Uganda Railways Corporation, the company which operated rail transport in the country until the government passed its operations to a concessionaire in 2006 is set to return in September. And if there is one person who is super excited about the move, it has to be Kassim Omar, the chairperson of Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association (UCIFA), an umbrella body of indigenous clearing and forwarding firms in Uganda. He told The Independent that he cannot wait for the return of the UR-double black letters on a yellow background in a red border; the company ligature in Uganda's national colours. "I am very happy that Kenya-Uganda Railway is returning to the Ugandan government because that is what we have been advocating for. "In any case, there was no need for the government to sign that concession because all that was needed at that time was to find a way to strengthen Uganda Railway Corporation than trying to look for concessions... RVR was a total failure," he added. Omar says RVR was carrying only 5% of the freight volumes from the port of Mombasa, leaving the bulk of cargo to be transported by road in spite of the fact road transport costs 15% more of the total freight costs. Uganda Railways operations were contracted to Rift Valley Railways (RVR) in November 2006 in a 25-year concession. Under the deal, RVR was to run the 2,352km Uganda-Kenya railway for freight business, and a five-year contract for the passenger unit. But it now...

About five customs entries, customs agents’ fees in two countries, two goods- in-transit guarantee bonds and duplicated customs procedures in Kenya and in Uganda. That was the inconvenience that characterised cargo clearance before the implementation of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) in 2013. Steel and Tube Industries’ Aggrey Ijara recollected that back in 2013 he was required to declare each container on  five to seven  customs entries for Mombasa Port,  and two entries for transit and on arrival at Malaba, Eastern Uganda respectively “The many entries were costly and a lot of time was consumed,” Ijara stated. Importers paid US$200m fees for clearing agents in Mombasa, a Sh150, 000 (over US$40) bond fee at Malaba and another Sh500, 000 (US$138) for agents in Kampala. This was in addition to two goods –in- transit bonds to deter dumping of cargo in Kenya or Uganda. The delays and costs were an indictment on revenue authorities, which were failing on the trade facilitation role. To address these challenges and others that impeded regional trade, the Presidents of the East African Community (EAC) agreed to fast track the implementation of SCT to enable importers declare their goods once on arrival at the first port of entries into the region. It is a stage towards full attainment of the Customs Union achievable by the removal of restrictive regulations and/or minimization of internal border controls on goods moving between the partner states. In June 2013, amid a Northern Corridor Presidents’ Summit, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya heads of...

The East African Community Heads of State will meet in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on November 30 for the 14th Ordinary Summit where they are expected to discuss different regional projects. Before the summit, the EAC Heads of State will travel to Tanzania to officially open the new EAC Headquarters in Arusha, commission the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River road both events will take place on  November 28. The EAC Secretariat, the East African Legislative Assembly and the East African Court of Justice have been using rented facilities since the Community was revived in 1999. The three organs of the bloc were housed in the Arusha International Conference Centre. The new building was financed by the German Government and it will be hosting all the three EAC Organs based in Arusha. The Presidents, while in Nairobi, are expected to discuss financing of infrastructure projects, where different regional priority infrastructural projects in energy, and transport sectors will be outlined, according to a statement from the EAC Secretariat. Bill Kayonga, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community, told The New Times that during the summit, the regional leaders will receive reports by the EAC Council of Ministers highlighting the implementation status of the regional activities over the last one year. “They will receive a report of  the verification team on the application of the Republic of South Sudan ; the EAC secretariat will also present a model of the structure of political federation and action plan on the way forward,” he said....

