KIGALI, Rwanda - The cost of doing business in the East African Community which has been still affecting healthcare delivery in the region is gradually falling. The EAC partner states are working together to address the infrastructural challenges to reduce the cost of doing business hence support the health sector of the region. “Transferring medical equipments from one part of the region to another is gradually improving,” Rogers Ayiko,a Global Health Specialist working at the EAC Secretariat as the Principal Health Systems and Policy Officer said during the 4th East African Healthcare Federation Conference held last week in Kigali Rwanda Ayiko said, “Previously some goods used to take months to leave one port and reach another country but with the concerted efforts of the EAC partner states, the number of days taken for good to leave say port Mombasa to Uganda has reduced now which is a very good progress as determined by the people of the region”. The other big cost that affects doing business in the region is the cost of communication. “The cost of communication is reducing gradually in the entire region,” Ayiko said. “EAC countries are coming together to agree to reduce on taxes so that people can be able to communicate across the region which is supporting doing business in the region,” he said. The current landscape of healthcare in EAC shows that the EAC Common Market has around 165 million people with a market worth USD 120billion which if collectively harnessed can help the...

It is always a pleasure to travel across East Africa and discuss the state of the East African Community with citizens. That has been my privilege this past week when I travelled to three partner states. During my conversations, one issue that formed part of the discourse was the benefits of the community to the citizens. Secondly, an explanation of the mistrust between citizens of neighbouring countries and what can be done about it. A few examples of some of the concerns raised will serve to illustrate my experience. In one conversation the issue raised was the possibility of men from one country marrying most of the women from another state. In another, the focus was on land being grabbed by citizens from other states. Others recalled their suffering when the original community collapsed. There was also focus on the state of constitutional development across EAC states and its implications on realisation of a political federation. I could go on and on. The pattern being painted was of real, practical issues. And while these could be dismissed as pedantic or peripheral, they are at the heart of the perceptions East Africans have of their neighbours. It is important that we address them candidly if we are to have a sustainable and people-centred integration process. Recently, Tanzania restricted access of Kenyan tour operators into Tanzania. The dispute escalated when Kenya stopped Tanzanian tour vans from picking and dropping tourists from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. In retaliation, Tanzania reduced the number of...

ARUSHA, Tanzania - East African Community (EAC) Secretariat staff have been advised to cut out unnecessary travel. In the run-up to the 2015/16 budget being passed last week, a report of the General Purpose Committee (GPC), presented by the Chair Dr. Odette Nyiramilimo suggested the need to further curtail excess travel and enhance implementation of the decisions and directives of the Council of Ministers. Consequently the Committee called for more Video Conferencing and that all departments within the EAC should adjust their budgets to reflect the same. In its report the Committee also expressed concerns that the social sectors at the EAC have been chronically underfunded over time. Committee members called for the re-allocation to the extent possible in order to restore some activities of the sector to allow for their effective implementation. The GPC also wants an overall strengthening of EAC Sensitisation policy and the requisite prioritization in funding. “While the Committee has previously recommended strengthening of the Corporate Communications Department to be able to spearhead the process, the Committee is of the view that efforts have to be enhanced and funding increased to facilitate Organs and Institutions to optimally participate both jointly and as entities, in the sensitization of East Africans,” a section of the report reads. Dr Nyiramilimo also calls for improvement of the conditions of service and emoluments of the EAC Staff to make the Institution more competitive and to retain the best caliber of staff. The Committee raises concern over the impending high number of...

At the best of times, the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat staff in Arusha would wish for more than the $110 million regional legislators are debating at present. Notably, the budget for 2015/16 is about $15 million less than the previous one of $126 million passed in financial year 2014/15. Paying for important EAC Secretariat programmes is perhaps the most nagging problem before the Partner States and as yet no definite solution has been presented. There is so much to do, but limited financial resources require that many vital programmes are left on the shelf until the cash is in hand. As closer regional integration becomes stronger, the importance of the Arusha Secretariat becomes just as crucial. For the present, Development Partners like the European Union (EU), have been quick to give a helping hand. On bilateral terms, Germany even paid for construction of the EAC headquarters. In other areas, other countries have been offering grants to push the regional integration agenda forward. But as most would agree, this kind of arrangement is not sustainable. The EAC must increasingly fend for itself if it is to be taken seriously as a viable economic bloc. According to the official stance, the Vision of EAC is a prosperous, competitive, secure, stable and politically united East Africa; and the Mission is to widen and deepen Economic, Political, Social and Culture integration in order to improve the quality of life of the people of East Africa through increased competitiveness, value added production, trade and...

