The government must take concrete measures to ensure the country retains its dominance as the regional powerhouse. This requires that operations of all ministries, departments and agencies measure up to global standards. Mombasa port, Kenya’s gateway for exports and imports, is the starting point. The days of running ‘business as usual’ are gone because Tanzania is keen on taking away trade from hinterland countries that used to pass via Mombasa port. Uganda and Rwanda have already demonstrated their willingness to reduce their dependence on Kenya. Indeed, Rwanda has decided to build a railway line that will link it to the Tanzanian standard gauge rail line from Dar-es-Salaam Port. Burundi is already in the Tanzanian orbit as most of its imports and exports pass through Dar ports. Tanzania has also demonstrated its readiness to erect tariff and non-tariff barriers to contain Kenya outside its borders such as giving rebates to cargo owners and truckers. But, perhaps, the biggest move that Mombasa needs to make is ensure it retains the maritime trade between the DRC and the outside world. This is because the Congolese population is huge and the country is poised to grow its economy faster once it stabilises its politics. It also has all the mineral wealth the world needs. Container ships Another key area that Mombasa port needs to address urgently is the time it takes to off-load and load container ships. This will require the cooperation of all stakeholders at the port including those who make money as...

Tanzania’s President Dr John Pombe Magufuli on Tuesday emphasised the need and urgency for the East African Community to work harder, in unity, to fast-track the development of the six-member bloc. Magufuli was addressing a special sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in the Tanzanian capital, Dodoma. Speaking in Kiswahili, he urged the Assembly to strive to remove “as early as possible” barriers to trade, movement of people, and others afflicting the region. He said: “Our sole responsibility is to bring development to the people we lead. It is important we understand that the East African Community is for the citizens and not the leaders”. Industry, transport and energy sectors The Tanzanian President put emphasis on lawmakers attaching importance to the sectors of industry, transport and energy, among others, as key drivers of the bloc’s development. Asking them what would be the use of having abundant resources such as minerals, and others, that do not really benefit EAC citizens, Magufuli told regional lawmakers that the lack of an enhanced industry sector costs the region a lot. By exporting raw materials, he said, the region is only enriching others while it’s poor get poorer, a situation that no rational leader in the region should tolerate and urged EALA members to leave no stone unturned in their quest to protect and advance the region’s industrial sector. “If we don’t protect our own industries we shall just remain escorts. A market of 170 million is a big market. If we have...

Delegates from South Sudan, the latest entrant into the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), jetted into the country ahead of discussions on the ratification of the free movement of people protocol by member states. The Government of South Sudan is pushing for the regularisation of an informal movement of people that is currently taking shape in the region. The four-day IGAD meeting was due to be opened Tuesday at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala by internal affairs minister Gen. Jeje Odongo. The eight-member trade bloc has Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea. According to IGAD officials, experts from South Sudan and other member states will discuss the proposed IGAD protocol on free movement of persons. "This high-level experts meeting will bring together high level experts from ministries, authorities, commissions and parliament of the Government of South Sudan. "The aim of this high-level experts meeting is for experts to deliberate on the provisions of the proposed IGAD Protocol on Free Movement of Persons," a statement issued by IGAD over the weekend noted. Foreign ministers from IGAD member states, delegates from the Europe Union, United Nations and key labour movement experts, are also expected to attend the meeting, where a political endorsement for fast-tracking the free movement of people protocol will be discussed. With a never-ending conflict in South Sudan, it is estimated that majority of South Sudanese are living outside their country as refugees. At 1.3 million, Uganda accommodates the largest number of South Sudanese refugees. The right...

Tanzania is eyeing Kenyan supermarkets and consumer supply chains in new efforts to revamp cross border trade between the two countries. This means that once the ongoing bilateral talks are successfully completed, Kenyans are likely to see more Tanzania products in the shelves of local supermarkets. Speaking during a press briefing on the upcoming four day Made in Tanzania exhibition set to kick off today at Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Tanzanian ambassador to Kenya Pindi Chana said this is part of the objectives of the exhibitions. "The exhibition aims is creating more awareness of Tanzania products and services to the Kenyan private sector and general public at large,” Chana said. She further noted that in the trade between the two countries, Tanzania will focus highly on the Tourism, technology Services, food stuffs, fruits, culture art and craft sectors. While giving his remarks during the press briefing, Robert Ng'ong'a, the deputy director of bilateral trade at the State department of international trade said that trade between the two countries has largely been affected by competition from other international countries. However, he refused to disclose names of the third force citing ongoing investigations on how to solve the issue, instead he said that talks are ongoing between the two countries to find the way forward and that the exhibition is as a result of the said talks. Made in Kenya exhibition week in Tanzania will also be held within the 2018/2019 financial year. This follows slowed trade between the two leading East...

Extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to cover 10 berths at the Kenya Ports Authority, will be complete by end of next month. The extension involving construction of two bridges, with one going deep into the sea and the other for vehicles is expected to be complete by May 29. Transport CS James Macharia said the sea bridge will facilitate easier movement of bulky and heavy goods and loading onto the SGR​. “We are extending the railway line along the 10 berths so that as ships arrive, you can have the cargo coming straight from the ship into the SGR train," the CS was quoted saying. KPA senior principal communication officer Hajj Masemo on Monday said the project is 69 per cent complete, with the vehicle bridge already done. The bridges are expected to drastically reduce the amount of time taken to offload goods, and upload them to the SGR for onward transportation once the entire project is complete. Currently, cargo is offloaded from ships using cranes before being transported to the SGR line via trucks. Maseno said engineers are expected to start mounting beams across the sea bridge by the end of April. "For the aspects of lines construction from berth number 10 to berth number one, because those are the railway lines being put under concrete, the progress is 50 to 60 per cent complete. So the progress is on course," Masemo said. Chinese contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation is undertaking the construction. Kenya International Freight and...

