The newly launched service will be implemented in partnership with the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFFA) and the Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Association (FEAFFA). The solution, which has been rolled out since November 2019 with a major global shipping line looks to expand to cover all carriers using the port of Dar es Salaam. Firm’s managing director, John Mathenge said: “We provide a business-friendly alternative to container deposit which is accessible to customs agents, freight forwarders and shippers”. The solution, according to Mathenge entails the issuance of guarantee by Viaservice upon payment of a service fee to authorized customs agents, freight forwarders and shippers, waiving the need for container deposit. He said company has explored a sustainable solution that addresses the concerns of both, carriers and container users. He said the service is heralded as a sustainable solution that protects the interest of all stakeholders. “You no longer need to put up hefty cash deposits to secure release of local or transit containers. Yet the shipping lines are guaranteed of prompt settlement of all dues related to delay in return, damage, and total loss of containers”, he said, adding Viaservice will in turn recover advances made to shipping line from subscribers. Elisha Tengeni, Viaservice Commercial Manager said: “We are confident that the solution will sustainably improve users’ cash flow, boost their competitiveness, improve their relationship with shipping lines, and enhance their respective administrative and operational efficiencies”. He said during this time when the transport logistics industry is impacted...

Kenya’s vegetable and flower exports have recovered to about 80 percent of the volumes before the COVID-19 outbreak, an apex industry organization, Fresh Produce of Kenya, confirmed on Thursday. Okisegere Ojepat, chief executive officer of the organization, said that initial panic resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak in March that disrupted exports had corrected itself gradually. “Our vegetable export has recovered up to 89 percent of volumes exported before the pandemic hit Kenya while flower export has recovered to 80 percent. In March, when the panic set in, our exports dropped from 100 percent to 30 percent,” said Ojepat during a webinar organized by Strathmore University in Nairobi. “What we are lacking now are enough supplies. This is because many farmers were disrupted leading to stoppage of production,” he said. Ojepat said cargo movement to Middle East, Europe and the United States from Nairobi has enabled Kenyan farmers to resume exports, and the market is becoming bigger. Horticulture is Kenya’s third foreign exchange earner after remittances and tea exports. Source: CTGN

Kampala, Uganda: The UK Government announces its support to the Government of Uganda’s efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 disease and to respond to the impacts of SARS-COV-2 coronavirus. We are supporting Government of Uganda (GoU) at both national and district levels.  We have provided £500,000 to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to strengthen testing, surveillance and contact tracing, as well as screening at Uganda’s borders. With a contribution of £167,000 to the World Food Programme we have established a temporary screening facility for international arrivals at Entebbe Airport.  Our health programmes continue their work to protect health workers and essential health services. The UK recognises the importance of maintaining safe trade routes between Uganda and her neighbours.  Through Trade Mark East Africa, we support the ongoing expansion of a regional electronic cargo tracking system and are working to help protect drivers and communities at points of entry and along transit routes.  We continue to support the GoU to protect elderly people and refugees; as well as in maintaining learning while schools are closed. The Head of Office of the UK’s International Development arm in Uganda, Andrew Ockenden said: “Our contribution will help cater for the most immediate public health needs in Uganda to help counter the spread of the virus. The UK has already been a strong and constant international partner throughout the Ebola response and is key player in the fight against malaria. We remain committed to the Ugandan people and are proud to now be able...

