Tanzanians have theorised on leadership, and the country has several leadership training schools. But, they are mainly based on the East/West divide of the Cold War days, whereby they produce loyal ruling party apparatchiks. Of course, there is nothing really wrong with that. The problem that Tanzanians face in this digital era is that the challenges have become much more than how people can be whipped into toeing the political party line and salute the party hierarchy. We are faced with an overwhelming youth numbers; youth who have had education, with some of them attaining varsity degrees –never mind the quality or relevance of the degrees to today’s market needs. It boggles the mind why so many of our problems refuse to go away and, instead, seem to multiply when we have so many degree holders walking around with dog-eared brown envelopes. Indeed, quite a number of them have lost hope of ever finding gainful employment. It is a sign of failure of our education system... But that’s another story. The mchakamchaka-type of training leaders was relevant for about 40 years post-independence. Today, while we still need good leaderships, these have been turned topsy-turvy by global changes that we can do nothing about. We must adopt and adapt. The paradigm has shifted so much that the people we were training to lead a nation of workers and farmers today find themselves in an unreal situation where they are now led by their followers – in terms of feelings, desires and...

The importance of digitalisation and the digital economy in driving growth and structural transformation, as well as optimising fiscal performance in Africa cannot be overstated, economic experts have said. Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), noted this while officially opening the 52nd session of the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, underway in Marrakech, Morocco The value of the global digital economy, she said, is estimated at over $11.5 trillion, set to rise to over $23 trillion by 2025. It is now estimated to represent 15.5 per cent of global GDP and is expected to reach 25 per cent of global GDP in less than a decade. Songwe said: “There has been a rise in the digital innovation hubs on the continent, such as the Silicon Savannah in Nairobi and the Kumasi Hive in Ghana, not to mention more solution-oriented technologies such as ‘Flutterwave.’” The Flutterwave application enabled global payment processing in Nigeria through a single, seamless platform. Last year, it processed $1 billion worth of transactions. Such digital developments, Songwe said, can have a transformative effect across the economy by reducing barriers to entry and expanding market reach for businesses, creating jobs, and boosting both domestic and foreign trade in goods and services. “Digital trade in Africa is rapidly growing at an estimated annual rate of 40 per cent, and is expected to constitute a growing share of trade, especially for intra-African trade.” Digital technology, she added,...

China's opening-up policy will boost Kenya's exports to the Asian nation, a Chinese government official said on Tuesday. Li Xuhang, Charge d'Affaires at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya told a press conference in Nairobi that Beijing's ever growing consumer market will bring more export opportunities for Nairobi. "We will encourage more Kenyan enterprises to cooperate with their Chinese counterparts and obtain more funds, technologies, equipment and capacity from them, so as to increase added value and be more competitive in the Chinese market," Li said during a workshop for media and think tanks on the progress of the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). He noted that the Chinese market welcomes more exports of Kenyan products such as flowers, tea, coffee and avocado. He added that the agreement on Sanitary and PhytoSanitary signed in 2018 between the two countries has opened a new gate for the healthy and balanced development of China-Kenya trade. He revealed that currently the annual bilateral trade value has reached 537 billion shillings (5.37 billion U.S. dollars) while China's non-financial direct investment in Kenya amounted to about 520 million dollars in 2018, which was more than two times the amount during the previous year. The Chinese official also noted that due to the strong bilateral ties, there were around 170 Kenyan students who obtained Chinese-funded scholarships for studying in China in 2018, and 686 government officials and professionals went to China for training programs during the same year. In the aviation sector, Li said that direct flights...

