The annual African Development Bank meeting took place this past week in Equatorial Guinea with the key subject of discussion, as is evident in the theme of the meetings - Regional Integration for Africa’s economic prosperity – being integration. “To integrate Africa, bring down the walls,” said Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the president of African Development Bank (AfDB), at the opening of the 25th annual meeting of the continental bank. Dr Adesina urged African governments to work towards the elimination of non-tariff barriers, saying ‘pulling down’ non-tariff barriers alone will spur trade by at least 53 per cent, and potentially double trade. According to the East African Community (EAC), the internal EAC market has about 146 million consumers, while the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) comprises 20 member states with a population of more than 460 million. Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi are all members of Comesa. The EAC was established in 1967 but collapsed along the way and was re-established in 2000. Its efforts play into the wider vision of the continental bank, now in its 55th year. This year’s opening ceremony was presided over by the host nation’s president, Mr Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Also in attendance were King Letsie III of Lesotho; president Félix Antoine Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, the Prime Minister of Eswatini (Swaziland). High-level government officials from Rwanda, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Côte d’Ivoire were also present. The State minister of Finance, Dr Gabriel...

AfDB’s President, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina mentioned it during the Banks Annual meetings that are currently undergoing in Malabo, Guinea. He specifically sought support in the areas of Agriculture and Industry but especially agri-industrialisation. Adesina noted that it was critical to link infrastructure projects with agriculture development and industrial development for the benefits to reach the common citizenry in EAC. Dr Adesina said the bank is also supporting establishment of an AfDB coordination and capacity building unit at the EAC HQs noting that the AfDB portfolio has grown and therefore need for more coordination, strategic and analytical capacity; He said the Bank is committed to present EAC bankable projects to the AfDB coordinated African Investment Forum in November 2019 in South Africa. A joint team of EAC and AfDB will work on preparing bankable projects for presentation to that effect. Adesina noted that the EAC is the most active and dynamic regional economic bloc with very clear results and a very high level of political momentum. He lauded the EAC for the great gains made in the implementation of the Customs Union and the Common Market. He specifically commended the progress in free movement of people and increased trade. He noted that EAC Countries are now issuing the East African e-Passport. Source: IPP Media

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the current chair of the organisation, has asked the EAC to put the discussion of DR Congo's membership on the agenda of the next heads of state meeting in November. The DR Congo shares borders with four of the six members of the bloc and Tshisekedi said on a visit to Tanzania -- home to its headquarters -- that he hoped membership would ease trade. "The Democratic Republic of Congo has recently requested membership of the East African Community. This will allow us to drop customs barriers and increase trade between our countries," Tshisekedi said at a dinner with his counterpart John Magufuli. "We are facing the challenge of regional integration that we must absolutely realise," he said, highlighting the need for cross-border transport and energy infrastructure. He gave his support to a planned railway linking Tanzania's port at Dar es Salaam to the eastern DRC via Rwanda -- one of several ambitious rail projects in the region. "Our countries must commit to development based on democracy and freedom so as to promote Africans so they can compete with other parts of the world," Tshisekedi said as he kicked off a two-day visit in Tanzania. Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the current chair of the organisation, has asked the EAC to put the discussion of DRC's membership on the agenda of the next heads of state meeting in November, the East African newspaper reported Thursday. The DRC is already a member of the Southern African Development Community...

East African finance ministers converged on tough taxation measures aimed at protecting local manufacturers from “unfair imports competition,” in their spending plans for the coming year, made public on Thursday. Most of the tax measures, contained in the budget statements for the 2019/2020 fiscal year, were approved during the ministers’ pre-budget consultations in Arusha in May. Higher taxation of imports is aimed at driving consumption of cheaper locally produced goods, spurring the growth of manufacturing and creating jobs that ultimately improve living standards. Proponents of the proposed measures are in line with the EAC Industrialisation Plan that seeks to transform the region into a globally competitive, environment-friendly and sustainable industrial sector that is capable of significantly improving the living standards of the people by 2032. “The recommendations aim at pushing the regional industrialisation policy, creating jobs and improving East Africans’ living standards,” said Philip Mpango, Tanzania’s Finance and Planning minister. Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya are focusing on improving the competitiveness of local industries by protecting them from cheaper imports through taxation and other policy measures. Despite the good intentions, experts have warned that these tax measures — which are also applicable to goods coming from EAC member states — could stand in the way of integration, as each country becomes inward-looking in a bid to build its industrial capacity. Already, trade spats, especially between Kenya and Tanzania, have seen Dar es Salaam block Kenyan products from its market. The partners have also failed to agree on a reviewed common...

