THE East African Business Council Vice-Chairman Denis Karera has urged East African Community (EAC) partner states to finalise and submit tariff offers under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) . The move will enable the EAC countries to tap 1.3 billion continental market size, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 3tri/-, according to the EABC official. “Political will to duly implement the agreed commitments of the AfCFTA is a cornerstone to actualise the benefits of the continental agreement,” observed Mr Karera at the weekend. The EABC Vice-Chairperson, who was speaking at a Webinar on AfCFTA- Opportunities for the Private Sector, organised by EABC in partnership with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), further elaborated that protectionism and Non-Tariff Barriers(NTBs) could block the growth of intra-African trade and called for the embracement of the Pan-African mindset to push the AfCFTA agenda. Mr Karera also called for the involvement of the private sector in the negotiations and elaborated that EABC is committed to harmonising private sector positions, to hasten the execution of the AfCFTA. The agreement is set to boost Eastern Africa manufactured exports to the rest of Africa, in particular, textiles and clothing exports will increase by 100 per cent; heavy manufacturing by 63 per cent, while light manufacturing industry will increase by 61 per cent. Last week, Tanzania ratified AfCFTA, effectively joining a pact connecting countries with a total gross domestic product of $3.4 trillion. Minister of Industry and Trade, Prof Kitila Mkumbo, made the announcement via...

The centres are expected to develop the next generation of African business leaders ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, September 17, 2021/APO Group/ -- The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and International Chamber of Commerce have jointly launched Centres of Entrepreneurship in Africa, under the theme, ‘Creating Livelihoods for Inclusion’. With strategic locations across Africa, the ECA - ICC Centres of Entrepreneurship will work with various stakeholders, including businesses, chambers of commerce, academic institutions, intergovernmental and governmental agencies, to connect local entrepreneurs to global markets and enhance regulatory conditions for SMEs to thrive. The entrepreneurship centres will develop the skills of young people who face uncertain employment prospects to mentoring local start-ups and entrepreneurs. The centres are expected to develop the next generation of African business leaders. Speaking during the virtual launch on 16 September 2021, Oliver Chinganya, Director of the Africa Centre for Statistics at the ECA, said “the launch of the Centres of Entrepreneurship comes at the right time when Africa is trying to build back better from the effects of Covid-19. We believe that these Centres, based in different regions of the continent, and with tailored-made solutions, can mobilize the next generation of entrepreneurship in Africa.” Mr Chinganya said the Centres will provide Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with the tools and pathways to expand their business and play an effective role in the goods and services supply chain. They will also provide pathways to accelerate women and youth empowerment a necessary action to accelerate Africa’s growth and recovery...

African shippers are currently experiencing a tragedy in liner services, with historic port bottlenecks now compounded by a surge in freight rates, making shipping operations difficult for many. Alphaliner released new data showing shipping lines deploying greater tonnage to the profitable East-West, transpacific, and transatlantic trade lanes, owing to COVID era supply chain disruption. Specifically, the data revealed liner services capacity to and from Africa had declined by 6.5 percent compared to a year ago. The data analytics firm gave the example of MSC, which had shifted some 13,000 TEU of ship capacity from African trading routes in favor of the Pacific. The report noted that the major reason behind the shift was due to the high revenue earned along the East-West trade routes. This has a significant impact on African shippers. For instance, Nigeria - sub-Saharan Africa's largest economy - has been unable to overcome persistent inefficiencies in port operations. As a result, exporters have lost about $218 million in perishables and other damaged products over the last one year due to gridlock at Apapa Port. In an interview with The Guardian Nigeria, Shippers Association of Lagos President Jonathan Nicol said that some trucks took three months to access the filled-up terminals, as there was no space to drop export containers. “The infrastructure on the ground cannot cope with the volume of cargo accessing the port and at the same time, costs are uncontrollable. This results in exporters hiring barges and berthing by the sides of vessels to load...

