The private sector in East Africa has asked Tanzania to harmonise the preferential treatments it offers to transit goods as a way of encouraging use of the central corridor . While Rwandan trucks transiting through the central corridor (Dar es Salaam Port) each pay $150 (Shs535,000); other East African member states such as Uganda are charged $500 (Shs1.7 million) per truck for goods in transit. Mr Kassim Omar, the chairman Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association, who is also East Africa Business Council (EABC) vice chair for Uganda, said: “Indeed, the Dar es Salaam Port has improved. But they need to harmonise the transit fees to make doing business in the region less costly.” Mr Omar, together with other EABC members, had paid a courtesy visit to ambassador John Kijazi, chief secretary, office of the president of Tanzania on Tuesday. Value Added Tax The EABC officials further urged the Tanzanian government to remove the recently introduced 18 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on ancillary services rendered to transit goods such securing, cargo inspection, preparation of customs documentation, container handling and storage of goods to be transported. Mr Kassim said though the VAT is levied on companies based in Tanzania, the tax is finally transferred to owners of the transit goods who are later supposed to pay VAT in destination country on arrival. Achievements EABC chairman, Mr Audace Ndayizeye, commended president John Pombe Joseph Magufuli as chair of the EAC summit for the remarkable progress towards the realisation of the...

Regional authorities are upbeat over the prospects of increased business and revenue after 1,115 trucks imported by Nigerian business mogul Aliko Dangote docked at the Mtwara Port at the weekend. “This is a good beginning as we open up economic opportunities for the region,” said Acting Regional Commissioner Khatibu Kazungu who witnessed the docking of the ships carrying the trucks. The trucks are destined for the Dangote Cement factory. They add to the Nigerian businessman’s current fleet of trucks transporting cement from Mtwara to various parts of the country. Mtwara Port general manager Stella Katondo said later this month another vessel carrying 500 vehicles for the same cement plant is expected at the facility. The acting RC, who doubles as the Mtwara District Commissioner, said the docking of the ship had proven to the world that the Port has the capacity to handle large volumes of cargo. According to him, the Port could now be used by the neighbouring countries of Malawi, Mozambique, DRC Congo and Zambia. He appealed to stakeholders to take advantage of the Port and not to rely solely on the Dar es Salaam Port. Diamond Shipping agency manager John Lemomo said one of the vessels that carried the trucks, Morning Composer, is 200-metre long ship with capacity to carry 60,000 metric tonnes of cargo and ferry 6,500 vehicles. “We would like to express our warm thanks to both the Dar es Salaam Port and Dangote company as we witness this huge ship docking at Mtwara Port...

Jordan has said it will make Kenya its East African trade hub after it signed a raft of agreements to ease exchange of goods and services. The country’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of State for Investment Affairs Jawad Anani said the private sectors from both countries will be encouraged to form partnerships that promote their economies. “Our leader, King Abdullah and the Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta believe the private sector should formalise relations to drive business as our countries have diverse goods and services that could be traded in for mutual benefits,” he said. Mr Anani said Jordanian laws had been reviewed to encourage outward and in-bound trade which has the potential of creating jobs for partner countries. A total of 142 Jordanians representing 62 companies from different sectors visited the country. Industrialisation secretary Adan Mohamed asked the firms to establish subsidiaries in Kenya and enjoy higher returns and easy access to the rest of African markets. Mr Mohamed said Kenya was closely monitoring licensing processes and conducting reforms in other areas with the aim of enhancing local investments. On ease of doing business, Mr Mohamed said Kenya was working on easing regulations on land ownership with investments in infrastructure going on to help reduce the cost of power and transport. Source: Business Daily Africa

