Health workers taking a saliva swab for coronavirus testing in Kenya On March 11, 2020, the director general of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that “Covid-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.” He went on to warn that “Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.” Historically, mankind has faced pestilences from time to time. But according to Ghebreyesus “we have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus. This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus. And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled, at the same time.” True to his word, for more than four months since the declaration, Covid-19 has literally brought all countries to their knees, including the high and mighty. It is also during this period when we have realised that solidarity amongst nations has never been more pertinent. Covid-19 has put regional integration efforts to test, with some realising belatedly that there is no way this war could ever be won by countries acting singly.  It all started in the European Union even before we consider our own East African Community. At the height of the pandemic, around April, countries in Europe, notably Italy and Spain, were experiencing an unprecedented crisis, losing up to 1,000 persons a day. Apparently many countries had chosen to tackle the pandemic unilaterally....

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The East African Community is one of Africa’s most integrated regional blocs, but the Covid-19 pandemic has caused massive disruption to both its internal and external trade. Tom Collins reports At the Kenya-Uganda border towns of Malaba and Busia during the initial stages of Covid-19, queues of lorries stretched up to 65km as the Ugandan authorities imposed compulsory coronavirus tests on Kenyan lorry drivers before they entered the country. Kampala implemented the measure in late April when it became clear that truck drivers were key vectors of transmission. Similar issues unfolded at busy border crossings across the six countries that make up the East African Community (EAC) as governments failed to harmonise preventative measures at the regional level. At the Rwanda-Tanzania border crossing of Rusumo, for example, Tanzanian drivers were forced to hand cargo over to Rwandan counterparts who took it onwards to Kigali. The sudden disruption spelt disaster for the industries and businesses that rely on fluid borders in a region routinely heralded as the most integrated in Africa. The cost of moving goods around the region rose by an initial 30%, according to TradeMark Africa (TMA), though the trade body believes this figure has since decreased as the region adopts a more coordinated response. “Covid-19 has been really disruptive in terms of cost structures,” says Frank Matsaert, TMA’s CEO. “I expect things to normalise now that we have much more agreement between EAC member states. The tailbacks at the Ugandan border are down to 15km – that’s more than it’s been in many...

Summary The move means the country will nullify all its single-nation passports. Holders of the Rwandan passport were given a two-year grace period to replace their passports with East Africa e-passports. Rwanda's Immigration department on Thursday announced it will replace all passports with East African e-passports. "All passports issued before June 27, 2019, will be phased out, and replaced by the Rwanda East African electronic passport after June 27, 2021," the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration said in a statement, meaning it will nullify all its single-nation passports. Holders of the Rwandan passport were given a two-year grace period to replace their travel documents with East African e-passports, when the country began issuing them in line with the country's commitment to promote regional integration with EAC partner states from June 2019. The statement also urged the public not to wait until the expiry date to apply for new passports, adding that applicants are required to apply for them through the online platform Irembo, which enables the public to access government services. The e-passport, which is also used in other EAC partner countries including Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, grants its holders access to more countries without stringent visa requirements, according to the statement. EAC Heads of State launched the East African e-passport and directed the commencement of its issuance during the 17th ordinary summit in March 2016 in Arusha, Tanzania. Read the original article Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of TradeMark Africa.

During the next financial year, the East African Community will focus on Consolidation of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) to cover all imports and intra-EAC traded goods, including agricultural and other widely consumed products. After much back and forth that caused enormous delay, the East African Community (EAC) has passed a 97.6m US dollars budget for the next financial year. Of the total amount, 55.6m US dollars will come from EAC partner states, while development partners will contribute 41.9m US dollars. The budget reflects the region’s top priority areas which can be shortlisted to about seven areas. During the next financial year, the community will focus on Consolidation of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) to cover all imports and intra-EAC traded goods, including agricultural and other widely consumed products. It will also cover infrastructure development including the enhancement of free movement of all factors of production as declared under the Common Market and Monetary Union Protocols. Another focus area is the enhancement of regional industrial development through investment in key priority sectors like skills development, technological advancement and innovation to stimulate economic development. For the current fiscal year,  the Council also went on to approve expenditure budget estimates of some 2.7m US dollars for the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) in addition to partner states contributions through their own Civil Aviation Authorities for the 2020/2021 budget year. Each member is expected to chip in 458,910 US dollars. “Other key priority areas in the budget include improvement of...

Summary In 2019, transit cargo from Dar es Salaam to Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi was at 37 percent, up from 22 percent in 2018. On average it costs $1.80 per kilometre per container to transport goods from the port of Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura compared with $3.10 per kilometre per container from the port of Mombasa. The turnaround of the Central Corridor has been attributed to the revival of the Central line metre gauge railway. This may have prompted Kenya Railways — after two decades of neglect — to rehabilitate the old meter-gauge railway from Nakuru to Kisumu at a cost of Ksh3.8 billion ($35 million). The Dar es Salaam port could attract lucrative business away from the Mombasa as the Central Corridor proves to be cheaper compared with the Northern Corridor transport route. On average it costs $1.80 per kilometre per container to transport goods from the port of Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura compared with $3.10 per kilometre per container from the port of Mombasa. The recently released the Central Corridor Transport Observatory 2019 report, which measures the performance of the Central Corridor, also shows that the average costs per km per container from Dar es Salaam to Kigali is $1.90 compared with $2.10 from the port of Mombasa. Importers from Uganda, also pay less at $1.80 per km per container to transport goods from the port of Dar es Salaam compared with $1.90 per km per container charged from Mombasa, while those from Goma pay $2.60...

