Tanzania is eyeing Kenyan supermarkets and consumer supply chains in new efforts to revamp cross border trade between the two countries. This means that once the ongoing bilateral talks are successfully completed, Kenyans are likely to see more Tanzania products in the shelves of local supermarkets. Speaking during a press briefing on the upcoming four day Made in Tanzania exhibition set to kick off today at Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Tanzanian ambassador to Kenya Pindi Chana said this is part of the objectives of the exhibitions. "The exhibition aims is creating more awareness of Tanzania products and services to the Kenyan private sector and general public at large,” Chana said. She further noted that in the trade between the two countries, Tanzania will focus highly on the Tourism, technology Services, food stuffs, fruits, culture art and craft sectors. While giving his remarks during the press briefing, Robert Ng'ong'a, the deputy director of bilateral trade at the State department of international trade said that trade between the two countries has largely been affected by competition from other international countries. However, he refused to disclose names of the third force citing ongoing investigations on how to solve the issue, instead he said that talks are ongoing between the two countries to find the way forward and that the exhibition is as a result of the said talks. Made in Kenya exhibition week in Tanzania will also be held within the 2018/2019 financial year. This follows slowed trade between the two leading East...

Extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to cover 10 berths at the Kenya Ports Authority, will be complete by end of next month. The extension involving construction of two bridges, with one going deep into the sea and the other for vehicles is expected to be complete by May 29. Transport CS James Macharia said the sea bridge will facilitate easier movement of bulky and heavy goods and loading onto the SGR​. “We are extending the railway line along the 10 berths so that as ships arrive, you can have the cargo coming straight from the ship into the SGR train," the CS was quoted saying. KPA senior principal communication officer Hajj Masemo on Monday said the project is 69 per cent complete, with the vehicle bridge already done. The bridges are expected to drastically reduce the amount of time taken to offload goods, and upload them to the SGR for onward transportation once the entire project is complete. Currently, cargo is offloaded from ships using cranes before being transported to the SGR line via trucks. Maseno said engineers are expected to start mounting beams across the sea bridge by the end of April. "For the aspects of lines construction from berth number 10 to berth number one, because those are the railway lines being put under concrete, the progress is 50 to 60 per cent complete. So the progress is on course," Masemo said. Chinese contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation is undertaking the construction. Kenya International Freight and...

News that Tanzania and Uganda are restricting entry of Kenya made ice cream, biscuits and sweets does not augur well for East Africa’s common market. A common market basically allows for free movement of locally manufactured goods, services and people. Kenyan businesses accuse neighbouring States of holding up people and goods, frustrating the goals of the common market that includes Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi. The latest spat has seen Tanzania and Uganda accuse Kenyan manufacturers of tilting competition in their favour by using imported raw materials. The trade barriers are unacceptable eight years since the formation of the EAC bloc. Tanzania and Uganda have been quick to impose restrictions on Kenya goods instead of giving negotiations a chance to ease the trade wars. The ambition of the region of more than 150 million people to draw foreign investment and wean EAC countries off external aid should not be allowed to die at the altar of suspicions. It should not be lost that the community collapsed in 1977 amid economic and political disagreements. Because the continent is on course to create a mega trading bloc, EAC member countries should give priority to negotiations over grand-standing for its survival. Source: Business Daily

China is using its $1 trillion-plus investment initiative in infrastructure projects as a way to expand its military footprint, projecting power and influence around the globe from the Horn of Africa into the Middle East and South Asia, according to a new report. The report, released this week by the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), reviewed 15 Chinese-financed infrastructure programs, the Washington Times reported last week. C4ADS analysts found that Beijing’s focus on building ports, roads, railroads and pipelines will bolster China’s financial prowess through these spheres of economic influence. But the infrastructure network created through development projects under the initiative also lays down the logistical backbone for China’s military, the report found. Earlier this month, China and Ghana signed agreements totaling $66 million to support the Jamestown fishing port complex and implementations of other projects, Ghana News Agency reported.  As part of the bilateral agreement, China is providing $50m for the construction of the port. Construction on the fishing port complex is expected to start this year. Also, Chinese investors want to transform the Cameroonian city of Kribi into the largest seaport in central Africa, DW reported last December Kribi's autonomous port is one of the biggest Chinese investment projects anywhere in the world. When it opens for business, it will be the largest deepwater port in central Africa. Some 85% of the €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) budget for the new harbor project is financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, with the rest falling to the government...

DAR ES SALAAM, April 23 (Xinhua) -- A Tanzanian government minister said on Monday construction of the much awaited Bagamoyo port in the east African country's Coast region will begin in June this year. Makame Mbarawa, the Minister for Works, Transport and Communication, said the government was in final talks with investors of China Merchants Holdings International Limited (CMHI) and the government of Oman. Mbarawa told the National Assembly in the capital Dodoma that on its completion, the Bagamoyo port was expected to boost the country's economy and attract major investments to the country, the second largest economy in the East African region after Kenya. The minister admitted that the project has been hit by delays, saying: "The talks took too long to be completed for benefit of the nation. We had to ensure that every project has wider impact to the country's economy." Mooted in 2013 by retired President Jakaya Kikwete, construction of the port has been hit by delays over acquisition of investors. When fully developed, the Bagamoyo Special Economic Zone will become a strategic investment zone in East Africa. The Bagamoyo port and its affiliate industrial zone is meant to address congestion at the old Dar es Salaam port and support Tanzania to become East Africa's leading shipping and logistics center. Source: Xinhua News

