In Summary Uhuru is expected to preside over the reception of the first ship to dock at the new port at berth one. Traders have started gearing up for increased business ahead of the operationalization of the Lamu port. The Kenya Ports Authority on Saturday shipped the second and final batch of equipment to the Lamu port ahead of its official operationalisation on Thursday. President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to receive the first ship to dock at berth one in the new port. The Lamu port is expected to have 23 berths once completed and will be receiving bigger ships. So far, only berth one is complete. Berths two and three are 95 and 75 per cent complete, and will have cost the country at least Sh40 billion once the three berths are complete. The first batch of the consignment was shipped to Lamu two weeks ago and is already at the Lamu port. “The current shipment of two Rubber Tyred Gantry [RTG] cranes and Kenya Revenue Authority scanner machines and other equipment could not be done in any other way but by sea,” KPA captain Geoffrey Namadoa said on Saturday. He said the equipment could not be transported with the first consignment due to their fragility. Namadoa spoke after witnessing the shipment of the second consignment of equipment from berth number 20 in Mombasa. The KPA officer said they had prepared the shipment a day earlier as they waited for the tide level to roll out the equipment for...

Kenya recently signed a raft of cooperation agreements spanning economic, security and maritime transport domains with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a continuation of gainful bilateral ties between Nairobi and Kinshasa. President Kenyatta and his DRC counterpart Felix Tshisekedi agreed to amplify diplomatic dividends with Kenya set to open outposts in Goma and Lubumbashi. DRC has also expressed willingness to join the East African Community (EAC) to hoist its economic, social and political viability. Appreciative of the potential of DRC in catalysing Africa’s transformation, Kenya has, for decades, played constructive roles in fostering its internal stability and prosperity. Nairobi, for instance, hosted the signing of a peace deal between the DRC government and the rebel M23 leaders in 2013. It was on the backdrop of such fraternity that President Kenyatta was the only African Head of State at President Tshisekedi’s inauguration in January 2019. Kiswahili being a national language in both countries, DRC, with a population of 86 million, is a huge market for Kenyan products and farm produce. People-to-people exchanges are equally strong. Kenya has been the most important gateway to the international waters for the DRC, which imports much of its cargo from Asian markets through the Port of Mombasa, through which it ships out its minerals, timber and other goods. To enhance its regional economic and connectivity hub status, Kenya is amplifying its infrastructure modernisation. The Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport corridor, will expand access to the East African sub-region, and also Central Africa through the...

INDUSTRY and Trade minister Prof Kitila Mkumbo has urged Tanzanians to be bold to compete internationally and take investment risks to develop and expand their businesses. “Most Tanzanians are not risk takers; we need to change our attitude and start taking investment risks within the East African region and abroad,” said the minister. He was speaking in Dar es Salaam over the weekend during a graduation ceremony for participants of the entrepreneurship programme conducted by ‘Kingdom Leadership Institute Tanzania’ in collaboration with the Regent University, USA. According to him, English language literacy is also one of the obstacles that hold back Tanzanians when it comes to grabbing investment opportunities in and outside the country. “We need to capacitate our people with communication skills so they can communicate with their counterparts in foreign countries. Foreign community requires small and medium scale entrepreneurs (SMEs) to be fluent in English language,” he added. He added that President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been insisting on improving the country’s business and investment environment, hence the need for the business community to take advantage of the conducive investment climate to establish projects. “Risk taking is important when it comes to competing. We need Tanzanians who are willing to go and invest in other countries,” said Prof Mkumbo. Minister Mkumbo promised to consult the ministry of agriculture on possibilities of Tanzanians to directly export maize to South Sudan instead of selling the grains to Kenyans who finally sell them in South Sudan. Prof Mkumbo underscored the need...