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an impact on the East African Community (EAC) economies both directly and indirectly as a result of the measures being taken currently to contain the spread of the disease. Realizing that the spread of COVID-19 was mainly through travel, several measures were imposed. These include closing of airports and borders, curfews, social distancing necessitating the need to stay at home, reduction on movement and lock-downs. The closure of businesses has led to a near-collapse of the air travel industry, tourism and hospitality, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, industry and manufacturing, trade and distribution, cargo and passenger transport and logistics as well as the banking and other financial services sectors. The net result is unemployment, food insecurity and economic slow-down with a risk of total collapse if the situation is not arrested. Initial projections indicate that as a result of the pandemic, economic growth in East Africa as well as other sub-Saharan African countries will decline from 2.4 percent in 2019 to between -2.1 to -5.1% in 2020 (World Bank predictions), depending on the success of measures taken to mitigate the pandemic’s effects. It is estimated that the Pandemic is costing the region between US$37 billion and US$79 billion in terms of output losses. The biggest impacts in terms of loss to GDP are reductions in household and business spending (about 50 per cent), disruption to supply chain for key inputs in machinery and chemicals (about 30 per cent), and tourism (about 20 per cent). The result...

Poultry farmers are bitter that the Uganda Revenue Authority is charging VAT, withholding tax and railway levy on chicken exports to Uganda. They want the government to intervene. They argue that Ugandan poultry farmers have free access to the Kenya market. The poultry farmers are right. They should equally enjoy duty-free access to the Ugandan market as members of the common market created by the East African Community. The only problem is that Kenya sometimes behaves just like Uganda. In December Kenya slapped VAT on imports of Ugandan milk that was undercutting Kenyan dairy farmers. In a common market, sometimes your produce will be more competitive and sometimes less competitive. Kenyan chicken is cheaper than Ugandan chicken, Ugandan milk is cheaper than Kenyan. You cannot always win. East African member states need to set the same rates of VAT across the community and, where possible, align other taxes like corporation tax and CGT so that we move closer to a fully integrated market. And similarly, member states should allow the free movement of all goods, as promised by the EAC, including Kenyan poultry and Ugandan milk. Quote of the day: "I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them." Source: The Star

THE recent 25 per cent duty introduced on imported glass by Kenya contravenes the provisions of the Treaty and the Customs Union Protocol of East African Community, Tanzanian glass manufacturer has claimed. The Kenyan government introduced the duty on im- ported glasses through the Business Law (Amendment) Act, 2 02 0, citing it was away for the government protecting the local industry. In a statement issued yes- terday in Dar es Salaam, the local glass container manufacturer, KIOO Limited expressed its concern over 2 5 percent exercise duty introduced by the East African nation, saying it was unfriendly for regional business growth. In its statement availed to this paper yesterday, Kioo Limited which is a proud Tanzanian manufacturing success story, said they are addressing this issue with the relevant ministries in Tanzania and also approaching the East African Court Justice to intervene in this matter urgently. Kenya recently enacted the Business Laws (Amend- ment) Act, 2 02 0 which amended the Excise Duty Act, 2 015 (Excise duty Act) by imposing excise duty on imported glass bottles (excluding glass bottles for packaging pharmaceutical products) at a rate of 2 5 per cent with effect from 18 th March 2020. Under the Excise Duty Act, there are no exemptions granted to goods imported into Kenya from East African Community Partner States and the new excise duty rate of 2 5 per cent will therefore apply to glass bottles import- ed in to Kenya from Tanzania. In its statement, Kioo Limited said...

Kampala has faulted Nairobi’s decision to move clearance of all transit cargo from Mombasa to Naivasha despite an array of incentives that include 30-day free storage period. Ugandan minister of Works and Transport Katumba Wamala, in a letter to his Kenyan counterpart last Friday, protested Kenya’s move and wants use of Naivasha inland container depot (ICD) to be optional. “The option of using Naivasha ICD for transit cargo would not reduce human traffic movement as truck drivers will still be required to pick the containers from Naivasha to their destinations,” said Gen Wamala in the letter, which he said followed consultations with Uganda’s private sector. “It’s our considered opinion that the use of Naivasha ICD, which is part of our long-term regional infrastructure development, should remain optional.” On Wednesday, however, Transport secretary James Macharia told the Business Daily that Kenya’s position was as a result of a decision reached during the May 12 virtual East African Community Heads of State Summit on measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.  The meeting was attended by Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Paul Kagame (Rwanda and current bloc’s chair). Kenya moved the first consignment — a 200 20-foot equivalent units of cargo by Bolloré Transport and Logistics — direct from Mombasa to the standard gauge railway station at Suswa near Naivasha on May 7.  The Kenya Revenue Authority has since gazetted Naivasha ICD as a customs station, and announced on Tuesday it had started clearing transit cargo at the new...

