The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) management says signing of peace deal between  South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir  and opposition leader Riek Machar will boost trade between Kenya and the world’s newest nation. The management says the formation of Transitional Government of National Unity is major step in the return to peace and stability in South Sudan. KPA acting managing Director Catherine Mturi said they expect the volume of South Sudan’s cargo through the port of Mombasa to increase by over 10 percent. According to KPA records, South Sudan cargo through the Port of Mombasa dropped 7.7 per cent last year compared to 2014. KPA said a total of 702,531 tonnes passed through the port of Mombasa were destined for South Sudan . Mturi, however, said that Uganda remains the second biggest user of the port with an 11 per cent share, with its share in transit cargo 8.2 per cent year-on-year, rising to 5.9 million tonnes from 5.5 million tonnes in 2014. On the other hand, Mturi said that KPA management has embarked on a major campaign to fight corruption at the port adding those found engaging in corrupt deals will not be spared. She further said that KPA is already engaging cyber security experts to deal with the problem at the port of Mombasa. Last week, Machar was inaugurated as vice president by President Salva Kiir ahead of forming a unity government. “Our people are tired of war and they need peace, now,” Kiir said. “Together we can accomplish...

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najjib Balala has said the government is set to construct a world class cruise ship terminal at the port of Mombasa at a cost of 200 million shillings. Addressing stakeholders and the Kenya Port Authority officials on Tuesday after he toured the site, Balala said the move will see tourists docking at the port of Mombasa being ushered to a place where they can rest. The CS said that the efforts will enable tourists both from abroad and in the country to be entertained and introduced to the local culture and cuisine before they continue with their journey to other parts of the country. “Kenya Ports Authority will contribute 100 million shillings while the Tourism Ministry will give out a similar amount so that the project can become a reality within the stipulated period of time,” said Balala. Balala said the tourists will also be registered using modern technology before they are guided to the destinations of their choice at the Coast and other parts of the country. On her part, acting Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director Catherine Wairi said the noble project will not only sell Kenya abroad as the main tourist destination in East and Central Africa, but will also increase the number of tourists in the country. She said the KPA management will support all efforts from the Tourism Ministry and the security departments to ensure the tourism sector gets back to its normal state. Source: Hivi Sasa

DAR ES SALAAM May 4 (Reuters) - Tanzania said on Wednesday it was planning to build a pipeline to supply natural gas to neighbouring Uganda as it looks to export some of the huge offshore gas reserves discovered in recent years. East Africa is a new hotspot for hydrocarbons exploration after substantial oil deposits were found in Uganda and major gas reserves discovered in Tanzania and Mozambique. The gas pipeline is the latest move to deepen commercial ties between Tanzania and Uganda which said last month that it would ship its crude oil via a pipeline through Tanzania to Tanga port. "Several east African countries have asked to buy gas from Tanzania... to start with, the (Tanzanian) government plans to build a gas pipeline to Uganda," Tanzania's energy and minerals ministry said in a statement. Tanzania announced in February it has discovered an additional 2.17 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of possible natural gas deposits in an onshore field, raising its total estimated recoverable natural gas reserves to more than 57 tcf. Officials said the government was already seeking funding for the project, but did not reveal how much it would cost. The time frame for the project would depend on the availability of funds but work would start immediately after funding was secured, according to the statement. Tanzania last year commissioned a 532 km (330 mile) pipeline and gas processing plants from gas fields south of the country to its commercial capital Dar es Salaam, financed by a $1.2 billion...

