The East Africa Tourism Platform (EATP), the top private sector body for tourism in the region on Tuesday, October 20, advocated for harmonized reopening protocols in partner states. This is to allow east Africans and international tourists to take advantage of attractions in the region and discover the hidden treasures. The call was made during a press conference in Kigali, shortly after handing over of the baton between the Kenya Tourism Federation as outgoing host of the EATP secretariat and the Rwanda Chamber of Tourism, the incoming host of the secretariat. Fred Odek is the incoming chairperson, noted that it is important to have harmonised protocols including health or safety measures now in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Odek said: "If Rwanda is testing two times, for example, and Kenya more, why can’t we have this harmonised? The same goes for isolation." "We are looking at ways to harmonise protocols; without having harsh conditions, work out a way to ease travel in East Africa, because easing travel is easing doing business." The platform is encouraging east Africans to travel within their countries and the region. According to Susan Ongalo, CEO at Kenya Tourism Federation, they are looking more at "regional domestic tourism" where people travel using national IDs. She said: "As we hand over to the Rwanda Tourism Chamber we hope and are confident that EATP is growing farther." Odek stressed that there is a need to unlock the challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic to tourism to enable...

GULU -  President Yoweri Museveni commissioned rehabilitation works for the Tororo-Gulu Railway line and the construction of the Gulu logistics Hub in Gulu City on Saturday. Speaking shortly after the ground-breaking ceremony, the President said that the collapse of Uganda railway network in the country like other sectors of government, including the army, was as a result of bad policies of the past regimes adopted from the colonial system. "Once a pillar of the State like the army is built based on ideology, streamlined policy and in a clever way, sectarianism tendencies are eliminated and destroyed," he said. Some of the guests who showed up for the ceremony The President said that the train, which last reached its terminal in northern Uganda in August 1986, will be revived in a more concrete way because Government considers it as a major infrastructure priority. "Railway transport is cheaper than road transport. For example, the cost of transporting a 40 feet container of goods from Mombasa Port to Kampala is US$3600 (sh13.4m) compared to railway transportation, which is US$1800 (sh6.7m). "It will be even much faster and cheaper once the Standard Gauge Railway is constructed," said Museveni. Museveni unveiling the plaque during the groundbreaking ceremony The works and transport ministry, in partnership with the finance ministry and Uganda Railways Corporation, with support from the European Union (EU), is implementing a project for the rehabilitation of the 375km Tororo-Gulu metre gauge railway line. The project is part of a bigger programme, the Development Initiative...

GULU — President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday October 24 participated in the ground-breaking of two flagship projects; construction of the Gulu Logistics Hub, and rehabilitation of the Tororo-Gulu railway. Other dignitaries that attended this event included Deputy Speaker, Jacob Oulanyah, Cabinet Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, and European Union (EU) Ambassador to Uganda, Attilio Pacifici among others. With support from European Union (EU) and the UK`s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), TradeMark Africa together with Ministry of Works and Transport and Uganda Railways Cooperation commenced construction in March 2020 of Euros 7.76M (about UGX 33 billion) Trade Logistics Hub in Gulu, a move expected to stimulate trade in the region. The project is expected to be completed within eighteen months. Already, 25 percent of the construction has been completed. The Gulu Logistics Hub is expected to contribute to reduced barriers to trade for both Northern Uganda and the neighbouring countries of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Gulu Logistics Hub (GLH) will serve the trade corridors of Kampala – Gulu – Elegu/Nimule – Juba Trade Corridor; and Gulu – Pakwach Goli/Pader/Lira/Vurra DRC Trade Corridor. The hub will be able to handle more than 500,000 containers at a time. The logistics hub is located on a 24.1 acres piece of land in Layibi division, Gulu Municipality and was allocated by the Uganda Railways Corporation. The hub is located adjacent to the current Gulu railway station and connects to the main roads to South...

