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...

Convenience at minimum cost is a leading consideration for investors looking for new locations to set up enterprises. Around the world, industrial parks have become the popular vehicle for countries to provide a competitive environment for industries to take off. Technically, an industrial park is a geographically delimited area, intended for the settlement of industrial plants with proper location, infrastructure, equipment and services conditions, and with a permanent administration for its operation. Recently, Uganda announced that it is setting up 22 new industrial parks around the country. This is commendable if the government does not go back on its word by failing to put in place the basics needed to attract both local and foreign investors. It is going to be expensive, but will pay off in the long run if it is done right. All the Tiger Nations of East Asia developed industrial parks during the 1980s and early 1990s which helped attract investment especially from Japan. South Korea started in the 1960s. The government at the time adopted a strategy of concentrating industries in regions with high growth potential, rather than dispersing investments nationwide, in consideration of the country’s limited financial resources. The policy has worked out well as reflected in South Korea’s spectacular growth. Note, this is the country with the highest internet penetration in the world. Today, industrial parks are the industrial/manufacturing hubs that drive the economies of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. For the East African Community (EAC) to take advantage of a similar...

Khartoum’s letter to Arusha seeking a place in the EAC returned with negative response with the country being politely told that, in order for Northern Sudan or any other African state to be allowed in the regional bloc, it must share a common border with any of the existing member states, that is Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania or Burundi. Last month’s admission of South-Sudan to the Arusha Pivoted East African Community now paves way its neighbour, further north at Khartoum to also be considered to become the seventh member of the community which was revived back in 1999, but as of now it is all silent at the community secretariat here. It was actually North Sudan, headquartered at Khartoum which was first to apply to be allowed to join the East African Community (EAC) five year ago. However, its request was placed on hold because in order for a country to be a member of the EAC, it must share a common border with any of the initial five partner states. Efforts to find the EAC Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Richard Owora Othieno, to comment on the issue last weekend, proved futile as he wasn’t around and his phone was unreachable. South Sudan, which borders the two EAC member states - Kenya and Uganda in the South - apparently stood in-between Khartoum, but since it has now become a member, it is possible for North Sudan to re-apply and be considered to join EAC. South Sudan brought into the...

Women engaged in cross-border trade still face many challenges that are affecting their performance and profitability. Issues like language barrier, insufficient working capital, and the fact that mothers are not allowed to cross some borders with the young children, still impend business growth of women engaged in cross-border trade. Though border customs procedures have been greatly reduced, cross-border women entrepreneurs say a lot of time is wasted at border points clearing goods, especially when there are power cuts or the data capturing system is down, causing delays. These are some of the main barriers affecting women involved in cross-border businesses, according to findings of a study carried out last year. The study, by the Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI), examined the current trade policies at national and regional levels in the East African Community (EAC) bloc. In an interview with Business Times EASSI project co-ordinator Elisabeth Ampairwe said there is also lack of skills and knowledge on how to compile business data and on how to use technology in business transactions. Ampairwe says these challenges continue to make it hard for women traders to operate profitably in the region. She called on EAC governments to increase their support to women cross-border traders so that they are able to improve operations and earn more money that would help enhance their lives and those of their families. Cross-border trade with neighbouring countries accounted for 18.5 per cent of formal export value amounting to $86.49 million in...

NAIROBI: Kenya is among the best performers in regional integration in the continent, a new index has shown. In the Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII), the first index of its kind that measures the continent’s level of trade integration, Kenya topped in three of the four regional economic communities (RECs) in which it is a member. Save for the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), Kenya was the best performer in regional integration in the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (Igad). The country scored highly in trade integration, meaning its level of customs duty on imports was low, and it also had a huge share of intra-regional trade goods. However, trade between Kenya and the East African states of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi has been jolted by increased imports of cheap Chinese products into the region. Still, the country was listed among those that have been active in connecting customs operations, liberalising tariff lines and making it simpler to measure non-tariff barriers. The country also scored highly in productive integration, free movement of people, and financial and macro-economic integration. The index is a collaborative effort between the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). FIVE MEASURES Countries or RECs are assigned scores on a scale of 0.0 to 1.0. ARII was created using five dimensions: regional infrastructure, regional trade, productive integration, free movement of people, and financial...

Rwanda and Tanzania appear headed for closer ties following President John Pombe Magufuli's visit to Kigali, during which he held largely private talks with President Paul Kagame. On the surface President Magufuli's visit to Rwanda was motivated by trade - opening a common border post. That Rwanda was his first official stop outside Tanzania pointed to an urgency to mend the frosty relations between the two countries that appeared to worsen during his predecessor Jakaya Kikwete's reign. Before and during President Kikwete's reign, a calculated approach to integration under the East Africa Community seemed to sap the patience out of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, leading to the formation of what was dubbed the coalition of the willing. The three countries, united by the need to expedite trade along the northern corridor, earmarked the standard gauge railway and port reforms. On the human side the coalition's initiatives were anchored by measures to allow freer movement of labour and travel through single tourist visas and use of national identification cards for citizens crossing borders. The division saw many analysts fear for the bloc despite officials insisting that under the principle of reciprocity and variable geometry countries were allowed to join regional initiatives at the point where they felt ready enough. This sounded quite hollow with Tanzania and Burundi snubbing meetings called to fast-track integration. During the Burundi political crisis last year, Tanzania appeared to be sympathetic to President Pierre Nkurunziza. At the time, relations between Rwanda and Burundi were tense with the...