Kenya’s budget is the highest in East Africa region exceeding that of Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda.The three nations presented their 2019/20 national budgets before respective parliaments at the same time on Thursday.Kenya’s 2019/20 budget stands at Sh3.02 trillion followed by Tanzania (Sh1.4 trillion), Uganda (Sh1.08 trillion) and Rwanda at Sh316 billion. Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda 2019/20 national budgets total to Sh2.8 trillion that is around Sh200 billion less Kenya’s budget. Rwanda Rwanda said its overall spending will rise 11 per cent in 2019/20 (July-June) fiscal year to Sh316 billion, while 2019 economic growth will be slower than a year earlier, its finance minister said on Thursday.The finance minister Uzziel Ndagijimana proposed that 85.8 per cent of the budget would come from internal sources, and the rest from external grants. The economy is projected to grow 7.8 per cent in 2019 from 8.6 per cent in 2018, he said. Tanzania According to Tanzania's finance minister, the country's overall spending during the 2019/20 period will rise 2 per cent to Ksh1.4 trillion. Philip Mpango, its finance minister told parliament on Thursday that the John Pombe Magufuli led government also plans to borrow Tsh2.32 trillion from external non-concessional sources.Tanzania is East Africa’s third-largest economy and is investing heavily in public infrastructure projects as it seeks to profit from its long coastline and upgrade its rickety railways and roads to serve the growing economies in east and central Africa. Uganda Uganda finance minister Matia Kasaija said the government spending is set to rise 23...

The Democratic Republic of Congo has applied to join the East African Community in a move that could potentially expand the boundaries of the trading bloc to the Atlantic coast of Africa. The application comes following months of talks between DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda President Paul Kagame, who chairs the East African Community. Sources familiar with the diplomatic talks that preceded the formal application say most EAC member states are enthusiastic about DR Congo’s membership. The DRC officially communicated its intention to join the EAC in a letter to President Kagame dated June 8. Kinshasa said its desire to join the bloc was informed by its increasing trade ties with the region. In response, President Kagame directed the EAC Secretariat to table DR Congo’s application for discussion at the next Heads of State Summit in November. If it meets the admission requirements, members will vote on its admission. GAME CHANGER The potential membership of the Central African country is being viewed as a game-changer, given its natural resources wealth and a huge consumer market of 81 million people. It is the world’s biggest producer of cobalt, a major component in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, and Africa’s main copper producer. It also a major producer of gold, diamonds, uranium, coltan, oil and other precious metals, making it one of the most resource-rich countries in the world. DR Congo is also host to the world’s second-longest river, the Congo, vast swathes of fertile soil, potentially...

The recent ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has created a promising environment for economic integration of major African markets with the smaller markets and enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level by exploiting opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources. The eventual implementation of AfCFTA is predicated on the assumption that the reduction of tariff between African countries would increase intra-African trade by 15 to 25 percent (amounting to about 50-70 billion USD) by 2040. The intra-continental trade in Africa would create a very large single market which would allow member states to build better resilience to resource allocations and price fluctuations even as they diversify their export portfolio. However, creating a single large market will require a massive amount of physical infrastructure facilitation. The continent will see itself placed in a catch 22 situation as it will need to invest trillions of dollars in infrastructure to spur contact and build growth momentum in the region. This figure would increase if the costs associated with climate change mitigation and adaption were to be included. For the development to be inclusive, the concept will have to build beyond better harmonization and coordination of trade liberalization across Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Improved customs procedures alone will fail to stimulate the markets unless finance is made available to small and medium sized enterprises, and women entrepreneurs are given adequate resources to participate meaningfully in exports. While the continent-wide free trade agreement has been...

