By Michel Nkurunziza Local transport operators are seeking harmonisation of some new initiatives being launched in the sector at the regional level, arguing that this will help ease service delivery. The transport industry stakeholders, especially those offering trans-border services, say the move could help make them more competitive in the region. While meeting officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure recently, the transporters noted that different laws applied by the East African Community (EAC) member countries affect their businesses. Eulade Bagumya from Matunda Express said the firm wants to start operating on the Kigali-Kahama route in Tanzania, but raised concerns over standards of speed governors. Bagumya said some of the member states do not enforce the law on speed governors, noting that this offers a big challenge to Rwandan transporters. "For us we have speed governors, but when we start operations in Tanzania it will affect our competitiveness and profitability," he said. He added that local firms make few rounds to and from Kahama (Tanzania) because of 'limited' speed. "So, we need to advocate for harmonization of laws to ensure a level playing ground across the region,"he said. Minister for infrastructure James Musoni explained that there are ongoing discussions between Northern Corridor member states to harmonise transport sector laws and policies, including those on speed governors and fees cross-border transporters pay. According to Deo Muvunyi, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority director for road transport, speed governors are essential to ensure road safety and promote discipline on the roads. Sector review Meanwhile,...

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 27th February, 2016: The East African Community officially launched the first One Stop Border Post (OSBP) in Holili/Taveta towns on the Kenya/Tanzania border. The facility was built at a cost of approximately US$12 million donated through TradeMark Africa (TMA) by United Kingdom’s DFID, Canada and USAID. [caption id="attachment_12157" align="alignleft" width="640"] From left: TMA OSBP Director, Theo Lyimo;EAC Secretary General, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera; Amb. Dr. Augustine Mahiga, the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs, East African, Regional and International Cooperation; Kenya’s Labour and East African Affairs Minister, Ms. Phyllis Kandie[/caption] Amb. Dr. Augustine Mahiga, the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs, East African, Regional and International Cooperation, and Kenya’s Labour and East African Affairs Minister, Ms. Phyllis Kandie jointly launched the One Stop Border Post (OSBP). Dr. Mahiga said the OSBP will ease the movement of people and goods from and to the two Partner States. “It’s a demonstration of the trust between the two countries and that the One People One Destiny dream is slowly being realized through various East Africa Community initiatives,” said Dr. Mahiga. The Minister reaffirmed Tanzania’s commitment to the integration process by assenting to the OSBP Bill and concluding agreements for management of OSBPs with all Partner States. Dr. Mahiga said the OSBP will increase efficiency by reducing time and transport costs incurred by businesses, farmers and transporters while crossing from one Partner State to the other. The Minister further said that the Arusha-Holili/Taveta-Voi road which was currently under construction would boost...

THE tourist town of Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt is battling to keep the doors of its hotels and restaurants open. The millions of tourists who normally patronise this picturesque town, which sits between the Red Sea and the Sinai Desert, have dwindled to a trickle after the crash of a Russian airliner with 224 people on board shortly after take-off from this popular holiday resort in October. Not only are jobs and businesses at stake, the plunge in tourist dollars has exacerbated a serious foreign currency crisis. Tourism contributes about 13% to Egypt’s gross domestic product, and at its peak in 2010, the industry hosted nearly 15-million visitors. The ailing town was given a boost earlier this month by the arrival of up to a thousand visitors for the Africa 2016 conference, an Egyptian government event designed to revitalise ties with the rest of Africa. Its secondary role was presumably to show the world, or Africans at least, that it is safe to travel there, with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi hosting four African presidents (from Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sudan) and Ethiopia’s prime minister. The event was incident free but security was tight. Sisi, battling with the economic legacy of political upheaval, wants to increase trade and investment with African countries. This month’s event follows the launch of the Tripartite Free Trade Area, linking three major regional economic trade blocs, at the same venue last year, signalling a real determination to exploit the African market. While Sisi...

