AUTOMATE: East African Tea Traders Association (EATTA) confirmed that it has complied with the government’s directive to automate the Mombasa tea auction, enhancing its capacity to handle all tea produced in the country. Under the new Tea Act 2020, all teas processed and manufactured in Kenya for the export market with the exception of orthodox and specialty teas will have to be offered for sale exclusively at the tea auction floor. Edward Mudibo, EATTA managing director said in an interview that automation has been undertaken with assistance of Sh217 million from the Danish International Development Agency as the main donor  and Trade Mark East Africa (TMA). Fine details “Since then we have been working the final fine details to ensure it has the capacity to handle all tea from Kenya and in the region. We are hoping soon it will be officially commissioned by the head of state,” added Mudibo. However, a section of industry players have cautioned that the idea to have all tea sold through the Mombasa tea auction is likely to  lead to loss of some market segments which Kenya has been serving globally. Tea sector stakeholders who spoke to Business Hub said regional countries that export their tea through Mombasa tea auction are likely to take over same market segments local traders have been serving through direct sales. Kenya Tea Growers Association CEO Apollo Kiarie said already regional players who are also members of the auction are gearing up to take over markets Kenya had already developed through the second window...

After much anticipation, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) launched on 1 January 2021. Hailed as a catalyst for continental integration, the agreement aims to "create a single market for goods and services, facilitate the movement of persons, and promote industrial development and sustainable and inclusive socio-economic growth on the continent". However, experts caution that full implementation of the historic pact, signed in March 2018 at the AU Kigali Summit, may take years to materialise. The previous deadline for operationalising the AfCFTA was 1 July 2020, but it was pushed out to the new year after the pandemic made in-person negotiations impossible. If implemented fully, the agreement is expected to provide an economic boost of US$3.4 trillion to the continent, which is even more critical given the socioeconomic impact COVID-19 is having across Africa. Nevertheless, the truth remains that it will only live up to its potential if the benefits from intracontinental trade are inclusive for all Africans. While the AfCFTA promises to boost intra-Africa trade as whole, little is said on the impact it will have on Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) which is pre-dominantly led by women. Globally, ICBT is defined as trade between neighbouring countries conducted by vulnerable, small, unregistered traders. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) defines it as “businesses operating in goods and services that trades across the border, which have no official export/import license or permit within a defined threshold and frequency”. For Africa’s most vulnerable people such as women and youth, who usually constitute the majority of informal cross border traders, ICBT...

Summary Cross border trade between Uganda and South Sudan has become difficult because of the requirements including possession of a Covid-19 certificate which is expensive. It has been close to a decade and a half of prosperous trade. Despite South Sudan’s disruptions, it has been a major trade partner, taking up a large chunk of Uganda’s formal and informal exports. According to a March 2020 Ministry of Finance report, Uganda in February 2020 had a $54.9m (about Shs199.6b) trade surplus with the rest of the East African Community (EAC) with South Sudan contributing big to the surplus. Apart from Kenya, Uganda exported more goods to South Sudan, with the country becoming the second biggest trade partner in the region. “On a country specific level, Uganda traded at surplus with all East African partner states except Tanzania. Kenya remained the biggest destination of Uganda’s exports. South Sudan was the second largest in February 2020,” the report notes. The Uganda-South Sudan trade has been growing, albeit, with some challenges but the optimism has got many stakeholders thinking. Many, including the government and international partners have come up with a number of measures to not only ease trade but also support the growth. For instance, in February 2020, a $5m one stop border post (OSBP), was completed under the support of the UK’s Commonwealth and Development Office channeled through TradeMark Africa. At the handover of the facility, Trade Minister Ms Amelia Kyambadde, said even though trade between Uganda and South Sudan had declined...

