The Kenyan port of Mombasa and Tanzania's Dar es Salaam port are the traditional competitors but the Kenyan government is now planning a huge new port at Lamu, while Tanzania is developing Bagamoyo. Both ports will be larger than any other port in sub-Saharan Africa if completed as planned. They will also be at the centre of much bigger developments, with industrial zones being laid out and intensive farming being proposed. The Tanzanian authorities hope Bagamoyo will handle 20 million containers a year, that is 25 times larger than the port at Dar es Salaam. Kenya's planned Lamu port is expected to be just as big. However, these are the proposed, long term figures, which will be achieved over decades rather than years. Construction will take place in phases as and when required. The scale of the initial phases has not been determined but will be much more modest. One hurdle that is delaying the development of both projects is the question of compensation. In the case of Bagamoyo, 2,000 people have lost their homes or farmland to the project and associated industrial zone. The Tanzanian government says that it will pay a total of $20.9m (£14.4m). But the figure would be much higher if there was a plan to enlarge the Dar es Salaam port as it is already surrounded by urban development and has limited room for expansion. Apart from serving their own domestic markets, the Tanzanian and Kenyan ports will also be competing for a wider prize,...

Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund urged Uganda to increase spending on public infrastructure while also ensuring more projects are delivered on time and to budget. The international lenders said yesterday that shifting public spending towards infrastructure would stimulate growth and plug a huge deficit in sectors like energy and transport especially. However, many planned investments in the country had yet to be completed, dampening their effect on economic activity and resulting in slow growth. If the government can deliver more projects on time, the returns on the public sector investment in these schemes will be higher, the institutions continued. Christina Malmberg-Calvo, World Bank country manager for Uganda, said this would improve value for money for taxpayers. “It is therefore important to invest in the country’s ability to invest by transforming the public investment programme into a system that better increases the value derived from public investment.” In its Uganda Economic Update, the bank said the investment management system should be capable of efficiently and effectively delivering critical infrastructure on schedule as well as to tap into new opportunities to finance human capital development. It called on the government to undertake more careful scrutiny of investments and to improve the evaluation of projects to help future project selection and risk identification. A combination of poor investments and a weak economic environment, further exacerbated by the crash in oil and commodity prices, have led to below par growth in Uganda. A growth rate of 4.5-5% over fiscal year...

In most of Africa, leaders have unfettered control over the state apparatus. Because of this, it is always difficult to wish away their banter as mere rhetoric, however much it is divorced from official government policy. There are two things to note here. One, President Museveni is a teetotaller whose public off- the script statements are always measured almost to a mathematical detail. In fact, his remarks at the swearing-in ceremony against the International Criminal Court (ICC), however repulsive they may be deemed, may not have been unintended. Two, Uganda and the ICC continue to enjoy a tumultuous relationship. For example, following the ICC's indictment of Joseph Kony and his lieutenants, USA deployed its special forces in the vast jungles of central Africa to bolster UPDF and other forces hunting for the elusive rebel leader. In fact, when Dominic Ongwen was captured, Uganda's objection to try him in The Hague rather than in Uganda was, at best, lukewarm. The implication of this is that Uganda, a signatory of the Rome Statute that gave birth to the ICC, recognises both the jurisdiction of ICC and its significance. It is safe to say that Mr Museveni's continued stay in power continues to rattle many global power centres. In some countries, there has been an overt demand for a peaceful power transition. These countries, led by USA, ironically do not recognise the ICC, are known to use any instruments at their disposal either to whip stubborn leaders or push for their agenda. This...

