BUSINESS leaders, investors and policymakers have recommended for more reforms to accelerate African economic integration. They raised their voices at the just ended seventh edition of the Africa CEO Forum that took place in Kigali, Rwanda. The Forum that is the continent’s largest international meeting of Africa’s private sector attracted more than 1,800 CEOs from top African brands, international investors, experts and highlevel policy makers from the continent and beyond. The participants came from 43 African countries and 26 international countries. The forum that was opened by Rwandan President, Mr Paul Kagame, was also attended by the newly elected President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mr Felix Tshisekedi, Ethiopian President, Ms Sahle-Work Zewde as well as Togolese President, Mr Faure Gnassingbé. Organised by Jeune Afrique Media Group and Rainbow Unlimited and co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the twoday forum was themed around using regional integration to drive private sector growth. In his opening remarks, President Kagame referred to the forum as a timely platform to discuss mechanisms on how to make the most of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) treaty. “Open responsiveness and accountable governments is critical in driving the continent’s economic integration agenda. Therefore, the private sector should notice what needs to be changed, (and) share it with those in the public sector to be able to move forward,” he said, adding that implementation of the recently signed treaty especially at national level will require constant dialogue and flexibility from both the public and the...

East Africa has seen a rare flurry of high-level shuttle diplomacy over the past couple of weeks as presidents move to protect their country's strategic interests in the face of leadership changes and simmering tensions. But while some meet-and-greet tours were expected following the installation of Ethiopia's first female President Sahle-Work Zewde last year and Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January, threats to long-term interests have left the presidents ill at ease. That is with the possible exception of Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who appears to be on a watching brief, and Burundi's Pierre Nkurunziza, who appears to be increasingly isolated after he ran and won a controversial third term in office in May 2015. Over the past month alone, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has made state visits to Kenya whose President, Uhuru Kenyatta, has been to Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Uganda and Namibia. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has been to Tanzania, Morocco and Angola. President Tshisekedi has been to Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while President Zewde has been to Rwanda. The intentions of the visits are usually couched in diplospeak but at the Africa CEO Forum held in Kigali this past week, three of the region's presidents who attended -- Kagame, Tshisekedi and Zewde -- proffered there was more to the visits than bilateral relations and regional integration. Is Kagame looking for an alternative route to sea? The diplomatic tiff between Rwanda and Uganda, instability in South Sudan and trade have been at the core of...

Kenya and other African countries could reap net benefits from Chinese investment, but that favourable outcome hinges on whether host countries adopt effective oversight and accountability mechanisms, according to a US Defence Department think tank. Borrowers should realise that Chinese infrastructure loans are primarily intended to extend Beijing's political influence and military reach, cautioned the analysis by the Washington-based Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. China's $900 billion One-Belt One-Road (Obor) initiative, which now helps finance 1,700 infrastructure projects in more than 60 countries, “is first and foremost a Chinese geopolitical project designed to advance China's grand strategy,” the Africa Centre said. That strategy aims to establish China as a “great power,” militarily as well as economically within the next three decades, adds the analysis prepared by Africa Centre research associate Paul Nantulya. “The challenge for Africa is in establishing where its interests converge with China’s, where they diverge, and how areas of convergence can be shaped to advance African development priorities.” The Ksh320 billion ($3 billion) Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway, financed by Chinese lenders, serves as a “flagship Obor project” in East Africa and ranks as the biggest investment in Kenya since Independence, the think tank said. Along with China-financed projects in neighbouring countries, the Kenya railway could boost the East African Community's annual exports by $192 million, according to a study by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Offloading excesses But the standard gauge railway is producing economic deficits for Kenya as well as potential benefits, the Pentagon...

