The Swedish Government has pledged to continue supporting the East African Community (EAC) integration process. This pledge was made by Katarina Rangnitt, the Swedish Ambassador to Tanzania and the EAC, who said cooperation among the five EAC partner states was crucial to relations between Sweden and East Africa. The envoy was speaking after she presented her credentials to the EAC Secretary General Richard Sezibera at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, according to a statement from the regional bloc's secretariat. Sweden has over the past nine years disbursed financial support amounting to over $850,000 to the bloc, through the EAC Partnership Fund. Sezibera thanked the Swedish envoy for her government support to the community over the years noting that the Swedish support has been used for among other things the negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreements between the EAC and the EU as well as boosting the health sector in the region. The Secretary General briefed Rangnit on the progress of the EAC integration saying the Community had made many achievements since the signing of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC on 30th November, 1999. He pointed out other achievements as the reduction of Non-Tariff Barriers to the free movement of goods, the convertibility of the Partner States national currencies and cooperation in the development of infrastructure. "Our infrastructure programmes are largely on track. Many of the One Stop Border Posts have been completed, and are being operationalised. I congratulate the Partner States for ratifying the One Stop...

NAIROBI, KENYA:  The Japan External Trade Organization, (JETRO), in conjunction with Nakumatt Holdings, have kicked off a one-month shopping and experiential showcase of Japanese consumer products in Kenya, to complement the existing portfolio of Japanese industrial products. The showcase, dubbed Antenna Shop Japan 2016, is part of a strategic effort to promote retail trade partnerships between Kenya and Japan. The showcase at Nakumatt Mega, has been organised in conjunction with Nakumatt, JETRO and local consumer products distributor, Debnham & Fear Kenya Limited.  While welcoming the participating Japanese retail products manufacturers, Nakumatt Holdings, Business Development Lead, Mr. Neel Shah, outlined the retailer’s commitment to facilitate global trade in the East Africa, region by forging partnerships with such partners.  “At Nakumatt, we are committed to meeting our diverse customer needs, tastes and aspirations with local and international retail products manufacturers; allowing us to maintain an edge as a world class retailer in the heart of Africa,” Shah said.  Speaking at the launch, JETRO Kenya Managing Director, Mr. Atsuhiko Naoe, said that more than a dozen Japanese retail products manufacturers and marketers wishing to enter the local market, are participating in the products sales platform dubbed “Antenna Shop! Japan 2016” at Nakumatt Mega. He described the products that will be on display as “Daily” use products, which, are highly functional and user friendly, just as the well-known Japanese automobiles and home appliances.   Source: Standard Digital

Kenya led the East African region in infrastructure deals struck in 2015, according to a new survey by financial consultancy firm Deloitte. The African Constructions Trends Report shows that Kenya accounted for 20 of the regions 61 big-ticket projects followed by Ethiopia with 12 projects. The report indicates that growth in shopping malls, commercial office development and the ongoing rail project are the biggest areas with the large construction works. The burgeoning middle class, coupled with the promise of high yields also whet investors’ appetite for retail, entertainment and lifestyle facilities in Kenya and Tanzania, resulting in investment in modern office parks and hotel space. “Rapid urbanisation and influx of an expanding middle class continues to drive the need for infrastructural reform, expansion and upgrading,” said Mark Smith, Head of Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Deloitte East Africa. Heavy consumer spending in Kenya has been linked to the rapid development of shopping malls in Kenya. Among the latest projects that have come online include the Garden City Mall and Thika Road Mall along the Thika Highway. Investment firm Centum is involved with the construction of the Two Rivers Mall along Kiambu Road while The Hub in Karen is awaiting the entry of tenants. Collectively the East African region accounted for USD57.5 billion worth of infrustructure projects. The Constructions Trends Report however doesn’t give a breakdown of the value of projects per country. International Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) were the largest financiers of infrastructure projects overtaking governments in Africa accounting for 48 percent of...

