Transnet is embedding the “new normal” of the Covid-19 environment for the staff of its freight and transport operations and is dismantling a command centre it set up during the earlier lockdown to make it part of regular operations. CAPE TOWN – Transnet is embedding the “new normal” of the Covid-19 environment for the staff of its freight and transport operations and is dismantling a command centre it set up during the earlier lockdown to make it part of regular operations. This was according to Transnet chief executive Portia Derby, who spoke about the impact of the pandemic on the freight and logistics environment at an SA Transport Conference and International Road Federation-hosted webinar yesterday. Derby said the pandemic had a big impact on trade flows. Some vessels had been delayed at Cape Town harbour due to infections among port workers. Sometimes, vessels would by-pass Cape Town on their return route, and vessels calling at South African ports faced problems in meeting their European port schedules. At one stage, workers had to be brought in from Durban to help boost Cape Town’s port operations, she said. She said the transport and logistics sectors still faced some tough months. She questioned the view among many economists that gross domestic product (GDP) growth would suddenly recover to 3.1 percent in 2021, from the GDP decline of up to -9.3 percent that was expected this year. She said virtually every country in Africa with which Transnet dealt had a large budget deficit and high debt,...

Construction at the Rusizi and Rubavu ports started early this year, with Rutsiro and Karongi works scheduled to start January 2021. Construction of ports on Lake Kivu has kicked off in the districts of Rubavu, Rusizi, Rutsiro and Karongi to facilitate the transport of goods and people on Lake Kivu. The lake is also shared with DR Congo, one of Rwanda’s main trading partners. A budget of $28 million (approximately Rwf26bn) was set aside by the government in partnership with development partners. Construction at the Rusizi and Rubavu ports started early this year with Rutsiro and Karongi works scheduled to start January 2021. A ferry with a capacity to carry three tonnes and 30 passengers between the ports is scheduled to begin operations by the end of the year. A bigger ferry has also been commissioned and is expected to be operational by the end of 2021. The bigger ferry will have the capacity to carry 150 passengers and 10 tonnes of cargo. This will be welcome news for DR Congo-Rwanda traders as the new water transportation will enhance doing business between the two countries. In an interview with The New Times, Emile Baganizi, the Deputy Director-General of Rwanda Transport Development Agency, said that the goal of the investment and constructing the ports is to cut cost and time required to transport goods between Rwanda and DR Congo. Baganizi explained that passenger transport on the lake is still low because of limited infrastructures such as modern ferries and port facilities on...

Summary In 2019, transit cargo from Dar es Salaam to Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi was at 37 percent, up from 22 percent in 2018. On average it costs $1.80 per kilometre per container to transport goods from the port of Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura compared with $3.10 per kilometre per container from the port of Mombasa. The turnaround of the Central Corridor has been attributed to the revival of the Central line metre gauge railway. This may have prompted Kenya Railways — after two decades of neglect — to rehabilitate the old meter-gauge railway from Nakuru to Kisumu at a cost of Ksh3.8 billion ($35 million). The Dar es Salaam port could attract lucrative business away from the Mombasa as the Central Corridor proves to be cheaper compared with the Northern Corridor transport route. On average it costs $1.80 per kilometre per container to transport goods from the port of Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura compared with $3.10 per kilometre per container from the port of Mombasa. The recently released the Central Corridor Transport Observatory 2019 report, which measures the performance of the Central Corridor, also shows that the average costs per km per container from Dar es Salaam to Kigali is $1.90 compared with $2.10 from the port of Mombasa. Importers from Uganda, also pay less at $1.80 per km per container to transport goods from the port of Dar es Salaam compared with $1.90 per km per container charged from Mombasa, while those from Goma pay $2.60...

