The government has raised concern over Kenya’s declining share of trade within the East African Community (EAC). Once hailed as the regional powerhouse, Kenya’s influence in the region has begun dropping with the government pointing towards the un-competitiveness of locally manufactured goods. East African Affairs Principal Secretary Betty Maina said this was a pointer to the need to improve the competitiveness of local goods to be able to gain market access within the region. “This has been so for a while with most of the countries in the region that has been relying on our manufactured products resorting to other markets,” Ms Maina said. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that exports to Uganda dropped by 30 percent in 2015 to Sh15.8 billion while exports to Tanzania stood at Sh7 billion. Ms Maina said barriers and unnecessary restrictions have further hindered business within EAC with alternative markets such as India and China sneaking taking advantage to sell their wares. “Could we have a more collaborative framework of all industries working across East Africa to open up the market and remove all these unnecessary restrictions because it does not benefit anyone,” she stressed. The trade barriers have made easier for other nations to export goods to the region despite their local availability. Major exports from Kenya include edible oil, fabrics, food, animal products, tobacco and cement, with the government relying on partner states and other African countries to absorb 40 percent of locally manufactured goods. A World...

Kampala — Two East African Community partner states, are yet to ratify the EAC peace and security protocol, according to Dr Suzanne Kolimba, the chairperson of the Council of Ministers and Tanzania's deputy minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation. She said when adjourning the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) plenary session in the Uganda capital last week EAC expected the two countries, she did not name, would sign the protocol. Until end of 2013, only Uganda and Rwanda had signed and later ratified it. South Sudan which joined the bloc last year, is likely to be among the countries which have not ratified the pact.Eala called for the completion of the ratification process for countries which have not penned the ink on the protocol so that the bloc can forge ahead in addressing crucial and security matters. The proposed protocol has identified at least 20 objectives for fostering peace and security in the region. Its full implementation will, among other things, see the setting up of the EAC Security Council, the stand-by force, the Panel of the Wise and related institutional capacities and structures."We are making a follow up to ensure the remaining two partner states duly ratify the Peace and Security Protocol", the deputy minister before the House adjourned business until March this year.Notwithstanding failure by some EAC member countries to ratify the protocol, the regional lawmakers called on the EAC secretariat to work closely with the African Union (AU) structures such as the African Peace and...

Kenya and South Africa are in talks to co-own a cruise ship.The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mombasa chairman James Mureu said it is possible to have the resources needed in three years, and buy the ship. He said the Capital Markets Authority will help tourism players to raise the required funds. It is not clear how much each country will contribute for the project. Mureu spoke on Monday at Milly Glass Ltd where South Africa envoy to Kenya Koleka Anita had paid a courtesy call. “South Africa has a well developed cruise business and tourism… we will make sure we are able to own a ship that can bring visitors from the East Coast down to Cape Town. This is not a far-fetched dream,” he said. Anita said South Africa aims to enhance its business ties with Kenya on matters tourism. Cruise tourism is gaining traction in Kenya since last year, when more than five cruise ships docked at the Port of Mombasa.  Kenya is building its first ever cruise ship terminal at the port at a cost of Sh350 million. The Kenya Ports Authority has contributed Sh250 million, while the balance will be funded by Trade Mark East Africa. The project involves the modernisation of an old building into a world-class cruise terminal at the port’s berth number one. Anita said a MoU to be signed between the port of Mombasa and Durban will strengthen cooperation. “How do we build a social cohesion among two nation...

