Dubai Port World plans to construct a $40 million inland container depot on a 30-hectare plot of land in Masaka, a suburb east of Kigali city, as Rwanda seeks to become a regional trade logistics centre. Dubai Port World has been granted a 25-year concession to finance, develop and manage the facility, which will provide warehousing, truck parking, a container yard and other auxiliary services. According to Dubai Port, the first phase of the Inland Container Depot, at the Kigali Logistics Platform, is set to be complete in 18 months’ time, raising hopes that it will contribute to the ease of doing business in the country. When completed, analysts are optimistic the dry port, which is linked to both the Northern and Central Corridors, will allow Rwandan importers and exporters to consolidate volumes of cargo. “There are cases where offloading containers takes almost a whole week, forcing truckers to make only two trips per month. But with the new infrastructure, the trucks will do as many as five trips per month. This will reduce transport costs and increase profit for businesses,” said Minister of Trade and Industries Francois Kanimba. Truck drivers complain about the long waiting time when in Rwanda, despite the implementation of the East African Community Single Customs Territory resulting in a seamless flow of goods within the region. “There are times we wait for more than 20 hours before being allowed into the city, which adds to operational costs. For instance, trucks are only allowed into Kigali...

THE Federal Republic of Germany has signed an inter-governmental agreement with the East African Community (EAC) to support the economic integration, regional health facilities and water resource management. Germany signed a total of 37 million euros in grants to the EAC for 2016-2018, highlighting the strong commitment to support the integration process in East Africa. The EAC Communications Officer, Mr Richard Owora Othieno, revealed here that 10 million euro in financial assistance will be invested in the establishment of a regional network of reference laboratories for communicable diseases. With this project, the German government responds to a request for support from the EAC for the prevention and control of epidemic outbreaks in the region. Another 10 million euros in financial assistance will be used for Integrated Water Resource Management of Lake Victoria aiming at improving water provision and management of water resources. Both projects will be implemented by KfW development bank. On the other hand, the 17 million euros in technical assistance will be made available to further support of the economic integration process, including a contribution to the EAC partnership fund. The programme is focusing on institutional strengthening of the EAC Secretariat and on supporting the implementation of the Customs Union, Common Market Protocols and Monetary Union. This includes the elimination of Non- Tariff Barriers such as tax harmonisation as well as Mutual Recognition Agreements for qualifications. At the same time Germany will support the EAC in promoting private investment especially in the pharmaceutical sector, including the establishment of...

Trade between Rwanda and Turkey could be enhanced, thanks to a new initiative between the two countries’ private sector bodies that was unveiled on Wednesday. According to Stephen Ruzibiza, the Private Sector Federation (PSF) chief executive officer, the Rwanda-Turkey Business Council will strengthen economic ties between the two countries through trade promotion, co-ordination, as well as information, skills and knowledge sharing. “Turkey is one of the major world economies, therefore, strengthening our relationship with the country is a right step that we expect will help us penetrate other global markets,” Ruzibiza said during the inauguration of the council in Kigali on Wednesday. The function was graced by Turkish foreign economic relations board members and PSF Rwanda officials and local business leaders. Ozen Ibrahim, the chairman of the council, said the initiative creates a channel for trade and investment opportunities in the two countries. He added that the council will also facilitate industrial and technological co-operation to ensure mutual benefit by both parties. “The council will, therefore, play a critical role in developing and executing strategies that promote strong economic ties.” It will be equally helpful in attracting foreign direct investments from both sides, he added. The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has registered $400 million worth of investment projects from Turkey in the past three years. According to Innocent Bajiji, the acting head of investment promotion and facilitation at RDB, Rwanda’s exports to Turkey have increased to over $8.5 million on annual basis, but the country’s imports more than double this figure....