Addis Abeba, September 16/2021– The government of Ethiopia and Kenya yesterday signed the Moyale – Moyale One Stop Border Post (OSBP) operational procedure manual on a ceremony held in Addis Abeba.  Ethiopia through  the Ethiopia Customs Commission and the Border Control and Kenya through Operation Coordination Committee signed the operational procedure manual at an event attended by key private and public sector players from both countries. The Moyale – Moyale One Stop Border Post (OSBP)  was inaugurated in December last year.   One Stop Border Post (OSBP) started operations in June 2021.With the OSBP operations manual, border clearance processes will be easier, faster and cheaper for traders, transporters and travelers, while maintaining the border regulatory requirements of both counties through coordinated border management operations. The two governments discussed the opportunities available for traders to use the OSBP at a consultative workshop attended by representatives from various public and private sector organisations from both Ethiopia and Kenya. Kennedy Nyaiyo, Kenya’s head of delegation and the Secretary of Kenya’s Border Management Secretariat said, “The signing of the procedure manual will guarantee that all processes have been reviewed and harmonised . This will ensure that trading and cooperation between Kenya and Ethiopia is efficient and effectively facilitated.” His counterpart Debele Kabeta, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Customs Commission said, “Though the two countries have a long time friendly relations, trade connectivity between us has been quite insignificant compared to the potential we have for doing business.” Debele further explained that the volume and diversity...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and TradeMark EastAfrica (TMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that is set to boost trade in Africa. AfCFTA and TMA are now aiming at increasing prosperity in the African continent through the liberalization of trade. Barriers to trade The deal which was signed in Lome, Togo, by Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, and Frank Matsaert, Chief Executive Officer at TMA will now see the organizations embark on working to reduce barriers to trade across Africa. This will be achieved by supporting engagement with the continent’s private sector on trade and economic development issues. Digitizing key trade processes These include digitizing key trade processes at a national level followed by linking these at a regional level and supporting policies to promote e-commerce across the Continent. Also in the agreement is developing regional value chains and investment; and developing Africa’s cross-border trade with a focus on women traders, youth, and MSMEs. Share of costs The agreement will allow the two organizations to share costs and support each other in logistical challenges as they seek to implement programs to develop trade across Africa. “The MoU will further allow TMA to carry out the necessary reforms needed to fully implement AfCFTA’s trade agreement, unlocking the Continent’s trade potential and increasing market competition. This will, in turn, translate into much-needed jobs within the target sectors,” said Mene. “We thank the AfCFTA Secretariat for the strong partnership forged and we look forward to jointly generating impact for...

In Summary The MoU was signed in Lome, Togo, by Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, and Frank Matsaert, Chief Executive Officer at TMA. The MoU represents the next logical step for the two organisations as they work to reduce barriers to trade across Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and TradeMark EastAfrica (TMA) have signed an agreement aimed at collaborating to boost trade in Africa. The AfCFTA Secretariat and TMA are now united in their shared goal of increasing prosperity in the continent through the liberalisation of trade. The MoU was signed in Lome, Togo, by Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, and Frank Matsaert, Chief Executive Officer at TMA. The MoU represents the next logical step for the two organisations as they work to reduce barriers to trade across Africa by supporting engagement with the continent’s private sector on trade and economic development issues. These include digitising key trade processes at a national level followed by linking these at a regional level and supporting policies to promote e-commerce across the Continent. Also in the agreement is developing regional value chains and investment; and developing Africa’s cross-border trade with a focus on women traders, youth and MSMEs. The agreement will allow the two organisations to share costs and support each other in logistical challenges as they seek to implement programmes to develop trade in across Africa. “The MoU will further allow TMA to carry out the necessary reforms needed to fully implement AfCFTA’s trade agreement, unlocking...

The Eastern African Grain Council (EAGC), a regional body working to promote structured grain trade, has highlighted the need for players in the agriculture sector to be systematic in creating stable and competitive markets for farmers to reap the most of their toil. This was revealed on Friday ahead of the African Grain Trade Summit—a biennial international policy conference aimed at providing strategic direction for the development of grain trade and the grain sector in Africa. The summit will take place from October 7 and 9 in Kenya and delegates will discuss the future of grain trade in Africa and, among other things, pose discussions on revitalising resilience in the grain value chain. It come at a time grain trade is a major aspect in food trade in Eastern and Southern Africa, with government policies being an important factor towards creating an enabling business environment. EAGC Trade Policy and Advocacy Manager Kimwaga Mhando emphasised the importance of the conference to Malawi’s local farmers. “We want to see how we can improve market access across the region. That has been one of the pressing issues for farmers, especially in Malawi, given the current policy environment,” Mhando said. The summit promises to capacitate international grain industry players across and beyond the continent. EAGC Executive Director Gerald Masila said Africa is becoming increasingly important in the global grain trade, as many of its countries are importing large amounts of food and grain, requiring critical discussions on how best to benefit from this. EAGC...

