The increase in cargo volume has been attributed to intensive marketing campaign to regain customers’ confidence by improving efficiency. The successful campaign has seen the company moving from transporting 130,000 tonnes of cargo in 2015/2016 to 600,000 tonnes. TAZARA Managing Director, Eng Bruno Ching’andu said that following a successful marketing campaign and a demonstration of the company’s ability to deliver on time with maximum safety and security, many customers had now offered confirmed freight traffic orders in excess of 600,000 tonnes for transportation on both ends of the railway line. Under the new marketing strategy, the company has reduced the number of days for transporting cargo from 20 days to 5 days from Dar es Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia. Speaking this week at the official opening of the second meeting of the Master Workers’ Council, Eng Ching’andu challenged workers to rise to the occasion and take advantage of the abundant cargo that is now being presented to the authority for transportation. He commended the workers for working hard to win back confidence of the customers and challenged them to now focus on delivering and proving to the public that the company was capable of meeting the huge market demand. “We have to prove our relevance to our shareholders as well as to the public by moving all the freight that has been availed to us,” he said. Eng. Ching’andu further observed that although TAZARA was facing capacity constraints, the huge demand for the railway transportation services, coupled with...

Tanzania and Uganda have insisted that the ban on used clothes as agreed by the regional heads of states last year — stands, regardless of the outcome of the out-of-cycle review by United States trade bodies on access to the preferential trade programme, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Dar es Salaam and Kampala have indicated that they will not bow to pressure from any quarter at the expense of their local textile sectors. Recently, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said that the country would do away with used clothes as it pushes for new clothes made from textile mills in the country. “We are doing away with secondhand clothes imports because we are now comfortable that the various types of garments can be made in the country at affordable prices. "We will also use this to offer cotton farmers a reliable market. This is the way to go,” Mr Majaliwa said, reinforcing the country’s position on the debate. His assertion came after Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda made submissions against their potential loss of Agoa benefits during an out-of-cycle review meeting called by the US Trade Representative’s office. Kampala has also indicated that it will not back down on implementation of tariff increases in order to protect its own industries against these imports. Matia Kasaija, Uganda’s Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development, said that they will not revise the increased tariffs as they were meant to protect the Ugandan textile sector. “We are not going to bow to...

Negotiations for the creation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) will be finalised at the end of October. The TFTA brings together 26 countries— partner states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community. The TFTA Council of Ministers, in their recent meeting held in Kampala on July 7, set a new timeframe of three months to clear outstanding issues, especially on tariffs and ratification of the agreement by the member countries. At the launch of the TFTA on June 10, 2015 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, the heads of state set a timeframe of 12 months for finalising the negotiations, but by October 2016, there were outstanding issues, prompting the ministers extend the deadline to April 2017. That, too, was missed. Now, Francis Mangeni, director of Trade and Customs at Comesa, says the October 30 deadline must be met, as the TFTA faces an existential risk from the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) expected to be launched by the end of the year. “Some countries argue that with the 55-member CFTA, the TFTA is unnecessary,” said Dr Mangeni. “Besides, they add, the TFTA is not as ambitious as the CFTA.” At the Kampala meeting, the ministers agreed on the rules of origin, trade remedies and dispute settlement mechanisms. “The adoption of these three outstanding issues represented a milestone in the tripartite negotiations, as it removed the last obstacle to signing and ratifying the agreement,” Dr Mangeni said....

Tensions between Kenya and Tanzania are set to ease after the two countries agreed to hold talks on the long standing trade dispute between them, leading to the signing of a pact on July 23. The two countries are also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting after Kenya’s August 8 election to iron out their historical trade differences. Tanzania postponed similar talks in April, demanding that Nairobi lift gas restrictions first before any meeting could take place. Following the Sunday deal, Kenya has now allowed liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Tanzania into its market after a four-month ban. However, the deal’s implementation was delayed as the relevant agencies awaited official communication from their respective ministries. It is understood that a delay in sending a circular allowing Tanzanian LPG into the Kenyan market caused doubts among businesspeople in the two countries, who continued to face bottlenecks at the Customs border points. Kenya’s Energy Ministry issued the circular on Thursday to the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBS), the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Treasury. “The Energy Ministry sent the circulars this morning and we have communicated the same to KeBS. So far, we understand that more than 10 trucks loaded with the gas were allowed in, so it is now official: The ban isn’t in place anymore,” Kenya’s Trade Principal Secretary Dr Chris Kiptoo told The EastAfrican on Thursday. The Sunday deal saw Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister Amina Mohamed and her Tanzanian counterpart Augustine Mahinga announce an end to the import restrictions on liquefied...

