The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) is setting up a laboratory in Mombasa at a cost of more than Sh300 million. Managing Director Charles Ongwae said the lab will save business owners the time and cost of sending samples to Nairobi, besides facilitating trade. “There are a number of tests that cannot be done in Mombasa and importers have been sending samples to Nairobi but this will be a thing of the past,” he said at the Bandari College while addressing a forum for business owners in the region. The laboratory will be located in Mombasa’s central business district along Nkrumah Road in a seven-storey building Kebs acquired at Sh700 million, where two floors will be reserved for the facility, he said. Expensive venture “Setting up a lab is very expensive and the European Union is partly funding the project to the tune of Sh300 million with the funding being channelled through the Standards and Market Access Programme (SMAP) but we are also going to invest more funds in the project,” he said. “About Sh250 million has already been spent on buying equipment that will be shared between this facility and the one in Nairobi. "The equipment is already in the high seas expected to be delivered any time from now,” Mr Ongwae said. In order to conform to standards, imports and exports are subjected to quality assurance tests that are carried out by Kebs and other private laboratories. He noted that the lab is being set up at the...

Siemens will work more closely with the African countries Uganda and Sudan in the areas of power supply, industry, transportation and healthcare. The African states signed the corresponding Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) at the World Economic Forum 2017 in the South African city of Durban. The documents were signed in the presence of Brigitte Zypries, German Federal Minister for Economics and Energy, Joe Kaeser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG and further high-ranking personalities. “Africa’s economies are gaining ground and can develop their full potential with the right partner. Siemens wants to support their sustainable development – with solutions and projects in Africa, for Africa. The agreements with our African partners are important steps along this path,” says Joe Kaeser,  Siemens President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our goal is to double our order intake in Africa to more than €3 billion by the year 2020.” “Africa is a continent with economic opportunities and the German industry is an outstanding partner for the countries of Africa to realize these opportunities. I am very pleased that with the agreements signed today, good progress is being made towards the goal of better infrastructure and thus more growth and employment. I particularly welcome the training program because well-trained skilled workers are a key pillar of prosperity and development. And it is precisely these elements that I also support with the ‘Pro! Africa’ plan,” says Brigitte Zypries, German Federal Minister for Economics and Energy. “Siemens is a company that invests for the long term, and...

Kenya is set to host the International Flower Trade Expo (IFTEX) next month and expects more American buyers in the country to seal deals following the commencement of direct flights by Kenya to US  this  month. The direct flight will help the floriculture industry since the non-stop flights will cut hours of the lengthy trip between the two countries and provide a major boost to Kenya’s tourism industry. Kenya Flower Council (KFC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms. Jane  Ngige said the direct flight to USA opens a new and lucrative avenue for Kenya cut flowers and horticulture products at large. Ngige who was speaking on Wednesday on the upcoming sixth IFTEX slated for June 7 to 9 in Nairobi, noted that the flower industry is enjoying renewed focus following the classification of JKIA to Category A status enabling direct flights to the US from Nairobi. “The flights will boost local flower production and incomes as well to the farmers and traders and also enhance the country’s profile globally,” she noted Kenya will join other countries in Africa namely South Africa, Senegal, Cape Verde and Ethiopia who enjoy the Category A status. The CEO stated that local companies will now directly export to USA unlike before where they had to do it via other routes such as South Africa and Amsterdam  which has been expensive. Exporters, Ngige also added, will incur less flight costs compared to the voyage through EU and expressed optimism that the industry will maintain level of earnings...

Kampala. The awarding of several infrastructure projects to Chinese contractors has seen China overtake India as Uganda’s top country for imports. The 2016 statistics from Bank of Uganda (BoU) indicate that Ugandaimported goods worth $720.9m (Shs2.6 trillion) from China compared to $686.4m (Shs2.5 trillion) from India. There were declines in imports from both countries compared to 2015 with the sharpest decline being from India at 31 per cent. Chinese imports declined by only 2.1 per cent. This is because the plant, machinery and vehicles for several road projects were imported, even as the import market underperformed. “The fewer declines in imports from China are not necessarily a substitution of the source of imports. It has more to do with the fact that most of the infrastructure projects currently under way are being undertaken by either Chinese firms or Chinese funding, which ideally dictates the source of imports,” explained Mr Adam Mugume, the executive director research at BoU. From India, Uganda majorly imports pharmaceutical products, veterinary products, oils, distillation products, electrical, iron and steel, stationery products, among others. According to BoU statistics almost all these products recorded a decline in 2016. The largest composition of Uganda’s import value is the machinery, equipment and vehicles (capital goods) that declined from $1.2b (Shs4.2 trillion) in 2015 to $921b (Shs3.3 trillion) in 2016 – a $298m (Shs1 trillion) drop. This decline was brought about by a decline in the importation of vehicles from Japan. Imports from Japan, dominated by vehicles dropped by $100.43m (Shs3612b),...

A newly designed short messaging service (SMS) for reporting trade barriers within the Tripartite regional economic blocs has been launched. The Tripartite Free Trade Area was launched in 2015 and encompasses three regional blocks; the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the East African Community (EAC), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). The SMS tool will supplement the current web based online system for reporting, monitoring and elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) used by Comesa, EAC and Sadc. According to a statement from the Comesa secretariat, the Tripartite online reporting system is a real-time mechanism for reporting, processing, monitoring and resolving trade barriers. It was operationalised in November 2010. “The online mechanism has been instrumental in assisting the region to understand the kind, frequency and category of NTBs that are encountered by economic operators as they are doing their business in the Tripartite region. These include road blocks, delays in processing export or import documentations, permits, et cetera,” the statement reads. The SMS tool has now been rolled out to Comesa member states as part of capacity building and empowerment to manage trade barriers and fast tracking their removal. Economic operators who encounter NTBs will be able to send an SMS to the central number which will in turn relay messages to identify focal point numbers and the current online reporting system. The SMS tool was first launched in 2013 in Zambia to facilitate a diverse spectrum of economic operators, especially the informal and small scale traders...

