Africa’s increasing integration has been much talked about over the past couple of weeks. The progress displayed on this project is one for which Africa’s political leadership deserves praise, and is one of the most significant developments on the contitnet for many years. Africa’s cooperation efforts date back to 1963, but attempts to achieve this broad strategic objective have failed over the years. The signing of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) deal by 45 of the African Union’s 55 member states marks a watershed moment for African integration. With the dream of an interconnected Africa now closer than ever before, the continent could welcome new economic opportunities in the coming decade. However, the fragmentation of the African market remains its most significant challenge.  Transportation and communication costs are high when compared to other markets such as China, Europe, or the US. These high costs are holding back the development of integrated supply chains throughout the continent. Africa is headed in the right direction though, with initiatives such as the recent common air transport market, that could drive down airfares, as well as plans for visa-free travel for Africans across the continent. Infrastructure in Africa is just beginning to develop. Ambitious schemes like the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport Corridor Project (LAPSSET) in Kenya are what the continent needs. LAPSSET is an attempt to build a transport and logistics hub which would cement Kenya as a gateway to the East African subregion. The rail network is growing quickly, though only with the borders of specific countries. However, the East...

KAMPALA, UGANDA- Africa needs to take advantage of the economic potential of its ports and shipping sector if it is to realise its growth ambitions. Globally, ports are gateways for 80% of merchandise trade by volume and 70% by value. Investment in ports and their related transport infrastructure to advance trade and promote overall economic development and growth is therefore vital – particularly in emerging economies that are currently under-served by modern transportation facilities. However, port investment must be channelled appropriately to ensure financial sustainability and economic growth. Investment is not always about building new ports or terminals – investment spent on infrastructure without cognisance of the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance of the port may not produce the desired results. Port performance must be seen in the context of not only port infrastructure shortfalls, but also the fact that port performance has a direct impact on the efficiency and reliability of the entire transport network in which the port is just a node for the transfer of goods. These are among the key findings of an analysis of port development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) issued by PwC recently. The report, ‘Strengthening Africa’s gateways to trade’, was developed in response to the challenges facing SAA’s ports in attracting external investment and highlighting the regional economic and growth benefits thereof. Why ports matter As an emerging market region endowed with vast resources and a growing population, SSA must accelerate its market access and trade across the region and with the...

British Minister of State in the Department of International Trade Greg Hands has lauded Diageo investments in Kenya through East Africa Breweries Ltd (EABL) as a mark of the strong trade ties between the two countries. Speaking during a tour of EABL’s Ruaraka plant, Mr Hands said he was keen to see solid trade and investment initiatives between the UK and Kenya and that emerging opportunities are safeguarded by robust trade policy. Foreign investor “I’m incredibly proud that the UK is the number one foreign investor in Kenya. As I have witnessed first-hand here, this is not only a long-standing investment but I’m also told of a new plant coming up in Kisumu, which as I understand will provide 110,000 direct and indirect jobs,” the minister said. “That is a massive number of people entering the job market, which I think is a fantastic thing.” In the last five years, Diageo, through EABL has invested Sh30 billion across its East African operations and impacted the lives of over 30,000 farmers to cement its position as one of region’s most socially responsible companies. EABL estimates it will recruit a further 15,000 farmers to supply sorghum once Kisumu brewery is complete. Andrew Cowan, the EABL Chief Executive said Diageo’s presence in Kenya is part of a much bigger picture. “Not only is this plant in Ruaraka the single biggest plant in the whole population of Diageo, but EABL is deeply stitched into the tapestry of Kenya,” he said. Socially relevant  “We are...