Encouraging results achieved over the past year, including investments at key ports have resulted in reduced cargo transit times on East Africa’s main transport corridors, and accelerated implementation of the EAC’s Single Customs Territory. Harmonisation of product standards has expanded the EAC trade basket says TMA Annual Report. Dar es Salaam, 30 April 2015. Investments in trade infrastructure as well as the dismantling of bureaucratic and procedural barriers to economic integration, is positioning the EAC region as the destination of choice for doing business, TradeMark Africa (TMA) said today as they launched their annual report covering the period 2013/2014. [caption id="attachment_7231" align="alignleft" width="600"] TMA 2014 Annual Report launched on 30 April 2015 following 15 NOC Meeting held at Serena Hotel Dar es Salaam. From left Malena Rosman – Programme Manager Private Sector Development, Embassy of Sweden, Josaphat Kweka – TMA Tanzania Country Programme Director, George Lauwo - Ag. Permanent Secretary MEAC & NOC Chair; Magelan Sakinoi – Deputy Director Tanzania Revenue Authority, Sion McGeever – Trade & Infrastructure Advisor DFID.[/caption] TMA further stated that its partnership with the East African Governments has resulted to great progress in delivering 7 key One Stop Border Posts (OSBP) across East Africa this year to increase physical access to markets for both formal and informal traders. Pilot operations at the Kobero/Kabanga between Tanzania and Burundi borders already indicate a two day reduction in transit times at Kabanga for cargo trucks, as well as reduction in tedious formalities for traders which have had adverse impact...

Arusha. A partner state that will not attend key meetings of the East African Community (EAC) without any sound reason will now face the music, it was resolved here at the weekend. A partner country to EAC is now required to give a seven-day notice in the event it won’t be able to participate in the meeting in question. “In the event that a seven-day notice is not given and other partner states are already at the venue of the meeting, the session shall proceed and deliberations and outcome of the meeting and decision reached shall bind the absent member country,” the secretariat said yesterday. The new directive focuses mainly on the Sectoral Council Meetings of the regional organization where important issues for each sector are discussed by senior officials and technical experts from the partner states. It is at the level of the Sectoral Councils where comprehensive implementation programmes for each sector covering the region are prepared as well as setting out the priorities Sectoral Councils, through their respective committees, also monitors and keeps under constant review the implementtion of the programmes of the Community with respect to its sector. Following the just-ended meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers here, the Arusha-based Secretariat was directed to report on the absenteeism of the partner states from sectoral council meetings for action. The ministerial council, which is the policy organ of the Community, directed the secretary general to officially communicate to partner states challenges faced due to postponements of meetings....

East African governments have increased their annual budgets for the 2015/2016 fiscal year, with more spending directed to security and key sectors expected to drive growth. But the ballooning spending plan for the region comes against the backdrop of faltering revenue collection and declining donor support, creating a fertile ground for increased domestic borrowing. In Rwanda, the total budget for fiscal year 2015/16 is projected at $2.47 billion, reflecting an increase of $8.26 million, compared with the 2014/15 revised budget of $2.46 billion. The Finance Ministry announced that Rwf882.5 billion ($1.32 billion) equivalent to 50 per cent of the total budget will finance economic transformations, rural development, employment and accountable governance. Economic transformation projects will be allocated Rwf413 billion ($619 million)—23 per cent while rural development will be get Rwf227.9 billion ($341.8 million) — 13 per cent. Productivity and youth employment will be allocated Rwf152 billion ($228 million) —nine per cent while the remaining Rwf89 billion ($133 million) — five per cent will go to accountable governance. Foundational areas (education, health, public accounts, justice and sustainable development) will receive Rwf645.6 billion ($968.4 million) or 37 per cent of the total budget. Rwf240 billion ($360 million) or 14 per cent will go to service delivery and ICT promotion. Donor funding is expected to decline to 5.7 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015/2016 from 7.3 per cent of GDP in 2014/15 as development partners opt to channel funds directly to specific projects and to non-governmental organisations. According to...