Nairobi's informal settlements of Mathare and Kibera are set to benefit from an initiative dubbed Pamoja Dhidi ya Corona. The initiative was launched by Search For Common Ground with the support of the European Union to help marginalised communities in Kenya fight Covid-19 pandemic. At a cost of Sh66.25 million, the 15-month initiative will help the communities to fully implement government’s Covid-19 response measures by providing accurate information. By doing this, it will allow these communities to protect themselves from the virus. “This initiative is essentially about strengthening the connections between Kenyan citizens in marginalised communities and the rest of society, as well as the government, and about preserving and strengthening the social contract during the pandemic,” EU Ambassador to Kenya Simon Mordue said. He spoke at the launch on Thursday at Park Inn Hotel in Nairobi. The initiative is part of a global Team Europe – the EU and the member states - response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ambassador Mordue noted that Team Europe is providing close to Sh40 billion in support to Kenya during the pandemic through a range of measures, and EU’s solidarity will continue beyond the immediate health crisis. Pamoja Dhidi ya Corona comes at a time when the number of infections in Kenya has crossed the 19,000 mark with close to 300,000 tests done.. As of July 30, when Kenya recorded 788 new cases, the country had confirmed 19,913 infections. The new positives were from 5,521 samples. Search For Common Ground’s Swahili Coast director Judy...

The government is in the process of automating the Seed Certification and Plant Variety Protection System in the country. The existing manual registration and licensing processes have been associated with delays, documentation errors and inefficiencies including with security, scheduling and processing time thus government potentially wanting to harness technological solutions The seed certification process is a clear way of assuring seed quality hence ensuring that the farming community receives seeds that is viable resulting in value for money. Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) Ag. MD Simeon Kibet says Kenya has been operating on manual inspections since the inception of KEPHIS in 1997 but for the last two years started developing the system which is now at piloting stage. He explained that that the process has been automated in the developed world while in Africa, two countries namely  South Africa and Zambia have automated their seed certification processes. “The Kenya Seed Company (KSC) in Kitale and Bubayi Limited are running the pilot programme with  KSC specializing  in all kinds of seed crops while Bubayi focuses on beans and the  automation is  based on lessons learned from  the two African countries.”, he said Kibet noted that the  process of seed certification is divided into three parts, variety description which results in development of the variety descriptors, Field inspections which ascertains the trueness to type of the crop variety and also Seed testing which assures the seed purity and germination which the seed must meet for it to be sold to farmers....

Nairobi – IOM, the International Organization for Migration, is providing COVID-19 testing to thousands of truck drivers on Kenya’s borders. It’s part of a regional and national effort to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic and reopen trade across the East and Horn of Africa. Over 4,500 truck drivers and crews are being tested for the infection in Malaba and Busia on Kenya’s border with Uganda, where border closures had them waiting for weeks to get moving again. It’s also part of a global effort by IOM. The COVID-19 pandemic control measures put in place around the world are having an unprecedented impact on human mobility. More than 52,000 extraordinary restrictions to mobility have been put into effect by governments and authorities worldwide, while millions of internal migrants have lost their livelihoods in cities where they had been working and now are returning to their places of origin. At the same time—across 10 countries in the East and Horn of Africa—tens of thousands of truck drivers have been unable to transport lifesaving and essential goods, including food, water, medicine, medical equipment and supplies—the very items required to meet the needs of vulnerable communities such as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Since the pandemic, governments in the region have struggled to test truck drivers and reduce the spread of the disease, mainly due to inadequate testing capacity. As of 15 July, more than 2,000 truck drivers in the East and Horn of Africa have tested positive for the disease. “The border points have...

Construction of Gulu logistics hub in Uganda is underway Gulu district secretary for works Patrick Kinyera has confirmed. The US$ 29 million (approximately 107.3 billion shillings) project is being undertaken by Ambitious Construction. The logistics hub will comprise of a dry port with both rail and truck terminals, according to the Independent. The logistics hub is located on a 54 acres piece of land in Layibi division, Gulu Municipality. The land was allocated by the Uganda Railway Corporation and the project funded by the European Union together with UK`s Department for International Development (DFID) through Trade Mark East Africa (TMA). Mr Kinyera said that the project is expected to be completed withing eighteen months. Moses Sabitti, the country director for TMA says that the hub will be able to handle more than 500,000 containers at a time. Major features of Gulu logistics hub in Uganda will include container freight station, customs clearing site, container holding station, container cleaning and repair station and vehicle holding stations. He said other services will include tax payment, maintenance and repair, banking, information and communication technology among others. The hub is located adjacent to the current Gulu railway station. Gulu district chairperson, Martin Ojara Mapenduzi is optimistic that the hub will not only provide job opportunities but also facilitate movement in Uganda through the Northern region by reducing on transport costs, improving efficiency in the movement of goods for farming communities of Northern Uganda.

