Speaking at the official launch of the dry port, the minister directed the Tanzania Port Authority (TPA) to immediately start using the facility as soon as possible. Developed by TPA, Kitopeni dry port has the capacity to store a total of 1,000 vehicles at once, the situation that will provide a relief to the Dar es Salaam port. According to Kamwelwe, the Dar es Salaam port is overwhelmed with cargo and other 13 dry ports are congested by 85 per cent. “I want this dry port to start operating when the responsible authorities are working on documentation procedures, so as to make ships continues unloading cargo at the port,” he said. TPA Director General, Eng Deusdedit Kakoko said the development of the dry port is part of the authority’s efforts to increase efficiency of the port in handling cargoes. He assured the minister that his authority in collaboration with the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) will work on documentation procedures to make the newly launched facility start operating. He said that completion of berth 1 has increased cargo consignment and cargo ships have also increased at the port making the facility overwhelmed. “So, this dry port is one of the solutions,” said Kakoko. Dar es Salaam port Director, Freddy Liundi said the dry port has been developed to meet the current port demand.The port is the principal port serving Tanzania and is also the access route to six landlocked countries including Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, as well as Democratic...

As the world gears up for the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in late April, Kenya should use that opportunity to tell the world why Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not a debt trap. China's BRI has played a very vital role in Kenya's economy after the construction of 3.2 billion U.S. dollars Mombasa-Nairobi railway, also known as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya. For China to easily convince other African countries like South Africa which is still in a dilemma, Kenya will have to explain how the construction of the railway has impacted its economy and how it repays this loan. If this is done, Beijing will not have hard time bringing other countries on board. Kenya remains a time tester to many African countries who have been reluctant in joining the initiative. To me, Kenya was the best choice China made and other African states need to take bold steps toward realization of the BRI if indeed they want to have infrastructural development, which will be a key to industrialization. Construction of the 470km Mombasa-Nairobi railway from the coast of Kenya to the country's capital city, Nairobi, under BRI is not only a big moment for the country but a game changer because it has boosted commercial connectivity and trade in East Africa, simply because it is the biggest infrastructure in the region since Kenya's independence. Last week, Kenyan Ambassador to China Sarah Serem downplayed fears that BRI was detrimental to the...

The deal between Kenya and Uganda over a dry port land in Naivasha has been opposed by local leaders who have vowed to block the project over a 78,000-acre disputed Kedong ranch. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has confirmed that President Uhuru Kenyatta had given Uganda land in Naivasha for the port, which the Maasai say was owned by their ancestors. The dry port is part of the push for a joint standard gauge railway between these countries. On Sunday, area MP Lemanken Aramat and two MCAs warned the government over the plan at a fundraiser in Oloirowua. Kedong Ranch Ltd, they said, is registered under the Kenyatta family but the land belongs to the Maasai. The land touches Nakuru, Kajiado and Narok counties. Mr Aramat said the community will make sure the phase 2A of SGR does not continue until they get justice. "We voted in this government, and we are in it with the hope that it would assist us but the community has continued to be oppressed mainly on land issues," said the Jubilee legislator. “We are expecting the President this week at Kedong, but we are going to tell him to his face that the Maasai community has a lot of stake in this land, many families are settled there and they must be considered,” said Mr Aramat, adding they should not be deprived of “our birthright.” “This is a volatile issue. The Maasai have lived in this piece of land since time immemorial and for anyone...

The East Africa Business Council (EABC) CEO Round Table Meeting in Arusha convened over 30 top CEOs of Companies based in Arusha and Kilimanjaro region and urged them to proactively seize opportunities arising from the EAC regional integration process. In his opening remarks at EABC CEO Round Table Breakfast Meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, Peter Mathuki (in featured photo), CEO EABC urged businesses in Arusha to proactively engage the East African Community through EABC given the proximity advantage that the EAC and EABC Secretariat are located in Arusha. He noted that there is a need to remove Non-Tariff Barriers and embark on trading proactively with the neighboring countries even before venturing outside the continent. “Let’s spur business within ourselves as the EAC bloc,” Mathuki said. Charles Omusana from the EAC Secretariat informed the CEOs on initiatives and programmes that support business growth and investment. He noted, “It is the right of the private sector to demand a better and improved business climate in the region.” He further urged the CEOs to give input on the EAC Private Sector Development Strategy that will be developed. The Chairman of TCCIA Arusha, Walter Maeda welcomed closer collaboration between TCCIA and the East African Business Council in a bid to support SMEs to take advantage of the opportunities availed by the  EAC regional integration process. Amani Temu  from Taha Fresh elaborated one of the obstacles affecting  cross border trade. “We request for waiver of duty from the Import Commissioner for EAC Originating Goods takes 7...

