Works to repair the ruined part of the Kigali-Gatuna highway started yesterday and the road will resume full operations by Monday, according to officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure. This follows the ruinous rains that led to a curve-in of the heavily-used road which occurred at about 77 kilometres from Kigali towards the Gatuna Border Post. Following the incident, police diverted freight transporters from Uganda to the alternative Kagitumba and Cyanika highways, pending the completion of the repairs for the road to resume normal operation. The road is mainly used by trucks from the port of Mombasa in Kenya through Uganda. Addressing a news conference Tuesday, both Infrastructure Minister Claver Gatete and the State Minister for Transport, Jean de Dieu Uwihanganye, called for caution for users of the road as the repairs continue. The road remains open to commuter buses and other vehicles. During the news conference, both ministers ruled out, at least at the moment, any foul play on the part of the contractor – German company Strabag – over the damage on the road which stretches about 500 metres. According to Uwihanganye, the section of the road sagged due to abnormal rains that have ceaselessly hit the country since January. He said: “You can’t determine, now, the liability of the contractor. Indeed, when you are designing for road construction you look at all rainfall data but now, consider the fact that the abnormal rainfall we’ve had in the past few months is something that has not happened in...

ADDIS ABABA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday said his country would ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, giving a major boost to the continental economic initiative. The PM made the remark during the opening of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Addis Ababa. Ahmed said ratifying the AfCFTA agreement will boost intra-Africa trade and boost employment opportunities for Africa's predominantly young population. Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation at around 100 million people which also happens to be East Africa's largest economy, is home to the AU headquarters, making its expected ratification of AfCFTA especially significant. So far, Ghana and Kenya have ratified the Continental Free Trade Area, though 44 African countries have signed the AfCFTA document. A minimum of 22 countries need to ratify the AfCFTA document for it to come into force. Source: Xinhua News

KAMPALA, Uganda–A new monthly market report for the month of April   on East African grains indicates that prices for staple grains in East Africa remain relatively  stable  thanks to good supplies for  grains to the markets in the region. A report from the East African Grain Council titled “East Africa grain markets and trade” shows that during the month of Aprils 2018, prices for rice, sorghum, wheat and beans declined as comparedto the previous month. The report shows that for the month of April, a metric ton of maize in Kampala went for USD 194 in compared to the USD 191 in March.  In Nairobi, the price was USD 330 in March and 313 USD  in April , in Kigali the price for maize stood at USD  212 in March and USD  198 in April and in Dar es Salaam  a metric ton went at USD 267 in March and USD  266 respectively . For the case of red sorghum the price were as follows, Nairobi USD  492 in march  and USD  474 in April, in Kampala the price was USD  244 in March  and USD  239, for Nairobi the price decline by -3.7% and that of Kigali went down by -1.8%. In Burundi and Rwanda, domestic stocks eased pressure on demand resulting to the decline in prices as observed. However supply of rice remained tightened in the monitored markets with demand mainly met by supplies from the global market. Maize prices continued on a downward trend with Kampala recording the...

NAIROBI, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is considering introducing a series of incentives in order to boost the country's exports earnings, the country's export agency said on Monday. Peter Biwott, the CEO of the Export Promotion Council (EPC), told a media briefing in Nairobi that the growth of exports has been declining in the past five years. "In order to reverse the trend of slowing growth of export earnings, we shall soon roll out incentives to enable local producers to penetrate international markets," Biwott said during a trade forum organized by EPC. Biwott said that the incentives include the formation of export fund, Export Import Bank as well as export guarantee schemes. Current incentives for manufacturers include the Export Processing Zones as well as Manufacturing under bond. According to the export agency, the incentives in place are not sufficient to enable exports to grow at the desired pace. Biwott said the incentives will enable small and medium enterprises to play a role in the export trade. He said that the export fund will also help Kenya to penetrate African markets especially in countries that are perceived to have political risk. "Kenya firms have in the past experienced revenue loss when they have exported goods to African countries that have later being affected by civil wars or undergone foreign exchange distress," he said. The EPC chief observed that the government will compensate firms that lose revenue if their foreign buyers don't remit payment. The CEO said that they will also provide...

While the U.S. and China are trying to outdo each other with import tariffs and the U.K. wants to break away from the European Union, African leaders are working on a free-trade agreement that will cover a whole continent. Talks to establish the African Continental Free Trade Area started in 2015 and while many signatures of the 55-member African Union are still outstanding, Ghana and Kenya on May 10 became the first countries to ratify the deal. Supporters dream that every nation on the continent will eventually join and create a trade bloc with a combined gross domestic product of more than $3 trillion. 1. What’s the African Continental Free Trade Area? It’s a project driven by the AU to eliminate tariffs on intra-Africa trade of goods and services and create a single continental market with free movement of business people. Intra-Africa trade currently stands at about 16 percent of the continent’s total, compared with 19 percent in Latin America and 51 percent in Asia. The agreement could increase this by half, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimates. Joined together, the continent’s combined GDP would be almost the size of the Germany’s, which would give Africans a stronger voice in global trade negotiations, according to AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. 2. What would the trade agreement do? Once implemented, the agreement would remove tariffs on 90 percent of goods. It will also pave the way for the establishment of a continental customs union. 3. Are there any...