Kenya leads the East African region in terms of mega construction projects. The country has 20 ongoing large projects followed by Ethiopia at 12. East Africa holds 20 per cent of all construction projects in Africa and 15 per cent in dollar value at $57.5 billion (Sh 5.8 trillion) in 2015, which is a slight fall from $60.7 billion (Sh6.2 trillion) in 2014. Basic infrastructure projects, transport and energy, are top on the Kenyan development agenda, with transport taking the lion's share of 51 per cent and energy at 30 per cent. The figures were released yesterday by consultancy firm Deloitte East Africa in a report titled Africa Construction Trends 2015. Kenya's standard railway project (SGR) is the fourth most expensive project in the region, gobbling up $3.8 billion (Sh386 billion at current rates), with Tanzania's port at Bagamoyo coming top at a cost of $11 billion (Sh1.119 trillion). The report also indicates Kenya is experiencing growth in the retail sector, where hotel space, modern office parks, entertainment and lifestyle facilities are experiencing a boom due to expansion of towns and cities and a growing middle class. East African projects are predominantly financed by International Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), followed by funding from the governments. Local firms are involved in the construction of 36 per cent of these projects, followed by China at 21 per cent. It is therefore not surprising that 85 per cent of the projects are in the public domain, 13 per cent in private-public partnerships and...

Dar es Salaam — The Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (Taffa) yesterday continued to trade accusations with Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) over wharfage fees even after the formation of a probe team. Taffa has maintained that its members are innocent, and accused some TPA officials and banks of conspiracy. But TPA insisted that the companies did not pay fees at Dar es Salaam port, noting that their documents were not recognised in the systems. Dar port manager Ebel Mhanga told a local television station that the agents used forged documents to clear goods without paying relevant charges. The development came a day after Works, Transport and Communication minister Makame Mbarawa appointed a probe team to investigate the matter. Speaking at a meeting yesterday, Taffa members said they had evidence linking TPA and bank officials with tax evasion at the port. The association's president, Mr Stephen Ngatunga, said some TPA officials had destroyed documents to show that clearing agents had not paid taxes. "They have burnt dispatch books thinking they are safe, but we will eventually see who is telling the truth in this scandal...let's wait for the team to finish its work," he said. Mr Leonard Mwakileo of Tanzania Freight Forwarders Company Limited told the meeting that he was notified last December that he was required to pay Sh41 million for goods he cleared in 2013. "I was surprised because I had all the documents showing I paid for the goods. I followed up the matter at the bank where I...

NAIROBI (HAN) February 17, 2016 – Public Diplomacy and Regional Stability Initiatives News.  Construction of the Sh843 million Moyale one-stop border post will be complete by May this year. The project is expected to immensely enhance trade between Kenya and Ethiopia. The border post funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) is a trade facilitation project under the Mombasa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa Road Corridor project. Kenya and Ethiopia signed a bilateral agreement in 2011 to develop the joint corridor and road to enhance cross-border trade. Principal Secretary for Infrastructure John Mosonik last week told Smart Company that the construction began in February last year adding that, “approximately 65 per cent of the works have been done and the works are expected to be complete by May 2016.” It is expected that completion of the border post will enable seamless clearance of goods and people across the borders. Further, the border post will complement construction of Isiolo – Moyale Development Corridor which forms part of the strategic transport corridor linking Mombasa Port to Addis Ababa. POOR CONDITION The 503km Isiolo-Moyale has been in poor condition since 2008, hampering transport and hence stifling trade between the two countries. At the moment 461km of the road is done with the remaining 42km set for completion by September this year. The road is part of the Lamu-Port-South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) corridor funded by the government and the European Union at a cost of Sh13.7 billion. Kenya National Highways Authority Director General Peter Mundinia and the...

