The Government is set to revamp operations at Rusumo border post in order to increase its capacity to cope with the growing traffic of cargo. This was observed on Sunday as officials toured the border to assess existing challenges and how to address them. Officials included the Minister for Trade and Industry, Soraya Hakuziyaremye; the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Richard Sezibera, and the Minister for Infrastructure, Amb. Clever Gatete. They were accompanied by the Eastern Province governor Fred Mufurukye, migration and customs officials, as well security officials and local leaders. Officials toured various facilities at the border with Tanzania before holding a closed meeting where they discussed trade related activities. With the Gatuna border post under construction, Rusumo is now Rwanda’s busiest border About 95 per cent of Rwanda’s imports pass through Rusumo border, ferried from Dar es Salaam port. According to official statistics some 270 heavy trucks pass through Rusumo border every day, making cargo clearance process hard with limited number of staff. “This is one of our most important border posts and the meeting and the field visit here were to assess how we can improve trade flow on this border post between Rwanda and Tanzania,” minister Hakuziyaremye told the media shortly after the meeting. She added that, in addition to being understaffed, the border  post lacks some necessary infrastructure. “Some of the challenges that were raised here, include the (slow) pace of flow of trucks that are cleared, and lack of enough staff from different institutions...

A youth group has backed a Government deal to transfer operations at the country’s second container terminal to a shipping company. Mombasa Youth Association president Ali Sudi, who was speaking during a meeting attended by MPs and ward representatives at Sai Beach Resort on Saturday, said the deal would create jobs as part of the blue economy programme. During the meeting, MYA member Stephen Mure urged the legislators to rally residents behind the plan. Maritime and Shipping Affairs Principal Secretary Nancy Karigithu said Bandari College had been upgraded to the Bandari Maritime Academy to facilitate the training of young people as seafarers and fishermen. “The blue economy is going to employ more people than the port of Mombasa. Coast residents should turn their focus to this area and go to sea,” said Ms Karigithu, adding that this was the region’s economic mainstay.The Government wants the Kenya National Shipping Line (KNSL) to operate berth numbers 20 and 21 at the port, which comprise the Sh27 billion second container terminal.Italian firm Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which is the second largest shipping line at the port, is a minority shareholder in KNSL having bought a stake in the corporation during a restructuring exercise 22 years ago.Employment dealIn November last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta handed over certificates to the first batch of 16 youths offered employment on board MSC ships as part of the deal. The MSC is expected to employ 2,000 seafarers annually. But the deal has been met with stiff opposition by...

The Ethiopian government on Thursday deposited the instrument of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) ratification to the African Union (AU) Commission. The AfCFTA, which was so far ratified by 22 African countries, has witnessed 19 AU member countries depositing the instruments of ratification to the 55-member pan African bloc, while three additional deposits of ratifications are presently expected to officially commence the free trade pact. Deposits of ratification are currently expected from Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Gambia following ratification of the AfCFTA by the three countries' parliaments recently, the AU said in a statement on Thursday. The AfCFTA will enter into effect one month after receipt of the 22nd instrument of ratification, which is the minimum threshold needed to approve the agreement into force, according to the AU. AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said in a statement that followed the Ethiopian government's move to deposit its ratification that the ratification by the host country of the continental union "was indicative of the commitment of the Ethiopian government and the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in advancing the African integration agenda." The AU Chairperson further noted that since assuming office, the Ethiopian premier "has taken concrete steps such as the issuance of visas on arrival for citizens from AU member states, as a demonstration of the country's commitment towards the Free Movement of People Protocol as an integral component of the AfCFTA." Faki also commended Ethiopia's "key contribution and leadership" in promoting the Single African Air Transport...

