East African economies are seeking closer trade ties with countries outside the bloc as the volume of trade between the five-member states diminishes. A trade report by the  EAC Secretariat seen by The EastAfrican highlights a cocktail of factors stifling intra-EAC trade while undermining regional integration process. Non-tariff barriers (NTBs), poor infrastructure at the ports and on the main transport corridors, low value addition in the EAC region and lack of a common position on the implementation of duty exemption regimes by the member states have been identified as key factors that distort the Common External Tariff (CET). The other impediment is the lack of a comprehensive investment plan to promote EAC countries as a single investment destination. “In spite of the growth in trade and investment, the period 2015 exhibited continued sluggish performance that was witnessed in 2014. Trade in goods volumes as well as investment inflows remained flat or declined as a result of a number of challenges,” reads the report. The report dated August 2016 shows that trade among the EAC partner states is falling as member countries look beyond the borders for other  trading partners. Intra-EAC trade fell by 13 per cent in three years, with total value dipping from $5.8 billion in 2013 to $5.06 billion in 2015. Between 2014 and 2015, intra-EAC trade shrank by 10 per cent, from $ 5.6 billion to $5.1 billion. The bulk of EAC exports were destined to Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the European Union (EU), amounting to 14.6...

The question of the spirit and pace of East African integration was prominent at the just ended sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly in Kigali. The members were clearly exasperated by what they considered starvation of funds to the Community by partner states which had severely crippled its activities. This prompted members to ask: “Are we really serious about integration?” In March 2014, Charles Njonjo, the once powerful Attorney General of Kenya, warned that the East African Community was likely to face the same fate as its earlier version that collapsed in 1977. At the time many people disagreed with the analysis that had led him to the gloomy conclusion. Three years later, that warning and the legislators’ concerns lead to other questions. Is enthusiasm for integration waning? Or is Trumpesque country-first positioning hindering it? East Africans have long recognised that they are fated to live closely together. It is both aspiration and a fact of history. And so they always dream about how to make the bond work stronger and build big promises of what it should be like. But they also have a knack for knocking down what they are trying to build. Some clever people might start talking about an East African curse. In the early 1960s, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania formed the East African Community (EAC). The EAC was hailed as a shining example of regional integration. For a decade, East Africans lived through what may be called the glory years of integration. Then as...

A survey conducted by the East African Institute showed less than 5 per cent of youth between the age of 18-35 years identify as belonging to the polity that is the East African Community. They believe the EAC is a political construct of the elite — some regional trade deal to open up markets for free movement of goods, labour and capital. The community of the people of East Africa is not just a figment that dwells in the minds of the political and business elite. It is more than an expansionist or federal obsession of the Arusha bureaucrats. The Community is more than the lofty dreams of common currency or common trade tariffs. There is something more wholesome — we the people. We are the Community. The community, joined by bonds of kinship and exchange as are ancient as the hills. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta or Milton Obote did not bequeath the Community to us. When they created the first EAC, they were merely repairing the division that was wrought upon the people of East Africa by the British and the Germans. Across the borders, we share languages, traditions and beliefs. We share the picturesque beauty and splendor of Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika, the Indian Ocean, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Elgon, the Great Rift Valley, the Mara and yes the iconic statuesque men and women of the savannas. More importantly, our destiny is shared through the fears, hopes and aspirations of our youth. When asked what the...

This century is Africa’s to own, or to lose. Economic transformation is occurring across the continent, from Mauritius to Ethiopia and Ghana, across East Africa, and for some, like Rwanda, the changes are coming breathtakingly fast. New natural resources are being discovered. Investments in health and education have led to rising life expectancy, reductions in maternal and child mortality, and an increasingly educated young population. In regions such as East Africa, massive investments in infrastructure – energy, roads, rail and IT – are being made, driving growth and providing employment. Although the growth is still patchy, and there remain areas of political instability, insecurity and conflict, the continent has an agreed blueprint for dealing with her challenges and investing in her future – Agenda 2063. Africa’s problems have been studied and analysed over and over. Plans and blueprints exist, in ministries across the continent, and for all the Regional Economic Communities. East Africa has Vision 2050, aiming to turn the region into an upper middle-income bloc by 2050. The time for planning and analysis is over. Now is the time for execution. But to succeed, we need to move with dispatch, aware that we are in competition with the rest of the world, and that this competition will get tougher, not easier. One of the critical game changers for Africa is the 26-member Free Trade Area between Comesa, EAC and SADC. The agreement, first mooted in 2008 in Kampala, and signed in 2015 at Sharm al Sheikh in Egypt, covers...

A new trade facilitation tool was launched Tuesday in Kigali aimed at enhancing intra-Africa trade. The One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) Sourcebook is expected to help governments improve cross-border and intra-regional trade across Africa. The second edition of the sourcebook was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), NEPAD, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The tool was launched at a regional workshop on the OSBP. The workshop runs up to March 16. Participants are exchanging views on further development of OSBPs in the continent. Participants were drawn from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and South Sudan. Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, the NEPAD chief executive officer, said the trade facilitation tool seeks to promote a coordinated and integrated approach towards easing trade, movement of people, and consolidating security. He pointed out one-stop border posts are crucial in facilitating trade on the continent because clearance time reduces for both travellers and goods under one roof. Mayaki said: “It is envisaged that the OSBP project will help reduce the cost and time transporters take to ferry goods across borders.” Mayaki affirmed NEPAD’s commitment to support initiatives that promote trade on the continent. He also urged governments and key stakeholders to fully utilize the sourcebook to help them determine the best way to develop OSBPs in each region. Snowden Mmadi, an infrastructure expert at COMESA, said studies show that time wasted clearing at ports, borders, and...