Dar es Salaam — An interim phase for operation of Dar es Salaam rapid transit (Dart) will come to an end later this year, according to Dart Agency. The regulator's disclosure that it is preparing ground work for closing the interim phase before starting the first phase comes in the wake of ongoing complaints about poor DART services run by Usafiri Dar es Salaam Transit Company (Udart). Speaking to The Citizen on Wednesday, the Dart public relations manager, Dr William Gatambi disclosed that the tendering process for getting a new service provider for the first Dart phase was in the final stage. "We are finalising the final procedures to pick another operator. At the end of the current interim phase, which is before January, there will be two operators, including the current one," said Dr Gatambi. According to him, the government decided in May 2016 to appoint an interim operator, Udart, in order to protect Dart infrastructure. The decision to bring on board another service provider was also clarified by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa recently when answering supplementary questions from legislators. The lawmakers raised complaints over poor Dart services, which include overcrowding and transport uncertainty during the rainy season. The prime minister said the government was optimistic that the Dart services would improve after the entry of the new service provider. Before appointment of Udart, the regulator was complaining of vandalism of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) infrastructure, including equipment to support bus stands, stand roofs and other iron fittings. Dart...

Construction of Port Reitz and Moi International Airport access road, Thursday 10th May 2018. [Photo/KeNHA] Construction of Port Reitz and Moi International Airport access road has enhanced access, efficiency, and reduced congestion, as well as operating costs and improved the turnaround time at the Port of Mombasa, Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has said. Port Reitz road provides access to the Moi International Airport and a link to the 2nd container terminal at the Port of Mombasa to the Northern Corridor. The Government of Kenya and UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) through Trademark East Africa (TMA) jointly financed the road project at a cost of Sh5.2 billion. Traffic congestion at the area was identified as one of the key non-tariff trade barriers affecting businesses in the East Africa region, hence need to construct and expand the road. Construction of the road entailed expansion of the road to a dual carriageway in order to improve the existing Port Reitz and Moi International Airport access roads covering 6.4km in length. Improvement of traffic movement at intersections, construction of grade separated junctions at Magongo/Airport access road interchange and Airport access road/Port Reitz road interchange, providing Mombasa County with its first two grade separated interchange traffic intersections. Additional works undertaken entailed installation of road drainage facilities and sidewalks along Port Reitz road and Moi Airport access roads. The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) contracted China Wu Yi Co. Limited in JV with Howard Humphreys (EA) Limited and MultiScope Consulting Engineers Limited to undertake...

As the euphoria on the conclusion of the African Continental Free Trade Area ebbs, it is back to work for the negotiators, to complete unfinished business. The existential question now is: can the African Continental Free Trade Area actually happen? Can trade ever be done under this regime? There is still quite some work to complete before this can happen, which will require tact, foresight and good management. Africa’s presidents will next meet this July in Mali, just two months away, and expect to receive and adopt the outstanding instruments needed to complete the Agreement, namely, annexes setting out the details for trading in goods and services. The first priority of priorities is to complete these annexes, through legal scrubbing, which usually turns out not to be as easy as it might sound. The annexes cover the following areas: rules of origin, customs cooperation, trade facilitation, non-tariff barriers, technical standards, health standards, transit trade, trade remedies, and schedules of tariff concessions. There are three short annexes also for dispute settlement, which can be completed quickly: on panel working procedures, expert review and code of conduct for arbitrators and panellists. Should the law experts fail to complete the scrubbing at the ongoing long meetings, the African Ministers of Justice and Attorneys-General who will meet in the first week of June this year, should prepare to do the heavy lifting. They will need to keep away from the hair-splitting that sometimes bogs down meetings between two or more lawyers, worse between lawyers...

South Sudan's private sector has formally started the process of integration into the East African Business Council (EABC), a senior trade official said on Friday. Mou Mou Athian, the Secretary General of South Sudan Secretariat for the East African Community, said the integration process was a good opportunity for the business community in the country. "This is a good beginning to rejuvenating the business community in the country," Athian said in Juba. The EABC members concluded meeting with the South Sudan private sector and government officials on Thursday in Juba. Athian cited that given the weak capacity of the private sector in the country, the EABC should play a big role in raising the capacity of the business men and women. Moses Hassen, the minister of Trade, Industry and East African Affairs, said his ministry would input the necessary requirement to fast-track the integration process. "As the government we will always be there to support the private sector," he said, adding that the government would put the necessary resources available to strengthen the private sector in order to also compete in the regional bloc. Lillian Awinja, the executive director of the EABC, said the regional body is aimed at interacting with the business community after which they would report back to employers in the bloc. South Sudan joined the regional trade bloc (EAC) in April 2016 that includes neighboring countries like Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The EABC is the apex body of the private sector associations and corporates...

The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) has dismissed a petition seeking the reinstatement of an appeal of the case on the Economic Partnership Agreement between the regional bloc and European Union. A Tanzanian, Mr. Castro Pius Shirima, filed the re-appeal on March 5 this year and hearing was scheduled for May 9. However, Mr. Shirima or his lawyer failed to appear before the court, forcing the judges to throw out the petition for abuse of court processes. Mr. Shirima moved to court in 2016 seeking EACJ to bar four East African Community member states from signing the EPA trade deal and the two that already had, stopped from proceeding with subsequent procedures. He argued that the deal contravened the EAC Treaty. Kenya and Rwanda had signed the EPA on September 1, 2016 deal but Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan declined. In July 2017, EACJ dismissed the case saying it did not find evidence that the EPA would cause irreparable economic loss or violation of the regional treaty. Mr. Shirima filed an appeal which was dismissed on February 15, 2018. He was not in court then. While dismissing the application to reinstate the appeal, the five-judge bench said the petition was misconceived. The court said the dismissal of the appeal in February was not because he failed to show up but because Mr. Shirima had amended documents contrary to court rules. Further, the judges said, he had failed to serve the respondents -- EAC member states and the Secretariat...