TPSF chair launches advisory committees on investment and business ​​​​​​​THE Board chairperson of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) Angelina Ngalula yesterday inaugurated here seven committees that will, among other things do research and recommend TPSF positions on business environment and investment to be forwarded to the government for- Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) board chairperson, Angelina Ngalula (C) speaks at the launch of seven committees of the foundation in Dar es Salaam yesterday. Others are the foundation’s chairman of the policy and advocacy research and lobbying and Kibaha MP Sylvestry Koka. Looking on is TPSF managing director Francis Nanai. Photo: Guardian Correspondent - implementation. The committees are on programmes and enterprise development, finance and administration, resource mobilisation and sustainability, investment and local content, outreach and membership services, policy and advocacy research and lobbying and audit and risk management. Ngalula said the committees have been carefully selected and called on members to work diligently to achieve the goals for which the committees were formed. “We ask and expect you to be thorough in you work so that we achieve all the goals for which these committees have been formed,” she said explaining that the collective work of the committees will put TPSF in a good position to advise the government on business environment and investment promotion. TPSF, she said, is the voice of members of the business community, adding that the nation expects members in whatever their deals and conduct to remain patriotic, responsible and transparent in paying taxes so...

Nairobi hosts EU-Africa Green Talk dialogue on sustainable development impact of local projects Dialogue between European Investment Bank, Portuguese Embassy in Kenya, financial community and development stakeholders confirms importance of green investment. The Secretary General of East African Community today joined more than 150 African business leaders, financial experts and diplomats in the Nairobi EU-Africa Green Talk to share investment best practice and outline how to mobilise private sector support for sustainable development across Africa. “Recent innovative investment across East Africa has transformed access for millions of people to clean water, renewable energy and finance essential for a better and more sustainable future. Today’s Nairobi Green Talks allow innovative solutions and technical best-practice to be shared with the rest of Africa and the world. The East African Community commends the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union and the European Investment Bank for their engagement with East African partners to further strengthen sustainable investment in the years ahead.” said Dr Peter Mathuki, incoming Secretary General of the East African Community. Participants highlighted how recent and future private sector led clean energy, sustainable transport and business investment across East Africa can unlock economic opportunities, strengthen resilience to COVID-19, increase protection from a changing climate and ensure more sustainable use of resources in the future. “Partnership between Africa and Europe is key to increasing investment essential to combat climate change and create new opportunities. The Portuguese EU Presidency and European Investment Bank are pleased to join forces with East African business, political and...

The Mombasa Tea Auction will operate for five days a week aimed at enhancing its capacity to handle all tea produced in the country and the region. This will come into effect once the auction regulations are enacted as stipulated in the Tea Act 2020. According to The Crops (Tea Industry) Regulations, 2020, the sale of tea to the export market is exclusively through an electronic auction process. Section 36 of the Auction Process: (3) An auction organizer shall establish an electronic trading platform for the auction of tea that will be usable and accessible to all players in the value chain. (4) A buyer shall pay in full the value of the tea bids they have won at the auction before collecting or taking custody of the tea. The funds from the sale of tea at the auction shall be remitted directly to the respective factory accounts within 14 days from the auction date. Moreover, factories shall be required to deposit at least 50% of the funds to farmers’ accounts within thirty (30) days from receipt of proceeds, with the balance being paid as a bonus within the same financial year. “It is important to note that tea auctions should now be held throughout the week and not necessarily the three days as currently designated by the East African Tea Traders Association (EATTA) Secretariat,” Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, Peter Munya said Friday while issuing a statement on the status of operations at the Mombasa Tea Auction and ongoing tea factories...

