The Eastern Africa Grain Council Rwanda has called for more sensitisation about rules of origin policies between regional blocs to ensure local traders understand them to benefit from the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area. The Eastern Africa Grain Council argues that rules of origin will be essential to foster trade in grains and cereals in the free trade area. The proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area is trade agreement between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and East African Community (EAC). If it is implemented next year as planned, it will create the largest free-trade zone in Africa, covering an area from Cape Town to Cairo, with a population of over 600 million people across 26 countries. Source: TVC News

The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) has announced its intention to extend its current power transmission lines. On Tuesday, Ketraco stated that it awarded a Chinese firm the contract to construct an interconnector power transmission line, which will empower its current lines for electricity trading beyond the East Africa regional borders. According to a company statement, the contract has been given to North China Power Engineering Company Ltd (NCPE). Ketraco said the Kenyan electricity grid will be linked to the Southern African Power Pool providing opportunities for power trade between East and Southern African Power Pool countries. “This will be accomplished through the implementation of the Kenya – Tanzania interconnector. “With a capacity to transfer 2,000MW in either direction, the interconnector will have positive impacts on the development of renewable sources of energy in Kenya and Tanzania because the interconnected system of both countries will result in a larger, more stable system,” the company statement explained. Electricity trading line According to the power transmission firm, the interconnection will also decrease power reserve capacity to be installed as it will enable the sharing of power with the Southern African Power Pool. The Southern African power pool consists of Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The Kenya – Tanzania interconnector project involves the construction of about 510km of High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) transmission line from Kenya to Tanzania, the extension of Isinya (Kenya) and Singida (Tanzania) substations as well as construction of the Arusha substation. On Kenya’s side, it involves the...

The East African Community (EAC) regional block said they have never reached a consensus on the issuance of the single tourist visa by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. “There has never been any agreement on the arrangement at the EAC level, as a matter of fact, the member states are still discussing the issue,” Acting Director for Trade and Investment in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Bernard Haule, said. Haule was responding to allegations by some media outlets and social networks, suggestions that Tanzania had snubbed the multi-entry visa for tourists outside the regional bloc. The official said the introduction of the arrangement for all EAC members states was still under discussion through sectoral meetings on tourism and wildlife, adding Tanzania was fully participating in the deliberations. A senior tourism development officer from Uganda, Anne Awori, was recently quoted at a forum in Kigali, Rwanda, complaining that some of the countries implementing the agreement were forcing tourists with the documents to pay extra upon entering their countries. “We have come across many cases of officials asking tourists who have obtained the single entry visa from Uganda to pay entry fees in Rwanda or Kenya,” said Awori, adding, “A recent case is when Rwanda charged a 13-year-old tourist an extra 60 US dollars despite having the regional visa from Uganda.” she said. However, Uganda had earlier blamed Kenya and Rwanda for breaching the visa agreement by issuing their own local visa to tourists instead of the single EAC...

Dar es Salaam — Tanzania has much further to go on its "remarkable journey of reform" under President John Magufuli, a senior Burundi has said. Ms Leontine Nzeyimana, Burundi's Minister in the Office of the President Responsible for East African Community (EAC) Affairs, hailed President Magufuli's leadership on Monday saying his administration would meet Tanzania's desire for reform. "Tanzanians may be complaining about life's hardship now, but they should bear with this transitional period only because all this will forgotten in the near future," she said in an exclusive interview with The Citizen. She said the East African Community (EAC) "is still amazed" by the Tanzanian President's leadership style. The Burundian minister cited the fifth phase government's cost-cutting drive, tough stance against corruption and efforts to instill accountability in the civil service a recipe for social and economic development. "President Magufuli has demonstrated readiness to save his people, and it is upon other leaders in the bloc to adopt his spirit," Ms Nzeyimana. But she warned it would not be an easy road for the government's reform drive because "people are resistant to change". The success of Tanzania in its reform agenda would also depend on the support from the people, she said. Turning to doing business with Tanzania, the Burundian minister said her country and other landlocked East African nations stood to benefit from the improvements that President Magufuli has initiated at the Dar es Salaam Port. "Bureaucracy and the theft of goods imported via the Dar Port posed...

East Africa ranks as one of the world's most economically dynamic regions and offers “enormous potential” for investment by US companies, the US Chamber of Commerce said in a report issued on Tuesday. Growth rates in some of the East African Community (EAC) member states now rivals those of a few of the Asian countries that Wall Street has touted as “new emerging economies,” the report observes. Kenya's per capita GDP has already climbed past that of Bangladesh and Pakistan, notes the 35-page study titled “Building the Future: A Look at the Economic Potential of East Africa.” Trade with and within East Africa will be greatly facilitated by large-scale infrastructure projects now underway, the US Chamber says. It cites, for example, the standard gauge railway linking most of the region's landlocked states with Mombasa, and the Bagamoyo Port project in Tanzania, which “stands to be East Africa's largest port when completed.” While US trade with the region doubled between 2010 and 2015, it remains “marginal,” the report says. It notes that China and the European Union (EU) have much more robust trading relationships with East Africa. “Kenya, the United States’ leading trading partner in the region, imported 14 times as many goods from China than it did from the United States in 2014,” the Chamber points out. Similarly, it adds, the EU imported three times as many goods from Kenya than did the US in 2014. And the report warns that the European Union will likely become even more competitive...

