For decades, African women have been trapped in poverty cycles due to several underlying factors including unequal access to education, factors of production, and trade facilities; inequitable labour saving technologies; underpaid or unpaid labour; harmful cultural practices; and limited legal protection from gender inequality practices entrenched in society. To break the cycle of poverty and inequalities, the African Union continues to advocate for the development and implementation of policies and legal; frameworks that will create a wider array of opportunities for women, and which will lead to their economic empowerment at the national and regional levels, and ensuring that the development envisaged for Africa is inclusive and sustainable. With the launch of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021, the expectations are high as relates to the expanded business prospects for women-led businesses, which will unlock the potential for African women to grow their businesses from micro to macro enterprises. The Agreement establishing the AfCFTA recognises the need to build and improve the export capacity of both formal and informal service suppliers, with particular attention to micro, small and medium size enterprises in which women and youth actively participate. Furthermore, the AfCFTA Protocols on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Policy, provide clear guidelines to ensure emerging enterprises and infant industries are protected thus adding impetus to the Agenda 2063 goals of gender equality, women empowerment and youth development. Through the AfCFTA, informal and micro and small enterprises will...

Summary Sizeable drop in the number of projects and project value largely blamed on region’s inability to meet financing costs due to the effects of coronavirus. Eastern African countries cut $68.3 billion spending on infrastructure projects last year, the largest decline in number of projects and value of projects in sub-Saharan Africa in a year. This is as a result of the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping across the region, hitting public finances and pushing governments into massive indebtedness. The Africa Construction Trends Report (2020) by consultancy firm Deloitte released last week shows that the number of infrastructure projects in the region covering Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda dropped by 35 per cent to 118 in 2020 from 182 in 2019 while the total value of the projects declined by 47 per cent to $77.7 billion from $146 billion in the same period. Infrastructure projects in the transport sector accounted for 51.5 per cent ($40 billion) of the region’s total projects, followed by energy and power (23.5 per cent) and the shipping and ports (21.5 per cent) sectors. According to the report, the sizable drop in the number of projects and project value largely resulted from the region’s inability to meet financing costs due to the effects of Covid-19 pandemic resulting in the suspension of several projects. For instance, the Ethiopian government’s interest in renegotiating payment schedules for the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway and Addis Ababa-Sebeta-Mieso-Dewale Road Project, led to thinned financing...

A Chinese-built seaport in Kenya's coastal county of Lamu will be operational in June, a Kenya Ports Authority official said on Monday. The new facility will enable Kenya to become a gateway of choice for Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia. NAIROBI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese-built seaport in Kenya's coastal Lamu County will be operational in June, a Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) official said on Monday. China Communications Construction Company has already completed construction of the first three berths of the port, Bernard Osero, head of KPA corporate affairs, told Xinhua over the phone. "Lamu port will specialize in handling containers and oil cargo between the east African hinterland and the rest of the world," he said. The new facility will enable Kenya to become a gateway of choice for Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia, Osero said. "Lamu Port will also complement the existing Port of Mombasa because it is a natural deep port that can handle larger sea vessels," he said. The Kenyan government is prioritizing Lamu Port as a key infrastructure facility that will link east Africa and west Africa through road and rail, Osero said. Read original article

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, we talk about the performance of economies in the SA Development Community (Sadc) and East Africa regions. Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Jacques Nel, head of macroeconomic research for Africa at NKC African Economics, to chat about the issues. Join the discussion: Starting with news from some of SA’s close neighbours, Nel says the muted performance of the local economy has had a negative effect on the growth prospects of the region. As an economy that anchors the Sadc region, Nel explains that the fortunes of SA’s economy have a direct effect on neighbouring economies. A drop or stagnation in local economic performance, therefore, weighs on the region. Business Day Spotlight host Mudiwa Gavaza. Picture: DOROTHY KGOSI. Heading into lockdown, SA was already expected to grow at less than 1%, seeing a huge contraction brought about by Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns. Nel explains how neighbouring countries have performed, in the light of this apparent reliance on SA, focusing specifically on Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique. Shifting to East Africa, Nel says the region has been resilient, having entered lockdowns with good growth prospects. For now, he expects that momentum to continue with faster growth projected for the region. The discussion focuses on the economic performance of countries in the Sadc region, specifically Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique. It then looks at growth in East Africa, progress made in terms of vaccinations and an outlook for the two regions. Read original article

Equipping of Lamu Port has resumed and is at an advanced stage, authorities in the project have confirmed, with the facility expected to become operational in June. This is after delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic last year, which slowed down procurement processes for equipment. Both the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority and KPA are keen to have the country's second major sea port, and a potential transshipment hub in the continent, become operational in the next two months. Construction of the first three berths of the planned 32-berth Lamu Port, has been completed at a cost of about Sh40 billion, having been developed by China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), which commenced construction works in mid-2015. With a key length of 400 metres and a width of 800 metres, the first berth completed in August 2019 has the capacity to handle and estimated 4,394 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit–the approximate unit of measure of a container), or 13,182 containers stacked up to three rows. Construction of the first phase included 1,200 metre of quay walls (three berths of 400 metres),yardreclamation, including pavement and superstructure (buildings/gates), dredging the access channel to negative 17.5 metres , and a causeway construction (800 metres ) up to the Lamu Plaza. The entire phase one of the project is currently 87 per cent complete, according to the LAPSSET Authority, with the remaining construction activities being pavement of terminal II area and final reclamation of terminal three. According to the authorities, yard...

