The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to hit African economies extremely hard. According to the World Bank biannual Africa’s Pulse report, as a result of the pandemic, economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa will decline from 2.4% in 2019 to between -2.1% and -5.1% in 2020, depending on the success of measures taken to mitigate the pandemic’s effects. This means that the region will experience its first recession in 25 years. The decline will be primarily due to large contractions in South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola driven by their reliance on exports of commodities whose prices have crashed as well as other structural issues. This will inevitably affect Africa’s participation in trade and value chains as well as reduce foreign financing flows. Given the limited regional market, trade with the rest of the world is vital for Africa. Before the pandemic, Africa’s trade with the rest of the world has been showing good momentum. According to UNCTAD’s Economic Development In Africa 2019 report, in the period of 2015-2017, total trade from Africa to the rest of the world averaged $760 billion in current prices, and the share of exports from Africa to the rest of the world ranged from 80% to 90% in 2000 –2017 in Africa’s total trade. The only other region with a higher export dependence on the rest of the world is Oceania. However, intra-African trade, defined as the average of intra-African exports and imports, was around 2% during the period 2015–2017, and the intra-African exports were 16.6% of...

Uganda's trade within the East African region has increased to 21 per cent from 14.6 in the last 2 years, a report on East Africa interstate trade has revealed. Statistics shared by the East Africa Community (EAC) Affairs ministry indicates that Uganda’s exports within the region fetched Shs 1.5 trillion in 2018/19 translating into a 21.2 per cent rise compared to 14.6 per cent in 2017. State Minister for EAC Affairs, Julius Wandera Maganda, says Uganda’s growth in the East Africa region trade was majorly dominated by agricultural products such as coffee, maize, rice and cotton followed by manufactured goods. “Manufactured goods such as cement, petroleum, sugar, confectionery, fats and oils, pharmaceuticals, steel and steel products, beer and sugar were also traded across the region,” said Maganda. He revealed the figures during the ongoing NRM manifesto week at Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday where he also shared his ministry’s achievements, challenges and pending plans. Even though Uganda took lead in trade within the region, even other countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda registered more than 13 per cent growth, while Burundi and South Sudan declined by 7.1 per cent and 18.5 respectively. Maganda further elaborated that elimination of non-tariff barriers and increased intra-EAC trade in intermediate products like cold-rolled iron and clinker boosted the regions overall growth to $5.98 billion up from $5.47 billion in two years. “The growth in intra-regional trade was attributed to favourable weather conditions over the year which increased production of agricultural commodities...

KAMPALA/NAIROBI (Reuters) - Bottlenecks at borders as government screen lorry drivers to contain the new coronavirus are putting the delivery of vital food supplies in East Africa at risk, the U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday. “We could have problems feeding our beneficiaries...if the situation doesn’t improve,” Julie MacDonald, WFP’s deputy director in Uganda told Reuters. She said they only had enough food left for June. The agency is shipping in 2,000 tonnes of beans and cooking oil to feed some of Uganda’s 1.4 million refugees. Some of it is stuck at Kenya’s Mombasa port and some is stuck at the Ugandan border, she said. The line of lorries at the border town of Busia between Kenya and Uganda stretched 60 kilometers (37 miles) this week, said Mercy Ireri, an official from the Kenya Transport Association. Kenya’s port of Mombasa and Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam are the main gateway to the Indian Ocean for several landlocked nations, including Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. Uganda requires truck drivers from neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania to take coronavirus tests before they are allowed to enter. Tests are also being carried out on the Tanzania-Kenya border. But delays in returning results has forced truckers to wait for up seven days, said Jackson Katende, spokesman of the Ugandan cargo transport industry body. “Business is at a standstill,” he said. Paralysis at the Uganda-Kenya border, he said, had more than doubled the time for goods to move from Mombasa to the Ugandan capital Kampala...

