In Summary On Friday, Kenya added 7 more countries to its list of countries whose passengers will be allowed into the country when international flights resume on August 1. Flights from the United States of America (except for California, Florida and Texas; United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Italy will now be allowed into the country. Apart from China and Zimbabwe, other countries allowed to operate flights to Kenya are South Korea, Japan, Canada, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia, and Morocco. Kenya and Tanzania have been urged to consider an East African Community (EAC) coordinated approach after the two countries clashed over the ‘safe flights’ list. The East African Business Council (EABC) said the two nations should prioritize decisions that promote intra-EAC trade and revive the tourism and hospitality sector heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The East African Business Council congratulates Kenya and Rwanda as they resume international flights today, 1st August 2020. Tanzania resumed international flights on the 18th of May 2020. These are important steps 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,” Dr. Peter Mathuki, the EABC Executive Director /Chief Executive Officer said. According to him, intra EAC trade stood at $5.98 billion (Ksh. 644billion) two years ago but with the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, regional trade is expected to decline by 50 percent this...

The Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on 29th July, 2020 adopted harmonised Tripartite Guidelines on Trade and Transport Facilitation Guidelines for Safe, Efficient and Cost-Effective Movement of Goods and Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Guidelines are aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19 whilst facilitating trade and transport of goods and services across the Tripartite area during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his remarks at the opening of the Tripartite Council of Ministers meeting, Honourable Mr Tarek Shalaby, Assistant Minister for Foreign Trade, Agreements and International Relations of the Arab Republic of Egypt, representing the Chairperson of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Council of Ministers said the harmonisation of guidelines on Trade and Transport Facilitation presents an opportunity towards the realisation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) which was signed by the Tripartite Heads of State and Government in June, 2015. The Minister called for collective action to guarantee movement of goods and services to promote intra-regional trade, while reducing the cost of goods and services within the tripartite area. He added that the attainment of tripartite and continental integration can only be realised with the harmonisation of regional initiatives and overcoming the challenges of overlaps and multiple membership of COMESA, EAC and SADC. On her part, the Chairperson of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Task Force, the Executive Secretary of SADC, Her Excellency Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, highlighted that the overlapping nature of membership and sharing of traffic...

The African shipping and maritime sectors have largely remained undeveloped compared to the rest of the world, despite hosting mineral rich-countries that the industrialized world depends on to run its industries. The primary reason that Africa has been in  the spotlight in matters of shipping is due to piracy historically reported on the Somalian and West African coastlines. But with a rapidly increasing population and a growing consumer class, the demand for imported goods will soar in African nations, requiring improvements in containerized cargo to allow efficiency in supply chains and reduction in import costs. Africa has 16 landlocked countries, which are home to 30 percent of the continent’s 1.3 billion people. All of these landlocked nations are net importers and thus dependent on their neighbors’ access to the sea. This is the backdrop for Africa’s growing trade relationship with China, as well as China’s dominance in projects to enhance Africa’s port infrastructure. Mombasa Port, which is Eastern and Central Africa’s regional hub, has registered significant progress in modernization and competitiveness. The $3 billion Kenya Ports Authority investment program envisages that Mombasa Port will have an annual capacity to handle 110 million tonnes of cargo by 2040. In 2018, a Chinese contractor embarked on extending the new SGR (Standard Gauge Railway) railway to cover 10 berths at Mombasa Port, and a cargo train is already ferrying goods to an inland container depot in Nairobi. Additionally, after completion of a second container terminal with a capacity of 550,000 TEU, construction of...

Thando Mnkandhla Windhoek – The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) is integrating electronic surveillance systems that will not only movement of haulage trucks, but will also track drivers’ health and safety. The integrated surveillance system is part of a package of Guidelines for Safe, Efficient and Cost Effective Movement of Goods and Services during the COVID -19 pandemic as adopted by the Tripartite Council of Ministers on July 29. The TFTA brings together the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Among other matters the ministers would like harmonised are movement of goods – particularly agricultural inputs, food, fuel, and medicines and medical equipment - between countries subject to health and safety regulations. On “Application of Customs Laws and Interpretation”, customs administrations were urged to waive fees, storage and handling charges, and warehouse rent on essential goods during the COVID-19 pandemic. The harmonised regulations establish standard operating procedures for management and monitoring of cross border road transport at designated points of entry and COVID-19 checkpoints, with the objective of facilitating safe movements of passengers and goods. The standard operating procedures cover testing, quarantining, truck stops, catering and sanitation. Representing the Chairperson of the Tripartite Council of Ministers, Egypt’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Trade, Agreements and International Relations, Tarek Shalaby, said the guidelines on trade and transport facilitation presented an opportunity for full implementation of free trade as envisaged when Heads of State and Government signed up for the TFTA...

THE Tripartite Task Force of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East Africa Community and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is in the process of developing a common guideline that would ease cross border movement of goods, services and their people. The guidelines are to be used during and beyond Covid-19 crisis, to address any future health emergencies that might arise for transportation and trade facilitation. In the course, the Regional Economic Communities (REC) has developed an integrated electronic monitoring and surveillance system in a grand move to facilitate the effectiveness of the tripartite guidelines on facilitation of cross-border movement of goods and transport. These were unveiled by the Chairperson of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Task Force, Dr Stergomena Tax, who is also SADC Executive Secretary, while gracing the extraordinary virtual meeting of the tripartite council of ministers. According to her, it was encouraging to note that the RECs guidelines have contributed to improving trade and transport facilitation, and that the need to have harmonised guidelines at the tripartite level, while taking into accounts the importance of tripartite crossborder movement of goods, services and persons to facilitate trade and other socio-economic activities. "With the overlap of RECs membership and the sharing of traffic between and among RECs, the need for harmonised tripartite trade and transport facilitation guidelines for the movement of persons, goods and services across the tripartite region during the Covid-19 pandemic has become more apparent and urgent," she said. Expounding, she said the guidelines are...

