Construction of the first berth of the Sh30 billion Dongo Kundu free port and economic zone is set to start, giving employment hopes to hundreds of youths who have lost transportation jobs to the Standard Gauge Railway. Kenya Ports Authority managing director Daniel Manduku said the project's feasibility study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is about to be concluded. “In conjunction with the Trade and Industrialisation ministry, we have identified 3,000 acres owned by KPA where we shall develop a Free Economic Zone. "Soon we shall launch the construction of the first berth of Dongo Kundu port which will be connected to the second phase of the Sh30 billion Dongo Kundu bypass," he said on the sidelines of the International Association of Maritime Economists conference in Mombasa. EMPLOYMENT The project will create more than 1,000 direct jobs and at least 2,000 indirectly, he added. "The project among other initiatives will create thousands of jobs, set up about 1,000 light industries and spur growth in the port city of Mombasa,” Dr Manduku said, adding that he expected the port to handle increased local exports. “In developing the Special Economic Zones, we shall be encouraging the private sector to set up industries. The targeted area is enough to accommodate about 1,000 of them. Those who have been lamenting that they are losing the port business because most of the goods are destined for Nairobi can now think of investing in the Dongo Kundu Free trade project so that they can...

The ports operator is grappling with congestion of cargo at its Inland Container Depot in Nairobi. This has prompted the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to transfer some containers to alternative storage areas. KPA Managing Director Daniel Manduku yesterday said the Inland Container Depot (ICD) was weighed down by about 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (teus) of containers and that excess cargo was being transferred to five periphery storage areas in the city. The ports chief blamed the pile-up on delays by cargo owners to take away their goods after they are delivered to the facility via the Standard Gauge Railway from the port of Mombasa. Speaking on the sidelines of the International Association of Maritime Economists conference in Mombasa, Dr Manduku explained that 3,300 teus had been at the ICD for more than the required 21 days. Another 845 teus were set to be destroyed by the Kenya Revenue Authority. “We have over 4,000 teus as long-stay at the ICD that are currently being transferred to five periphery storage areas in Nairobi to ease congestion,” Manduku said. He said congestion at the port of Mombasa had been contained and that the current 10,582 teus there represented 50 per cent capacity. In an advertisement, the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa) said its members were incurring huge losses, ranging from container detention fees, and storage charges to KPA to increased corruption rate at the port and ICD. According to Kifwa chairman William Ojonyo, the reasons for the delays in picking up...

Kampala. Truck drivers in the logistics sector will have to be certified if sanity is to be brought in one of the most fragmented sectors of Uganda. Speaking ahead of the Global Logistics Conference in Kampala next week, Dr Merian Sebunya the National Logistics Platform chairman structured under Private Sector Foundation Uganda, said the certification will be an attempt to maintain professionalism in the sub-sector. However, he said, this will be achieved through partnership across the economic divide given that logistics companies do not work in isolation. The logistics sub-sector, according to Mr Hussein Kiddedd, the Uganda Freight Forwarders Association chairman, has been affected because of its fragmented setting thus lacking a clear strategy. “Even at the policy levels, everything is fragmented,” he said, emphasising the need to draw up a clear strategy that can sufficiently develop the sector. Mr Kiddedde who is also the chief executive officer of Graben 4PL, a logistic and transport company, said the lack of skilled labour in the sector has also made it difficult for the industry to attract affordable credit from financiers. “It is only here where you entrust a huge investment with a primary school dropout. These things shouldn’t be happening. We need to professionalise the industry,” pointing to the lack of professionalism in the logistics sub-sector. However, speaking at the same function, Mr Gideon Badagawa, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda executive director, urged that for Uganda to attain the much needed competitiveness, there is need to bring down the cost of doing...