Kampala. Solid performance in economic sectors such as wholesale and retail trade, Information and Communication Technology and increased manufacturing activities has contributed towards the Shs47b surplus the tax body has registered. Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) data also indicates that financial and insurance activities, and construction were also among sectors that generated much of the revenue collected between July and December of financial year 2015/16.
Releasing the half year revenue performance report on Wednesday, URA Commissioner General Doris Akol said of the 21 sectors, the top three performing ones (wholesale and retail, manufacturing and ICT) contributed more than 65 per cent of the total net collections. She, however, said apart from the manufacturing and construction sector, there has been a general decrease in the revenue share of the top five sectors in the last six months compared to the same period last financial year. 
The top five sectors according to URA include; wholesale and retail trade (including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles), manufacturing, Information and Communication Technology, financial and insurance activities and construction. Speaking about the half year revenue collection, Ms Akol said revenue performance of Shs5.5 trillion registered in the half year shows that URA’s net revenue collections performed above target, posting a revenue growth of 20 per cent.
And for that she is optimistic that in the next six months when the financial year closes, all will end well despite anxiety relating to the general election next month. URA is expected to collect Shs11.6 trillion this financial year.
he said: “URA...

World Trade Organisation Director-General Roberto Azevedo has described last December's ministerial conference in Nairobi as a memorable gathering where significant results were achieved. Mr Azevedo said the meeting delivered some of the biggest reforms in global trade policy ever realised in the past 20 years by the 162-member organisation. Speaking at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, the WTO boss urged governments to capitalise on the progress in future negotiations that will enable governments and businesses to trade more. “The Nairobi package made a decision on export competition that was truly historic. It is the most important reform in international trade rules on agriculture since the creation of the WTO where we eliminated agricultural export subsidies. “This has significantly improved the global trading environment, especially in developing countries who suffered enormous trade-distorting potential from the subsidies. "In fact, this task has been outstanding since export subsidies were banned for industrial goods more than 50 years ago. So this decision corrected an historic imbalance,” he said. He said a level playing field in agricultural markets had been created, with direct benefits to farmers and exporters in developing and least-developed countries. Mr Azevedo said the move would also correct anomalies where export credits and state trading enterprises wrongly benefitted from the subsidies-driven export trade. “The smaller and the poorer the country, the more likely it is to need trade as a means to attract investments and to boost economic and social development. We simply cannot lose sight of this reality,”...

GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Sifa Nsabimana had just crossed from Rwanda into Democratic Republic of Congo when a border police officer told her to pay a value-added tax of 500 Congolese francs (54 cents). Nsabimana, a Rwandan who makes a living by selling tomatoes every day in DRC, showed the officer her receipt, proving that she had already paid the tax, which is imposed on all cross-border petty traders. The officer took the receipt, and an argument ensued. Eventually, Nsabimana, who lives in Gisenyi, says she paid the tax again another 500 Congolese francs to ensure that she would be able to do her business in Goma that day. The cities of Gisenyi and Goma hug either side of the international border that divides Rwanda and DRC. People from both countries trade goods with one another on a daily basis. Traders from Goma bring tarpaulins, fabric and other items to Gisenyi. Rwandan women often take food products, including milk, cabbage, carrots and beans, into DRC. There are problems related to cross-border trade, but Papy Michel, head of the Goma office for the Trade Information Desk of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), says the practice yields huge benefits. Despite political wars and conflicts that are waged between Rwanda and DRC, these structures of small-scale traders contribute to socially consolidating peace in both cities as part of peace-building efforts, he says. Nsabimana, 39, borrowed 3,300 Rwandan francs ($4.43) in 2009 to start her cross-border trade business after...

In order to improve efficiency and avoid conflict of interest, Tanzania Ports Authority should be split into two separate companies, one being the landlord and the other a cargo handling entity. Advocates of this arrangement include the chairman of TradeMark Africa, Ali Mufuruki, who said the setup was the optimal solution for better management of the country’s ports. “I am a strong believer in good corporate governance as a critical success factor in managing companies, including those owned by the state. One thing that must be avoided at all costs in a well-managed company is conflict of interest,” Mufuruki, who is also the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania chairman, argued.  He pointed out that by being both a landlord and operator of the ports, TPA inevitably finds itself in a situation where conflict of interest is the norm rather than the exception. “I would therefore advocate the splitting of TPA into two units, one to be a commercial port operation dealing in all aspects of commercial port activities such as container handling, cargo wharfage, transportation, storage, +warehousing, etc. and the other being the landlord and port facilities regulator,” Mufuruki pointed out. He further advised that each entity should have its own board of directors and governance charters.  Mufuruki’s suggestion was supported by the chairman of Tanzania Shipping Agents Association (TASAA) board of trustees, Emmanuel Mallya, who said the setup used to exist under the East African Harbours Corporation. “Under the East African Harbours, cargo handling and infrastructure development were handled separately,” Mallya...

