By GITONGA MARETE SUMMARY The checks, which will be stationed strategically along highways leading to neighbouring countries, will complement existing border crossing points. Plans are under way to establish control checks at designated points across the country in a move expected to contain proliferation of contraband and substandard goods, improve security and check on illegal immigrants. The checks, which will be stationed strategically along highways leading to neighbouring countries, will complement existing border crossing points. At least 13 stations will be built in Wajir, Garissa, Malindi (Kilifi county), Lungalunga (Kwale), Archers Post (Isiolo), Taveta, Oloitoktok, Namanga, Isebania, Busia, Malaba, Lake Baringo and Marich Pass (north of Kitale). Some of the check points are more than 400km from border posts. Known as Inland Border Control Checks (IBCCs), the stations will have structures similar to those at the border points with people and goods entering into the country expected to go through thorough screening. The decision to establish the stations was informed by continued entry of substandard and contraband goods into the country despite existence of the gazetted border points due to porous borders. For instance, there are goods entering the country from Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania that evade checks at designated border points. While traders smuggle electronic goods through the Somalia border, there have been concerns of dairy products coming into the country from Uganda. Grains enter into Kenya from Tanzania while traders smuggle an assortment of goods from Ethiopia including narcotics as well as illegal immigrants. Ethiopia’s case is...

By ANTHONY KITIMO A regional initiative aimed at easing cargo clearance in ports is gaining traction as more companies sign up to it. The implementation of the regional Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) programme conceived by the Commissioners of Customs of the East African (EAC) countries in 2016 gives preferential treatment to affiliated companies after meeting certain conditions. Last year, 43 more companies across the East Africa were accredited to AEO, bringing the number the total to 116, up from 73 in 2018. PN Mashru was one of the Kenyan companies that joined the group last year, and is banking on the move for growth. "The company applied through the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and with slow transport business because of SGR, we expect to attract more business since AEO accredited companies have more advantages," said PN Mashru declaration officer Reuben Mwaluma. He said AEO accredited companies have preferential treatment in the management of customs operations which include automatic passing of declarations with no physical examination of goods. This reduces time taken to transport cargo. Such companies also have guaranteed renewal of customs licence, priority treatment in cargo clearance chain, and waiver of movement bond requirements. EAC commissioners of customs have been advocating for more companies, especially in transport sector, to join the programme with a target of 500 by 2022. “On AEO programme, the region has also been exploring the possibility of entering into Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) with the rest of the world to allow our traders enjoy benefits...

By : EDWARD QORRO in Arusha HEADS of State from the six East African Community (EAC) partners will meet in Arusha later this month for the 21st Ordinary Summit for monetary union matters, among others. The EAC Secretariat has already dispatched invitations to the member countries for the much awaited summit scheduled for February 29. “The summit is still on as planned and we look forward to the full representation and participation of the member states,” disclosed EAC’s Media Coordinator, Mr Florian Mutabazi in a telephone interview with ‘Daily News’ yesterday. Though he would not divulge the agendas to be discussed, Mr Mutabazi hinted that a raft of issues including the envisioned East African Monetary Union (EAMU) will dominate the talks. The meeting of the six EAC leaders could possibly delve on the upcoming election in Tanzania and Burundi, slated for May and October this year respectively. EAC Secretariat’s confirmation on the upcoming Heads of State summit comes four months after the postponement of the initial meeting that was scheduled for November 30 last year, but failed to take place due to lack of quorum. The summit also comes a time when the Regional Economic Community is grappling with lack of commitment demonstrated by some of the EAC member states in remitting their financial obligations to the Secretariat. This has indeed become an Achilles heel to the 20 year old regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, with some of its organs calling for the addressing of the dire financial...