Tanzania is planning a $300 million energy project that will see it export electricity to Kenya within the next two years. The project is being financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) deputy managing director Deckian Mhaiki told The EastAfrican that part of the project will involve a 2,000MW supply line to Kenya, to be in place by 2018. Mr Mhaiki said that Tanesco is in the final stage of floating a tender for the design and construction of the line to a border town in Kenya. He added that Kenya had indicated to Tanesco that it needed about 1,000MW through a double traffic line/ an extension of 1,600km-long backbone electricity transmission line running from the Tanzanian town of Iringa to Shinyanga through the towns of Dodoma and Singida. Mr Mhaiki, however, said that the construction of the 680km line between Iringa and Shinyanga that had been slated for completion in June, has been delayed for another three months. The line is also meant to provide mining companies in the Lake Victoria area in Tanzania with reliable electricity. The Tanesco official said a feasibility study on a $500 million worth project to connect the Tanzanian supply line with that of the Zambia has started as part of a project to link East African and the Southern African electricity pools. Tanzania, which now depends on gas for 60 per cent of its domestic power consumption, is also eyeing markets in drought-prone Southern African countries. Currently, Tanzania...

The International Monetary Fund is to extend a standby credit facility to Rwanda but wants the government to tighten its economic policies to safeguard macro-economic stability and stimulate growth. The amount Kigali has requested and when it is to be released, however, will be known in May after the board meets. READ: Rwanda could go for IMF precautionary loan IMF deputy division chief African Department Laure Redifer led the IMF mission to Kigali from March 22 to April 5 for the fifth review of the economic and financial programme supported by the IMF’s Policy Support Instrument (PSI). The standby credit facility provides financial assistance to low-income countries with short-term balance of payment needs. The IMF projects that the Rwandan economy will slow down from 6.9 per cent growth registered last year to 6 per cent for two years as a result of shocks in 2016/17 before picking in 2018. These shocks are fuelled by a firming dollar which has resulted in the Rwandan franc depreciating, the falling export revenues and a ballooning import bill, putting pressure on external reserves. “The strengthening of the US dollar against other currencies worldwide, coupled with the decline in international commodity prices that negatively affected the export revenues, has put pressure on the Rwanda franc,” a statement by the National Bank of Rwanda said. The loan facility from the IMF is to be invested Rwanda import substitution drive as the country seeks to reduce the trade deficit gap by tapping into the regional market. In...

East Africa is projected to lead other African regions in growth, rising 6.8 per cent in 2016 and 6.6 per cent in 2017, backed by robust growth in countries such as Rwanda and Tanzania, according to the Economic Report on Africa 2016. This is despite low commodity prices, rising imports of capital goods for infrastructure and the recent drought. By contrast, East Africa will lag behind on its urbanised population share by 2050. East Africa’s rural majority will translate into slower growth in manufacturing and a continued reliance on agriculture in the medium term (to 2025). The report titled “Greening Africa’s Industrialisation” and launched during the African Development Week in Addis Ababa shows that East Africa maintained the highest growth rate in the region, at 6.2 per cent in 2015, despite a decline from 7.0 per cent in 2014. But UN Economic Commission for Africa executive secretary Carlos Lopes warned that the current growth — driven largely by government related spending — has not generated sufficient jobs and has not been inclusive enough to significantly curb poverty. “It is difficult to predict how the current downturn in commodity prices will affect Africa’s development trajectory: the situation is certainly difficult, but is providing powerful incentives to relocate economic resources away from commodity production and into more sustainable activities,” said Dr Lopes. The report says that regional risks include weather-related shocks. Drought could hurt agriculture, which is still the main employer in most African countries. Poor harvests would increase risk of inflation...

The International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF) has suspended multilateral cooperation with Burundi. A statement by OIF on its website on Friday cited the “lack of progress” in the central African nation’s drive to hold inclusive political dialogue to end a yearlong crisis. OIF was created in 1970 to encourage solidarity between the French-speaking nations. Its statement said it had suspended all programmes with Burundi, except those “directly benefiting the civilian population and those which may contribute to the restoration of democracy”. Sectarian violence The OIF statement said the Permanent Council of the of the Paris-based organisation, chaired by Canadian Michaelle Jean, in a session on Thursday, announced the reinstatement of the Central African Republic (CAR), saluting “the responsibility shown in its government transition process”. After three years of sectarian violence, CAR organised successful presidential elections which Faustin-Archange Touadéra won. Regarding Burundi, members of the Permanent Council “deplored the deterioration of the security situation and absence of progress in the establishment of a truly inclusive political dialogue despite significant continued efforts by the international community. Burundi has been rocked by unrest that has claimed more than 470 lives since April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to stand for a third term. The move was resisted by his opponents as unconstitutional. Official languages Burundi had not officially reacted, but the presidential adviser on media and communication, Mr Willy Nyamitwe criticised the OIF move in a Twitter post decrying a “comedy” of “bad taste.” “It’s as if la Francophonie was...