As the Partner States in the East African Community (EAC) region ease measures that were established to prevent and respond to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the EAC Secretariat has commenced a training of trainers’ course for staff at 12 One Stop Border Posts between the Partner States. The training that aims at strengthening the prevention of and response to COVID-19 and other communicable diseases, involves staff from various sectors in line with the One Health approach. The training programme kicked off this week at the Isebania/Sirari border post between Kenya and Tanzania. The training is conducted by AMREF Flying Doctors in close cooperation with the EAC Secretariat. Depending on the size of the border posts, between 16 and 32 staff members are trained as trainers in 2-day courses. They come from customs, immigration, port health and animal health, bureau of standards, security, cargo and baggage handlers from both sides of the border as well as from the Joint Border Management Committees. This contributes at the same time to regional integration. Clearing agents are also included in the training. The training of trainers’ approach allows for upscaling of the measure and takes the high staff turn-over rates at border posts into account. “The participants in this training will in turn train their colleagues on the skills they have acquired to further cascade the message and ensure that the busy border posts can effectively prevent the spread of COVID 19 and detect and respond to infected passengers”, explains Anthony Kihara of AMREF...

The scope of the training focuses on operations at the OSBP with close contact to travelers and their luggage. s the Partner States in the East African Community (EAC) region ease measures that were established to prevent and respond to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the EAC Secretariat has commenced a training of trainers’ course for staff at 12 One Stop Border Posts between the Partner States. This training aims at strengthening the prevention of and response to COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. The training programme kicked off last week at the Isebania-Sirari border post between Kenya and Tanzania and is being conducted by AMREF Flying Doctors in close cooperation with the EAC Secretariat. Between 16 and 32 staff members are trained as trainers in a 2-days course. They come from customs, immigration, port health and animal health, bureau of standards, security, cargo and baggage handlers. Clearing agents are also included targeted in the training. “The participants in this training will in turn train their colleagues on the skills they have acquired to further cascade the message and ensure that the busy border posts can effectively prevent the spread of COVID 19 and detect and respond to infected passengers”, explains Anthony Kihara of AMREF Flying Doctors. “The scope of the training focuses on operations at the OSBP with close contact to travelers and their luggage.” The Principal Customs Officer for Capacity Building at the EAC Secretariat, Stephen Analo, who is coordinating the training is convinced that “all the EAC Partner States...

THE East African Community (EAC) and the European Union (EU) are partnering to realize a fully-fledged EAC Custom Union as they launch a regional economic integration programme. The EU Ambassador to Tanzania and the EAC, Mr Manfredo Fanti and the Secretary General of the EAC, Ambassador Libérat Mfumukeko launched a new Euro 16,400,000 joint programme that will strengthen regional economic integration, through advancing implementation of the Customs Union and Common Market Protocols. The Common Objectives in Regional Economic Integration (CORE) programme will be instrumental in moving towards a fully-fledged Customs Union, by supporting more robust Information Communication and Technology (ICT) based on data exchange protocols for the clearing of goods. The EAC Customs Union was established under the EAC Treaty. The EAC Customs Union Protocol was signed on March 2nd 2004 and became operational on 1st January 2005 with the passing of the EAC Customs Management Act. The overall objective of the Customs Union is the formation of a single customs territory. The aim of creating one single customs territory is to enable Partner States to enjoy economies of scale, with a view to supporting the process of economic development. A needed critical change is to upgrade IT and leverage it to implement the SCT, particularly as concerns three functions: exchange of data between Partner States and with the EAC Secretariat for customs operational purposes, extraction of data from national customs systems for a systematic monitoring, and support functions with a regional component in risk management and valuation. A well-developed...

