Tourism between East Africa and the granted Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as Category One status is expected to herald the new beginning of direct flights to America from Nairobi, with a new chapter of growth in regional tourism. After Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) won Category One status from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month, there are new hopes heralding East African tourism, looking for faster growth through the Kenyan entry point. By attaining the highest International Aviation Safety Assessment status, Kenya is now standing as East Africa’s aviation hub for American tourists booked to the East African Community (EAC) member states most of whom are lacking key tourist services. Kenya’s Transport Cabinet Secretary, James Macharia, was quoted by The EastAfrican as saying that Kenya Airways and other interested local operators will fly directly from Kenya to the United States once the necessary approvals and last point of departure (LPD) rights are granted. Mr. Macharia said that with the attainment of Category One status, Kenya Airways will immediately apply for approval to codeshare with US airlines while concurrently pursuing approval for direct flights. RwandAir, the other major airline in the EAC says going through Kenya is also an opportunity the airline can explore. Jimmy Musoni, the Head of Commercial Planning at RwandAir, noted, however, that they were yet to undertake a study to weigh their options. Direct flights to the US will significantly reduce the time taken between the US and East Africa to as little...

At Friday’s opening of Bank of Kigali’s service centre on Kigali Heights, I was honoured to meet several eminent gentlemen and a lady that loyally follow this column, the best motivation for any writer; they also gave me some honest feedback regarding my profile picture. “It makes you look like a giant,” said one gentleman. Disclaimer: I am only half a giant. “You actually look older in the picture,” said another gentleman. I am actually 360 months old, a long time if you are polite enough not to convert it into years. Another gentleman teased me about the green jacket and the striped shirt. The banter left me in such a great mood that I could have written a wonderful romance essay that night. To be fair, the feedback on Friday about my profile picture is consistent with what others have told me before. Pictures are lovely. They are a form of writing and a good way of advancing viewpoints. In media framing, pictures are the best tools of composition and currently, the best case study is the media’s pictorial representation of the cantankerous US President Donald Trump. Based on the feedback, I will be changing my profile picture, soon. But it is not only me with a picture to fix; East Africa’s picture of regional integration is increasingly becoming blurry as members place more focus on their respective national priorities. Originally, the picture we drew from East Africa’s rhetoric on regional integration was that member countries were harmonizing their...

Burundi’s attempt to join the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is not necessarily a blow to the East African Community but it is a reminder of the tensions that remain in the regional grouping, especially over politics and governance arrangements. On the face of it, there is nothing exceptional about Burundi’s application to SADC; Tanzania, a key founding member of the EAC is also a member of the southern bloc, as is its neighbour to the west, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Beneath the surface, however, Burundi’s move represents a hedging of geopolitical bets by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s government against what it sees as hostility from some EAC members, in particular Rwanda. Relations between the two countries have been sour since Bujumbura accused Kigali of supporting some of the groups that emerged to oppose President Nkurunziza after he stood for a third term of office in 2015 in what critics said was a violation of the Arusha Agreements that ended the country’s civil war. Rwanda has denied any involvement in the political instability that has ensued in Burundi but President Paul Kagame has publicly criticised his counterpart’s regime and accused it of massacres. While the public rhetoric between the two countries has since died down, the political tensions continue. Five of Burundi’s representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) have promised to boycott the fifth plenary session due next week in Kigali because of the tensions between the two countries. In addition, an EAC mediation process to end the...

Our fascination with Europe and Brexit is perhaps obscuring the two greatest changes and opportunities in global trade. These are happening neither in European nor Anglo-Saxon countries, but in China and Africa Next week Britain will host a Commonwealth Trade meeting in London. This is the time to start resetting the tone of Britain’s engagement with the world, post-Brexit. Pre-Brexit, many businesses from Commonwealth countries used Britain as a front door to Europe. The reasons for this were simple: there is a common language, a common legal system and Britain is inside the trading block. Soon Britain is to leave. What happens next? I did not support Brexit. Indeed I actively campaigned for Remain, however “Brexit means Brexit” and we must make this change work. To make Brexit work, we must now turn our minds to creating opportunities for post-Brexit Britain. Many have said that Britain can now “look outward” again and “re-engage” with the world. While Britain was neither inward-looking nor disengaged from the world, we must focus Britain in a global context, not just a European one. Our fascination with Europe and Brexit is perhaps obscuring the two greatest changes and opportunities in global trade. These are happening neither in European nor Anglo-Saxon countries, but in China and Africa. Firstly, in 2012 President Xi of China announced China’s One Belt, One Road policy, which is a massive multi-trillion dollar infrastructure and trade boosting program linking East Africa, Persia, South Asia and China, with an almost after-thought side route...

In the past, the world was clearly split into developing and developed countries – with the latter boasting the most advanced logistics ecosystems. Today, the emerging markets of Africa are challenging this divide in the fields of transportation and logistics, and in some cases leapfrogging ahead of more mature markets. From a connectivity perspective these developments are giving rise to a new image of the future for Africa – one which is very different from today. Let’s explore three key highlights from a transportation and supply chain perspective and the implications for Africa in 2030. Open skies Owing to current aviation infrastructure in Africa (or the lack thereof), what should be a three-hour journey between Algeria and Cameroon, in fact takes 24 hours, with the flight touching down in Istanbul and Turkey en route. A single air transport market for Africa is key to unlocking the opportunities the continent presents. Today, transporting goods in and out of Africa, as well as within the continent, is prohibitive in terms of both time and cost. The restrictions it places on the movement of people also makes for a highly fragmented continent. A study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast that if another 12 African economies opened their skies to each other, fares would become 35% cheaper, enabling 5 million more people to take to the skies, creating 155,000 new jobs and adding $1.3 billion to GDP. The benefits have been clearly witnessed in South Africa, where an agreement to...

