The question of the spirit and pace of East African integration was prominent at the just ended sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly in Kigali. The members were clearly exasperated by what they considered starvation of funds to the Community by partner states which had severely crippled its activities. This prompted members to ask: “Are we really serious about integration?” In March 2014, Charles Njonjo, the once powerful Attorney General of Kenya, warned that the East African Community was likely to face the same fate as its earlier version that collapsed in 1977. At the time many people disagreed with the analysis that had led him to the gloomy conclusion. Three years later, that warning and the legislators’ concerns lead to other questions. Is enthusiasm for integration waning? Or is Trumpesque country-first positioning hindering it? East Africans have long recognised that they are fated to live closely together. It is both aspiration and a fact of history. And so they always dream about how to make the bond work stronger and build big promises of what it should be like. But they also have a knack for knocking down what they are trying to build. Some clever people might start talking about an East African curse. In the early 1960s, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania formed the East African Community (EAC). The EAC was hailed as a shining example of regional integration. For a decade, East Africans lived through what may be called the glory years of integration. Then as...

Jacob Dut Chol, head of political science department at Juba University, said neighboring countries must brace for spillover of South Sudan conflict, hence the need for them to back peace building initiatives in the world’s youngest nation. “The entire East and Horn of Africa region should be wary of the spillover effect of South Sudan conflict. Already, refugees are flocking into these countries and crossborder movement of illicit arms is at an alltime high,” said Chol. He regretted that ideological differences among members of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which has spearheaded efforts to end conflict in South Sudan, bode ill for regional stability. “When you talk about international relations, the regional interests always vary. You may look at the East African Community (EAC) as committed to helping support South Sudan, but you may realize that within those countries there could be one or two that are sympathetic to the rebels,” he said. “And you may realize in the greater Horn of Africa that Eritrea and Ethiopia were not very clear on support for the government. Even Kenya was not forthcoming in its position,” Chol said. In the aftermath of the December 2013 conflict, some neighboring countries with security interest were sucked in the fighting and reportedly backed different warring factions. Since July last year, renewed fighting have spread to the once peaceful Equatorial region and according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the conflict since 2013 has forced 1.5 million South Sudanese to flee into neighboring countries. And...

Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Rwandan business community to foster trade ties between the two countries. Speaking during the second edition of the Rwanda Business Forum in Nairobi, KNCCI Chairman Kiprono Kittony said the agreement would deepen dialogue and establish new areas of collaboration.   “With just 12 per cent of inter-country trade among African nations, there is so much opportunity and room for growth between us,” he said. Source: Standard Media

A survey conducted by the East African Institute showed less than 5 per cent of youth between the age of 18-35 years identify as belonging to the polity that is the East African Community. They believe the EAC is a political construct of the elite — some regional trade deal to open up markets for free movement of goods, labour and capital. The community of the people of East Africa is not just a figment that dwells in the minds of the political and business elite. It is more than an expansionist or federal obsession of the Arusha bureaucrats. The Community is more than the lofty dreams of common currency or common trade tariffs. There is something more wholesome — we the people. We are the Community. The community, joined by bonds of kinship and exchange as are ancient as the hills. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta or Milton Obote did not bequeath the Community to us. When they created the first EAC, they were merely repairing the division that was wrought upon the people of East Africa by the British and the Germans. Across the borders, we share languages, traditions and beliefs. We share the picturesque beauty and splendor of Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika, the Indian Ocean, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Elgon, the Great Rift Valley, the Mara and yes the iconic statuesque men and women of the savannas. More importantly, our destiny is shared through the fears, hopes and aspirations of our youth. When asked what the...

This century is Africa’s to own, or to lose. Economic transformation is occurring across the continent, from Mauritius to Ethiopia and Ghana, across East Africa, and for some, like Rwanda, the changes are coming breathtakingly fast. New natural resources are being discovered. Investments in health and education have led to rising life expectancy, reductions in maternal and child mortality, and an increasingly educated young population. In regions such as East Africa, massive investments in infrastructure – energy, roads, rail and IT – are being made, driving growth and providing employment. Although the growth is still patchy, and there remain areas of political instability, insecurity and conflict, the continent has an agreed blueprint for dealing with her challenges and investing in her future – Agenda 2063. Africa’s problems have been studied and analysed over and over. Plans and blueprints exist, in ministries across the continent, and for all the Regional Economic Communities. East Africa has Vision 2050, aiming to turn the region into an upper middle-income bloc by 2050. The time for planning and analysis is over. Now is the time for execution. But to succeed, we need to move with dispatch, aware that we are in competition with the rest of the world, and that this competition will get tougher, not easier. One of the critical game changers for Africa is the 26-member Free Trade Area between Comesa, EAC and SADC. The agreement, first mooted in 2008 in Kampala, and signed in 2015 at Sharm al Sheikh in Egypt, covers...