A six-lane concrete link road that is expected to ease cargo movement from Mombasa port has been completed, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said recently. KPA General Manager for Infrastructure Development Vincent Sidai said the Sh2 billion road is co-financed by KPA and TradeMark Africa. The 1.2-kilometre road extends from Changamwe roundabout to KPA Gate 18 with additional 200 metres inside the port area. It will replace the old four-lane road. "The road will boost port capacity by improving traffic flow with other economic benefits including improved service delivery, reduced port congestion and delays with faster gate clearance," he said. The road will also accommodate a 40-metre railway bridge and a gate canopy for custom and security purposes. Mr Sidai said the road will improve port productivity and reduce the cost of doing business. "The construction of the new road was necessitated by cracks after it was noted that the ground had continued to be unstable and could not withstand the increased frequency of heavy commercial trucks plying the route due to the increased capacity at the port," he said. Initially, the existing four-lane dual carriageway was affected by traffic congestion from the Changamwe roundabout - disrupting the fluidity of cargo movement. For KPA, the completion of the road adds credibility to the management’s plan to increase efficiency through the Mombasa Port Development Programme (MPDP) initiative. Among the highlights of MPDP is the completion of the dockyard jetty at the port. Sidai said the new road will improve drainage, reduce vehicle...

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda has condemned the continued use of non-tariff barriers by her East African Community neighbors despite several petitions, saying it beats the purpose for which the community was created. Uganda has for long felt that her neighbors, mainly Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania keep backtracking when it comes to implementing the free trade treaties that govern the EAC bloc. Recently, sugar exports to Tanzania have been blocked and returned to Uganda, while Kenya has often blocked Uganda’s sugar, poultry, and dairy products. And in all instances, exporters say, there are no proper reasons given The Assistant Commissioner for Regional and Bilateral Division External Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Richard Okot Okello, says there must be renewed efforts to remove all barriers if intra-regional trade is to be revamped. He was speaking at an online regional symposium on the effects of Covid-19 on women’s economic empowerment in East Africa, organized by the Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative, EASSI. Okot-Okello says regional countries have persistently put nationalist and protective measures above the regional mechanisms that were put in place to enhance regional integration. On her part, Dr Juliet Wakaisuka, a lecturer at Makerere University Business School, expressed worry that in all the support and economic recovery programs, the special plight of women is not being given special attention. She calls for affirmative action like helping women entrepreneurs formalize their business, and supporting them to adapt fully to the digital-based environment. The Commercial Attache at the Kenyan...

President Uhuru Kenyatta has Tuesday presided over the official launch of the National Land Information Management System (NLIMS) at the National Geospatial Data Centre in Nairobi County. The new system dubbed ‘Ardhisasa’, is a digital land resource management platform designed to enhance the security of land records, speed up land transactions and curb fraud. Speaking when he unveiled the new system, President Kenyatta told Kenyans that the digital platform will protect them from exploitation by cartels, middlemen and fraudsters. “With the advent of ArdhiSasa, missing files, perennial fraud, corruption and illegal land transactions will be a matter of the past. Get breaking news on your Mobile as-it-happens. SMS ‘NEWS’ to 20153 “The full rollout of the programme will facilitate the resolution of historical land disputes and guarantee the security and sanctity of your land title deed, true to the clarion Shamba Lako, Hati Safi, ” President Kenyatta said. “As we transition fully into the National Land Information Management System and to safeguard public interest in this national endeavour, I call on all Kenyans to co-operate when called upon by the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning to provide any information required to conclude the validation of any land records,” the President urged Kenyans. President Kenyatta welcomed the full digitization of the Nairobi lands registry saying the exercise will be extended to the rest of the country in a phased and gradual manner. “Another 20 counties will be on-boarded into the digital system by the end of the year. We project that all...

Forex reserves held at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) increased by a marginal Sh7.7 billion ($71 million) in the week to April 22 mainly on export receipts, new data shows. The CBK’s weekly bulletin shows the reserves stood at $7.727 billion (837.76 billion), up from $7.656 billion (Sh817.7 billion) on April 15. “The usable foreign exchange reserves remained adequate at $7,727 million (4.75 months of import cover) as of April 22. This meets the CBK’s statutory requirement to endeavour to maintain at least four months of import cover, and the EAC (East African Community) region’s convergence criteria of 4.5 months of import cover,” said CBK in the weekly bulletin. The growth in the foreign reserves has, however, slowed down compared to inflows in the week to April 15 that recorded a Sh24.67 billion ($231 million) increase from the previous week, following the disbursement of the first tranche of an International Monetary Fund loan facility to the government. According to Churchill Ogutu, head of research at Genghis Capital this week's uptick remains insignificant but could be partly attributed to multilateral loans and receipts from exports. “The amount is very marginal and we doubt if there was any significant inflows in terms of inflows from debt. The government has also been tight-lipped on these financial flows,” he said. The country receives the foreign currency inflows from external loans in hard currency, export and tourism receipts and diaspora remittances. Read original article