Kenya will shed Sh2 billion in exports value to Great Britain if the latter leaves the European Union (EU) without an exit deal, a UN trade agency has warned. A study commissioned by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) found that a no-Brexit deal for the United Kingdom would see Kenyan exports drop by an initial $20.6 million (Sh2 billion), making it one of the worst hit economies in Africa. Kenyan exports to the UK hit Sh38.6 billion in the 12 months to December 2017, down from an all-time high of Sh50.3bn recorded in 2009. The research found that countries such as Kenya, which currently enjoy preferential market access to UK under terms negotiated with the EU, would face immense losses in case of a no-deal exit. Among the top losing African states with Kenya will be Morocco (Sh9.7 billion), Ghana (Sh9.1bn), Tunisia (Sh4.8bn) and Mozambique Sh3.2bn. Unpredictable However, Ministry of Trade officials in Nairobi Wednesday downplayed the unpredictable Brexit negotiations, saying the UK would remain Kenya’s key trade partner irrespective of the direction the split takes. “Deal or no deal on Brexit, Kenya will continue to access the UK market under the current terms with EU,” Trade Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo told the Business Daily by phone. The UK has been one of Kenya's top export destinations, buying products like flowers, vegetables, fruit, tea and coffee. A good number of these products currently enjoy duty and quota free access terms that the EU countries have collectively...

An article published in the April 11 edition of the Business Daily titled ‘Kenya economy to lose Sh2 billion in no-deal Brexit’ was misleading and has caused unnecessary concern among businesses and their employees. The British government has made clear our commitment to a smooth transition post Brexit, to ensure continuity in our trading relationship with Kenya. The Prime Minister made this commitment during her visit last year. Deal or no-deal, we will ensure Kenya retains its duty-free, quota-free access to the UK market. The article, which draws on a UN trade agency report, states that ‘‘the research found that countries such as Kenya, which currently enjoy preferential market access to the UK under terms negotiated with the EU, would face immense losses in the case of a no-deal exit’’. Such analysis wrongly assumes that the UK will not have its own preference schemes in place once we leave the European Union. This is not the case. The UK government has made clear its commitment to maintaining Kenya’s quota-free duty-free access to the UK market, and will take measures to protect Kenyan exports. The article also suggests that the UK’s Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff regime will raise taxes on Kenyan goods by five percent whilst lowering tariffs on competitors’ products. This again is based on a false assumption that there will be no preference measures in place in event of a no-deal departure. The British government is clear that we will not increase tariffs beyond what the EU already has in...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a support grant of US$4.8 million to the African Union (AU) to accelerate the momentum of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), which received its 22nd ratification on April 2, bringing the agreement into force. The AfCFTA is a major force for continental integration. It will expand intra-African trade by up to US$35 billion per year and usher in freedom of movement for goods, services and people across the continent’s internal borders, with a regime of reduced tariffs and non-tariff barriers to cut the cost of doing business on the continent. It will also boost agriculture and industrial exports by up to US$66 billion per year. The Bank’s grant is targeted at laying the institutional foundations for the AfCFTA implementation secretariat and the roll out of the implementation programmes. “The momentum is now in full swing”, said Andoh Mensah, Manager, Trade and Investment Climate Division at the African Development Bank, “It is now crucial to establish a robust, efficient, purpose-driven secretariat, capable of addressing improved stakeholder engagement, inclusiveness and ownership in the AfCFTA implementation”. The grant will also assist efforts towards full ratification of the agreement by all AU member states including the application of tariff reductions and related commitments, while generating stakeholder support for the AfCFTA to ensure inclusiveness and common ownership. This is a decisive response to the call by African political leaders for the Bank and other partners to support the AU Commission and work assiduously towards the...

It was a historic occasion. One year ago, the African Union held an Extraordinary Summit in which the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) was concluded. With Gambia’s recent ratification of the agreement, the threshold for it to come into effect across the continent has been met and the agreement will be in force in 30 days. Gambia’s decision has brought to life the most important free trade agreement since the founding of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The trade agreement pools one billion people together and up to $ 3 trillion of cumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That this agreement is important was evident at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda last month, where hundreds of African heads of State, government officials, top corporate executives and investors met. There was agreement at the forum that such an agreement is needed to unlock the potential of the existing continental treaties for business and economic growth. With Africa struggling to return to sustained growth, and foreign direct investment flagging, the ideal of a common market offers the private sector a unique opportunity. Whichever way you look at it, business must now weigh in on the ongoing discussions in order to determine the real priorities for economic integration and achieve much needed changes. Fostering intra-Africa trade today is fundamental to the continent’s future economic wellbeing. The words by the president of the African Development Bank Akinwumi Adesina, on the need for Africa to integrate ring true today...

