The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 coupled with conflicts in some parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will delay the completion of the one-stop border post (OSBP) at Goli and Mahagi. DRC and TradeMark Africa (TMA) signed the contract to begin construction of the OSBP at Mahagi in Ituri Province, on the border with Uganda on April 16, 2020. “With Goli-Mahagi, we have had a few challenges on the DRC side. The Ugandan side was complete in a period of about six months. The DRC side is a bit more complex because of some unrest on the DRC side which interrupted civil works and there have been some cost overruns. “We may be able to complete probably in the next nine months,” Frank Matsaert, the chief executive officer of TMA, said. Matsaert was addressing the media on some of the ongoing projects being implemented by TMA to smoothen trade flow across borders in Kampala on Thursday. Matsaert added: “The balance sheets of construction companies were also weak (due to the effects of the pandemic) and what we found is that this has been a challenge across the region.” The Goli-Mahagi border is one of DRC’s busiest border crossings, located at the axis linking the popular centres of Arua (Uganda), Bunia (DRC), Kisangani (DRC) and the port of Mombasa (Kenya) along the Northern Corridor. The planned OSBP border between Uganda and DRC is aimed at modernising the border infrastructure at Goli-Mahagi and to improve the handling of...

Farida Ramadhani, WFM, Dodoma SERIKALI imeahidi kuendelea kutatua changamoto ya msongamano wa magari katika Kituo cha Forodha Tunduma ikiwemo kuangalia uwezekeno wa kuongeza kituo kingine. Hayo yameelezwa jijini Dodoma na Naibu Waziri wa Fedha na Mipango, Mhe. Hamad Hassan Chande alipojibu swali la Mbunge wa Momba, Mhe. Condester Michael Sichwale aliyetakakujua wakati ambao Serikali itaongeza geti jingine ndani ya Jimbo la Momba kutokana na geti la Tunduma kuzidiwa katika kutoa huduma. Mhe. Chande alisema katika kurahisisha biashara kati ya Tanzania na Zambia na kuondoa changamoto ya msongamano wa magari katika Kituo hicho cha Tunduma, Serikali inaendelea kuchambua na kutathmini taratibu zilizopo ili kuona kama kuna uwezekano wa kuongeza Kituo cha Forodha. “Serikali imeendelea kuchukua hatua mbalimbali za kuondokana na changamoto ya msongamano wa magari ambapo Januari 2021, Mamlaka ya Mapato Tanzania (TRA) iliingia makubaliano na Mamlaka ya Mapato Zambia yanayoelekeza hatua mbalimbali za kuchukua kwa kila nchi”, alisema. Alizitaja hatua hizo kuwa ni kuunganisha mfumo wa TANCIS wa TRA na mfumo wa ASCUDA World wa Zambia ili kuiwezesha Idara ya Forodha Zambia kupata taarifa za shehena ya mzigo husika kabla ya kuwasili mpakani, na Serikali ya Zambia kufanya maboresho ya miundombinu ya barabara na eneo la kuegesha magari kupitia ufadhili wa TMA (Trademark East Africa). Mhe. Chande alisema pamoja na makubaliano hayo, Serikali kwa upande wa Tanzania ilianzisha Kituo cha Pamoja cha Forodha (One Stop Border Post, OSBP) ambacho kimesaidia taasisi zote za Serikali kuwa sehemu moja na kuwasiliana kwa haraka. Alisema pia kuwa Serikali kupitia ufadhili wa TMA imenunua...

Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente has revealed that Rwanda’s economy is projected to grow by 6% in 2022 down from the previous forecast of 7.2%. The decline emanates from the impact of global economic crisis including hiked trade logistics occasioned by the increase in prices of petroleum products and the war in Ukraine. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently announced that Rwanda’s economy is projected to grow by 6.4% in this year. As he officiated the launch of the second phase of the economic recovery fund with an injection of Rwf250 billion, Premier Ngirente said that Rwanda’s economy continues to grow. “Regarding the national economy, it is apparent that economic recovery programs have yielded good results. In the year 2021, our economy grew by 10.9%, it is apparent that it is recovering gradually,” he said. “In 2022, our economy is projected to grow by 6%. The growth is also expected in the years ahead,” added Dr. Ngirente. The economic growth was registered in all sectors of the economy where the manufacturing sector grew by 13.4% while the service and agriculture sectors respectively grew by 12% and 6.4%. Premier Ngirente mainly attributed the growth to collaboration in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery. As of today, 65% of the population has received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. These efforts helped to ease restrictions for different economic activities across the country. Read original article