The cost of living in the East African countries is on a worrying upward trend with governments shifting huge debt repayments burdens to households and businesses through increased taxation measures. The issue is further compounded by a surge in fuel prices and weaker local currencies, which have seen the prices of essential commodities like bread, milk, wheat flour, beef, tomatoes, greengrams and fruits in countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda sky rocket, according to data from national bureaus of statistics. Last year, inflation in the region was estimated at 5.2 percent, falling within the EAC convergence criteria of no more than eight percent, but higher than 3.2 percent in 2019, according to the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) Monetary Policy Statement dated February 2021. In March, Kenya and Uganda posted increases in the overall monthly inflation, which rose to 5.9 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, from 5.78 percent and 4.1 percent in February respectively. Tanzania and Rwanda, on the other hand, experienced marginal declines in the cost of living with the monthly inflation figures going down to 3.2 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively from 3.3 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively, during the same period. “In both Uganda and Kenya, foreign exchange rates have strengthened recently — and this should help to limit near-term inflation fallout. However, supply disruptions, and the risks stemming from that, will also need to monitored,” said Razia Khan, managing director and chief economist in-charge of Africa and Middle East Global Research at the Standard Chartered...

Summary The lockdown meant more people got into agriculture and the harvests were great. The crop that came in from the second harvest found the one from the previous one. That is not good as it dampens the market,” Richard Ibengo, agriculturalist. Instead, as we are struggling to pick up the pieces, they [government] introduced new taxes. That will lead to the closure of many more businesses,” Everisto Kayondo, Kacita chairperson. The percentage by which the country’s GDP contracted last year, compared to a growth of 8.1 per cent in 2019. Ten days ago, Bank of Uganda (BoU) Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, while releasing the monetary report for April, revealed that whereas some level of economic recovery had been realised during the first quarter of 2021, the economy will remain subdued. Mr Mutebile pegged the prospects of the economy’s vibrancy on how the campaign to immunise Ugandans against Covid-19 will pan out. “Nonetheless, the recovery is expected to strengthen with above trend growth…as vaccine effectiveness increases,” Mr Mutebile said. Whereas Mr Mutebile did not detail the extent of the havoc that was caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown introduced as a containment measure, it is now emerging that the pandemic actually wiped out the growth of yesteryears and caused the economy to shrink. By how much has economy shrunk? BoU director for research, Mr Adam Mugume, told Saturday Monitor that the estimated real Gross Domestic Product for 2020 had contracted by 1.1 per cent...

The East African region is experiencing unprecedented obstacles to food trade, hurting livelihoods and derailing economic progress. Food insecurity, in its various forms, is one of the most significant challenges facing East African region and the wider Nile Basin member countries. About 140 million people in the basin (or 34 percent of the population of the basin states) are undernourished, with the level of severity varying from country to country, according to the ‘State of the Nile Basin’ report 2012. A rapidly growing population, coupled with increasing urbanisation and climate change, point to a worsening food security situation. Trade is usually one of the ways by which countries meet their food requirements, beyond what they can produce locally. The region possesses immense untapped potential not only to meet its own food needs but also to grow extra food to support other counties and use proceeds to improve the economies of the region. This potential to use food trade between member countries of the Nile Basin, however, faces numerous challenges. Several studies carried out on the subject of food security point to the low levels of production within member countries and generally much of Africa, as the most significant impediment to food trade. Too little is produced, leaving households with nothing left for sale. In Uganda, for example, one of the major food producers in the region, subsistence farming still accounts for more than 50 percent of the country’s farming households, according to the Uganda Census 2014. Lack of investments and...