Resolving the current economic and social problems facing East Africa requires a multi-faced approach, with a positive fiscal regime being one of the most important interventions. For local and international investors alike, committing to a country can only be desirable when it makes economic sense. Therefore, to boost the economy and much needed government revenues, it is essential that attractive tax incentives are put in place. The most common forms of tax incentives include exemptions of certain incomes from tax. Alternatively, another way could be reducing the tax rates on personal income tax and the corporate income taxes. As the name implies, personal income tax (PIT) is levied on income earned by individuals. It is progressive in nature, meaning that higher income earners pay more vis-à-vis low income earners. Specifically, there are three tax rate bands in Rwanda—0 per cent, 20 per cent and 30 per cent, which is the highest under Rwanda’s current tax system. The law on income tax stipulates that any individual who stays in Rwanda for 183 days or more automatically becomes a tax resident and is liable to pay PIT. Comparably, the neighbouring East African countries such as Kenya and Tanzania have 30 per cent as their highest rate band on personal income tax, similar to Rwanda’s highest rate band. While countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar do not tax personal income, in many Nordic countries the highest marginal tax rate on personal income is over 50 per cent....

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a unique and timely opportunity for the continent and offers more benefits than other trading arrangements with regions outside the continent, said Mr Andrew Mold, Acting Director of UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Eastern Africa. Mold indicated that the AfCFTA marks a fundamental step towards dismantling barriers and reducing costs to intra-African trade, boost industrialization, improve productivity and competitiveness of Africa for the creation of the much-needed jobs on the continent. HOME FINANCE HOSPITALITY INVESTMENT TRADE TECHNOLOGY ENERGY HEALTH የአማርኛ-ወሬዎች ABOUT US Continental Free Trade To Support Africa’s Industrial Exports Trade  September 24, 2018 Newbusiness The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a unique and timely opportunity for the continent and offers more benefits than other trading arrangements with regions outside the continent, said Mr Andrew Mold, Acting Director of UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Eastern Africa. Mold indicated that the AfCFTA marks a fundamental step towards dismantling barriers and reducing costs to intra-African trade, boost industrialization, improve productivity and competitiveness of Africa for the creation of the much-needed jobs on the continent. He was speaking in a two-day conference discussing the Industrial Policy of Rwanda for the Next Decade, a meeting organized by Rwanda Ministry of Trade and Industry, the International Growth Centre (IGC) and World Bank. Mr. Mold made the case for AfCFTA explaining that Africa’s trade with the rest of the world over the past six decades has not delivered the promised diversification and that...

Speakers of Parliament from the East African Community (EAC) have met in Juba, South Sudan with a call on states to strengthen cooperation and promote peace in the region. The legislators from South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya met under the auspices of the Bureau of EAC Speakers from 17 to 22 September, 2018. The Speaker of the Uganda Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, pointed out the importance of member states supporting each other, saying they have cultural and economic ties. " Uganda bears a big brunt when there is instability in South Sudan because of the resultant influx of refugees who then put pressure on schools, hospitals and general infrastructure. I have had discussions with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to give additional support to the host districts,” Kadaga said. She also advocated for the actualization of the provision of the East African Customs Management Act in regard to free movement of labour, skills and capital. She said this will provide employment for the large population of the youth in the EAC. “I note that there is still a number of non-tariff barriers to trade and free movement of labour and capital amongst EAC partners,” said Kadaga. She further requested the government of South Sudan to grant security for Ugandan traders, saying reports indicate that Ugandan traders are facing hostility from Sundanese. “During a meeting with Ugandan traders in Juba, I was informed that they required extra protection because they are being threatened with eviction by the...

