September - 2019

54 / BUSINESS / Interview
“Success comes
to those who are
ready to learn”
1979; an opposition politician; a government
minister; and a trade consultant.
“I inherited the Ministry of Trade
from Nicholas Biwott, who had built a
good office,” he says. Good, yes, but not
quite good enough. Dr Kituyi wanted
“to open up the office” to be more active
in the global trade arena. It was a job to
which he was so dedicated – to the point
of almost quitting in 2005 to lead the
World Trade Organization – that it ended
up costing him his parliamentary position.
“The work of a minister of trade,
and the structure of international trade,
don’t go well with being an MP,” he says,
describing the abrupt end to his political
career in 2007.
This was a significant start to his
plan to improve Africa’s fortunes, but his
second act was even bigger. Now tasked
with shaping global trade policy, Dr
Kituyi is a man at home in Geneva. On
his plate are the shifting global dynamics
of trade and migration, and the many
things derailing developing countries
from achieving prosperity.
“Isn’t it surprising that the countries
that were champions of international free
trade 20 years ago are now fighting
against the world opening up?” says Dr
Kituyi. We’re talking about the recently
signed African Continental Free Trade
Agreement, which has created the world’s
biggest free trade area by total number of
countries. For him, the agreement, on
which he worked as a consultant, is
proof that Africa is now the champion,
and the future, of international free
trade; if it can overcome the challenges.
RISING TO THE CHALLENGES
Some of these challenges – as Dr
Kituyi sees them – are pressure on wages,
and the lack of sufficient value addition
and regional value chains. “We can’t keep
raising wages,” he says. “To reduce this
permanent pressure on wages, we first
need to stop letting costs go up.” When
we discuss cross-border value chains, he
wonders aloud why cocoa from West
Africa is exported to Switzerland for
processing into paste, before being
imported for use in confectionary.
The prospect of more intra-Africa
trade excites Dr Kituyi, but he bemoans
the lack of sufficient value chains. “I’ve
seen this from three ends: as a minister,
as a consultant and now as head of a
UN agency,” he says, mulling over how
he can use this experience to help developing
countries do right by themselves.
One example he dives into with some
scepticism is the Special Economic Zones
(SEZs), where countries design business
and trade bubbles aimed at attracting
foreign investment, which have been
popping up everywhere on the continent.
“Two decades ago, SEZs were the only
sensible way to attract FDI [Foreign
Direct Investment], but today global FDI
is going to less intensive industries,” he
says. This means that SEZs will not be
the silver bullet for all of the problems
developing nations are facing.
For Dr Kituyi, the solution is simple:
“SEZs have to be more directly linked to
locally available resources, and must align
productivity with the services sector,” he
says. The way he sees it, this will not only
solve the foreign investment problem, it
will also avert the unemployment crisis,
which is a biting problem for Sub-
Saharan Africa’s young population.
heavily in physical infrastructure, such as
road networks and power grid systems,
which are also as important. Dr Kituyi is
not particularly worried about the resultant
rise in debt levels from these heavy
investments, although he agrees that they
have to be kept low. “I don’t think you
can overinvest in infrastructure,” he says.
“The questions are: Could you have
gotten a better deal and can you create
synergies so it does not have an overbearing
impact on the economy?”
OUTSIDE THE BOX
While such questions keep him busy
now, as he travels the globe helping
countries and regional trade networks to
improve how they plug into international
trade networks, he still craves the spirit
and dance of Nairobi. For the married
father of three, the journey to leading a
global body tasked with such an important
role has been one of constant learning
and relearning. When I ask what
“This was a significant start to his plan to improve
Africa’s fortunes, but his second act was even bigger”
Among the areas that governments
need to address is the digital economy,
which is creating multiple opportunities
for exports. “Global e-commerce sales hit
an estimated US$29 trillion in 2017, but
Africa still has a long way to go in utilising
the opportunities it presents,” he says.
“Governments must prioritise investments
in digital infrastructure with clear
regulatory environments, protection of
consumer privacy, anti-competition,
protecting the integrity of payments, and
building digital skills.” They also need to
deal with the labour and skills gaps that
the exponential growth of the digital
economy presents. In a 2017 report,
UNCTAD warned that “all countries
will need to adjust their education and
training systems to deliver the skills
required in the digital economy”.
There are existential issues in
modern-day economies, especially developing
ones that are also investing more
drives him, he doesn’t hesitate with his
answer. “Trust in self,” he says. “I confront
the challenges because success
comes to those who are ready to learn.”
He also says his willingness not to be
held hostage by any single professional
label – academic, politician, consultant,
trade policy expert – is a strength. “I
learn a lot of new skills. I read a lot,
listen a lot and reflect a lot.”
Oh, and he listens to music a lot. “If
I’m in Nairobi, you’ll find me going to
listen to music, especially oldies,” he says
with a chuckle. Then, to my question
about a nearly forgotten body of music
from the 2002 election campaign, he says,
“I composed most of that music!” But,
Dr Kituyi doesn’t have the time to compose
music these days. And that’s why I
have to finally let him go so he doesn’t
miss his lunch; the future of trade in the
developing world needs a hero with a full
stomach.