Mr Wamkele Mene was recently appointed Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat. The effects of Covid-19 have halted free trade in member countries. In this interview with Africa Renewal’s Kingsley Ighobor, Mr Mene explains the way forward, and how increased intra-African trade can help lift post-Covid-19 economies. These are the excerpts: Describe the impact of Covid-19 on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) so far? The African economy was set to grow at about 3.4 per cent in 2019 and projected to increase to 3.9 per cent in 2020, but Cocid-19 has had a very negative impact. We know that over 53 per cent of Africa’s exports go to countries, particularly Europe, that are themselves suffering from the pandemic. That has had a subdued effect on our export markets. Our services sector is set to fall by between 20 per cent and 30 percent, particularly travel and hospitality. We must find ways to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, but the primary focus for now is to save lives. Given the current situation, any idea when free trading can begin? We have recommended to the African Union Assembly of Heads of State, which is the body with the authority to delay the trading date, that given the current public health crisis and the need for some technical work to be concluded, we cannot meaningfully trade [under AfCFTA] on July 1. Does this mean free trading will not begin until the pandemic is defeated? We are exploring...

Continuity East Africa (CEA) will invest more than Sh500 million in the next three years to expand its facilities in the region. This comes as the uptake of business continuity services grow fuelled by what it called favourable business operating environment. CEA, which is a joint venture of Internet Solutions Kenya & ContinuitySA, invested Sh150 million in the phase one of the projects that have seen the expansion of sitting capacity from 110 to 260 seats at United States International University-Africa complex. Speaking while commissioning the new recovery site, Internet Solutions managing director Richard Hechle said the new facility fits into businesses workplace decongestion plans in the wake of the coronavirus. “Covid-19 has definitely changed the way organisations conduct their daily operations, engage with employees, partners and conduct business. We are helping existing clients carry out providing critical business functions whilst meeting social distancing requirements,” said Mr Hechle. The second phase of the project will see the facility’s sitting capacity expanded to at least 800 seats in Nairobi. Similar setups will be put up in Kampala and Dar es Salam within the next three years. Source: Business Daily

RWANDA – Following a successful auction of Rwandan coffee on China’s e-commerce platform, organized by the Alibaba group, Rwanda is set to as well auction Chilli on the electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP). Rwanda and the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in 2018 signed an agreement that opened doors for small businesses in Africa to take part in the cross-border electronic trade by availing their products to the Chinese market through Tmall, a subsidiary online platform of Alibaba. Last week, about 1.5 tonnes of roasted Rwandan coffee beans from Gorilla Coffee brand were sold within a minute during an online live streaming event which had about 20 million fans. This was the second time for such an event to be organised by the Rwandan embassy in China. Earlier this year, in a similar event held in Hangzhou City, up to 2,000 packets of Rwandan coffee was sold in about 10 minutes. Organised by the Alibaba Group, the online events have been aiming to promote Rwandan coffee which is available on the Chinese e-commerce market. In an interview with The New Times, James Kimonyo Rwanda’s Ambassador to China hinted that they are looking at making an event for chilli. “We are looking at so many things to do with Rwanda and we are happy that coffee has become a signature export crop,” he said, adding; “In fact I should have mentioned that at some point we will do another event on Rwanda chili, it is becoming very popular in Tmall.” In the...

Experts have questioned the rationale for the dry port, with the extension of the SGR from Naivasha to Malaba uncertain. Kenya spent Sh150 billion on Phase 2A of the SGR project but is yet to secure funding to extend the railway line to Kisumu, then to Malaba border. In April, Uhuru went to China, hoping to secure $3.6 billion but the Asian giant declined, citing lack of feasibility. It asked Kenya to negotiate with Uganda. The country, however, secured $400 million (Sh40 billion) to rehabilitate the 120-year-old railway line to Uganda. Transport CS Macharia on May 7 said Kenya Railways directed cargo freights from Mombasa to the Naivasha Inland Container Depot for onward transportation to neighbouring countries. Macharia said the move would boost the movement of goods in the region, which has been hard hit by partial lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The number of trucks operating across the borders has decreased. The inaugural freight via the standard gauge railway arrived in Mombasa late last week and was received by Macharia accompanied by top officials from the Kenya Ports Authority and the Kenya Railways Corporation. Most of the cargo is destined to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kenya Railways MD Phillip Mainga said the corporation would have two initial daily trains hauling up to 108 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUS) and a minimum of 70 TEUS. Naivasha ICD can hold two million tonnes annually and is intended to reduce congestion at the Nairobi...

Kenya has recorded a spill-over of eight to 12 vessels every month since February, industry data shows, as cancellation and delays continue to hurt imports and the country's international trade. This is as a result of disruption on the international supply chain occasioned by Covid-19 that has pushed the globe into the worst recession than that of 2009—International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned recently. Most affected cargoes are wheat imports, construction material, farm inputs, and spare parts, a survey by African e-logistics firm–Kobo360 indicate, as the country continues to witness cancellations of an average 40 vessels month-on-month. “We have spill-overs every month with cargo from Europe and Asia being the most affected,” Kobo360 Kenya Country Manager Dennis Kathurima told the Star in an interview. The country is a heavy importer of wheat from Russia, Canada, Ukraine, and Germany. Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) data shows the country has been receiving an average of 31 vessels since the first week of March. Last month, KPA reported a week-on-week vessel arrival variance with a few blank sailings despite overall imports remaining high compared to last year. A blank sailing means a vessel is skipping one port, or that the entire string is canceled. A string is a set of ports served weekly by a carrier. We have not been that much affected. I can say port operations have been steady,” KPA head of corporate affairs Bernard Osero told the Star on the telephone. “Most vessels scheduled to call at the port came, save for a slight slowdown on titanium carrying vessels most which are from China,” he...

