Are you curious what the most economically developed countries in Africa are? You don’t need to search on the internet because Insider Monkey has investigated it for you and published an article about this topic. When talking about certain countries and their development, it is of enormous importance to discuss their economy in order to get to know the overall picture.  In African case, this is even more important, because it will also help us to break the wrong picture of this amazing continent. n order to get the relevant data related to the economic development, the gross domestic product (GDP) is the most important indicator to look at.  In very simple words, this stands for the overall dollar value of everything that is produced in a certain period, and it is usually expressed in comparison to the previous period, making it easier to follow the potential development or possible decline. Later in the same article that explains what GDP actually is, there is also the explanation on how it is actually measured. Apparently, and if I may say, quite logically, this can be done only by economists, taking into consideration two aspects; what everyone earned in a year and what everyone spent. This is called income approach and expenditure method. Now without a further ado let’s see what Insider Monkey has investigated for us. We have picked two counties from their list. Tanzania is the first now. Nominal GDP is $45.899 billion. This country has been through a lot in the past...

The EAC Industrial Competitiveness Report 2017states that these growth rates, as measured by the Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) and manufacturing trade growth rates, fall short of some of the targets set in the EAC industrialisation policy. They are also below similar regional economic communities in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ecowas. Discounting by population size, the report shows that the EAC is still registering a low level of industrial production. And, based on the current growth rate, the region would only attain an MVA per capita level of about $87 in 2032, which is well below the goal of $258 set in the EAC Industrialisation Policy, and would not allow it to reach SADC’s production capacity of 2015. The report comes as the EAC Industrialisation Action Plan (2012-2017) comes to an end. It shows that MVA growth has slowed down in recent years, from 5.3 per cent between 2005 and 2010, to 4.6 per cent between 2010 and 2015, thus falling short of the 10-15 per cent annual growth rate projected in the EAC Industrialisation Policy and Strategy and below the sub-Saharan Africa average. Missed opportunities Analysis of the cotton and leather sub-sectors shows missed opportunities at the level of high value-added products in the value chain, such as for cotton apparel and leather footwear. Meanwhile, the analysis of industrial drivers has pointed to a number of key constraints to industrial competitiveness. Nonetheless, although EAC’s exports of the top regionally demanded products generally grew since 2010, it did not happen at the pace...

Three ships with 163.6 million bags of maize are among 23 vessels yet to dock at the Port of Mombasa as the facility experiences a huge ships traffic snarl up due election jitters and upsurge in the import of cereals. On Monday,  Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said the off-take of cargo at the port dropped last week after truck owners withdrew their vehicle for fear of election related violence. But security officials in Mombasa and cargo owners said that no single case of either attack on trucks or theft of cargo passing through the northern corridor to or from the port of Mombasa. A spot check on list of vessels posted at the KPA website indicate that some of the vessels arrived in the country mid last month but they are yet to dock and offload. Other vessels that are yet to get space to dock are those with wheat, sugar and fertilizer and KPA attributed the ships snarl up to the increased volume of duty free maize. "Since the government waived maize import duty there has been an increase in the volume of maize. The other reason is election jitters," said KPA Public Affairs Manager Bernard Osero. He said that the port services were hampered after transport companies withdrew their trucks which transport over 94 percent of the total volume of the cargo from the port of Mombasa. The Port of Mombasa, the biggest harbor in East and Central Africa, handles cargo for the local market and other countries...

Hoteliers are banking on the proposed construction of a Sh5.5 billion cable car facility on the Likoni channel to help turn around tourism in the South Coast. Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia says the Ministry plans to sign a deal with contractors to pave the way for the construction of the facility in October or early November. “We are at an advanced stage of the project and we hope to launch the construction of the cable car facility in the next few months,” Mr Macharia said two weeks ago. The cable car will ease congestion at the Likoni channel, providing an alternative transport to travellers and transporters who currently rely on ferries to cross to the South Coast from Mombasa Island. According to Diani Reef Beach Resort managing director Bobby Kamani, the cable car will open up Kwale County for easy access by tourists. He expects tourists coming from Moi International Airport in Mombasa to take a shorter time to cross the channel to Diani. “Over the years, tourism in Diani has been facing a major transport challenge due to frequent ferry breakdowns on the channel,” he said. “With the cable car, it will be much easier for tourists to travel from Mombasa to Diani for holidays and uplift tourism in Kwale County.” Mr Kamani called on the government to fasttrack the construction of the cable car to ease transport between Mombasa and Diani. “Accessibility is key for tourism as visitors prefer to travel in comfort. Kenya is...

