Ultimately, though, the only way to defeat poverty and graduate from aid is greatly to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) – of which there is a vast potential reservoir in the world looking for the right destination, writes Peter Fabricius from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Ultimately, though, the only way to defeat poverty and graduate from aid is greatly to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) – of which there is a vast potential reservoir in the world looking for the right destination, writes Peter Fabricius from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Aid remains among the most important elements of the relationship between the developed world and Africa’s least developed countries (LDCs) in particular. Africa has received more aid than any other region, an accumulated total of more than US$2,4 trillion between 1960 and 2018, according to Jakkie Cilliers in his book The Future of Africa. Yet many observers and analysts believe there has been precious little to show for it. In her 2009 book Dead Aid; Why Aid Makes Things Worse and How There is an Another Way for Africa, the Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, asked why, despite such large aid, most sub-Saharan countries still “flounder in a seemingly never-ending cycle of corruption, disease, poverty, and aid-dependency.” Her answer was that aid is inherently bad because it creates dependency by removing much of the incentive for African countries to fend for themselves – for example by improving their tax collection systems to earn their own government revenue. It is mostly paid...

The Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) has this morning launched a Single Window Information for Trade (SWIFT) effectively automating all its services. The US$ 125,000 project was financed by USAID Rwanda through TradeMark Africa. The automation is expected to drastically reduce the time and cost of seeking various services from the board by the business community and other clients due to shift from the manual system that required many physical visits to the board. Among the new and enhanced services now available online are applications for System Certification, Training, Made in Rwanda Logo, Calibration of Instruments, Sample Testing, Lab Designation, Various Licenses and Authorization to Break Seal. Other services now available online are Verification of Certificates issued by RSB, Purchase of Rwanda Standards and Integration to the EAC Bureaus of Standards Information Sharing Platforms. Speaking during the launch event, RSB Director General Raymond Murenzi hailed the automation noting that clients seeking various standards services from the board will now do so at a click of a button. “Today everyone, from wherever they are, can access and buy a standard, request for any of our services, be able to monitor the progress of their application and get the service fully offered. This an outstanding addition to the performance of our systems, and an incredible gain in the journey towards realizing our endeavours to be a trusted party in delivering standards-based and customer-suited solutions that contribute in the country’s socio-economic development” noted Murenzi. USAID Rwanda Head of Economic Growth Unit Amy Beeler speaking...

Busia, 2nd December, 2021…The Government of Kenya through the Ministries of Health (MOH) and the East African Community (MEAC), has today kicked off a vaccination drive targeting cross border women traders and long-distance truck drivers along four border entry points. The vaccination exercise funded by DANIDA and the European Union through TradeMark Africa and  supported by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) as implementing partners will start at the Busia One Stop Border Post and roll out to the Malaba, Isebania and Taveta border entry points over the next two months. The programme aims to administer the Johnson & Johnston (J&J) vaccine to at least 40,500 individuals involved in the logistics and cross border trade sectors along the border regions. It also seeks to encourage positive behaviour change for the adoption of preventative health measures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Lucy Mecca, the Vaccine Quality and Supply Manager at the National Vaccines Immunization Program, while speaking at the kickoff, reiterated the Government’s position on the importance of vaccination against COVID-19 saying it is a priority public health and national safety agenda. “The vaccines that we are deploying are safe and they are the best bet in preventing severe infection, hospitalization and possible death due to COVID-19. We are cognizant of the exposure that the traders and truck drivers encounter in their daily interactions, and we encourage everyone to get vaccinated and to also adhere to the COVID-19 health protocols of masking at all times, social distancing, as...

