The Kenya Ports Authority has recorded huge improvement in cargo clearance and ship performance in just a few days since the new management took office. On Monday, the parastatal announced it had reduced the number of containers sitting at the port from an all time high of 22,500 to about 10,000. New MD Daniel Manduku attributed the improvement to efficiency measures, including seamless connection of operations between discharge and eventual delivery to location. "We are committed to ensure that the numbers go much lower while maintaining good business practice. Those discharging from the cranes, those transporting from the terminal, those evacuating out of the port, and those doing documentation, all work in harmony," he told the Star. Manduku said anyone implicated in graft will be summarily dismissed and prosecuted. He said no contraband will be allowed to pass through the port whose management is working with other agencies to enforce the law. Manduku said that the chain process must be efficient because a small break in the link is normally passed on to eventual clogging of the port. At the same time, he revealed that a new record ship performance has been registered at the Port of Mombasa, two years after the last one was set in 2015. Container carrier Ms Kota Lambai, docked at berth No.17 and recorded 82 gross moves per hour, handling a total of 4,367 Twenty-toot Equivalent Units (TEUs). The vessel recorded her first sling on Saturday at 8.20am and sailed on Sunday morning after registering...

Kampala. East African currencies, including the Ugandan and Tanzanian shillings as well as the Rwanda franc have taken a beating as they continue to weaken against the dollar. The Ugandan shilling has edged downwards by 3.6 per cent against the dollar since January while the Tanzanian shilling has edged by 1.8 per cent. The Rwanda franc has been a bit resistant only weakening by 0.9 per cent. The Uganda shilling has been the worst hit closing last Thursday at Shs3,824 against the dollar, according to Bank of Uganda. The weakening trends present a tricky situation for the region, which has been recovering from a difficult period characterised by a rapid increase in imports, relatively violent elections and slowed economic growth. This has not been helped by stagnated or reduced growth in the export sector. The Uganda shilling, according to Mr Stephen Kaboyo, the Alpha Capital managing partner, has been undermined by surging dollar demand amid low forex inflows. “Bank of Uganda’s intervention [last week] provided a short period of relief,” he said, highlighting the likelihood of continued weakening of the Uganda shilling in the weeks ahead. “Outlook indicates sustained weakening in the coming days on account of intense demand from importers and commercial banks,” he said. The Central Bank, Mr Kaboyo said, had last week only sold Shs101b worth of dollars against the targeted Shs180b after the unit lost almost Shs50 of its value in just three days. Earlier, Bank of Uganda had said it would not intervene in the...

Tanzania’s priorities in the 2018/2019 budget are its flagship infrastructure projects and creating a conducive environment for investment and business, especially in the agriculture sector. In the budget presented last week on Thursday by Finance Minister Philip Mpango, the focus was on agriculture, infrastructure and industrialisation. Dr Mpango is seeking to improve irrigation infrastructure, warehouses and markets, supply of inputs, dissemination of skills and development of the livestock and fisheries sub-sectors. On industries, he is proposing to implement a recently developed blueprint for regulatory reforms to improve the business environment. The budget also plans to prioritise social services such as clean water, free basic education, improved health facilities and supplies. The finance minister has allocated funds to support electricity generation, construction of the standard gauge railway (SGR) and improving regional and rural road connectivity, air and marine transport. The construction of the SGR, new trunk roads, revival of the ailing Air Tanzania Corporation, expansion of airports and ports also top the government’s agenda. The government is allocating 12.9 per cent of the total budget amounting to Tsh4.2 trillion ($2.1 billion) to the development of major infrastructure projects aimed at making Tanzania a middle-income economy in the next seven years. About Tsh1.4 trillion ($700 million) has been earmarked for the construction of the SGR between Dar es Salaam-Morogoro (300km) and Morogoro-Makutopora in the capital city of Dodoma (422km).This is significantly higher than the Tsh900 billion ($400 million) set aside in the 2017/2018 financial year. The government has set aside Tsh215 billion...