The Government of Tanzania Ministry of Finance has signed a facility agreement with Standard Chartered (SC.com) Tanzania for a US$ 1.46 billion term loan financing to fund the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project from Dar es Salaam to Makutupora. Running approximately 550 kilometres long, the SGR project is one of the country’s biggest projects connecting Dodoma to Dar es Salaam via Morogoro and Makutupora. Once complete, the SGR Rail project will provide a safe and reliable means for efficiently transporting people and cargo to and from the existing Dar es Salaam Port. According to the Tanzania Railways Corporation, it is expected that the railway will address current congestion challenges and decrease freight service charges by 40%, as the railway will be able to haul up to 10,000 tons of freight, equivalent to 500 lorries, per trip. It will also connect Tanzania to Burundi, Rwanda and The Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, thereby playing a key role in enhancing regional trade. The project has already created more than 8,000 new direct employment opportunities for Tanzanians and has opened up opportunities for the local communities surrounding the project area to access social services such as shelter and food Standard Chartered Tanzania acted as Global Co-ordinator, Bookrunner and Mandated Lead Arranger on the facility agreement that is the largest foreign currency financing raised by the Ministry of Finance to date. The biggest component of financing comes from the Export Credit Agency Covered Facility(‘s) from the Export Credit Agencies of Denmark...

Following the announcement that Kenya and the US are in talks for the establishment of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Kenyan businesses are moving fast to map out unexploited opportunities in the world’s largest economy. The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) in partnership with the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) has already held talks with Kenyan and U.S. business leaders and senior government officials to explore how the private sector can support this bilateral effort and take full advantage of investment and trade opportunities that will arise from a Kenya-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. This comes as a follow up to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to the White House last week, where the U.S. and Kenyan Government announced talks that might make Kenya the second African country to have an FTA with America after Morocco. The launch of talks aimed at establishing an FTA between the two countries. If successful, it would be the first United States FTA with a sub-Saharan African nation and potentially a model the United States will use to enhance its trade and investment relationship with other African countries. US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter who spoke at the event expressed confidence that upon finalisation of the deal, the two countries will benefit from each other’s markets. “We look forward to working together to create a free-trade agreement that allows Kenyan and American businesses  to  benefit  from  increased  access  to  each  others’  markets  and  one   where both our consumers will enjoy greater prosperity through expanded choice and...

The Port of Mombasa is poised to play a pivotal role in the development of cruise tourism along the Eastern rim of the Indian Ocean once a Memorandum of Understanding that will bring together stakeholders in the region is signed. Speaking during a grand reception at the Port of Mombasa during the arrival of iconic cruise ship Ms Marco Polo yesterday, Inchcape Shipping Services Vice President Grand Homes said that preparatory meetings between Vanilla Islands, an affiliation of island nations, Inchcape Shipping Services and Kenya that will lead to cruise tourism collaboration will be signed.The Vanilla island nations include Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, Re-Union , Mayotte and the Maldives."Mombasa Port is a modern facility with all the infrastructures in place. You have a wonderful cruise terminal and well located in an area with diverse tourist attractions. This makes it ideal for cruise landing,'' Homes said.MS Marco Polo arrived for a two-day Port stopover en-route from Zanzibar with 575 passengers and 346 crew.The ship, according to maritime historian, Mr Crossbie Smith from the United Kingdom is on around Africa cruise having started its journey from Bristol in UM on January 6th.'' We are documenting the ships' journey that has so far called at Ports in Portugal, Casablanca in Morocco, Cape Verse islands, Walvis Bay in Namibia, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Mayotte and Zanzibar,'' Smith said. Passengers disembarking headed for city tours while others boarded safari vehicles to Tsavo East National Park to view wildlife.After Mombasa, the ship which sets sail...

Trade Mark East Africa wants Busia Kenya and Uganda to get a higher percentage of improved customs revenue at the border points. TMA chief technical officer Allen Asiimwe said integrated border management has improved systems at Busia and Malaba. “Through transparency, a lot of increased customs revenue has been realised. I hope some of that money comes back to Busia,” she said. Kenya and Uganda revenue officers agree that customs revenue has recorded tremendous increase due to improved border management at the Busia One Stop Border Post. Despite the increase in revenue, KRA cited some problems including the fact that the Kisumu-Busia road leading to the OSBP is too narrow and in a poor state. Other problems are insufficient facilities like scanners, screening machines and an ambulance and obstruction of traffic to and from the OSBP caused by buses /matatus picking and dropping passengers. Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong in February cited lack of terms of engagement as the main reason border counties were losing resources. The Governor said failure by the national government to execute its mandate has put leaders of such counties on a coalition course with their residents. Source: The Star