Trade issues took centre stage during the 103rd session of the Council of Ministers of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, which was held on 25-29 April in Dakar, Senegal. Ministers discussed prospects regarding the Economic partnership agreements (EPAs) still under negotiation with the European Union, as well as issues related to trade in various commodities, such as fishing products and sugar, among others. Ministers also expressed their determination and enthusiasm in advance of the upcoming Summit of Heads of State and Government of ACP countries, which will take place in Papua New Guinea from May 10 to June 1. Hopes are high that the meeting will provide the needed political mandate to rejuvenate the organisation, as well as a foundation on which to build productive engagement regarding the future of the relations between the EU and the ACP Group. The meeting of ACP ministers was followed by a session of the ACP-EU Joint Council of Ministers, which gathered ministers from ACP countries and their counterparts from the European Union. A call for flexibility on the Economic partnerships agreements During the meeting of the council, ministers of the ACP Group agreed on a resolution regarding the Economic partnership agreements between the different ACP regions and the EU. The EPAs are reciprocal – although asymmetrical – trade agreements between the EU and seven ACP regions, namely Central Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community, West Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific....

The new East African Community secretary general, Mr Liberat Mfumukeko, has assumed his duties with a promise to turn around the cash strapped regional body. It is not a secret that the new executive comes at a time when the EAC secretariat is operating with a shoestring budget, 70 per cent of which is donor funded. It means that, what the member countries raise a mere 30 per cent of a budget, and that isn't good enough to keep the integration dream alive. It therefore goes without saying that if EAC continues to operate this way, there is no way the six countries will attain the intended unity any time soon. Mr Mfumukeko, who had been an employee of the secretariat for before his elevation to the helm, has vowed he will work on this sorry state. We hope the EAC states will take this as a wake-up call and find ways of raising funds with which to benefit their people. The statement by the new boss in Arusha means EAC members should aim to make sure donor dependence in running their regional affairs is reduced to a minimum or scrapped altogether. We believe this is possible. If individual countries device and implement strategies to reduce with donor dependence, why shouldn't they do the same at the regional level? What is needed is for the partners to the community to support the new boss who has shown he is determined to make EAC independent. If we want to make the...

Dar es Salaam — The government and key stakeholders of Dar es Salaam port have drawn up a plan to rescue the port in the wake of a steep decline in cargo traffic. Measures proposed include the scrapping of Value Added Tax (VAT) on transit goods. The plan is aimed at turning around the port's fortunes and making it the most competitive in the region. Stakeholders met recently behind closed doors to prepare a blueprint in response to a looming crisis following the diverting of cargo from the Central Corridor. They agreed to take corrective measures that would help retain customers, bring back those who had abandoned the port and attract new ones. Participants in the meeting held at the port manager's office included representatives from the Inspector General of Police's office, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) and Tanzania Railways Limited. Others were the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association, Tanzania Shipping Agents Association, Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency, Tanzania Truck Owners Association (Tatoa) and Transporters Association of Tanzania (TAT). Also in attendance were officials of the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority. Participants were briefed on worrying statistics showing a significant fall in cargo traffic, which, according to the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), could degenerate into a serious national crisis if urgent measures are not taken. Cargo traffic through the port dropped by 13.3 per cent in March, this year, compared to the same period last year. Cargo to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo...

This really does have to be one of the sillier pieces of economic policy now being tried out. The East African Community has proposed banning the import of second hand clothes. In February, however, the East African Community (EAC), an intergovernmental organisation, proposed a ban on imported used clothes and shoes. The aim is to encourage local production and development within member countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The problem here is that people are not understanding the most basic point about trade, poverty and jobs. Imports are the purpose of trade, poverty is the inability to consume and jobs are a cost of doing something. Thus this is nonsense: Many orthodox economists disagree with banning imports because it goes against the principles of free trade. Rather than having the freedom to choose imported used clothing, east African consumers will have to buy higher priced local goods or new clothes imported from Asia. Increasing the cost of clothing will hit east Africa’s many low-income consumers, but the shock effect could be reduced if a ban was imposed gradually. If a tax on used clothing imports was introduced before an outright ban, this could subsidise local production and increase local manufacturing capacity. A revitalised local market would ultimately boost the EAC’s economy by providing more jobs than the second-hand sector while retaining money that currently goes to Europe and the US to pay for second-hand imports. It's not that economists oppose this in order to support free trade. It's that economists...

