WOMEN within the East African Community (EAC) are in need of facilitation support in cross-border trade after suffering huge loss due to lockdown and travel restrictions imposed by some regional member states. Following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, some countries have restricted movements within and outside their territories, compelling women entrepreneurs to use informal routes. The Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) Executive Director Ms Sheila Mishambi noted that the impact of Covid- 19 on cross-border women traders across East Africa had been immense, forcing closure of at least 64.2per cent of womenowned businesses. A report on the study carried out since the outbreak of the pandemic in the six member states indicates that around 21.2per cent of the sampled women reported using informal routes to circumvent the existing Covid-19 measures in EAC partner states, with several narrations of tragic conseq uences. The report released by the TradeMark Africa (TMA), the study provides lessons and suggestions to EAC governments, donors, private sector and other stakeholders for future strategies to navigate the impacts of the coronavirus, from women surveyed and interviewed. Among suggestions outlined in the report in order to mitigate the impacts of Covid- 19 are that 62.7 per cent of the women interviewed called upon the respective governments to provide loans, grants, capital and funds or get them sponsors. Other suggestions are for governments to open all borders to small cross-border traders; provide masks, sanitizers and food for those who cannot work as well...

Summary The establishment of an effective Common External Tariff in the East Africa region will lead to the exponential growth of the manufacturing sector. TheEAC is reviewing its CET that, if adopted, will steer manufacturing as we grapple with Covid-19. The establishment of an effective Common External Tariff in the East Africa region will lead to the exponential growth of the manufacturing sector. A Common External Tariff (CET) is an import tariff or rate adopted and applied by countries within a common market. This tariff is ideally imposed on imports from non-member countries, with the intention of promoting industrialisation in the common region, enhancing the economic development of member States and liberalising regional trade. TheEAC is reviewing its CET that, if adopted, will steer manufacturing as we grapple with Covid-19. It is important to highlight the progress made through trade agreements with the EAC. First is the establishment of the EAC Single Customs Territory to facilitate faster clearance and movement of cargo from the port of entry to destination. Second is the implementation of One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) aimed at facilitating cross-border movements through reduction of clearancetime. The third is the removal of several Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs). However, the laxity to implement the EAC CET is straining the competitiveness of the sector and the economic growth. In essence, the current tariff undermines industrialisation by favouring imports or subsidising importation costs, resulting in reduced competitiveness of local manufacturers. This leads to a few job opportunities and decreased development and, ultimately, increased...

On 1 January 2021, trade began within the African Continental Free Trade Area (‘AfCFTA’). After years of preparation, and being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AfCFTA becomes the largest free trade area in the world based on the number of participating countries since the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) was formed and connects some 1.3 billion people across the African continent. Among many other key developments under the AfCFTA, member states have agreed to remove 90 per cent of tariff lines on non–sensitive products within five years for developing countries and within ten years for least developed countries. The AfCFTA seeks to provide member states a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement that aims to boost intra-African trade. As noted by the World Bank, “[a]s the global economy is in turmoil due to the COVID-19 pandemic, creation of the vast AfCFTA regional market serves as a major opportunity to help African countries diversify their exports, accelerate growth, and attract foreign direct investment.” However, the AfCFTA is also expected to stimulate trade and investment with parties outside the continent as well. Mr Wamkele Mene, the AfCFTA secretary-general, has described the AfCFTA as sending “a strong signal to the international investor community that Africa is open for business, based on a single rule-book for trade and investment.” Foreign investors thus will be able to do business on a single set of trade and investment rules across Africa, and the AfCFTA will help create larger, more integrated markets on the continent, which should...