NAIROBI, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's exports to countries in East African Community (EAC) have surpassed the pre-COVID-19 period, with the pandemic seemingly catalyzing trade. The exports to Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda recovered from May, sustaining an upward trajectory to August, new economic data from government statistics agency released on Thursday shows. To Uganda, Kenya's exports rose from 3.6 billion shillings (about 33.5 million U.S. dollars) in May to 59.3 million in August, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). In June, the exports stood at 40.3 million dollars and in July, 52.4 million dollars. The August exports are the highest since January. Exports to Tanzania, similarly, rose from 17 million dollars in May to 23 million dollars in August while to Rwanda, an East African nation exported goods worth 11.8 million dollars in May, surging to 23.3 million dollars in August, says the KNBS. "Domestic exports by broad economic category indicate that food and beverages were the main export category in August accounting for 43.23 percent of exports, while non-food industrial supplies accounted for 26.62 percent of the total exports," says KNBS. Kenya's exports to outside the region in particular to Europe, the U.S. and other parts of Africa, however, remained subdued during the period due to COVID-19 restrictions. The World Bank, in its October report dubbed "Africa Pulse: Charting the road to recovery" notes that trade in the EAC has recovered as the pandemic is managed. "Kenya's exports to Uganda and Rwanda already surpassed their pre-COVID-19...

In Summary The report finds that the region provides a good resource base for the production of hides and skins. Despite East Africa currently having a monthly demand of about 600,000 pairs of industrial shoes, production is only about 60,000 shoes per month. East African partner states are losing out billions of dollars by inadequately investing in adding value to horticulture and leather goods produced in the region, according to a recent report by EABC. Dubbed ‘Building the Leather, Fruits and Vegetable value chains in the East African Community’ the report finds that the region provides a good resource base for the production of hides and skins, having over 188.1 million livestock. Despite East Africa currently having a monthly demand of about 600,000 pairs of industrial shoes, production is only about 60,000 shoes per month. The report indicates that the EAC region processes leather up to wet blue stage with a minimal transformation to finished leather. On the international market, the price of finished leather costs about $5(Sh542) per square feet, while the wet blue is sold at $1.5(165) per ft². This suggests that the EAC, which exports mainly wet blue, loses as much as $3.5 (Sh379)per ft². This implies that the EAC in effect lost close to $3.2billion(Sh347.2billion) in the last 4 years, (from 2014-2018). “The leather industry has protracted due to the high presence of imported used footwear as well as synthetic shoes,” said EABC CEO, Peter Mathuki. He added that the imports are priced way below the...

The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Tanzania and the East African Community, Manfredo Fanti and the Secretary General of the EAC, Libérat Mfumukeko have launched a new EUR 16,400,000 joint programme to strengthen regional economic integration, through advancing implementation of the Customs Union and Common Market Protocols. The Regional Economic Integration (CORE) programme will be instrumental in moving towards a fully-fledged Customs Union, by supporting more robust information, communication and technology (ICT) based data exchange protocols for the clearing of goods. However due to digital solutions, customs operations will be simpler, quicker, as well as safer during this pandemic situation thereby resulting in a reduction of the costs of cross-border trade. A new impetus will be given through this programme to promote free movement of services, a crucial building block for the creation of the EAC Common Market. The CORE programme will support implementation of services’ liberalisation commitments, facilitating mutual recognition of professions and allowing companies to provide their services beyond their national borders. During the first two years, the focus of this programme will be on the insurance, accounting and distribution sectors. Additional sectors could be covered at a later stage. “The economic integration of the East African Community is at the heart of our cooperation agenda. This programme will be a catalyst for making economic integration a reality,” said Fanti. On his part, EAC Secretary General Mfumukeko expressed the Community’s appreciation for the continuous support from the European Union to the EAC. He said the financing agreement comes...

The East African Legislative Assembly has launched a 5-year strategic plan aimed at fast-tracking the remaining phases of the integration process, especially the two remaining integration pillars – the monetary union and political federation. Integration of the East African Community stands on four pillars. The other two already being implemented are the Customs Union and the Common Market, with the remaining targets being the free movement of goods, persons and capital and the harmonization of tax regimes. The Monetary Union, when implemented will lead to a single currency and central bank, while a political union aims at forming a sovereign state with one top political leader. In September 2018, a committee was formed to begin the process of drafting a regional constitution, and the confederacy was supposed to be ready for implementation by 2023. In the five years, the legislators hoped to put in place all the legal requirements for the four phases. Objectives of the plan include accelerating and consolidating sustainable production in key sectors, enhanced investment in infrastructure, accelerating the full implementation of the monetary union and mechanisms of a political Union. But, there is wide scepticism over the attainment of the last two, going by the faltering customs Union and common market, which have so far failed to do away with non-tariff barriers to trade. The strategies include the full integration of the Republic of South Sudan in the EAC Customs union, which will ultimately lead to a fully integrated EAC Customs Union by the end of...