Businesses depending on Lake Victoria are counting heavy losses thanks to resurgence of the water hyacinth. Among  those affected are transport, fishing and tourism operators. Fishing vessels marooned by the choking weed are now a common sight at the lake. Businesses on the shores of the lake in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, Migori and Busia counties are almost grinding to a halt. The weed, which has literally been on the rampage in the past three months, has also been blamed for numerous accidents. Facilities whose operations have been crippled include the Kisumu port, and fish landing sites. Access to tourist attraction areas and islands inside the lake has also been greatly hampered. Kisumu Port manager Mwalimu Disi said movement of boats and fishing vessels has been constrained by the hyacinth carpet. The port usually receives and processes over 4,000 tonnes of goods transported to other East Africa countries including Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda daily but this could be halved due to navigation challenges. “The port currently receives a maximum of one ship weekly, down from four vessels it could accommodate in a day. The decline in the number of ships docking at the port means business is at its lowest,” said Mr Disi. The ships mostly transport fertilisers, cooking oil, soap and sugar to neighbouring countries. Heavy fuel consumption Vessels are also recording heavy consumption of fuel trying to navigate through the thick swaths of the weed, a situation Mr Disi said discourages businesses. “We have seen vessels coming here...

Kenya’s bid to build a shared customs with its neighbours in East Africa remains in limbo as Tanzania continues to show reluctance to sign a crucial pact with the European Union as deadline nears, a new report says. The report by financial advisory firm Citi says Kenya’s quest to rally the bloc to ratify the economic partnership agreement (EPA) will likely hit a brick wall as Dar es Salaam sticks to its guns in shunning the pact. “Tanzania’s relationship with the EAC (East African Community) often seems to have parallels with that of the UK to the EU: a somewhat reluctant member who is far from fully committed to greater integration which creates periodic tensions,” says the report. “However, given the potential economic impact of this deal, notably to Kenya, it seems that this is more than a periodic tension, but a much more fundamental difference between members.” Kenya and Rwanda signed the trade deal in September. Failure to sign the deal as a bloc will result in a wave of taxes on produce entering the EU market from Kenya, the EAC’s only developing state. The tariff will make cut flowers, tea, fresh vegetables and coffee costlier, making the exports uncompetitive in the EU market and putting at risk four million jobs. The report says the EU could extend the deadline, after granting the EAC members a four-month window from last September to ink the agreement. “But if the deadline is extended, it would seem a pointless exercise unless there...

Kenya can breathe a sigh of relief after the US dropped plans to endorse a trans-pacific trade pact that would have exposed the country’s exports to America to stiff competition. The Ministry of Trade has welcomed the move by President Donald Trump saying the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), would have hit hard the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) through which Kenya sells to America duty-free. Last year, Kenya joined other African nations to lobby for the delay in the implementation of TPP, which would have resulted in stiff rivalry to the country’s textile industry as it would allow 12 pacific nations to export their goods to America duty free. Trade Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo says the withdrawal of this trade deal by Trump is good news for Kenya, especially for the country’s textile sector. Kenya is a beneficiary of the preferential trade pact Agoa, which allows sub-Saharan African countries to export goods to the US tax-free. Textiles and apparel account for about 80 per cent of Kenya’s total exports under the agreement. “If the Trump administration would have moved on with implementation of TPP, then goods from Kenya heading to US under the Agoa treaty would have been affected significantly as a result of competition from other nations. Its withdrawal gives us a sigh of relief,” Dr Kiptoo said. Big players  Dr Kiptoo said it would be difficult for Kenya to compete with countries such as Vietnam and other Asian States, which are not only part of the TPP deal...

The Kenya Revenue Authority is banking on new-modern scanners at the port of Mombasa and a heightened collaboration with other global entities to curtail illicit trade through the port of Mombasa. This is in a renewed effort to curb tax cheats and increase its import duty collections, which have been hampered by mis-declaration and concealment of cargo on imported containarised goods. The authority is installing three state-of-the-art movable scanners at the port of Mombasa which will help in its anti-graft war, KRA commissioner general John Njiraini said in an interview, adding that an integrated scanner management solution is also being developed. “The technology is being put in place so we can see everything that is happening in Mombasa, we can see what is happening at the Inland Container Depot (Nairobi), see what is happening at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and even eventually at the border posts from one control room,” Njiraini said. The tax man said he is also exploring more intelligence sharing collaboration with the UK’s Revenue and Customs Administration, China customs and US customs and border control to stop importation of contrabands. Last year, the authority intercepted 10 high-end vehicles between March and October at the port of Mombasa, which had been concealed in containers, declared as personal effects and household goods. The vehicles which had a total estimated value of Sh58 million were on transit from the United Kingdom to Uganda. This prompted a multi-agency investigation where Kenyan authorities increased corporation with Interpol, the Directorate of Criminal...