Mombasa, 30 November 2021 The Port of Mombasa has today received a major boost following the ground-breaking and commissioning of Mbaraki and Kipevu roads respectively, thanks to a partnership between the UK Government, Kenya Ports Authority, and the County Government of Mombasa. The two roads which form critical arteries to and from the Port of Mombasa are expected to improve connectivity thereby enhancing efficiency and seamless movement of cargo from the port through the northern corridor. The completed Kipevu road cost a total of Ksh. 2.04 billion with Kenya Ports Authority funding the project to a tune of Ksh. 1.5 billion shillings and the UK Government through TradeMark Africa (TMA) contributing Ksh. 520 million shillings to the project. At project design, it was estimated that Kipevu road will reduce the time taken through Gate 18/20 from 5.8 hours before road construction to an average of 30 minutes in 2020. Similarly, the Mbaraki Road attracted funding to the tune of approx. Ksh. 403million by the UK Government and Ksh.96Million by Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) for design and construction and catalyzed a contribution of Ksh.44.6million from the County Government of Mombasa. Once complete, Mbaraki road will reduce truck turn around time from CFS to port from 8 hours to less than half that time. The UK High Commissioner H.E Jane Marriott, Mombasa County Governor H.E Ali Hassan Joho, State Department of East Africa Community P.S Kevit Desai, TMA CEO Frank Matsaert and the KPA Acting Managing Director Ambassador John Mwangemi graced...

The Government has created a Huduma Whitebox one-stop shop website to encourage Kenyans with innovations to share and sell their ideas and innovations for support and promotion. The website, whitebox.go.ke created by the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs will also help innovators with good innovations receive facilities for start-ups. Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) for ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Ms Maureen Mbaka, said innovators selected will benefit from expert guidance from a network of industry, legal, management and finance who will provide them with guidance and support on financing opportunities and access to market strategies. “The government will assist the chosen innovators with professional guidance and support to attract financial support, offer access to markets and link them to investors,” said Mbaka. She however, noted that priority will be given to products that focus on the Big 4 Agenda and address government priorities and challenges. The CAS was speaking during Africa Travel and Innovation Summit at Ole Sereni Hotel, in Nairobi. Ms Mbaka commended the aviation sector for revolutionizing air travel across the globe through new technologies which she said has improved security and flight operations, as well as made the flights more efficient and econ-friendlier. “We are proud of Kenya Airways’ Innovation Hub and the great strides it is making and the platform it is providing Kenyan youths to flex their creative geniuses,” said Mbaka. She added that the International Air Transport Association report on ‘Future of the Airline Industry 2035’ has identified cybersecurity, robotics and automation,...

Arusha — Tanzania is now open to business and investment, the East African Business Council (EABC) has asserted. Hosting the United Kingdom's UK's trade envoy to Tanzania, Lord Walney John Woodcock, the regional business council Chief Executive Officer John Bosco Kalisa informed the envoy that the East African nation was now open to do business with rest of the world. Mr Kalisa singled out Tanzania's recent commitments to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and the removal of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) at its borders. "There's actually been a paradigm shift where the President Samia Suluhu Hassan is striving to ensure that Tanzania is ever open for business and investment," he informed the UK Trade envoy to the country. The EABC boss further heaped praise on Tanzania for its high level of support and endeavor to open up the country for business. Mr Kalisa described the East African nation's commitment as enormous. "Tanzania has shown its desire of dismantling the barriers which once dented trade prospects with some of its neighbors," he said. Mr Kalisa, however, underscored the importance of EAC partner states to embrace the Open Skies policy as a way making air transport affordable in Africa. In his rejoinder, Lord Walney disclosed to the EABC boss that a number of UK companies had shown interest of investing in Tanzania. "Some companies want to understand how they can access markets here in Tanzania... I really welcome such an opportunity and let's continue creating...

Summary Changing how Tanzania engages in agricultural production can have multiple benefits in the country’s employment stakes, rural-to-urban migration dynamics - and how these can boost economic growth Dar es Salaam. As the single most important economic sector in Tanzania, agriculture should provide most of the employment slots in the country. As a matter of fact, the sector can - and should - provide more jobs if Tanzania is to solve its unemployment problem in the next 60 years, experts say. Despite promises of creating employment opportunities made by politicians in election campaigns, millions of youth remain either unemployed or underemployed. The failure to facilitate the deployment of the youth into agriculture means that the economy can’t harness all its labour potential. The opportunity to use agriculture to end poverty is also wasted when the unemployed youth stay away from agriculture. This is because, according to researcher Nelson Albert Ochieng, “Evidence abound that investment in agriculture is more effective in reducing poverty compared to investment in non-agriculture sectors.” In the past 60 years - specifically in the last three decades - agriculture has been practiced more by the elderly, mainly women. In the first three decades after independence in 1961, there were policies in place to restrict mass rural/urban migration. In rural areas, the youth were encouraged to start developmental villages. In urban areas laws against loitering were put to much effect to prevent idling, and by extension, rural-urban migration. But, after economic liberalisation, when some of the policies became...

