Ms Cynthia Mpanga is one of the six ladies sitting on the 18-member board of Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU). This is a position she campaigned and competed for through an election and was successfully voted by professional associations to represent them on the board. Prior to joining the Psfu board, Ms Mpanga was the President of the Public Relations Association of Uganda, a post she held for two years. She is currently the corporate affairs, brand & marketing manager, Standard Chartered Bank Uganda Ltd, a bank she has worked for in different managerial positions in Uganda, Kenya and Gambia in the last 15 years. Ms Mpanga represents some women in Uganda who sit on boards of organisations while holding managerial positions. Unlike Ms Mpanga and a few others who have managed to spout out in the male dominated space, the gender gap is still wide. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, this year’s theme ‘Balance for better’ calls for action to drive gender balance across the world. Much as there are efforts to increase the number of women in boardrooms and laws to support this cause, the gap is still wide. Currently, only 10 women sit on boards of Uganda’s listed companies. In the financial sector composed of 24 commercial banks, only three women are chief executive officers. There is no female CEO in telecoms, beverages companies and the list goes on. Employed women dominate in agriculture, services and manufacturing sectoris and are often at the very bottom of...

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his host Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed during the celebration of the historic defeat of colonial forces byEmperor Menelik II in 1896 near the town of Adwa. /PSCU President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked African leaders to prioritise and fast-track integration processes for the continent to achieve faster development. He said the current crop of leaders need to follow the legacies of the founding fathers of African countries by uniting people. Uhuru spoke last evening at the Presidential Palace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during a state dinner hosted in his honour by Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed and President Sahle-Work Zewde. President Uhuru called for the removal of all systemic barriers that hinder the blossoming of people-to-people relations in Africa. "We need to build on the warm relations that exist between our governments to include our populations so as to foster people-to-people interactions," the Head of State said. Uhuru also said for Africa to defeat ignorance, disease and poverty, Africans must work together as good neighbours and loving brothers. "Our people should be let to travel throughout their continent freely without any hindrances. We are all brothers and sisters with a common heritage as Africans," he said. The President commended the Ethiopian leadership for the progress being experienced in the country. He said Kenya is keen on participating in the planned regeneration of Addis Ababa into a modern African city. Uhuru said it doesn't make economic sense for Africans to keep spending resources needed to develop the...

On the eve of its ratification in Ethiopia, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) has moved closer to its implementation phase with expert’s discussion held in Gabon to review the guidelines for preparing implementations. The AfCFTA, which was adopted by the African Union in Kigali, saw more than 50 member states signing the Kigali Declaration and the Free Movement Protocol exactly a year ago. Now, the number of countries that ratified the CFTA has reached 19, leaving the AU only with 3 countries to launch it. The discussion in Gabon reviews current production and trade within a national and regional context, the identification and prioritization of opportunities for value chain development; a thorough analysis of constraints, including no tariff barriers and competitiveness issues faced by businesses and means to address them and the like. The development of the plans is supported by the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNCTAD and the European Union. According to African Union’s report on the possibilities the CFTA carries, it says that, “The AfCFTA will bring together all 55 member states of the African Union covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people, including a growing middle class, and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than USD 3.4 trillion. In terms of numbers of participating countries, the AfCFTA will be the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization.” According to the UNECA, the CFTA is said to...