In November 2018, we were proud to organize the first ever Africa Trade Forum on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Nigeria. The convening examined the role that the AfCFTA could play in securing brighter futures for its bulging population of over 1 billion. The Agreement commits countries to removing tariffs on 90 percent of goods, liberalizing services among African countries, and tackling so-called “non-tariff barriers” – such as long delays at the border – which hamper trade between African countries. AfCFTA has the potential to boost intra-African trade by over 50%. Underpinning the agreement is a belief that consolidating Africa into one trade area provides greater opportunities for businesses and consumers alike, and increases the chance to support sustainable development in the world’s least developed region. In fact, ECA estimates that the AfCFTA has the potential to boost intra-African trade by over 50%, which would have significant implications for wealth creation, employment and social infrastructure in education and health. Co-organized by the ECA and The Rockefeller Foundation in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the AfCFTA convening brought together and connected governments, advocates, corporations, NGOs and other civil society organizations — very much in the spirit of The Rockefeller Foundation’s pursuit of positive change around the world. With these values in mind, the Forum not only targeted policy makers and traditional influencers from across the continent but also included and gave voice to African citizens. This contributed to injecting...

Africa lags behind in the international trade of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) goods earning just a small percentage from the lucrative sector. The continent’s share of the USD 2.1 trillion in 2017 remained negligible despite the demand for electronic components used in Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices driving the value of trade in international ICT goods in 2017. According to figures released by UNCTAD, trade in ICT goods grew slightly faster than merchandise trade representing 13.4 per cent of the total in 2017. The Global ICT Trade Indicators. Africa still lags behind importing more than it exports.Global ICT goods imports rebound The global market however shrunk from the 16.1 per cent high during the dot-com boom in 2000 but it remained the highest in two years. By comparison, in 2017 machinery and transport equipment accounted for 37 per cent and food for 8 per cent of merchandise imports. “This is the first time that global ICT goods imports have rebounded since 2014, showing a good 6 per cent annual growth and bringing a reprieve to the past two years of decline,” Shamika Sirimanne, Director of the Technology and Logistics Division at UNCTAD, said. Demand for electronic circuits and semiconductors Among ICT products, trade in electronic components continued to expand with an annual growth rate of 8 per cent – just below that of computers and consumer electronics (9 per cent) – and it shows long-term, steady growth. “The expansion of electronic components, which are the basic building blocks of electronic circuits...

A new study has urged member countries of the East African Community (EAC) to adopt labour migration policies based on international best practices, improve data management and boost the operationalization of One Stop Border Posts. The comparative study assesses migration patterns and policy issues in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania – four of the six EAC countries. In 2010, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that there were about 19.3 million migrants in Africa, of which 8.4 million were classified as migrant workers. In 2015, the estimated population of the EAC, which also includes South Sudan and Uganda, was over 145.5 million people, with a gross domestic product of about USD 147.5 billion. As the region intensifies efforts to achieve its integration milestones, specifically within the context of the EAC Common Market Protocol, cross-border labour movements have made labour migration a pertinent issue for the partner states. The East African Common Market Protocol provides for the movement of persons, travel documents and the free movement of workers in particular. It focuses on three migration issues: national policy frameworks, data management and migrant worker practices. “We appreciate the commitment and cooperation from the United Republic of Tanzania in conducting this study and are confident that the presentation of the results will assist the Government of Tanzania and the other three EAC Member States in improving their management of migration flows, in particular those related to labour,” said IOM Tanzania Chief of Mission Dr. Qasim Sufi. “As people throughout the world are becoming more and more mobile, labour...

The revitalized peace agreement in South Sudan has not only restored calm in the country but also boosted trade along the border with Uganda, traders said. Civilians from both Uganda and South Sudan are relishing the return of normalcy since they are able to move freely and conduct business at the border town of Nimule. Tombe Abdullamid, a South Sudanese businessman, told Xinhua at the custom office in Nimule town that his life has been transformed thanks to the brisk business that followed the signing of a peace deal. "My business at the border is very flexible and the verification of the goods at both the Ugandan site of Elegu and Nimule is very encouraging," Abdullamid told Xinhua in a recent interview, adding that the current peace agreement is yielding huge dividends for him. He revealed that he has operated the same line of business for the last three years, but couldn't see the margin of profit he made in about six months after the signing of the revitalized peace agreement. John Makuei, a money changer at the border since 2007, said that business had flourished at the border amid parties' commitment to restoring peace along Juba-Nimule highway. Makuei said that life was shattered following the renewed crashes in July 2016 which later spiked targeted killing along the country's major routes particularly 185 km Juba-Nimule road linking South Sudan to Uganda. He revealed that since July 8, 2016, many commuters shunned the country's only tarmacked highway, resulting into a drastic...