EAST African Community (EAC) partner states and those on the southern part have to strengthen corridors across the area, so as to build climate resilience. That is being emphasised because as EAC economies continue to grow rapidly, so do the respective transport and logistics sectors as well as the associated Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and pollution. Increased traffic and pollution threaten safety, health and life of road transport users and citizens, warn Trade- Mark East Africa (TMA) Environmental and Climate Change Officer, Mr Denis Maina and fellow officer, Mikko Leppanen. They argue that the situation is further worsened by inefficiencies that exist in the regions’ road transport and logistics sectors. For example, costs per kilometre of transporting a freight container from Mombasa to Kigali costs three times more than in developed countries. “ Some 95 per cent of the freight transport is hauled on roads, while water – maritime, inland lakes – and rail transport that are less polluting modes of freight transport have remained underdeveloped and underutilised,” the duo said in their release. TMA has worked with the Northern and Central Corridors for years in the joint observatories programme to collect and manage freight transport related information and in 2018 included a climate change tool to monitor GHG emissions and pollution along the corridors. Key partners involved in the development of the international standards-based tool were Climate Care and Meghraj Capital consultants. A report on the freight transport sector tool reveals that there is a need for countries to...

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is currently causing significant adverse impact on the global economy occasioned by countries imposing measures to mitigate increasing cases and also sanctioning countries with more cases. Governments around the world are implementing various fiscal measures to mitigate the adverse effect and provide relief for businesses and households. Across the Eastern African region, the impacts of COVID-19 are being felt in different ways and the measures taken by the respective governments have also differed on the areas of focus and comprehensiveness. The third wave of coronavirus in Kenya saw President Uhuru Kenyatta issue a couple of measures restricting movement by locking the Capital city Nairobi and Neighboring counties as a one zoned area. Kenya’s decision to halt the movement of interstate buses across its border following a surge in Covid-19 cases has left many business persons across East Africa stranded since the ban on movement by air, rail and roads came into effect within the zoned area. President Uhuru Kenyatta on march 26 ordered a lockdown suspending movement in and out of five Kenyan counties of Nairobi, Nakuru, Machakos, Kajiado and Kiambu. With Kenya being the major exporter and importer of the East African Community (EAC), accounting for around 46 percent of exports and 41 percent of imports for the whole region. As well as also responsible for more than half of manufacturing value-added produced by the East African Community (EAC) (Mold, 2017),which implies that Kenya has some competitive advantages in merchandise goods (beyond primary exports), EAC...

Mudassir Amray, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Trust Bank Limited, has said that the lender’s groundbreaking successes in just 17 months of its commercial operations despite the COVID-19 pandemic, was tied to its unmatched digital technology which has delivered superior customer-centric experience. In a chat with selected journalists in Lagos at the weekend, Mudassir Amray said as a financial service provider that is passionate about the future, Titan Trust Bank positioned itself for delivering seamless banking services to its teeming customers during the pandemic by continued investment in its alternative banking channels which include: the Titan Mobile Application, Titan Internet Banking platform and the Titan *922# Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) solution. According to him: “At the inception of the bank’s operations in October 2019, we drew up a holistic and integrated approach to business modernization which has formed the foundation for the bank’s superior customer-centric experience. The impact of this strategic decision led to a positive impact in our performance and it has also given us recognition on the global stage where we recently emerged the ‘Best Trade Finance Provider in Nigeria for the year 2021’, an award previously given by New York-based Global Finance Magazine to only the first-tier banks in Nigeria. “In a demonstration of our commitment to deliver superior, convenient and innovative banking solutions to our customers, we have invested substantially in technology and developed fully integrated service models that enable our customers to enjoy banking services through a wide range of...

Mon Mar 29 2021Africa is set to recover from its worst recession in half a century. Real GDP is projected to grow by 3.4 per cent in 2021 after contracting by an estimated 2.1 per cent in 2020, mainly due to COVID-19 related disruptions, according to the African Development Bank’s recently released African Economic Outlook (AEO). The pandemic also caused deep scars in the financing and debt landscape of the continent that may linger on if not quickly addressed.FG warns against encroaching on national monumentsAt the launch of the AEO, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz rightly explained how the COVID-19 pandemic caused both demand- and supply-side shocks in the continent. “It affected the demand for exports of African countries…but it also affected the willingness of people to work in some of the more exposed sectors and its effects were very disparate across different sectors.” Following Stiglitz’s train of thought, Africa’s projected recovery will be subject to an unusually high level of uncertainty and risks, as is also pointed out in the analyses of the AEO.The most obvious risk to the recovery is the disease itself. The emergence of more contagious strains of the COVID-19 virus could derail the recovery process. Furthermore, if progress in deploying safe and effective treatment is slower than expected, governments would have to reinstate restrictions. headtopics.com On the upside, if COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines become accessible in the continent earlier than anticipated, the growth projection for 2021 could be exceeded, leading to a more robust recovery.Another risk...