Local producers are turning to the West African market in a new strategy that could enhance and increase the country’s exports, Sunday Times has learnt. In this new export promotion strategy spearheaded by the Private Sector Federation, the first consignment landed in Congo-Brazzaville last Monday with more cargo expected in the West African country this week. “The whole idea is about how we can facilitate our members to access foreign markets,” Stephen Ruzibiza, the Chief Executive Officer of Private Sector Federation said. “West Africa is a virgin market for Rwandan products and our strategy is to look for more markets in order to increase our exports.” Under the Joint Exporters Group Ltd (JEG), the company buys products from local producers for export and this is expected to address impediments encountered by exporters. The new company – owned by exporters – is supported by PSF specifically to facilitate exports. Under JEG, the initial visit last year to ascertain the market feasibility was conducted by PSF Chairman Robert Bafakulera, Ruzibiza and others to Brazzaville and Pointe Noire Port, the only sea port of the Republic of the Congo, with different Business meetings held between Rwandan and Congolese exporters. Ruzibiza said that although they started with Congo-Brazzaville, the target is to expand to other West African countries. With the organisation and support of the Private Sector Federation of Rwanda, a trade mission was organised and conducted in Brazzaville last year to ascertain export market possibilities for Rwandan products. The delegation led by Bafakulera...

A new index has categorised Kenya as a complex market for foreign firms looking to invest and establish a presence in the country. According to the report by global strategy consultants Wilson Perumal & Company that is in partnership with the Wall Street Journal, Kenya’s categorisation as a 'builder' market means that the country is attractive for production but less desirable as an end market. The ranking places Kenya as the sixth most favourable in its ‘builder’ group of eight countries that includes India, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Trinidad & Tobago. The analysis acknowledges the active efforts made to make the country more business-friendly but recommends that supporting regulations grow more mature and stabilise. “‘The Builders’ are countries on the march towards development. Most have established themselves as regional and global manufacturing centres — they have less operational complexity than market or regulatory complexity,” says the report. “However, customers in these markets are economically, culturally, and geographically diverse, making them hard to reach and convert to sale. Production in these countries is oft exported to less challenging markets…These countries suffer from biased and unstable regulations that make planning difficult,” it adds. Doing Business African countries ranked ahead of Kenya include Egypt in the fourth category as well as Botswana, Morocco, Namibia and Tunisia in the fifth group. The index by Wilson Perumal & Company is similar to the World Bank’s Doing Business report, which guides foreign investors hunting for deals on where to invest across the globe....

The Extraordinary Summit on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) that took place in Kigali, Rwanda last year brought together African leaders during which the agreement for establishing the free trade area was presented for signatures. The agreement was signed by 44 of the 55 African Union (AU) member states adding another 5 during the AU summit in Mauritania in June bringing the total number of committed countries to 49 by the end of July 2018. The Continental Free Trade Area (CTFA), will unleash Africa’s potential assembling a population of 1.2 billion people, with a GDP of $3.4 trillion as the world’s largest free trade area since the inception of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). To leverage on the CFTA cross border opportunities, Africa will require strategic infrastructure; both physical and financial. Physical infrastructure includes transportation networks such as rail, road and power that underpin the economic growth potential and financial infrastructure comprising of institutions that will enable effective operations and empower Africa to unlock and tap into the opportunities underlined by the agreement. Tanzania is known as the trade gateway for the neighbouring land locked countries through the port in Dar es Salaam. According to the Ministry of Trade, the port handles 60% of Rwanda’s exports and imports. Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Burundi and the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) all depend on the port of Dar es Salaam. Tanzania has commenced review of its policies to spur cross border trade in anticipation of the CFTA. In a statement issued by the...

Ethiopia and Kenya on Friday agreed to establish a free trade zone and enhance infrastructural development. This comes at the opening of a two-day trade and investment forum which gathered nearly 500 business leaders, investors and officials from both countries. The main purpose of the forum is to explore ways and means of strengthening the existing trade and economic relations. In his keynote address to the gathering, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that over the past years his country had taken significant steps in enhancing bilateral relations in the fields of cross-border trade, infrastructure and energy development. "We plan to transform the Moyle region [border region] to a commonly administered economic hub of East Africa," he said. The completion of the Lamu transport corridor, which connects Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia would be vital economic progress, Ahmed noted. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said that his country would agree to the establish a Moyale-free trade zone which would benefit both counties. Kenyatta added that business leaders from both countries must work together for mutually beneficial cooperation. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary Peter Makaya said that in order to harness the investment potential of both countries the business climate must change. "We urge our leaders that tariff barriers must be removed and policies must be in place to facilitate the movement of goods," he said. The trade volume between the two countries stands at $8 million. Source: AA