The opening remarks by President Samia Suluhu of Tanzania during her State visit to Kenya two weeks ago were, “Mko na Uhuru upande wa Kenya na upande wa Tanzania tuko na Suluhu.” Her witty remarks were derived from the names of both presidents Uhuru and Suluhu. Translated into English her remarks meant that we have freedom in Kenya while Tanzania has the solution. The visit offers renewed hopes of increased trade between the two countries. There have been issues including allegations of discriminatory trade practices as well as non-tariff barriers to trade. It is hoped that the visit by the Tanzanian president is a sign of better times to come. World trade is moving away from protectionism and towards liberalisation which is enhanced by the removal of trade barriers between two countries, be they tariff or non-tariff. The East African Community (EAC) of which both Kenya and Tanzania are members, supports liberalisation and removal of trade barriers. The EAC Treaty and the EAC protocols especially the EAC Common Market Protocol contain very good provisions on liberalisation. However, there still exists a lot of non-tariff barriers. For the intention of the EAC Treaty to come to fruition, then these barriers to trade ought to be removed. There need to be proactive steps by all the member states to eliminate barriers and avoid trade-related spats. Each member state in the EAC is governed by national law and the regional law applies at the regional level. There may be a need to consider...

In Summary Lack of harmonised systems at the borders has been blamed for hampering smooth movement of goods. The Kenyan–Uganda borders of Malaba and Busia are among those that have witnessed prolonged delays in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The East African Community (EAC) plans  to sett up a ' trade hotline' to address cargo delays at the common borders. The platform, according to the EAC secretariat will allow cross-border traders to register complaints and get prompt feedback. Lack of harmonised systems at the borders has been blamed for hampering smooth movement of goods, services and persons, leading to an increase in illicit trade which is denying member states billions in taxes. Despite the region investing in One-Stop-Border-Posts (OSBPs) with 13 currently operational, the different approach in handling Covid-19 tests, clearance of goods and movement of persons is hampering trade, the East African Business Council (EABC) warns. The Kenyan–Uganda borders of Malaba and Busia are among OSBPs that have witnessed prolonged delays in the wake of the pandemic, a move that led to increased freight costs. Pre-Covid, truck turn-around time between Mombasa and Kampala was averaging seven days, which went up to an average 14-20 days as a result of border delays. The border delays are affecting intra-EAC trade which is at a low of 13 per cent, compared to common markets such as the EU which is at 67 per cent. During a tour of the Namanga OSBP on the Kenyan–Tanzania border, the newly appointed EAC Secretary General, Peter Mathuki said the hotline is one among...

THE East African Community (EAC) Secretariat is set to avail a trade hotline providing cross-border traders with a platform to register their challenges and get instant feedback or solutions. The facility will be for all border posts of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan as the new Secretariat administration moves swiftly to increase intra-EAC trade and get rid of unnecessary obstacles. That is in a move to resolve persistent Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and reduce time spent in the movement of goods and persons, hence increasing intra- EAC trade that currently stands at a mere 15 per cent. New EAC Secretary General, Dr Peter Mathuki hit the ground running, as he officially made his maiden visit at the Tanzania/Kenya Namanga One Stop Border Post (OSBP), meeting Trade Facilitation Agencies (TFAs) and cross border traders to deliberate on sustainable solutions to ease cross border trade. And that comes merely a week after the maiden visit to Kenya by President SamiaSuluhu Hassan who held talks with her counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, and also addressed the bicameral legislature. Among other things, the two EAC leaders agreed to remove trade barriers between the two countries. In her visit to Uganda for the inauguration of President YoweriMuseveni on Wednesday, Mama Samia was hailed by the former for allowing smooth imports of sugar from his country, as part of efforts to cement ties between them. Equally, President Museveni also applauded Kenya for doing the same. The East African Business Council (EABC) is facilitating the Public Private...

80 assorted agro-processing facilities have been installed with funding from projects supporting the ministry, these are 33 coffee hullers, two rice hullers and 30 maize mills, 14 milk coolers... The Local Government Sector committed to implement a number of interventions in fulfilment of the NRM manifesto commitments and Presidential directives during Period 2016-2020. The interventions fall largely under: Strengthening security, good governance and democracy, Tourism and industry, Lands and housing Strengthening security, good governance and democracy Interventions  1.  Creation of new Local Governments (LGs) and administrative units.  In a bid to take services closer to the people, the Ministry has operationalised 23 newly created districts since FY 2016/17. 2.  Improve administration at sub-county level and strengthen service delivery by constructing offices at sub-county /town council level. The ministry has provided funds for the construction of offices for 213 town councils and 17 Sub-county offices. 3.  Train and equip the Local Council courts In order to strengthen the LC courts and ensure that justice is delivered effectively at lower Local Government level, MoLG has (i) Developed the local council courts handbook (ii) Trained all local council courts throughout the country to deliver justice within their jurisdiction; 4.  Induction and equipping of new councilors with  leadership skills In order to strengthen democratic governance, decision making and good leadership at the Lower Local Governments, MoLG  has done the following: (i) Conducted induction of new councilors at the district, municipal council, division, town council and Sub-county levels throughout the country.         ...