A new trade facilitation tool was launched Tuesday in Kigali aimed at enhancing intra-Africa trade. The One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) Sourcebook is expected to help governments improve cross-border and intra-regional trade across Africa. The second edition of the sourcebook was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), NEPAD, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The tool was launched at a regional workshop on the OSBP. The workshop runs up to March 16. Participants are exchanging views on further development of OSBPs in the continent. Participants were drawn from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and South Sudan. Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, the NEPAD chief executive officer, said the trade facilitation tool seeks to promote a coordinated and integrated approach towards easing trade, movement of people, and consolidating security. He pointed out one-stop border posts are crucial in facilitating trade on the continent because clearance time reduces for both travellers and goods under one roof. Mayaki said: “It is envisaged that the OSBP project will help reduce the cost and time transporters take to ferry goods across borders.” Mayaki affirmed NEPAD’s commitment to support initiatives that promote trade on the continent. He also urged governments and key stakeholders to fully utilize the sourcebook to help them determine the best way to develop OSBPs in each region. Snowden Mmadi, an infrastructure expert at COMESA, said studies show that time wasted clearing at ports, borders, and...

Kenya and the European Union (EU) have exuded confidence that three East African countries yet to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) will do so during the next month’s head of state and government summit, unlocking the current stalemate. Kenya hopes her neighbours Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi will sign the trade protocol so that the region can enjoy duty and quota free market with EU. “We have hopes that the rest of the EAC countries yet to sign so that we can move together as a bloc,” said Dr Chris Kiptoo principal secretary international trade on the phone. Negotiations on the 14-year-old trade deal were concluded in 2015. EAC and EU  agreed to append signatures as well as ratify the same through their legislative structures. Principal Secretary for East African Affairs, Betty Maina last week, during a public policy breakfast meeting on strategies to enhance Kenya’s competitiveness, said  that Kenya will continue accessing market under the EU Market Regulations of 2007 until otherwise. Move together Alessandro Tonoli, Trade advisor European Union Delegation to Kenya, in a statement, recently expressed optimism that all the five countries will sign the EPAs to avoid being locked out of the EU market. Tonoli said that EAC Heads of State last year expressed willingness to move together as a bloc to continue enjoying the duty and quota-free market under the EU’s everything but arms initiative. The Heads of state in the EAC region will have their next Ordinary Summit in Arusha on April, which will...

The East African Community recorded a 16.4 per cent rise in international arrivals between September last year and January this year, according to the latest figures by Forward Keys, which monitors future travel patterns by analysing 16 million flight reservation transactions each day. The top 10 origin countries all retained their places from earlier in the year, including other African markets, which also saw growth. Visitors to Kenya were up 6.4 per cent, while in Uganda they went up by 11.7 per cent. The report paints a rosy picture, with forward bookings from February to July running 16.5 per cent ahead of the equivalent period last year. ForwardKeys, however, says long-haul connectivity could be improved for all EAC key airports. Source: Standard Media

Kenyans for the first time have a clearer picture of what the Lamu Port Southern Sudan Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) project will mean for Lamu County’s economy following the publication on February 13, of a report on the environmental and economic impact of the infrastructure corridor project. The Lapsset Development Authority unveiled a detailed strategic environmental assessment report that has revealed how the county can achieve a localised industrial revolution buoyed by the massive infrastructure projects in the offing. The report has debunked myths and misconceptions on infrastructure spending by showing the dividend projects such as Lapsset are expected to yield. These benefits will be felt across various counties and natural justice demands that we first have a look at Lamu, where the project begins. Lamu County depends on the fishing industry and this is where the Lapsset project will have its biggest impact. Fishing accounts for three out of four jobs for locals but the industry is yet to scale up and diversify into value addition to create more skilled jobs to increase earnings. As a result of lack of infrastructure, many fishermen rely on this for subsistence and not as a source of gainful employment. However, as the report indicates, this is set to change with the proposed fishing port, which is to be a part of the larger Lamu Port. By constructing a fishing port and creating capacity for fishermen to venture into the deep sea to exploit the rich fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone, they will...

Kenya Railways has received another batch of locomotives and rolling stock as preparations for commissioning the standard gauge railway enter final stage. Three passenger locomotives, eight coaches and 120 open-top wagons arrived at the Mombasa port aboard two ships from China on Friday. This consignment brings the total number of locomotives delivered so far to eight (for freight) out of the expected 43, two shunting locomotives out of the eight that have been ordered and 330 wagons out of a total of 1,620 expected. The first batch of locomotives arrived in the country in January with the second, third and fourth batches arriving in February. The SGR train services will be commissioned on June 1. Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina said the train will uplift the country’s economy and help address the growing congestion on the roads. “SGR operations will stimulate economic activities especially in the areas traversed by the line,” he said in a statement. “Given that Kenya’s economy is one of the fastest growing in the region, the SGR will add a lot of value to the transport and logistics sector by increasing mobility, reducing congestion at the port and eliminate inefficiencies in movement of both people and freight.” The latest stock has been inspected and is currently being subjected to tests, which began this month. The passenger train completed its maiden test journey between Nairobi and Mombasa on March 8. Operations will feature freight and passenger train services with the latter operating two types of trains:...