Kenya has suffered a blow in its effort to change East Africa's market access rules to allow duty-free sale of edible oil manufactured from imported raw material. Kenya, with the support of Burundi, has been pushing for the review of East Africa Community's rules of origin to give tax-free access to products even if imported raw material constitutes up to 70 per cent. At the moment, edible oils only enjoy duty-free access to member states if wholly made from locally grown oil seeds like palm, soya bean, sunflower or cotton. Kenya argues that preferential terms would safeguard the 9,000 direct jobs and $55 million worth of investments put in edible oil manufacturing across the region. A team of experts appointed by the bloc to review Kenya's case however warned that the region must keep its eye on the thousands of farmers who are likely to lose market if local firms get the free hand to import raw materials.  Source: All Africa

President Uhuru Kenyatta today said that one of his priority foreign policy objectives has been to see trade between African countries grow to a new higher level. He said he has promoted the integration of the East African region and advocated for increased collaboration between African nations. President Kenyatta, the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, spoke at the National Defence College in Karen, Nairobi. He said he promoted a structured process for the integration of the East African Community starting with economic integration. The President fielded questions from participants on the course, including officers from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Egypt and Nigeria. He said people-to-people movement, and easier movement of goods and services was at the heart of Africa building a prosperous future in which Africa’s security and prosperity was guaranteed. He said he wants to change the traditional trend where the economic interest of African countries ended at their own borders in relation to other nations on the continent while they trade extensively with overseas nations. National Defence College trainees he addressed were all above the rank of Colonel or corresponding ranks in other defence agencies. The President explained why he had devoted much time to East African integration, saying a wider market for goods in the region would attract greater attention of investors globally. He also said that exchange of good practises among Africans themselves was pivotal for Africa-led growth. He was responding to a Nigerian officer, who had said that Kenya should take lessons from countries like his...

When Mr Ali Hassan Joho was elected governor of Mombasa in 2013, one of his immediate plans was to take over the port and oversee its operations. He considered it a perfect opportunity to control the massive business that goes on at the port and the billions that change hands in the import and export trade, Customs and other revenue stations. He was reminded that under the Constitution, the port is a national and not a county asset. Mr Joho has continued to threaten Kenya Ports of Authority, claiming the port does not benefit the coastal people. In 2014, he attempted, but failed to impose a levy of two dollars on every tonne of cargo handled by the KPA, which would have given his county government a revenue stream of over $52 million a year--based on the 26 million tonnes of cargo the port handles in a year. PLAN FAILED The plan failed, even after Mr Joho threatened to mobilise locals to take over the port. The politics being played by Mr Joho has persisted for decades, turning the port into a playground for local barons, who exert considerable influence on its management and logistics chain. These deeply entrenched vested interests have stifled its potential as the gateway for trade between Kenya and the rest of the world. The control by cartels contributes to waste and imposes constraints to the growth of the economy in terms of the heavy burden of the costs they transfer to manufacturing and other sectors...

It will now be easier and faster for the business community in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to report trade barriers within the tripartite regional economic bloc, thanks to a new short messaging service (SMS) system. According to experts, the innovation that was launched last week will help improve regional trade. Souef Kamalidini, the Director General of Customs of the Union of Comoros, said the SMS tool will supplement the current web-based online system for reporting, monitoring and elimination of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) used by COMESA, the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). A similar system is used by the Northern Corridor countries to report NTBs. The tripartite online reporting system is a real-time mechanism for reporting, processing, monitoring and resolving NTBs. The SMS system that is being rolled out by COMESA member states is part of capacity building and empowerment to manage NTBs and fast-track their removal. According to Kamalidini, the new tool will especially help the informal sector and small-scale traders who do not have access to the Internet to report NTBs in real time. “With the new technology, each member state is able to install and operate the system using a ‘central’ number at the national level where stakeholders can send messages on trade obstacles. This way, they (traders) will not incur any roaming charges to send an SMS,” he explained. Alphose Kwizera, the assistant executive director at the Rwanda Association of Manufacturers (RAM), said the tool is...

DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania (Xinhua) -- A senior official with the East African Community (EAC) said on Thursday implementation of the bloc’s single customs territory (SCT) has tremendously reduced the cost of doing business in the region. Dicksons Kateshumbwa, chairman of the EAC Committee on Customs, said turnaround time has been reduced from 21 days to 3-5 days on average between the entry points to Kampala in Uganda, Kigali in Rwanda, and Bujumbura in Burundi. The six-member EAC is implementing a number of customs projects, including the SCT, transforming the way of doing business for the benefit of EAC members economies. “Capacity building and sensitization to support the SCT has been done and is ongoing,” Kateshumbwa told a news conference in Dar es Salaam. The SCT started in 2014 on both the northern and central corridors where goods are assessed and declared at the first point of entry and move to the destination partner state with taxes and duties paid upfront. Kateshumbwa said integration of customs functioning was enhanced through cross-border deployment of staff in partner states, leading to better accountability, deterrence of smuggling and closer cooperation among customs authorities. “So far we have rolled out goods on the SCT on pilot basis,” Kateshumbwa said. “However, the most important decision we have made today is that we have agreed on the full implementation of the SCT effective July 31, 2017.” He said customs automation across the region has been enhanced in all member states—Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South...