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has directed all importers to use the Standard Gauge Railway, as government fights to make the modern railway viable.Acting KPA Managing Director Daniel Manduku on Saturday canceled an earlier notice that had allowed importers of nine commodities to use any Container Freight Stations (CFS) of their choice.Instead, he directed importers of sugar, steel, rice, second-hand clothes, reefer cargo, and cooking oil to transfer their cargo to the Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD) via the new railway line.Other commodities that had been exempted from the forceful use of the SGR but will now be transferred to ICD via the new line include project cargo awaiting exemption letters from Government, fertilizer, and bitumen. “Kenya Airports Authority wishes to notify you and the general public that further to our notice issued on October 26, 2018 where the KPA granted approval for cargo importers to nominate the below-listed commodities to any CFS of their choice, that this notice has been vacated with immediate effect,” said Manduku in a notice to shipping lines and agents.“Henceforth shipping lines will not be allowed to endorse Bill of Lading (BL) to importers of CFS of choice.”  The notice comes at a time when KPA is grappling with congestion at the ICD, with the authority forced to lease four warehouses within the ICD’s vicinity to store the extra cargo. Source: Standard Digital

Construction of the 120km Nairobi-Naivasha standard gauge railway (SGR) is 90 percent complete, 16 months after work on the project started. Kenya Railways acting managing director Philip Mainga expressed optimism that the rail will be completed ahead of the June deadline, despite a compensation stalemate along Rongai and Ngong sections. “Phase 2A of the Nairobi-Naivasha SGR line is 90 per cent done and we are still on course to finish the project by May 31,” said Mr Mainga. He noted that the corporation is working with the National Land Commission (NLC) to settle outstanding payment claim amounting to Sh7.2 billion by landowners affected by the rail. “NLC is working out to pay Sh7.2 billion in Rongai and Ngong areas measuring about 5km. We are doing everything possible to see these payment done so that we can finish this project on time,” he said. The Nairobi-Naivasha line, which will cost the taxpayer Sh150 billion, connects to the recently completed stretch from Mombasa port to Nairobi. The SGR is expected to eventually connect Nairobi to Kampala via Naivasha, Kisumu and Malaba. Challenges Works on the Naivasha line has faced numerous challenges. Last January, construction of the Nairobi-Naivasha SGR line was suspended for three days as workers protest low pay and harsh working conditions. The more than 800 employees protested at the Satellite section in Mai Mahiu, saying they would only resume work after their grievances were fully addressed. According to one of the workers who sought anonymity, employees at the site were...

Coffee exporters are now realising the benefits of the Electronic Single Window system that was unveiled across the region four years ago. The Electronic Single Window is a computer aided system that enables companies to clear goods at customs online without necessarily moving around to do manual paperwork clearance. Joseph Nkandu, the Executive Director at the National Union of Coffee Agribusiness and Farm Enterprises said prior to inclusion of coffee on the system in July 2018, NUCAFE was spending Shs350, 000 on moving around government agencies like Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) to clear their coffee for export. That cost has since reduced to Shs100, 000 with the implementation of single window, he said. “If digitization is handled very well it is the way to go,” he said at the Single Window Evaluation Workshop held at Uganda Manufacturers Association on March 06. Nkandu said the system has also led to reduced time spent on processing documents for exports from 14 to two days. It has also improved farmers’ turnover at export level with reduced payback time from 45 to 10 days after export for farmers’ final payment. It has also increased farmers’ value addition and direct marketing in addition to enhanced use of the farmer ownership model and increase in NUCAFE membership by 25% The system has increased women and youth entrepreneurial leadership in marketing by 65%. It has also increased farmer incomes from 250% in 2017 to 900% today. Another coffee exporting company, UGACOF Limited, a...