Brookside Dairy is among the nearly 20 Kenyan companies that have been blocked from accessing the Tanzanian market despite last week’s deal lifting trade restrictions between the two countries. Matters are complicated by the requirement for Kenyan professionals to pay Sh5,000 for business visas – even for a one-day working visit - defying a regional agreement allowing a free pass of up to six months on the job. Hostilities between the two countries continue to fester despite a high-level meeting called on Sunday where a truce was called. “The United Republic of Tanzania will lift restriction on milk and milk products and cigarettes manufactured in Kenya with immediate effect,” read a joint statement issued by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed and her Tanzanian counterpart Augustine Mahiga. Among the products that had heightened the animosity between the two countries in the recent past are cooking gas. Kenya banned its importation from Tanzania, citing quality issues. Kenya had also imposed a ban on wheat from Tanzania and the latter retaliated by banning exportation of unprocessed foods, milk products, and cigarettes. Kenyan business community under the aegis of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) Thursday detailed the extent of their frustrations at the hands of Tanzanian authorities. “We have received complaints from our members reporting that there still is a total blockade when it comes to accessing the Tanzania market,” said the lobby in a statement. Other companies affected by the trade ban include another milk processor New KCC, cigarette manufacturer BAT, all the cement makers, Vivo Llubricants, which...

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has intensified the fight against substandard products by destroying goods worth Shs900 million at Luweero Industries in Nakasongola. The destruction on Tuesday follows country-wide seizures carried out by the UNBS market surveillance team and the Criminal Investigations Department of the Uganda Police Force. The destroyed goods included food stuffs, baby powdered milk, cement, sanitary towels, cosmetics, electronics, steel and steel products, among others. According to the UNBS deputy executive director in charge of compliance, Mr John Paul Musimami, the destruction is part of the agency’s effort to protect consumers from substandard products. “Substandard products are not only dangerous to the health and wellbeing of consumers, they are also a threat to the economic development of our country,” Mr Musimami said. “Our role is to promote fair competition, enhance competitiveness of local industries and protect the health and safety of Ugandans and the environment,” he added. He said the destroyed goods amounting to four metric tonnes would have otherwise caused increased disease burden and robbed the consumers of their money. A statement released on Wednesday by UNBS said they carry out regular market inspections to ensure that traders are selling quality products in right quantities. Any substandard goods found on the market are seized by market surveillance inspectors. Last year, UNBS inspected 1,090 business outlets and seized goods worth Shs6b including solar panels, primary batteries, percolators, sockets, compact fluorescent lamps, tiles, blenders, among others. The standards body banned the sale of second hand under...

A consortium of eight Chinese enterprises yesterday signed agreements with Tian Tang Group to invest in Mbale Industrial Park, eastern Uganda. Tian Tang Group was given the mandate to develop 619 acres of the industrial park in order to speed up job creation in the country. The park, with a total investment of $600m (Shs2.2 trillion), is expected to house 30 enterprises and create 12,000 jobs for Ugandans. “These agreements are an indication that we mean business and we are committed to this project,” Tian Tang Group chairman Paul Zhang, who is also the proprietor of Nanjing Hotel in Kampala said. He added: “We would like to assure the government of Uganda that as a company, we are going to invest in the development of Tangshan Mbale Industrial Park and we will also attract investors to create the jobs for the people of Uganda.” The eight companies are going to invest in; fruit processing and beverage production, rice processing and production, sanitation supplies manufacturing, wood processing and furniture manufacturing, glass manufacturing, household appliances manufacturing and solar pumping system, among others. The investors led by Tian Tang Group and Sinoma, a company that is going to establish a cement factory also in Mbale are expected to visit the country in August on a fact-finding mission. Tian Tang Group is working with the Finance ministry to bring investors to Uganda. The signing of the agreements in Tangshan City, a largely industrial city on the eastern coast of China, was at the climax...

