Maize from neighbouring Uganda is flowing into the country, setting the stage for a reduction in grain prices. According to the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC), Kenya has imported 1,396 tonnes from Uganda in the past week. The maize, which is retailing at an average Sh2,846 for a 90-kilogramme bag and Sh2,499 at wholesale, is expected to help bring down the price of flour. “Uganda’s crop is harvested twice a year and this is their most recent yield. The impact from Uganda is significant because it helps Kenya bridge its deficit,” said the EAGC executive director, Gerald Musila. The council’s Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network (Ratin) said the spike at the Busia border kicked off with 6.5 tonnes on Thursday last week to a high of 703 tonnes this week on Tuesday. Ratin’s second quarter regional trade report indicated that maize exports from Uganda to Kenya (56,000 tonnes) were 119 per cent higher than in the first quarter, attributed to attractive high prices. “The prices encouraged farmers and traders to put more marginal supplies into the market before the expected seasonal drop in prices following the June-July harvest,” reads the East African Cross Border report. The high prices in Kenya also attracted exceptional supplies from Ethiopia - 24,000 tonnes - which were higher than in 2016. Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett announced that the State subsidy that has seen the two-kilo maize flour packet retail at Sh90 may be extended to September. Kenya is still grappling with delayed and inadequate...

The Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) is now set to oversee the construction of a new high-speed highway that will cost Sh230 billion. Bechtel International, a US based engineering firm, will do the construction after signing the agreement with the Kenya's Highway Authority. "Bechtel has been selected to build the first high-speed expressway in Kenya. The 473-kilometre highway will improve connectivity and safety," KeNHA's director general Peter Mundinia  told reporters. The US Export-Import and overseas Private Investment Corporation will finance the project. "The highway will have four lanes with provisions for future expansion to six  and 19 interchanges, It will reduce time taken to Mombasa from Nairobi to roughly four hours" Mr.Mundinia said. KeNHA says that the project has been structured in such a way that it will be completed in time to allow motorists to use it soonest possible. Bechtel is among the largest construction companies in the world and it has already set up it African office in Nairobi. Source: The Standard Media

The East African Community (EAC) has declined to establish another institution, citing financial constraints. Proposals to upgrade the EA Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE) into a full-fledged body under the Community hit a wall after the technocrats said it was short of funds for the purpose. "The original plan of the Community was to have EACREEE as an EAC institution. However, due to financial constraints other innovative ways were devised", said the deputy secretary general (Productive and Social Sectors) Christophe Bazivamo. He said instead the College of Engineering,Design, Art and Technology (Cedat) of the Makerere University in Uganda was selected to host the renewable energy facility as one of its centres of excellence. Mr Bazivamo revealed this last weekend when he was addressed the board meeting of the centre whose creation received support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido) and the Austrian Development Agency (Ada). The principal of Cedat Prof Henry Alinaitwe informed the meeting held in Kampala that efforts were underway to formally register EACREEE as a semi-autonomous legal entity so that it can function smoothly. However, the meeting concurred that while the regional energy centre would continue to be hosted at the Makerere University, a road map should be drawn to make it a full-fledged body of the EAC. "Since its inauguration, Cedat has been working with several stakeholders to advance the centre's activities", said the Cedat principal Prof Alinaitwe. Despite failure to register the renewable energy centre as an additional institution under...

At their recent summit in July, African presidents reiterated their determination to launch the Continental Free-Trade Area (CFTA) by December. Modalities for negotiating goods and services have been agreed and adopted and a draft text for the CFTA Agreement has been put on the table for negotiation. Some believe the job is more or less done and two or three negotiation sessions are needed before the CFTA can be launched at the end of the year. The stakes are high. If it is not launched in 2017, Africa will be the laughing stock of the world for failing to meet the deadline that was set in 2012. There is a sense of pride and duty. The agreement must cover the essential elements — establishment, principles and objectives, nondiscrimination, tariff elimination, customs and trade facilitation, standards, transparency and notification, institutions, disputes and the usual final provisions. Outstanding work such as details of trade remedies can be continued afterwards. A good strategy for quick progress is to construct the CFTA Agreement using the provisions already available in the agreements of the African regional economic communities that countries have been using over the years. To supplement this, instruments on customs and trade facilitation and health and technical standards can be constructed on good practice from the World Customs Organisation and global standards-setting bodies. African administrations and regulatory agencies happily use instruments and documents from these organisations. There are areas of difference among regional economic communities, such as the settlement of trade disputes. This...

The conference and exhibition is expected to draw participants from high level decision makers, investors and business leaders. The three-day event will deliberate on investments, entrepreneurship and trade opportunities in the East Africa Community (EAC) and beyond. The East Africa Business Community (EABC) Chief Executive Officers Ms Lilian Awinja said the conference offers a platform to promote the bloc as one investment destination. “…And present to investors many opportunities in the region as well as a large consolidated market.” said Ms Awinja. Aacording to organizer—EABC, this year, the sector highlights are quite diverse to attract a unique in order to encourage an innovative exchange of experiences to inspire participants to think out of the box. In addition, the East African Diaspora will be strongly engaged to amplify investment into the region. Source: Daily News

Local banks are on the front row in enhancing inter-regional trade through pan African banking, a report by PwC shows. The Global Economic Watch, released early this month, shows that the total shares of exports to sub-Saharan Africa across four economies including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Togo increased from 12 per cent in 2007 to 23 per cent in 2016. The increase is an equivalent of $11.7 billion (Sh1.21 trillion). Locally-grown banks Equity and Kenya Commercial Bank dominate the large cross-border banking group in terms of size and subsidiaries with each having a presence in six and seven countrys respectively. This growth has made Kenya the largest beneficiary of the share of SSA trade, having the highest percentage of 35 per cent. A large part of this portion is from trade within the East Africa Community. The two banks have largely leveraged their expertise in agent and mobile banking services to expand to other countries by targeting the underbanked in the East African Community. Other banks with a bigger presence in terms of cross border banking include Standard Bank and Ecobank. While the number of crossborder subsidiaries of African banks has almost tripled since 2002, there are now 10 Pan African Banks with a presence in at least 10 SSA countries, and one with a presence in over 30 SSA countries. PwC’s economist James Loughridge attributes the fast growth to expansion of SSA markets between countries, that has seen banks follow corporate client abroad, and secondly to the global...

