Regional lawmakers have called for more collaboration on the construction of the standard gauge railway (SGR) in the East African Community. The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) said there is no need for countries to withhold information from each other about the project. The issue came up last week as the regional legislators received a report by the committee on Communication, Trade and Investment after its oversight activity on railway infrastructure development in the region. MP Fred Mukasa Mbidde, (Uganda) the committee chairperson, said there is no information sharing about SGR, especially on the timelines by partner states. “Construction of the railway among partner states is at different levels. Whereas some partner states are in advanced stages, others are still lagging behind,” Mbidde said. “It was also observed that there is minimal collaboration between the regional railway projects on the Central and Northern Corridors.” As provided for under the EAC Treaty, countries agreed to establish and maintain co-ordinated railway services that would efficiently connect the partner states and, where necessary, to construct additional railway connections. The committee recommended that partner states set aside annual budgets to sustainably fund the implementation of railway projects in the region, and that the Community should create a regional infrastructure fund. It further recommended that railway projects on the Central and Northern corridors complement each other in terms of sharing information, skills and expertise. The regional lawmakers also advised that training schools for railway technology be established, in addition to improving on already existing ones...

Delegates from more than 18 African countries are due to meet in Nairobi from Monday to review Africa’s progress on implementation of Single Window System, an online cargo clearing system, organizers said on Thursday. The Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) which is implementing an online cargo clearance system in the country, said the 14thExecutive Committee and 8th General Assembly meeting of the African Alliance for E-Commerce (AAEC) will be held in Nairobi from March 13-15. KenTrade’s CEO Amos Wangora said the decision by the continental organization to hold the AAEC meetings in Nairobi for the first time was a big honour not only to Kenya but to the East African Community region as a whole, noting that other EAC member states had also been invited to attend. “Successful implementation of the Single Window System in Kenya has positioned Kenya as a strong logistics platform in the East Africa region in addition to providing opportunity for sharing best practices on implementation of Single Window System among peers,” Wangora said. Kenya TradeNet or single window system is a web based portal and is accessible 24/7 nationwide to stakeholders in trade logistics industry and will facilitate the flow of goods in and out of Kenya’s borders. The initiative is also expected to facilitate international and domestic trade at the port of Mombasa, and has been touted as the solution to the persistent delays at the port. It reduces the time it takes to process goods through customs at the port by half, from...

Needless charges and regulations as well as closed skies are bottlenecks to cross-border business in East Africa, a lobby has said. The East African Business Council (EABC) now wants the regional parliament to fast-track the removal of these barriers to boost trade. The council executive director Lilian Awinja said the slow pace of opening up the borders exposes local traders and professionals to cutthroat competition from importers and consultants servicing individual markets directly. “The private sector is concerned that despite the commitments of the EAC partner States at the international level as evidenced by concerted efforts to integrate East Africa into a single market, domestic air transport remains over-protected, thus translating into less accessible and unaffordable for potential local users,” she said in a statement. Commuter air services within the East Africa Community comprising Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, face hurdles as some routes remain unserved. Most travellers from one country to another have to fly to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to catch a connecting flight. For example, East Africa Legislative Assembly Speaker Daniel Kidega’s endured a 10-hour flight from Arusha in Tanzania to Kigali in Rwanda. “As I came here from my home in Arusha, I took a flight to Zanzibar, then to Nairobi, from there to Bujumbura and then on to Kigali. It took me close to 10 hours from Arusha to Kigali. That is an unacceptable way to do business,” he said. Reciprocal flights Ms Awinja said despite Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South...