Investors in tourism and transport sectors are upbeat over ongoing construction of roads and bridges connecting Mombasa's South Coast and North Coast, opening up the entire region to brisk business. Construction of the Sh28 billion phase two and three of the Dongo Kundu bypass is set to start in October and has been described by various players as a game changer. The project, also referred to as the Southern Bypass, aims at easing traffic snarl-ups at Likoni Ferry and decongesting the port and town. It will also link up with the main corridors; the Nairobi-Mombasa, Mombasa-Malindi and Mombasa-Lunga Lunga highways. Kenya Tourism Federation chairman Mohamed Hersi, Mombasa Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry KNCCI) branch chairperson Rukia Rashid and Diani Reef Beach Resort and Spa managing director Bobby Kamani welcomed the building of the new road. TRANSPORT Kuldip's Touring Company director Ishpal Oberoi said the bypass will ease traffic and movement of people and goods to the South Coast. Work on the Sh24 billion 9km Mwache-Mteza dual carriageway, with two overseas bridges of 600m, 1,440m and a 660m viaduct, will start next month, Kenya National Highways Authority director-general Peter Mundinia said. The project is scheduled to take 48 months. Speaking during the start of the fifth Africa Engineering Week in Mombasa last week, Mr Mundinia said construction of the 7km Mteza-Kibundani Road (phase three of Dongo Kundu), at a cost of Sh4 billion, will also start next month and will take 24 months. “The blue economy is about exploiting ocean resources such...

Cargo-ladden trains from the port of Mombasa are being kept waiting for hours before offloading at the inland container depot  due to lack of space. Off-take of cargo at the depot by trucks has been slow compared to the rate of delivery of containers by trains from Mombasa. Cargo owners' slow pace of removing their goods is posing a major headache to Government agencies operating at the facility. When we visited the Inland Container Depot Nairobi (ICDN) last Friday, officials were racing against time to create space for arriving containers. Three trains were waiting at the Syokimau SGR station, each carrying about 108 twenty-foot equivalent units (teus) or 80 to 90 containers. The situation has also hampered the 24-hour loading operation at the port as the trains spend time about three kilometres away to be allowed to deliver cargo to the Nairobi facility. The ICDN is currently holding more than 10,270 teus while its efficiency level is reportedly at 6,000 units. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which owns the ICDN, will from today start evacuating containers that have been at the depot for long to free space for new cargo. KPA will team up with the Kenya Railway Corporation (KRC), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) and the Kenya Plant Inspectorate Services (Kephis), among other agencies, to clear the containers that have hampered SGR operations. Sources told The Standard that Transport Principal Secretary Esther Koimet last week met Government officials involved in the ICDN operations and ordered speedy transfer of containers. KPA General Manager, Operations, William Ruto said about 3,000 container units which have been at the depot for more than 21 days will...

Six  million tonnes of conventional cargo will be evacuated from the port of Mombasa by rail every year once the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) relief line two extending from berth 11 to berth number one becomes operational. Speaking to press at the Port of Mombasa, SGR Project Manager for Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) at the Mombasa port, David  Arika said the 2.8 kilometers relief line two project is complete and ready for use. He said the port is recording high growth in cargo handling as a result of the SGR commercial operations which began in January this year. Arika also said the new line would enable loading of 200, 000 units of vehicles directly from the vessels to the train wagons. “Dynamic testing has been done and it has confirmed that the line is ready for use. What is left is to put safety measures inside the port in line so that the train can now start accessing all the way to berth number one,” said the project manager. Arika said the relief line two targets bulky and heavy cargo like steel, clinker, iron and cement into the SGR trains. He added that plans were on course to establish another one kilometre siding extension from the port to grain bulk storage through public private partnership to the tune of Sh.3 billion. He said this would enable seamless evacuation cargo from grain bulk and other companies’ storages within the port to other parts of the country. This, he said, would increase...

Kenya  Ports  Authority (KPA) acting Managing Director, Dr. Daniel Manduku says the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) freight operations have boosted cargo transportation and enhanced efficiency at the port of Mombasa. Mombasa port remains the most connected in the region, with at least 33 shipping lines calling and providing direct connectivity to more than 80 ports worldwide. The MD observed that the 472 km SGR line from Mombasa to Nairobi has helped lower conventional cargo and ship congestion, besides enhancing Mombasa’s image as a regional logistics hub. Dr.Manduku said the SGR has helped decongest Mombasa port by hastening the offloading of cargo from ships for onward transportation to Nairobi and other hinterland destinations via the modern high-speed rail network. “The movement of cargo by the modern rails has helped ease the cost of doing business in Mombasa and its environs,” he noted adding that it has also eased vehicular traffic on the port access roads. Some 1, 300 containers arrive at the port daily with about 800 being loaded to the cargo trains bound for the Nairobi Inland Container Deport (ICD). He  said  KPA ICD Nairobi  works 24 hours and they encourage clients to be clearing their cargo throughout even the weekends as all services are available round the clock. He acknowledged that the SGR commercial services have affected the multi-billion shilling Container Freight Stations (CSFs) businesses in Mombasa. He said KPA is aware that the SGR operations have not gone down well with CFS operators and transporters as they feared...