Ministry of agriculture has prioritized food crops that can be marketed in the East African Community (EAC), as a way of positioning Uganda as a regional food basket. The commodities include food crops where Uganda has a comparative advantage over others. This was revealed by the director crop resources in the ministry, Okasaai Opolot in an interview at his office in Entebbe. Selected food items include Maize, Rice, Beans, and Cassava which are mainly consumed in the region. The ministry also plans to include bananas, added Okaasai. “We are looking at staple foods because Uganda is privileged to be having two rainy seasons that favour the production of the selected crops which makes it a regional food basket,” he said. He adds that through the regional food balance, sheet, the ministry is aware of the regional food demands which give a clear direction of production. To ensure that the selected commodities meet the demands of the market, strategic interventions in processing to add value and marketing are being considered by the ministry. “We know the demand and the level of production needed. We are confident that if we streamlined mainly through post-harvest handling, meet  grain standards, streamline the marketing, turn informal marketing to formal, Uganda will benefit more,” added Okasaai. Available information shows that Kenya, S.Sudan, DR Congo are food deficit countries which presents an opportunity for Uganda to consolidate her position as a food basket in the region. He however adds that the promotion of food crops is in...

SOUTHERN African Railways Association (SARA) says regional railway operators are keen to develop the Dar es Salaam corridor into a preferred route as it offers the shortest path to the Far East. The National Railways of Congo (SNCC), Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) and Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) are members of the Dar es Salaam Corridor Management Group, which is a committee of SARA, while the corridor links the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. SARA committee chairman Francis Lwanga, who is also ZRL director of marketing, said there is need for integration among the three railway operators to make improvement and address various challenges faced by users. Recently, the three railway firms conferred with their customers in Dar es Salaam under SARA and expressed happiness at the improvements in railway operations. “SNCC, TAZARA and ZRL met last week to discuss ways of improving and growing business on the Dar es Salaam Corridor using railways to and from the Port of Dar. “The Dar es Salaam corridor is one of the safest and shortest routes for many customers especially those with business interests in the Far East, so we must continuously interact and strive to make improvements so that we can expeditiously address all emerging concerns,” Mr Lwanga said in a statement released by TAZARA head of public relations Conrad Simuchile on Monday. Most railway users have commended the operators for improving the operations, especially by shortening of the transit time between Zambia and Tanzania, which is now between...

A €91,297 (about Rwf91m) project has been launched with view to ensure that corruption does not undermine climate change mitigation efforts as well as effective and equitable allocation of climate finance in the country. It is financed by the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The one-year project, dubbed ‘Ensuring integrity in climate policy-making and in climate finance and delivery at all levels will involve monitoring of climate finance windows, and promotion of transparency, accountability and good governance in the management of climate-related projects. “A lot of funds have been allocated toward efforts to help mitigate climate change. The project will monitor if climate funds are well spent and equitably and transparently allocated,” Marie Immaculée Ingabire, the Chairperson of Transparency International-Rwanda, said at the launch in Kigali yesterday. She noted the project will also help monitor regulation and decisions made on climate finances to ensure transparency in all interventions. “We’ll start by mapping climate finance stakeholders, building capacity and knowledge sharing. Thereafter, we will establish a network which will help monitor how money is provided, the priorities set by the projects. We will also carry out a survey on citizen satisfaction,” she added. Ingabire recalled that developed countries pledged $100 billion in climate financing over the next couple of years to operationalise the Green Climate Fund. The German Ambassador to Rwanda, Dr Peter Woeste, said the support is part of a broader project that covers eight countries to which Germany has disbursed €2.4 million to help...

Presidents Paul Kagame and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Rwanda and Egypt respectively, have committed to bolster economic ties between their two countries for the mutual benefit of their respective citizens. The two heads of state were speaking after holding talks at Urugwiro Village on Tuesday. President Sisi is on an official visit to Rwanda as part of his four-state tour, which also includes Tanzania, Chad, and Gabon. The two presidents said that their governments will strive to promote trade exchange, joint investments as well as creating linkages between private sectors of both countries. This will see the countries go beyond government to government cooperation in a bid to link the private sectors of the two nations. President Kagame said that Egypt has a lot to offer as a business partner as well as an investor hence the eagerness to deepen commercial ties. “Egypt has a lot to offer as an investor and business partner for Rwanda and the East African region, we are eager to deepen commercial ties,” Noting Rwanda’s efforts to create favourable preconditions for the economic ties, Kagame said that Egyptians do not need a visa to enter Rwanda which would greatly facilitate their access to the Rwandan market. “Egyptians do not need to apply for a visa to visit Rwanda and we hope to welcome tourists and business people from Egypt to our country in greater numbers going forward,” Kagame said. Kagame said that the previous cooperation with Egypt had been very productive hence the efforts to...