South Sudan will Thursday officially become the sixth member of the East African Community (EAC) when it signs treaties to join the regional bloc. President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and his Tanzania counterpart John Magufuli who doubles up as the EAC chairman, are scheduled to sign the accession treaty in Dar es Salaam, weeks after Heads of State from the bloc approved the admission of the country that is just getting out of a civil unrest. “The summit then designated the chairperson, his excellency President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli of the United Republic of Tanzania, to sign the Treaty of Accession with the Republic of South Sudan,” the EAC secretariat said ahead of the Friday ceremony. Flags of East African Community member states. South Sudan will on April 14, 2016 officially become the sixth member of the East African Community (EAC) when it signs treaties to join the regional bloc. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP Flags of East African Community member states. South Sudan will on April 14, 2016 officially become the sixth member of the East African Community (EAC) when it signs treaties to join the regional bloc. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP The signing will set in motion South Sudan’s assimilation into the regional bloc that is currently at a common market stage. In line with the treaty, the country will be required to immediately open up its borders for exchange of goods as well as labour and capital. South Sudan will also...

His Excellencies Presidents Salva Kiir Mayardit of the Republic of South Sudan and Dr John Magufuli of Tanzania are therefore scheduled to sign the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of South Sudan into the East African Community (EAC) on Friday, April 15, 2016 in Dar es Salaam City, according to Mr Richard Owora Othieno, the Head of Corporate Communications at the Arusha- based EAC Secretariat. During their 17th Ordinary Summit held on March 2 here in Arusha, the EAC Heads of State received the report of the Council of Ministers on the negotiations for the admission of the Republic of South Sudan into the Community and decided to admit the Republic of South Sudan as a new member. The Summit then designated the Chairperson, His Excellency President Dr John Magufuli of The United Republic of Tanzania, to sign the Treaty of Accession with the Republic of South Sudan, which becomes the 6th member of the regional bloc which was revived in 1999 after the collapse of the original community in 1977. Other members of the EAC include the founding three -- Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania -- as well as Rwanda and Burundi that joined later in 2007. The admission of South-Sudan to the Arusha pivoted EAC now paves way to its neighbour, further north at Khartoum, to also be considered to become the seventh member of the regional grouping which was revived back in 1999. It was actually North Sudan, headquartered at Khartoum, which was first to apply to...

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir will sign the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of South Sudan into the East African Community (EAC) on Friday April 15th.In a statement released this morning, the East African Secretariat has said the ceremony will be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The event follows the approval by the 17th Ordinary Summit held on 2nd March, 2016 in Arusha, Tanzania, where EAC Heads of State admitted the Republic of South Sudan as a new member. The Summit then designated the Chairperson Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli of The United Republic of Tanzania, to sign the Treaty of Accession with the Republic of South Sudan. South Sudan Vice President James Wani Igga who represented the country at the EAC meeting in which South Sudan was admitted into the trade bloc has expressed optimism that the inclusion into the community will improve health, education, taxation, ICT, peace and security, migration, industrialization, agriculture and rural development for Africa’s youngest nation. Source: Star Africa

The leader of the newly admitted member of the East African Community (EAC) will, on Friday, sign on the EAC Treaty allowing his country officially commence active membership, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. “Presidents Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan and Dr John Pombe Magufuli, of Tanzania and the Chairperson of the East African Community Heads of State Summit, are scheduled to sign the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of South Sudan into the East African Community on Friday,” a joint statement from the EAC Secretariat and Tanzania Information Services (TIS) reads in part. The decision to admit South Sudan as the sixth member of the EAC was agreed during EAC Heads of State Summit in Arusha, Tanzania in March. The seventeenth Ordinary Heads of State Summit admitted South Sudan to the Community after more than three years of negotiations. The new EAC member however still needs support to be able to gradually implement all the requisite membership instruments. Provisions that were part of its admission include a transition period of three years before implementing the Customs Union. South Sudan was also allowed three years to move toward full implementation of the Common Market Protocol. South Sudan applied to join the EAC on June 10, 2011, shortly after gaining independence from Sudan. The admission of Africa’s youngest nation to the EAC means that the bloc’s market size is now 162 million people, up from 145.5 million. Juba’s bid to join the Community had suffered a setback following the mid...

During the visit, the two presidents opened the Rusumo one-stop border post. One-stop border post means immigration and customs officials at the two countries’ border work under the same roof. The border post will ease travel and business operations and since both countries are member of the East African Community, they fall under single-customs territory. And since Rwanda, a land-locked country nearest sea port is in Tanzania—Dar es Salaam Port, it needs a smooth link for its exports and imports. Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said that the visit by his Tanzanian counterpart to Rwanda signifies a new relationship between the two neighbouring states. Indeed. The good relationship is poised to open up more trade and business opportunities between the two countries—one is on possibility of Rwandese to increase their usage of Dar Port, and two for growth of both formal and informal cross-border business. In the recent past, Dar port managed to retake in and outbound Rwandese cargo from its traditional rivalry, Mombasa Port. Statistics from Tanzania Port Authority (TPA) show that Dar port share of Rwandese cargo traffic stood at 74 per cent compared to 26 per cent of Mombasa Port. And cargo volume from Rwanda via Dar Port in the first two months of this year increased by 5.1 per cent to 5,995 TEUs. In the two months only Rwanda and Malawi TEUs increased as the rest decreased. Figures from trade institution suggested that Tanzania can increase exports to Rwanda from 5.5 per cent to 15 per cent...