South Sudan’s government said it will appoint six members of its parliament as representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly in an attempt to fulfil its obligations of becoming a full member of the regional bloc. South Sudan foreign affairs spokesman Mawien Makol Ariik, told Radio Tamazuj that once a membership fee of one million dollars is paid, the representatives will be sent to represent South Sudan at the regional parliament. “South Sudan government is almost becoming a full member in the East African Community and we just need to pay our membership fee. This month, we are expected to choose six members to represent South Sudan to East African parliament,” he said. East African heads of states agreed to admit South Sudan as its sixth member state last November during a summit in Tanzania. However, there have been concerns raised by South Sudanese after the government decided to join the East African Community which includes Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Some claim that South Sudanese will benefit from the exemption of visa payment and educational services in the region, while others who are against the decision say South Sudan has little to offer the region. Source: Radio Tamazuj  

Arusha. The postponed summit of the East African Community (EAC) leaders will be held early next month as the region continues to be divided over the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union. The meeting of the heads of state, which was initially scheduled for Dar es Salaam yesterday, will be held in Arusha on April 6 following consultations between EAC secretary-general Liberat Mfumukeko with the leaders of the partner states. “The upcoming 18th summit is scheduled for Arusha on April 6,” affirmed the EAC boss in Nairobi on Friday last week after holding talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. During the 17th Extra-Ordinary Summit of the regional organisation held in Dar es Salaam last September, it was agreed that the EPA stalemate be tabled again during the meeting of the regional presidents early this year. Tanzania, which has spearheaded its rejection against the EAC-AU trade arrangement deal, was given until the following meeting of the EAC heads of state to decide whether to ratify the pact or reasons for the delay. EAC-EU-EPA negotiations started in 2002. It was not until 2007 that the framework agreement on tariff was finalised. The East African countries had committed to liberalise up to 82.6 per cent of imports from the EU by value. But the process was interrupted in July last year, when Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda declined to ratify the deal, preferring further consultations on economic implications. Officials of Customs and Trade Directorate at the EAC secretariat could not be reached to...

The 4th session of the inter-Burundian dialogue under the auspices of the Tanzanian facilitator ended on Sunday 19 February. A session marked by an about-turn, calls especially to the Heads of State of the region for help. The fate of this process remains in their hands. The message or SOS launched by Facilitator Benjamin Mkapa at the end of this stage of the talks reveals his discomfort or the stalemate of this dialogue full of jerks and a sudden turn of events. "There is an imperative need to hold an Extraordinary Summit of the East African Community to expose the obstacles that drag the process," he said after pointing out that this was his point of view. "This is an urgency, I will present this to the mediator and the current President of the East African Community as soon as possible," said the former Tanzanian President before a crowd of Burundian politicians invited to Arusha. It was a part of this Burundian political class represented by Evariste Ndayishimiye, Secretary General of the ruling Cndd-Fdd party along with Edouard Nduwimana, the Ombudsman of the Republic at his side. In the same row, there was the second Deputy President of the National Assembly, Agathon Rwasa and two former Heads of state further on. The place reserved for Senator Pierre Buyoya remained empty. He left the day before the session. Just behind these personalities, there was the duo Evariste Ngayimpenda and Tatien Sibomana of Uprona party not officially recognized by the Burundian Government....

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli yesterday described the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) as a “form of colonialism”, dampening Tanzania’s possibility of signing the deal with the European Union (EU). “It is bad for our country,” Dr Magufuli affirmed. Addressing a joint press conference with visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at the State House here, Dr Magufuli disfavoured EPAs, which are aimed at creating a free trade area between EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States. His Ugandan counterpart warned African countries that EPA might break up their unity. “It’s better if the signing of the deal is shelved until further consultations are made.” President Museveni arrived in Dar es Salaam yesterday morning for a two-day state visit. Dr Magufuli noted that after studying EPA he had realised that African countries would not benefit from it economically as its architects touted. He noted that terms included in the agreement were not intended to help African countries to grow economically. “I believe that our neighbour, Uganda, will second us for the betterment of our countries. We have discussed EPA for a long time but to me it seems like another form of colonialism… it is bad for our country,” he said. There has been criticism in other quarters that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by EU are incompatible with World Trade Organisation rules. President Museveni noted that the fact that many African countries had not signed EPA shows that the proposal was meant to create...

Non-compliance of regional trade agreements by Rwanda’s neighbours is taking a heavy toll on the nation’s earnings from cross-border trade. Legislators are concerned that informal trade with Burundi, Tanzania as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo, faces multiple barriers resulting in low export volumes to these strategic markets. A report tabled last week by parliament’s Standing Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs shows that while trade with DR Congo suffered as a result of the instability in the Kivu Province, Burundi and Tanzania have imposed restrictions intended to block Rwandan traders from accessing their markets. The highlighted practices are contrary to the provisions of the East African Community Customs Union as well as other trade agreements with regional trading blocs such as the Economic Community Great Lakes Region (CEPGL), which brings together Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo. “We want the concerned authorities to address the issues we found,” said MP Adolph Bazatoha, who leads the committee that carried out an assessment at different borders. Mr Bazatoha said the issues had been forwarded to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs. Burundi is Rwanda’s second largest cross-border trade market after DR Congo, with agricultural and livestock products being the major commodities traded in informal transactions. However, trade with Burundi is carried out illegally after the government imposed trade restrictions with Rwanda. Worsening diplomatic relations with Burundi led to the closure of the border with Rwanda in July last year. Ties between the two countries deteriorated in 2015...