Djibouti has signed a series of trade agreements with China including the setting up banking and free trade zones, according to a statement from the strategic Horn of Africa nation’s president. China last month said it would build a naval base in Djibouti, the latest sign of China’s growing international security presence. The “important economic agreements” include banking deals and a proposed 48 square kilometre (18.5 square mile) free trade zone, with the first section “to be operational before the end of 2016”, President Ismail Omar Guelleh said in the statement released this week after the deal was inked on Monday. Djibouti, which lies at the entrance to the Red Sea and Suez Canal, will operate as a “trans-shipment and redistribution” hub for Beijing’s trade, the statement added. On Wednesday, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) opened a “humanitarian logistics base” in Djibouti’s port. Regional WFP chief Valerie Guarnieri said the site will help aid to be transported more “quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively” in a region that includes neighbouring drought-hit Ethiopia, as well as war-torn Yemen, Somalia and South Sudan. WFP last year moved 500,000 tonnes of food through Djibouti and the new base will enable larger amounts. Floods and failed rains caused by the El Nino phenomenon have sparked a dramatic rise in the number of people going hungry in east Africa. WFP said aid for a quarter of all those they support worldwide will be funnelled through the new base. “We are opening this facility at a...

Nairobi — A regional conference for ports managers in eastern and southern Africa scheduled for next month in Dar es Salaam has been cancelled following a shake-up of the management of Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) by President John Magufuli. The meeting was set for February 15-17 and was organised by the Ports Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) and TPA. "The conference was cancellation after newly elected Tanzania President John Magufuli relieved several TPA top managers, including the director-general, of their duties and dissolved the authority's board of directors," George Sunguh, the communication officer at PMAESA said. This will be the first time for the annual PMAESA conference not to take place since its inception in 2007 in Seychelles. Last year, President Magufuli sacked TPA director-general Awadhi Massawe and the permanent secretary in the Transport ministry, Mr Shaaban Mwinjaka, as part of a campaign to crack down on corruption and inefficiency in the country. They were shown the door following the disappearance of over 2,700 shipping containers at TPA. Mr Massawe, who was acting director of the port since February before being formally confirmed to the position in October by President Magufuli's predecessor, retired President Jakaya Kikwete, becomes the third TPA chief to be sacked in many years. "President Magufuli has also disbanded TPA's board of directors for failing to take action against the Dar es Salaam Port's long history of poor performance," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement in December. President Magufuli has introduced economic...

KIGALI Rwanda (Xinhua) -- Rwanda is set to establish a dry port in an effort to allow heavy cargo trucks from Mombasa and Dar-es Salaam ports to load and offload containers without delay. The move, according to Rwanda ministry of trade and industry seeks to boost international trade and competition in the global market. The small Central African country being land locked sees the new initiative as a platform that will address challenges affecting transportation of goods from Mombasa and Dar-es Salaam ports to Rwanda. A dry port is an inland terminal directly connected by rail or road to a sea port, providing services for handling, temporary storage, inspection and customs clearance for international trade. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Francois Kanimba, Rwanda minister trade and industry said that, the facility would help flourish Rwanda exports. "Our country aims to enhance the logistics sector to support the export of products for regional and international markets. "The logistics facility is expected to significantly contribute to the development of this strategy," he said. Rwanda has signed an agreement with Dubai-based global marine terminal operator Dubai Port World to develop and operate the dry port in Kigali special economic zone in the city suburbs of Rwanda, Capital Kigali. The 25-year renewable concession agreement with Dubai Port World will see a 35 million U.S. dollars dry port developed. "There had been cases where offloading and loading containers takes almost a week, forcing trucks to make only two trips per month. "But with new infrastructure,...