Tanzania is proposing to implement sweeping changes in the East African Community common external tariff (CET) regime, increasing duty on almost three quarters of the goods, as it seeks to protect local industries. Kenya also announced similar measures, but on a smaller scale, saying it is important to grow local industries and increase production while protecting producers from cheap imports. Last month, finance ministers from the East African Community agreed to effect changes to the CET and make amendments to the EAC Customs Management Act 2004, to protect local industries and farmers from cheap imports of items like sugar, maize, wheat and rice, as well as Customs-related taxation measures. However, only Tanzania has sought to fully implement these changes in the 2018/19 fiscal year, with Kenya only proposing to implement three of the proposed 25 changes. Uganda and Rwanda have not proposed any changes in the budgets delivered on Thursday. The current CET is based on three bands: 25 per cent for finished goods, 10 per cent for intermediate goods and zero per cent for raw materials and capital goods, with a limited number of products on the “sensitive goods” list, which attract rates above the maximum 25 per cent. The three-band tariff package has been blamed for killing competitiveness of local businesses and obstructing intra-regional trade by forcing them to pay duty of 25 per cent on some imported inputs which should ordinarily attract zero per cent or 10 per cent duty. The EAC CET was last reviewed in...

Transport and trade in and around the port city of Mombasa received a major boost with the opening of the first phase of the Sh11 billion Dongo Kundu bypass. The bypass will ease transport of cargo by road from the port of Mombasa and boost business between Kenya and Tanzania. Residents, too, will have an alternative to the congested Likoni channel once phases two and three of the project are complete. “There is also the Dongo Kundu special economic zone whose construction will move faster because of the completion of the road. When the zone is complete our youth will secure employment,” said the president, who was flanked by his deputy William Ruto and Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho. President Uhuru Kenyatta said the road will open up the economy of Mombasa and the entire country. He said the 10 kilometre Miritini-Mwache-Kipevu link road or phase one of the Dongo Kungu bypass was part of the thousands of kilometres of roads his government was doing. Related Content Sh11bn ocean bypass ready for use MAJOR DEVELOPMENT “There are those who said that some roads like the Mariakani- Bamba road will not be a reality but they can now see that movement has been smooth on that road and no passenger or motorist is delayed,” he said. The major infrastructure development by Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has transformed Mombasa, easing traffic and movement of people and goods. Mombasa is Kenya’s main international gateway by sea and therefore crucial to its economy. The...

President Museveni and visiting top Chinese communist party’s executive, Mr Wang Yang, on Friday launched completed sections of the 51.4km Entebbe expressway. Mr Wang, who is chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, described the expressway as a “starting point in Uganda’s economic takeoff.” “Travel time [on the expressway] will be cut from two hours to 40 minutes. I hope the road will give Uganda the wings to fly to industrialisation and Vision 2040,” Mr Wang said. He said the road is part of China’s Silk Road belt project, the initiative to enhance connectivity from mainland China to Africa and Europe, launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013. Mr Wang, the number four in the Chinese communist party’s politburo, was accompanied by senior Chinese government officials, who included vice president of Exim Bank. They arrived in Uganda from the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville on Wednesday for a three-day state visit. Chinese-African support President Museveni described the Entebbe expressway as an outcome of enhanced Chinese-African support, which includes bankrolling the Shs1.5 trillion expansion of Entebbe International Airport, and the Karuma and Isimba hydropower dams, with combined cost Shs6.7 trillion. He urged China to deal with African countries, not as narrower regional economic groupings such as East African Community, Common Market for East and Southern Africa, Economic Community of West African States and Southern African Development Community, but as one trading bloc after the recent signing of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) treaty in Kigali, Rwanda in...

KAMPALA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Bridging over a swamp fully covered with green weeds, the 1,450-meter-long Nambigirwa bridge in southern Uganda is one of the longest bridges in East Africa. The bridge is part of the Chinese company-built Kampala-Entebbe expressway that links the Ugandan capital Kampala and the country's main gateway Entebbe International Airport. The whole expressway project consists of a four-lane dual carriageway with the length of 49.56-kilometers, bridges, major interchanges, underpasses and toll plazas. The construction of the project started in 2012. China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), the constructor, handed over a 4.1-kilometer-long reconstruction section on Nov. 12, 2017 and a 37.21-kilometer-long toll section on May 18, 2018. Currently, the expressway is capable of being open to traffic and is in trial operation. Funded by the concessional loan from China, the expressway is expected to alleviate problems in terms of travel time and comfort, and to enable people to do business more efficiently, according to Edward Katumba-Wamala, Ugandan Minister of State for Works. Over the years, travelers passing through the Entebbe airport have increased hugely, and the number of the travelers is likely to increase with time, Wamala told Xinhua. On the other hand, the traffic volume in Uganda has been increasing over the years and roads that were made for the traffic of the 1970s can no longer accommodate the traffic of today, he said. One of the pains people are facing when travelling to and from the airport is that at times they would miss...