The new digitalised and machine- readable East African Passport replaces the old EAC travel document, which was restricted to just the five member states. Apparently, the proposed new one is going to be as international as the current Tanzanian booklet passport, which means it will be accepted all over the globe. Arusha will be hosting five Presidents from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania who are set to converge here for their Heads of State Summit on Wednesday the 2nd of March 2016. According to the Head of Communications at the East African Community Secretariat, Mr Richard Owora Othieno, the five East African presidents are converging here for their 17th Ordinary East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Summit. The five presidents, including for the first time at the summit, Dr John Magufuli, will have several items on the agenda, including the launching of the new electronic East African Passport and discussion of the possibilities of adding new members, including South-Sudan into the Arusha-based, community. The Summit will also address the consideration of reports by the preceding EAC Council of Ministers on: the negotiations on the admission of the Republic of South Sudan into the Community. The Head of State will also be addressing Sustainable Financing Mechanisms for the EAC; and the EAC Institutional Review. Tanzania will be handing over the Summit Chair to the next country, possibly Burundi despite conflicts in the country. The meeting will also consider the council’s reports on the Model, Structure and Action Plan of...

Mogadishu (HAN) February 27, 2016 – Public Diplomacy and Regional Stability Initiatives News. Tanzania has disregarded calls by the East African Business Council and assented to the EAC Non-Tariff Barriers Bill. The business lobby had petitioned the EAC heads of state not to assent to the Bill until the clause on dispute resolution was amended. The business community in the region is concerned that the Bill gives powers to the governments to identify NTBs and at the same time resolve them. “This clause has to be changed; the private sector should be given the mandate of identifying NTBs and pushing governments to resolve them,” said an EABC official. “NTBs are usually imposed by government bodies and thus it makes no sense for the same governments to resolve them,” the official told The EastAfrican. The East African Community Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers Act 2015, passed recently by the East African Legislative Assembly is to be enacted into law in March after being assented to by the presidents ahead of the EAC heads of state summit scheduled for March 2. Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has already assented to the law and it has been taken to Kenya for assent before being passed on to Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Once enacted, the NTB law is expected to eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade among the EAC partner states by compelling them to eliminate the numerous NTBs that hinder smooth movement of goods and services within the economic bloc. NTBs are partly to blame for...

By Aggrey Mutambo The East African Community could soon admit South Sudan into its fold despite reports of war crimes and violence in the world's youngest country. The five heads of state and government of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda will on Wednesday next week deliberate on formally admitting South Sudan into the regional bloc. A statement from EAC headquarters in Arusha said the leaders would decide "on the negotiations on the admission of South Sudan into the community" among other issues. Juba's step towards joining the EAC now depends on whether the leaders would endorse a report by the council of ministers, which has recommended the country's admission though citing certain areas that member states may have to assist. If it happens, it would be a sweet end to a five-year wait for Juba and a potentially expanded market for traders in the region. CONTRADICTION But it could also contradict one of the tenets under which EAC was established. According to the treaty establishing the EAC, new members are admitted if they respect the principles of democracy, rule of law, accountability, transparency and social justice. The treaty also says the countries must, besides being geographically near any of the existing members, practise "equal opportunities, gender equality as well as the recognise, promote and protect rights in accordance with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights." South Sudan applied to join the EAC soon after it gained independence in July 2011. That year, the community...

A RECENT report, the first of its kind, by the African Development Bank titled Africa Visa Openness Report 2016, confirmed that Africa largely remains closed, with Africans still needing visas to travel to over half of the continent. According to the report, Africans need visas to travel to 55% of other African countries, while Africans can get visas on arrival in 25% of other African countries and do not need a visa to travel to 20% of other African countries. These headlines go against the continent’s goal of truly becoming “one Africa”. Tourism minister Walter Mzembi has long argued for the removal of entry visa requirements in Zimbabwe. Having an open visa policy does not require large resources or complex systems. Countries such as Seychelles, Mauritius and Rwanda have seen a big impact on tourism, investment and financial services as a result of opening up their economies. If Zimbabwe is to achieve its goal of generating US$5 billion from tourism, then it almost certainly needs to review its visa regime. According to the report, African countries are on average more closed off to each other than open, making travel within the continent difficult. Global comparisons show that North Americans have easier travel access to the continent than Africans themselves. North Americans require a visa to travel to 45% of African countries, can get visas on arrival in 35% of African countries and do not need a visa in 20% of African countries. Some key findings of the report: Only 13...