Lori Systems, a tech-enabled trucking logistics platform has launched into Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan after winning multiple bids associated with the newly built $4B railroad system in East Africa, with the joint goal of driving down the costs of goods in the region and unlocking the region’s growth potential. “We’ve opened new locations in Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda. Over the past year, we have grown rapidly – both in terms of throughput on the system as well as the team. Our team has grown from 15 to 70 since February and adds experience from organizations such as McKinsey, DHL, and NASA. Lori is focused on hiring the best talent in order to execute on bringing down the costs of goods across the continent,” Sandler said. The firm has also partnered Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway to help reduce the costs involved by truckers in moving bulk imports and exports. “We’re so excited to announce our working partnership with the Standard Gauge Rail in Kenya. In our continued efforts to bring down the costs of goods, we have been rapidly ramping up our operations to tackle massive transportation issues. We’ve already had success in bringing down direct costs of moving bulk grains, achieving a 17% reduction in Uganda,” said Josh Sandler, CEO of Lori Systems. The firm also recently partnered with Kuehne + Nagel,  DHL and Cargill to allow them to extract greater insight from their logistics data and drive informed action through improved technology, analytics, and operations. To further...

Countries can use the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) tool to create opportunities for African businesses and through them drive the continent’s industrialisation, economic diversification and development, said David Luke, coordinator of the Africa Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) In a presentation at the on-going 24th Sessions of the Inter-Governmental Committee of Experts (ICE) of Southern Africa in Mauritius, Luke said that the AfCFTA, which has been signed by 49 of the 54 African countries and ratified by seven so far, will reduce trade costs and facilitate business expansion and in the process provide great opportunities for African businesses to gain from and contribute to Africa’s rapid market growth. “It will have only a small impact on tariff revenues while helping to restructure African economies to deliver a more sustainable fiscal base. This is because the AfCFTA helps to pivot Africa’s trade away from extractive exports towards more sustainable and inclusive trade that is less dependent on the fluctuations of commodity prices.” Africa faces a changing world trading landscape with many evolving external challenges, he said, adding the AfCFTA, against this, could serve as a platform for African trade policy coherence providing Africa with the strengthened voice of 1.2bn people in future negotiations, fostering a common position on evolving trade policy issues, and ensuring that individual bilateral arrangements do not unravel the objectives of continental integration. The ATPC chief said that to fully utilise the opportunities of the AfCFTA, each country is recommended...

Investment opportunities are expected to be seized as foreign relations between Kenya and Somaliland grow. Mr Bashe Awil Omar, Somaliland's envoy to Kenya, said his country seeks to ensure its ties with Kenya are cemented. "The cooperation between Kenya and Somaliland will see trade between the two countries grow. We will also work on improving security in the region and empower the hundreds of thousands of youth to invest or further their education," Mr Omar, the former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said on Wednesday. With a liaison office already set up in Kenya, Mr Omar said he plans to meet Kenyan government officials to explore opportunities for the benefit of citizens. EDUCATION Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 and is seeking international recognition. "We (Kenya and Somaliland) are already working together when it comes to security and fighting terrorism in this region. But there is so much that remains to be done for us to cooperate and coexist together," he added. Among the areas that need to be bolstered are trade, agriculture, education and health. "These are the areas we want to work on. It is a tall order but I do believe we will soon get rid of restrictions and open the space for our people to easily travel between the two countries," he said. DP WORLD He said there are over 18,000 Somaliland citizens residing in Kenya, and as the bond improves more are expected to trickle in. Somaliland boasts of a stable and democratic...