President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday opened the Mwatate-Taveta road and commissioned the construction of a six-lane highway between Mombasa and Mariakani as part of efforts to decongest cross-border transport corridors. The Mwatate-Taveta road, built at a cost of Sh8.4 billion, is part of a transnational highway which runs from Kenya through Tanzania to Burundi. It was the Kenyan side that remained untarmacked until the African Development Bank agreed to jointly fund the project with the government. “All this investment in infrastructure we are making here and across the country, is meant to stimulate economic growth that will create the much-needed jobs for our young people,” said the President. The dualling of the Mombasa-Mariakani road will start with the construction of the 11.3 km from the Coastal city to Kwa Jomvu at a cost of Sh6.1 billion. The second section of the dualling of the highway from Kwa Jomvu to Mariakani would also be done concurrently at a cost of Sh6 billion. President Kenyatta, who was accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto, directed Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia (above) and the Chinese contractor to ensure the project employs local youth. Other projects in Mombasa include the Sh2.7 billion Port Reitz-Moi International Airport access road, a crucial link that will provide the necessary connection to the newly constructed second container terminal. The construction of the Mombasa Southern Bypass (Dongo Kundu–Mwache road) at a cost of Sh12.5 billion is also ongoing, President Kenyatta said with the DP adding that the contractor would be on...

The formal launch of the once touted the mega economic bloc for Africa, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA), faces further delay because only one country has so far ratified its creation out of 19 member states. A minimum of 14 ratifications are required for the agreement to come into force, combining three regional economic communities, the East African Community (EAC), Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). This emerged last week when Madagascar, a Comesa member, appended its signature to the Tripartite Agreement before senior officials of the EAC, Sadc and Comesa. "Egypt is the only country to have ratified the Agreement. A total of 14 ratifications are needed for the agreement's entry into force," officials at the event in Antananarivo were told. Under the Agreement, the three economic blocs were to merge into a single free trade area, the largest in Africa, with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $ 1.3 trillion, making it also one of the largest FTAs in the world. Although the signing of the Agreement by Madagascar, only a few days after South Africa did so, the EAC secretary general, Liberat Mfumukeko, the current chairperson of the Tripartite Task Force, admitted that negotiations were going at a snail's pace and that little has been achieved. "There had been limited progress in Phase Two negotiations and the agreement on the movement of business persons," he said in Kampala on July 7th, hardly a week before the Antananarivo...

In Abdigi Ramadhani’s 13 years as a truck driver, nothing has been more irksome than the lack of certainty over his itinerary each time he ferries goods between Zambia and Tanzania. The volume of cargo handled by the Port of Dar-es-Salaam has been growing at an average of 9 percent a year for the past five years: in 2011, the port handled 10.4 million tons and in 2013 it handled 13.1 million tons, which rose to 13.8 million tons in 2016. “Delays have been the norm at the Port of Dar-es-Salaam,” Ramadhani says, “but now the Port is busier than ever, with a lot more cargo coming in.” There are many more transporters than there used to be, he says, but the port has yet to catch up. It may summon 50 trucks to load up at one go but end up not serving them all, making it impossible for the long-haul truckers who shuttle goods between Tanzania and its landlocked neighbors to plan. Until now, all this cargo has been distributed between the port’s two terminals: the terminal for general cargo, which is operated by the public sector and handles 70 percent of the throughput, while the rest is handled by the dedicated containerized cargo terminal, currently leased out to a private operator. The port is already considered to be operating above its capacity, yet projections are that the volume of goods handled by it could almost triple to more than 38 million tons by 2030. Volume may double...

Kenya’s tea export to major destinations registered a major decline in volume, even as the country continued over relying on traditional buyers that account for more than 85 per cent of the country’s market. Industry report from Tea Directorate for May indicates there was a decline in quantities imported by major buyers, except for Pakistan, compared with the same period last year, partly driven by low production. Egypt, which is the second largest buyer of Kenya’s tea, registered a 61 per cent fall to 3.5 million kilogrammes in May this year from 9.2 million kilogrammes in the corresponding period. “The total export volume for May was 28.05 million kilogrammes compared with 43.36 million kilogrammes recorded in the same period last year, representing a 35 per cent decrease,” says the report. “The Pakistan market recorded higher tea imports from Kenya while other markets recorded lower imports,” the report adds. The United Kingdom, a major buyer of the Kenyan beverage registered a 51 per cent drop compared with last year. The quantities imported dropped from 4.1 million kilogrammes to two million kilogrammes in May. Source: Daily Monitor

The Facilitation Office announced another round for July. While the dialogue is deadlocked, some already call for more meetings. Remember, on May 20th, the report of the facilitator Mkapa almost tolled the knell for the dialogue. In particular, he recalled his request for an intervention by the EAC, which remained a dead letter. On the contrary, Museveni, president of the EAC and at the same time mediator in the crisis asked the European Union to lift its sanctions against Burundi. But, in spite of everything, the Tanzanian President did not throw in the sponge. Mkapa decided to roll up his sleeves. “We are preparing to resume dialogue for this month of July. Everything is ready, except for a few things, “said Facilitator’s personal assistant Macocha Tembele. Mr Mkapa has to get a move on. He had set himself by the end June to reach an agreement. We are already mid-July. On this failure, the facilitation seems to be reluctant to get involved in an argument with the protagonists: “They refused to sit together for one reason or another, raised either by the government or the opposition”. Bujumbura didn’t remain idle Bujumbura did not knock off during this time. The National Security Council, led by President Nkurunziza himself, met from 20 to 21 June 2017. The implementation of the conclusions of the National Commission for Inter-Burundian Dialogue report leading to the amendment to the Constitution and the bringing back of the external dialogue to Burundi were on the menu of the...

