Geneva — The African Continental Free Trade Area accord is one of the most critical developments in African trade and integration, says the executive director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), the UN agency supporting small business. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, who began her career in Jamaica’s foreign ministry and now heads the ITC, recently met journalists at the centre’s base in Geneva, where she spoke about “strategic re-globalization” as a major trend. The AfCFTA was established in 2018, and by 2023 all 54 members of the African Union had signed it, making it the largest free-trade area after the World Trade Organization (WTO) judged by the number of its member states. Coke-Hamilton described strategic re-globalization as “the new search for global corridors for trade routes” as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war and post-Covid changes. She said the disruption of supply channels and a recognition that dependence on China is immense has led to the world looking for “near-shoring” and new supply routes. Mandated to UN and WTO The ITC has a joint mandate with the WTO and the United Nations through the UN Conference on Trade and Development, and much of its work focuses on Africa. The task of trade groups was now to assess new trends and address how strategic re-globalization is going to impact how countries engage with one another, Coke-Hamilton added. She said that “the AfCFTA is also a whole new open arena” in which the focus would be on regional value chains within Africa and “how those are...

Uganda joins the rest of the world to mark World Food Safety Day this week amidst persistent concerns about the standards of Uganda’s agricultural products on both the local and international markets. Save for Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, all the East African Community member-states have over the last few years rejected Uganda’s food exports citing poor standards. These mainly arise from adulteration as well as contamination with chemicals traced to spraying and post-handling methods. The Government has been implementing measures to ensure improved standards to make food safe for local and foreign consumers, including suspending the export of fresh agricultural products to the European market. World Food Safety Day, observed on June 7th each year provides an opportunity to reinforce the importance of safe food practices, highlight potential risks, and advocate for the implementation of robust food safety measures. This year’s World Food Safety Day will be celebrated under the theme; “Food Standards Save Lives” with the aim of stressing the importance of applying standards along the entire food value chain. The civil society in Uganda blames the government for not being strict enough on food standards and safety, including by failing to implement and enforce measures and laws that exist. These include the failure to abide by the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), an African Union initiative that directs member countries to, among others, increase agriculture’s budget allocation to at least 10 percent. Uganda has averaged about 2 percent over the years. The government is also...

The African Union Commission (AUC), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Afreximbank, have jointly established a task force to develop a harmonised methodology for informal cross-border trade data collection. According to them, timely data collection on informal cross-border trade is key to informing intra-African trade on the back of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA) and despite its importance to the livelihoods of millions of Africans, informal trade is still not well understood. Speaking at an online meeting to review and validate the Continental Methodology for Informal Cross-Border Trade Data Collection in Africa, Director, Regional Integration and Trade, ECA, Stephen Karingi, said informal cross-border trade is a key feature of Africa’s trade landscape. Findings show ICBT to be equivalent to between seven and 16 per cent of all formal intra-African trade flows and between 30 and 72 per cent of formal trade between neighbouring countries. He noted that current efforts to collect data on ICBT within the continent remain largely fragmented and unsystematic, emphasising that the dearth of reliable and regular data on ICBT has contributed to minimal recognition of its important role in policy frameworks. Trade Policy Officer for the AUC, Tapiwa Cheuka, speaking on behalf of the Director of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade, Industry and Mining Department, AUC, Djamel Ghrib, said that the validated ICBT methodology will be presented to the Specialised Technical Committees (STCs) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration next month with the anticipation for its adoption by the Heads...