Tanzania has pledged to ease business environment for Rwandans wishing to do business in or with the neighbouring country, for mutual benefit  of both countries. Tanzania’s representatives gave the reassurance Wednesday during a high-level bilateral investment forum in Kigali. On the table is the removal of existing trade barriers to ease doing business and forging investment partnerships. Rwandan businesspeople at the meeting said those who want to set up businesses in Tanzania are not facilitated enough. Fred Seka, president of the Federation of East Africa Freight Forwarders, said that he registered his company, Gorilla Logistics in Tanzania in 2016, but he is yet to receive a licence to date. “We are not informed why the process has delayed,” he said. “There have been some improvements in trade facilitation whereby unnecessary non-tariff barriers were removed.  However, on the operation side, there are some challenges such as difficulties faced by Rwandans to effectively own and run a business in Tanzania”. The CEO of the Private Sector Federation (PSF), Stephen Ruzibiza, said the number of weigh bridges reduced from seven to three, which brought down the time that trucks carrying goods spend on the roads. “But there are still some challenges, such as facilitating freight forwarders to access the port, and the High Commissioner of Tanzania to Rwanda has promised us that we will continue discussing them so that they get addressed,” he said. Amb. Ernest Jumbe Mangu, the Tanzanian top diplomat to Rwanda, said that the complaints raised by the business community will...

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea – Central Africa stands to benefit the most from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), data from the African Development Bank shows. Hanan Morsy, Director of Research at the Bank, revealed the findings at the launch of one of the Bank’s flagship reports in Malabo, where the African Development Bank is hosting its Annual Meetings. Mr. Morsy said Central Africa’s real income could increase by as much as 7% in one of the scenarios that researchers describe in the 2019 African Economic Outlook. By the same calculations, East Africa, currently, the star performer on the continent, would experience an increase of around 4.2%, followed closely by North Africa. The scenarios measure the potential outcomes of the AfCFTA, ranging from one (least impact) to four (greatest impact). “While there are differences in gains, all African countries are better off with regional integration than without,” Morsy said. He said current levels of growth were not adequate to generate jobs for millions of unemployed Africans, but regional integration could stimulate the growth needed to make a dent in unemployment, adding that Africa needed to grow between 4% and 6% in order to turn the tide. The Outlook predicts that Africa can add 4.5% to its GDP, provided that governments do away with bilateral tariffs and non-tariff barriers and keep rules of origin simple. The launch included a panel discussion by Finance and Economic Planning Ministers, who are also Governors of the Bank. Aïchatou Kané, from Niger, said the Economic Community...

African leaders on Wednesday underscored the urgent need to fast-track the continent’s regional integration process in order to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation. The call was made at the opening ceremony of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) 2019 Annual Meetings, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, with the theme: “Regional Integration for Africa’s Economic Prosperity.” “Apart and divided, Africa is weakened. Together and united, Africa will be unstoppable,” the Bank’s President Akinwumi Adesina told delegates at the packed Sipopo Conference Center. Adesina urged African governments to work toward the elimination of non-tariff barriers. “Pulling down non-tariff barriers alone, will spur trade by at least 53%, and potentially double trade,” he said. The opening ceremony was presided over by the host nation’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Also in attendance were King Letsie III of Lesotho; President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, Prime Minister of eSwatini. High-level government officials from Rwanda, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Côte d’Ivoire were also present. In his opening speech, President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo recalled that Equatorial Guinea, once one of the poorest countries in the world, has since been radically transformed with one of the highest per capita incomes on the continent. “For me, development is not about per capita income, it is about expanding the opportunities for the people to live a more dignified life,” Obiang Nguema Mbasogo said. “Equatorial Guinea is open for business. We are committed to regional integration for shared prosperity. We count on the...