In Summary The report finds that the region provides a good resource base for the production of hides and skins. Despite East Africa currently having a monthly demand of about 600,000 pairs of industrial shoes, production is only about 60,000 shoes per month. East African partner states are losing out billions of dollars by inadequately investing in adding value to horticulture and leather goods produced in the region, according to a recent report by EABC. Dubbed ‘Building the Leather, Fruits and Vegetable value chains in the East African Community’ the report finds that the region provides a good resource base for the production of hides and skins, having over 188.1 million livestock. Despite East Africa currently having a monthly demand of about 600,000 pairs of industrial shoes, production is only about 60,000 shoes per month. The report indicates that the EAC region processes leather up to wet blue stage with a minimal transformation to finished leather. On the international market, the price of finished leather costs about $5(Sh542) per square feet, while the wet blue is sold at $1.5(165) per ft². This suggests that the EAC, which exports mainly wet blue, loses as much as $3.5 (Sh379)per ft². This implies that the EAC in effect lost close to $3.2billion(Sh347.2billion) in the last 4 years, (from 2014-2018). “The leather industry has protracted due to the high presence of imported used footwear as well as synthetic shoes,” said EABC CEO, Peter Mathuki. He added that the imports are priced way below the...

The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Tanzania and the East African Community, Manfredo Fanti and the Secretary General of the EAC, Libérat Mfumukeko have launched a new EUR 16,400,000 joint programme to strengthen regional economic integration, through advancing implementation of the Customs Union and Common Market Protocols. The Regional Economic Integration (CORE) programme will be instrumental in moving towards a fully-fledged Customs Union, by supporting more robust information, communication and technology (ICT) based data exchange protocols for the clearing of goods. However due to digital solutions, customs operations will be simpler, quicker, as well as safer during this pandemic situation thereby resulting in a reduction of the costs of cross-border trade. A new impetus will be given through this programme to promote free movement of services, a crucial building block for the creation of the EAC Common Market. The CORE programme will support implementation of services’ liberalisation commitments, facilitating mutual recognition of professions and allowing companies to provide their services beyond their national borders. During the first two years, the focus of this programme will be on the insurance, accounting and distribution sectors. Additional sectors could be covered at a later stage. “The economic integration of the East African Community is at the heart of our cooperation agenda. This programme will be a catalyst for making economic integration a reality,” said Fanti. On his part, EAC Secretary General Mfumukeko expressed the Community’s appreciation for the continuous support from the European Union to the EAC. He said the financing agreement comes...

1. Introduction Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) is a limited liability membership organisation registered in 2003 as the apex body of private sector in Kenya. KEPSA brings together the entire business community from all sectors of the economy under one umbrella, to engage and influence public policy in a single voice to ensure year on year improvement in the overall business environment. With current over 500,000 direct and indirect members organised through Business Associations, corporates, multinationals, SMEs and start-ups, KEPSA is a key player in championing the interests of the Kenyan business community in trade, investment and industrial relations. 2. Public Private Partnership (PPD) during the COVID-19 pandemic Before the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Kenya in March 2020, businesses had begun suffering supply chain disruptions due to linkages with major global markets in Europe, China, and other Asian countries that had imposed travel restrictions to contain spread of the virus. KEPSA swung into action and initiated a survey to determine the impact of the pandemic. The survey inspired the constitution of a Covid-19 Business Response Team, comprising key sector leaders, to craft an economic management framework. The framework’s overriding focus was to protect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to safeguard livelihoods, prioritising health and safety of employees, communities, and healthcare workers, while ensuring supply chain continuity. The framework also sought to mobilise private sector resources, maintain high ethical standards and avoid moral hazards such as price spikes, and production or distribution of low-quality products. It also involved...

Uganda has reopened its international borders for the first time since March when they were closed as a control measure against the coronavirus pandemic. The East African country closed its borders to passenger travel even before it registered its first case of CCOVID-19, but continued to allow both land and air cargo. The national carrier, Uganda Airlines, on Thursday morning ran its regional flights to Nairobi, Kenya, and Mogadishu, Somalia, as scheduled. Other international airlines have also been landing and taking off. The civil aviation authority has advised out-bound travellers to be at the airport at least four hours before scheduled departure. Immigration officials at the airport are encouraging passengers to use self-service booths where available to minimise contact. Passengers coming into Uganda will be required to present a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of their departure. Those who present a negative test will not be required to go into isolation. But if someone arrives without a test certificate, a sample will be taken and they will be made to quarantine at their own cost as they await results. The country experienced a rise in coronavirus cases in September, averaging about 1,000 new cases per week. Total cases are at over 8,000. Although the government has been working to increase the number of beds and the capacity of isolation centres across the country, health workers who have spoken to the BBC worry that resources might be stretched if cases continue to rise. Read the original article

In Summary Currently, ordinary citizens entering into Kenya from Tanzania are allowed to proceed once they produce a Covid-19 certificate. Truck drivers however are subjected to both production of the certificate from Tanzania and also another testing at the border point and allowed in only after the results are out. The East African Business Council (EABC) is seeking equal treatment of all those entering Kenya from Tanzania, irrespective of whether they are truck drivers or ordinary citizens. Currently, ordinary citizens from Tanzania are allowed to proceed once they produce a Covid-19 certificate. Truck drivers are however subjected however have to produce the certificate from Tanzania and still undergo another testing at the border point and are only allowed in after the results are out, EABC complained yesterday. The process according to Tanzania immigration officials and truck drivers takes more than a week delaying delivery of goods. EABC chief executive Peter Mathuki has also called for the strengthening of public-private partnerships between Kenya and Tanzania to boost bilateral trade. He was speaking during a mission led by Kenya's East African Community and Regional Development Principal Secretary Kevit Desai, to the Namanga border. The team sought to establish the capacity of aflatoxin surveillance while also witnessing the testing and issuance of Covid-19 certificates. Mathuki urged EAC governments to fast track the economic stimulus packages to support businesses. Covid-19 is estimated to cost East Africa partner states between $37 billion (about Sh4 trillion )to $79 billion (Sh 8.56 trillion) in output losses. In...

