Kenya Railways will dedicate two trains daily to ferry empty containers from its Nairobi Inland Container Depot to the port of Mombasa to reduce the backlog. Responding to complaints over delays to return the containers, the Kenya Ports Authority said KR has scheduled one out of the five daily trains to ferry empty containers. “The Authority will be holding weekly consultative sessions with its customers to track the efficiencies of the new measures,” said head of corporate affairs Bernard Osero. An average of 540 containers of cargo are ferried to Nairobi ICD from Mombasa through the SGR following an increase of freight trains from one to five daily. In a statement, KPA also outlined eight key measures put in place to improve operational efficiency. The handling charges for both local and transit cargo have been reviewed from $103 to $80 per 20ft unit, and from $157 to $120 for 40ft. For Transit cargo, it was reduced from $85 to $60 for 20ft unit and $125 down to $90 per 40ft. The free storage period for import containers in Nairobi has been reduced from 11 days to four days to encourage importers to hasten collection of their cargo. KPA has also introduced a 24-hour work schedule including Sundays as well as opening a one-stop centre and returned containers that were erroneously sent to Nairobi. It is using Hand Held Terminals (HHT) to update slots in the yard and trace containers to enhance human resources capacity and equipment. “We wish to assure all our...

The East African Community is pushing for an amendment to the Customs Management Act to allow Customs officials to get advance information regarding goods being moved across national borders ahead of their arrival on carrier vessel. This would enable Customs officials to detect high-risk consignments and take appropriate action, and expedite clearance of legitimate cargo. Section 24(1)(a) of the East African Community Customs Management Act requires shipping lines to submit their vessel manifest at least 24 hours before their arrival at a port. Approval The Council of Ministers has approved the amendment for submission to the East African Legislative Assembly. It will then be forwarded to heads of state for approval and enforced by the Customs Directorate. It is expected that the law will curtail trade in illegal goods across partner states as authorities will have to co-operate and share information on money laundering, drug, arms and human trafficking, dealings in counterfeits and infringement of intellectual property rights. This will be the third time the Act is being amended since 2004, when East African Community Customs Management came into force. Source: The East African

Uganda’s economy is expected to grow at 5.5 per cent in the current financial year, against an earlier forecast of 3.9 per cent. Director of Budget Kenneth Mugambe attributes the growth to improved food supply and recovery of the agriculture sector. A growing economy means that Uganda, under pressure to raise more funds for its infrastructure, can borrow without reaching the East African Community’s debt ceiling of 50 per cent debt to GDP ratio. However, there are fears that tax revenue will not follow the same path. According to a World Bank report, Uganda’s tax-to-GDP ratio, already below the average for EAC partner states, is expected to decline further, from the 13.8 per cent registered in 2016/17 to 12.9 per cent. This reduction also places hurdles on Uganda’s path to the EAC monetary union. The country needs a tax to GDP ratio of 25 per cent by 2021 to join the EAC Monetary Union in 2024. Tax exemptions Moses Kajubi, senior public sector specialist in charge of domestic revenue mobilisation at the World Bank, said that Uganda’s gross tax revenue could be below what was recorded last year since the taxman has registered higher than expected shortfalls over the past 10 months. “Overall revenues collected by the end of the year could fail to reach that of last year,” he said. To solve the problem of failing to grow tax revenue at the same pace as GDP, the World Bank has recommended that Uganda scraps a raft of special tax...

In 2017, 37 per cent of Kenya’s exports went to an African country, down from  40 per cent the previous year. This caused a near flat growth in export earnings, particularly from East Africa which accounts for more than half of Africa’s total trade with Kenya. These declining trade levels have spurred interest in the establishment of policies and structures that can boost intra-Africa trade. Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) has been working with East African Community member states on trade facilitation, with the goal of establishing borderless commerce. Business Daily’s Laban Cliff Onserio talked to TMA’s chief executive, Frank Matsaert, on the future of regional trade and what can be done to expand it. Your organisation has been supporting trade and investment in East Africa for more than 10 years and is about to go into Strategy II. What do you have to show for your efforts in phase 1 and what should we expect from this latest initiative?  Our big aim is to encourage job creation through increased trade. I would like to go for a target of about one million jobs. We want to increase trade in the region by reducing the cost of trade. What is different about this latest phase is that we are going to do some pilots to bring in anchor investment aimed at diversifying exports. The potential for Kenya to attract investment in labour-intensive manufacturing is strong so we want to help that process as part of the President’s Big Four Agenda initiatives....

The four RTGs are part of the 12 RTGs that the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) ordered from Toyota Tshusho of Japan. Efficiency and productivity at the Port of Mombasa is expected to improve following the acquisition of four new Rubber Tyred Gantry (RTG) cranes and two Rail Mounted Gantry (RMG) cranes. The four RTGs are part of the 12 RTGs that the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) ordered from Toyota Tshusho of Japan. The first consignment (8 RTGs) was received on April 21, 2018. The two RMGs are part of the six that the Authority ordered from ZPMC of China. KPA said the remaining four RMGs are expected towards the end of June 2018. "One RTG costs Kshs 185 Million while each RMG is Kshs 355 Million," KPA said in a statement, on Wednesday. The main features of the RTGs are; hybrid power system- resulting into improved fuel efficiency of up to 50% and reduced carbon emissions; advanced crane monitoring system; installed accurate container load weighing system; safe working load of 45 tons; stacking height of five plus one high; width of 6 plus one truck lane and automatic steering. On the other hand the RMGs main features include; safe working load of 65 tons; two twenty foot containers (twin lift) capability; span of 40 meters and outreach of six meters (this shall enable the cranes serve 3 SGR and 3 MGR railway lines); stacking height is 5 plus one container; 180O trolley rotation mechanism to enable turning of containers; advanced...

