Kenya hosted a Country Roadshow to raise awareness about the substantial benefits of attending the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021). Organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, IATF2021 will take place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa from 15 to 21 November 2021. Hon. Betty Maina, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise, Kenya said: “The South-South Co-operation created opportunities for our people, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will lead to great things going forward. Inward-looking policies hindered trade, the East African Community and COMESA harnessed opportunities.” In her keynote address, Ms Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative said: “Our expectation at Afreximbank is a continent where the 110 borders that divide the 55 atomistic States have been significantly reduced by digital technologies Afreximbank is championing alongside the AU and AfCFTA; a continent where a trader first looks across the border for market opportunities and not to far away lands; an Africa where differences in language, currencies and resource endowments become enablers and not disablers of trade and economic transformation: a continental free trade agreement that is thriving not on the basis of donor grants but on the platform of African financial institutions; and an Africa that finally begins to earn the respect of others in the global markets.” Hon. Ravi Pillay, MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs said: “Economic transformation is about local production, trade on...

The Government of Ethiopia is set to introduce a Simplified Trade Regime (STR) to allow its small scale traders to legally trade with Kenya through the Moyale border. The STR is a scheme that allows informal traders to benefit from a simplification of formalities at the border with exoneration from payment of customs duties and taxes referred to transactions under a threshold value which in the COMESA region is currently of USD 2,000 per consignment. Launched by COMESA in 2010, the STR is based on the Revised Kyoto Convention on the Simplification and Harmonisation of Customs Procedures (Transitional Standard 4.13), that encourages Customs to exonerate from payment of customs duties and taxes for transactions under a threshold to be specified by the national legislation. This measure aims at facilitating trade of goods whose value is of negligible amount, by simplifying the paperwork for informal and small-scale traders. One of the conditions for COMESA Member States to implement the STR, is that they must participate to the COMESA Free Trade Area (FTA). However, also those countries not participating to such FTA, like Ethiopia, can develop specific bilateral arrangements or Protocols with their neighbors in order to introduce simplified regimes equivalent to the STR. In practice, such Agreements or Protocols indicate a list, approved by both the exporting and importing country, of products originating from the territory of their counterpart that can be traded duty-free benefiting from simplified procedures at the border, like the lodgment to Customs of a simplified customs declaration...

Tanzania is, together with Kenya and Uganda, one of the founding members states of the East African Community (EAC), a regional intergovernmental organization which nowadays consists of six partner states in the region. Since the revival of the new EAC in 2000, EAC Customs Union (EAC-CU) in 2005, and EAC Single Customs Territory (EAC-SCT) in 2014, there have been concerns about the beneficial effects of the community on Tanzania’s trade performance, the economy and people’s wellbeing. What has been the impact of the integration process and what challenges remain? East African Community (EAC) and EAC Custom Union (EAC-CU) have significantly enhanced Tanzanian trade into EAC markets, but overall EAC markets still constitute a small share of Tanzania’s total trade Kenya has continued to be the main trading partner for Tanzania in the EAC markets; imports from Kenya have dropped significantly Tanzania’s exports to the EAC region are largely agricultural products, signaling lack of substantial structural change in the region Challenges persisting under the EAC include lack of harmonization of customs and electronic cargo clearing systems, agreements awaiting ratification, and delayed submission of instruments of acceptances Has the East Africa Custom Union worked for Tanzania? The results of an analysis using structural gravity model show that the EAC and EAC Custom Union (EAC-CU have significantly enhanced Tanzanian trade into EAC markets. The effects are much higher for the exports than for imports. While exports into EAC markets more than doubled over 1997–2017, imports dropped by more than 50%. EAC markets, however,...