Earlier this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in the country and, among other engagements, was to invite Rwanda to take part in the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit to be held in Beijing this year. Rwanda accepted the invitation to the forum, which is among the largest platforms convening 29 member countries of the South-South cooperation, established in 2000. In an exclusive interview with Business Times, a Chinese official based in Kigali last week said that the preparations for the September summit were at an advanced stage. Hudson Wang Jiaxin, the Counselor at China’s Economic and Commercial Department in Kigali, said that this year’s summit would present a platform to discuss future investments between China and Africa. “FOCAC is a platform for China-Africa cooperation and for reciprocal dialogue with the idea to improve our socio-economic progress. This year’s summit is also the best platform to discuss future investments options and the strategies to achieve them,” he said. The previous summit was held in South Africa during which China made commitments to invest in Africa. At the Johannesburg summit, a commitment of about USD60 billion was made, thrice the USD20 billion commitment made during the 2012 FOCAC Summit. Wang noted that Rwanda has been receiving its share of the investment commitment and implementation over the past two years, most of which China had directed towards advancing the infrastructure sector. “Over the past years, right after the FOCAC summit in Johannesburg, China has been providing large sums of...

The Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) will on April 27 test the rehabilitated Port Bell to Kampala Railway Station line with a cargo train as part of ongoing plans to open new transport corridors. The URC senior marine officer Charles Ruzigye has said that the government has already invested about Shs 1 billion in rehabilitating the line from Port Bell to Kampala that has been inactive since the year 2007. “We have replaced the rails and sleepers and we plan to have a trial run for a cargo train from Port Bell in Luzira to Kampala on April 27th this year,” Ruzigye told journalists this week. The project which is part of the Central Corridor intends to improve movement of cargo to and from the port of Dar es Salaam through Mwanza port in Tanzania. Ruzigye said the trial “is aimed at checking the strength of the line that will connect Port Bell to Mwanza, thus transporting cargo from Kampala to Mwanza and ultimately to the Dar es Salaam port”. He said at a media briefing organised by the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTFA) media coordination office in Kampala that since 2007, Uganda has had no transport activity on Lake Victoria. Lake transport took a hit after the 2005 accident in which the MV Kabalega sunk. In the early hours of May 8, 2005, two marine vessels, MV Kaawa and MV Kabalega collided on Lake Victoria while transporting goods to and from Tanzania. MV Kabalega capsized two hours after...

African politicians and intellectuals used to talk passionately about pan-Africanism. You hardly hear the word now, except among a small group dedicated to keep it alive. That, of course, does not mean that the idea is dead. Far from it. It is actually alive and well and flourishing in Rwanda. You might even say that Rwanda has become the new centre of pan-Africanism and President Paul Kagame its leading champion. But even here, you don’t hear the word used much or see big conferences organised to discuss it. Some of those involved in it might not even be aware that they are. What you see is the concept in practice, and this is what marks the difference from earlier periods. The intensity with which the dignity of Africans and the unity of the continent have been talked about coincides with periods of great significance in the history of Africa. These periods can be said to constitute distinct phases of the development of pan-Africanism. The current phase, with which Rwanda and President Kagame are closely identified, seeks to concretise the concept through greater economic integration, increased intra-African trade and investment, and removal of all kinds of barriers. The most recent example of this drive was the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), in Kigali in March this year. But long before that, Rwanda had removed work permit requirements for citizens of East African Community partner states and eased visa requirements for all Africans travelling to this country. They...

Tanzania’s Prime Minister Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa on Monday assured the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), Martin Ngoga, of his government’s support to the Assembly’s work in advancing the six-member bloc’s integration agenda. He made the assurance during Ngoga’s courtesy call on the prime minister at the Tanzanian parliamentary building in the capital, Dodoma. During their meeting, Majaliwa told Ngoga that Tanzanians and the citizens of all the other partner states have high expectations in the regional parliament. Ngoga, on the other hand, briefed the Tanzanian premier about key and recent developments in the assembly, particularly the effort to fast-track the third pillar of the integration agenda – the East African Community Monetary Union (EAMU). “The third pillar of integration has delayed for two years now but our intention as parliament is to fast-track this effort,” he said. On Thursday last week, the East African Community Monetary Institute Bill, 2017 was finally tabled before the regional parliament in Dodoma. The long-awaited piece of legislation seeks to establish the East African Community Monetary Institute, a body which will be responsible for the preparatory work for the Monetary Union. The proposed monetary body was supposed to be set up by 2015, according to an schedule. Regional leaders issued a directive during the February 23 EAC Heads of State Summit in Kampala, Uganda for the Council of Ministers to expedite the establishment of the institute and other legal instruments to pave way for the Monetary Union. Source: The New Times

The Fifth Annual Devolution Conference opened on Monday in Kakamega county -- once again bringing the 47 heads of the devolved units and relevant agencies to Western Kenya. This is not just good news for Kakamega only but for all the Western Kenya counties, partly because of the vast hospitality business opportunities that come with it as well as the multiple trading moments it offers local business people. At the start of devolution, most counties experienced “teething problems” which greatly impacted negatively on service delivery to the citizenry. There were public complaints on county officers and their inability to run the counties. The wars between some governors and members of the county assembly slowed many activities. It is however a fact that most new things have a kick-off slow time. Over time, there have been huge benefits and successes of devolution and in particular in the field of hospitality. Devolution has opened up most areas of our country. I came to Kisumu in 2015 to run the then new four-star Acacia Premier set up by Simba Corporation in the lake city. I have seen Kisumu and the western region grow in terms of hospitality with new modern hotels coming up in the counties in the last two to three years. My hotel is already fully booked and so are the many other hotels in Kisumu and larger Western region for the conference. Kisumu has been a host to major local and East Africa Annual conferences. The city hotels have also...