The East African Community meeting that was to be held this weekend to discuss the Economic Partnership Agreement between the region and the European Union was postponed after several member states failed to hand in key trade data, putting in doubt a subsequent meeting that would have set the agenda for the upcoming EAC Heads of States Summit in February. "Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda are yet to hand in their data to the Secretariat, while Kenya has already done so. We are not sure when they will, so upcoming meetings have been delayed indefinitely until the Secretariat receives all the data," The EastAfrican was told. Last week, the EAC Secretariat wrote to the Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda tax authorities and statistic agencies, through the ministries responsible for EAC affairs, asking them to provide the latest tax and trade input data. In a letter dated January 13 from the EAC Deputy Secretary-General Jessica Eriyo, the member states were asked to provide data showing the products they are trading in, value of imports, source of the products (exporting country) and the tax rates. "We request you to liaise with your respective revenue authorities and bureaus of statistics to urgently provide the EAC Secretariat with the trade input data for the past 10 years to 2015 by January 18," the letter reads. It has since emerged that the lack of data has cast doubt over subsequent meetings. "We have postponed the meeting that was scheduled to take place in Nairobi at the end...

Kampala — Two East African Community partner states, are yet to ratify the EAC peace and security protocol, according to Dr Suzanne Kolimba, the chairperson of the Council of Ministers and Tanzania's deputy minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation. She said when adjourning the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) plenary session in the Uganda capital last week EAC expected the two countries, she did not name, would sign the protocol. Until end of 2013, only Uganda and Rwanda had signed and later ratified it. South Sudan which joined the bloc last year, is likely to be among the countries which have not ratified the pact.Eala called for the completion of the ratification process for countries which have not penned the ink on the protocol so that the bloc can forge ahead in addressing crucial and security matters. The proposed protocol has identified at least 20 objectives for fostering peace and security in the region. Its full implementation will, among other things, see the setting up of the EAC Security Council, the stand-by force, the Panel of the Wise and related institutional capacities and structures."We are making a follow up to ensure the remaining two partner states duly ratify the Peace and Security Protocol", the deputy minister before the House adjourned business until March this year.Notwithstanding failure by some EAC member countries to ratify the protocol, the regional lawmakers called on the EAC secretariat to work closely with the African Union (AU) structures such as the African Peace and...

IN SUMMARY The new growth plan is more liberal and seeks to open up key areas of the economy as the country shifts to boost its infrastructure projects by completing the $7.3 billion new Central Railway Line to standard gauge and the $2.89 billion Mtwara Liquefied Natural Gas Plant. The taxpayers will also have to fork out more to afford the funding of these grand projects with the country’s Treasury projecting the annual tax revenue collection rising from 13.8 per cent of GDP last year to 17.1 per cent in the 2020/21 financial year. The grand plan also seeks to increase manufacturing exports from 24 per cent to 30 per cent by 2020. Tanzania is looking to raise $45.89 billion to finance its second industrialisation plan, which will see it increase its development spending to $27.66 billion. This is part of its plans to become a middle-income nation by 2025. Dar hopes to raise $45.89 billion from taxes, as the government seeks to reduce its reliance on donor funding, which has been declining over the years. “In order to meet the financial requirements of this plan, traditional sources of financing need to be revamped. Securing additional resources is a priority for both the government and the private sector, particularly for implementing the identified core resource-intensive infrastructure, productive and social services,” Tanzania’s Treasury says of the its second five-year development and transformation plan. Tanzania has singled out the revival of the national carrier Air Tanzania, completion and operationalisation of Mlonganzila and...

The first batch of the Standard Gauge Ralway (SGR) passenger trains arrived at Mombasa port from China aboard a cargo carrier, Mv Chipol Taihu, on Saturday. Two passenger engines and 32 coaches are part of the 56 locomotives being shipped into the country prior to the completion of the SGR in June 2017. The 32 coaches incorporate 23 hard seat units, five soft seat units, two luggage car units, one generator car unit and one track inspection car. The locomotives and rolling stock have been manufactured by CRRC Qishuyan Corporation Limited of China. Four freight locomotives were also offloaded bringing the number of SGR locomotives already in the country to eight freight locomotives, two passenger locomotives and two shunting locomotives. LATEST CARGO On hand to receive the latest cargo consignment were senior Kenya Railways officials led by Managing Director Atanas Maina. “The early delivery of these locomotives will give us more time to test the engines as well as the laid rail track as we prepare for commissioning in June. We are well ahead of the plans to deliver SGR project to Kenyans,” Maina said. The MD added that in line with railway safety regulations, all the new set of trains will be tested to ensure safety compliance. Maina noted that testing of the SGR locomotives would commence in the next few days, with tests on the line commencing in March. “Plans for quality assurance acceptance tests are under way,” the MD said. He said that once the tests are...

Kenya complied with the request by the East African Community’s secretariat to the five-member states to provide data on international trade and tax, the state statistician has said. The information will partly help establish the impact the Economic Partnership Agreement will have on the EAC bloc, a win for Tanzania which has been pushing for this before it ratifies the long-standing deal. In a January 13 letter to the region’s ministries responsible for EAC Affairs, the secretariat asked the five countries to provide data with description of products they are trading in, value of the imports, source of the products (exporting country) and the tax rates. “(The EAC)...requests you to liaise with your respective revenue authorities, bureau of statistics to urgently provide the EAC secretariat with the trade input data for 2006-2015 by January 18, 2017,” the letter, signed by deputy secretary general for finance and administration Jesca Eriyo, read in part. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said it submitted the data as per the request of the secretariat despite the short notice. “Kenya has done its part. We did that because the data is available. The secretariat is now going to analyse the data. Our work was to give the data which we have done,” KNBS director general Zachary Mwangi said. It is not clear whether Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi have submitted their data to help conclude a report on the dragging EAC-EU duty and quota-free deal, which is likely to further delay. The trade deal stalled...