Officials in Kenya remain tight-lipped over the fate of millions of shillings collected from sale of the region’s single visa even as the second year of trial comes to a close. The National Treasury, citing stringent fiscal rules, has been holding the cash collected on behalf of Uganda and Rwanda since the three states started piloting a common tourist visa in February 2014. Both Treasury secretary Henry Rotich and PS Kamau Thugge declined to respond to our queries even as official statistics show shift to national border passes as the standoff persists. The regional visa has netted only Sh40 million in two years. Kenya is a gateway to the region. It receives hundreds of region-bound tourists by cruise ships and chartered planes is a top collection point. Under the Kenya’s Constitution, however, tourist visa collection is regarded as any other public revenue which has to be surrendered to the Consolidated Fund. The money in the Consolidated Fund can only be spent or shared out according to an appropriation Bill approved by Parliament. “Kenya has not been able to remit any of the money collected in the last two years from issuance of the regional visa because we don’t have a legal framework to do so,” said Mr Alfred Kitolo, director of productive services at Kenya’s East African Community (EAC) ministry. “We are not suggesting that any money collected on behalf of Rwanda and Uganda has been lost. Kenya will release all the cash once it gets around the legal hurdle.”...

Kenya is set to benefit from a Sh1.08 billion (€10 million) European Union (EU) funding after it won a bid to host a Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre (MTTC) for Africa. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) had in April invited formal expressions of interest to host the facility from member states. Kenya presented the bid through a consortium of organisations consisting the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). It beat South Africa, Namibia and Ghana which has also submitted their bids. Kenya will now establish the centre as one of the five IMO Maritime Technology Cooperation Centres worldwide. Other centres will be set up in Asia the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific. The announcement was made last week during the IMO technical committee meeting in London. Establishment of the MTCCs is a joint IMO – EU project titled “Capacity Building for Climate Change Mitigation in the Maritime Shipping Industry”. According to IMO, the MTCCs will act as centres of excellence, providing leadership in promoting ship energy-efficiency technologies and operations, and the reduction of harmful emissions from ships. Among other roles, the centre is expected to promote the uptake of low-carbon technologies. “The selection of countries to host the IMO centres in the target regions was done competitively,” said Cosmas Cherop, acting KMA director general in a statement. “Winning organisations and consortium of organisations had to have credible standing in their regions, considerable engagement with industry and government,...

Kenya based logistics firm Siginon Group is eying fresh produce and garment exports once direct flights to the US start next year. Siginon head of commercial services Jack Mwaura in an interview with the Business Daily said the firm’s cargo business strategy for next year has factored in direct US flights. “The opportunities we see are mainly for fresh produce to the US. Kenya is a signatory to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) pact, we see more textile reaching America,” said Mr Mwaura. “On the in-bound, we see a lot of cargo mainly from gaming equipment, a lot of oil and gas machineries, we see cargo in the relief industry from US NGOs.” The US direct flights are scheduled to commence next year after Jomo Kenyatta International Airport meets security and safety measures imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration. The flights are expected to promote export of fresh produce and encourage more US citizens to visit Kenya. According to ‘‘Building the Future: A Look at the Economic Potential of East Africa’’, a US Chamber of Commerce report it released a few months ago, East Africa is the most promising trading partner for the US on the continent. Dynamic The region is home to diverse and dynamic economies which have significant potential across several industries. It is already a leading exporter of agricultural commodities like tea, coffee and horticultural products. Also, large apparel manufacturers are increasingly sourcing their garments from Kenya and Ethiopia. The region has significant offshore gas...

The East African Community (EAC) is behind schedule as regards establishment of the East African Monetary Institute, a key body meant to carry out preparatory work for the East African Monetary Union (EAMU), officials have said. When regional leaders approved the EAMU Protocol, in 2013, it provided for gradual establishment of four institutions, including the East African Monetary Institute (EAMI), a transitional institution responsible for laying the foundation for the EAMU. “We are already lagging behind. It was supposed to be in place by 2015,” said Peter Njoroge, deputy director for economic affairs in Kenya’s Ministry of EAC Affairs. Establishing the EAMI; initiating the pertinent legal instruments, identifying the host partner state, signing host country agreements and operationalising the institute were activities for 2015. “However, even the legal framework for establishing these institutions has to be negotiated. We have to go through the normal process of negotiating how it is to be structured, and, you know, issues of negotiations take some time,” Njoroge added. “That partly explains why we took longer and why we are yet to have the institution in place”. By 2018, three other institutions: the East African Surveillance, Compliance and Enforcement Commission; the East African Statistics Bureau; and the East African Financial Services Commission, are supposed to be in place, according to the EAMU road map. Other activities to be concluded by 2018 include coordination and harmonization of fiscal policies, as well as coordination and harmonization of the monetary and exchange rate policies during the transition to the Monetary...

