Dar es Salaam — The work towards the construction of a crude oil pipeline between Uganda and Tanzania is officially on, with project the developers inviting reputable contractors to undertake a social and resettlement plan. To be known as East African Crude Oil Pipeline, the project - which will transport Ugandan crude to Tanga Port in Tanzania - will be built jointly by a French oil giant Total SA, the UK-based Tullow Oil and and Chinese state-owned oil company Cnooc Ltd. Total E&P Uganda - an oil and gas exploration company which is a subsidiary of Total SA - said in a statement yesterday that it wants reputable and experienced contractors to express their interests in carrying out the social and resettlement planning services for the Tanzania part of the East African Crude Oil Pipe line (EACOP) project that is scheduled to start in January 2017. "Resettlement planning is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2017 and shall comply with Tanzania legal and regulatory requirements and international best practices," the statement reads. According to the statement, the social and resettlement planning services will include preparatory work for land access. It also encompasses resettlement and livelihood restoration planning for temporary and permanent facilities as well as field surveys that will help the contractor to ascertain the costs of the project on the socioeconomic, asset and cadastral amenities to be covered by the affected areas. Among other issues, the contractor will be required to engage and consult with stakeholders in...

From left: Trade Mark East Africa CEO Frank Matsaert, East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) managing director Edward Mudibo, Trade Mark country director Ahmed Farah and EATTA chairperson Nicholas Munyi during the signing of the deal in Nairobi on Dec 1, 2016. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA  In Summary Use of technology to reduce the cost of financing auctions and increase trade volumes 15pc. The East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) has signed a Sh150 million agreement with Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) to automate tea trading at the Mombasa weekly auction. The automation of the 60-year-old auction, expected to be complete within a year-and-a-half, will cost Sh151.1 million ($1.5 million) provided by TMA. This is expected to enhance transparency in the trading process at the auction and reduce the cycle by about 65 per cent from the current 45 to 60 days to less than a month. The reduction in the trading period will ensure farmers receive timely payments removing need to take loans to finance farming operations. “This portal will simplify the tea auction with the added benefit of increasing transparency and thus gaining stakeholder confidence in the auction,” said EATTA chairperson Nicholas Munyi during the signing ceremony in Nairobi on Thursday. Players at the tea auction have been accused of colluding to fix prices, denying small-scale tea farmers their deserved earnings. But small-scale tea farmers through their factories will now be able to connect to the auction and follow trading on real-time basis. “Once fully implemented, the platform...

Trade Mark East Africa CEO Frank Matsaert (left) and East Africa Tea Trade Association chairperson Nicholas Munyi during the signing of a deal for automation of the tea auction in Mombasa, December 1, 2016. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NATION MEDIA GROUP  In Summary The automation of the 60-year-old auction, expected to be complete within a year. Trade Mark (TMA) will provide the funds. This is expected to enhance transparency in the trading process at the auction and reduce the cycle by about 65 per cent, from the current 45 to 60 days to less than a month. TMA chief executive Frank Matsaert said tea, which is a major foreign exchange earner for the country, will, going forward, reach the breakfast tables across the world in an efficient and cost effective system. The East African Tea Trade Association has signed a Sh150 million agreement with Trade Mark East Africa to automate tea trading at the Mombasa weekly auction. The automation of the 60-year-old auction, expected to be complete within a year. Trade Mark (TMA) will provide the funds. This is expected to enhance transparency in the trading process at the auction and reduce the cycle by about 65 per cent, from the current 45 to 60 days to less than a month. The reduction in the trading period will ensure farmers receive timely payments, removing the need to take loans to finance farming operations. Simplify auction “This portal will simplify the tea auction with the added benefit of increasing transparency...

NAIROBI, Kenya, 1 Dec 2016: The East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) has today signed a financing agreement with TradeMark Africa (TMA) that will enable automation of the tea auction in Mombasa. TMA will provide financing of US$ 1.5 million. The automation is expected to reduce the tea trading cycle by about 65% from the current 45 - 60 days to less than one month. Reduced delays will ensure that farmers receive timely payments negating need to take loans to finance their producer operations. The Mombasa tea auction is the world’s largest black tea auction and handles about 75% of tea exported through the port of Mombasa covering shipments from the EATTA member countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Madagascar and Mozambique.  In 2015, the auction handled more than 350 million kilos of tea, providing a platform through which more than one million farmers in Africa could sell their tea, before shipping it across the world. The proposed integrated Tea Trading System (iTTS) will encompass the entire tea export processes including pre-auction, auction, post-auction and a Business to Business marketing network. Already mentioned above Speaking at the signing ceremony, EATTA chairperson Mr. Nicholas Munyi said, “This portal will simplify the tea auction with the added benefit of increasing transparency and thus gaining stakeholder confidence in the auction.”  TMA CEO Frank Matsaert said, “TMA is committed to boosting intra- Africa trade and also East Africa’s trade with the world by reducing the barriers to trade. Automation of...

In the last few decades, the services sector has been a significant driver of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, trouncing the industrial sector in both developed and developing countries In the last few decades, the services sector has been a significant driver of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, trouncing the industrial sector in both developed and developing countries. Today, services account for the largest share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in most countries. This fact also holds true for most members of the EAC. In Uganda, services sector has contributed 54.9 per cent; both Kenya and Rwanda’s GDP’s growth receive about 47.5 per cent while Tanzania is rated at 43.6 per cent and Burundi is at 40.4 per cent. Despite this significance, trade in services currently does not live up to its full potential. This is why partner states are devising means to re-examine the services component of the Common Market which is a critical juncture to ensure that the private sector is able to gain these benefits. Ms Lillian Awinja, the executive director East African Business Council (EABC), shares: “We want to improve trade in services in the East African region through developing tangible positions for each sector and come up with feasible advice for policy-makers to facilitate trade in the region.” Ms Awinja said to take this further; focus will be put on several sectors within the Common Market Protocol mainly looking at business; communication; distribution; education; finance; tourism; and transport services. “We want to make sure that...

