During the 2016 presidential primaries, while the United States media has been obsessed with who said what to Megyn Kelly, the world has looked on with amusement at Republican Party infighting. Those of us in Africa, however, have been wondering what the outcome of this election might mean for the continent. Will Trump put up trade barriers to shore up jobs at home? Will he reduce foreign aid? What about his approach to climate change? Will Clinton approach foreign affairs differently as president than she did as secretary of state? Trump has been quoted on record as saying, “It is necessary that we invest in our infrastructure, and stop sending foreign aid to countries that hate us.” This is perhaps good news for Africa, as these countries don’t have a reputation of hating America. Trump clearly has strong views on China and continues to flip-flop on policy issues such as sending aid to the Middle East. From an African perspective, this may be perhaps a case of “no news is good news,” as the region often stays below the political radar. U.S.-African relations are complex and mutually beneficial, a reality that has not gone unnoticed by the Republican Party. In February, President Obama signed the Electrify Africa Act of 2015, which establishes a comprehensive U.S. policy to improve access to affordable and reliable electricity in sub-Saharan Africa for at least 50 million people by 2020. Why is this important? Whoever enters the White House in 2017 will quickly come to...

“The progress made so far is okay, Uganda is moving towards an environment where trade moves faster if the process of establishing the national Electronic Single Window is finalized next month.” said, Ambassador Julius Onen, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Industry and cooperatives, during a steering committee meeting held in Kampala. The $5m project funded by Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) has registered steady progress in terms of project implementation by the seven pilot organization/institution selected to pilot the implementation. Christian Byamugisha who represented the Project Implementation Team, reported that URA has provided necessary environment for ICT infrastructure development and for that matter the ICT infrastructurehas been approved to be capable to handle the Electronic Single window technology. URA has also upgraded the Asycuda platform to effect E-tax payment among other progresses. Uganda Export Promotions Board (UEPB) which is charged with the responsibility of managing membership registration by capturing data of traders, Byamugisha said, piloted its online electronic registration portal on the 2nd of June, 2016 with 30 members registered. Through this platform, traders will beable to apply for electronic certificate of Origin online and the same certificate will be approve or signed online without a trade having to queue for the same. In addition UEPB is also finalizing the incorporation of the certificate of destination online among other progresses. For the case Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) Byamugisha said UNBS has integrated the E-portal and E-tax to sort out payment challenges.For example, inspection and laboratory testing fees payment...

A recent agribusiness conference in Nairobi highlighted the desire of United Arab Emirates officials to expand trade with African nations and how leaders from Dubai are looking closely at continuing to expand trade with East African nations, including Ethiopia. Dubai imports 85 percent of its food from beyond its borders, and much of that comes from Ethiopia, according to Informa Middle East. The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Ethiopian International Office-organized roundtable in June was attended by Abdul Razak Mohammed Hadi, UAE's ambassador to Kenya, and Omar Khan, director of International Offices at the Dubai Chamber. In an interview with the Gulf News Journal last week, Khan expounded on the prospects for trade between the UAE and East African nations. “Dubai Chamber considers Africa, particularly East Africa, to be an important trading partner.” Khan said. “Dubai’s 2015 non-oil revenue with the members of the East African community was almost $3.5 billion, a nearly 10 percent increase from 2014. We want to sustain and encourage this growth.” Khan said that with a rapidly growing population, the UAE stands to gain by enhancing trade partnerships with other nations. The UAE, he said, will need an increasing supply of fresh food, especially in the Dubai area. Khan cited forecasts expecting food sales to increase by nearly 30 percent by 2019, and the retail value of packaged food sales to rise from approximately $4.4 billion in 2015 to approximately $6.3 billion by 2019. “Dubai Chamber seeks to promote bilateral ties and work with...

