Rebecca Kadaga, Uganda's Minister for East African Affairs, on Saturday, April 22, lifted the directive which had barred empty trucks from Kenya from entering the country from the Malaba border point. Addressing the media, Kadaga indicated that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni's administration had suspended the directive to allow empty trucks to enter Uganda through the Malaba border point. She, however, indicated that the directive would be implemented for the next two months to allow Museveni's government to evaluate the progress and impact on cross-border trade. Defending the decision, Kadaga stated that blocking empty drivers from using the Malaba border point had affected accessibility.  "So I have directed them to return the trucks here for two months, so we evaluate and see the way forward because those trucks are a source of income," she stated. Previously, empty truck drivers were allowed to enter Uganda through the Lwakhaka border point, Bungoma County. Besides lifting the directive, Kadaga directed Ugandan officials to open two other gates at the border to facilitate the seamless movement of goods and products. "There has been a problem with accessibility, and I have directed the official to expand what we refer to as the small gate, and I will also ask them to open two other gates which have been closed," she announced. The order barring Kenyan drivers with empty trucks from entering Uganda through Malaba was effected during the pandemic period. However, on January 23, 2022, the two governments lifted some orders. During the meeting, they agreed that the usual...

The Ministry of Transport and Logistics and TradeMark Africa agreed to modernize Ethiopia’s freight services with a view to facilitating import and export trade. The agreement will allow TradeMark Africa to develop an application that will enable trucks to provide integrated, efficient, and time-saving services. TradeMark Africa stated that it would launch the application within a year. Current procedures that have to be followed under the logistics sector are also expected to be improved. The agreement also aims to provide smooth, efficient, time and cost-effective delivery of freight services. According to Alemu Semie (PhD), Minister of Transport and Logistics, the Ministry of Transport and Logistics is committed to start implementing the agreement within a short period of time. It is to be recalled that TradeMark Africa signed an agreement with Ethiopian Agricultural Authority (EAA) and Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) in November last year to enable EAA and EHPE to modernize their information and communication technology and digitalize their services. TradeMark Africa, formerly known as TradeMark East Africa, is an Aid-for-Trade organisation that was established in 2010, with the aim of growing prosperity through increased trade. It operates on a not-for-profit basis and is funded by: Belgium, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Read original article

In Summary Ngatia is seeking a second term at the helm of the business lobby group with elections set for June 6. This is after a successful three-year- first term that saw KNCCI secure more than Sh3 billion in funding for different SMEs projects. Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry will continue fostering the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the country, the private sector lobby institution has said. This is in the wake of a renewed global focus on SMEs, which according to the World Bank, they play a major role in most economies, particularly in developing countries. "SMEs account for the majority of businesses worldwide and are important contributors to job creation and global economic development," World Bank notes. They represent about 90 per cent of businesses and more than 50 per cent of employment worldwide. Formal SMEs contribute up to 40 per cent of national income (GDP) in emerging economies. In Kenya, SMEs constitute 98 per cent of all businesses, creating about 30 per cent of jobs annually and contributing immensely to the economy. KNCCI president Richard Ngatia has since affirmed the chamber's commitment to driving growth of the sector, as he seeks a second term at the helm of the key business lobby group. This is after a successful three-year- first term that saw KNCCI secure more than Sh3 billion in funding for different projects, mainly supporting small businesses where women have been among the biggest beneficiaries. In an exclusive interview with the Star, the chamber president said that he has managed to break the elite...

Kenya’s delays in honouring its part of the deal to fund the Sh2 billion Jumuiya market has stalled the project that was billed to increase the volumes of cross-border trade in Busia. The project, jointly funded by the government of Kenya and TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) was to see the construction of retail, business hub and wholesale sections at the gateway into the East and Central African region. While TMEA has already fulfilled its share of Sh500 million, the National Treasury is yet to dispatch Sh1.5 billion in order to realize the operationalization of the 10,000-capacity market. “It is unfortunate that nothing has taken off six years down the line while the market on the Ugandan side is flourishing as little is taking place on our side,” Regional Integration Committee vice chair Farah Salah Yakub said. He cautioned that the prolonged delay has led to the rise in the smuggling of substandard goods into the country through the Busia border point which is strategically located along the Northern Corridor. The committee which conducted a fact-finding mission at the border point further noted that the ownership of the 40-acre piece of land identified at Marachi is yet to change hands. “The state of the critical facility still lies in limbo while TMEA has put in Sh500 million as Kenya is yet to give the balance of Sh1.5 billion for it to take off,” said Mr Yakub. He pointed out that trade on the Kenyan side is being hindered by a myriad...

Construction work to build four one-stop border posts along the highway linking Mozambique and Malawi is due to start in 2024. The initiative is part of the Southern Africa trade and connectivity project and will facilitate the movement of people, stimulate international trade by reducing costs between Mozambique and Malawi, as well as facilitate the coordinated and efficient border control and movement of people and customs clearance of goods at the one stop border posts of Mandimba in Niassa, Milanje in Zambezia and Zóbué and Calómuè in Tete. Southern Africa’s infrastructure, trade and connectivity coordinator, Paulo Baúque, told Radio Mozambique (RM) that Mozambique is advanced in this process. “The hiring of the consultant for the Mandimba border in Niassa and the feasibility studies are proof of progress,” he said, and for the remaining three borders the process of hiring the consultant has not yet been concluded. Baúque also said that US$30 million from the World Bank was available for the three borders, which will take two years to build. On the Malawian side, specifically in Dedza and Mwanza, which border Calómue and Zòbuue in Tete province, respectively, work of this kind has already been concluded. A similar project has already been implemented between Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. Read original article