Le 23 février 2017, la 21ème réunion du Comité National de Pilotage du Programme de TradeMark Africa Burundi ( National Oversight Comittee : NOC ) s’est tenue à Rumonge. A 12 heures 30 minutes, les participants sont sortis de la salle de l’hôtel Tanganyika Blue Bay Resort où se tenait la réunion. Ils sont allés rejoindre à la plage un groupe de femmes qui dansaient en exposant des échantillons des produits qu’elles commercialisent. Celles-ci étaient des membres de l’Association des Femmes Entrepreneurs du Burundi (AFAB). D’un coup, le directeur a.i de TradeMark Africa (TMA) Burundi et la présidente de l’AFAB apposent leurs signatures sur un document. Celle-ci nous en fait le point. « AFAB et TMA viennent de signer un mémorandum d’entente sur un fonds de 200 mille USD que la première va gérer », précise Claudette Ngendandumwe, présidente de l’AFAB. Elle indique que ce fonds est une sorte de projet pilote appelé « Femme dans le commerce » qui s’exécutera à l’intérieur du pays avec un accent particulier sur le commerce transfrontalier. Quid des grandes activités ? Claudette Ngendandumwe informe que le projet s’accomplira sous quatre volets, à savoir : un volet sur les études. Celui-ci, selon elle, concerne les enquêtes afin d’avoir les données exactes sur la situation actuelle de la femme dans le commerce, les difficultés rencontrées, les soucis, connaître le nombre de femmes engagées dans l’entrepreneuriat, les secteurs dans lesquels les femmes opèrent…Le deuxième volet, d’après Mme Ngendandumwe, est celui de la programmation. Elle fait remarquer que le troisième volet vise la formation...

Efforts by the government to attract investors to help build 29 berths at the proposed Lamu port has received a boost from African Development Bank. The pan-African lender last week gave a $1.9 million (about Sh194.86 million) grant to cater for advisory services and technical support in developing a feasible plan for the port. The funds, through AfDB's New Partnership for Africa’s Development Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility, will position the proposed Lamu port as an attractive venture for big-ticket investors. The port has 32 berths whose construction cost is estimated at $5 billion (Sh512.8 billion). The cost for the first phase of the project's three berths is estimated at $689 million (Sh70.7 billion). The amount will cover dredging and reclamation, construction of berths and yards, construction of revetment, causeway and road, construction of buildings and utilities, and procurement of equipment and tug boats among others. The construction of the first three berths is being funded by the government, while the remaining 29 will be financed through public-private partnerships under the build-operate-transfer model. “The construction of the first three berths is ongoing with completion date of July 2018 for the first berth, and December 2020 for the next two at a cost of $480 million (Sh49.2 billion),” AfBD and Lapsset Corridor Development Authority said in a joint statement. The proposed port is the core of the Sh2.5 trillion Lamu Port Southern Sudan- Ethiopia Transport Corridor, whose implementation has suffered funding challenges since its commissioning on March 2, 2012. The government is,...

The Gender Equality and Development Act was passed by East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on Women’s Day. The law aims to advance gender equality and equity among EAC member states in economic, political, socio-economic and cultural aspects. PIC:Christine Mbonyingingo (middle) and Commissioner Ministry of East African Community, Ronah Serwadda (right) looks on during a press conference at the East African Sub- regional support Initiative, (EASSI) on 10/3/17. PHOTO BY JULIET KASIRYE Women organizations in East Africa have asked regional heads of state to ratify a new law that seeks to provide guarantees for gender equality and protection of women from all forms of violence. The Gender Equality and Development Act was passed by East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on Women’s Day. The law aims to advance gender equality and equity among EAC member states in economic, political, socio-economic and cultural aspects. The Act mandates member states to uphold the right of every woman and man to life, personal dignity and integrity, and security of a person at all levels in their public and private lives. Women organisations through their umbrella body, the East Africa Sub Regional Support Initiative, (EASSI), at a press briefing on Friday, implored the heads of state of the five EAC states to assent to the new law to protect women. “Although the Act was passed, if it is not domesticated by Uganda and the member states-Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi and South Sudan, it will not help us,” Marren Akatsa, the EASSI executive director said. According to...