Last month, Mastercard announced a partnership with Samsung, Airtel Africa and Asante Financial Services Group to launch a Pay-on-Demand payments platform and drive the digital economy across Africa. By enabling digital access to everyday products and services for under-served consumers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the continent could experience positive economic growth covering even the poorest which has been elusive for decades. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) notes that the launch and growth of digital financial services has led to an unprecedented increase in the number of people enjoying access to formal financial services. Today, Africa has more digital financial services deployments than any other region in the world, with almost half of the nearly 700 million individual users worldwide. Mobile money solutions and agent banking remain the most preferred since they now offer affordable, instant, and reliable transactions, savings, credit, and even insurance opportunities in rural villages and urban neighbourhoods even without bank branches. This, quite literally, banking at your fingertips – is for everyone and it has revolutionised how transactions are carried out. The impact of this convenience is that it extends beyond the individual since the impact can be felt across society. “Ten years after the breakthrough of digital financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa, we are seeing evidence of this. Field studies show that access to mobile money services has increased daily per capita consumption levels of households, lifting them out of extreme poverty,” notes Reeta Roy who is the President and CEO of Mastercard...

Lack of preparation, poor bookkeeping and inability to write good proposals is hindering local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in horticulture from accessing funds from the €16.2m scheme. The €16.2m Investment in Horticultural Development in Rwanda (HortInvest) is a four-year project launched in 2018 funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Government of Rwanda. Bookkeeping means the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business with. Running between 2018 and 2021, the project seeks to increase horticulture production and horticultural value chain, improve nutrition and support the growth of growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, Out of 153 proposals submitted since the launch, only 20 SMEs have managed to get grants from the project due to gaps that trigger rejection. SMEs in horticulture said that lack of adequate financial records, skills and other requirements have hindered them from accessing the funds. “We have challenges in bookkeeping. When you do not have ideal and clean financial records, sponsors become afraid of giving you money. That is why we tried to apply but in vain,” said Enock Nduwayezu, the owner of an SME “ZEAN Ltd” based in banana business in Nyabihu District. He said that his business engages in farming and buys bananas from other farmers and supplies to various markets while those which lack markets are used in bakeries for post-harvest handling. During peak seasons, he said, he supplies 12 tonnes per week and three tonnes during low season...

Women traders operating in markets around Nimule, Uganda's border with South Sudan, may soon resume business following the launch of the Safe Trade Zone Protocol on Friday. Developed by TradeMark Africa (TMA), in partnership with Amref Health Africa, the Safe Trade Zone protocol seeks to facilitate safe opening of border markets, given the current COVID-19 pandemic. The protocol proposes several guidelines that need to be followed for border markets to re-open, so as to allow people to trade safely. It is now almost seven months since trade at border markets came to a halt after governments closed borders and banned gatherings to contain the spread of COVID-19. The director in charge of gender and inclusion at TMA, Wanjiku Kimamo, said the safe trade zone project was informed by the need to help women traders at the bottom of the pyramid who have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, to regain their source of livelihood by conducting trade in a safe environment. Women constitute about 80% of the workforce in border markets. Kimamo, who was speaking during the virtual Safe Trade Zone Protocols validation workshop on Friday, said they plan to start rolling out the project by March next year. Dr Shiphrah Kuria, the reproductive health specialist at Amref Health Africa, said the protocol provides step-by-step procedures for the implementation of the safe trade zone. Must do Among them, the protocol proposes that each market sets up clear guidelines on operating time, cleaning, fumigating, arrival of vendors and suppliers and...

The new Ambassador of Rwanda to Zambia Amandin Rugira and the British High Commissioner to Zambia Nicholas Woolley have been accredited to COMESA as Permanent Representative and Special Representative respectively. The two presented their letters of credence to COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe on yesterday at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka. Amb. Rugira reiterated his country’s commitment to regional integration pledging to build on what his predecessor had done towards serving the regional community’s interests for deeper economic integration. Woolley said the United Kingdom attaches great importance to having strong regional institutions such as COMESA to tackle key regional issues. “Today’s formal accreditation sets the scene for a stronger future relationship between COMESA and the UK, framed around our ambition for stronger partnerships for mutual benefit,” he said. As part of the collaboration, the UK government has announced a new partnership between Trademark East Africa and Zambia to improve trade flows at one of Southern Africa’s busiest borders – the Nakonde border post between Zambia and Tanzania were 135,000 trucks pass every year. Two weeks ago, the UK Minister for Africa James Duddridge visited the COMESA Secretariat and held discussions with Secretary-General on various areas including COVID-19 response, trade facilitation, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), support for the development of regional value chains and countries preparation for COP26 submissions At the same time, the Minister announced that the UK is partnering with the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to provide advice and training to traders, governments and...