After close to four successful years at the helm of East Africa Business Council (EABC), Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki will be joining the East African Community (EAC) as the new Secretary-General next month. Top on his mind is rejuvenating the image of the Community and preparing it for emerging global opportunities such as the African Continental Trade Area (AfCFTA) and access to the European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) markets and balancing the role of the Asian tigers such as China and India in the development agenda of the region. Dr. Mathuki, who previously served as a Member of Parliament in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) between 2012 and 2017 and served in committees of Trade, Accounts and Legal Affairs, will be replacing the outgoing Sec-Gen Amb. Libérat Mfumukeko. A champion of increased trade in the EAC region and AfCFTA, Dr. Mathuki was nominated by President Uhuru Kenyatta and appointed by the EAC Heads of State Summit comprising all the six Presidents to take up the responsibility of steering EAC for the next five years at a time the region needs strategic direction on navigating Covid-19 impact on the economies. “EAC organs should work in harmony and coordinate to realize the benefits enshrined in the EAC Treaty and strengthen our economic, legislative, education, research, social and justice agenda,” said Dr. Mathuki. He added: “Partner States’ governments and the private sector need to work together to recover from the negative impacts of the pandemic. That’s...

Summary Canada invested $100 million to support indigenous women and children experiencing violence and financed women’s shelters, sexual assault centres and other organisations providing SGBV services. Women put people first and that seems to be the approach that delivered better Covid-19 outcomes in female-led countries. In Canada, half of the ambassadors are women, that’s change. Kenya and Canada share an identity when it comes to gender equality. They are among the few countries that adopted gender responsive measures in the fight against Covid-19. On one hand, Kenya invested in investigating the cause of rise in teenage pregnancies and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and established a multi-agency team to tackle the problem. Canada on its part, invested $100 million to support indigenous women and children experiencing violence and financed women’s shelters, sexual assault centres and other organisations providing SGBV services. As the world shifts focus to redeeming the lost gains and building stronger economies of economically, politically, culturally and socially stable women and girls, we speak with Canadian High Commission to Kenya, Ms Lisa Stadelbauer to pick her mind on the way forward. Studies have shown women-led countries outperformed men’s in Covid-19 response, what does this mean? That is interesting and it is a moment in time we need to sit down and think why it is the case. One theory that has been put forward is that men are risk enthusiasts. And so countries that took a more cautious approach tend to have come out of the pandemic a...

A trade support organisation has called for the revision of the Simplified Trading Regime to enable cross-border women traders participate more. In a report released last week, Ms Sheila Kawamara Mishambi, the Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) executive director, said the impact of Covid-19 on cross-border women traders across East Africa had mostly been immense forcing closure of at least 64.2 per cent of women-owned businesses. The Simplified Trading Regime supports small-scale traders to benefit from simplified customs document and simplified certificate of origin, under which goods that originate from member countries and whose value does not exceed $2,000 (Shs7.3m) per consignment, qualify for duty-free entry in the respective markets. Ms Kawamara said stakeholders and government must find ways through which they encourage cross-border women traders to form cooperatives that will enable them conduct structured trade. This, she said, will enhance resilience, growth and sustainability of cross-border women traders. Through cooperatives, Ms Kawamara noted, women will benefit from economies of scale by buying cheaply, paying less on logistics, accessing better markets as well as getting support to adopt electronic commerce. She also noted that cross-border women traders are unable to individually adopt e-commerce but can ably do so if they work in groups, adding that e-commerce is going to be the new normal. The report, which was produced by EASSI in collaboration with TradeMark Africa, found that Covid-19 and the resultant closure of borders, had dented cross-border women businesses with trade falling by at...