Uganda is hoping to increase the volume of trade with South Sudan following the completion and handover of the first phase of Nimule one stop border post (OSBP) to the Juba government. The Nimule OSPB will be managed by South Sudan customs officials and if operated as it should, there is no reason as to why regional trade shouldn’t flourish. While Elegu, the Ugandan side of the border has for a while now been operating as OSBP, Nimule, the South Sudan custom point has been going about its business in the most frustrating manner, rendering cross border trade often times a nightmare. Speaking in an interview after witnessing the handover of the OSBP infrastructure in Numule, South Sudan recently, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Ms Amelia Anne Kyambadde described the $5million (about Shs 18.3billion) facility funded by UK government through TradeMark Africa (TMA) as “a very important development” for not just South Sudan and Uganda but the entire EAC regional trade. She said: “With opening of the Nimule OSBP, I expect exponential rise in trade. We expect to grow our trade with South Sudan by close of the year by even $500million (slightly more than Shs1.8trillion).” She continued: “We would like to see our traders form orderly associations so as to manage cross border trade well. This is important because the experience garnered here could act as a launch pad for the continental market—AfCFTA.” Ms Kyambadde indicated that South Sudan is a key market for Uganda’s exports, considering...

President Uhuru Kenyatta has had progressive trade negotiations with leaders of the United Kingdom and the United States, two of the largest economies in the world. His participation in the UK-Africa Investment Summit in January and subsequent meeting with US President Donald Trump has laid the foundations for further private sector investments in Kenya. This is taking place alongside discussions regarding the formation of a new US-Kenya trade deal.These efforts continue the government’s approach to trade that has defined Uhuru’s presidency, with the aim of improving the living standards of the country’s citizens. It also has a bigger picture of increasing Kenya’s profile on the international economic stage.During the 2017 Jamhuri Day celebrations, Uhuru unveiled his plan for Kenya’s development under the so-called Big Four Agenda – enhancing manufacturing, promoting food security, introducing universal health coverage and building affordable housing. By committing to achieve these ambitious milestones, however, the government set itself up for a bumpy ride. The transformation of the Kenya into an industrialising middle-income economy has faced a host of challenges. Despite numerous bilateral as well as regional trade agreements in place, such as the East African Community common market, the volume of exchanged goods and services has barely increased.Business conditionsFurthermore, Kenya’s trade balance remains negative, meaning that it imports more from other countries than it exports. This means that more money is leaving the country than coming in. As the World Trade Organisation observed in the past, this was largely the result of the poor quality of...

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) --Tanzania's Ministry of Finance and Planning on Thursday signed a facility agreement with Standard Chartered Bank for a 1.46-billion-U.S.-dollar loan to finance the construction of the standard gauge railway (SGR) project from the commercial capital Dar es Salaam to Makutupora in the capital Dodoma. Running approximately 550 kilometers long, the SGR project is one of the country's biggest projects connecting Dodoma to Dar es Salaam via Morogoro and Makutupora, said a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance and Planning. Speaking at the event to sign off the deal, the Minister for Finance and Planning, Philip Mpango, said with the help of Standard Chartered and other partners, the project financing will further increase direct employment in Tanzania. Sanjay Rughani, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Tanzania, said that deal signified investor confidence in the market and demonstrated Standard Chartered's international network capabilities and commitment to Tanzania. "We are delighted to have reached this milestone in Tanzania to fund the SGR project that will deliver massive benefits to Tanzania and support the government's 2025 vision of making Tanzania an industrialized country," said Rughani. Rughani added that the bank will continue to leverage its unique network reach, and the credibility it has built over time, to further position Tanzania as the go-to destination for investments. Once complete, said the ministry's statement, the SGR project will provide a safe and reliable means for efficiently transporting people and cargo to and from the Dar es Salaam port. According...