Kenya plans to build a high speed expressway to boost trade in the Eastern Africa region, officials said on Saturday. Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) Director General Peter Mundinia said that the 473 km expressway will vastly improve the connectivity, efficiency and safety of road transport between Nairobi and the country’s main seaport of Mombasa. “It will serve as a central part of Kenya’s national transport system, helping to promote trade and development in Kenya and further into Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Mundinia said in a statement released in Nairobi. The road will be completed in ten sections in the next six years. Mundinia said that the project has been structured to achieve early completion under a fast track delivery model with concurrent design and construction. The expressway will be designed for consistent speed of 120 km/h and will reduce the journey between Nairobi and Mombasa from over ten hours to approximately four hours. The road will have four lanes with a provision for future increase to six lanes and 19 interchanges. The director general noted that the expressway will enable Kenya to competitively develop and expand internal and regional trade. “More than 90 percent of goods landing at the Mombasa Port are currently transported by road and this infrastructure project will lay the foundation for long-term commercial and industrial growth,” he added. Source: Coastweek

Regional manufacturers have been urged to embrace electronic trading platforms (e-commerce) to widen their market reach and become more productive and competitive. The experts said embracing such innovations will help reduce the cost of production and enhance the sector profitability. According to Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General, e-commerce is an instrumental and innovative tool for promoting industrialisation and trade across the region. Kituyi was speaking during the ongoing EAC Manufacturing Business Summit and Exhibition in Kigali on Tuesday. The three-day summit brought together more than 500 participants,  including business leaders,  experts and policy-makers, to discuss mechanisms to bolster regional industrialisation. Kituyi said manufacturers should take advantage of the immense opportunities presented by e-commerce platforms to enter new markets, create awareness about their products and drive sales to improve profits. The UNCTAD official observed that the economy today is being driven by digitisation, which makes it imperative for regional manufacturers to embrace e-commerce and tap into the untapped markets. This way the sector will be able to create more jobs and foster inclusive economic growth, he added. Matthias Wachter, the in charge of the Federation of German Industries department of security and raw materials, encouraged industrial players to employ technology and e-commerce in all their processes to increase production and tap new customers. “This way, they will be able to easily penetrate markets and sell products at competitive prices,” he added. Reducing cost of production Meanwhile, the business community has called on regional governments...

The East African Community regional integration process has seen the region register improvement in logistics performance which had stagnated in previous years, a World Bank report has said. The bi-annual report, ‘Connecting to Compete 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy’, ranked 160 countries on their trade logistics performance as well as the region, identifying the challenges and opportunities. The report noted that the move by the East African Community nations to integrate into one bloc had elevated the region’s logistics performance, consequently making it more attractive for investments and reducing the cost of doing business. Among the most notable changes observed by the survey was the elimination of multiple barriers to trade and transport, such as cumbersome procedures. “The Northern Corridor was once known for multiple barriers to trade and transport, including lengthy dwell times at Mombasa port and cumbersome clearance procedures along the corridor. In 2012–13, the corridor countries started a series of reforms that significantly improved the logistics environment and drove down logistics costs,” the report’s authors observed. Integration, the report says, saw the establishment of a single customs territory, thereby tackling unbearable clearance procedures. “One of the reforms was to introduce Single Customs Territory clearance procedures within the East African Community, including Burundi and Tanzania. This means final customs clearances for free circulation can be made already at the port of entry in Mombasa. The system has significantly reduced administrative burden and shortened the time required for customs formalities,” the authors said. With the single customs...

The African Development Bank has agreed to finance Tanzania’s central railway projects after several stakeholders pulled out. Speaking in Dar es Salaam last week, the bank’s East African managing director Nyamajeje Weggoro said AfDB is satisfied with the undertakings of the government, and will discuss the proposal on how much the bank will allocate for construction of the standard gauge railway. The total cost of the railway would be$7.6 billion for a distance of 2,190 kilometres from Dar es Salaam to the Burundi border. It will link Tanzania with landlocked neighbours Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The line would run from Dar es Salaam to Musongati in south-western Burundi. “The standard gauge railway line is very important for the region. It will improve regional trade links and help to boost the economies of Tanzania and its landlocked neighbours Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC,” Dr Weggoro said. It is not clear the amount AfDB will give to the project. Soft Loans In May, President John Magufuli asked his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma to help the country secure soft loans from Brics Development Bank. Brics comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as an association of emerging economies. “I have asked President Jacob Zuma to help us secure a low interest loan for us from Brics to finance the SGR project,” President Magufuli said during President Zuma’s tour in Dar es Salaam. Before that, the Chinese Exim Bank had pledged to lend Tanzania $7.6 for...