IN SUMMARY The business lobby had petitioned the EAC heads of state not to assent to the Bill until the clause on dispute resolution was amended. Tanzania has disregarded calls by the East African Business Council and assented to the EAC Non-Tariff Barriers Bill. The business lobby had petitioned the EAC heads of state not to assent to the Bill until the clause on dispute resolution was amended. The business community in the region is concerned that the Bill gives powers to the governments to identify NTBs and at the same time resolve them. “This clause has to be changed; the private sector should be given the mandate of identifying NTBs and pushing governments to resolve them,” said an EABC official. “NTBs are usually imposed by government bodies and thus it makes no sense for the same governments to resolve them,” the official told The EastAfrican. The East African Community Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers Act 2015, passed recently by the East African Legislative Assembly is to be enacted into law in March after being assented to by the presidents ahead of the EAC heads of state summit scheduled for March 2. Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has already assented to the law and it has been taken to Kenya for assent before being passed on to Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Once enacted, the NTB law is expected to eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade among the EAC partner states by compelling them to eliminate the numerous NTBs that hinder smooth movement of...

By Joe Ombuor The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is right on course. This is attested to by the intensity of the work going on along the 472km corridor between Mombasa and Nairobi. Heavy machinery characterise the scenes along the route where major works, including building bridges, elevating the gradient with earth and concrete to desired levels and drilling rocky surfaces, are ongoing. Concrete patterns that can be easily confused for decorations are done to prevent erosion on the raised embankments. Blasts from explosives are common occurrences to build a uniform platform devoid of curves and slopes that are not ideal for speeds of up 120km per hour for passenger trains and 80km per hour for the freight ones, the experts explained. Civil works, said to be 60 per cent complete, include the replacement of unsuitable black cotton soil in the path of the railway with red soil, which is preferred for its compactness. The soil is fortified with murram, as we found in the stretch between Sultan Hamud and Emali, where earth movers are being used to remove black cotton soil as lorries bring in the red soil and murram. A foreman on the ground, Mr Ibrahim Malike, explained that clay soil stretches while the red one is compact. See also: Uhuru’s meeting with other heads of state paying off Low pay There are approximately 32,000 casual workers who earn between Sh57 and Sh96 per hour for a minimum of eight hours. It is estimated the Nairobi-Mombasa stretch will have...

Proving Africa will reap from trading with itself, vacationers from Rwanda, Burundi, DRC and Ethiopia have shored up Kenya's tourism LAST year, to much fanfare, 26 African nations signed off on a free-trade ‘super bloc’ that seeks to improve the absurdly low levels of intra-regional trade on the continent, at the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. In the same city at the Africa 2016 Forum last weekend, African Development Bank (AfDB) president Akinwumi Adesina painted a picture of just how insufficient trade with other African countries is. African trade represents just 2% of the global total, and intra-African trade makes up 12% of the continent’s activity, compared to 60% in Europe and 35% in Asia. “This is not acceptable,” Adesina said.  He added that AfDB will continue to invest heavily in regional infrastructure, especially rail, transnational highways, power interconnections, ICT, air and maritime transport, reducing the bottlenecks that cost the region billions in inefficiencies and lost opportunities. While tariffs on the continent are high—according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) an African company making sales on the continent would pay more than three times the 2.5% average tariff rate elsewhere - non-tariff barriers tend to wreak more damage than levies. Despite an abundance of trade blocs on the continent—17 at the moment—their poor internal workings has led potential benefits such as comparative advantage trading to be erased by red-tape heavy protectionist approaches. African countries have also kept the same export-geared infrastructure, leaving the continent vulnerable to global market shifts. Trade in...