Summary When well utilised, technology and online market places can drive inclusive growth across Africa, with e-commerce likely to create as many as three million jobs by 2025. Ditching outmoded business models for e-commerce will drive intra-regional trade to new business markets and fasttrack the implementation of the AfCFTA. Young people in Africa could unlock the benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through e-commerce, which accounts for global online sales worth $26 million. The trading bloc comes into force in January 2021. However, even as e-commerce is touted as the panacea for growth of trade in Africa, countries are being warned about the sector’s legal hurdles. When well utilised, technology and online market places can drive inclusive growth across Africa, with e-commerce likely to create as many as three million jobs by 2025. This is according to a recent virtual meeting on Trade Beyond Covid-19: Unpacking the AfCFTA for East Africa. The meeting, hosted by the International Trade Centre (ITC) — the joint agency of the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations — was attended by government officials and other private business partners from around Africa. ITC executive director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said there is a need for African countries to incorporate technology in their trading programmes and should learn from regional blocs such as the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). She said the opportunities and challenges of e-commerce in Africa interplay with other...

With less than a month to the African Continental Free Trade Area coming into effect, the East African Community submitted its tariff offer on December 3, beating the December 5 deadline. EAC’s tariff offer now brings the number of countries to 40 that are ready to join the continent-wide duty-free quota-free movement of goods on January 1, when trading under the AfCFTA agreement starts. By press time on Friday, 14 countries that had signed the agreement had not yet submitted their tariff offers. These are Algeria, Angola, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Saharawi Republic, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. “EAC has submitted both the tariff offers and schedule of commitments on trade in services,” Kenneth Bagamuhunda, the EAC director general of Trade and Customs, told The EastAfrican. The EAC had missed previous deadlines as the bloc was putting together its offer that addresses the trading regimes of different partners such as Ethiopia, DRC and Sudan. The EAC overcame delays and several deadlines that risked making it the only Customs Union and Single Customs Territory that would have been locked out of the intra-Africa trade. The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) submitted its tariff offer on December 2. Prudence Sebahizi, the head of AfCFTA Negotiations Support Unit at the African Union Commission confirmed that EAC’s offer was received on time. Dispatch The EAC Council of Ministers, which met on November 2 under the Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment, directed that partner states experts meet...

Uganda’s cabinet has approved a proposal to finance the refurbishment of the Kampala-Malaba meter gauge railway project, Chimp Corps report. The Uganda Media Centre said in a statement on Tuesday rehabilitating the railway line would “accelerate Uganda’s competitiveness by providing efficient freight and passenger services to country.” This, said government, would eventually lead to “reduced costs of doing business, generation of revenue to sustain own operations, improved incomes and a better life for the population.” The project is expected to cost Shs 1.4 trillion. The development comes at a time the country is grappling with high costs of road transport. The cost of transporting a 40 feet container of goods from Mombasa Port to Kampala is US$3600 compared to railway transportation, which is US$1800. Transport and logistics costs account for about 50% of the value of goods and services to Uganda. President Museveni recently launched the Tororo-Gulu Railway line and the construction of the Gulu logistics Hub in Gulu City. Museveni said the train, which last reached its terminal in northern Uganda in August 1986 will be revived in a more concrete way because government considers it as major infrastructure priority. The 273 km line between Kampala (Uganda) and Malaba (Kenya) is a key route for Uganda exports through the port of Mombasa in Kenya. This line passes through 9 administrative districts namely, Tororo, Butaleja, Iganga, Mayuge, Jinja, Buikwe, Mukono, Wakiso and Kampala. The refurbished Malaba-Kampala railway line will go a long way in diverting cargo from road to rail...

With COP, the G7 and a new White House administration there are plenty of opportunities for Britain to continue its world leading role in protecting freedom and prosperity. While the recent focus of foreign relations has been the Special Relationship and whether or not we get a Brexit Deal, one region often overlooked by decision makers is UK relations with African nations. As an entrepreneur with deep ties across Africa, I have seen first-hand the incredible opportunities that aid can provide the continent. Africa’s combined GDP is set to reach $3.2 trillion in the next five years and is home to five of the world’s fastest-growing economies. With these opportunities ahead of us, now is not the time to abandon our promise to spend 0.7% on UK aid and development. By providing lifesaving aid, we help stimulate economic growth and job creation, which in turn ensures that our development partners of today, become our trading partners of tomorrow. I firmly believe that most businesses in the UK that have been able to invest in the Global South have been able to do so because of the development expertise provided by British aid workers and supported by successive Conservative Governments. As an entrepreneur who has worked in Africa I have experienced this partnership first hand. I have developed business across East Africa and helped to create over 5000 ethical jobs in Kenya alone. These jobs were not created on the cheap and my own business was rated as one of the...