Summary The EAC regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking system, will enable authorities to share test results of the drivers and crew. Kenya Transporters Association executive officer Dennis Ombok said they have not been trained on the usage of the system and he only learnt of the implementation last week during stakeholder virtual meeting. East African countries have moved to ease movement of goods with the roll-out of a system that will allow them to share Covid-19 test results of truck drivers electronically. The reliance of hard to verify manual certificates has been blamed for costly long delays at the different border points that sometimes last for weeks. The EAC regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking system, however, will enable authorities to share test results of the drivers and crew facilitating easy information exchange along the transport corridor. This means no transit cargo will leave the port of Mombasa or any Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) facility without a driver being aligned with the truck and the cargo in the system. According to a notice by the EAC secretariat to relevant ministries of the member countries, all drivers must upload their Covid-19 certificates to the new system before cargo is armed with tracking gadgets,  a directive which has already been opposed by transporters faulting the short implementation notice. MINISTERIAL MEETING “Following a joint ministerial meeting responsible for Health, Trade and EAC held by video Conference on March 25 and in line with the directive of the Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry,...

East African traders have always dreamt of a smooth movement of goods across the region. However a number of bottlenecks have always scuttled this aspiration. The outbreak of the Covid-19 has complicated the matter, resulting in too much delays at the border points. It is against this backdrop that private businesses have sanctioned a study to inform future mitigations on costly delays that impede movement of imported and export goods across countries. The traders, through the East African Business Council (EABC), say the assessment to be conducted within 21 days will help create a “recovery path based on lessons learnt during the Covid-19 era”. In a tender posted on its website, EABC said consultancy firms should file their bids seeking EABC’s nod to conduct the survey. “EABC wants to understand the impact of Covid-19 on the transport and logistics industry in terms of movement of goods and people within East African countries and from outside the region,” it said. The business lobby said the study, which is supported by TradeMark Africa, will seek to flag painpoints, identify hardest hit sectors, especially small and medium enterprises, on rail, air, road and maritime transport. The tender also said the consultant is expected to offer country-specific recovery solutions that will facilitate public-private sector engagements. The Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (Feaffa), that comprises clearing agents in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya, has welcomed the study saying it is has come at the right time as East African countries have started...

Malawi’s exports to the east African market are expected to be enhanced during and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic period, following Britain’s offer to support the Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) project with $50 million. TMA was established as a non-profit making institution for aid for trade delivery in East Africa. In one of its recent proposals for aid, the organisation highlighted the need to help the Malawi government focus on diversifying exports and reducing vulnerability of rain-fed agriculture. It expressed abilities to support these efforts by reducing costs and time of trade and ensuring that Malawian products are competitive on international markets. The UK, through the Department for International Development (DFID), has since shown strong interest in funding the five year programme in full, as part of its planned Malawi Trade and Investment Programme (M-TIP). This came out when Acting UK High Commissioner to Malawi, Dave Beer, visited the new Minister of Trade, Sosten Gwengwe, last week. Beer indicated that TMA would help in the implementation of Covid-19 safe trade emergency plan aimed at facilitating smooth trade flows across borders and corridors by enhancing safety measures for frontline officers at the borders. “The aim is to improve Malawi’s trade infrastructure, enhance the trade environment, and boost business competitiveness,” Beer said. In an interview, Gwengwe said the project will enhance corridor connectivity and help Malawi boost its trade potential. “The project will focus on two dominant themes; first improving trade along the key trade corridors for Malawi. “Secondly, it will support...