Since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in the Great Lakes region in mid-March 2020, small scale traders have been unable to cross borders as they have traditionally done either to buy or sell goods. The regional supply of primary agricultural commodities, most of which are traded under the Simplified Trade Regime (STR), especially foodstuffs from surplus to deficit areas has also been disrupted by the long delays at borders as truck drivers wait to be tested for Covid-19 before crossing. To support cross border trade, which is the lifeline of a huge community in the region, the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation Project (GLTFP) engaged stakeholders to come up with innovative means of trading across the borders of the three countries covered by the project. These innovations are meant to ease the movement of goods and avoid food shortages. The project region covers eastern DR Congo bordering western Rwanda and Uganda. Subsequently, a new concept of bulk-buying has been developed whereby goods are procured in large consignments in collaboration with suppliers across the borders. This ensures there is no mass movement of traders crossing the borders. Led by the Cross-Border Traders’ Associations (CBTA),  this concept has helped traders minimize the risk of COVID- 19 spread and allow safe trade. It consists of packaging similar goods from either side of the borders and moving them across the border using joint means of transport. This limits the movement of people to a strict minimum. Only the driver conveys the goods accompanied...

A JOINT East African Community (EAC) response against the Covid-19 pandemic is being prepared by regional civil society and private sector organisations, to facilitate life returning back to normal. Delegates of the apex bodies of the private sector and civil society organisations that met virtually on Friday discussed the agenda for the Regional Dialogue Committee (RDC) meeting that will prepare possible interventions of the RDC to suit the needs of the region and developed a joint work plan for the Incubator for Integration and Development in East Africa (IIDEA). The IIDEA will stretch from June 2020 to June 2021 and the meeting agreed on a joint statement for the Regional Apex Bodies on Covid-19 impacts and responses in the region. The half day meeting was attended by representatives of the East African Civil Society Organisations Forum (EACSOF), the East Africa Law Society (EALS), the East African Local Government Association (EALGA) and the East African Health Platform (EAHP). It came as countries are forging a way forward in post Covid-19, with some, including Tanzania, having opened up their skies and have completed preparations to get back tourism as life has gotten to normal with most empty beds at centres that were meant for patients suffering from Covid-19. The members discussed a joint Covid-19 response to mitigate the effects that have been caused by the virus, impacting the entire world, in- cluding the EAC region. Ms Generose Minani, the Principal Gender and Community Development Officer for EAC, commended the apex bodies for...

For quite long, Kenya has been basking in the glory and pleasures that come with being a hegemon within the East African region. It is now conventional wisdom that Kenya bestrides the East African region like a colossus. It dominates business, technology, commerce and communications, its economy is the most successful in the region, and its diplomatic tact and influence is second to none. For quite long, Kenya has been basking in the glory and pleasures that come with being a hegemon within the East African region. Acting as a critical entrance route to the East African region - and enjoying relative peace in the region as compared to her neighbours ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­- Kenya has attracted bilateral and multilateral trade and investments, thereby boosting her outlook as an affluent diplomatic and economic powerhouse. However, this may change if the country does not rethink its diplomatic priorities. The country now finds itself in a train wreck with some of her neighbours, a make or break situation that could shift her diplomatic influence in the entire horn of Africa region for good. Coming at a time when there is a quest for hegemonic supremacy between Kenya and Ethiopia, the country appears to be making more foes than friends within the region, a phenomenon that could have dire repercussions on the country’s regional influence. Amidst the fight against coronavirus, Tanzania announced a ban on Kenya truck drivers entering their country. The decision was informed by the allegation by Tanzanian authorities that Kenyans are contributing...

Dar es Salaam — The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) is gearing up for a full reopening of cross-border trading. This comes after experts in the region expressed satisfaction over the precautionary measures countries within the 16-member bloc have taken to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus which causes Covid-19. The move comes after about 50 days when the body adopted its regional guidelines for harmonising and facilitating movement of critical goods and services across the region during the Covid-19 pandemic. The guidelines, adopted after a meeting of the Sadc Council of Ministers on April 6, 2020, aimed at limiting the spread of Covid-19 through transport across borders; facilitating the implementation of transport related national Covid-19 measures in cross-border transportation and facilitating flow of essential goods such as fuel, food and medicines. The guidelines also sought to limit unnecessary and mass movement of passengers across borders and harmonising and coordinating transport-related national Covid-19 policies, regulations and response measures. But with some countries - including Tanzania - making some important milestones in their fight against Covid-19, a virtual meeting of experts met yesterday to draw the roadmap for a meeting of Sadc Council of Ministers today (Thursday, May 28) resolved that some things must now change. "This meeting is being held in preparation for a meeting for the Sadc Council of Ministers. Key on the agenda that we will be presenting to the Sadc Council of Ministers is that some of the issues that we knew about Covid-19 must now...