Foreign Direct Investment inflows to East Africa fell by 14 per cent in 2018, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This is despite FDI flows to Africa bucking the global trend and registering an increase of six per cent in 2018, though most of these inflows went to North and Southern Africa. Paul Wessendorp, chief of UNCTAD’s Investment Promotion Section, added that global FDI inflows fell by 19 per cent in 2018 to an estimated $1.2 trillion, from $1.47 trillion in 2017. “This is the third consecutive drop bringing FDI flows back to the low point after the global financial crisis,” said Mr Wessen-dorp. Noting that FDI is the largest source of external finance for developing nations, Mr Wessendorp said that FDI has the potential to create higher-skilled employment, facilitate the diffusion of technology, and improve access to international markets. He was speaking during the opening session of the three-day Regional Seminar on Facilitating Investment in Sustainable Development Goals Projects in Arusha, Tanzania. He said that the resource implications for implementing SDGs, which were on top of the agenda for the UN, the wider international development community and UN Member States, was substantial. “According to UNCTAD estimates, developing countries alone face an annual investment gap of $2.5 trillion required to achieve the SDGs,” said the UNCTAD official, adding that private sector investment, including FDI, should be mobilised for SDG-related projects in areas such as the creation of decent work, power generation, infrastructure, and water and sanitation...

South Sudan has received a $500 million financing facility from African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) to fund power transmission, infrastructure and farming projects, it said on Monday. South Sudan, the world's youngest country after its split from Sudan in 2011, has some of the largest reserves of crude in sub-Saharan Africa, only a third of which have been explored so far. It is emerging from years of conflict after a peace deal in September. "We want to help South Sudan make the investments it needs to develop," Benedict Oramah, the bank's president, was quoted as saying in a statement issued on behalf of the government. "We are seeing a country beginning to rise from the ashes and offering opportunities to its people. Afreximbank will support those who want to go to South Sudan." Cairo-based Afreximbank, which focuses on boosting trade in and with Africa through financing, had assets of $12.46 billion in 2017, with $10.84 billion of that being loans. It is owned by a range of shareholders including African governments and central banks. The bank has provided another $200 million in financing to South Sudan in the previous two years, Oramah said. Melissa Cook, the managing director of African Sunrise Partners which has clients doing business in South Sudan including banks, said the business climate had started to improve. "It is not the easiest place to go into, but worth it," she was quoted saying in the statement. Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) will before the end of April launch a national strategy that will identify key products that Uganda can leverage on to improve its exports to US. The strategy, whose formulation started in 2016, seeks to among others, identify five key products that can influence Uganda's penetration into the US market. Ms Suzan Muhwezi, the head of Agoa Secretariat, said the strategy has already been tabled before Cabinet and will soon be enacted. "We are soon launching the Agoa National Strategy. As I speak, it has gone to Cabinet for endorsement," she said, adding that before the end of April, it should be launched. Agoa is a US trade legislation enacted in May 2000 to allow sub-Saharan African countries to export more than 6,000 different products duty free to the US market. According to available data, Uganda had a 49 per cent increase in exports to the US making $3.2m in September 2018 due to Agoa influence. Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde told The EastAfrican last year that the new strategy seeks to streamline Uganda's Agoa business. Agoa has over the years not performed to expectation due to poor leadership and failing standards. While flagging off youth groups, anticipating to export goods to US in Kampala recently, Ms Muhwezi said there is need for partnerships to register success in the Agoa agenda. A number of youth groups, which have been supported by the US embassy and Tooro Gallery, have been prepared through Young African Leaders...