Long-haul transporters and related cross-border cargo operators serving the Copperbelt region are reacting with mixed feelings this morning to news coming out of Zambia that the police and traffic officials in that country have been “directed to rid roads of insanity”. That’s according to a local radio station in Lusaka, reporting that law enforcers have been ordered to “ensure that no trucks are allowed to park at undesignated spots on the road while truck parks remain empty, including those currently parked along the road towards Kasumbalesa border”. The development comes as both governments north and south of the heavily congested choke-point scramble to deal with a variety of backlog-causing issues. South of the busy transit into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Zambia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, Frank Tayali, apparently said “even trucks that are currently marooned between Kitwe and Kasumbalesa due to the situation at that crossing, must be directed to various truck parks designated along the route, and only allowed to be on the road once they are cleared to cross the border”. Generally speaking, this is not a bad idea, say some hauliers using the north-south route to serve clients working mainly in the mining industry of the south-eastern DRC. One-stop border post consultant, Mike Fitzmaurice, said separating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, meant separating those with pre-cleared cargo documentation from those that weren’t complying, had worked well to decongest Beitbridge, the southernmost transit on the route. As chief executive of the...

AS tourism steadily recovers from Covid-19 disruptions, private sector stakeholders are asking the government to review the Tourism Act of 2009 so as to improve the business environment. The plea was made at the end of a two-day ‘validation workshop and Public Private Dialogue (PPD) on reforms and priorities for Zanzibar tourism sector’ held here. The participants requested for a review of the tourism law to improve the entry conditions and incentives for different actors in order to promote investment in the tourism sector. The tourism stakeholders also agreed that the government should consider accelerating implementations of the ‘tourism diplomatic policy’ formed last year, to enhance security in tourist hotspots. They also asked the government also to support capacity building to strengthen professionalism and competency of actors in both public and private sectors along the value chain to promote image of Zanzibar and the tourism industry, and consider the proposal to reduce the tourism license fee for tour guide from 100 US dollars to 70 US dollars. At the workshop organized by the Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) with support from International Finance Corporation (IFC), facilitators led by IFC consultant Dr Josephat Kweka emphasized on collaboration with government for reforms. Mr Ibrahim Mesas from the diving tourism, said that the diving license fees are very high up to 3,000 US dollars, and that many local operators cannot afford to run diving companies. “We kindly ask the government to review the fee along with the tour guide fee.” Mr Ali...

Somaliland is a remarkable – albeit lonely – success in a notoriously troubled region. International recognition of it as a sovereign country in the world community would be an investment in Africa’s stability. Twenty years ago, images of the port of Berbera told the story of a country at the bottom of a deep hole, ravaged by war, crimped in the pincers of the Cold War. A few rusty coastal transports then lined up along the 650m quayside – half of them built by the Soviets, half by Washington – next to a number of wooden dhows loading livestock for Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The harbour was dotted with sunken vessels. A few kilometres outside town is Berbera airport. Built by the Soviets as a giant base for its Tupolev Tu-95 “Bear” maritime-patrol aircraft, it morphed into a US base as Cold War fortunes shifted. Twenty years back, the only evidence of this particular slice of history was an empty swimming pool and a plaque at the end of the 4,140m runway, one of the longest on the continent, certifying its survey by the US Army, reputedly as an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle. Berbera’s Cold War relic airport has been resurfaced and renovated as part of the overall effort to transform Berbera port, including a free zone and the Berbera road corridor. (Photo: Ray Hartley) Today, the port of Berbera is defined by its three brand-new “economic giraffes”, or gantry cranes, part of a $442-million investment by...

