Uganda is clamping down on informal cross border trade with Tanzania and the unregulated movement of people between the countries, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, in a region where cases of infection have increased. People living in the Rakai District of Uganda and Missenyi in Tanzania tend to ignore border regulations because they live as one community, with families having relatives on both sides. Cross border trade and travel is centred on the town of Mutukula, but people also use unregulated roads, which makes the movement of goods and people between both countries hard to monitor. Some 20 people have recently tested positive for Covid-19 in the region on the Uganda side, after returning from Tanzania. Now, in order to ensure trade continues, while limiting new cases of infection, the authorities in Uganda's Rakai district have banned cross border travel, unless it is for business. The clamp down is being enforced by the Ugandan army, with soldiers ensuring residents in the region comply with the directive. It could raise tensions between the two East African nations and it is not clear how Tanzania will respond. This week it banned flights from Kenya, after the government in Nairobi deemed measures taken by its neighbour to cope with the pandemic were insufficient. Read the original article Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of TradeMark Africa.

COMESA, SADC, and the EAC have adopted common transport and trade guidelines to use during the pandemic. The tripartite guidelines will facilitate the safe movement of goods and services and contain the pandemic within the three trading blocs. It is also an opportunity towards the achievement of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) signed in 2015. According to the trade guidelines, member countries will now treat truck drivers who test positive for COVID-19 in the partner country as opposed to repatriating the crew to the country of origin. Speaking during the harmonization of the trade protocols, COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Task Force Chairperson Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax noted that mobility restrictions during the pandemic have resulted in shortages of goods, thus higher cost of doing business. Similarly, cross border restrictions have led to the stigmatization of truck drivers which threatens efforts to contain the virus. Dr tax, therefore, called for harmonized guidelines for the movement of goods and people, to tackle these challenges, and others to stimulate traffic in the region. Drivers are to use gazetted transit routes along the transport corridor and interconnecting roads. Governments in the region will also designate specific points in the route to allow drivers to recuperate, without risking contact with local communities. The tripartite trade guidelines urge member states to introduce and enhance the pre-clearance of goods and adapt common surveillance systems for both drivers and trucks. Leaders in the regional blocs have also called shipping lines to waive charges on container delays and costs for handling essential goods during...

The launch of the digital Covid-19 certificates by East African Community (EAC) is set for Friday in a move that will curb the use of fake certificates and help in easing of congestion at the crossing points. EAC says the system will be launched at border points of Malaba, Rusumo, and Kobero today (Friday), while at Mutukula crossing point and Namanga it will be effected on August 14 and 21 respectively. Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking system will ease the movement of goods at the border points as it will allow sharing of Covid-19 test results of truck drivers electronically, eliminating the need for physical checks, which has been blamed for causing delays in clearance. The reliance of hard-to-verify manual certificates has been blamed for costly long delays at border points, that sometimes last for weeks. “Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracing System will be launched at border points of Malaba, Rusumo, Kobero, Mutukula and Namanga… this August,” said EAC. The Ministry of Health had in June said the roll-out of the electronic certificate will be implemented once the member states put in place a technology that will link all the laboratories and ensure a seamless operation. The precautionary measures laid down by the ministry are meant to stop the spread of Covid-19 along transport corridors after Busia County emerged as the virus hotspot. The move follows claims that truck drivers useg fake certificates to cross to neighbouring countries and into Kenya. It is also designed to ensure that truck...