Mutukula, 30 September 2020: Regional trade facilitating agency TradeMark Africa has this morning handed over Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the government of Uganda to sustain momentum in the war against the novel Corona virus that has ravaged the world and protect lives in Uganda while facilitating safe trade. The PPEs presented were funded by Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) through TradeMark Africa. On hand to receive the PPE at the Mutukula One Stop Border Post (OSBP) on behalf of the government of Uganda was State Minister for Cooperatives, Hon. Frederick Ngobi Gume who represented the Cabinet Minister for Trade, Industries and Cooperatives, Hon. Amelia Kyambadde. The equipment provided include hand sanitizers, hand washing stations, liquid hand washing soap, infrared thermometer, re-usable safety boots, full protective PPE, filtering face piece respirator, reusable masks, plastic face shield, disposable gloves, hand sanitizer dispensers and disinfectant spray bottles. Speaking during the handover event, Hon Frederick Ngobi lauded the citizens and businesses in Uganda for their strong compliance with the health protocols issued by the government. The minister said this is paying a huge dividend with comparatively lower infection and mortality rates in Uganda as compared to many African nations. He noted that the government of Uganda is committed to ensuring that safe trade prospers across the country. “For continuity of trade, in the wake of the pandemic, my ministry in conjunction with TradeMark Africa, designed the Safe Trade Program in April 2020 to among other things support the COVID-19 national task force to...

Look around your room. Chances are that everything inside has been in a container, on a plane, or inside a truck at some point. The miracle of international trade is a complex beast, a series of arteries feeding goods to each corner of the globe. And for the average consumer, we know almost nothing about it. It’s our lack of knowledge that’s given rise to an exploding market for counterfeit goods. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the EU Intellectual Property Office, counterfeit and pirated goods make up 3.3% of all global trade — over half a trillion dollars annually. It’s here, in dealing with inauthentic goods, that we run into a bit of a blindspot. We know that we bought a jacket. We know where we purchased it (Amazon), how it got to us (DHL), and its country of origin (China). But it’s what we don’t know that’s far more interesting. Have you ever given thought to where the buttons originated? What about the dyes? The thread? Consider the number of miles, collectively, each material traveled, the number of borders crossed before a manufacturing facility turned it into a jacket, and shipped it to your door. The global supply chain is an impossible tangle of logistical hurdles somehow made possible. With complexity comes opportunity, and unscrupulous actors are taking these opportunities to sneak illicit goods into a legitimate supply. What Can We Do About It? In such a complex network, you’d assume paper would...

Over 25,000 truck drivers have so far registered in the RECDTS system since the exercise was launched two weeks ago. lans are underway to embed the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in tackling Covid19 pandemic campaigns to the East Africa Community Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver’s Tracking System (RECDTS) app as the implementing team seek to reach a regional audience. RWANDAIR The Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA) recently started a publicity campaign to promote the use of the SOPs, which will guide the industry in coping with Covid19 as the logistics industry seeks to spring back in a ‘ new normal’ environment. Last week, FEAFFA conducted a training for the South Sudan stakeholders mainly from Nimule-Elegu border. The meeting was also attended by the representatives from Trademark East Africa (TMA), which is supporting the implementation of the project in the region. “We plan to embed COVID19 SOP materials on the RECDTS app. The SOP messages will be tailored to create awareness among the drivers through the app,” FEAFFA president Mr. Fred Seka said, adding that there are plans to work with health officials and other relevant officers at all other border entry-exit points to sensitize the industry on the new SOPs. Another engagement meeting especially with system developers is scheduled in a week’s time before the materials are finally embedded on the app, added Seka. Over 25,000 truck drivers have so far registered in the RECDTS system since the exercise was launched two weeks ago. An average of...

Summary Kigali caught up in a row between Kampala and Dar es Salaam over road user fees charged on truckers transversing through Tanzania. Kampala threatens to retaliate against “unfair” charges imposed on its transporters that are higher than those applicable to Rwandan shippers. Escalation of the dispute could hit over $171 million worth of trade between the two neighbours, and inflict damage on the regional integration process. Uganda and Tanzania are locked in a dispute over road user fees for trucks headed to the Dar es Salaam port, with Kampala threatening to retaliate against “unfair” charges imposed on its transporters that are higher than those applicable to Rwandan shippers. Kampala has filed a complaint with the EAC Council of Ministers, accusing Tanzania of breaching the Common Market Protocol by imposing different road user charges to partner states in the same trading bloc. Escalation of the dispute could hit over $171 million worth of trade between the two East African neighbours, and inflict more damage on the fragile regional integration process. At the centre of the dispute is a $500 fee that the Tanzanian government charges Ugandan trucks traversing its territory, compared with $152 charged on Rwandan trucks. The fee is collected to repair and maintain Tanzania's road infrastructure, which keeps the landlocked neighbours connected to the Indian Ocean sea ports. Uganda argues that this fee is unfairly high, creates an uneven playing field, and goes against the efforts of promoting EAC as a single investment destination. "It doesn't create a...