Traders said Ugandan trucks are not allowed to load from Tanzania’s district of Gisenyi Minister of Trade Industry and Cooperatives, Amelia Kyambadde is to engage her counterpart in Tanzania to find solutions to ongoing standoff between Ugandan traders and officials from Tanzania. This stems from revelations from traders that they are often harassed and charged different fares and sometime their goods are confiscated even when they meet the requirements. They made the call to the minister who was recently touring the Mutukula border post. Through the Rakai district chairman, Benon Mugabi, traders said Ugandan trucks are not allowed to load from Tanzania’s district of Gisenyi. He added that when smugglers run to Tanzania, it still takes lengthy clearing procedures to get into Tanzania to pursue them. He was joined by the chairperson of cross border women traders, Jane Benuza who reported that they are forced to pay more than two clearing agents to get their goods on the Ugandan side even when they have a certificate of origin. "You have to pay a clearing agent in Kyaka before getting to the actual border of Tanzania and then later you pay the one considered as the final agent on the Tanzanian side, when you inquire they brand you a noisy person and even harass you more ,the next time you go trading," explained Benuza. Kyambadde who is the chairperson of the EAC council of ministers promised to follow up the matter through the council of ministers at this year’s EAC summit,...

Among optimists, the proposal by East African Community (EAC) member states to ban the importation of used clothes by 2019 is great because it could spark the growth of a local textile industry in the bloc. But pessimists say the move will complicate the region’s trade arrangements with leading partners including the U.S. which is also a large exporter of used clothes to the region. It could also increase the cost of clothes in countries where the majority of the population is poor and lead to the import of new cheap clothes to out-compete the very industries the regional governments seek to protect. Faced with these options, some business analysts are proposing a middle-ground that reflects the status quo. They say the region is better off allowing entry of used clothes as it also develops its own textile industry. “As a region, there’s need to allow entry of any products provided there  are no illegalities in the sale of those items on our markets while at the same time boosting  their  production locally,”  said Charles Ocici, the executive director at Enterprise Uganda, a USAID-sponsored agency for equipping skills to small and medium firms. He suggests a co-existence of used and new clothes in the regional markets and the use of taxes to ensure fair competition between them. That way, Ocici says, the burden of the ban will not only be felt by the poor but by all clothing consumers, who will, in turn, buy the locally made clothes. He added...

Plans to harmonize East Africa mobile tariffs to create a single mobile network face hurdles as some nations fear that their telecoms could suffer losses, officials said on Monday. Communication Authority of Kenya Director General Francis Wangusi told Xinhua in Nairobi that once a country is not sure of the consequences of the one area network, it needs to be conscious not to find itself making a mistake. Wangusi said that one of the things hindering the adoption of the single network is the fear of illegal termination of international traffic purporting to be local calls. "We are already experiencing cases where calls from outside East African Community (EAC) are being illegally terminated locally and then relayed as a local calls and this is denying revenues to local telecoms," he added. The one area network was introduced in 2014, but so far only Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan have joined the single network. Other EAC member states such as Burundi and Tanzania are not yet part of the network that seeks to ensure that all intra-EAC calls are treated as local calls. The regulator is seeking to purchase a device management system to monitor its network so as to prevent the illegal termination of internationals and raise the credibility of the single network. Wangusi said that EAC partner states are set to have a meeting towards the end of month in order to discuss ways to overcome the challenges. Source: Xinhua Net

Chinese firm Erdemann Property Ltd’s plan to construct an industrial park in Mavoko has moved a step forward with the submission of an environment impact assessment report to National Environment Management Authority (Nema). Erdemann is proposing to develop the park on Mombasa-Namanga road interchange, Machakos County. The property firm wants to construct 53 go-downs, gate house, power services buildings, office block, waste water treatment plant, landscaped gardens, drive ways and parking spaces and, ancillary facilities “Nema invites members of the public to submit oral or written comments within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice to the director-general to assist the authority in the decision making-process for this project,” Nema said in a public notice published yesterday. The firm’s first commercial and industrial property development Erdemann Industrial Park A is situated in Mlolongo town and was opened in 2005 The property comprises 15 go-downs covering a build-up area of 12,000 square metres. The property is leased to tenants on a long-term basis. In 2009, the firm also opened another park in Mavoko (Erdemann Industrial Park B) which comprises 24 units of go-downs. Of late satellite towns like Syokimau, Mlolongo, Limuru, Thika and Ruiru have been attracting new industrial park developments, unlike the traditional zones of Industrial Area, Mombasa Road and Embakasi. Source: Business Daily

Kenya’s tea export to major destinations registered a major decline in volume, even as the country continued over relying on traditional buyers that account for more than 85 per cent of the country’s market. Industry report from Tea Directorate for May indicates there was a decline in quantities imported by major buyers, except for Pakistan, compared with the same period last year, partly driven by low production. Egypt, which is the second largest buyer of Kenya’s tea, registered a 61 per cent fall to 3.5 million kilogrammes in May this year from 9.2 million kilogrammes in the corresponding period. “The total export volume for May was 28.05 million kilogrammes compared with 43.36 million kilogrammes recorded in the same period last year, representing a 35 per cent decrease,” says the report. “The Pakistan market recorded higher tea imports from Kenya while other markets recorded lower imports,” the report adds. The United Kingdom, a major buyer of the Kenyan beverage registered a 51 per cent drop compared with last year. The quantities imported dropped from 4.1 million kilogrammes to two million kilogrammes in May. Pakistan was the leading export destination for Kenyan tea having imported 11.36 million kilogrammes during the month, accounting for 40 per cent of the total export volume. The ten export destinations, most of which are traditional markets for Kenyan tea accounted for 86 per cent of Kenya tea export volume. During the month, Kenya tea was shipped to 39 export destinations compared with 45 destinations last year. Key...