The East African Community (EAC) is, at last, seeing light at the end of the tunnel after a long era of gender angst. But achieving gender equality will be an uphill task as old habits die hard. However, a recent endorsement of the Gender Equality and Development Bill, 2016 by the East African Legislative Assembly last week to improve the rights of women and girls is encouraging. We urge EAC heads of state to assent to the document for the bloc to reach gender equality, protection and development. The envisaged law stipulates the right of a child to quality education and can address other issues such as land rights, marginalised groups and gender-based violence. Indeed, forced marriage has been the nemesis of girls, condemning them to illiteracy, poverty and servitude. Teenage marriage and female genital mutilation are not only anachronistic, but also used as tools of female subjugation. That runs counter Article 6 of the EAC Treaty, which strongly opposes discrimination against any person on grounds of sex or gender. EAC governments will have to review marriage and inheritance pieces of legislation that are repressive to women and increase their representation in decision-making bodies. Last year, Tanzania's High Court ruled that sections 13 and 17 of the Law of Marriage Act, 1971, which allow a girl aged below 18, to marry were unconstitutional. That came after Children's Rights Organisation director Rebecca Gyumi filed a petition to strike out all provisions in the Law of Marriage Act, 1971, which allow a...

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Thursday appealed to the United Nations to continue its support in bringing about peace and political stability in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). Magufuli made the appeal to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when he made a stopover on his way from Kenya to New York, the headquarters of the UN. The president said the recent instability in the two countries has created refugees’ influx in Tanzania and its neighbors, calling for the need to restore political stability. The message to the UN chief was delivered by the east African nation’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Augustine Mahiga. Mahiga said as the chair the East African Community (EAC), Tanzania was hopeful with the progress made in the mediation process in Burundi under the leadership of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and facilitated by former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa. Mahiga also told Guterres that the forthcoming EAC Summit was expected to receive a progress report on the mediation process. With regards to the DR Congo, Mahiga revealed that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was intending to include the agenda of political transition in DR Congo, whereby SADC member states were expecting positive deliberations. Tanzania is the current chair of the SADC organ of political, defense and security with the mandate to support the achievement and maintenance of peace and security as well as the rule of law in the SADC region. For his part, Guterres praised Tanzania...

The Government has announced plans to revive the Kenya National Shipping Line that has the potential to contribute Sh304 billion to the country’s economy annually. The revival of the shipping line is expected to return Kenya to its historical place as a rich seafaring nation with highly respected seafarers. The initiative is expected to create an average of 3,000 job opportunities for youth in the first year, and thereafter progressively increase to 6,000 in five years. State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu on Sunday said the State Department of Maritime and Shipping Affairs, through its Blue Economy Committee, has rolled out plans to restructure the ownership of the KNLS. “Negotiations are at an advanced stage for the exit of foreign shareholders who have expressed desire to cease working with KNLS, due to KNSL having become a parastatal” said Esipisu when he addressed the press at State House, Mombasa. Esipisu said the revival of the the shipping line, which has been dormant for decades, is part of the Jubilee administration’s wider plan to boost the economy of the coast region as well that of the whole country. “This administration has invested billions of shillings in this region to build or improve security, infrastructure and general service delivery, with the simple goal of uplifting the live of residents in an inclusive way,” said Esipisu. The State House Spokesperson used his press briefing to speak on the wide ranging development initiatives that have been rolled out in the region and more that are in...

The recent scramble for the partition of the nine slots allotted to Uganda in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), has stirred concern among ordinary Ugandans. During the elections this month, the exercise became rowdy as MPs from the government nearly exchanged blows with their counterparts in the Opposition on the floor of Parliament. The scuffle started when Ingrid Turinawe, a candidate from the Opposition Forum for Democratic (Change) walked to the podium to solicit for votes in Parliament. But as she began to address the MPs, majority of the ruling party legislators opposed to her candidature stood up in protest and started shouting at her, paralyzing the Parliamentary proceedings. In the end FDC, which fronted two candidates, scoped no seat while smaller parties like the Democratic Party (DP) and Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) posted a representative each. But the chaos that ensured in the house has left ordinary Ugandans wondering whether EAC is a job basket for politicians or is intended to benefit the common person. Each newly elected MP in EALA will receive at least $14,000 (Ugsh50m) in monthly salaries beginning July. At the signing of the treaty that established the community in 2000, the ordinary East African had been promised to benefit from the reunion. But so far EAC has remained majorly a “platform” for Presidents and regional Members of Parliament who receive huge salaries. “That’s why in Uganda the elections for the members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) make little sense to the ordinary...