If Britain votes to leave the European Union today, Kenya will certainly feel the shock waves, especially the tourism and horticultural sectors, analysts warn. Mark Bohlund, the Africa and Middle East Economist for Bloomberg Intelligence, says the exit, commonly referred to as Brexit, would cause investors to cut back on spending. Bohlund said a Brexit will be followed by a period of uncertainty about what the UK’s relations will be commercially and otherwise with the EU. “A heightened degree of uncertainty makes planning more difficult and the normal reaction is to cut back spending until it is easier to predict what future demand and business conditions will be,” he said. Britons will today vote in a referendum poll to decide whether to leave the European Union. Central Bank governor Patrick Njoroge said Kenya will certainly feel the ripple effects of Britain exiting the EU. Njoroge told Reuters that if Britain leaves the EU, it could hurt the global economy and Kenya would “feel the shock wave”. Analyst Aly Khan Satchu said Kenya should brace itself for possible job losses in the tourism and horticultural sectors since the exit will weaken the pound. This is the second such vote by the British citizens. In 1975, the country held a referendum on whether it should stay in the European Economic Community, two years after it had joined. “In terms of investors to Kenya, when you think about Vodafone which owns 40 per cent of Safaricom, Diageo owns more than 50 per cent...

KIGALI, June 21(Xinhua) -- As Africa looks forward to continental integration, the Chinese government announced plans to roll out major joint ventures that will enable the continent to achieve integration agenda. Last year, the Chinese government announced that it will roll out 10 cooperation plans that will strengthen cooperation with Africa within the next three years. The programs cover the areas of agriculture modernization, infrastructure, industrialization, financial services, trade and investment facilitation, green development, peace and security, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health and people-to-people exchanges. China will also offer 60 billion U.S. dollars to ensure the smooth implementation of the cooperation initiatives. Speaking to Xinhua on Tuesday, Claver Gatete, Rwanda minister of finance and economic planning, said that China's major economic cooperation arrangements with Africa will play a crucial role towards boosting economic integration on the continent. "These economic initiatives and other efforts toward Africa regional integration hold the promise of boosting intra-regional trade and improving investment prospects in the continent, as well as African competitiveness," he said. Africa trade integration has long been a strategic objective for Africa policy makers and economists, despite the continent's market remains highly fragmented. On June 10, 2015 in Cairo, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) was officially launched which seeks to boost economic growth in Africa. TFTA brings together three of Africa's major regional economic communities -- the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). According to Dr....

DAR ES SALAAM. — The newly appointed Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) CEO has called on workers of the railway firm to be customer-centric in order to turn the authority into the best transport organisation in the region, a TAZARA statement said yesterday. Bruno Ching’andu, TAZARA Managing Director, met over 500 Dar es Salaam-based TAZARA employees and told them that he wanted to preside over a workforce that was proud to work for TAZARA, paid handsomely and competitively and operating in a safe environment, with plenty of opportunities to learn and grow. “I dream of a TAZARA whose workers are proud and happy to be working for this company,” said Ching’andu. “I want us to be customer-centric, giving maximum respect to our clients and contributing to the growth of the economies of Tanzania and Zambia by paying taxes and dividends to the shareholders,” he added. He challenged the workers to work as a unified team with one common goal in order to eliminate the divisive tendencies that pulled the authority backwards. He said he left a well-paying job in South Africa to join TAZARA because he knew it was possible to turn around the authority and begin to earn sustainable revenue, enough to pay employees’ salaries, taxes and dividends to the shareholders. “This company has everything it needs to make money. The Chinese came, built the infrastructure and handed it over to us to manage,” said Ching’andu. “They (the Chinese) gave us fishing rods and taught us how to fish, but...