Tanzania has firmed up its position as East Africa’s fastest growing economy, boosting its chances of attracting high net worth investments. Tanzania, the region’s second-largest economy after Kenya, grew by 6.9 per cent last year, racing ahead of Rwanda’s 6.5 per cent, Kenya’s 5.6 per cent and Uganda’s 5.2 per cent. Tanzania romped to the high growth trajectory in 2014 when its economy grew by 7.2 per cent, outpacing Rwanda (six per cent), Uganda (5.9 per cent) and Kenya (5.3 per cent). The International Monetary Fund expects Tanzania to maintain the pole position this year with an estimated growth of seven per cent against Kenya’s 5.9 per cent and Uganda’s 5.5 per cent. In spite of strong growth, exports to Tanzania have fallen sharply as frequent trade disputes lock a number of products produced in Kenya from its markets. Data released by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows Kenyan firms exported goods worth Sh33.7 billion to Tanzania last year, a 21 per cent drop from the previous year’s Sh42.7 billion. By comparison, Uganda absorbed Kenya’s goods worth Sh68.6 billion, a 12.8 per cent growth over the 2014 export level of Sh60.8 billion. Tanzania and the conflict-prone Burundi are the only markets in the region where Kenya’s exports dropped. Exports to Burundi decreased to Sh6.6 billion last year, 16.5 per cent down from Sh7.9 billion the previous year. During that period, Burundi’s economy also decelerated to -7.2 per cent. The KNBS figures show that Rwanda, which recorded a growth of...

Construction — comprising new buildings, roads and rail – saw a frenetic activity, expanding by 13.6 per cent last year compared to 13.1 per cent in 2014, data from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows . The value of compensation of employees in the construction sector also recorded the fastest growth of 46.3 per cent attributable to large scale infrastructural projects. “This growth was to a great extent buoyed by the development of transport infrastructure such as the continued implementation of the first phase of the standard gauge railway, development of the road network, expansion and rehabilitation of facilities at the airports and improvement of port facilities,” reads part of the Economic Survey released Tuesday by KNBS. As at December 2015, 174 kilometres of the Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi had been constructed at a cost of Sh113.9 billion. The project is estimated to have created 19,000 jobs provided directly by the construction firm China Road and Bridge Corporation and an additional 8,000 through the sub-contractors. Total wages paid by the sector rose to Sh92.1 billion from Sh73.5 billion, underlining its direct impact in local households. The sector also benefited from the implementation of mega energy projects such as Olkaria 1V, Olkaria 1 and wellhead geothermal projects. Real estate developments also contributed to the improved performance of the sector as private investors pushed to take advantage of the housing deficit in the country. The index of reported private building works completed in major towns rose to 367.1...

Across the African continent second-hand clothes from developed countries are a mainstay of many informal traders, dominating local market stalls. East Africa alone imported $151m of second-hand clothing last year, most of which was collected by charities and recyclers in Europe and North America. In February, however, the East African Community (EAC), an intergovernmental organisation, proposed a ban on imported used clothes and shoes. The aim is to encourage local production and development within member countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. In the 1970s, east Africa’s clothing manufacturing sector employed hundreds of thousands of people, but when the debt crisis hit local economies in the 1980s and 1990s, local manufacturing struggled to compete with international competition and factories were forced to close. Today, the small sector remaining is geared towards production for exports. Many orthodox economists disagree with banning imports because it goes against the principles of free trade. Rather than having the freedom to choose imported used clothing, east African consumers will have to buy higher priced local goods or new clothes imported from Asia. Increasing the cost of clothing will hit east Africa’s many low-income consumers, but the shock effect could be reduced if a ban was imposed gradually. If a tax on used clothing imports was introduced before an outright ban, this could subsidise local production and increase local manufacturing capacity. A revitalised local market would ultimately boost the EAC’s economy by providing more jobs than the second-hand sector while retaining money that currently goes to...