Kampala — Cabinet has approved the ratification of the EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite Free Area Agreement (FTA), paving way for the implementation of the Agreement. In a Cabinet meeting that took place on Friday 4th August 2017, members unanimously agreed that Uganda was ready to start the implementation of the Tripartite FTA which will open up a wider market for Uganda's products and services in 26 African countries. The products for export will include agricultural products, sugar, tea, coffee and livestock products. The Tripartite FTA represents an integrated market of 26 countries with a combined population of 632 million people which is 57% of Africa's population; and with a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD$ 1.3 Trillion, contributing 58% of Africa's GDP.  This is a large area that provides expanded trade opportunities to Uganda's Private Sector. Appearing before Cabinet, Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde said during the recent Tripartite FTA meeting that took place in Kampala in July 2017, the three regional blocs (EAC-COMESA-SADC) finalized and the adopted the remaining annexes on the Rules of Origin, Trade Remedies and Dispute Settlement, thus producing a full Tripartite Agreement. During the same meeting, South Africa signed the Tripartite Agreement, bringing the total number of countries that have signed to 19 out of 26. "Now that the Republic of South Africa has signed the agreement and is in the process of ratifying it, we see no reason not to ratify" said Kyambadde. Kyambadde says Uganda stands to benefit greatly from the Tripartite FTA given the...

President Paul Kagame has said that the envisioned Bugesera International Airport will not only support Rwanda's socio-economic transformation but also facilitate economic integration of the East African Community and boost intra-Africa trade. The President was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of Bugesera International Airport in Rilima of Bugesera District, Eastern Province. Construction works for the first phase of the airport are set to take about 27 months and end by December 2019 at a cost of about $400m. Following completion, the facility is expected to take about three months to acquire necessary licenses before becoming operational. Kagame said that the undertaking is important for the country's development strategy and would have impact across various sectors, including tourism, trade, aviation finance and ICT, sector among others. "The Kigali International Airport continues to improve in terms of infrastructure, services and efficiency. However this new airport will be better suited to our national vision," Kagame said. "The Bugesera International Airport is an important part for Rwanda's strategy for socio-economic transformation, it is key to our ambitions to grow tourism and trade, aviation, finance and ICT sector," he said. Beyond its local impact, Kagame said that the proposed facility will also an important component in boosting intra-Africa trade which currently stands at around 15 per cent, as well as strengthen economic integration in the EAC region. "We also see this facility as an important component in strengthening economic integration of our region and boosting intra-Africa trade, investment and business," the Head of State said....

The quantity of goods that Kenya sells to Tanzania has sharply reduced this year, indicating that a spat between the two countries is affecting cross-border business. The latest government data shows that Kenya's exports to its neighbour reduced by a third in the first five months of this year, a trend that is likely to be sustained throughout 2017 if efforts to resolve diplomatic and trade rows are not successful. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data on the economy show that the value of the exports dipped by 33 per cent to Sh8.2 billion between January and May, compared to Sh12.5 billion last year. The two countries have historically held different positions on numerous issues, which has affected trade as well as movement of people across the border. This has in the recent past escalated, with the East African Community partners each banning the other's imports. The ministers of foreign affairs from the two countries last month agreed to lift the trade restrictions the countries had imposed on each other. However, the agreement was short-lived, with Kenyan manufacturers reporting that they have yet to gain access to the Tanzanian market and Kenyan universities being ordered to shut down their colleges in Tanzania. Among the products that have been banned from the Tanzanian market are milk and milk products and cigarettes. Tanzania is one of the largest export markets for Kenya and is the second largest in Africa after Uganda. According to the Kenya Economic Survey 2017, exports to Tanzania...