TradeMark Africa (TMA) expanded into Ethiopia will bring with it a host of benefits into the country. The organisation recently signed a Host Country Agreement (HCA) with the government of Ethiopia  paving the way for TMAs expansion into the country. Since its formation, TMA has made a significant contribution to this growth by delivering large scale impact in its highly successful first strategic phase which was completed in December 2017. Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs State Minister Professor Kassu and Transport State Minister Hiwot Mosisa represented the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia while TMA was represented by its CEO, Mr Frank Matsaert. According to a statement by TMA, the HCA now paves way for the establishment of TMA’s Ethiopia Country Programme, with physical presence in Ethiopia, budget and staff to manage the country programme. These are the three areas of focus once the organisation sets base in the country: Reducing trade costs on corridors: This focuses on the transport, logistics and infrastructure of particularly busy corridors (ports, roads and border posts), to reduce the cost of trade and transport. Improving the trading environment: This focuses largely on introducing new electronic systems to streamline ports, borders and corridors and to ease and fasten movement of goods and people. It includes wide policy and regulatory measures that apply global best practice to trade facilitation and export markets. Increasing private sector competitiveness: This focuses on increasing the role of business in public policy making on trade, and ensuring the private sector takes advantage of an improving trading environment, especially...

The Sh20 billion Shimoni Port project on the sea border of Kenya and Tanzania border will be undertaken through a public-private partnership (PPP). The fishing port of Shimoni is one of the 11 small facilities, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) wants to develop countrywide in an ambitious multibillion shillings programme. This revelation by KPA on Wednesday has attracted divergent views from players, with those supporting it saying it would promote trade. “We want to make Shimoni Port a fishing port so we will build a multi-purpose berth that will incorporate fishing and handle other cargo. “We will also do cold storage facilities at Shimoni and value addition facilities, including those for fish processing. That, however, will be done under PPP arrangement,” said acting KPA managing director Daniel Manduku yesterday, in an exclusive interview with the Nation. Source Nation Media

Aisha Inshuti holds dual Rwandan-Ugandan citizenship. Having completed university, the 24-year-old ventured into a cross-border business of selling women's hair products. She buys them in Uganda and sells them in Rwanda. "Crossing the border is sometimes difficult especially with politics these days," she tells DW. "Many Rwandans have dual citizenship. You can have both Rwandan and Ugandan nationality, but these days we hear there is a problem with the Ugandan and Rwandan government," she said. Nowadays, she claims, Ugandan immigration officials even go to the length of confiscating the Ugandan identity cards of people with dual citizenship. "It will take you ages – if not forever – to get it back, so we have resorted to only using the Rwandan national ID," Inshuti says. At a bus terminal in Uganda's capital Kampala, Joki Wanjeri, a 27-year-old Kenyan trader, waits for her bus back home to Nairobi. She deals in women's footwear and shares Inshuti's sentiments. Ugandan officials create obstacles that impede free trade between the two countries, Wanjeri says. "Once you reach the border on the Ugandan side they want money [bribes], otherwise you cannot cross," she laments. "It's easy for the Ugandans to cross from Kenya with our goods, but when it comes to us it's a different story." Political wrangling to blame While Akol Amazima, a Ugandan political analyst cannot confirm the traders' experiences, he does believe that the root of problems lies in intra-regional politics. The problems at the borders are often the result of political differences between the countries. "When the political situation...

Kenya has reached out to the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat in a bid to solve escalating trade disputes with some member states. EAC and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed yesterday said the executive arm of the trade bloc should come in where countries are unable to solve non-tariff barrier issues amicably. “The biggest issue is the interpretation of rules by officials at the border. To solve this, we want a different approach where the secretariat takes a leading role in resolving the issues rather than members resolving disputes among themselves,” he said at a press briefing in Nairobi. Blocked from markets Kenya Association of Manufacturers Chairman Sachen Gudka said despite efforts to solve a trade spat where Uganda and Tanzania slapped duty on Kenyan confectionery and sweets, some products were still being blocked from the two markets. Kenyan manufacturers are also frustrated by Tanzania’s push-back over duty-free sugar imports after the country slapped the commodity with a 25 per cent duty. Kenya invited the two countries to inspect companies using industrial sugars to produce sweets, cakes and ice cream, also known as confectioneries, to ascertain that what was being used was not brought under the duty-free window. “The issue of the industrial sugar expired on June 30. However, some products still cannot access the partner states,” said Mr Gudka. KAM members also met Tanzanian official to iron out longstanding trade disputes, including lack of preferential status on edible oil products, cement and lubricants. CS Aden said there were...