The vibrant expansion of Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port and the Djibouti port are posing the biggest threat to the growth of Mombasa port, a new report says. The 2018 Africa Ports report by audit firm PriceWaterHouseCoopeers (PWC) has noted that the Tanzania government’s determined investment in the Dar port, and the development of other ports in Tanga and Bagamoyo, has greatly shut out Mombasa port as the dominant trade hub in the region. As a result, neighbours in the hinterland such as Uganda and Rwanda are now preferring the Tanzanian ports as transit points for cargo. Ethiopia, a country that is coming up strongly as an economic giant in the region, only crippled by its land-locked status, prefers the port of Djibouti. “Mombasa would be a major contender to be an East African hub, only for the fact that it is greatly challenged by the proximity of the developing Dar-es-Salaam port and other Tanzanian ports. This makes it hard for Mombasa to emerge as an important hub,” the report reads in part. “Though posing much of a less threat, Djiobuti’s growth can also not be under-estimated. Mombasa should take advantage of the larger hinterland it serves, and improve its operational efficiencies to shrug off these threats.” The report also emphasises that for Kenya to regain its regional status as an economic powerhouse, which is being continually challenged by its neighbours, it has to be keen in developing its port infrastructure especially the Lamu port which is part of the...

A leading global shipping line, Hapag – Llyod which is a multi-national German based transportation company, has began its operations to the port of Mombasa. Hapag Llyod is the world’s sixth largest container carrier in terms of vessel capacity. MV Spero Majura, which is a ship operated by Hapag – Llyod made its maiden trip to the East African region by calling at the port of Mombasa on Thursday 4:00am carrying 1,770 Total Equivalent Units (TEUs). Captain James Kagaoan, steered the vessel from the port of Jedda, which is the largest and busiest port in the Middle East, to Mombasa before heading to Dar-es- Salaam in Tanzania. At the port of Mombasa, the vessel discharged 154 TEUs. Kenya Ports Authority managing director Catherine Mturi-Wairi said the port of Mombasa is now receiving vessels from six of the top ten container shipping lines of the world. These are the Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company, CMA-CGM Lines, China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco), Evergreen Shipping Line and now Hapag – Llyod. In a speech read on her behalf by KPA general manager engineering services, Rashid Salim during MV Spero Majuro’s maiden call, Mturi-Wairi said the port of Mombasa is tremendously growing. “The decision to have more shipping lines calling at the port is also a manifestation of the confidence the global shipping and business community has in the port of Mombasa,” Mturi-Wairi said. This, she said, has been the result of consistent improvement programmes that have been put under the Mombasa Port Development...

More strategic investment in Africa’s ports can accelerate growth and development by strengthening trade as these are gateways for 80 percent of merchandise trade by volume and 70 percent by value, globally. This is according to an analysis report of port development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) issued by the global auditing firm PwC on Thursday which stated that Africa needed to take advantage of the economic potential of its ports and shipping sector to realise its growth ambitions. “Globally, ports are gateways for 80% of merchandise trade by volume and 70% by value. Investment in ports and their related transport infrastructure to advance trade and promote overall economic development and growth is therefore vital, particularly in emerging economies that are currently under-served by modern transportation facilities,” the PwC report said. “However, port investment must be channeled appropriately to ensure financial sustainability and economic growth. Investment is not always about building new ports or terminals, investment spent on infrastructure without cognisance of the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance of the port may not produce the desired results.” Dr. Andrew Shaw, PwC Africa Transport and Logistics leader, said: “Ports are a vital part of the supply chain in Africa, with many ports having a far-reaching hinterland often spanning a number of countries, which makes them a natural focus for regional development. “In this report, we show that the global transportation and logistics industry can no longer afford to ignore developments in Africa. Logistics service providers and ports, in particular, will continue...