ARUSHA, Tanzania, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- East African citizens will from March this year be able to access the East African Community (EAC) e-passports that will help ease their movement in the trading bloc, a senior official said on Tuesday. EAC's senior official in-charge of communication unit Owora Richard Othieno disclosed this here when speaking ahead the 17th Ordinary EAC Heads of State Summit set for February 29 in Tanzania's safari capital of Arusha. He said that among other things scheduled for the day, regional leaders will launch international EAC e-passport. The long-awaited New Generation e-East African Passport will be a major milestone towards achieving a harmonization in the region. The e-passport was scheduled for launch in November last year but was postponed to allow more time to airbrush pending issues on the travel document. The Summit is also expected to deliberate on a report on the verification exercise for the admission of the Republic of Somalia into the EAC. The Summit will be preceded by a meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers that will take place at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha on Feb. 22-27 The EAC trading bloc includes Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania. Source: Shanghai Daily

Egypt's new Ambassador to the Tanzania and the EAC, Mohammed Yasser Ala'Eldeen El Shawaf, said his country was eager to boost trade and technical cooperation Egypt has committed to improve ties with the East African Community. Presenting his credentials to the EAC Secretary General, Dr Richard Sezibera, at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha on Tuesday, Egypt's new Ambassador to the Tanzania and the EAC, Mohammed Yasser Ala'Eldeen El Shawaf, said his country was eager to boost trade and technical cooperation with the EAC Partner States. Welcoming the Egyptian ambassador, Dr. Sezibera described Egypt as an important trading partner for the EAC and praised its outstanding role in promoting negotiations for the Tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA) between the EAC, COMESA and SADC.  Dr Sezibera noted that the Tripartite FTA when fully implemented would move the African Continent from the margins of Global Trade, adding that it was a good basis for the Continental Free Trade Area envisioned by the African Union. The Secretary General thanked Egypt for making a tariff offer to the EAC and went on to request Egypt to encourage the other member states to negotiate as a bloc instead of doing so as separate entities saying this would hasten the operationalization of the Tripartite FTA. Source: New Vision

Kenya is seeking ways to take advantage of the turnaround in exports which have risen faster than imports for the first time in more than five years. According to Financial Times, sliding energy prices helped fuel a 13 per cent year-on-year fall in Kenya's total import bill in September. In contrast, exports rose 24 per cent year-on-year, largely due to a 58 per cent jump in the value of tea exports as prices rose despite significant fall in volumes. This has shifted focus on the slump of Kenya's export sector which has seen growth in the manufacturing sector stagnate at 11 per cent of the GDP for over ten years, according to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM). A new department of commerce and international trade at the Ministry of Industrialisation will this week meet stakeholders to discuss how to exploit the opportunities in value-added exports. "I met over 150 stakeholders with three things on the table; validation of a trade policy, an export development strategy and a position on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)," newly appointed Permanent Secretary Chris Kiptoo told Smart Company. He said his department is set to deliver a new set of rules on taxes, subsidies, import and export in the next four months to boost trade. Mr Kiptoo said he would focus on a trade policy to address the imbalance in Kenya exports against imports. The gap between exports and imports narrowed significantly last year thanks to drop in oil prices. The National Treasury says...

ARUSHA, Tanzania (Xinhua) -- East African citizens will from March this year be able to access the East African Community (EAC) e-passports that will help ease their movement in the trading bloc, a senior official has said. EAC’s senior official in-charge of communication unit Owora Richard Othieno disclosed this here when speaking ahead the 17th Ordinary EAC Heads of State Summit set for February 29 in Tanzania’s safari capital of Arusha. He said that among other things scheduled for the day, regional leaders will launch international EAC e-passport. The long-awaited New Generation e-East African Passport will be a major milestone towards achieving a harmonization in the region. The e-passport was scheduled for launch in November last year but was postponed to allow more time to airbrush pending issues on the travel document. The Summit is also expected to deliberate on a report on the verification exercise for the admission of the Republic of Somalia into the EAC. The Summit will be preceded by a meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers that will take place at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha on Feb. 22-27. The EAC trading bloc includes Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania. Source: Coast Week