The community will also focus on enhancement of regional industrial development through investment in key priority sectors, skills development, technological advancement and innovation to stimulate economic development. During the 41st Extra-ordinary virtual meeting, the East African Community Council of Ministers finally adopted the Community’s 2020/2021 budget estimates. The US$97.6 million budget will cater to three EAC Organs and Institutions’ recurrent and development expenditure for the current financial year which runs from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. Of the total amount, US$55.6 million will come from EAC partner states while development partners will contribute US$41.9 million. The EAC Organs is comprised of EAC Secretariat, East African Legislative Assembly, and East African Court of Justice. The Institutions are the: Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization, Inter-University University Council for East Africa, East African Kiswahili Commission, East African Health Research Commission, East African Science and Technology Organization, and the East African Competition Authority. In the same meeting, the Council further approved the 2020/2021 Financial Year Expenditure Budget Estimates of US$2.7 million for the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) in addition to Partner States contributions through their Civil Aviation Authorities towards the FY2020/2021 Budget Estimates of US$458,910 each. The 2020/2021 budget estimates will be tabled by the chairperson of the Council Dr. Vincent Biruta, who is also Rwanda’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and East African Community -- before the East African Legislative Assembly for debate and approval anytime this month. During the FY 2020/2021, the Community...

Summary: Bio Born in Dominica, she is the sixth Commonwealth Secretary-General and second SG from the Caribbean and first woman to hold the post. Grew up in East London and was first black woman to be appointed a Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 1991. At 35, she was also the youngest woman ever to be made QC; First black woman to be appointed Deputy High Court Judge, Recorder and Master of Middle Temple; Joined House of Lords in 1997 as Baroness Scotland of Asthal. Appointed AG in 2007 as first woman to hold the post since 1315. The Commonwealth Secretary General spoke with Luke Anami via e-mail on the association’s role in handling the current and post-Covid-19 situation What is the Commonwealth’s reaction to the unprecedented combination of crises of Covid-19, climate change, global economic recession, food insecurity and natural disasters? We brought together our 54 countries to share knowledge, best practice and real solutions to the pandemic, through ministerial meetings and joint statements on Covid-19. Also, on a much more granular practical level through programmes like our Coronavirus Response Centre and Tracker and our price-sharing database for the procurement of medical supplies. We have also been working on a new online Disaster Risk Finance Portal which, when launched, will help countries access the funds they need when they are hit by these events. Our existing Meridian Debt Management software helps members manage finances better. African economies have been hit hard by the pandemic. What is the biggest challenge to rebuilding...

NAIROBI, KENYA: The East African Business Council (EABC) is rooting for a regional coordinated approach on the resumption of air services to spur intra-EAC trade and revive the tourism and hospitality sector heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The East African Business Council on Friday hailed Kenya and Rwanda as they resumed international flights on Saturday. Tanzania resumed international flights in May.  EABC said the steps are important towards the recovery of the aviation and tourism sectors, however, the differences emerging in regional air transport services among some partner states are set to adversely affect the rebound of business in the region. Intra EAC trade stood at over Sh500billion in 2018 (EAC Trade and Investment Report). With the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, regional trade is expected to decline by 50 percent this year. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the EAC Partner States will potentially lose upwards of US$5.4 billion of tourist local spending for the year 2020 under scenarios of protracted closures and restrictions of seaports and airports. The impact of COVID-19 has led to a decline in the number of air passengers hence approximately US$0.54 billion revenue loss was projected in Kenya risking 137,965 jobs while US$20.4 million base revenues loss, risking 3,000 jobs was projected in Rwanda. The re-opening of regional air transport services will integrate the regional logistics value chains for increased exports of fresh produce, regional tourism, and enable service providers to tap into the larger EAC market. This...

Nairobi – IOM, the International Organization for Migration, is providing COVID-19 testing to thousands of truck drivers on Kenya’s borders. It’s part of a regional and national effort to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic and reopen trade across the East and Horn of Africa. Over 4,500 truck drivers and crews are being tested for the infection in Malaba and Busia on Kenya’s border with Uganda, where border closures had them waiting for weeks to get moving again. It’s also part of a global effort by IOM. The COVID-19 pandemic control measures put in place around the world are having an unprecedented impact on human mobility. More than 52,000 extraordinary restrictions to mobility have been put into effect by governments and authorities worldwide, while millions of internal migrants have lost their livelihoods in cities where they had been working and now are returning to their places of origin. At the same time—across 10 countries in the East and Horn of Africa—tens of thousands of truck drivers have been unable to transport lifesaving and essential goods, including food, water, medicine, medical equipment and supplies—the very items required to meet the needs of vulnerable communities such as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Since the pandemic, governments in the region have struggled to test truck drivers and reduce the spread of the disease, mainly due to inadequate testing capacity. As of 15 July, more than 2,000 truck drivers in the East and Horn of Africa have tested positive for the disease. “The border points have...