The longstanding trade dispute between Kenya and Tanzania is derailing business between the two neighbours to the detriment of entrepreneurs who depend on it. For a long time, Tanzania has been Kenya’s second largest export market after Uganda, underlining its importance as a trading partner. The dispute has put in jeopardy the production of some goods in Kenya, as businesspeople cannot continue normally until they have found other markets to replace the seemingly unreliable Tanzanian one. The situation is therefore dire for those whose jobs that are dependent on selling goods to Tanzania. In the first five months of this year, Kenya’s exports to Tanzania fell by 34 per cent to stand at Sh8.2 billion compared to a similar period last year. That means more than a third of the value derived from selling products such as palm oil, soap, medical drugs, cooking fat, iron sheets, sugar confectionery and margarine to Tanzania was lost. It is for this reason that cancellation of a meeting intended to iron out the differences between the two countries is unfortunate. There can be no doubt that traders on both sides of the common border need a quick settlement of the impasse in order to resume normal production and keep employees at work. The long-running market access battles with Tanzania have become worse in the past few months after Kenya blocked importation of Tanzanian gas through the Namanga border post over quality concerns. Clearly, both countries have issues with products coming from one another’s territory....

Tourist arrivals are expected to pick up in the second half of the year and cross the 1.5 million mark following the relatively peaceful election during the high season. Tourism secretary Najib Balala on Monday forecast a 20 per cent rise in arrivals this year, with visitors seizing the chance to see the annual wildebeest migration in the Maasai Mara. This means that the government is targeting 1,668,000 arrivals, which is still short of the 1,710,800 tourists who visited Kenya in 2012. “We expect the number of arrivals to grow by 20 per cent by the end of 2017. We are in the high tourism season, when we receive high numbers of international visitors,” said Mr Balala said at a media briefing. Tourists numbers tend to drop in days to the elections, which are often tense following fears of a repeat of the 2008 post-election violence in which 1,200 people were killed. On Monday, many shops opened in Nairobi for the first time in days, with cars and buses on the roads that had been deserted even before the result was announced of the August 8 presidential election. The announcement was greeted by protests in parts of Nairobi and western Kenya. Most hotels at the coast had an occupancy of between 40 per cent and 50 per cent, which is lower than the normal 60 per cent and 70 per cent during the high season that starts in July and ends in October. The number of international visitors rose to...

Tanzanian officials have put off a meeting intended to iron out outstanding trade disputes with Kenya amid concerns Dar es Salaam was maintaining a hardline stance in the spat. Representatives of the two countries, including officials from cross-border trade agencies, were expected to meet from tomorrow in Tanzania, according to an agreement reached on August 3. But Kenya’s principal secretary for trade Chris Kiptoo, who was also scheduled to meet his Tanzania counterpart Adolf Mkenda on Friday, said the meeting was off following a note from Tanzania postponing the meeting. “I have just seen the note asking for a postponement to 9th September. We would review it and communicate the outcome. My technical team was ready including the private sector to begin these negotiations which had started on a positive note,” Mr Kiptoo said. The two trade bosses led a meeting in Namanga where both countries agreed to lift some of the trade restrictions, including the one that barred milk and milk products from Kenya from entering Tanzania and the restrictions on wheat from Tanzania. The agreement resolved to allow some 26 trucks ferrying wheat from Tanzania that were stopped at the border to be allowed entry into Kenya and opened borders for Kenyan milk and milk products some of which had expired over the standoff, leading to unquantified losses. The Namanga agreement failed to reach a deal on a number of issues raised by Kenya, including a higher tax on cigarettes from Kenya which are treated like products coming...