For over a century, Kenya and the United Kingdom have enjoyed strong ties hinged on trust, enhanced cooperation and mutual benefit across key sectors among them trade, tourism, security, health and education. The UK views Kenya as a strategic partner due to her wealth of agricultural materials, booming services sector and for being a gateway to other markets in the East African community. It has therefore over the decades invested in growing Kenya to become the region economic powerhouse. Indeed UK remains one of the largest foreign investors in Kenya with a portfolio approximated at £2.7 billion. More than 200 British companies have set up shop in the Kenya opening up the country to increased employment opportunities and economic growth. Kenya on the other hand has found a key export market in the UK for its products among them tea, coffee, flowers and other horticultural produce. For millions of farmers growing French beans, herbs and avocados, access to UK markets has not only given them the advantage of growing more markets beyond our borders but also created a farming revolution where more farmers are finding farming lucrative, which has ultimately created more jobs and household incomes. Indeed at the height of COVID-19 last year, when international trade was grinding to halt, due to international freight suspensions, Kenya and UK burnt the midnight oil in finding innovative ways of overcoming the disruptions. Kenya fresh produce was able to find its way into UK supermarkets thanks to the concerted efforts of the...

Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassana’s first state visit to Uganda has signalled the revival of East Africa’s energy arena. President Samia made her first trip outside Tanzania as head of State on Sunday, April 11, since she took oath of office on March 19 following the death of her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli, who succumbed to heart disease last month. Samia met her Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and agreed to support and show their commitment to the realisation and implementation of the strategic East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project. The agreement was made on Sunday at the State House in Entebbe during the bilateral talks. Accelerating the Uganda-Tanzania Energy Relationship In May 2017, both countries signed the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on the implementation of the project. The last meeting regarding the project was held in September 2020 between Museveni and the late Tanzania president John Magufuli at Chato, Tanzania, where they agreed that each party was to conclude the host project, commence negotiations of pending agreements, and expedite the implementation. The meeting between the two leaders is a sign of commitment to conclude the project that was well supported by Magufuli who died on March 17, 2021. In their agreements, they said that all the outstanding issues related to the project have been amicably resolved. The Shareholding Agreement was also signed by all the stakeholders during the meeting. That having concluded the Tariff and Transportation Agreement and the host Government Agreement for Uganda and the Shareholding Agreement for...

With an enormous market presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it is incumbent upon the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) private sector to seize and capitalise on the opportunities to grow their business through regional value chains and cross-border trade, SACU Executive Chair, Paulina Elago said. Elago said this when SACU Member States, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa came together for the first time since launch of the AfCFTA on 1 January 2021, to discuss issues related to the implementation of the trade bloc. During the virtual meeting attended by representatives from member states, the private sector and the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, Elago said without the participation of the business sector, efforts made towards increasing cross-border trade will be meaningless. She said the SACU Council of Ministers has agreed to prioritise industrialisation through the development of Regional Value Chains, Export and Investment promotion. “To that end, the region is currently undertaking technical work to outline a systematic approach and practical steps to scale up the region’s industrial base and to strategically positioning itself to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the AfCFTA,” Elago said. She highlighted the importance of the Trade Facilitation component, expaling that SACU has, through its Customs Modernisation Programme, laid the groundwork that will enhance efficiency in Customs operations. SACU Member States Customs IT Management Systems are now linked to automatically exchange information. A full presentation on the SACU Customs Modernisation Programme will be given...

KITALE, Kenya, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Sunday commissioned the construction of a one-stop border post to promote trade and security with neighboring Uganda. Sam Ojwang, a senior administrator in the north-western Kenyan county of Trans-Nzoia, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of the project financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Ojwang later handed over the site to China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the firm contracted by the government to implement the project. The project that will take 11 months to complete will be undertaken by Vanci Engineering Company Limited, a sub-contractor. China State Construction Engineering Corporation is already refurbishing the 45 kilometers Kitale-Endebess-Suam highway. The border project is set to house customs and Immigration and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) offices. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in 2018 held talks in the port city of Mombasa and agreed to have a one-stop border point to enhance trade and security in the region. Ojwang said the two leaders had agreed to build one-stop border points to enhance integration between the neighboring countries. He said that the Kenyan government had axed 24 acres of land from Suam forest to put up the project. Ojwang said Uganda is expected to establish a similar project on its side. "It was agreed by the two heads of State to initiate one-stop border points at the border to improve inter-country trade and address the infiltration of light weapons and drugs," said Ojwang. He said the project will enhance efficiency in...

PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has assured her Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta of a bold and continued cooperation from Tanzania, as part of efforts to push forward development agenda between the two countries. She has also directed the Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) of the two countries to convene a meeting that would work on different areas of the bilateral ties. The commission hasn’t met since 2016. The head of state made the assurance on Saturday after receiving a special delegation from the government of Kenya that was led by its Cabinet Secretary (Minister) for Sports, Culture and Heritage, Amb Dr Amina Mohammed at the Dar es Salaam State House. President Samia to pay an official visit to Kenya for the sake of cementing further the existing diplomatic cooperation. “He has also assured President Samia of Kenya’s determination to maintain and strengthen the bilateral ties for the greater interest of the two parts,” read further part of the statement. Apart from President Samia and Amb Amina Mohammed, others in attendance at the talks yesterday were the Kenyan High Commissioner to Tanzania Dan Kazungu, Tanzania’s Chief Secretary Amb Hussein Kattanga and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Amb Liberata Mulamula. President Kenyatta who doubles as the Chairperson of the EAC was among heads of state who attended the state funeral of the late Dr Magufuli at the Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma on March 22. In his speech, Mr Kenyatta said the two countries will continue working together. Speaking of the...