Exports to Uganda have dropped by 35 per cent in the first quarter of the year, ending the landlocked state’s dominance as top destination for Kenya’s exports. Provisional data produced by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicate that exports to Uganda dropped to Sh8.58 billion in the first three months of 2016 compared to Sh13.3 billion the same quarter last year. For the first time in more than a decade, Uganda falls to fourth position after Netherlands which tops the list with Sh11.89 billion worth of goods followed by UK which ordered Sh10.79 billion and US which accounted for Sh9.06 billion. Netherlands mainly orders Kenya’s flowers which it sells via its many auctions. Like UK, it is a member of the European Union which has extended duty-and-quota-free terms to Kenya and other developing countries under economic partnership agreements. Tanzania— which has been consistent in the recent past as second top export destination after Uganda — has also been dislodged to the seventh position after recording marginal drop of Sh5.25 billion compared to Sh5.81 billion the same period last year. Kenya initially showed strong affinity to the landlocked states in East Africa but of late, Uganda and Rwanda have drifted towards Tanzania with plans to link up their economies through crude pipeline and standard gauge railway line. The figures released last week indicate that apart from Uganda and Tanzania, exports to all other top destinations grew with Pakistan and Egypt also emerging as preferred markets for Kenyan goods. Pakistan, which...

Kenya is racing to reverse a drop in visitor arrivals from Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda with a Sh150 million marketing campaign following last year’s success with travellers from Nigeria and South Africa. Tourism data shows that visitors from Tanzania dropped from 17.3 per cent to 17,752 last year, Ugandan travellers to Kenya reduced by eight per cent to 29,038 while those from Rwanda narrowed 1.3 per cent to 11,242. This has jolted the Ministry of Tourism to conduct consumer research in the three countries, which are among top five tourist source markets for Kenya in order to align their preferences with local attractions. “In terms of investment, we have taken Tanzania and Uganda for granted. But this is going to change,” Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said at a press briefing in Nairobi on Monday, but cautioned against the rising political heat. Kenya is renowned for its warm weather in the palm-fringed sandy beaches, resorts and game park rides. Officials look to market Nairobi as a regional hub for shopping and hospitality as they eye neighbouring travellers. Tourist arrivals from South Africa, which is Kenya’s largest source market, jumped by 17.6 per cent last year to 30,476 while Nigerian visitors increased by six per cent to 14,065. The growth was attributed to increased promotion in Nigeria and South Africa — the largest and second largest economies in Africa respectively. The government seeks to replicate similar success in East Africa with the Sh150 million campaign, which takes up 60 per cent...

As a Kenyan, I am happy to hear that Rwanda is not walking away from Northern Corridor SGR, but working on a plan that will concurrently rely on its good relations with both Kenya and Tanzania to advance not only its interests but also the collective interests of the whole region through the railroads. However, I would urge the Rwandan Government to broadcast this position much more loudly to the world. The reason is because media outlets from various parts of the world, based on the earlier misreporting on the topic, are spreading all sorts of innuendo about the impact of the decision by Rwanda to use the Tanzanian route on the existing cordial relations among the members of the East African Community. In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to urge the peoples of East Africa not to lose sight of the vision and mission that originally created the East African Community that is currently powering the economic renaissance of the region. Let us hold hands and march forward together in unity and fraternity. We stand to gain more from collaboratively confronting our problems than from working separately. Who knows? In the future, we could evolve into a super state out of our collaboration. We could come up with something really ingenious with which to represent ourselves to the world – something like “The United Republic of Swahili Speakers”. Imagine how incredibly beautiful that would be. We would have everything within our borders – oil, coal, diamonds,...

This was revealed by the Chairman of Board of Directors Ali Mufuruki who said EAC still needs the support of his organisation especially when it comes to Infrastructure development. He said without well-developed infrastructure the EAC may fail to attract more international investors. “We are committed to raise the funds from our development partner’s because 80% of them are willing to offer their support after we proved capacity in effectively utilising the little resources they have given us,” said Mukuruki. This was during the TMA -2014/2015   Annual performing report release in Kampala. The $1billion will be used to support identified projects in the EAC countries Namely Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and the newly incorporated South Sudan. Without naming the projects TMA will finance in the upcoming five years, Mufuruki said the projects will be developed by the member’s states and must be in line with supporting trade and improving social services in the region. Some of the development partner’s TMA hopes to raise the $1billion funds to finance the projects in the EAC Economic block includes   Sweden Embassies, United Kingdom’s DFID, Canada and USIAD among other financiers. The above mentioned partners have been Influential in supporting TMA in the last five years.  “The results  are  truly  impressive .TMA,s support  for the Modernisation  of ports  in Mombasa and Dare Salam  and its  one stop  border posts  are  transforming  trade  and  driving  integration across the region. The time it takes to move goods from Mombasa to Kampala has been...