Rwandan coffee will be showcased at the World of Coffee exhibition in Amsterdam, The Netherlands from June 21 to- 23, the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) has confirmed. The World of Coffee exhibition is Europe’s largest coffee gathering and one of the world’s distinguished coffee events. Over 6000 coffee professionals will convene in Amsterdam for the event organized by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE), which Rwanda subscribes to. Rwandan Coffee with its complex and diverse flavours will be exhibited and tasted by prominent European specialty coffee importers, roasters and retailers. Officials say the 2018 edition of the World of Coffee will be another opportunity for Rwanda Coffee to reach thousands of coffee industry stakeholders as the exercise will generate business deals and seek more investment opportunities within the coffee sector in Rwanda. “This is an invaluable experience for international coffee enthusiasts, key industry players and of course many other interested parties to discover and enjoy the specialty coffees from Rwanda’, said Rwanda’s envoy to Netherlands, Jean Pierre Karabaranga said. A delegation of 15 exhibitors from Rwanda will participate in the exhibition. Their participation will be facilitated by a joint collaboration of the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in The Netherlands and National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB). The Rwandan exhibitors will also raise awareness about the up-coming ‘African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition’ to be hosted in Kigali in February 2019, he said. Source: The New Times

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria has said he will present a bill that seeks to ban the export of unprocessed coffee to boost farmers’ earnings. Kenya’s coffee accounts for about 1 per cent of the annual global output, but the top quality Arabica beans are sought after by global roasters who use them to blend with other varieties. Raw coffee beans, which are Kenya’s fifth biggest source of hard currency, are usually sold at a weekly auction in Nairobi or directly to buyers abroad who then roast, package and sell them at a hefty premium. Coffee exports earned $214 million (Sh21.4 billion) in the year to March. Kuria said some countries are importing raw Kenyan coffee, processing it and re-exporting it back to Kenya for sale at the expense of farmers who “do not reap maximum benefits from their produce”. He said his new bill will prohibit the export of raw coffee in any form. “I am introducing a bill in the National Assembly to provide that coffee be exported only in processed form having been roasted, milled, packed and branded, clearly labelled with a ‘Made in Kenya’ inscription,” Kuria said in a letter to the Speaker yesterday. There was no immediate comment from the Ministry of Agriculture or coffee exporters. Kenya’s coffee output peaked at 129,000 tonnes in 1988-89, but has since dropped steadily due to poor management and global price swings. Farmers have switched crops or sold their land. Kenya’s harvest fell 12 per cent in the 2016-17...

Enterprise Singapore (ESG) opened a centre in Kenya yesterday - its third in Africa - to help Singapore companies enter the region and boost trade and investment between both markets. The centre in the capital Nairobi will serve as a regional hub for East Africa and complement ESG's outlets in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Accra, Ghana. ESG assistant chief executive Yew Sung Pei said: "Today, over 60 Singapore companies operate in Africa across more than 50 countries. Interest from Singapore companies is growing. "Our (Nairobi) office will identify opportunities for Singapore companies, broaden our networks and strengthen the Singapore brand in the fast-growing region." ESG has identified several growth sectors in East Africa where Singapore firms can contribute, including fintech, e-commerce, logistics, light manufacturing and urban solutions and energy. The official opening coincided with a state visit to Kenya and Rwanda by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, and Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry. The delegation is being accompanied by 20 Singapore firms on a business mission organised by ESG and the Singapore Business Federation. East Africa is the fastest-growing region in the continent and accounts for 22 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africa's total gross domestic product. It grew 5.9 per cent last year to $467.6 billion. The region is home to some of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Singapore's economic ties with the region have been...