With steady growth in trade volumes, Uganda is not far away from achieving Vision 2040, a strategic master plan for Uganda's development. In the Vision 2040 strategic plan, boosting trade was identified as one of the pathways through which Uganda will be able to transform the society from a peasant to a modern and prosperous country. The Government pledged to undertake numerous trade initiatives to improve the country's trade balance so as to achieve the goals. These include increasing and diversifying exports and ensuring stable supply to meet market targets, identifying new export destinations in regional and emerging markets and ensuring that the exports are competitive and meet international standards. Additionally, it planned to develop an effective incentive system to attract and expand investments in export commodities. The incentive system was expected to facilitate productivity enhancement in production for exports, especially high value and Hi-Tech products to highend markets. The Government pledged to promote the manufacturing of consumer, investment and Hi-Tech goods, and value addition to agricultural products. The steps taken so far and starting to bear fruit; Uganda's trade volumes have been growing steadily over the years. The country's exports have indeed posted substantial growth over time. Available statistics indicate that Uganda's overall merchandise exports have registered substantial growth over the years, growing from $450.1m (sh1.65 trillion) in 2001 to $3.3b (sh12.2 trillion) in 2017, before rising to $3.64b (sh13.4 trillion) in 2018. In 2019, Uganda's exports were valued at close to $4.09b (sh15.1 trillion), according to figures from...

James Duddridge's visit shows how Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office brings together development and diplomacy to act as a force for good in the world. The UK Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, travelled to Malawi and Zambia this week (5 to 9 October) where he built on UK partnerships across Southern Africa to promote, support and reinforce our shared national interests – with a focus on boosting regional trade links and tackling the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. He visited businesses in the 2 countries – including Zazu, a British-backed financial services start-up in Lusaka and 14Trees, a CDC investment in Lilongwe producing environmentally sustainable bricks. In Zambia, the Minister announced UK funding to help small-and-medium-sized (SME) firms to access investment, innovate and improve productivity. This support will help create 50,000 jobs and facilitate over £100m of private sector investment into high-potential Zambian businesses. James Duddridge meeting His Excellency Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi. In Malawi, a major focus of discussions with the President, Vice President and Finance Minister was how to drive growth through improving the investment climate and reforming state-owned enterprises, building on the foundations of the UK-Africa Investment Summit in January. He also met with the Zambian Minister for Finance and trade bodies to discuss a new UK-backed partnership between the Government of Zambia and Trademark East Africa (TMA). The support will help improve trade flows at one of Southern Africa’s busiest borders – the Nakonde border post between Zambia and Tanzania, through which 135,000 trucks...

TradeMark Africa (TMA) has donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) that will be used by frontline workers to improve safety against the New Coronavirus for border staff and persons crossing through Rwandan borders. The donation worth over $200,000 was handed over by Patience Mutesi the TMA-Rwanda Country Director and received by Michel Minega Sebera, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry on behalf of the Rwanda government. The consignment contains high quality (N95) single and reusable face masks, plastic face shields, hand sanitizers and liquid soaps, disinfectant sprays, disposable gloves, thermal guns and fabricated washing points that will be dispatched to four borders- Sebera said the support will be an added value to Rwanda’s campaign against the New Coronavirus spread through open borders but also maintain the movement of persons and goods which are highly needed in maintaining cross border trade activities under the Covid19 pandemic in East Africa. “Equally important as we fight the pandemic is the need to sustain our economies and seek to recover the lost ground. The PPE provided by Trade Mark East Africa is very crucial in ensuring safe trade continues in and out of our borders” Sebera said. TMA Rwanda Country Director, Mutesi also said that the equipment is part of the TMA Safe Trade Emergency Facility and will be distributed in partnership with the World Food Program (WFP) which has a well-developed logistic mechanism and reach. Since 2010, TMA has driven trade prosperity in East Africa with construction of 13 border...