Burundi last week launched a modernization project to the port of Bujumbura in a bid to boost efficiency to its operations. The project will be financed and implemented by Japan and is estimated to cost about 31 million US dollars. “This project comes at the right time because Burundi is in the process of developing trade relations with countries in the region,” President Evariste Ndayishimiye said. The port has never been modernized since its construction in 1950. A lot of work is planned to bring it up to the standard. “There is the dredging of the port basin, so if there is the dredging of the port basin, you understand that the big boats and the big ships will be able to dock with their weight without any problem. We will have reached the required level so that such boats can navigate without problems and dock without any difficulties” JacqueBigirimana, the Director-General of the Maritime Authority said. According to official data, this port, which in 2020 handled more than 200,000 tonnes, will exceed 500,000 tonnes. The port of Bujumbura is one of the main entry points on Lake Tanganyika, along with the port of Kalemia in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kigoma in Tanzania, and Mpulungu in Zambia. Read original article

The Port of Lamu has received a consignment of 365 containers of transhipment cargo, the biggest and sixth consignment to be shipped to the Port its operationalisation. Following pre-arrival clearance by Customs Officers based at the Port of Lamu, through the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS), MV Seago Line Istanbul docked on Thursday, 16th, September 2021, at around 7.00pm. The arrival of the Maersk Shipping Line vessel that shipped 490 TEUs (twenty- foot equivalent units) of cargo is a vote of confidence for the Port. It is also a sign that the future is bright for the port as it is on the path to become a major transhipment hub in the region, as it had been envisaged. The cargo included a variety of goods, including, cooking oil, wheat flour, sugar, used clothing, rice, ready-made garments, fabrics, footwear, vehicles and personal effects. The consignment will be re-shipped by another Vessel, MV Ionian Express which is expected to arrive at the Port on Saturday, 18th September, 2021, to consignees in Zanzibar. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) calls upon Kenyan investors and other traders in the region to emulate the investors from Zanzibar who have used the port for the third time, a clear demonstration that it is cost-effective to import cargo through the Port of Lamu. KRA is in close collaboration with the multiagency team operating at the port to make the Port of Lamu to have a competitive edge and become a port of choice for importers and exporters, through...

ZAMBIA is finalising discussions with Malawi, Namibia and Mozambique aimed at establishing one-stop border posts (OSBP) to create an efficient environment for trade facilitation and reduction in the cost of doing business. And media personnel have been challenged to understand the World Trade Organisation (WTO) processes and its trade facilitation agreements (TFA) to effectively inform the public. Speaking yesterday during a media sensitisation workshop on the WTO trade facilitation reforms, Ministry of Commerce and Trade Permanent Secretary Mushuma Mulenga said Zambia is uniquely positioned in the region as a land linked country sharing borders with eight strategic neighbours. Mr Mulenga said the country is a key transit route for imports and exports in the region and other transport corridors. “In view of this strategic position, it is important for Zambia to foster trade facilitation reforms and create an enabling environment for facilitation of trade and cost reduction in Zambia,” Mr Mulenga said in a speech read on his behalf by the ministry’s director of foreign trade, Bessie Chelemu. “Currently we share OSBPs with Zimbabwe (Chirundu), Tanzania (Nakonde) and the newly launched Kazungula rail bridge with Botswana. We are also having discussions with Malawi for Mwami, Mozambique for Chanida and Namibia for Katima Mulilo border posts.” He said Zambia reaffirmed its commitments made at multilateral, continental, regional and bilateral level-in line with agreed protocols on trade facilitation. Mr Mulenga said Zambia ratified the WTO TFA in 2015 it entered into force on February 22, 2017. He said trade facilitation reforms being...