The implementation of the East African multi-entry single tourist visa is being hampered by the differences in national visa policies and regimes in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. Speaking at a recent stakeholder forum in Kigali, a senior tourism development officer from Uganda Anne Awori, said that member states are forcing tourists holding the pass to pay extra upon entry into 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 Ms Awori. “A recent case is when Rwanda charged a 13-year-old tourist who was issued a regional visa from Uganda an additional $60.” Earlier, Uganda had blamed Kenya and Rwanda for breaching the visa agreement by issuing their own local visas to tourists instead of the single EAC tourist visa. At one time, Ugandan tourism officials were quoted by the local media as threatening to pull out from the visa project. “A visa is supposed to be issued by the first country of entry. For a Congolese for instance, Rwanda is their first entry country. But when we issue the visa, Uganda raises questions and makes them pay again for the pass,” said a Rwandan official. The heads of state from the three countries launched the single tourism visa in February 2014 under the Northern Corridor Infrastructure Projects. The idea is to allow tourists to move freely within Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda without applying or paying for another visa. Tourism...

Africado Ltd was established in the Kilimanjaro Region of Northern Tanzania in 2007 as the first grower in Tanzania of the Hass cultivar. Africado is Tanzania’s largest grower and exporter of avocados. In 2009, Africado successfully raised business growth capital from the Norwegian Development Finance Institution (NorFund) to complete the development of its avocado nucleus plantation farm (Kifufu Estate). The farm has planted 137 hectares of orchards to Hass and employs 140 full-time staff, and an additional 200 seasonal workers. Over 2,000 out-growers (farmers who supply avocados to Africado for export) are now engaged in the production of Hass. The farm was originally a long-abandoned coffee plantation that is now in its rehabilitated state producing 2,600 tonnes of Hass avocados a year. In December 2012, Africado Ltd, with their partner Westfalia Ltd of Tzaneen, South Africa, was awarded a grant by the TradeMark Africa Challenge Fund (TRAC) to assist with the construction of a state-of-the-art processing, cold-chain and packaging facility to export avocados grown and packed on site to EU and the Middle East-based customers via Mombasa port. By raising the competitiveness of Tanzanian agricultural products and being able to better access export markets for Tanzania produce, Africado has also increased the returns to its farmer suppliers by providing value-added services such as training and agricultural product quality assurance. Africado’s interest in establishing the packaging, cold-chain and export facility was to enable local producers like itself to gain direct access to export markets. Prior to the establishment of the facility,...

KILOSA, Tanzania (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The huge stock of maize Jumanne Masele put aside last year was enough to spare his family from hunger and earn him cash to repay his debts - or so he thought. A short while after Masele had finished stuffing the grain into a traditional storage cocoon, he realized much of it had been infested by fungus as ground moisture from heavy rain seeped in through the bottom of his store made of dried soil, sticks and grass. “There was nothing I could do to salvage my grains - it was a total loss,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Despite a bumper harvest, the farmer, 44, from Mbumi village in the east Tanzania district of Kilosa lost most of his crops, threatening his family’s food supply.  “I still don’t know how to store my harvests - traditional techniques are no longer effective as the grain easily rots when we get unexpected extra rains,” Masele said. Agriculture is the backbone of Tanzania’s economy, providing work for more than four fifths of the population. The rural sector accounts for over half the country’s gross domestic product and export earnings, according to national statistics. Yet as Tanzanian farmers struggle to market their crops, nearly 40 percent of grains are lost to poor storage and extreme weather, costing the nation $332 million every year, the government says. Efforts are underway to curb these losses. Since 2013, smallholder farmers in nine African countries have been getting help to...