The government is in the process of automating the Seed Certification and Plant Variety Protection System in the country. The existing manual registration and licensing processes have been associated with delays, documentation errors and inefficiencies including with security, scheduling and processing time thus government potentially wanting to harness technological solutions The seed certification process is a clear way of assuring seed quality hence ensuring that the farming community receives seeds that is viable resulting in value for money. Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) Ag. MD Simeon Kibet says Kenya has been operating on manual inspections since the inception of KEPHIS in 1997 but for the last two years started developing the system which is now at piloting stage. He explained that that the process has been automated in the developed world while in Africa, two countries namely  South Africa and Zambia have automated their seed certification processes. “The Kenya Seed Company (KSC) in Kitale and Bubayi Limited are running the pilot programme with  KSC specializing  in all kinds of seed crops while Bubayi focuses on beans and the  automation is  based on lessons learned from  the two African countries.”, he said Kibet noted that the  process of seed certification is divided into three parts, variety description which results in development of the variety descriptors, Field inspections which ascertains the trueness to type of the crop variety and also Seed testing which assures the seed purity and germination which the seed must meet for it to be sold to farmers....

Nairobi – IOM, the International Organization for Migration, is providing COVID-19 testing to thousands of truck drivers on Kenya’s borders. It’s part of a regional and national effort to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic and reopen trade across the East and Horn of Africa. Over 4,500 truck drivers and crews are being tested for the infection in Malaba and Busia on Kenya’s border with Uganda, where border closures had them waiting for weeks to get moving again. It’s also part of a global effort by IOM. The COVID-19 pandemic control measures put in place around the world are having an unprecedented impact on human mobility. More than 52,000 extraordinary restrictions to mobility have been put into effect by governments and authorities worldwide, while millions of internal migrants have lost their livelihoods in cities where they had been working and now are returning to their places of origin. At the same time—across 10 countries in the East and Horn of Africa—tens of thousands of truck drivers have been unable to transport lifesaving and essential goods, including food, water, medicine, medical equipment and supplies—the very items required to meet the needs of vulnerable communities such as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Since the pandemic, governments in the region have struggled to test truck drivers and reduce the spread of the disease, mainly due to inadequate testing capacity. As of 15 July, more than 2,000 truck drivers in the East and Horn of Africa have tested positive for the disease. “The border points have...

Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat (C) announces the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement during the launching ceremony in Niamey, capital of Niger, on July 7, 2019. (Xinhua) The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could catalyze development and growth of Africa, and help the continent recover from the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. by Xinhua Writers Ding Lei, Bedah Mengo NAIROBI, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could catalyze development and growth of Africa, and help the continent recover from the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Economists believe AfCFTA is an opportunity to plot, organize, strategize and mobilize African economies for growth that has suffered a major blow due to the pandemic. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Africa's growth this year will drop from an initial estimate of 3.2 percent to between -2.8 percent and about zero percent due to COVID-19, a dire situation that could throw an extra 20 million people into poverty in a continent where almost 300 million cannot afford one meal a day. AfCFTA OFFERS SILVER LINING IN CRISIS The start of trading under AfCFTA, slated to begin on July 1, was postponed due to the pandemic. While some believe the scheme has suffered a setback, there is a silver lining in the crisis for Africa. In a virtual panel held earlier this month to mark...

Summary The Trump administration has said it envisions a potential agreement with Kenya as a model that could lead to similar deals with other African countries. The reports came amid reports that top government officials had been infected with the virus. Dr Matiang’i, on his part, criticised those manufacturing information to humiliate those in public service by claiming they had the virus. Talks on a Kenya-US trade deal have been put on hold due to concerns that members of Kenya’s negotiating team were exposed to the coronavirus, a US-based news organisation said on Wednesday. The Politico, a reputable web publication, attributed its report to “three people close to the talks”. An unspecified number of Kenyan negotiators were tested on Tuesday after being exposed to the virus at an office in Nairobi where technical teams had gathered, Politico said. Test results are expected in the coming days, the news site added. It said the bilateral trade talks are primed to resume “as soon as possible.” “The potential spread among the team would be more disruptive than taking this precaution,” Politico reported a Kenyan source close to the talks as having said. Trade Agreement The Trump administration has said it envisions a potential agreement with Kenya as a model that could lead to similar deals with other African countries. Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina has said striking the bilateral trade agreement is crucial in the bid to “secure trade and investment relations” ahead of the lapse of the African Growth and Opportunity...

GENEVA (Reuters) - Global trade has been hit by new and accumulated import restrictions just as economies need to rebuild in the COVID-19 crisis, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said in a mid-year report issued on Friday. But some export constraints imposed on surgical masks, medicines and medical equipment early in the pandemic are being rolled back, it said. “Although the full impact of the pandemic is not yet reflected fully in trade statistics, it is expected to be very substantial”, WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo said in presenting the report to its 164 member states. The WTO said last month that estimates for the second quarter of 2020 indicated a year-on-year drop in world trade of about 18%. Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Potter Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.