The port of Mombasa is lagging its regional hub competitors in southern and West Africa in expansion and efficiency, slowing down Kenya’s potential to reap from international trade volumes as a gateway to East Africa. Consultants at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) say while the Mombasa port is ahead of other ports in the region such as Dar es Salaam and Djibouti, it’s trailing Durban in South Africa and ports in West Africa such as Lagos-Apapa and Abidjan. Kenya has positioned Mombasa as the hub port for East and Central Africa in line with global trend where giant shipping lines prefer partnerships with a few regional hub ports. Durban is the preferred hub port in southern Africa, while West African countries are investing heavily in expansion of their ports and roping private sector in operations in a bid to become preferred hub ports. “East Africa is, in context of Africa, the market that’s the least developed in respect of hub port development. We see a bit of a lag in East Africa in terms of investments within the ports and also potentially a lag in involving the private sector,” PwC Africa transport and logistics leader Andrew Shaw said in Nairobi on Thursday. Source: Business Daily

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The sweaty mechanic tossed aside the used jeans one by one, digging deep through the pile of secondhand clothes that are at the center of another, if little-noticed, Trump administration trade war. The used clothes cast off by Americans and sold in bulk in African nations, a multimillion-dollar business, have been blamed in part for undermining local textile industries. Now Rwanda has taken action, raising tariffs on the clothing in defiance of U.S. pressure. In response, the U.S. says it will suspend duty-free status for clothing manufactured in Rwanda under the trade program known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act. President Donald Trump’s decision has not gone down well in Rwanda, a small, largely impoverished East African nation still trying to heal the scars of genocide 24 years ago. Similar U.S. action against neighboring countries could follow; Uganda and Tanzania have pledged to raise tariffs and phase in a ban on used clothing imports by 2019. The action against Rwanda comes just weeks after Trump met Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum and proclaimed him a “friend,” as Trump sought to calm anger in Africa over his reported vulgar comments about the continent. Kagame currently chairs the African Union, where heads of state just days after the meeting drafted, but decided against issuing, a blistering statement on Trump. The U.S. trade action is finding a mixed response in Africa, with some upset at Trump again, while others defend the secondhand clothing as...

KIGALI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's Cabinet has endorsed the draft law ratifying the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), paving way for parliament's ratification. According to minutes of Wednesday's cabinet meeting, the cabinet also approved Protocol on trade in goods, Protocol on trade in services, and Protocol on rules and procedures for settlement of disputes which were signed in Kigali, Rwanda, in March 2018. The African Continental Free Trade Area treaty is geared at increasing intra-Africa trade. Up to 44 countries signed the deal in Kigali at the last 10th Extraordinary African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government. The CFTA agreement will be adopted after being ratified by at least 22 countries. The CFTA is envisaged to establish a single liberalized market of 1.2 billion people. This is expected to spur trade, industrialization, infrastructural development, and economic diversification, according to economic experts. In the East African Community, Kenyan cabinet also in March approved the Africa Continental Free Trade Area treaty for ratification. Source: Xinhua News  

Kenya’s second-biggest infrastructure project since independence five decades ago, a $3.5 billion inter-city expressway, will be delayed amid concerns by lawmakers that East Africa’s largest economy is taking on too much debt, the company building it said. While Kenya is ramping up construction of much-needed infrastructure to underpin economic growth, the cost of the mega projects, mostly financed by Chinese loans, has stirred concern that the debt is unsustainable for the $71 billion economy. The nation’s debt could rise to 58 percent of gross domestic product by the end of June, from 40.6 percent in the 2011-12 fiscal year, according to World Bank estimates. Construction of the 473-kilometer (294-mile) four-lane highway between the capital, Nairobi, and the second-biggest city, Mombasa, will be undertaken by San Francisco-based Bechtel Group Inc., which has arranged commercial loans for Kenya to undertake the project. The country will not seek concessional financing or a public-private partnership, according to the company. The Kenya National Highways Authority wasn’t aware of any delay, public relations officer Charles Njogu said by phone. “The agreement has, however, to be scrutinized by lawmakers because of its size,” he said. Transport and Infrastructure Secretary James Macharia didn’t pick calls to his mobile phone nor respond to a text message seeking comment. Big Concern The financing arrangements for the toll road are now expected to be in place by end-June, the initial sod-turning target, and construction work will now begin in the second half of the year, said Andrew Patterson, Bechtel’s regional president...