AS the government embarks on establishment and revival of industries in the country, at least 15 companies have shown interest to establish industries in Morogoro Region, the Regional Administrative Secretary (RAS), Dr John Ndunguru has said. The companies expressed their interests soon after the completion of the investment forum that took place in the region in September, this year. Speaking during the launching of training on the application of technology on tailoring, Dr Ndunguru said his office expects to receive more applications and commitment from other companies. The function was graced by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Labour, Youth and Employment, Mr Anthony Mavunde. At least 200 youth out of 1,000 who have been registered for the training attended the launching at Mazava Fabrics and Production Ltd grounds in Morogoro. He said some of the companies are interested to invest in sugar factories, construction of modern abattoirs and meat processing, fruits processing and other areas. “Morogoro has been a home of industries since the first phase government, we are happy that the fifth phase government is reviving industries across the country and there all signs that Morogoro is going to record good performance,” he said. He said with the current spirit and government commitment, Tanzania is soon becoming an industrial country. He said the government is committed to cooperate with private companies under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework in developing and strengthening industrial sector in the country. According to the RAS the establishment and revival...

Cargo vessels berthed at the Port of Mombasa, February 5 2016. FILE PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP.  The government will allocate a further Sh10 billion for construction of the first three berths at Lamu port in the next financial year, Transport Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera has said. When the project started in the 2016/1017 financial year, it was also allocated Sh10 billion. Mr Nyakera said the works were progressing well slightly ahead of schedule at 12.5 per cent against a projected 12 per cent since construction kicked off with offices for the headquarters already complete. “Construction of the three berths will be completed in late 2018 ready to receive the first vessel in 2019. Our objective in building the berths is to open the project to private investors. "Initially, some people raised concerns over the viability of this project but as you can see it is progressing well,” he said. Cargo evacuation Mr Nyakera said to ensure proper evacuation of cargo from the port, the government was fast-tracking construction of the 115-kilometre Lamu-Witu-Garsen and Lamu-Garisa-Isiolo roads whose contracts had been awarded. He spoke on Friday at the Lamu port headquarters after a joint meeting between the Lapsset Authority and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) boards held their first joint parley and took a tour of the project to assess its progress. Currently, a contractor is dredging the harbour to a depth of 18 metres and reclaiming part of the ocean where the container stacking yard will be located....

By Mary Sanyiwa Mtwara — Regional authorities are upbeat over the prospects of increased business and revenue after 1,115 trucks imported by Nigerian business mogul Aliko Dangote docked at the Mtwara Port at the weekend. "This is a good beginning as we open up economic opportunities for the region," said Acting Regional Commissioner Khatibu Kazungu who witnessed the docking of the ships carrying the trucks. The trucks are destined for the Dangote Cement factory. They add to the Nigerian businessman's current fleet of trucks transporting cement from Mtwara to various parts of the country. Mtwara Port general manager Stella Katondo said later this month another vessel carrying 500 vehicles for the same cement plant is expected at the facility.  The acting RC, who doubles as the Mtwara District Commissioner, said the docking of the ship had proven to the world that the Port has the capacity to handle large volumes of cargo. According to him, the Port could now be used by the neighbouring countries of Malawi, Mozambique, DRC Congo and Zambia. He appealed to stakeholders to take advantage of the Port and not to rely solely on the Dar es Salaam Port. Diamond Shipping agency manager John Lemomo said one of the vessels that carried the trucks, Morning Composer, is 200-metre long ship with capacity to carry 60,000 metric tonnes of cargo and ferry 6,500 vehicles. "We would like to express our warm thanks to both the Dar es Salaam Port and Dangote company as we witness this huge...