The closure of the border between Tanzania and Kenya hit Dar’s horticulture sector due to long delays at the crossing for fresh produce truckers, risking a disruption of the supply chain. Horticulture is one of Tanzania’s economic pillars. This past week, Tanzania Horticulture Association (Taha) Chief Executive Jacqueline Mkindi asked the governments of Tanzania and Kenya to resolve the border issue for the sake of the already struggling exports industry. Most of Tanzania’s horticulture produce is exported through Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). “If this tug of war continues, we’ll be the first to suffer as we still rely on JKIA and the port in Mombasa to export crops whose routes are not open from Tanzania,” Dr Mkindi said. “Our government has all along been considerate to horticulture. We advise it to embark on economic negotiations with Kenya to allow cargo to continue crossing borders smoothly.” CO-OPERATION “We’re ready to co-operate with the governments to ensure operations go smoothly at border points in the wake of the pandemic,” she added. After the halt of international aviation, the Taha signed a deal with Ethiopian Airlines. Despite the deal with Ethiopian Airlines to ferry fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers to global markets from Kilimanjaro International Airport, the airline has still not been granted long-term landing permits. “Unless the government resolves the hiccups, the future of the deal with the Ethiopian Airlines is hanging in the balance,” said Dr Mkindi, as she asked the government to consider issuing between three to...

Operations at Malaba Border Post will soon normalize following the intervention by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP), Noor Gabow and his security team. A spot check by KNA established that truck drivers along Bungoma-Malaba road who withdrew services five days ago, citing harassment by Ugandan authorities are currently working on some of the deflated vehicle tyres ready to proceed to Uganda. Earlier, the drivers snubbed a plea to resume operations as the government addressed their grievances about harassment, stigmatization and inhumane treatment by Ugandan authorities. They rejected an agreement reached on Monday between two Principal Secretaries and their representatives to end the five-day stalemate and instead demanded to be addressed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni. The Transport Principal Secretary, Solomon Kitungu and his East African Community (EAC) counterpart, Dr. Kevit Desai had urged them to proceed with their journey to Kampala after their grievances were partially addressed. Speaking to the press after holding lengthy deliberations with officials of the drivers association, Kitungu said that most of the issues raised by the drivers had been resolved. ‘‘We came here to try and talk to the drivers and understand what issues they were facing and we have actually gone through them,” he said adding that some of the issues had been resolved. Kitungu explained that the two governments had agreed that a Covid-19 certificate from either side should be recognized so that drivers are not subjected to testing twice. He at the same time advised...

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Commission (AUC) launched the second Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII 2019). The Index includes a call to action to African economies to deepen their integration. The Africa Regional Integration Index 2019, which builds on the first edition published in 2016, provides up-to-date data on the status and progress of regional integration in Africa. It also helps to assess the level of integration for every Regional Economic Community (REC) and their member countries. The report observed that although 20 countries score above average, no African country can be considered well integrated into its region. Even the most integrated country, South Africa, scores 0.625 out of 1, less than two-thirds of its potential on the scale. The report found that much more needs to be done to integrate regional economies to make them more resilient to shocks such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the Index shows that levels of integration on the continent are relatively low with an average score of 0.327 out of 1. “Whereas the Index edition we are releasing today has data cut off points in 2019, the present COVID-19 pandemic has reopened the question of whether enough is being done in advancing regional integration as a means to help Africa withstand systematic shocks such as the one being experienced today,” said Stephen Karingi, Regional Integration Division Director at the ECA. “This index is both a measurement exercise and a call to action;...