By: JAMES ANYANZWA. The East African Community has formed a 25-member taskforce to revise the region’s Common External Tariff (CET) and fine-tune the existing rules of origin to boost intra-regional trade and attract new investments to the bloc. The taskforce comprises four experts on tariffs, fiscal policy, trade and statistics from each of the five member countries — Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi — plus one representatives from the private sector, notably associations of manufacturers or chambers of commerce from each of the member states. The timelines for the completion of the exercise have also been revised from July to September 2017. The EAC Council of Ministers agreed that the 12-year-old CET has failed to live up to the expectations of the changing business environment with some member states and manufacturers blaming the three-band tariff structure for loss of revenue and a drop in intra-regional trade. The current CET is based on three bands of 25 per cent for finished goods, 10 per cent for intermediate goods and 0 per cent for raw materials and capital goods, with a limited number of products under the sensitive list that attract rates above the maximum rate of 25 per cent. Kenya hopes to rally other EAC member states to increase the tariff bands from three to four to be responsive of the needs of industries that import industrial inputs. “The dynamics in the region have changed and therefore there is a need for the CET to be reviewed to reflect the current...

Kenya will later this month know whether its bid to build a customs union with its neighbours still holds. East African Heads of State will meet in Arusha on February 28, where one of the items on the agenda will be the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). Trade Principal secretary Chris Kiptoo told People Daily in a telephone interview that EAC countries are supposed to sign the EPAs as a bloc so that they can enjoy quota and duty-free market access. However, he said, Kenya has no issue to raise during the summit on the EPAs as it has already signed and ratified the trade pact with EU. “As required under the principles of the EPAs Kenya has signed and ratified the trade protocol, only awaiting the other partners to follow suit. But all the EAC countries are individually supposed to sign and ratify the trade deal and collectively sign the document with the EU,” said the PS. The deadline for the EAC member states to sign the trade agreement as a bloc was set for October 1, 2016 but there has been resistance from some countries. The EU parliament, on request by Kenya, agreed to extend the deadline to February 2. The deadline is over and only two countries have signed.  Kenya has signed and ratified while Rwanda has only signed. Tanzania has refused to sign, claiming the agreement would have serious consequences for its revenues and the growth of its industries. Uganda has expressed a commitment...

Slovak President Andrej Kiska is due in Nairobi on Monday for a three-day state visit to Kenya to seek ways of increasing trade and enhancing bilateral ties, a Kenyan official said on Sunday. State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu said this will be the first time a sitting Slovak President is making this visit. “Kenyan businesses will be looking to leverage the Slovak Republic’s areas of relative strength as the country looks to expand its basket of trading partners,” Esipisu told journalists in Nairobi. The Slovak Republic is a high-income advanced economy with one of the fastest growth rates in the European Union. The economy has mainly been driven by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The country’s GDP is 138.277 billion U.S. dollars (2015 estimates) and GDP per capita stands at 25,525 dollars (also 2015 estimates), according to Kenyan government statistics. Esipisu said the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) has created a seamless market from South Africa’s Cape Town to Cairo, Egypt. “President Kenyatta will also make clear that the continent of Africa is also working towards consolidating its economies into a large Continental Free Trade Area therefore providing more business opportunities,” Esipisu said. He said the Kenyan leader has paid state visits to dozens of countries since he came to office, and received a galaxy of global leaders here in Nairobi. “Kenyans are now seeing the fruits of these years of engagement with partners, with high-impact investments such as the re-starting of assembly plants for German and French automakers VW and...