“A verification Committee undertook a verification mission to the Partner States that have applied to host EAMI, to verify their suitability, and compiled a report that will be tabled before the 42nd Meeting of the Council of Ministers scheduled for later this month,” said the Secretary General. Deepening economic integration, strengthening regional peace and security mechanisms, and implementing the road map for the attainment of the EAC Monetary Union are some of Dr. Peter Mathuki’s key priorities in steering the regional integration agenda in the next year. The EAC Secretary General underscored these priorities during a virtual forum dubbed ‘State of the EAC Forum - SG’s 1 year in office’ seeking to share the progress, achievements, and challenges of the EAC in the last year, and the way forward. The Secretary General listed the admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into the bloc, adoption of 35% as the Fourth Band of the EAC Common External Tariff and resolution of 23 pressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) among the key achievements the Community registered during the last year. “On 12th November 2021, the EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) finalized and adopted the review of the EAC Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers Act, 2017 and referred it to the EAC Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs for legal scrubbing,” noted Dr. Mathuki. Further, he said that five EAC Partner States had launched their own Trade Information Portal (TIP). The portals map out all imports, exports and transit procedures, including fees and time in the respective...

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 2nd June, 2022: The East African Community (EAC) has tabled before the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) the budget estimates for the 2022/2023 Financial Year totaling US$91,579,215. Presenting the speech before the Assembly, the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for EAC and Regional Development, Hon. Betty C. Maina, said that the budget estimates for the Financial Year 2022/22023 are being presented at a time when the world’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is under threat from the rising prices of fuel and other commodities, occasioned by the Russian – Ukrainian conflict. “Economic growth in the EAC region averaged 5.9 percent in 2021, compared to an average of 2.3 percent in 2020. The strong regional economic growth in 2021 was largely supported by increased removal of COVID-19 related restrictions, public investments and strong performance in the productive sectors,” said Hon. Maina. The Cabinet Secretary noted that the rising commodity prices, especially fuel and food, are impacting negatively on the welfare of East Africans and the world alike. “Global economic growth is expected to slow down from 6.1 percent in 2021 to 3.6 percent in 2022. Economic growth in the EAC region is projected to decline from an average of 5.9 percent in 2021 to 5.3 percent in 2022 and 5.7 percent in 2023,” she added. The 2022/2023 Budget is themed ‘Accelerating Economic Recovery and Enhancing Productive Sectors for Improved Livelihoods.’ Hon. Maina said that the EAC would focus on...

UNITED NATIONS, May 26 (IPS) - Ambassador Maria de Jesus dos Reis Ferreira was appointed in February 2018 as the Permanent Representative of Angola to the UN, the first woman to hold the position. Among other issues, she has focused on peace and security in Africa and has echoed her country’s strong support for universal vaccination of the global population. In this interview with Africa Renewal’s Kingsley Ighobor, Ambassador Ferreira discusses women’s empowerment, free trade and what the continent can expect from the UN conference on climate (COP 27) that will be held in Egypt later this year. Excerpts from the interview: Q: What has been your journey to this role as the Permanent Representative of Angola to the UN? My journey has been a long one, I can take hours talking about it. I started in the army and years later I shifted to diplomacy, which has been quite an interesting and challenging journey. I have worked as a diplomat since 1980. Before my current role, I worked as an Ambassador in Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia with residence in Vienna, where I was the Permanent Representative to the United Nations. I am the first woman to serve in this post since Angola became a UN Member State 46 years ago. Q: Congratulations! What are your top three achievements so far? Talking about achievements, with regards to peace and security, it is important to note that as part of Angola´s leadership of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)...

Small and medium-scale farmers and agri-businesses in east and southern Africa are getting a raw deal. To succeed they need fair and integrated regional markets. Research by the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development has highlighted the need for better integration of regional economies as a step towards food security in the region. Powerful commercial interests, high transport costs and poor access to facilities such as for storage mean that small and medium-scale farmers are often not getting fair prices for the food they grow. Fair prices are those that meet demand and cover reasonable costs of supply including transport across borders. During the course of our research we came across examples of how the odds are stacked against most small and medium-scale farmers. Take the experience of Endrina Maxwell, a small producer in Malawi. In April 2021, she sold her soybean crop in central Malawi and realised the returns from investing in commercial agriculture as a female agribusiness owner and farmer. She got prices around Malawi kwacha 350/kg, about $450/t (see Figure 1). At the same time, the prices in the main markets in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi were over a $1000/t. A number of hurdles stood in Endrina’s way to take advantage of the high prices in neighbouring countries. First, specific price information was not readily available for someone in Endrina’s position to be aware of the gains from exporting. Second, transport costs are very high for smaller producers. Third, to hold-off from selling at the...