Nairobi's informal settlements of Mathare and Kibera are set to benefit from an initiative dubbed Pamoja Dhidi ya Corona. The initiative was launched by Search For Common Ground with the support of the European Union to help marginalised communities in Kenya fight Covid-19 pandemic. At a cost of Sh66.25 million, the 15-month initiative will help the communities to fully implement government’s Covid-19 response measures by providing accurate information. By doing this, it will allow these communities to protect themselves from the virus. “This initiative is essentially about strengthening the connections between Kenyan citizens in marginalised communities and the rest of society, as well as the government, and about preserving and strengthening the social contract during the pandemic,” EU Ambassador to Kenya Simon Mordue said. He spoke at the launch on Thursday at Park Inn Hotel in Nairobi. The initiative is part of a global Team Europe – the EU and the member states - response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ambassador Mordue noted that Team Europe is providing close to Sh40 billion in support to Kenya during the pandemic through a range of measures, and EU’s solidarity will continue beyond the immediate health crisis. Pamoja Dhidi ya Corona comes at a time when the number of infections in Kenya has crossed the 19,000 mark with close to 300,000 tests done.. As of July 30, when Kenya recorded 788 new cases, the country had confirmed 19,913 infections. The new positives were from 5,521 samples. Search For Common Ground’s Swahili Coast director Judy...

Summary The technology has the capacity to monitor and model human congestion, thereby mapping how the virus is spreading. It is not clear what the starting date would be now but Commissioner Muchanga indicated that his Department was entering into many partnerships with multiple Pan-African stakeholders to ensure that the free trade bloc gets going as early as possible. Contact monitoring can be used in tracking social behavior mobility and the movement of persons from one region to another. But in implementing such a program, organisations involved must protect the data privacy of the persons being monitored. As African airlines get back to international skies this month for the first time since March, their commitment towards minimizing the possibility of an upsurge in Covid-19 infections will be critical in jump starting the air travel business. To help manage the uncertainty among passengers about the health safety of international flights, the African Union (AU) Open Corridor Initiative is supporting a collaboration among pan-African private sector institutions to launch a Consortium to deploy and manage a digital platform that will perform bio-screening and tracing of contacts across borders. Dubbed PanaBIOS, the application, which can be accessed on the web or downloaded from Panabios.org, is already being utilized in Ghana to manage congestion in workplaces and other high-risk locations while enabling digitizing of cross—border travel health clearance to suppress disease importation and transmission. A pilot was initiated on June 1 in Ghana as part of the West African country's Trancop Initiative and then formally...

Summary: Bio Born in Dominica, she is the sixth Commonwealth Secretary-General and second SG from the Caribbean and first woman to hold the post. Grew up in East London and was first black woman to be appointed a Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 1991. At 35, she was also the youngest woman ever to be made QC; First black woman to be appointed Deputy High Court Judge, Recorder and Master of Middle Temple; Joined House of Lords in 1997 as Baroness Scotland of Asthal. Appointed AG in 2007 as first woman to hold the post since 1315. The Commonwealth Secretary General spoke with Luke Anami via e-mail on the association’s role in handling the current and post-Covid-19 situation What is the Commonwealth’s reaction to the unprecedented combination of crises of Covid-19, climate change, global economic recession, food insecurity and natural disasters? We brought together our 54 countries to share knowledge, best practice and real solutions to the pandemic, through ministerial meetings and joint statements on Covid-19. Also, on a much more granular practical level through programmes like our Coronavirus Response Centre and Tracker and our price-sharing database for the procurement of medical supplies. We have also been working on a new online Disaster Risk Finance Portal which, when launched, will help countries access the funds they need when they are hit by these events. Our existing Meridian Debt Management software helps members manage finances better. African economies have been hit hard by the pandemic. What is the biggest challenge to rebuilding...

Nairobi and Kigali are set to resume international flights on 1 August, as the region begins reopening its skies in time for the end-year tourism peak season. The decision by Kenya and Rwanda to reopen their skies amidst a surge in COVID-19 cases follows similar decisions in Tanzania and South Sudan in June. Domestic flights in Kenya resumed on 15 July, a fortnight after President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the phased reopening and said the country would adopt a wait-and-see approach to any changes in the preventative measures it has instituted since March. In late July, Kenyan Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia listed 11 countries that will be allowed to originate internationally, but added this list would be reviewed daily. Of its five neighbors, Nairobi would allow flights from Uganda and Ethiopia, as well as its East African Community partner Rwanda. The exclusion of Tanzania from the list was expected, as the extent and rate of infections in the country is unknown. Tanzania stopped announcing official figures of the pandemic in April, and while reopening the country in early June, President Magufuli declared that it was coronavirus-free. Although the list also includes Uganda, President Museveni’s administration still has stringent movement restrictions. In his latest update, President Museveni said Uganda’s borders will remain closed “because there is so much chaos in some of these countries abroad.” Ethiopia’s response has been more measured, as its airline continued flying to destinations that still allowed flights. By early July, Ethiopian Airlines was flying to 40 destinations. Different arrival procedures While international...