Whatever its causes and justifications, there can’t be doubt that the ongoing trade spat between Kenya and Tanzania is hurting business and ultimately the economy on both sides. To be frank, it is on such matters of economic welfare that citizens should expect their governments to spare no effort in resolving. That this trade war continued in the week after a truce speaks volumes about the level of trust between the top diplomats Amina Mohammed and her Tanzanian counterpart Augustine Mahinga. One would have expected that the parties would implement the pact immediately. If Kenya has lifted its ban on Tanzanian goods, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), as per the agreement, it must then follow up with Tanzania to ensure Dar keeps its side of the bargain and quickly find alternative means of resolving the issue. Kenya and Tanzania being members of the East African Community, it must be expected that both have anchored their economies, and therefore the welfare of their people, in free trade. Arbitrary trade restrictions deny consumers lower prices, greater variety of goods and harm investment inflows, among other negative consequences. What is particularly surprising about all this is that both countries are members of the EAC’s Common Market protocol, whose essence is to promote free movement of goods among other factors of production. It is clear that both Kenya and Tanzania import the bulk of their goods — not from each other — but from the more developed economies such as China, the United Arab...

Nairobi officials have yet to make contact with Tanzania amid a trade spat that has seen the neighbouring country block the entry of some Kenyan-made goods to its market despite having inked a fresh pact on Sunday. Trade PS Chris Kiptoo on Thursday said he was unsuccessful in efforts to reach Dar es Salam authorities for explanations on Tanzania’s introduction of fresh hurdles for Kenyan goods to access its market. The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) said Tanzania had maintained a number of restrictions that existed before the Sunday truce making it hard for Kenyan products to access its markets. Kenyan Foreign Affairs secretary Amina Mohamed and her Tanzanian counterpart Augustine Mahinga announced last Sunday that the two states had agreed to end the restrictions after ironing out long-standing trade differences. “I am still trying to engage my Tanzanian colleague but so far, I am yet to reach him,” Mr Kiptoo told the Business Daily in a phone interview on Thursday. Thursday , the traders who were locked in an all-day meeting with the KAM policy team over the issue confirmed the restrictions were still on. “The status quo remains,” a source from the meeting told the Business Daily. Kenya lifted restrictions it had imposed on Tanzanian wheat flour and liquefied petroleum gas while Tanzania removed its blockade of Kenyan milk and milk products, and cigarettes. But the KAM said restrictions on Kenyan goods accessing Tanzania remained intact bringing to question the execution of the Sunday agreement. Margarine, Ice cream and tobacco were...

This emerged yesterday during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Halotel Tanzania and Mercy Corps AgriFin Accelerate to cement partnership to enable farmers in rural areas use mobile transaction to boost production. The partnership would see the two companies create awareness and enable the farmers benefit from loans and saving through digital channels. The move was termed as a great endeavor since the bank services largely available in urban areas, thus locking out the farmers in the villages. Tanzania is currently experiencing transition towards industrialization and has a robust digital financial services (DFS) market with a competitive market structure and major advances in interoperability. “In order to make the goal of industrialisation a reality we must among other things seek to improve the agriculture sector, currently dominated by smallholder farmers, with innovative solutions,” said Mr Paul Kweheria, the country director of the Mercy Corps’ AgriFin Accelerate programme. He said in making the project work, they would be also partnering with banks, agribusinesses and other ecosystem stakeholders who wish to expand delivery of services through Halopesa. Managing Director of Halotel Tanzania, Mr Le Van Dai, said the project was a huge step towards supporting the government and promise to continue collaborating with other stakeholders through providing technological solution to farmers so as to cope with the current situation. Source: Daily News