News that Tanzania and Uganda are restricting entry of Kenya made ice cream, biscuits and sweets does not augur well for East Africa’s common market. A common market basically allows for free movement of locally manufactured goods, services and people. Kenyan businesses accuse neighbouring States of holding up people and goods, frustrating the goals of the common market that includes Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi. The latest spat has seen Tanzania and Uganda accuse Kenyan manufacturers of tilting competition in their favour by using imported raw materials. The trade barriers are unacceptable eight years since the formation of the EAC bloc. Tanzania and Uganda have been quick to impose restrictions on Kenya goods instead of giving negotiations a chance to ease the trade wars. The ambition of the region of more than 150 million people to draw foreign investment and wean EAC countries off external aid should not be allowed to die at the altar of suspicions. It should not be lost that the community collapsed in 1977 amid economic and political disagreements. Because the continent is on course to create a mega trading bloc, EAC member countries should give priority to negotiations over grand-standing for its survival. Source: Business Daily

China is using its $1 trillion-plus investment initiative in infrastructure projects as a way to expand its military footprint, projecting power and influence around the globe from the Horn of Africa into the Middle East and South Asia, according to a new report. The report, released this week by the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), reviewed 15 Chinese-financed infrastructure programs, the Washington Times reported last week. C4ADS analysts found that Beijing’s focus on building ports, roads, railroads and pipelines will bolster China’s financial prowess through these spheres of economic influence. But the infrastructure network created through development projects under the initiative also lays down the logistical backbone for China’s military, the report found. Earlier this month, China and Ghana signed agreements totaling $66 million to support the Jamestown fishing port complex and implementations of other projects, Ghana News Agency reported.  As part of the bilateral agreement, China is providing $50m for the construction of the port. Construction on the fishing port complex is expected to start this year. Also, Chinese investors want to transform the Cameroonian city of Kribi into the largest seaport in central Africa, DW reported last December Kribi's autonomous port is one of the biggest Chinese investment projects anywhere in the world. When it opens for business, it will be the largest deepwater port in central Africa. Some 85% of the €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) budget for the new harbor project is financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, with the rest falling to the government...

Earlier this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in the country and, among other engagements, was to invite Rwanda to take part in the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit to be held in Beijing this year. Rwanda accepted the invitation to the forum, which is among the largest platforms convening 29 member countries of the South-South cooperation, established in 2000. In an exclusive interview with Business Times, a Chinese official based in Kigali last week said that the preparations for the September summit were at an advanced stage. Hudson Wang Jiaxin, the Counselor at China’s Economic and Commercial Department in Kigali, said that this year’s summit would present a platform to discuss future investments between China and Africa. “FOCAC is a platform for China-Africa cooperation and for reciprocal dialogue with the idea to improve our socio-economic progress. This year’s summit is also the best platform to discuss future investments options and the strategies to achieve them,” he said. The previous summit was held in South Africa during which China made commitments to invest in Africa. At the Johannesburg summit, a commitment of about USD60 billion was made, thrice the USD20 billion commitment made during the 2012 FOCAC Summit. Wang noted that Rwanda has been receiving its share of the investment commitment and implementation over the past two years, most of which China had directed towards advancing the infrastructure sector. “Over the past years, right after the FOCAC summit in Johannesburg, China has been providing large sums of...

The Fifth Annual Devolution Conference opened on Monday in Kakamega county -- once again bringing the 47 heads of the devolved units and relevant agencies to Western Kenya. This is not just good news for Kakamega only but for all the Western Kenya counties, partly because of the vast hospitality business opportunities that come with it as well as the multiple trading moments it offers local business people. At the start of devolution, most counties experienced “teething problems” which greatly impacted negatively on service delivery to the citizenry. There were public complaints on county officers and their inability to run the counties. The wars between some governors and members of the county assembly slowed many activities. It is however a fact that most new things have a kick-off slow time. Over time, there have been huge benefits and successes of devolution and in particular in the field of hospitality. Devolution has opened up most areas of our country. I came to Kisumu in 2015 to run the then new four-star Acacia Premier set up by Simba Corporation in the lake city. I have seen Kisumu and the western region grow in terms of hospitality with new modern hotels coming up in the counties in the last two to three years. My hotel is already fully booked and so are the many other hotels in Kisumu and larger Western region for the conference. Kisumu has been a host to major local and East Africa Annual conferences. The city hotels have also...

The East African Community produces only less than 30 per cent of the medicines it needs while it imports the rest, a situation that must be reversed to ensure citizens easily access affordable drugs, officials have said. This revelation was made last week during the launch of a 10-year strategic plan for pharmaceutical manufacturing at the EAC seat in Arusha, Tanzania. The launch was held on the margins of the first regional vaccine production symposium. “Vaccines are among a category of medicines that the region wholly depends on imports as currently there is no local production capacity. There is a vacuum and nature hates vacuum,” said Kirunda Kivejinja, the chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers. Kivejinja is also Uganda’s second deputy prime minister and minister for East African Community affairs. “We are determined to reverse these negative trends and strengthen local production capacity,” he said, noting that the 2017-2027 roadmap seeks to address this issue. According to Christophe Bazivamo, the deputy EAC secretary-general for productive sectors, the action plan will guide the bloc towards evolving into an efficient and effective pharmaceutical industry. The bloc views the local production of essential medicines as contributing to attaining sustainable development goal (SDG) 3.8 – achievement of universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health care services, and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all – in a more sustainable manner than through delivery of donated drugs to developing countries. “I am happy...