East African Community (EAC) Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko has urged Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) to take the lead and advocate for a better and conducive climate for investment to thrive in the region, Chimp Corps report. “The EAC Treaty requires the region to become a single conducive investment destination and should be marketed as such. Therefore, it calls upon us to harmonize our investment laws, policies and regulations, thus making them predictable and facilitative for cross border investor and investments,” said Amb. Mfumukeko. Mfumukeko’s remarks followed reports that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to East Africa fell by 14 percent in 2018. This is despite FDI flows to Africa bucking the global trend and registering and increase of 6% in 2018. Mr. Paul Wessendorp, Chief of UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Investment Promotion Section, disclosed that global FDI inflows fell by 19% in 2018 to an estimated US$1.2 trillion, from US$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 Wessendorp during the opening session of the three-day Regional Seminar on Facilitating Investment in Sustainable Development Goals Projects in Arusha, Tanzania on Thursday. Mfumukeko, in remarks read on his behalf by Mr Charles Omusana, the Private Sector Development and Investment Promotion Officer at the EAC Secretariat, said that the EAC had structured its programmes in a way that addresses all the 17 SDGs. The Secretary General disclosed that the region still has patent...

The AfCFTA is a big step towards the dream of economic unity across Africa, and the fact that it has moved towards entry into force in a relatively short time period shows the dynamic of goodwill for such measures across Africa. However, it is just one part of the process. We look briefly below at the process of trade reforms that has now begun with the Treaty (2) as well as the way forward, with the potentially thorny issues of competition, intellectual property and in particular the possibility for investors to enforce their rights under the treaty – which alone has already provoked much discussion – still to be negotiated (3). Key changes:  the AfCFTA Agreement has begun the creation of the African single continental market  The AfCFTA Agreement consists of four main sets of rules aimed at enabling the creation of a single continental market for Africa: An overarching agreement that sets out the AfCFTA's institutional structure. It provides, inter alia, that the AfCFTA will be administered by four bodies, namely: (1) the Assembly (which will have the exclusive authority to interpret the AfCFTA Agreement); (2) the Council of Ministers (which will be responsible for the effective implementation and enforcement of the AfCFTA Agreement); (3) the Committee of Senior Trade Officials (which will consist of permanent officials responsible for the monitoring of the AfCFTA); and (4) the Secretariat (whose role and responsibilities remain to be defined by the Council of Ministers). A Protocol on Trade in Goods that sets...

TradeMark Africa (TMA) has committed to fund Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) with $ 1 Million in support of projects that will enhance food safety and trade. The new interventions will benefit farmers, pack houses, feed millers and feed transporters who will be enabled to attain international sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) requirements in food safety of local agricultural products; enabling them to access a wide range of markets within the region and internationally. The announcement was made during the signing of a financing agreement between the two organizations, held this afternoon in Kigali. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided funding through TMA. RSB and TradeMark Africa (TMA) say the interventions, which will be implemented over the next 4 years, will range from automation of RSB processes to improve service delivery and increase customer satisfaction, to development of a 7 year strategic plan that will guide RSB in keeping up with global best practice in standards and SPS measures, to upgrading certification schemes to reach advanced standards. The agreement with RSB is part of TMA’s US$ 50 Million programme with the government of Rwanda (GoR) that aims to support interventions that will improve the country’s competitiveness through investments in key sectors, of which agriculture is one. Agriculture is the main economic activity in Rwanda that accounts for 33% of the GDP, and within which 70% of the population engages in. Around 72% of the working population is employed in agriculture, making it a critical intervention area for...