After months of uncertainty, the first ray of hope about the future and practicality of the Standard Gauge Railway was ignited. On Wednesday President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, who is on a three-day official visit to Kenya affirmed the two countries’ commitment to stick to the original plans of stretching the SGR all the way to Kampala. Addressing a joint press briefing at State House Mombasa, the Presidents noted their desire for joint cooperation on the standard gauge railway and said a team would review the plan without elaborating further on the details of the plan. “We want to leave the road for drunkards. In the coming years, we will move from road to rail and fuel for the pipelines. It will be cheaper, faster and away from the roads,” President Museveni said. There had been growing fears that the viability of the Chinese-built rail would be in jeopardy and result in Kenya having a massive white elephant project in its hands if all the East African Countries didn’t get on board. Uganda and Kenya were especially on loggerheads over the financing of the cross-border SGR with the financer - China Exim Bank - insisting that Kampala had to get Kenya’s commitment to building the section from Kisumu to Malaba before Uganda could secure funding for the line running from Kampala to the common border. In 2018, Uganda announced it had suspended the standard gauge railway project which is estimated to cost $2.3 billion, and instead opted...

Quite consternating for lovers of peace, order and sustainable regional integration is the chaos that erupted once again at the busy Namanga border between Tanzania and Kenya early this week. Some residents closed the Kenya-Tanzania road to Tanzanian traffic, thus bringing to a standstill trade between the two sister-members of the East African Community. The reason given by neighbours on the Kenyan side for this regrettable situation is the alleged abduction of a Kenyan businessman, ‘Moha,’ claimed to have been done by Tanzanians only because the victim was driven away from his business place in a vehicle bearing Tanzanian registration number plates. Tanzanian authorities this side of the border-crossing say they are pursuing the matter with a view to resolving the burgeoning impasse. We are hoping that their Kenyan counterparts are also working to calm the tempers among the residents. Surely, authorities from either side of the border should not allow residents to take the law unto their own hands. Regrettably, this is becoming a habit at the border. In January, travellers were stuck for hours on the Namanga-Nairobi highway after residents blocked the busy road demanding compensation for a local who was allegedly hit and killed by bus the residents claimed had Tanzanian registration numbers. Such chaotic, violent scenes normally take hours to resolve. This is costly to business. A lasting solution is now needed to ease tension pitting residents from either side of this border. Source: The Citizen

Dock workers want the Kenyan government to impose strict conditions before offering land to Uganda for the construction of a dry port in Naivasha. Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta offered the landlocked country land to build a dry port for its cargo as part of the joint Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project. However, the details and terms of the agreement reached between President Kenyatta and Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni remain unclear. CONDITIONS The giant Dock Workers Union (DWU) secretary-general Simon Sang said although the over 7,000 port workers support the move, they want the details made public, saying it must be a win-win situation for the two countries. “What is more important is under what conditions should the land be given out. There is nothing wrong with giving incentives to investors but we must have conditions that take care of our interests. One of the conditions is employment which should be shared on an agreed ratio,” Mr Sang’ said. During a dinner on Wednesday evening in honour of President Museveni who was on a two-day State visit to Kenya, Mr Kenyatta said the country will offer Uganda land to build a dry port for its cargo in Naivasha. EXPANSION However, in a press briefing at DWU headquarters in Mombasa, Mr Sang said: “What are the concessional rates the government is proposing? Taking into consideration the fact that we invest a lot in the port, meaning the rates for whatever cargo that comes into the port should be able to take...

“On 23rd March 2019, Governments of Tanzania and Rwanda agreed to avail direct cargo flights from Mwanza Airport to European Markets by 1st July 2019. They are also working on the transportation of Rwandan cargo through Tanga port and the supply of raw milk to Tanga,” he said in a tweet. Tanga port is located in Northeast of Tanzania near Indian Ocean. It is the second largest port following Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Luhaga Mpina, recently told fish traders in Mwanza town that Tanzanian and Rwandan officials were in talks to enable RwandAir ferry fish from Mwanza airport in northern Tanzania to overseas markets. Mpina said that it will be a massive relief for Lake Zone fish traders, who have, for a long time, been seeking an alternative airline to transport their products abroad. Fish dealers in the region have been relying on Entebbe and Nairobi airports in Uganda and Kenya respectively, which they claim are more costly. Sijaona James, the spokesperson of the Tanzania Fishermen Union, recently told Xinua news that over 1,000 tonnes of fish could not be exported in the past few months because of transport problems adding that a total loss of the exports destined for Japan and Israel stood at 5.5 billion Tanzanian shillings. The agreements between Rwanda, Tanzania follow the visit of President Paul Kagame to Tanzania at the beginning of this month where he held talks with his counterpart, Dr. John Pombe Magufuli. Source: Igihe