After a false start earlier in the year, Tanzania is finally implementing the East African Community Vehicle Load Control Act, 2016. The government has confirmed that all systems, including installation of automated weighing scales at weighbridges, are ready to allow for the implementation of the legislation from March 1. “We are good to go,” Works, Transport and Communications Minister Isack Kamwelwe told The EastAfrican. The Vehicle Load Control Act came into force two months ago, but Tanzania deferred its enforcement to March 1, after it became apparent that the system was not fully in place. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications, Elius Mwakalinga, said the postponement was also designed to provide time for awareness creation among users. EAC member states passed the law in 2017 with the aim of protecting the region’s roads system by stopping vehicle overloading. Vehicles with a gross weight of 3.5 tonnes or more have to be weighed at every weighbridge they pass through. The axle weight of super single tyres has been lowered from 10 tonnes to 8.5 tonnes. The law stipulates a $15,000 fine or a three-year jail term, or both, for contravening the weight rules. Burundi and South Sudan are now the only EAC countries that have yet to implement and enforce the law. Earlier this year, some 600 lorries loaded with cargo from neighbouring countries were seized by Tanzanian authorities at the Tunduma border with Zambia for noncompliance with the law, but were released after widespread appeals based...

Work has begun on the construction of a 250km dual carriageway between the Somaliland Port City of Berbera and Ethiopian border, to be funded by the UAE and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development Construction Company. The groundbreaking ceremony was held yesterday, 28 February, by Somaliland president Musa Bihi, who said the investment would “bring economic stability and create employment opportunities for our youth”. Abdullahi Abokor, the minister for roads, said he expects the project to increase trade volumes with Ethiopia by 30% when it is completed in early 2022. Robleh Mohamud Raghe, an analyst and former consultant to the Somaliland presidency, told a French radio station: “The highway will turn Berbera into a major regional trading hub.” There is presently only one road running southwest from Berbera to Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, and the Ethiopian border. It is a tarmac road, but as with almost all of Somaliland’s 15,000km road network it is poorly maintained and can only deal with low tonnage vehicles. It is the third busiest road for trade movement. No value has been given for the motorway, which will be part of the Berbera Corridor, but it is expected to be the second most expensive infrastructure project in Somaliland’s history, after the $442m expansion of the port of Berbera itself by DP World. The company running Berbera Port is now 51% owned by DP World, with Somaliland holding 30% of the shares, and Ethiopia 19%. Somaliland is a breakaway province of the Federal Republic of Somalia; it claims independence but is...

The disagreements between Ugandan and Rwanda governments are inconsequential to the solid relationship between the two countries, government officials say. On Wednesday this week, Rwandan border authorities blocked Ugandan cargo trucks that were heading to Rwanda from Uganda at Gatuna border. By Thursday, hundreds of traders were stuck at the border as the government of Rwanda released a statement issued by the Rwanda Revenue Authority that the move was to allow the upgrading of the One Stop Border Post at Gatuna. The switch was allegedly meant to give the contractor ample time and space to accomplish the work on time.  The Uganda Revenue Authority also advised that all trucks going to Rwanda should go through Mirama hills-Kagitumba Border. However, Ofwono Opondo the Government Spokesperson poked holes into the detail by Rwandan authorities saying that the government had also learnt that Rwanda was preventing some of her people from crossing into Uganda for education and health services. According to OO, if the closure of the border post was to allow construction works, they wouldn't have prevented people from coming to Uganda But, Henry Oryem Okello the State Minister for Foreign Affairs says that Uganda has a long, special and unique history with Rwanda, adding that all will return to normal at some point. Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda told Parliament that the events between the borders of Uganda and Rwanda are sad, but Government was working to resolve the crisis. Source: Howwe