We expect nothing from the 28th ordinary session of the assembly of the AU Heads of state and government to end the Burundi crisis », says Jérémie Minani, Spokesperson for the National Council for the restoration of the Arusha Agreement and the Rule of Law- CNARED. Minani says Burundians will overcome the crisis if all stakeholders in the crisis engage in an inclusive dialogue. CNARED spokesperson says the EAC should be inspired by what happened in the Gambia. “As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) did for the outgoing president of the Gambia, the EAC must take the Burundi issue in hand,” he says. In the communiqué of the third meeting issued on 28 January, guarantors of the PSC framework for the DRC and the region say they have taken note of the recent development regarding the situation in Burundi and have reiterated their full support to the East African Community (EAC) facilitation led by former President of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa. They called upon all parties to desist from violence and respect the human and civil rights of all Burundians, and collaborate with the EAC Facilitator to accelerate the conclusion of the dialogue process. In a correspondence addressed to the mediator on 12 December, CNARED-GIRITEKA said it no longer recognized Mkapa as a facilitator in the inter-Burundian dialogue process. “Mkapa has supported the violation of the Burundi Constitution and the Arusha Peace Agreement by Pierre Nkurunziza. He has already shown his partiality. We really need a neutral and...

IN SUMMARY The new growth plan is more liberal and seeks to open up key areas of the economy as the country shifts to boost its infrastructure projects by completing the $7.3 billion new Central Railway Line to standard gauge and the $2.89 billion Mtwara Liquefied Natural Gas Plant. The taxpayers will also have to fork out more to afford the funding of these grand projects with the country’s Treasury projecting the annual tax revenue collection rising from 13.8 per cent of GDP last year to 17.1 per cent in the 2020/21 financial year. The grand plan also seeks to increase manufacturing exports from 24 per cent to 30 per cent by 2020. Tanzania is looking to raise $45.89 billion to finance its second industrialisation plan, which will see it increase its development spending to $27.66 billion. This is part of its plans to become a middle-income nation by 2025. Dar hopes to raise $45.89 billion from taxes, as the government seeks to reduce its reliance on donor funding, which has been declining over the years. “In order to meet the financial requirements of this plan, traditional sources of financing need to be revamped. Securing additional resources is a priority for both the government and the private sector, particularly for implementing the identified core resource-intensive infrastructure, productive and social services,” Tanzania’s Treasury says of the its second five-year development and transformation plan. Tanzania has singled out the revival of the national carrier Air Tanzania, completion and operationalisation of Mlonganzila and...

The first batch of the Standard Gauge Ralway (SGR) passenger trains arrived at Mombasa port from China aboard a cargo carrier, Mv Chipol Taihu, on Saturday. Two passenger engines and 32 coaches are part of the 56 locomotives being shipped into the country prior to the completion of the SGR in June 2017. The 32 coaches incorporate 23 hard seat units, five soft seat units, two luggage car units, one generator car unit and one track inspection car. The locomotives and rolling stock have been manufactured by CRRC Qishuyan Corporation Limited of China. Four freight locomotives were also offloaded bringing the number of SGR locomotives already in the country to eight freight locomotives, two passenger locomotives and two shunting locomotives. LATEST CARGO On hand to receive the latest cargo consignment were senior Kenya Railways officials led by Managing Director Atanas Maina. “The early delivery of these locomotives will give us more time to test the engines as well as the laid rail track as we prepare for commissioning in June. We are well ahead of the plans to deliver SGR project to Kenyans,” Maina said. The MD added that in line with railway safety regulations, all the new set of trains will be tested to ensure safety compliance. Maina noted that testing of the SGR locomotives would commence in the next few days, with tests on the line commencing in March. “Plans for quality assurance acceptance tests are under way,” the MD said. He said that once the tests are...