The current mismatch between capital seeking profitable ventures and the chronic deficit of large-scale investments in Africa can be addressed through closer collaboration with institutions such as the World Bank Group. This was said by President Paul Kagame on Tuesday during the opening of a two-day Development Finance Forum hosted by the World Bank Group in Kigali. Kagame said that despite the strong prospects in Africa in regards to investment opportunities, there exists a mismatch between capital seeking investment and large-scale investment funding. “In the global context, there is an excess of capital looking for profitable ventures such as these as we all know. Yet in Africa, there is a chronic deficit of large-scale investment funding. That is what we are here to address in practical terms,” he said. To make up for the mismatch and change status quo, the President called for close collaboration with the World Bank Group. The Group’s private sector support arm International Finance Cooperation, and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which offer targeted interventions to change status quo such as risk guarantee facilities. “We still have a long way to go but the direction of travel is clear and the necessary partnerships are increasingly in place. Among the most important is Africa’s partnership with the institutions that make up the World Bank Group,” he said. Kagame, who is also African Union chairperson, called on countries to make the most of the organisation’s expertise in aspects such as regulatory reforms and private sector development. “The heart of...

Uganda is set to host global logistics convention that is aimed at providing opportunities for the public, private sector, development partners and civil society organizations to promote mutual understanding and create shared course of action. Speaking at Sheraton hotel, Chairperson National Logistics Platform and board member Private Sector Foundation (PSFUG) Merian Sebunya said the convention brings together all players in the freight and logistics industry to discuss and stop time wastage. The convention is an annual freight logistics event of the Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations and will be organized by Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA) under the National Logistics Platform in collaboration trade mark east Africa. “Kenya and Uganda jointly are able share data and manage the Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) with introduction of Integrated Customs Management System (ICMS) security of cargo guaranteed,” She called for benchmarks and shared best practices to put into practice to improve their operations in Uganda towards economic growth in the industries to be put in place. Last year, Trade Mark East Africa transitioned from the 2010- 2017 Strategy which focused on reduction in time and costs to import a container to the 2018-2022 Strategy that is focusing on driving job creation. The Executive Director Private Sector Foundation Gideon Badaggawa said an economy cannot thrive without transport no matter what you are dealing in, “you will not be able to transport goods from Uganda to Kenya and to the rest of East Africa. Uganda is in the middle of the East...

What is the role of National Logistics Platform? The National Logistics Platform (NLP) under the Private Sector Foundation Uganda has been implementing a project with UKAID support through Trade Mark East Africa since 2016. NLP’s role is to develop a competitive logistics industry through advocacy, promoting collaboration among stakeholders, promoting public-private partnership and carrying out research to build knowledge base according to international best practices. Describe the logistics landscape in Uganda. The East African Community presents Ugandan logistics providers with a large potential market but also increases competition for the provision of domestic logistics services. A World Bank funded report by Matt Mac Donald, 2016 states that, currently imports of transport and logistics services make up 55 per cent of Uganda’s total service imports while Uganda’s transport and logistics exports are only 3.7 per cent of Uganda’s total services exports. Improving logistics services will create employment opportunities. About 208,000 people are currently employed in the logistics sector in Uganda, a number that could rise to 522,000 by 2030. What is the relationship between the transport and logistics fields?  While transportation focuses on the movement of goods from one place to the other, the logistics industry implies a broader spectrum and refers to the whole ‘flow’ management. This includes not only the transportation and delivery of goods but also storage, handling, inventory, packaging and various other aspects. Who are the key stakeholders in this industry?  Uganda’s freight logistics industry comprises of: trade and transport infrastructure (roads, railways, inland and marine port...