NAIROBI, KENYA: The East African Business Council (EABC) is rooting for a regional coordinated approach on the resumption of air services to spur intra-EAC trade and revive the tourism and hospitality sector heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The East African Business Council on Friday hailed Kenya and Rwanda as they resumed international flights on Saturday. Tanzania resumed international flights in May.  EABC said the steps are important towards the recovery of the aviation and tourism sectors, however, the differences emerging in regional air transport services among some partner states are set to adversely affect the rebound of business in the region. Intra EAC trade stood at over Sh500billion in 2018 (EAC Trade and Investment Report). With the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, regional trade is expected to decline by 50 percent this year. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the EAC Partner States will potentially lose upwards of US$5.4 billion of tourist local spending for the year 2020 under scenarios of protracted closures and restrictions of seaports and airports. The impact of COVID-19 has led to a decline in the number of air passengers hence approximately US$0.54 billion revenue loss was projected in Kenya risking 137,965 jobs while US$20.4 million base revenues loss, risking 3,000 jobs was projected in Rwanda. The re-opening of regional air transport services will integrate the regional logistics value chains for increased exports of fresh produce, regional tourism, and enable service providers to tap into the larger EAC market. This...

SUMMARY The resumption of passenger flights signals a reduction on cost of freight charges resulting from additional capacity offering a relief to exporters who have had to content with high rates in the last four months. Passenger airlines, which had been grounded since March, account for 40 percent of the total export freight in the country. Freight charges have remained at a high of Sh321 a kilogramme from Sh197 in the same period in corresponding time last year. The resumption of passenger flights signals a reduction on cost of freight charges resulting from additional capacity offering a relief to exporters who have had to content with high rates in the last four months. Passenger airlines, which had been grounded since March, account for 40 percent of the total export freight in the country. Freight charges have remained at a high of Sh321 a kilogramme from Sh197 in the same period in corresponding time last year. Sanjeev Gadhia, the chief executive officer of Astral Aviation, a Nairobi-based cargo airline forecast a 20 percent cost cut. “Passenger airlines carry up to 40 percent of the total cargo in the country. The increased capacity will see the freight charges come down,” said Mr Gadhia. Exporters say the belly cargo that has been missing since the closure of the airspace in March, plays a significant role in supplementing the cargo flights, hence checking on the high cost. Kenya horticulture industry suffered one of the worst moments in its history after a number of major...

The First Berth at Lamu Port was completed last year together with a container yard with a holding capacity of over 21,000 TEUs. he government’s lock-down of the ongoing construction sites at Lamu port when the country recorded the first cases of Covid 19 has paid off after the contractor completed 2 more berths recently – five month earlier. This now brings the total number of completed berths to 3. The Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) authority Director General Silvester Kasuku told a TV talk show this week that the authorities did not allow anyone to leave the site or gain its entry. Anyone who left for whatever reason was not accommodated back, he said. But the date of commissioning is still unknown, Kasuku said. “The first berth has been ready since last year, but the itineraries of the three Head of States involved in the project did not coincide, causing the delay in its commissioning,” Mr Kasuku was recently quoted by the press in Kenya. The First Berth at Lamu Port was completed last year together with a container yard with a holding capacity of over 21,000 TEUs. The berth was due for commissioning last year with Maersk Shipping Line having committed to call in the first vessel. This was, however, postponed and the situation has even been made complex by the Covid 19 pandemic. The other supporting infrastructure projects such as the causeway, aids to navigation, security requirements including fencing of the yard and International Ship...