THE East African Community (EAC) partner states are gearing towards a bright future economically, after months of stuttering due to Covid-19 pandemic. Experts say Tanzania is leading in the post Covid-19 economic recovery, especially with the resumption of tourism and air transport services. Recommencement of air travel has already shown a boost in bilateral trade between Tanzania and Kenya. Air travel between the neighbours stopped after Kenya slapped a ban on Tanzania aircrafts with the latter retaliating in the same way. The East African Business Council (EABC) has expressed its appreciation to the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) for facilitating the agreement on air services resumption in the EAC region. EABC Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Peter Mathuki said the Covid-19 pandemic has hit hard businesses and investment in the East African bloc, with disruptions on global supply chains testing the resilience of business ecosystems and reducing intra EAC trade. Dr Mathuki called upon EAC partner states to liberalise the regional airspace, such that regional and international cargo carriers can pick consolidated products for export from each EAC partner state to destinations, where they have substantial and consistent demand. "There is a need for speedy authority operations especially at border-crossing areas to avoid overcrowding of traffic, taking into consideration road safety issues for freight and passenger movements," said Dr Mathuki. The recovery strategy for businesses in the EAC, also recommends a strengthened partnership between the public and private sectors for business...

Emboldened by the declining Covid-19 infections, EAC partner states are in the process or have already re-opened their borders, hotels and schools. According to a survey by the East African Business Council (EABC), EAC partner states are expected to lose more than $54 billion of local tourists spending for 2020, on account of protracted closures of seaports and airports. Businesses across East Africa are racing to pick up the pieces after six months of Covid-19 restrictions, setting the stage for economic recovery and a rise in employment numbers. Emboldened by the declining Covid-19 infections, EAC partner states are in the process or have already re-opened their borders, hotels and schools. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced a national Covid-19 conference on September 28, in which he is expected to address re-opening bars and easing a 9pm to 4am curfew. Tanzania already re-opened all its institutions, and Uganda is set to resume international flights from October 1. Kenya partially eased its night-time curfew by three hours in June, and also lifted travel restrictions affecting Nairobi and Mombasa. "Flattening the Covid-19 curve is a national endeavour that requires action at the individual, community, county, and national levels. Every one of us must play our part for Kenya to triumph over the disease," said Kenya's Head of Public Service, Joseph Kinyua, in a statement to the media last week. According to a survey conducted last week by the East African Business Council (EABC), EAC partner states are expected to lose more than $54...

NAIROBI, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- East African Community's (EAC's) tourism sector will face a 92 percent decline in cash flows due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, says a report released on Thursday. According to the report by East African Business Council (EABC), the logistics and retail sector will face a 75 percent and 63 percent reduction in cash flows due to measures to contain the spread of the virus. "However, the pharmaceutical sector has recorded zero effect on cash flows. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the increase of demand for pharmaceutical products as well as the decisions of EAC partner states to allow movement of essential goods," says the report on the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and investment in the EAC region and recovery strategy that was launched virtually. The survey sought to find out how COVID-19 has affected businesses in the region by looking into the impact on five critical areas: cash flow, supply chains, employees, projected period of business sustainability and areas companies are seeking support. The study urges national governments to make additional funds available to assist the tourism and hospitality sector which is under particular stress due to new travel restrictions. The findings show that the spread of COVID-19 has also generated substantial uncertainty for the regional businesses which may result in the closure of business and investments. The analysis indicates that about 41 percent of businesses in the trading bloc will not be sustainable for more than six months while another...