Agriculture secretary Willy Bett has said Kenya will ratify the regional food quality and safety pact in the latest effort to boost cross-border trade. World Trade Organisation has recommended the pact — the East African Community (EAC) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Protocol to guide handling of plant and animal materials. “The protocol will take care of food safety issues and standards that are currently affecting our animal and plant items. “The key for ratification, however, is that it will enhance trade in and across the region hence a matter of urgency for Kenya,” Mr Bett told a stakeholders’ meeting in Nairobi last week. The EAC faces threats such as larger grain borer and cypress Aphid, originally from Tanzania. Mr Bett said ratifying the protocol would ensure cross-border trade does not have negative impact on animal and plant health. The parliamentary Committee on Agriculture chairman Adan Nooru Mohamed said the ratification of the protocol would enhance cross-border trade in agricultural produce. “I urge stakeholders to work in urgency and ensure that the protocol is passed,” said Mr Mohamed. Rwanda and Uganda have already ratified the protocol. Source: Business Daily

DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania (Xinhua) -- The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) and the National Railways Company of Democratic Republic of Congo (SNCC) have agreed to aggressively market their services to increase the volume of freight between the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and the DR Congo, a TAZARA senior official has said. A statement issued by TAZARA Head of Public Relations Conrad Simuchile in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam said both TAZARA and SNCC had posted substantive improvements in their performances. "Transit time between Lubumbashi in DR Congo and Dar es Salaam has been scaled down from over 40 days to less than 10 days in the recent past," said the statement. It added that TAZARA alone was moving cargo between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri-Mposhi in Zambia in five days on average. "With transit times reduced to such low levels, the incidences of theft of cargo have also been eliminated," said the statement. It said these improvements have come as a result of changes of leadership in both railways as well as measures taken by the shareholding governments to stabilize and boost railway operations by injecting funds and equipment. Both TAZARA and SNCC expressed regret that despite the abundant volumes of cargo being moved along the Dar es Salaam Transport Corridor covering DR Congo, Tanzania and Zambia, the railways’ share of less than 2 percent was unacceptably too low. The two railways pledged to pool their efforts together in allocating wagons and to address the...

Kenyans are being treated to a season of gloom and doom because Kenya is supposedly about to be eclipsed as the region’s dominant economy by Tanzania. Kenyans have “authoritatively” been informed by expert economic analysts that Tanzania is the new king of East Africa, and Kenya has lost out big time. What is behind this invitation to Kenyans to beat themselves? The first is the decision by Uganda to “abandon” its deal with Kenya to build a joint pipeline to the Port of Lamu in favour of one with Tanzania. The second is the decision by Rwanda to “abandon” Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in favour of the one proposed by Tanzania. Never mind that not even one kilometer of track or pipeline has been laid, or even one dollar of the necessary finance been mobilized for both projects. The truth is that when you compare Tanzania’s economy to Kenya, it’s almost laughable that anybody can actually state that it can supplant Kenya’s dominance in this region. This is just self-serving analysis meant to push a given political narrative. What are the facts about these two economies? Tanzania’s 2016 budget of $ 13.5 billion (Sh1.35 trillion) pales beside Kenya’s budget of $ 22.6 billion (Sh 2.26 trillion), almost double in size. Further, the size of Tanzania’s economy, measured through its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at $ 48 billion, is almost 25 per cent smaller than Kenya’s at $ 61 billion. These gaps have only grown in the last decade, and...

On June 17, Germany and Poland celebrate the 25th anniversary of the German-Polish Treaty on Good Neighbourly and Friendly Relations. In the past, relations between the Polish and German nations were often difficult and marred by conflict. The worst episode started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, with loss of life and destruction that continued until 1945. The process of reconciliation between Germany and Poland began as early as 1965, with a letter of reconciliation by Polish Catholic bishops to their German counterparts. This was the beginning of a long process. Crucial for its success was Germany's willingness to acknowledge the crimes committed against the Polish people and the unequivocal acceptance of responsibility for the suffering caused during the Second World War. Today, Germany and Poland are friends and partners in the European Union. The example of German-Polish relations is relevant for the East African region because it demonstrates that enmity and rivalry can be overcome and replaced by a mutually beneficial relationship grounded in shared values, characterised by equality and respect for one another, and strengthened by economic cooperation and cultural exchange. There are three outstanding benefits that regional integration can bring about: First, it is an important building block in deterring violent conflicts between nations. There has not been a war between members of the European Union since it was created. Instead, the focus has been on creating a single market based on economic freedom and effective common political institutions to deal with issues...