The Ministry of Health has deployed technical support staff to roll out the Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System at the Elegu Border post. Early this year, Elegu border became the epicentre of COVID-19 transmission in the country which was attributed to long-distance cargo truck drivers en-route to South Sudan. At least 600 trucks cross to neighbouring South Sudan every day. Launched in September, the tracking system is a mobile phone application that enables the issuance of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) digital certificates that are mutually recognized by the East Africa Community partner states. The tracker eliminates multiple testing and contributes to alleviating on-going congestion at the East Africa border crossing points. It also provides a surveillance system to monitor long-distance drivers and enables contact tracing. Ivan Kakire, the Regional Manager of Uganda Revenue Authority in charge of customs in Elegu says the reliance on manual certificates and delayed test results at the borders have caused unnecessary delays at the borders. Robert Oneka, the Medical Team leader in Elegu says their workload and unnecessary delays caused by the turnaround time for results have been reduced. He, however, noted that errant Ugandan drivers have remained defiant to tests. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Atwine asserts that the system is expected to provide a common platform to be used by the health officials at the border to verify the jointly accepted digital COVID-19 certificates to aid regional movement within the East Africa bloc. Dr Atwine explains that...

Summary The Busia market is set to reduce post-harvest losses that often occur due to lack of storage facilities for fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish. Small cross-border traders, long the mainstay of communities straddling the border of Kenya and Uganda and once considered illegal by revenue agencies, will benefit from the construction of an open air market in Busia. The project is part a Ksh1.31 billion ($13.1 million) agreement signed between the government of Kenya and Trade Mark East Africa on November 3. The construction of the Busia Jumuia Cross-Border integrated market will be done jointly with Kenya’s Ministry of East African Community, on 40-acres of land that will hold a retail and wholesale section and a business hub. The retail section is expected to be ready by 2022, and will host at least 2,000 traders. It will also include all-weather stores, stalls, and cold rooms. The market will provide a channel through which the government and other partners can provide trade and market information to traders. “The construction of the Busia market will enhance cross border trade between Kenya and EAC partner states, improve livelihoods, structure trade, formalise informal trade$ and enhance revenue collection by improving the cross-border trading environment,” said Dr Kevit Desai, Kenya’s Principal Secretary, Ministry of EAC and Regional Development during the signing of the grant on November 3, 2020. “The retail section will have a capacity of 2,000 SMEs traders drawn from the Lake Region Economic Trading Bloc effectively linking their trade value chains destined...

East African Community member states have up to five years to join the UK-Kenya trade agreement due to be signed ahead of the Brexit transitional deadline, officials privy to the draft text say. They added that the new document has also shielded budgetary cuts that had been imposed on the trade policy group Trade Mark East Africa's work in Kenya, allowing continued regional trade facilitation by the organisation. However, budgets for Rwanda, Ethiopia were cut by 15 percent, just lower than the initial 29 percent announced earlier in the year. It means that while Kenya negotiated solely, other East African countries could ride on the deal for the next few years as they figure out whether to enter, based on what parties called "transitional clauses." These transitional clauses, sources said, will allow other EAC member states to utilise what Kenya had agreed on with the UK, but could discuss variable new issues such as services trade, new technology, and research and innovation, which were lacking under the European Union Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The proposal was agreed to in principle last week as Nairobi closed the deal to save its exports from facing taxation in the UK market, once the transitional clauses under the EU expire. The UK had demanded a deal with all six East African Community member states, but other partners were reluctant to begin negotiations as Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi all faced elections this year with the rest preoccupied with Covid-19. Betty Maina, the Kenyan Trade Cabinet...