Dar es Salaam — Delay in port clearance of 70 buses worth $18.2 million (about Sh41.1 billion at the prevailing exchange rate) owned by Usafiri Dar es Salaam Rapid Transport (Udart) is due to lack of official communication with the regulator, The Citizen has learnt. Speaking to The Citizen in a phone interview on Wednesday, Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (Dart) public relations manager William Gatambi said that his office was unaware of the matter. "We are unaware of the matter. Udart did not ask us for the clearance permit," he said. He went further to explain, contrary to their contract with Dart, Udart did not even consult the former about the purchasing of the18-meter "articulated" buses, which were meant to reduce the challenge of overcrowding in the city. But Udart Head of communications Mr Deus Bugaywa is positive that their consignment would be cleared by June because of a high end meeting that will happen on that month. "The country expects to host the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP)'s annual Sustainable Transport Summit organized in partnership with the Volvo Research and Education Foundations in June. I don't think the government will let its guests witness the current situation," Mr Bugaywa said. Things are not good on the grounds, when passengers board Dar's rapid buses in the busiest routes in the city, in peak hours, it is rare to find an open seat or a place to stand comfortably as they are always full. The problem is acute...

Rwanda used clothing ban Rwandan traders have reacted to a move by the government to ban imports of used clothing which they believe will lead to loss of jobs and will have a negative impact on the country’s economy. The government increased tariffs on imported used clothes with the intention of eventually phasing out importation. Tariffs were hiked from 20 cents to $2.50 per kilogram. Domestic demand for locally produced clothes has been stifled, east African governments say, by the ubiquity of cheap, second-hand garments imported from Europe and the United States. However , Neighboring Kenya which in 2017 exported nearly $340 million of apparel duty-free to the United States, backed down. Uganda and Tanzania followed Kenya’s example and capitulated, agreeing to roll tariffs back to pre-2016 levels, leaving Rwanda the only East African Community member country to hold out. Source: Africa News

Speaking during the launch of the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative workshop, East African Community and Northern Corridor Development Cabinet Minister Peter Munya notes that African states are underutilizing the vast resources in the continent. “The level of cross-border infrastructure especially the modes of transport is a challenge. We also have technological challenges that lead to most of the African projects being outsourced from other continents. There is also uncertainty in the political climate that affects long-term investments in the continent.” “These challenges affect the tapping of resources in Africa especially in reference to the population of 1.2 billion people that offer a very compact market for most of the goods and services being produced,” the CS said. Munya, however, said with the political goodwill shown by African Presidents with the agreement of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by 44 African countries in March this year, there was hope in the realization of continental development. The CS also expressed confidence in East Africa regional development and referred to the Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport program (LAPSSET) which he said is 48 per cent complete, as an example of regional growth. Munya further said the pipeline connecting Kenya and Uganda was set to be discussed during the Northern Corridor Summit later this month, with plans of re-launching the project being on course. “I can assure that the LAPSSET program is on course and major milestones have been achieved by the three countries.” “The issue on the pipeline with Uganda is almost...

The average dwell time for local containers for the last five years at the Dar es Salaam Port has missed the five-day target set by the Big Results Now (BRN), the Annual Performance Monitoring Report 2017 shows. The report, Promoting Efficiency in Transport, Logistics Value Chain and Trade in the Region for April 2018, revealed that the average dwell time in 2013 was 9.94 days, 7.74 days in 2014, 3.58 days in 2015, 3.73 days in 2016 and 5.58 days in 2017. “This shows that according to BRN’s target of five days, the local dwell time in 2015 and 2016 met the target, but there was an increase in 2017,” according to the report. The average transit container dwell time continued to decrease from 2013 to 2016, but records shows that it increased hugely in 2017. The averages recorded are 12.1 days, 11.7 days, 8.84 days, 8.82 days and 12.08 days from 2013 to 2017 respectively. The report suggests that a brief survey should be conducted to find out what caused an increase on average for transit dwell time in 2017 and why the set target has been unattainable. When comparing 2016 and 2017, an increase of 3.26 days was observed, which is equivalent to a 37 per cent increase. According to the report, the rise in dwell time may have been caused by increased transit cargo at the Dar es Salaam Port in 2017, delays caused by duties payment under the Single Customs Territory (SCT) as well as extended...

Arusha — The East African Community (EAC) aviation body has been voted the second best in the world in spearheading safety and security enforcements. The Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (Cassoa) earned the slot after being voted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao). The Entebbe-based institution of the EAC emerged second in the votes on performance involving 17 other similar aviation oversight bodies across the world. "Cassoa was voted as the second best safety and security aviation agency in the world", affirmed the organization's acting executive director Emile Ngunza Arao over the weekend. He told the EAC secretary general Liberat Mfumukeko who visited the headquarters of the facility that the organization was doing well in discharging its duties despite a host of challenges. Cassoa was established in 2007 as one of the institutions of the Community and mandated to make air transportation in the region safe, efficient and profitable. It was also tasked to adopt common policies for the development of civil air transport in the region comprising of six partner states. Additionally, it was mandated to harmonise civil aviation rules and regulations and coordinate maintenance of high security. The safety and security oversight obligations and responsibilities fall under the EAC Treaty and the Chicago Convention which established Icao, a specialized agency of the UN. The Convention established rules of airspace, aircraft registration and safety and details the rights of the signatories in relation to air travel. As of November last year, the Convention, revised eight times...