KIGALI, Rwanda - Better customs system means higher revenues and better controls, lower trading cost and fewer delays. This is why reducing transit costs, simplifying customs procedures, and improving national and regional trade environments are of critical importance. Rwanda Revenue Authority Commissioner for Customs Raphael Tugirumuremyi said this while opening a two days 8th Meeting of Management Committee of the Regional Customs Transit Guarantee (RCTG) Scheme. The meeting was organized by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Rwanda Revenue Authority in Kigali last week. The aim was to discuss ways of making the RCTG programme more successful for businesses. “A landlocked country trade to a large proportion depends upon transportation and this is why high transport costs facing landlocked developing countries have become a far more restrictive barrier to trade for these countries than tariffs,” said Tugirumuremyi . He said: “Those countries on average pay almost three times higher for transport services than these tariffs, which is why there is a clear correlation between distance and transport costs.” According to World Bank 1% increase of distance from major markets could result in more than 1% decrease in the volume of external trade. “That’s why in view of this am pleased to learn that the RCTG scheme which was rolled out in the Northern Corridor countries in December 2011 has achieved the significant progress in the operations of the scheme particularly in the Northern and Central corridors’ countries,” Tugirumuremyi said. More than 13,000 RCTG general bonds...

The council of Ministers of the East African Community (EAC) will this week meet in Arusha, Tanzania, with the status of negotiations regarding South Sudan's application to join the community expected to be among the top issues on the agenda. The council meetings are attended by the ministers responsible for EAC affairs of each partner state. This week's meeting, which opened yesterday and runs until Thursday, is the 31st ordinary meeting of the council. It normally takes place in three sessions beginning with that of senior officials of the EAC followed by that of EAC permanent secretaries before climaxing with the ministers' meetings that mainly considers key issues forwarded by their technical officials. Innocent Safari, the permanent secretary at Rwanda's Ministry of East African Affairs, told The New Times, yesterday, that the status of negotiations regarding South Sudan's application to join the EAC as a sixth member will be one of the key issues for the council to consider. The Republic of South Sudan, which is currently embroiled in a contest for political power between President Salva Kiir's government and rebels loyal to his former deputy Riek Machar, applied to join the EAC on June 10, 2011. The EAC Council of Ministers then established a high level negotiation team to negotiate the country's entry into the Community, a process that was initiated by the South Sudanese government delegation appointed by President Kiir on March 13, last year. In November, last year, the South Sudanese delegation met the Secretary General of...

While the Kenyan portion of the new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is in part already under construction, the Ugandan portion of the project between the Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan section will only reach up to the Ugandan border from where separate work contracts and funding will be needed to cross the “Pearl of Africa.” Information received over the Easter weekend speaks of Uganda President Museveni himself witnessing the signing of US$3.2 billion deal with the China Harbour Engineering Company, which will be handling the engineering and procurement side of the project. The main line of the new railroad will cross Uganda and link the border with Kampala. From there, the line is expected to move on to the border with Rwanda, while the dormant line from Kampala to Kasese will also be upgraded. In addition, a branch line will go north to connect the South Sudanese border town of Nimule, from where the section to Juba and beyond then has to be constructed under separate contracts. Questions have already been asked about the route to the Nimule border point, as the Rift Valley Railways operated a narrow gauge line which already extends to Gulu, only a short distance from the South Sudanese border, and with special reference being made to the planned LAPSSET railway. This new SGR line will connect the port of Lamu with both Ethiopia and South Sudan and will no doubt compete for cargo volumes with the branch line from Uganda to South Sudan. Only...