The Port of Mombasa recorded a 2.1 per cent decline in container traffic in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. This casts doubts on the goal of attaining a 35.9 million tonnes total throughput and 1.49 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) target in 2020 as stated in the Kenya Ports Authority’s Master Plan. In a report released last week by the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Co-ordination Authority, the Covid-19 pandemic was cited as the reason behind the drop from 110,790 TEUs handled in February 2019 to 108,958 TEUs recorded in February this year. China, which was the first to report Covid-19 cases, is among the top trading partners with Kenya and contributes 29.2 per cent of the full import containers or 9.9 per cent of the total cargo throughput handled in Mombasa as per 2019 port statistics. CANCELLED VESSELS Big container liners from China and several bulk carriers cancelled their normal calls in the first quarter due to the virus. Exports were also curtailed due to restrictions in Europe, USA and other export markets in a bid to stem the spread of the virus. The report titled, Mombasa Port and Northern Corridor Community Charter analysis report on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on port performance and productivity, said that the volume of cargo handled at the Inland Container Depot Nairobi (ICDN) declined from 31,516 TEUs recorded in March 2019 to 26,200 TEUs this year. Source: The East African

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania yesterday reopened its airspace to both scheduled and non-scheduled international flights following its closure last month in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. The decision came a day after President John Magufuli directed Works, Transport and Communication minister Isack Kamwelwe and his Tourism counterpart Hamisi Kigwangalla to allow aircraft to come into the country from outside. “As long as their body tem-peratures don’t point to anything unusual, I will allow them to proceed and view Tanzania’s wildlife without being quarantined,” said Dr Magufuli. In a swift response, Mr Kamwelwe said commercial passenger flights, diplomatic flights, aircraft in emergency and operations related to humanitarian aid, medical and relief would be allowed into Tanzania without any restrictions. “I direct the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority to inform Icao (International Civil Aviation Organisation) about the decision, and ensure that the directive is fully implemented,” he said. Mr Kamwelwe also directed the Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA) and Kilimanjaro Airports Development Company (Kadco) to ensure they were well prepared to handle flights into Tanzania. “I want you to cooperate with the Health ministry in handling all flights, including those carrying tourists,” he said. The minister also directed Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) to prepare to resume flights to countries that have opened their skies or those seeking the national carrier’s services. “The ministry is aware that the reopening of our skies will bring back business opportunities, especially in the tourism and hospitality industries,” noted Mr Kamwelwe. He urged wildlife conservation institutions, tourist...

The Port of Mombasa is facing a double crisis of Covid-19 pandemic effects and disruption caused by lack of cargo tracking seals. The problem of the seals emerged after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) discontinued signing of Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) certificates for eight companies, which arm cargo with tracking devices on behalf of the authority. “Apart from having truck drivers’ menace due to measures set to contain spread of Covid-19, we are also experiencing problems in tagging our cargo due to miscommunication between private tracking companies and KRA,” said Abdalla Khamisi, an importer in Mombasa. “If this is not resolved on time, we are likely to have congestion in different cargo storage facilities which will also add storage charges to us.” In the past two months, eight private seal vendors- Automated Logistics, Borderless Tracking Ltd, I Spy Africa, Navisat Telematics, Oak & Gold Ltd, Rivercross Tracking Ltd, SGS Kenya and Track N Trace Ltd — have been seeking audience with KRA in trying to resolve the matter which has led to the abrupt suspension of their services leaving hundreds of importers who depend on such vendors to arm their cargo stranded. ALAccording to KRA, no cargo is allowed to leave the Port of Mombasa without a tracking gadget to monitor its movement to its destination to avoid dumping and loss of cargo. In the correspondence between KRA and the Electronic Cargo Tracking Systems Providers Association of Kenya (EPAK), cargo monitoring division stopped issuing 2020 ECTS certificates to the...

For the past three years, Ethiopia was the talk of town, with leading institutions terming it one of Africa’s fastest rising economies. Then Covid-19 pandemic happened and the conversation changed. By May 14, Africa’s second most populous nation of 110 million had registered 263 cases, 108 recoveries and five deaths. A poor health system saw Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed make a public appeal on debt, arguing his country was juggling between repaying loans and attending to the sick. “The dilemma Ethiopia faces is stark: Do we continue to pay toward debt or redirect resources to save lives and livelihoods?” he posed in an opinion in the New York Times last month. Ethiopia is not alone. According to situational report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA), the economic growth in Africa as a whole and Eastern Africa in particular will be negatively impacted by Coronavirus. Experts think the Ethiopian economy has structural vulnerabilities, coming from its agricultural mainstay, low productivity, high unemployment, static export, high trade deficit, high current account deficit and high inflation. MULTIPLE CHALLENGES “This pandemic is adding more burden on an economy already pressured with multiple challenges. In comparison, the service sector will be affected hugely,” Getachew Teklemariam, an economic analyst in Addis Ababa told The EastAfrican. Getachew says the agriculture will be insulated from the pandemic, as Ethiopia’s agriculture sector is subsistence and operated on small family farms. Domestic Economic reforms made before the outbreak need to be revised in a bid to reduce economic implications from...

According to the latest statistics released by the National Agriculture Export Development Board, Rwanda has exported more than 9,317 tonnes of processed tea, worth more than $27.6 million between January and March 2020. Cynthia Uwacu, Export Market Development and Innovation Division Manager at the National Agriculture Export Development Board spoke to CNBC Africa for more. Watch Video here Source: CNBC Africa