Rwanda earned $8.6 million (about Rwf7.3 billion) from tea exports during the month of June, according to National Agricultural Export Board (NAEB). This was 39.4 per cent increase in export revenue compared to $6.1 million that was recorded during the same period in 2016, NAEB indicates in its monthly report for June. The increase was largely attributed to the good price on the international market averaging $3.38 (Rwf2,873) per kilogramme compared $2.43 a kilo in 2016. “This increase is also attributable to high volumes of tea sold in June 2017,” the export body said in the report. Annual comparision Overall, the sector’s export receipts rose to more than $74.5 million (Rwf63.3 billion) cumulatively in the period from July 2016 to June 2017 compared to $70.8 million registered over similar period the previous fiscal year. NAEB attributed the growth in revenue to high volume of tea sold during the period compared to the July 2015 to June 2016 period, as well as the good prices registered in the first six months of the year. Increased production Meanwhile, total production of made tea amounted to 2,272,015 kilogrammes in June 2017 increasing by 182,652 kilogrammes or 8.7 per cent compared to 2,089,363 kilogrammes produced in the same period 2016. Green leaf production rose to 9,200,222 kilogrammes in June, which was higher than 8,667,473 kilos recorded in same period the previous year, according to the report. The export body recently unveiled a new strategic plan to help boost the country’s tea exports. NAEB targets...

The Mombasa International Agricultural Show will be held from August 30 to September 3. Briefing the media yesterday, event chairperson Anisa Abdalah said preparations had started and that a record 200 exhibitors were expected to grace the event. "The general election has just ended and the focus now is on the show's preparation. We have 18 international exhibitors who have confirmed participation alongside 90 local firms," Ms Abdalah, who was flanked by the branch manager Thedaus Fita, said. Abdalah said exhibitors from upcountry had started pitching tent at the showground in preparation for the event. She said the theme for this year's event is 'Promoting Innovation and Technology in Agriculture and Trade'. Among new exhibitors are the Kwale International Sugar Company (Kiscol), Lamu Port South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport Corridor (Lappset) and Kenya Meat Commission (KMC). Regular exhibitors such as Kenya Railways will be showcasing the newly-introduced Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train - Madaraka Express. Others are Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Rural Electrification Authority (REA), Kenya Power, Ministry of Tourism and Base Titanium among others. Thousands of Kenyans from the Coast, upcountry and across the border are expected to attend. Abdalah said since the trade fair will fall during active school calendar, they are banking on increased visits by pupils and students who shall be accorded preference. "We have incorporated various security organs and working closely with the office of Coast Regional Coordinator to ensure we have an incident-free event," she said. Abdalah at the same time said they were reaching...

Kenya's first high-speed expressway connecting the country's two largest cities will take six years to finish, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has said. According to the State agency, design and construction of the 473-kilometre Mombasa-Nairobi road is set to begin after last week’s signing of a financing deal with US-based firm Bechtel International Inc. “The project will be supported with financing from Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) in the United States of America. The signing of this agreement will be followed by mobilising of funds from the ECAs for the construction of the expressway,” KeNHA director-general Eng. Peter Mundinia in a statement. Once complete, the Sh230 billion road will be among key highways motorists are expected to pay a toll charge for in order to help recoup construction costs and support maintenance. Expressways, a common infrastructural feature in developed countries, are designed for high speed traffic averaging speeds of about 120 kilometres per hour. The Mombasa-Nairobi highway expansion project is expected to help drastically cut travel time between the two cities from over 6 hours to about four hours. KeNHA says it will have four lanes, with a provision for future increase to six lanes and 19 interchanges with toll stations. The roads agency projects that the expressway will be completed in ten sections over the next six years, with design and construction being undertaken concurrently. The first section from Nairobi to the junction with Namanga road near Kitengela will have an interchange near Konza City and a spur road...