Unpredictable investment regimes are to blame for falling foreign direct investments (FDIs) to East Africa, according to experts. They said investment inflows have also been negatively affected by persistent trade barriers and availability of affordable finance. This emerged after a report tabled here last week indicated that FDIs to the six-nation East African Community (EAC) fell by 14 per cent last year from $6.6 billion in 2017. “Guaranteed return of investments, market size and profitability are among the critical requirements of FDIs,” said Mr Simon Mapolu, the director of Arusha-based ADM Consultants. He added that political turmoil in some EAC states may have scared away some investors from the region. Mr Peter Mathuki, the executive director of the East African Business Council (EABC), challenged governments in the region to ensure that regulations don’t become a barrier to investment. The report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) said the fall in FDIs to the region has made the bloc less competitive for investments from abroad. It was tabled at a regional seminar on facilitating investment within the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals projects. The report noted that FDI inflows decreased by 25.3 per cent to $6.6 billion in 2017 from $8.8 billion in 2016. Last year, while FDI inflows to Africa registered a modest six per cent increase, mostly to North and Southern Africa, in East Africa it fell by 14 per cent. Unctad also disclosed that global FDI inflows fell by 19 per cent...

CROSS border business at Namanga post has registered an increase in volumes of trade within a year, springing from 21,478 tonnes to 26,690 with an average cost of 25.1bn/- per month, mostly from the ones being sent to Kenya and South Sudan. The revelation was made here recently by Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) Assistant Regional Manager, Mr Godfrey Kitundu, adding that within a year and a half evaluation undertaken by them, the reason behind this was the establishment of One Stop Border Post (OSBP) here. Mr Kitundu, who deals with Customs, further pointed out that that was also realised after complaints of the traders were addressed by October 2017, singling out the bigger one as the delay in clearing cargo as well as travellers. He said it has now proved beneficial for the people of the two countries to continue tapping opportunities made available by the East African Community (EAC) that supports putting in place of their infrastructures in question, adding that “in turn that has mostly motivated producers and businesspersons from Tanzania to venture more in business.” The manager hinted that in the financial year 2016/17, trucks that transported goods from Tanzania to Kenya through the Namanga Border were 1,268 and by 2018/19 financial year, the lorries increased to 1,585. Mr Kitundu said that some processed goods that have value added in local industries exported through the Namanga Border last year were 640 up from 429 in 2016. He cited the types of the goods as tiles from Goodwill...

Arusha. Baraza la Biashara la Afrika Mashariki (EABC) limesaini mkataba wa makubaliano wa miaka mitano na taasisi ya Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) kutekeleza mradi wa kuondoa vikwazo kwa wafanyabiashara katika nchi za Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki (EAC) unaoanza mwaka huu. Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa EABC, Peter Mathuki amesema leo Jumatatu April 15, 2019 kuwa watashirikiana na Srikali za nchi za EAC kuona namna ya kuondoa vikwazo hivyo ikiwa ni pamoja na kuwajengea uwezo maafisa wa Serikali wanaohusika kwenye maeneo ya mipakani. Amesema kiwango cha kufanya biashara baina ya nchi za EAC kipo chini ya asilimia 20 ukilinganisha na nchi za Maendeleo ya Kusini mwa Afrika (Sadc) ambapo ni asilimia 58 wakati nchi za Umoja wa Ulaya ni asilimia 68. “Lengo la mradi huu ni kuona namna ya kuinua kiwango cha biashara katika nchi zetu, mtakumbuka wakati wa mkutano wa Marais wa EAC uliofanyika hivi karibuni wote walisisitiza umuhimu wa hizi nchi kuongeza kiwango cha kufanya biashara miongoni mwetu ili wananchi waweze kunufaika,” amesema Mathuki. Amesema uamuzi wa TMA kushirikiana na EABC unaonyesha imani waliyonayo katika kusukuma ajenda ya EAC ya kuwawezesha wananchi kunufaika na jumuiya kwa kuvuka mipaka kwa ajili ya kuuza na kununua bidhaa mbalimbali. Mathuki amesema tayari vikwazo vya biashara 47 vimeshatatuliwa huku vikwazo 17 bado havijapatiwa ufumbuzi jambo ambalo linarudisha nyuma ufanisi wa kufanya biashara katika nchi hizo. Kwa upande wake, Kaimu Mkurugenzi wa TMA anayeshughulikia Sekta Binafsi, Allan Ngugi amesema wamekua na ushirikiano na EABC tangu mwaka 2010 na uhusiano wao umekua mzuri hatua inayowapa nafasi...