Involvement of East African women in the region’s integration agenda is very important and must be enhanced, regional lawmakers have said. Rwanda’s representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), who are currently on a countrywide sensitisation tour, say Rwandan women should make the most of the integration agenda. Last Friday, the lawmakers interacted with women groups’ representatives in various parts of the country. The chairperson of EALA Rwanda Chapter, MP Patricia Hajabakiga, told The New Times, yesterday, that they traversed Gatsibo, Kayonza and Nyagatare districts where they met and talked to the leadership of women councils, cooperatives and civil society. Discussion topics included the historical background, the objectives, components of the EAC Treaty, and the negotiated protocols and laws. “We urged them to harness the benefits of Easct African Community integration and to increase production to take advantage of the bigger market.Women in EAC are more than 50 per cent of the total population and therefore their participation is critical,” Hajabakiga said. “However, it was noted that few women are involved in cross-border trade and most of those involved are still in the informal sector. We also noticed a lack of information on EAC matters on their part, and most of them acknowledged that they know that Rwanda is a member of EAC but had never been sensitised about it.” According to Hajabakiga, some of the women expressed concern that free movement of goods across EAC would make Rwanda a dumping place and a market for others. “Some raised...

Last Friday, yet another meeting of the East Africa Tourism Platform (EATP) took place, this time in Arusha, as a follow-up of the Kigali meeting in early February. EATP promotes East Africa as a single destination founded on growth, dynamism and investment. Regional integration calls for expansion of horizons be it size, scale, competitiveness or partnerships, resulting in an environment for tourism to thrive. By understanding that common challenges need to be solved by agreeable strategic solutions and in line with its mission and vision, EATP hosted this latest forum geared to offer a platform for open discussions on the vision of East Africa as a single tourism destination and the feasibility and viability thereof. Participants in Arusha were once again drawn from key companies and private sector tourism associations in the five East African Community member states of Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, as well as tourism boards of Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. The Arusha forum was a follow-up one where this time the stakeholders invited were the key business and tourism stakeholders, in other words those individuals considered the industry's movers and shakers. As key players and influencers, the participants were gathered in the same room to discuss challenges and opportunities to development of tourism in the EAC and promoting the region as a single destination. The stakeholders invited from the 5 countries of the EAC must have a say in shaping the future of tourism and are already working in the EAC and doing cross-border business....

Private Sector Federation (PSF) has pleaded for more comprehensive advocacy in the removal of trade barriers that continue to hamper free movement of goods and services in the region. Weighbridges, especially on Northern Corridor that connects Kigali to Mombasa port in Kenya, are still troubling transporters. "This is still a big challenge," Stephen Ruzibiza, the PSF chief executive officer, told members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Rwanda Chapter who are currently in the country for an outreach and sensitization program. "We still have challenges on Northern Corridor where transporters spend much time on seven weighbridges that still exist. That's why we want them removed to ease business as this will spur economic growth," says Ruzibiza, adding that EALA members have promised to continue doing advocacy for the Rwandan business community. Apart from the weighbridges, Rwandan traders still find it difficult to access ports, especially Mombasa. This creates more delays, making doing business uncompetitive. On the other hand, businesspeople from the tourism and transport sectors commended the Tanzanian government for addressing some challenges along the Central Corridor. It now takes 3 to 4 days for a cargo truck to reach Kigali from Dar-es Salam. Patricia Hajabakiga, a member of EALA, who was leading the delegation, wondered why Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) still exist in the region yet they have signed different protocols and laws have also been passed. "Partner states must enforce these agreements; otherwise we cannot allow unfair competition. We will continue raising our voices for the removal of...

Kenya is one of the countries at a high risk of being hit by economic shocks associated with Britain's plebiscite tomorrow on whether to dump or keep its membership in the European Union, economists said. The Central Bank of Kenya governor Patrick Njoroge, who is a former IMF economist, said East Africa's largest economy would "feel the shock wave" alongside other global economies should Britain vote to leave the EU. Dr Njoroge's pronouncement was seen as expressing concerns that Kenya's economic policy makers have over the outcome of Thursday's vote, whose impact some economists have said could equal that of the 2008 global financial crisis. Kenya is particularly seen as vulnerable to possible loss of trade, exchange rate pressure and capital outflows should Britons vote to leave the bloc. Nairobi is seen as being at risk of massive capital outflows arising from the strong wave of anxiety in global markets, which is expected to follow an exit vote. Increased capital outflows would, for instance, hurt trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, whose activity has more recently been anchored on strong foreign participation. Listed companies that export goods and services to the UK also face the risk of a prolonged slowdown or even decline should Britain exit the EU and its economy suffers a downturn as a result. Standard Chartered head of research for Africa Razia Khan said the shilling was likely to come under pressure if Britain exits and subsequent investor capital flight to relative safe havens such as US...