Claims that some East African Community Partner states did not voted for Kenya’s nominee to the African Union Commission Chairperson seat, must not be allowed to affect the bilateral relations between the EAC countries. The loss of Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Amina Mohamed’s bid for the AU top seat must not affect the unity of the East African Community. Instead, the loss should be an eye opener on the deep rooted cracks existing within the community. Consequently, our leaders must put all the cards on the table and forge the way forward if the community is to remain united and vibrant. Kenya’s disappointment is understandable. The country sent diplomats across 53 countries during the three months intensive lobbying season seeking for votes, where close to $3.5million was spent. All the same, the loss should not be seen as a Kenyan defeat but as an East African Community loss. The claims that Amina lost to Chad’s foreign affairs minister Moussa Faki Mahamat after seven rounds of voting due to the refusal by Uganda, Djibouti and Burundi to vote for Kenya are damaging to the unity of the EAC to say the least. Already, Uganda has dispelled claims that it voted against Amina Mohamed after Kenya said she will review her bilateral relations with her neighbours. Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this claim was unsubstantiated and false. It was a noble move for Uganda which immediately released a statement reiterating her support to the candidature of Amina before and during elections. In...

Rwanda plans to introduce Kiswahili in its school curriculum by next year, as the government moves to adopt it as an official language. On Wednesday, Parliament passed the law establishing Kiswahili as an official language in addition to English, French and local Kinyarwanda. The language will now be used for administrative purposes including in some official documents. Currently, Kiswahili is taught as an optional subject at primary and high school levels. “We have a good number of Rwandans who speak Kiswahili fluently, as well as courses that have Kiswahili in their subject combinations. We will now increase the level of proficiency,” Education Minister Papias Malimba Musafiri said. “Even at EAC level, Kiswahili should be promoted, especially now that we are at the forefront of many regional projects.” Article 119 of the East African Community Treaty calls for the promotion of indigenous languages, especially Kiswahili, as the main language to be used while dealing with regional issues. In a phone interview, Rwanda’s representative to the East African Legislative Assembly, Martin Ngoga, said that Kiswahili will act as a unifying tool. “Most citizens in the region speak Kiswahili, so if it is used to debate regional issues, EAC will become less elitist,” he said. The language is used for social interaction and trade in many urban centres in the member states. It is spoken by nearly 50 and 70 per cent of the general public in Rwanda and Burundi respectively. Rwanda becomes the third country in the six-member bloc to adopt Kiswahili as...

Speaking at the Milly Glass Works in Mombasa County, South Africa’s High Commissioner to Kenya, Ms Koleka Anita Mqulwana said bilateral relations between Kenya and South Africa are at an all time high. She said many opportunities now exist between Kenya and South Africa for the two countries to build stronger trade and investment ties that can withstand the test of time. Mqulwana said her country was easing visa requirements for business people and students so as to enhance ‘people-to-people relationships’. The envoy who was accompanied by the embassy’s economic counsellor Njabulo Mbewe and senior marketing officer Gerald Ockotch visited the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Mombasa branch offices commended the management of Milly Glass Works Limited following their exemplary performance. The firm is the leading glass container and tableware manufacturer based in Mombasa and supply leading its products to spirit, food and beverages industries where it produces over 100 million bottles per annum. Milly Glass Works Limited has markets in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. The envoy added that   both countries need to prioritize agriculture, tourism, sports and cultural activities for the youth to enhance social cohesion. She also met Governor Hassan Ali Joho and other senior official representatives where they discussed the twining of Mombasa and Durban cities to stimulate tourism and maritime trade. The ambassador said they would welcome investments in business, tourism and industrial sector. ‘The port cities of Durban and Mombasa would soon sign a memorandum of understanding that would help in...

Members of the Lower House yesterday passed the organic law establishing Kiswahili as an official language. Swahili joins Kinyarwanda, English and French as the country's fourth official language. For now, the language will primarily be used for administrative purposes, appearing as one of the official languages in some official documents. Appearing before the lawmakers to provide insight into why the law is necessary, the Minister for Sports and Culture, Julienne Uwacu, explained that the decision was motivated by both obligation and a variety of many other benefits.  "Rwanda joined the East African Community (EAC) in 2007 and in the statute that establishes this bloc, Kiswahili is universally used in the region and members are requested to make Kiswahili one of their official languages," Uwacu said. "Kiswahili as an official language is, on one hand, fulfilling what we are required to do as a member country but, on the other hand, it's a way to increase the benefits that Rwandans can reap from economic integration." Uwacu told the MPs that the East African Passport was meant to have started being used in January this year and requested that because of this urgency, the law is passed without it necessarily going through standing committees for further review. However, the lawmakers expressed mixed feelings on the law. MP Jean Baptiste Rucibigango said that though Kiswahili is not a language that is historically used in Rwanda, it is one of the most popular in East Africa and would definitely be of added value. He...