Rwanda has been lauded for its efforts to promote cross-border trade, which is viewed as a vehicle for economic growth and poverty eradication among developing countries. This was noted during the opening of a two-day Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Board Meeting in Kigali yesterday. The meeting also combined with a workshop on cross-border trade. It sought to consolidate key policies and strategies with a focus on promoting broad-based economic growth, employment creation, trade development and poverty reduction in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The workshop brought together high-level government officials, as well as representatives of EIF and other partners involved in the implementation of the National Cross Border Trade Strategy in Rwanda. The EIF is a core part of the Sustainable Development Goals, directly referenced in Target 8.A. The EIF is the only Aid for Trade programme exclusively designed for Least Developed Countries. The programme brings together partners and resources to support the world’s poorest countries in using trade for poverty reduction, inclusive growth and sustainable development, according to officials. Over the past seven years, the EIF global partnership supported 142 projects in Least Developed Countries, equivalent to over $200 million. According to Eloi Laourou, the LDCs Group coordinator, hosting the meeting in Rwanda was very important given the remarkable progress that the country has registered over the years. “There is no substitute for Rwanda’s rapid growth in trade, technology and innovations among the least developed countries in the region; the country is becoming a model LDC for rapid economic growth...

IN SUMMARY The funding of the project will fall under the second phase, running from July 2017 to June 2023, which was announced on November 21, shortly after the TMA board meeting with donors in Kigali. Rwanda plans to invest part of the $63 million it will get in harbour facilities on Lake Kivu. Experts are also expecting the new strategy to reduce trade costs in East Africa by 10 per cent and reduce transport time by 15 per cent. Rwanda plans to build three ports on Lake Kivu as it seeks to boost its trade with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Funding for the project is expected from TradeMark Africa, which has committed $700 million to improve the competitiveness of the East African Community in intra-regional and global trade. The funding of the project will fall under the second phase, running from July 2017 to June 2023, which was announced on November 21, shortly after the TMA board meeting with donors in Kigali. Rwanda plans to invest part of the $63 million it will get in harbour facilities on Lake Kivu. For Kenya and Tanzania, much of the TMA funding is to go into improving efficiency at the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. “The plan is to create and improve the capacity and efficiency of lake transportation on Kivu by upgrading the facilities at Rubavu, Rusizi and Karongi,” TMA Rwanda country manager Patience Mutesi said. Developing these harbours will significantly increase trade. DRC accounts for close to...

For an idea of how wealthy Africans want to think of their countries, flick through the adverts in one of the glossy pan-African magazines given away in the continent’s airport lounges. Banks are promoted with pictures of young glamorous Africans in smart suits strolling through glossy malls. New apartment blocks and golf courses grace the other pages. Africa, in these magazines, is rising. If, however, you want to get a real idea of how Africa’s economies are faring, you should go where few of the wealthy people in the lounges do: the land borders. Earlier this year, I spent a day at the border of Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. Whereas Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan, buzzes with new investment, at the country’s border, it is hardly noticeable. The start of no-man’s land is marked by a piece of string stretched across the road, and a small office manned by a pair of sleepy soldiers. It is not a busy place; when I was there, a few dozen lorries at most were waiting to cross. When African countries feature in Western politics, it’s invariably a debate over aid versus trade. In September, Barack Obama hosted a forum in New York designed to promote trade between America and Africa. “From Senegal to South Africa, Africans insist they do not just want aid, they want trade,” declared the outgoing President. In October, Britain’s new DFID secretary, Priti Patel, hinted at using Britain’s hefty aid budget to promote post-Brexit trade deals. The idea is that...

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has promised to provide adequate financial support to the East African community. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has promised to provide adequate financial support to the East African community. In a speech read for him by the speaker of the Kenyan senate, Ekwe Ethuro, Kenyatta expressed concern about the poor financial status of the community. Source: NTV Uganda

By Katare Mbashiru Zambian President Edgar Lungu toured the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) yesterday, reaffirming his country's commitment to continue using the Dar es Salaam Port. Mr Lungu who concluded his three day state visit in the country said that strong business ties between Tanzania and Zambia were only based on the brotherly relationship that the two countries have enjoyed for many years, but also because on the efficiency and continued improvements in service delivery at the port. The Zambian leader spoke after his tour of various departments at the port, categorically stating that his country would contine hauling huge cargo volume through the port, should it continue improving services ahead of other ports in the Southern African region. During a joint press briefing at State House on Monday, President John Magufuli appreciated Zambia as the leading country with high volume of cargo through the Dar es Salaam Port, hinting that in 2015 alone, 1.9 million tonnes were cleared at the port amid business boom between the two countries from 89.2bn/- in 2010 to 152.2bn/- in 2015. "President Magufuli and I have close friendship and our countries have a long history, but let me come out clearly that Zambians are not using this port simply because of our friendship, but because of efficiency and fasttracking of cargo clearance from the port," said the visiting presidnet. He said Zambians were dodging other ports due to inefficiency, reminding the Dar es Salaam port management to maintain efficiency. "I want to challenge you...