African industry captains see a silver lining in the rocky exit of the United Kingdom from the EU (Brexit) at a time when a continental free trade area is about to come into force. A survey by Deloitte on how companies are prepared to exploit the broad market of $3 trillion and a population of more than 1.2 billion people found that three-quarters of executives polled were confident of benefiting from the African Continental Free Trade Area and that competition was the least of their worries. Instead they were anxious about how the business climate was cyclically affected by elections, small fragmented markets, inadequate financing, high cost of financial transactions and energy. While most have a strategic plan on integration, the survey found that it was focused on diversification, going Pan-African and proof of concept approach, where experiments are done in segments and countries before being scaled up across businesses and terrain. Interestingly, few were thinking of going global because of uncertainties surrounding world trade, with the UK about to exit the EU, and China, US and Europe always one drastic decision away from a trade war. The UK Trade Commissioner for Africa Emmah Wayde-Smith, however, told The EastAfrican they have, over the past two years worked to ensure continuity of trade with Africa, irrespective of what form Brexit takes. Prime Minister Theresa May had pledged to quit if her proposal is adopted. It had already failed twice among seven other options, creating more anxiety over Africa's access to the...

Stephen Karingi, ECA’s Director for Regional Integration and Trade spoke to The New Times’ James Karuhanga, shedding light on what is expected between now and the next African leaders’ summit in Niamey, Niger in July. The excerpts: March 21, 2019, marks the anniversary of the signing of the AfCFTA. Is there cause for celebration now? There is definitely good reason for celebration and, why do I say so? When we were in Kigali, one of the things we hoped and committed to as African people, through our leaders, was that within the shortest time possible the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement will come into force. Now, 21 countries have ratified the CFTA. When we left Kigali there were a number of things that were outstanding. Some countries had reservations on the agreement. Countries like Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Djibouti. As we go into the first year of the CFTA signing, those countries have not only signed but they have also ratified the agreement. Why have they done so? It is because they have actually been able to talk to their people, talked to their private sector, and considered everything contained in the agreement and seen that there are benefits for their people and economy. So, really, there is cause for celebration because the agreement is almost coming into force. And, secondly, countries that were not sure then [last year] whether they were ready to sign and ratify have actually already ratified. What do you say is holding others back from ratifying...

li Mufuruki, the founder and CEO of Infotech Investment Group, said the future of EAC integration is bright and that the private sector should work in partnership with the public sector to drive the EAC integration. He is of the view that the regional integration should start from the products level, through exporting products as a region rather than a single country in order to meet the demand and remain globally competitive. "EAC can form one company that will export East African coffee. This way, the region could become the biggest supplier of coffee to China for instance. It doesn't make sense for coffee suppliers in East Africa to compete with each other," he said. This, he said, can be applicable to products that have deep value chain, and can be sourced from across the region, for every member state to benefit. "We can build a coffee airbus, textile airbus or a tourism airbus. East Africa has great sceneries. We can consider marketing the region as a tourist destination," he said. Peter Mathuki, the executive director of East Africa Business Council, said the idea of business taking the center stage in regional integration is timely. He said the private sector should call the government to the negotiation table and discuss on what should be done to drive the regional integration process, instead of waiting to be invited by the government. "The treaty that established EAC is private sector led. It's a challenge we need to take upon ourselves and be...