Arusha — Talks aiming at ending political violence in Burundi will resume next week under retired President Benjamin Mkapa with exiled politicians not likely to attend. Sources close to the Office of the Facilitator of Inter-Burundi Dialogue said some opposition leaders, who fled the country after being implicated in the May 2015 coup attempt against the government of President Pierre Nkurunziza had not been invited. "They will not come because they are wanted at home for subversive activities," a source speaking on condition of anonymity told The Citizen, adding that the Bujumbura authorities alleged those behind the 2015/16 turmoil were also not expected to join the talks. A statement issued yesterday by the Office of the Facilitator through the East African Community (EAC) announced the commencement of formal dialogue scheduled for February 16-18 at Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC). The convening of the session follows what is described as "rigorous consultations" the facilitator made with various stakeholders within and outside Burundi after, which Mr Mkapa and his team identified an eight-point agenda raised by all stakeholders and agreed to be the main sticking points, which he reported to the Summit of the EAC Heads of State in September last year. "This eight-point agenda, which will form the thrust of the dialogue and subsequent negations, is no particular order of importance," the statement says. The main sticking points include security and commitment to ending all forms of violence, commitment to the rule of law and an end to impunity, status of...

German firms are keen to invest in machinery, technology and skill development as they look to share the spoils in the manufacturing industry currently dominated by the Chinese. The sector's contribution to the economy has stagnated at about 10 per cent for years. Germany, a global industrial powerhouse, whose wealth is estimated at $3.73 trillion (Sh386.32 trillion), is pushing for investment deals under the German African Business Summit, underway in Nairobi, riding on the Western European country’s G20 Presidency. Germany’s visiting Economic Co-operation and Development minister Gerd Müller said Kenya is key to its change in strategy – shifting co-operation with Africa “from aid to trade”. “Public money has to mobilise private investment, for instance through government guarantees. Private investment has to be increased and protected against risks. We need a paradigm shift, a new dimension of cooperation," Müller said. This underscores the dollar economy’s deepening interest in the region. German Economic Affairs minister Brigitte Zypries said Africa is a major priority for his government, as the country eyes more opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa “for investing, trading, learning and connecting – both for business and government”. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and Foreign Affairs' Amina Mohamed and their German counterparts yesterday signed agreements which include a joint East African-German university of applied sciences. They also agreed on a joint initiative to enhance technical and vocational training in Kenya. Rotich said the two countries are also building on a double taxation agreement to expand investment space. Under the DTA, a firm...

EDITORIAL Economic experts have advised the East African Community (EAC) and Uganda, in particular, to consolidate regional markets and forget about signing the EAC-European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Civil Society Organisations in Uganda say EAC countries are better off improving trade within the region than sign a trade agreement with EU. They claim the pact is unfair to the EAC. EPA is a reciprocal free trade agreement between Europe and EAC whose negotiations were launched in early 2000s. It mainly seeks to ensure these weak economies develop sustainably, integrate into the global economy, but also give back to Europe through trade. The EAC-EU EPA negotiations were concluded in October 2014 with a hope to sign the deal in July 2016. Rwanda and Kenya signed but Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania are yet to. Tanzania made a decision not to sign, citing negative implications on her industrialisation. And although Uganda initially wanted to sign, it has since backtracked on the instructions of the President; and Burundi has not signed because it is under EU sanctions. It is important to understand the reasons why some members are hesitant to sign. EPA does seem to read well, and one will realise it falls short of protecting EAC's overall interests as it 'thinks' East Africa will never become producers of manufactured or capital goods. In its current form, the EPA deal, according to the CSOs advocating for fair trade deals, will compromise the EAC efforts to structurally transform their economies, hence retarding regional...