A report earlier prepared by an East African Community (EAC) verification mission on the DR Congo’s eligibility to join the six-member bloc is ready, as well as positive, and could be examined by the Council of Ministers sometime this month, an official has told The New Times. As he addressed the media on the occasion of his 100 days at the helm of the bloc’s Secretariat early last month, EAC Secretary General, Peter Mathuki, indicated that the process of admitting the DR Congo was in advanced stages, and a report on its eligibility was awaiting approval by the Council of Ministers. On Monday, Manasseh Nshuti, Rwanda’s Minister of State for EAC Affairs told The New Times that not only is the report ready, but it is also positive. Nshuti said: “Yes the verification report is ready and it is positive. Soon, the Council of Ministers will meet to approve the report and then submit it to the Heads of State for their approval.” “The meeting will take place this month on a date to be agreed upon by member states.” The EAC Summit on February 27 considered the application by DR Congo to join the Community and directed the Council of Ministers to expeditiously undertake a verification mission in accordance with the EAC procedure for admission of new members into the bloc and report to the next Summit. The Sectoral Council had earlier directed the Secretariat to submit the report of the verification mission to the Council of Ministers by...

The strike by truck drivers from Uganda and other countries in the region entered the third week on Monday, as a shortage of essential goods hit South Sudan over the weekend. Most of the drivers are from Uganda and Kenya. In the latest development on Monday, South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation wrote to the embassies of Uganda and South Sudan pledging their commitment to providing security along the Juba-Nimule road. Hundreds of trucks remain parked at the Elegu border town in Uganda, as drivers continued to protest the killing of their colleagues along the highways inside South Sudan. Following a meeting between representatives of the truck drivers and South Sudan government officials at the weekend, the government agreed that it will provide security to the trucks from Nimule to Juba. They were also promised an end to other non-tariff barriers, including the many checkpoints along the roads, where unofficial sums of money are usually demanded from them. “The South Sudan government will provide truckers with a permanent escort unit to every 15 trucks to and from the border, remove all unnecessary checkpoints and leave one tax clearance office,” said a statement from the country’s foreign affairs ministry. The escort will be provided by the South Sudan People’s Defense Force and South Sudan National Police Service. The ministry also responded to concerns by the drivers that previous offers of escorts were usually abandoned, leaving the drivers exposed. On the other hand, truck drivers have also been accused...

During a meeting at the presidential palace, Bihi and Redwan hold talks about security and immigration issues at border areas Somaliland president Muse Bihi Abdi held a discussion with the Ethiopian State Minister of political Affairs Redwan Hussein on ways of strengthening cultural exchanges and enhancing people-to-people relations to the next level. President Bihi received the vising Ethiopian State Minister on Friday at his residence at the Presidential Palace in Hargeisa. During the meeting, the two sides further exchanged views about security and immigration issues at border areas. Ambassador Redwan Hussein arrived in Somaliland on Thursday for a two-day official visit. The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somaliland, Liban Yusuf, and diplomats warmly welcomed him upon his arrival at Egal International Airport.     According to sum-up statements the Somaliland presidency’s press office and the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry posted, security and cross-border immigration were at the head of the agenda discussed during the meeting with president Bihi and with the appropriate Somaliland authorities prior to the meeting. The Presidency statement added that the completion and timely implementation of protocols and MOUs the two governments reached in 2020 and earlier were also raised at the meeting.   Ambassador Redwan, the statement added, had underlined the critical importance the use of Berbera port held for the Ethiopian not only at this juncture of time alone but as a most suitable, geo-strategically placed trade hub for the land-locked nation. Somaliland and Ethiopia’s long-standing relations rested on mutually shared concerns that included a serious engagement...

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu has, over the past week, embarked on a promotion drive to attract investors and visitors to the country in efforts to revive the economy, amid positive sentiment that has recently tipped the balance of trade in favour of Dar es Salaam. Terming herself a tour guide, President Samia has been taking a team of American filmmakers on a tour of the country's major investment and tourism sites, setting the stage for what is billed as a high-profile international promotion that is expected to bring in the much-needed foreign investments and tourists. The US filmmakers will make a documentary titled Royal Tour, which she said will be launched in the US market and shown worldwide to market Tanzania. "What I am doing is to promote Tanzania internationally. We are going to film attraction sites," she said last week on Wednesday in Tegeta, in Dar es Salaam, while on the way to Bagamoyo, in the Coast Region. Filming of the Royal Tour began on August 28 in Zanzibar, where the president had gone on an official visit. It will showcase various tourism, investments, arts and culture attractions in Tanzania. The president's diplomatic and trade charm offensive has already begun bearing fruit. Data from the region's central banks shows that East Africa's largest economy, Kenya, is losing ground to Tanzania, in a turn of tables by Dodoma, as political temperatures rise in Nairobi ahead of next year's general election. The shift in trade flow within the East African Community...