uth Africa is “satisfied” that the recently signed Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union (EU) will lead to improved market access for some additional South African agricultural products, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said at the weekend, reporting that Cabinet had, therefore, “transmitted” the deal to Parliament for ratification. The EU remains South Africa's main trading partner with total trade of R536-billion in 2015. In addition, a significant portion of South Africa's R216-billion in exports to the bloc last year were value-added products. It is our preference that if you wish to share this article with others you should please use the following link: Speaking in Cape Town a week after six Southern African Development Community (SADC) members  – Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland – signed the so-called EU-SADC EPA trade deal in Botswana, Davies highlighted particular improvements in the areas of fisheries and agriculture. Under the current Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in 2000, South Africa receives preferential access to the 500-million consumer, 28-country EU on 65% of its agricultural products. Under the EPA, however, there would be increased access for South African seafood, wine, canned fruit, sugar and ethanol. The current yearly tariff-free quota of 50-million litres of South African wine would be increased to 110-million litres, while 150 000 t/y of South African sugar and 80 000 t/y of ethanol could also be exported to the EU tariff free. There had also been improvements in market access...

THE 12-hour train journey from Kenya’s capital Nairobi to the port city of Mombasa, 483km away, has taken on a different feel in recent months. Construction crews are hard at work to complete a new standard-gauge line which runs alongside the colonial-era metre-gauge railway and is promising to reduce the same journey by eight hours from June 2017. The new 472km line is a sight and development to behold. The Chinese-funded link is the largest single infrastructure project since Kenya gained its independence in 1963, and features eight underpasses where it crosses the world-famous Tsavo National Park. It also has 98 bridges, including two large structures at points where it traverses the existing line, which is part of a 1918km network linking Kenya with Uganda operated by concessionaire Rift Valley Railways (RVR) since 2005. Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) managing director Mr Atanas Maina said on April 28 that work on the $US 3.8bn project is now 75% complete. Specifically the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has completed 75% of the civil works which constitute 92% of earthworks, 81% of concrete works, 30% of stations and nearly 30% of track laying. Maina says of the 472.3km line, 442.6km runs at grade and the total bridge length is 29.7km. “There are 33 stations along the line, of which two will be traffic hubs at both ends and eight will be intermediate stations while 23 will be passing stations,” Maina told IRJ. The line has been...

On June 17, Germany and Poland celebrate the 25th anniversary of the German-Polish Treaty on good neighbourly and friendly relations. The close partnership that characterises the relations between our countries is not self-evident. During more than 1,000 years of neighbourship, relations between Poland and Germany were often difficult and marred by conflict. The worst episode in the history of the two countries started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939. This resulted in millions of people being killed, the destruction of Warsaw and other major cities. As a consequence, a dramatic shifting of borders occurred with more millions of people forced to emigrate and abandon their homelands. Despite the division of the European continent after 1945 and the Cold War, the process of reconciliation between Germany and Poland began as early as 1965 with a Letter of Reconciliation by Polish Catholic bishops to their German counterparts. Crucial for its success was the German willingness to acknowledge the crimes committed against the Polish people and the unequivocal acceptance of responsibility for the suffering caused during the Second World War. Today Germany and Poland are friends and partners in the European Union which Poland joined in 2004. Both countries benefit from the level of integration the European Union, of which both are members, has brought about. The example of German-Polish relations is relevant for the East African region because it demonstrates that enmity and rivalry can be overcome and replaced by a mutually beneficial relationship grounded in a set...