The International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Christine Lagarde advised the East African countries in pursuit of integration to go slow on the project. The countries within East Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi have been integrating over the years with projection to have a political federation in about 20 years. The caution from the IMF chief is coming from the lessons that Europe has had to have especially after the United Kingdom held a referendum and the people chose to exit the European Union, New Vision reported. “Coming from the European Union and a country that is part of the eurozone, I would certainly stress that, hasting slowly is probably the best way to go and consolidate one step at a time and make sure that the steps you have taken are actually solid, sustainable and will take you the next level. Don’t rush to integration—infrastructure integration, market integration, custom integration. Those are the steps that have been taken and are being taken,” Lagarde said while addressing a joint press conference with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at State House Entebbe on Friday. She did point out that integration had its advantages and was perhaps one of the best options for the country to pursue its growth agenda. Uganda’s largest trade market for exports is East Africa but more significantly South Sudan. South Sudan was in March 2016 given the green-light to join the East African Community. Uganda also trades with the EAC and also enjoys lower tariffs on exports...

The newly established Tanzania and Zambia One Stop Border Post (OSBP) which is to start operation on February 1 at the Tunduma-Nakonde border will ease and boost trade between the two countries, senior officials said Sunday. The two countries have already signed an agreement on how the OSBP will be operating. The decision to establish the OSBP came as part of implementing orders issued by the presidents of the two countries, John Magufuli and Edgar Lungu. The two leaders issued the order in Dar es Salaam when Zambian President Lungu visited the East African nation last month. The signing ceremony of the key document was held at Vwawa town few kilometers from the Tunduma-Nakonde border, whereby Tanzania was represented by Amina Khamis Shaaban, Finance and Planning Deputy Minister and Adolf Mkenda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. Zambia was represented by Kayula Siame, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry. Tanzania’s Amina said that the Tunduma-Nakonde OSBP combines two stops for national border control processing into one and consolidates border control functions in a shared space for exiting one country and entering another. She explained that the post will be using simplified procedures and joint processing wherever appropriate. She further disclosed that the border facility is aimed at reducing transit costs incurred in cross-border movement by combining the activities of both country’s border organizations and agencies. According to the Tanzania’s deputy minister, the post will easy trade between the two nations, as goods will...

The AU should bolster the means and willpower of regions to use their militaries to enforce democracy. The decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to deploy a military force into Gambia to force President Yahya Jammeh to step down, has been widely hailed by democrats. The West African community massed a five-nation army on Gambia’s border last Thursday, after Jammeh refused to transfer power to Adama Barrow who had beaten him in the 1 December presidential elections. With the ECOWAS army effectively holding a gun to his head, Jammeh was unable to resist the entreaties of Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Guinean President Alpha Condé to step down. So he flew off to a very comfortable exile in Equatorial Guinea, in a presidential jet allegedly stuffed with stolen loot, including millions of dollars in cash and a few Rolls Royces. African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma welcomed the ‘bloodless transition’ – the ‘first peaceful transfer of power in the Islamic Republic of The Gambia since the country’s independence in 1965’ – and praised the mediators. But of course it’s highly unlikely that Jammeh would have quit office without the threat of military force. And the intervention could have been quite bloody if Jammeh’s army chief had not wisely decided not to fight ECOWAS. It’s highly unlikely that Jammeh would have quit office without the threat of military force And so other observers and commentators have more pertinently praised ECOWAS – not so...

In Summary The European Investment Bank (EIB) has already received a request for funding from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which is being processed as a loan, while a grant is also in the pipeline. Head of EU Delegation in Kenya says the EU is interested in supporting projects at the port to increase efficiency and facilitate trade. TradeMark Africa (TMA) country director Ahmed Farah said although a final decision had not been reached, there are high level negotiations going on and was optimistic the funding will come through. The European Union is considering investing at least $200 million (Sh20 billion) on Mombasa Port projects including modernisation of berths. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has already received a request for funding from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which is being processed as a loan, while a grant is also in the pipeline. TradeMark Africa (TMA) country director Ahmed Farah said although a final decision had not been reached, there are high level negotiations going on and was optimistic the funding will come through. “At the moment what we could say is that a loan of $180 million (Sh18 billion) is being processed while a grant of $20 million (Sh2 billion) is being considered. "TMA is assisting with the processing procedures and we expect a decision will be made soon,” Mr Farah. He spoke during an interview with journalists on Wednesday at the Galaxy Restaurant, Mombasa, after he led a team of EU Delegation to Kenya on a tour of Mombasa...

IN SUMMARY The European Investment Bank (EIB) has already received a request for funding from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which is being processed as a loan, while a grant is also in the pipeline. Head of EU Delegation in Kenya says the EU is interested in supporting projects at the port to increase efficiency and facilitate trade. TradeMark Africa (TMA) country director Ahmed Farah said although a final decision had not been reached, there are high level negotiations going on and was optimistic the funding will come through. The European Union is considering investing at least $200 million (Sh20 billion) on Mombasa Port projects including modernisation of berths. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has already received a request for funding from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which is being processed as a loan, while a grant is also in the pipeline. TradeMark Africa (TMA) country director Ahmed Farah said although a final decision had not been reached, there are high level negotiations going on and was optimistic the funding will come through. “At the moment what we could say is that a loan of $180 million (Sh18 billion) is being processed while a grant of $20 million (Sh2 billion) is being considered. "TMA is assisting with the processing procedures and we expect a decision will be made soon,” Mr Farah. He spoke during an interview with journalists on Wednesday at the Galaxy Restaurant, Mombasa, after he led a team of EU Delegation to Kenya on a tour of Mombasa...