Mchinji, 7th May, 2021 The UK Government in partnership with TradeMark Africa on Friday 7th May 2021 officially handed over quarantine and screening facilities in key border posts of Mwanza, Dedza and Songwe and Mchinji borders to the Malawi Ministry of Health to support its capacity and fight against COVID-19. These facilities will meet the needs of hundreds of travellers at key Malawi border stations and border officials to include: Port Health staff, Malawi Revenue Authority staff by providing safe COVID-19 screening and isolation areas. The facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art supplies that will help in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health challenges at the border stations, thereby ensuring safety of border users and frontline personnel during the pandemic and beyond but also ultimately enabling undisrupted flow of goods and services across the key borders. The symbolic handover ceremony of all facilities took place at Mchinji border post and was graced by Malawi’s Minister of Health Hon Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, British High Commissioner David Beer and TMA Malawi Ag Country Director, Myra Deya. The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is funding Malawi’s component of TMA’s Safe Trade Emergency Facility (STEF) programme with a contribution of MWK 400m (GBP 0.5m). It’s under this programme that the quarantine facilities handover has been made as part FCDO’s wider support for mitigation against the spread of COVID-19 and promotion of continuous safe trade in Malawi. Other interventions conducted under the Malawi STEF Programme included distribution of Personal...

“Without doubt, AfCFTA could be considered as the game changer for the post COVID-19 economic recovery and transformation of Ghana, if we as a country can harness the numerous benefits of the agreement,” the minister said. To harness the benefits of AfCFTA, he said the government complemented the ongoing industrial transformation agenda by launching the National Export Development Strategy in 2020 to increase non-traditional export revenue to $25.3 billion by 2027. Inauguration Mr Kyerematen was speaking at the inauguration of 36 council members of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), in a speech read on his behalf by the Technical Advisor to the Minister, Mr Anthony Nyame-Baafi, on Wednesday, April 28 in Accra. The council members are expected to provide the needed support and guidance through their technical expertise and wealth of social capital to promote activities of the chamber. Private sector’s role The minister called on the private sector to spearhead the economic transformation of the country by taking full advantage of the African single continental market. He said the initiative would boost Ghanaian exports, stimulate investments and innovation, foster structural transformation, improve food security, enhance economic growth, and export diversification, and provide fresh impetus and dynamism to the economic integration of Ghana into the African market. “There are many benefits that Ghana will derive from effective implementation of the AfCFTA, including better harmonisation and coordination of trade between Ghana and other African countries,” he added. He said the government had developed a National AfCFTA Policy...

In Summary Uhuru gave an ultimatum of two weeks to concerned state agencies to clear the jam of trucks at Namanga and Holili border crossings to allow free flow of trade. He also tasked the ministers of health from both countries to move with speed and streamline Covid-19 containment protocols required for traders to cross the borders unhindered. President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday announced a raft of incentives aimed at wooing Tanzanian investors to Kenya including the lifting of work permit and visa requirements. Speaking in Nairobi during the Kenya-Tanzania Business Forum, Uhuru said his administration will do all in its power to eliminate all non-tariff barriers for Tanzanian investors coming to do business in Kenya. He cautioned Tanzanians and Kenyans against competing with each, and instead focus on creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive. He added that he would like to see many investors from Tanzania coming to do business in Kenya. "I want to say this, Tanzanian investors are free to come and do business in Kenya without being required to have business visas or work permits. The only thing you will be required to do is to follow the laid down regulations and the laws that are in place,” Uhuru said. At the same time, the President gave an ultimatum of two weeks to concerned state agencies to clear the jam of trucks at Namanga and Holili border crossings to allow free flow of trade. He also tasked the ministers of health from both countries...