Plans by the government to transport all transit cargo from the Port of Mombasa to Naivasha Inland Container Depot (ICD) through the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) effective June 1, have elicited protest from road transporters. They have termed the move as a deliberate plan by the government to “kill” the economy of Mombasa. Last Friday, the government directed that all transit cargo be moved and cleared at the Naivasha ICD for delivery to Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) chief executive Dennis Ombok accused the government of overlooking them during decision making on cargo transport matters. The government said in a statement on Friday 22, that some of the cargo will be moved on the old metre-gauge railway directly to Tororo in eastern Uganda or Kampala, while fuel will be transported by pipeline to Kisumu, Kenya and thereafter by water through Lake Victoria to Portbell in Luzira, Kampala or Jinja. Ombok dismissed the government’s claims that transporting cargo by railway is cheaper than using trucks. He made the remarks during a joint briefing convened by Muslim for Human Rights (Muhuri) in collaboration with Okoa Mombasa lobby group. Hidden costs “The government does not want to tell the public the hidden costs of using the SGR to ferry containers. If Uganda says its comfortable with cargo going by road, why is the government forcing this mandatory cargo transportation through SGR?” posed Ombok. Now, the Kenya Long Distance Truck Drivers Association (KLDTDA) has threatened to mobilise its members to...

The domino effect of the coronavirus pandemic will plunge many economies into recession and means the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is now needed more than ever to ensure that member states are trading with each other and supporting one another at this time, according to Banji Fehintola, senior director and head of treasury at the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC). He says South Africa has a very important part to play. It is the most industrialised and diversified economy on the continent and is one of the only financial markets that is sound enough to be tapped for infrastructure projects. “Trade finance and infrastructure finance are incredibly important in the creation of growth across Africa. However, since the global financial crisis of 2008/2009, some global banks have retreated from emerging markets, including Africa. These means credit capacity from global banks for African Financial Institutions (FI) has reduced considerably, constraining their ability to serve clients’ needs,” he tells Fin24. No amount of policy change or cuts in taxes will truly make Africa competitive when the physical hinderances are ignored, according to Fehintola. He says the AfCFTA is not just a dream, but there is a long way still go before it becomes a tangible reality. The next phase comprises a new set of challenges as the ratifying countries commence implementing the AfCFTA with the goal of truly unlocking Africa’s potential through the free movement of goods, services and people. He points out that the elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers...

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an impact on the East African Community (EAC) economies both directly and indirectly as a result of the measures being taken currently to contain the spread of the disease. Realizing that the spread of COVID-19 was mainly through travel, several measures were imposed. These include closing of airports and borders, curfews, social distancing necessitating the need to stay at home, reduction on movement and lock-downs. The closure of businesses has led to a near-collapse of the air travel industry, tourism and hospitality, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, industry and manufacturing, trade and distribution, cargo and passenger transport and logistics as well as the banking and other financial services sectors. The net result is unemployment, food insecurity and economic slow-down with a risk of total collapse if the situation is not arrested. Initial projections indicate that as a result of the pandemic, economic growth in East Africa as well as other sub-Saharan African countries will decline from 2.4 percent in 2019 to between -2.1 to -5.1% in 2020 (World Bank predictions), depending on the success of measures taken to mitigate the pandemic’s effects. It is estimated that the Pandemic is costing the region between US$37 billion and US$79 billion in terms of output losses. The biggest impacts in terms of loss to GDP are reductions in household and business spending (about 50 per cent), disruption to supply chain for key inputs in machinery and chemicals (about 30 per cent), and tourism (about 20 per cent). The result...