Kenya and the European Union (EU) have exuded confidence that three East African countries yet to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) will do so during the next month’s head of state and government summit, unlocking the current stalemate. Kenya hopes her neighbours Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi will sign the trade protocol so that the region can enjoy duty and quota free market with EU. “We have hopes that the rest of the EAC countries yet to sign so that we can move together as a bloc,” said Dr Chris Kiptoo principal secretary international trade on the phone. Negotiations on the 14-year-old trade deal were concluded in 2015. EAC and EU  agreed to append signatures as well as ratify the same through their legislative structures. Principal Secretary for East African Affairs, Betty Maina last week, during a public policy breakfast meeting on strategies to enhance Kenya’s competitiveness, said  that Kenya will continue accessing market under the EU Market Regulations of 2007 until otherwise. Move together Alessandro Tonoli, Trade advisor European Union Delegation to Kenya, in a statement, recently expressed optimism that all the five countries will sign the EPAs to avoid being locked out of the EU market. Tonoli said that EAC Heads of State last year expressed willingness to move together as a bloc to continue enjoying the duty and quota-free market under the EU’s everything but arms initiative. The Heads of state in the EAC region will have their next Ordinary Summit in Arusha on April, which will...

The East African Community recorded a 16.4 per cent rise in international arrivals between September last year and January this year, according to the latest figures by Forward Keys, which monitors future travel patterns by analysing 16 million flight reservation transactions each day. The top 10 origin countries all retained their places from earlier in the year, including other African markets, which also saw growth. Visitors to Kenya were up 6.4 per cent, while in Uganda they went up by 11.7 per cent. The report paints a rosy picture, with forward bookings from February to July running 16.5 per cent ahead of the equivalent period last year. ForwardKeys, however, says long-haul connectivity could be improved for all EAC key airports. Source: Standard Media

This Year’s International Women Day was a remarkable one for the East African Community women as the crucial Gender Bill that make provision for gender equality, equity, protection and development in the Community was passed. The bill, dabbed, ‘EAC Gender Equality, Equity and Development Bill 2016’, whose mover is Hon Nancy Abisai was passed by East African Community Legislators sitting in Kigali, Rwanda on International Women Day. It is commendable that the region has recognised the immense contribution women make towards social, economic and political development of the Community. The importance of gender equality in the success of various development programmes instituted across the region cannot be underestimated. The bill, which prohibits all forms of exploitation, cruel, inhuman or degrading practices is a welcome move that if enacted and enforced by all the partner states will see an end to rampant exploitation of women and disadvantaged groups across the region. Though different partner states have made strides in gender equality, some are still lagging behind in crucial aspects of the gender bill. Though we are not where we would want to be, the number of women in decision making positions has risen drastically over the past few years in all partner states. Rwanda remains a tool of bench marking, not only for the region but also for the rest of the world; more than 60 per cent of key positions are held by women. Rwanda was ranked position one in this year’s global parliamentary gender equality. Tanzania made history by...

It remains unclear whether the East African Community Polythene Materials Control Bill, 2016 will ever be concluded as debate on it was on Wednesday adjourned by the regional Assembly now sitting in Kigali. Following a motion moved by Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, Dr Susan Kolimba, under the House’s rules of procedure, a key report on the Bill presented by the committee on agriculture, tourism and natural resources could also not be adopted. Dr Kolimba’s motion for adjournment –which may be moved without notice – under rule 30 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly was partly down to the fact that business leaders have requested for further consultations, while the Tanzanian government is yet to submit its views on the Bill. But MP Valerie Nyirahabineza (Rwanda), chair of the committee on agriculture, tourism and natural resources, remains optimistic that after they include more views from stakeholders during the next sitting in Arusha, in May, the Bill will be passed “without doubt.” “This is a Bill everyone wants, including members of the business community who have insisted on having further consultations. In May, we shall make amendments but ultimately the Bill will pass,” Nyirahabineza told The New Times after the day’s session. Earlier, during the session, Nyirahabineza presented a report in support of the Bill and reminded the Assembly that EAC Partner States are signatories to various international agreements on environment. “It should be noted that Polythene materials like plastic bags are a menace to the environment and...

Members states of the East African Community under the Lake Victoria Basin Commission have held a joint regional policy steering meeting that looks at implementing programmes and projects aimed at improving the livelihoods of  people living in the Lake Victoria basin. Several programmes  are currently running under the Lake Victoria Basin Commission which include population, health and environment, Lake Victoria Environment Project and Lake Victoria Water Supply and Sanitation Programme. The Permanent Secretaries in the line ministries of water and environment from the East African Community states signed an assessment report of the progress that has been made in the last 6 month on the implementation of programmes aimed at improving the welfare, restoring life, the environment and livelihood of the people living in and around the Lake Victoria basin The Joint Steering Committee emphasized the need to continue to improve  current projects at hand to help mitigate the challenges faced by communities living in and around the Lake Victoria basin The national project coordinator revealed that  Uganda  has  made progress in  waste water treatment, solid waste management and alternative livelihoods for the people living around the Lake Victoria basin The Lake Victoria Basin Commission is expected to sit again after 6 months in another East African Community State where they will again review the progress of the Four programmes under way.   Source: NTV News