The Acting Port Manager, Hebel Mhanga, told the Daily News in an interview yesterday that although it was yet to be enforced, the VAT on transit was scaring away importers as they fear it would increase port charges hence inflating their costs of doing business. “The problem of declining cargo volume is not due to red tape or the fear to make decision by the management. It is due to VAT on transit,” he said. A Kenyan newspaper reported over the weekend that Tanzania business community were ditching Dar es Salaam port for its rivals due to excessive bureaucracy and delays by the port management in making decisions for “fear of annoying the presidency.” The paper quoted the Principal Communication Officer of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Hajj Masemo, as saying the Mombasa port management had noted increased transit volumes to Tanzania. Mr Mhanga, admitted there was a significant business volume decline at the Dar es Salaam port but that was due to VAT on transit. He said it was yet to be applied, the VAT was scaring away cargo importers. He said the situation was serious as the problem of copper exports and transit vehicle volume from Zambia may decline due to VAT threat. He said there were likelihood that copper cargo from Zambia may decline as most of agreements with importers were coming to an end in the near future. “The problem is most of the big importers may not renew their contracts because of the VAT threat....

Standard Bank is hosting the East Africa Trans-Regional Conference in Kenya, Nairobi from 11 to 14 April 2016 to facilitate business development between clients from the East Africa region and South Africa. Targeted at clients who have an interest in expanding their operations or partnering with businesses within the East Africa region, the conference will provide delegates with an overview of commerce and industry in East Africa, while presenting opportunities for access to the market and business development. Over three days, seventy of Standard Bank’s business banking clients from, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa will take advantage of networking opportunities in a guided and informative environment. Dr Manessah Alagbaoso, Head of Commercial Banking at Standard Bank Rest of Africa says this is the first of a series of inter-Africa trade conferences aimed at facilitating business development. “The event underlines our commitment as Standard Bank to create effective partnerships for our clients in the region and across the continent.” Dr Alagbaoso adds that it was critical for Standard Bank, in its commitment to intra-regional, to create additional value for business banking clients by assisting them to identify services they could access, match them with much needed expertise and provide financing solutions. Standard Bank, as Africa’s largest bank, has an established and on-the-ground presence in East Africa. “We are committed to the East Africa region as indicated by our established presence in Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and recent expansion into Ethiopia. Our sector expertise and in-depth local knowledge...

The East African Community (EAC) is now successfully asserting itself as a regional trading bloc. Trade volume may have increased but dreams of monetary union are still far-fetched. Uganda's President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (front L3), Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (R3), Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta (R2) and the host Tanzania's President John Magufuli (C) attend the 17th EAC Heads of State Summit in Tanzania's northern city of Arusha, March 2, 2016 Photo by: Xinhua "Between 2005 and 2014, trade within the East African Community (EAC) increased by 300 percent," Dirk Smelty, business consultant with the Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture told DW. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda formed the EAC in 2000 and introduced a customs union five years later. Burundi and Rwanda joined the union in 2007. The customs union is promoting trade and is going from strength to strength. The EAC reported that in 2005 Kenya recorded imports worth $3.5 million (3.8 million euros)and exports valued at 5.8 million dollar. By 2014 imports had doubled to $6 million and exports tripled to $18.3 million. Uganda also doubled its exports in the same period and its imports nearly tripled. Tanzania however made the biggest leap by quadrupling its exports. Trade in Rwanda and Burundi however remained low. Chinesen bauen Straßen in Kenia Several EAC projects still remain unfinished due to logistical challenges The three driving forces: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda According to Smelty, trade within the EAC is mainly benefiting countries with stronger economies including Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. "Kenya...

AFRICA is the next frontier for Singapore business to conquer, and the Singapore government is playing a big part in facilitating access to the countries there. One of its initiatives is the recent appointment of businessman Tan Puay Hiang as the non-resident ambassador to the East African state of Tanzania. Tanzania, with its population of 52 million, can be the gateway for East Africa, says Mr Tan. He notes there is growing business interest from Singapore there. "Tanzania is one of the safest countries in Africa with a very stable government and a friendly, efficient civil service. So there are plenty of opportunities for Singapore businessmen there," Mr Tan assures. In April, Minister of State for National Development and Trade & Industry Koh Poh Koon will head a delegation comprising businessmen and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Industry and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore to Tanzania to acquaint themselves with the new president and Cabinet and to strengthen trade and investment ties between the two countries. The group will also visit neighbouring Uganda. Singapore's main investors in Tanzania are Temasek Holdings subsidiaries Pavilion Energy and Olam International. Others include energy player Intrasia and listed hospitality companies Bonvest Holdings and Hotel Properties. Pavilion, in its quest to be a leading LNG (liquid natural gas) player and to bolster Singapore's position as an LNG hub, made Singapore's single biggest investment in Africa by plonking a whopping S$1.8 billion for a 20 per cent stake in three gas...

Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli came visiting last week and spent two days here. You would hardly know he was in town. He spent a good part of the time with his host, President Paul Kagame, probably comparing notes and learning from each other about how to improve the lot of us they have vowed to serve. Then he joined Rwandans in commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi. So work kept him out of the public view. His coming at the start of remembrance week, which is also a time for individual and national grieving, meant his visit was rather low key. But it is also his style – short on pomp and ceremony, but richer in content and purpose – which he shares with our own president. He is now back in Dar es Salaam doing what he has done the past five months – waging war on graft, cutting waste in government, and exorcising ghosts in the public service. It is no easy task. He will probably get little thanks for his efforts. Of course, ordinary Tanzanians are thrilled that he is wrestling with these monsters and must be praying that he slays them so that they can get what is their due. And for that they must give him their full support. But almost as certain, he will earn a lot of enemies and they are many and varied. The fat cats in Tanzania who have prospered in the last ten years must be gnashing their...