The Personal Representative of the German Chancellor for Africa, Mr. Guenter Nooke who was on a working visit to Tanzania, yesterday held bilateral talks with EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha. The two leaders discussed development cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the EAC on matters relating to regional economic integration, with particular focus on Health and Agriculture, as well as Customs and Trade sectors. On his part, Amb Mfumukeko said the EAC and Germany have enjoyed a long standing partnership for the last 20 years, with commitments from the German Government amounting over Euros 470 million. He also requested Germany, through Mr. Nooke, to consider more support in Agriculture, Industrial development especially Agro-processing, and ICT sectors as part of institutional transformation in addition to the areas that the Federal Republic is currently supporting. Amb Mfumukeko reiterated that the EAC was deeply interested in penetrating the German and European market in general, which he described as being large and vibrant, adding that the region also hopes to benefit from technology transfer from Europe’s largest economy. Germany has long supported the EAC, and for the last 20 years spent about US$508 million to the region. The joint cooperation focuses on the areas of economic and social integration as well a health. Some of the Germany supported projects in the EAC include EAC Immunization Programme, EAC Regional Network of Public Health Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases Project, EAC Scholarship Programme; the Lake Victoria Basin...

The real impact of commerce under a Pan-African deal to establish the world’s largest free-trade area will probably only be seen in three years, according an architect of the pact. While the first trade under the African Continental Free-Trade Area, which could cover a market of 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion is set to start July 1, it will be “very modest,” Carlos Lopes, the former executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, said in an emailed response to questions. That’s because a road map, laws and support mechanisms to facilitate continent-wide trade has to be finalized, he said. Lopes led the unit that provided technical support to the African Union, which is spearheading efforts to establish the continent-wide deal. Africa lags behind other regions in terms of internal trade, with intra-continental commerce accounting for only 15% of the total, compared with 58% in Asia and more than 70% in Europe. The African Export-Import Bank estimates intra-African trade could increase by 52% within a year of the pact’s implementation and more than double during the first decade. The agreement requires member states to work toward eliminating or lowering tariffs on 90% of goods to facilitate the movement of capital and people, and create a liberalized market for services. Tariff concessions, rules of origin and protocols governing services are still to be agreed on An agreement on tariffs could take time because countries are expected to offer concessions on an individual basis...

Businesses are rooting for capping of the common external tariff at 32.5 percent by East African Community member states. East African Business Council’s CEO Peter Mathuki says the new tariff would be presented during the forthcoming EAC member states summit slated for later this month for ratification. The meeting is also expected to deliberate on admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, who have expressed interest to join the trading bloc. However, businesses from EAC member states say they have brokered a deal to cap common external tariff at 32.5% with the proposal expected to be presented during the forthcoming EAC summit in Arusha slated for later this month in efforts to harmonize the tax regime in the trading bloc. The council has called on the member states to expedite in establishing a single regional air space and one network area to further lower the cost of doing business in the region. The proposal by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia to join the East African Community trading bloc is at an advanced stage. The forthcoming summit is also expected to handle trade issues between member states. Source: KBC Channel

Importers in East Africa will from July operate under a common Customs bond, which guarantees uniform import duties and taxes across all partner states. Currently, the value of Customs bonds varies from country to country because of the application of different duty rates, valuation and sensitivity of goods. Kenya requires importers of transit goods to secure a Customs bond issued by an insurance company, while delicate or sensitive cargo requires a bank or cash guarantee. In Uganda and Rwanda, the Customs bond is issued by an insurance company with rates based on the taxes charged by the destination country. According to the East Africa Community Single Custom Territory Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, the common Customs bond will reduce the cost of doing business and goods turnaround time. This common Customs bond is expected to be adopted during the Council of Ministers in July as part of the pillar to create a Customs Union. It is meant to create a level playing field for the region's producers by imposing uniform competition laws, Customs procedures and external tariffs on goods imported from countries outside the EAC. The Monitoring and Evaluation Committee met in Mombasa, Kenya to discuss how to tackle the remaining trade barriers. They agreed that enhancing integration of Customs and port functions will ease the seamless exchange of information among partner states. To secure cargo movement in the region, the revenue commissioners from Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda, who were in attendance, said they were already implementing cargo tracking...

By JACOB WALTER SUMMARY The Border Management Secretariat, a bilateral agency, said the OSBPs will enhance security, boost revenue collection and ease movement between the two countries. Kenya is set to build one-stop border points (OSBPs) along its border with Ethiopia in its latest effort to boost trade with the landlocked neighbour. The Border Management Secretariat, a bilateral agency, said the OSBPs will enhance security, boost revenue collection and ease movement between the two countries. “Putting two more OSBPs in Marsabit County will greatly boost trade facilitation and seal all the porous border points that encourage illicit trades,” said Mr Kennedy Nyaiyo, director of Border Management Secretariat. He spoke in Marsabit County on Wednesday when he led a multi-agency delegation to the office of Deputy Governor Solomon Gubo, for a courtesy call. Mr Nyaiyo said the team was currently assessing suitability of Forole and Illeret, the two sites proposed to host OSBPs in Marsabit County. Marsabit currently has only one OSBP in Moyale Town despite the fact that the Ethiopia-Kenyan border straddles over 830km of its territory. Other areas marked for OSBPs include Siftu in Wajir, Markamari, Rhamu in Mandera, Todunyang in Turkana. Mr Nyaiyo said the identified points will have heavy military and police presence to ensure observance of law and order in bandit-prone areas to safeguard livestock product markets. He called on the county’s trade department to begin monitoring the trade volumes and statistically gauge the economic growth as soon as the projects are complete. Marsabit County Commissioner...