Vice President Salous Chilima on Tuesday addressed the 21st Common Market for the Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) summit in Egypt with a call for the regional block to move swiftly in adopting digitalisation and developing economic recovery plans following the devastation of the Covid pandemic. Chilima—who during the Sadc Summit in Lilongwe urged member states to embrace digitilisation and e-government—is representing President Lazarus Chakwera at the summit. Advertisement He said there was urgent need for Comesa to develop a robust economic recovery plan in order to build back economies because soon Covid will no longer be an excuse to people. “The Covid pandemic has reversed some of the gains that we had achieved over years in our respective countries. We, as Malawi, also have had our fair share of the negative impact that the pandemic caused on the economy,” he said. Chilima said on regional level, the value of Comesa’s total exports to the world decreased by 27 percent from $123.4 billion in 2019 to $90.3 billion in 2020, while the value of Intra-Comesa total exports declined by 11 percent from $10.9 billion in 2019 to $9.7 billion in 2020. Advertisement “What is more worrying is that the uptake of vaccines in the region is currently less than three percent. Therefore, as a response, we need to develop a robust economic recovery plan. “We need to build back. We need to build resilience. Soon Covid 19 will no longer be an excuse to our people. As a regional group,...

The United Kingdom's Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) has tipped Malawi to "up its capacity to generate foreign exchange" by increasing level of exports in both volumes and value in order for the country to achieve its development vision espoused in the Malawi 2063 agenda. FCDO Acting Chief Economist Nick Lea made the tip in Lilongwe on Thursday during a high-level panel discussion, which the National Planning Commission (NPC) organized in collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom government, Trade Mark East Africa (TIMEA) and the World Bank. The discussion was held under the theme: 'Priority Policy Options for meeting MW2063 and Milestones of the First 10-Year Implementation Plan (MIP-1)' and focused on opportunities for MIP 1. Panelists to the discussion included Colleen Zamba, who is the Chief Advisor on Sustainable Development Goals and International Relations, World Bank Country Manager Hugh Riddel, TIMEA Chief Executive Officer Frank Matsaert, Phoebe Kasoga of Plan International Malawi, Sofie Geerts from the Government of Flanders and chairperson of the cooperating partners in Malawi and the Principal Secretary (PS) for the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development Dr. Winford Masanjala. Delivering his keynote address, Lea said for Malawi to realise its vision, there is a need for the country to up its capacity to generate foreign exchange by increasing level of exports in both volumes and value. He also emphasized the need for the government to consult and engage the private sector in the implementation of the development agenda. "Private sector...

How are the trends like in terms of online shopping trends? Has anything changed due to a slump in the economy? Covid-19 has been a game changer. It has changed how and what people shop. Before Covid-19, people had more interest in brands. But now, they consider price and saving a little because they have less cash while others have lost jobs. The shift has been mostly visible among essential. Shoppers are sensitive to price, and we are witnessing an increase in demand locally manufactured products, because imports have become expensive due to disruptions in supply chains. Have standard operating procedures had a hand in these shifts? The online space is growing very fast. Customers who came for the first time during last year's lockdown have stayed. We are growing year-on-year and we are seeing double digit growth. The shift also includes vendors. Last year, we had less than 10,000 vendors, today, we have doubled that number to more than 20,000. That's a sign that people are using technology to survive and thrive, and are now able to maneuver the impediments brought by curfew and such others. What has changed for the last eight years you have been in business? We have observed incredible strides. Our teams have grown and we have overall coverage of Uganda where we deliver to every district in the country. When we started in 2013, we had about 10,000 products. Today, we have five million. We have thousands of buyers and sellers, and therefore the...