Insecurity has been on the rise at EAC’s border points causing a cross-border trade standoff East African Business Council says a regional joint army patrol for escorting and protecting truck drivers would beef up security at border points The move would also ease and facilitate transportation of essential goods between partner states The East African Community (EAC) has been urged to provide joint security escorts for cargo trucks in the region amid the cross-border trade standoff due to security concerns. A large articulated semi truck with blue shipping container parked at the roadside in rural Kenya with trees, dirt roads and a crossing goat in the foreground. Photo: Getty Images. Source: Getty Images In a statement seen by TUKO.co.ke, the East African Business Council (EABC) CEO John Bosco Kalisa said a joint regional army patrol would be a quick solution to guarantee peace and security for truck drivers, business people and their properties. “The move would also ease and facilitate transportation of essential goods, even as partner states continue to battle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Kalisa said. The recommendation comes weeks after two Kenyan truck Drivers were murdered while heading to Juba, South Sudan. This was not the first time a joint army patrol for escorting and protecting truck drivers has been floated as a security bolstering suggestion in the community. According to the East African Business Council (EABC), the governments of South Sudan and Uganda implemented the move in April 2021 to curb insecurity in the Nimule-Juba border. “EABC therefore urges the ministries in charge of...

How do you evaluate the textile and garment industry in Kenya? The textiles and apparels sector is the most labour intensive sector of the manufacturing industry. It has the ability to create a large number of employment opportunities within a short duration of time. This explains the national and regional special focus on the sector. The development of the sector’s farm–fashion value chain presents the country with immense opportunities in cotton farming, textile mills and apparel/fashion industry. First, the sector is considered as a creator of mass employment across low to high skill sets. A fully developed value chain has the capacity to employ about 10% of the country’s population. Additionally, cotton farming and apparels manufacturing are very labour intensive; thus being a source of much-needed employment opportunities. The value chain is also an important driver of inclusivity as it employs women in excess of 60%. The textiles and apparels sector is currently a critical foreign exchange earner in the manufacturing industry. Kenya as at now is the largest exporter of apparel under AGOA with about Ksh. 47billion worth of exports in 2019 and Ksh 39 billion in 2020. With the changes in the global apparels sourcing supply chain in the world, Kenya has been able to attract a substantial number of world buyers and these figures can grow when we enhance our competitiveness and diversify our markets. Lastly, the sector provides an opportunity for the enhancement of industrialization within the country and region through forwarding and backward linkages with other...

The new action will increase access to health, water and sanitation services and improve the health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Doka town, Um Rakouba village and Um Rakouba Refugee Camps. The EU-IGAD COVID-19 Response programme launched a new action today in Gedarif, Sudan to support the host communities and refugees in the area through increased essential health, water and sanitation services. The programme will rehabilitate and expand two hospitals in Doka to ensure greater access to health services for all, improve access to water in Um Rakouba village and Doka town, and improve sanitation services in Um Rakouba Refugee Camp. This action will contribute to the overall COVID-19 response in the area. The action is being launched by the European Union, UNOPS, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It was marked by the State Government’s official endorsement today at the Office of the State Governor. This work is part of the European Union efforts to mitigate the health and socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through the programme in 7 countries across the IGAD region - Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda. The programme focuses on critical cross border areas in these countries and aims to enhance IGAD’s coordination capacity, increase access to health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, combat gender-based violence, improve community engagement, ensure borders are safe for trade and promote digital health solutions. The programme particularly supports vulnerable groups, including migrants, refugees, internally...