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 20: (Top L-R) South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Mandisa Pandor, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmend, Angola's President Joao Lourenco, Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, World Bank President David Malpass, UN executive secretary of Economic Commission for Africa Vera Songwe and IMF Africa Director Abebe Aemro Selassie, (Middle L-R) Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Malawi's President Peter Mutharika, Britain's Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom, Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, Guinea's President Alpha Conde, Britain's International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo, Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and Tunisia's President Kais Saied, (Bottom L-R) Britain's International Development Secretary Alok Sharma, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio, Senegal's President Macky Sall, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi, Morocco's Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani and Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara pose during the family photo at the start of the UK-Africa Investment Summit on January 20, 2020 in London, England. The British PM is hosting African leaders and senior government representatives along with British and African businesses during the UK-Africa Investment Summit, aimed at strengthening the UK’s economic partnership with African nations. By CNN For Citizen Digital British companies have made bigger profits investing in Africa than in any other region of the world, according to a new report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), which urges firms to...

In Summary The committee noted that there was a significant improvement of cargo transit time along the Northern Corridor following infrastructure initiatives undertaken in Kenya between 2013 and 2019. On infrastructure, the committee agreed to seek funds to improve roads especially in South Sudan, where less than one per cent of roads are in a good state according to the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Co-ordination Authority 2019 report. By ANTHONY KITIMO The 10-year-old Northern Corridor trade agreement will be updated by March to address emerging trade opportunities, meet current needs and boost regional trade. This was the main resolution of the 48th executive meeting of the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Co-ordination Authority member states — meeting in Mombasa, Kenya recently. The member states are Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. “The revised draft of Agreement and protocols has been received and is awaiting a validation workshop in March this year before its submission to the Council of Ministers,” said executive secretary Omae Nyarandi. The revised trade agreement will include the use of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway, which was not there in 2007 when the agreements were being drawn up; joint funding of infrastructure such as roads, one-stop-border posts, motion weighbridges; and speed up implementation of the Customs Union Protocol by adopting a single window system for regional custom data transfer to end cross-border delays. Trade Mark East Africa has committed budgetary support of $393,000 for the recruitment of system developers to enhance the current...

Building Cities in Africa – FBW Group Development News UK and Africa businesses urged to “seize the moment” A leading East African architecture and engineering firm is urging businesses in the UK and Africa to “seize the moment” following a major summit looking to deliver more investment and jobs. FBW Group, which is helping deliver large-scale development projects across the region, has also welcomed UK International Development Secretary Alok Sharma’s pledge of new aid to help build green cities across Africa with quality infrastructure. Malawi Creator Centre, Medical Training building: The new UK Centre for Cities and Infrastructure that he has announced aims to “turbo-charge investment” in fast growing cities across the developing world. It will provide British expertise to African governments and city authorities to improve the way cities are planned, built and run, including making them more environmentally-friendly. The focus will be on improvements to infrastructure, including water and energy networks. Mr Sharma’s announcement came on the eve of the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 which took place in London earlier this month (January). In the post-Brexit world the British government is looking to increase exports and encourage UK companies to be more active globally – and specifically turn their attention to markets like Africa. The aim of the London summit was to create new lasting partnerships to deliver more investment, jobs and growth, benefiting both Africa and the UK. It brought together UK and African business representatives, African leaders, international institutions and young entrepreneurs. FBW has operations in...

The African Union-led agreement is designed to establish the world’s biggest free-trade zone by area, encompassing a combined economy of $2.5-trillion A truck and trailer drives into a Beitbridge customs and immigration control point on the SA border with Zimbabwe. Picture: REUTERS Nyoni Nsukuzimbi drives his 40-tonne Freightliner for just more than half a day from Johannesburg to the Beitbridge border post with Zimbabwe. At the frontier town — little more than a petrol station and a KFC — he sits in a line for two to three days, in temperatures reaching 40°C, waiting for his documents to be processed. That’s only the start of a journey Nsukuzimbi makes maybe twice a month. Driving 885km farther north gets him to the Chirundu border post on the Zambian frontier. There, starting at a bridge across the Zambezi River, trucks snake back miles into the bush. “There’s no water, there’s no toilets, there are lions,” says the Zimbabwean. He leans out of the Freightliner’s cab over the hot asphalt, wearing a white T-shirt and a weary expression. “It’s terrible.” By the time he gets his load of tiny plastic beads — the kind used in many manufacturing processes — to a factory on the outskirts of Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, he’s been on the road for as many as 10 days to traverse just 1,600km. Nsukuzimbi’s trials are typical of truck drivers across Africa, where border bureaucracy, corrupt officials seeking bribes, and  myriad regulations that vary from country to country have stymied attempts...

Conference is being hosted jointly by Pakistan and Kenya and will also be attended by dignitaries from other African States. Conference will provide an important opportunity for Pakistani and African businesses to interface, identify the areas for enhanced engagement, and develop proposals for customized economic collaboration. During the visit, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will hold meetings with the Kenyan leadership including Cabinet Secretaries for Foreign Affairs & International Trade, African Community and Northern Corridor Development. Source: IPPMEDIA