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday officially commissioned the construction and expansion of part of the busy Mombasa Highway. The project road is located in Machakos County and runs in a south-easterly direction from Athi River to Kyumbu Centre, approximately 20kn away. The project is part of the Northern Corridor, which is the main transit route connecting the port of Mombasa to Nairobi and destinations further upcountry including the neighbouring countries of Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Eastern Congo. China Railway 21st Bureau Group Co won the Sh5.3 billion tender to expand the 20km Athi River to Machakos turn off into a dual carriageway. Work on the Athi River-Machakos Road is expected to be completed in 18 months. The project will be funded by the government and World Bank. ROAD EXPANSION The project will complement the ongoing dualling of James Githuru junction to Rironi and the upcoming expansion of JKIA to Likoni Road junction. The new carriageway will have a width of 7m and will carry two lanes. Shoulders will be 2m wide on the outer side and 1m wide on the side adjoining the existing carriageway. There will also be the construction of two large bridges over the Athi River, three grade separated interchanges (flyovers) to serve Athi River town, Daystar University and junction to Mua Hills. There will also be 8km of service roads constructed to provide low speed access to roadside properties in the built up area around Athi River town. The new carriageway will also include six...

Mombasa Port users have asked the government to speed up ongoing expansion of roads outside the facility to hasten evacuation of cargo and reduce cost of shipping. They say efforts over the years to manage the traffic from the port have not borne fruit. Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) chairman Peter Otieno said Mombasa and Nairobi are linked by a two-lane highway, leading to frequent traffic snarl-ups caused by cargo trucks, especially at Mariakani and Mlolongo weigh-bridges. He says increased traffic jams due to lack of adequate infrastructure outside the port has forced the cost of shipping to continue rising and additional lanes on the highway would help ease cost of doing business. His sentiments come just a month after Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia announced plans to partner with the private sector to build a six-lane highway from Mombasa to Nairobi were at an advanced stage. The CS said the highway and the ongoing construction of the Standard Gauge Railway will link the capital city with Mombasa to ease traffic flow and shorten the time taken for cargo to reach Nairobi from the port. Construction of the wider highway was part of the government’s initiatives of expanding the road infrastructure throughout the country to complement the upgrading of the railway line to SGR and expansion of Mombasa and Lamu ports. Source: Mediamax

THE Director-General of Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Mr Deusdedit Kakoko, was in Uganda late last week where he explained to potential customers of Tanzanian ports why they should be their preferred choice, particularly after implementation of major changes to boost capacity and efficiency. Last year, Tanzania kicked off a 593 million US dollarupgrade of Dar es Salaam Port involving financing by both bilateral and multilateral donors to increase capacity and efficiency that had been so low leading to underperformance which saw it losing key business to rivals. Alongside the expansion work, the TPA has made significant improvement in human resource capital, technology, facilities both in systems infrastructure and machinery and electronic cargo management systems. It has also improved security to the highest level by installing a state-of-the-art integrated security system (ISS), which includes fixing CCTV cameras at various points around the port. Gone are the days when ships were forced to wait to dock for many days. Docking days have been lowered to international standards and the port can now handle large vessels. Last month, the port handled MV Hammonia Grenada cargo ship, which is described as the longest vessel to dock at the port. It also handled MSC Martina, one of the largest container vessels of the Mediterranean Shipping Company, with an overall length of 244 metres and width of 32.2 metres and carrying capacity of 2,411 containers. The two docked without any problem and that reflected the ability of the port to handle large vessels. Dar es Salaam...

By Zephania Ubwani Nairobi — Aflatoxin, a poisonous and cancer-causing chemicals produced by certain molds which grow in grains, is a barrier to food exports from Africa and threat to human health, according to a senior East African Community (EAC) official. This is mainly due to stringent regulations on Aflatoxin regulation, which limits how much produce enters the global market. "The entire African continent is susceptible to Aflatoxin contamination and that its high incidence continues to pose threat to human and animal health", the EAC deputy secretary general in charge of Economic and Social Sectors, Ms Jesca Eriyo, said in a speech availed to The Citizen. She gave the warning in her keynote address to the Second Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (Paca) Platform meeting currently underway in Entebbe, Uganda. She quoted latest report by experts, who estimate that losses from Aflatoxin in Africa have escalated to the tune of $450 million each year due to stringent standards by the European Union (EU) alone. Ms Eriyo further warned that the poisonous chemical was one of the challenges that the African continent need to address in order to achieve global developmental aspirations such as the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063. The toxic material is regularly found in improperly stored staple commodities such as cassava, chili peppers, corn, cotton seed, millet, peanuts, rice, sorghum, sunflower seeds, tree nuts, wheat, and a variety of spices. Other development goals for the continent that may be affected by the the toxic material include Sustainable...

In the good old days East African tour operators could sit back and know that eager visitors will come to sample the region’s spectacular offerings both for scenic beauty and the singular experience of seeing animals in the wild. Like clockwork, the regional industry and especially in Kenya and Tanzania, could expect good revenues in the high season and pick up some business in the low seasons by virtue of arranging special packages. Indeed the word ‘safari’ took on international prominence, because of East African tourism. To a large extent, the likes of Ernest Hemingway and such classic movies as the ‘African Queen’ also helped matters along. Today, that complacency and sense of smugness is foolhardy. The world has changed during the past half century and not always for better. International tourism is now a cut-throat industry and if East Africa wants a play an active part, it has to work for it. Economists call travel a “superior good”, meaning that as people’s incomes grow, they spend a greater proportion of it on travel. The welcome mat is not enough anymore.  You have to go abroad and aggressively flap it about to gain attention. These days you almost literally have to drag the tourists to come and it is not cheap. A television 30-second spot on a leading European, American or Japanese broadcaster can cost a couple of million dollars.  That is why when  tourism agencies ask for marketing funds, governments should not raise up their hands in despair. The...