Stakeholders from across the public and private sectors pledged to strengthen collaboration with Governments to address infrastructure deficit, ineffective trade facilitation processes, and invest in innovation and technology to promote trade across borders in Africa, to accelerate sustainable development. This commitment was made at the maiden Africa Sustainable Supply Chain Summit hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Ghana, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Africa Investment Group in Accra on 29-30 March 2023. “Growing competitive African businesses for the One Africa market requires better supply chain governance and more investment by multiple actors including diaspora investors. It requires collaborative approaches to attract innovative and new forms of financing for MSMEs”, said Angela Lusigi, UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana. Ms. Lusigi called for new partnerships to ensure that supply chains are sustainable and work to facilitate made in Africa, supplied by Africa, and moved by Africa. The summit drew on key information on Africa’s trade infrastructure deficit which is estimated between 68-108 billion dollars per year. Against this backdrop, the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, while speaking at the Summit noted that, “there must be more investment in adequate infrastructure and infrastructure that supports trade to address Africa’s needs to double intra-Africa trade by 2025”. The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon. Michael Okyere Baafi pledged the Government of Ghana’s commitment to facilitating trade across borders. “We will work closely with the ICC, UNDP,...

ABUJA, NIGERIA – ECOWAS Ministers in charge of the national tourism sectors in member states have come together to give the tourism in West Africa great boost with the validation and adoption of the regulatory texts of the Tourist Accommodation Establishment in the ECOWAS region, Friday, 7th April 2023. This working document with recommendations was presented to the ministers by tourism experts who spent the last 3 days drafting a well-researched legal framework that covers all aspects of hotel accommodation classification and grading. Mrs. Massandjé Toure-Litse, ECOWAS Commission’s Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, in her welcome address, on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray expressed her sincere appreciation to the Honarable Ministers for accepting to be part of a historic event in the tourism sector. She also extended ECOWAS’ sincere gratitude to the President of Togolese Republic, His Excellency Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, for accepting to host this all important meeting as the ECOWAS takes key steps towards adopting relevant instruments to give a boost to our tourism sector in line with emerging trends and hailed the critical role played by the Government of Togo in the integration and economic development of ECOWAS since its establishment which is reiterated by the presence and the support received in the facilitation this meeting from Dr. Lamadokou Kossi Honorable Minister of Culture and Tourism of Togo and his very able team. She further praised the tenacity and commitment of the Member States in the development of tourism industry which will ECOWAS a tourist...

Tanzania and Burundi are planning to build an electrified Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line that will initially connect the two countries and pass through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the countries look to tap the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the world’s largest single market. The railway line will be about 282 kilometers long and will be built from Uvinza in Tanzania, across the international border along the Malagarasi river to Musongati, and onwards to Gitega, both in Burundi. According to the tender document, the two governments have floated a tender for designing and constructing the railway line and have applied for construction funding from the African Development Bank. The estimated cost of the Tanzania-Burundi railway project is $900 million Reuters reported. The project will be financed jointly by the two countries governments, and the financial details of the project will be released soon. The railway project will be implemented for a period of five years. Upon completion, it will become Africa’s second cross-border electrified rail after Ethiopia and Djibouti launched the continent’s first fully electric multinational railway line in 2016. Tanzania has recently begun an aggressive push to modernize its railway infrastructure, revamping its aging regional rail networks to facilitate cross-border trade. The Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi is currently working on the construction of the 1,457-kilometer SGR line from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro, which is expected to be completed in 2024. Read original article

In Summary The countries are investing heavily in expanding and rehabilitating existing ports as they roll out newer facilities. The Mombasa Port and Northern Corridor Charter is aimed at ensuring Kenya remains a leading gateway to the region. Mombasa could lose out to neighbouring facilities if stakeholders fail on key performance indicators, mainly under the Mombasa Port Charter, its leadership has warned. While some signatories, mainly state agencies, have lived up to the set targets, a number of entities both public and private sector have slowed down on key implementations which could affect efficiency, the Mombasa Port and Northern Corridor Charter steering committee now says. The charter was signed in July 2014, during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure, where a total of 13 public entities committed to improve movement of cargo from the port into the hinterland. The second edition of the Mombasa Port and Northern Corridor Community Charter 2019 (the Charter), proclaims the desire of the Port and Northern Corridor community to realise the full trade facilitation potential of the port and Northern Corridor. It is the culmination of extensive consultations with private and public sector stakeholders, including government agencies, the business community, civil society organisations and special interest groups, on the upgrading and improvement of logistics services. The Steering Committee for the Charter - comprising the Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA), the Kenya Maritime Authority, tKenya Ports Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Trade Network Agency, TradeMark East Africa, Kenya Ship Agents Association and the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport...

Ghana has declared intentions to maximise gains from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) through strengthening of commercial ties with Kenya. As a result, it is planning to establish an Export Trade House (ETH) next month in Kenya as part of measures to promote trade relations between the two countries. When established, the ETH would serve as a special vehicle that specialises in facilitating transactions between a home country and foreign countries. It will be positioned at a central location where Made-in-Ghana products can be shipped, displayed and distributed in Kenya and other countries in East Africa. The trade house is being established because exports have become a tool the government must embrace to improve and promote the country’s products to the global market. To this end, Ghana will organise a three-day business expedition before the trade fair to highlight the goods it plans to export into Kenya. Stakeholders including the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI), the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the National AfCFTA Coordination Office (NCO) and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), are working together to organise the exhibition. Trade barriers between the nations of East and West Africa have historically been low because of regulatory restrictions. Nonetheless, many African countries are now trading more independently thanks to the AfCFTA, the largest free trade area in the world. World Bank report According to the World Bank, the African Continental Free Trade Area could deliver far greater benefits in terms of jobs, growth and poverty reduction...