotated outline of the structure of the national strategy.

Qualifications / special skills

Academic Qualifications: A post-graduate degree (minimum Masters) in economics, business, development studies or other related fields is desirable.

Experience: The candidate should have at least seven (7) years of proven experience in trade policy formulation, regional integration and development or related fields in the DRC. Proven experience in the successful management of development projects is desirable. Knowledge of data analysis using statistical software is an asset.

Language: English and French are the working languages ​​of the United Nations. For this post, fluency in oral and written French is required. Knowledge of English is an asset.

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