In addition, they agreed on the establishment of a civilian head of mission to coordinate all political-related matters of the East African Regional Force (EACRF). The East African heads of state have directed the EAC Secretariat and the council to commence negotiations with Somalia with immediate effect and report to the next ordinary summit of the EAC heads of state. According to a communique on the 21st Extra-Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State meeting in Bujumbura, Burundi, dated May 31, 2023, the heads of state deliberated on and adopted the report of the verification of the application of the Federal Republic of Somalia to join the EAC. The communique noted that Somalia had earlier circulated a report to the EAC partner states. Summit resolutions During the summit, the heads of state accepted a request from President Museveni to hold a follow-up meeting in Nairobi to be hosted by Kenya’s President Willian Ruto. The summit appreciated the financial contributions of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and South Sudan for their commitment to contribute towards peace and security. The summit also directed the EAC secretary general to intensify efforts to mobilize resources from the regional and international partners to support the EAC-Led Nairobi Process. In addition, the summit urged all the partners to support initiatives including the demobilisation of combatants of armed groups and their reinsertion and reintegration into civilian groups. DRC Conflict The heads of state reiterated that the security in the eastern region of DRC can only be sustainably resolved through...

Malawi and Tanzania have launched an electronic data exchange system interface to enable verification of quantities, valuation, origin and tariffs of goods exported and transiting between the two countries. The system interface, to be managed by Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) and Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), was launched on Monday at Kasumulu Border Post in Mbeya, Tanzania. Before the system, data was being exchanged manually, leading to delays and movement of contrabands from Malawi to Tanzania or vice versa without detection. In his presentation, MRA custom systems and procedures manager Andrew Mtukuleni said the collaboration will promote trade facilitation, enhance revenue collection, and secure the movement of goods under imports, exports and transit regimes. “We now anticipate advance exchange of trade data for risk management purposes and increased detection of contraband leading to secure supply chains,” he said. MRA corporate services executive director Agnes Katsonga-Phiri said the system will enable the institution to know how much revenue would be collected. She said: “Having the system can be an achievement on its own, but if the human capital does not change mindset, we will not achieve much. “We expect honesty and those traders should not stand for too long before being assisted.” TRA deputy commissioner general Mcha Hassan Mcha said smuggling remains a major challenge. “We think that with this system interface, we will reduce the malpractice because it simplifies the procedure as most traders will be using it rather than going to unofficial routes,” he said. The system interface has been...

In Summary Stakeholders said although efficiency at the Mombasa port has improved, there is still a lot of room for even further improvement. The on and off delays in cargo delays experienced at the Mombasa port over the past few years have had a significant impact on trade, they said. Stakeholders in the shipping and logistics sector have called for more collaboration between the government and the private sector to create a better and more enabling environment for trade. Led by Kenya Ships Agents Association chair Sylvester Kututa, the stakeholders said although efficiency at the Mombasa port has improved, there is still a lot of room for even further improvement. The on and off delays in cargo delays experienced at the Mombasa port over the past few years has had a significant impact on trade, they said. In 2021, the ship dwell time was 4.3 days, an improvement from 2020 which was 4.4 days, but the stakeholders at the Trade Facilitation and Maritime Investment Workshop in Mombasa called and said more can be done. “We are in the business of supply chain and logistics where all cargo and ships need to be moved seamlessly, meaning no stopping as much as possible. “When we have ships waiting to berth, that is inefficiency. It gets paid for by somebody somewhere in high costs of importation of exportation,” Kututa said. In 2021, shippers in Kenya paid over Sh2.5 billion in storage, a slight improvement from 2020 when shippers paid Sh3.6 billion in demurrage....

Women traders and entrepreneurs under their umbrella body Uganda Women’s Entrepreneurs Association (UWEAL) has launched an online integrated information application named Isoko, which will provide a regional marketplace to buy and sell goods, vital trade and market information, business management tools including bookkeeping, and networking opportunities for fellow traders. The platform, which was developed in partnership with Trade Mark East Africa with support from Global Affairs Canada, will serve to bring together women traders from the five countries in the East African Community of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. While launching the platform in Kampala, Anna Nambooze, the Trade Mark East Africa country director, said that through their studies about the trends in trade, they recognised that women’s contribution to trade has remained low due to various non-tariff barriers, such as lack of information that impacts negatively on their activities. So, Isoko was conceived to address the information gap and empower women with the tools they need to increase their trade. “By ensuring easier access to information, Isoko will be instrumental in promoting market integration and increasing the competitiveness of large, medium, and small-scale women traders to participate in new market opportunities. “By making it possible for information about market de- mand to be easily available and accessible, Isoko will also serve to spur the development of markets and value chains within the industry,” Nambooze said. The chairperson of UWEAL, Sarah Kitakule, noted that though there is a high concentration of women in trade, they continue to face a...