The African Union (AU) is set to launch an electronic passport (e-passport) in the next two weeks in part of measures to boost movement of people across the continent. The e-passport, to be launched during the African Union's 27th Summit which kicks off in Rwanda from July 10, is part of efforts to boost intra-regional trade. The AU, however, says member countries will have to adopt and ratify necessary protocols and laws to prepare the way for use of the passport. Heads of state and government, ministers of foreign affairs and the permanent representatives of AU member states based at the headquarters in Addis Ababa will be the first group to get the e-passports during the summit. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), termed the move a "steady step toward the objective of creating a strong, prosperous and integrated Africa." The Rwanda summit will talk about Africa's integration and the introduction of a common passport. Countries like the Seychelles, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Ghana have taken the lead in ensuring easier intra-Africa travel by relaxing visa restrictions and in some cases lifting visa requirements altogether. The East Africa Community in March launched an the document. A phase out programme for the current East African and national passports will go on for two years staring January next year. Source: All Africa

Tanzania International Container Terminal (TICTS) envisages extending wings to neighbouring Rwanda, hardly a month after winning global respect as one of Africa's most improved ports. The US Journal of Commerce, which collects data on 140,000 port calls at 750 of the world's container terminals, has acknowledged TICTS as one of the most improved ports in Africa. "Everyone at the nation's largest port is delighted that our efforts have been appreciated by such an authoritative body," TICTS Chief Executive Officer Paul Wallace said in Dar es Salam over the weekend. "It is truly an industry achievement," Mr Wallace said of the recognition, adding: "This is just the start... the port is now poised for huge expansion over the coming few years." He however attributed the great achievement to the commitment of the company's valued employees and trust from TICTS parent company, Hutchison Port Holdings, which operate 48 ports in 25 countries. The company has over the past few years invested over 210bn/- to generate 1.35trn/- in the Tanzanian economy through wharfage, royalties and rent. According to Mr Wallace, the container handling firm is scheduled to open the Kigali office on July 1, 2016, to generate greater volumes through the port of Dar es Salaam. Already, the company has trained 16 young Tanzanian leaders who have just graduated in a year-long intensive management programme. Kazi Services' management experts Zuhura Muro and Petronella Mwasandube, with other formidable guest speakers, shared their wealth of experience in mentoring the young, gifted and potential future leaders of...

ARUSHA, Tanzania (Xinhua) -- The Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) is set to establish the East African maritime security coordination center in Mwanza city, which will guarantee safety for passengers, fishermen, and other maritime vessels in the Africa’s largest fresh-water lake. LVBC is a specialized institution of the East African Community (EAC) that is responsible for coordinating the sustainable development agenda of the Lake Victoria Basin. The regional security center will be fitted with sophisticated information and communication systems that will inform the three EAC’s member states if anything happens in the lake. Lake Victoria is shared by three EAC states namely Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda Maritime transport, safety and security officer, Eng. Gerson Fumbuka said the 25-million U.S. dollar project will make the lake free from disasters such as the MV Bukoba ship, which sank in 1996, killing 894 on board. He said that the center will also be equipped with rescuing boats in case of emergency and will also be fitted with communications tower that will help to direct ships and other marine vessels to navigation sites at Mwanza south port. Fumbuka said that the project would cost almost 25 million dollars that will be funded by the African Development Bank. The new center will be located at the marine services, Mwanza north port. He said that the center will specialize in searching and evacuating people, and it will make its communications through satellite and disseminate the information to the ports whereby within 15 minutes the emergency boat...