The Kenyan government has announced plans to decongest trucks at its Malaba border with Uganda within three weeks. The development was announced by the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Francis Kipchumba Morukomen, during an intergovernmental meeting at the newly constructed Kenya Railways In-land Container Terminal in Malaba. While addressing the press on Saturday, Kipchumba noted that “congestion of trucks at the Malaba one stop border point interrupts business along the great North Corridor.” To avoid that, the Kenyan government is now considering establishment of a border committee that will be responsible for quick response to future bottlenecks and addressing non-tariff barriers to reduce on the cost of business. Kenya will also increase on the number of scanners, storage facilities as well as widen the trailer parking yard to accommodate the increasing volumes of trucks on transit through the Malaba border in a bid to overcome several challenges. "We hope the measures will address the bottlenecks. Some measures will include expediting completion of roads currently causing the delay in scanning of goods," Kipchumba said. Kipchumba’s remarks come at a time when the Ugandan government has recorded an increase in empty trucks that build a stretch of over 15 kilometers, pending clearance at the Malaba border Point along the Malaba-Jinja Highway. Meanwhile, Uganda’s state minister of works Musa Ecweru assured the gathering that government is determined to partner with the East African Community to ensure smooth running of business across the region. According to him, Uganda has renewed commitments that include construction...

LOCAL women entrepreneurs will now find it easier to sell their products in the domestic and regional markets after the launch of an online trading platform, iSOKO which is designed to support women in trade across East Africa. The online platform was launched in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday by Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce in partnership with TradeMark Africa (TMA) through the support of Global Affairs Canada It enables women traders advertise and sell their products and services to customers in Tanzania and East Africa and provides access to different trade and regulatory information that relates to their businesses. Already 3,000 women traders in Tanzania have registered in the platform and some have begun selling their products and services through the portal that can be accessed through a mobile telephone by downloading an iSOKO application, said Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director, Mwajuma Hamza at the launching event. The Director of Policy and Planning in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Trade, Needpeace Wambuya, who was the guest of honour in the launching event, challenged TMA and TWCC to facilitate women entrepreneurs to capture the lucrative Democratic Republic of Congo market as well as that of South Sudan. “If our women traders manage to capture the DR Congo market, the economy will rise more significantly,” said Mr Wambuya who had represented the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Ashatu Kijaji. He said local women traders should take advantage of the online trading platform to access wider markets...

Hon. Ing. Yaw Osafo Marfo, Senior Advisor to the President of the Republic of Ghana, has emphasized the significance of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway in achieving the benefits associated with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area in a key note address on behalf of the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo. The Senior Advisor to the President of the Republic of Ghana commended the Ministers of Roads Infrastructure of the five (5) Corridor Member Countries namely, Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin and the ECOWAS Commission for their sustained effort to the corridor highway project and strong collaboration to seeing it materialized. The former Finance Minister of the Republic of Ghana recalled discussions in 2003 during his tenure as Finance Minister of Ghana on ways to improve development in the ECOWAS region to include the development of a common payment system and the need to develop a regional road infrastructure. “The first idea was to look at a common payment system within ECOWAS and secondly everyone in the room agreed that we should look for money to do road infrastructure in the sub-region because at the end of the day, movement of goods and people will require the needed infrastructure.” Hon. Yaw Osafo Marfo recalled. He expressed excitement over the assurance of AfDB to raise the required funds for the highway construction. “I was so happy to hear from AfDB that raising funds is their business, they are good at...