BUSINESS leaders, investors and policymakers have recommended for more reforms to accelerate African economic integration. They raised their voices at the just ended seventh edition of the Africa CEO Forum that took place in Kigali, Rwanda. The Forum that is the continent’s largest international meeting of Africa’s private sector attracted more than 1,800 CEOs from top African brands, international investors, experts and highlevel policy makers from the continent and beyond. The participants came from 43 African countries and 26 international countries. The forum that was opened by Rwandan President, Mr Paul Kagame, was also attended by the newly elected President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mr Felix Tshisekedi, Ethiopian President, Ms Sahle-Work Zewde as well as Togolese President, Mr Faure Gnassingbé. Organised by Jeune Afrique Media Group and Rainbow Unlimited and co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the twoday forum was themed around using regional integration to drive private sector growth. In his opening remarks, President Kagame referred to the forum as a timely platform to discuss mechanisms on how to make the most of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) treaty. “Open responsiveness and accountable governments is critical in driving the continent’s economic integration agenda. Therefore, the private sector should notice what needs to be changed, (and) share it with those in the public sector to be able to move forward,” he said, adding that implementation of the recently signed treaty especially at national level will require constant dialogue and flexibility from both the public and the...

East Africa has seen a rare flurry of high-level shuttle diplomacy over the past couple of weeks as presidents move to protect their country's strategic interests in the face of leadership changes and simmering tensions. But while some meet-and-greet tours were expected following the installation of Ethiopia's first female President Sahle-Work Zewde last year and Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January, threats to long-term interests have left the presidents ill at ease. That is with the possible exception of Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who appears to be on a watching brief, and Burundi's Pierre Nkurunziza, who appears to be increasingly isolated after he ran and won a controversial third term in office in May 2015. Over the past month alone, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has made state visits to Kenya whose President, Uhuru Kenyatta, has been to Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Uganda and Namibia. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has been to Tanzania, Morocco and Angola. President Tshisekedi has been to Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while President Zewde has been to Rwanda. The intentions of the visits are usually couched in diplospeak but at the Africa CEO Forum held in Kigali this past week, three of the region's presidents who attended -- Kagame, Tshisekedi and Zewde -- proffered there was more to the visits than bilateral relations and regional integration. Is Kagame looking for an alternative route to sea? The diplomatic tiff between Rwanda and Uganda, instability in South Sudan and trade have been at the core of...

Kenya and other African countries could reap net benefits from Chinese investment, but that favourable outcome hinges on whether host countries adopt effective oversight and accountability mechanisms, according to a US Defence Department think tank. Borrowers should realise that Chinese infrastructure loans are primarily intended to extend Beijing's political influence and military reach, cautioned the analysis by the Washington-based Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. China's $900 billion One-Belt One-Road (Obor) initiative, which now helps finance 1,700 infrastructure projects in more than 60 countries, “is first and foremost a Chinese geopolitical project designed to advance China's grand strategy,” the Africa Centre said. That strategy aims to establish China as a “great power,” militarily as well as economically within the next three decades, adds the analysis prepared by Africa Centre research associate Paul Nantulya. “The challenge for Africa is in establishing where its interests converge with China’s, where they diverge, and how areas of convergence can be shaped to advance African development priorities.” The Ksh320 billion ($3 billion) Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway, financed by Chinese lenders, serves as a “flagship Obor project” in East Africa and ranks as the biggest investment in Kenya since Independence, the think tank said. Along with China-financed projects in neighbouring countries, the Kenya railway could boost the East African Community's annual exports by $192 million, according to a study by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Offloading excesses But the standard gauge railway is producing economic deficits for Kenya as well as potential benefits, the Pentagon...

“On 23rd March 2019, Governments of Tanzania and Rwanda agreed to avail direct cargo flights from Mwanza Airport to European Markets by 1st July 2019. They are also working on the transportation of Rwandan cargo through Tanga port and the supply of raw milk to Tanga,” he said in a tweet. Tanga port is located in Northeast of Tanzania near Indian Ocean. It is the second largest port following Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Luhaga Mpina, recently told fish traders in Mwanza town that Tanzanian and Rwandan officials were in talks to enable RwandAir ferry fish from Mwanza airport in northern Tanzania to overseas markets. Mpina said that it will be a massive relief for Lake Zone fish traders, who have, for a long time, been seeking an alternative airline to transport their products abroad. Fish dealers in the region have been relying on Entebbe and Nairobi airports in Uganda and Kenya respectively, which they claim are more costly. Sijaona James, the spokesperson of the Tanzania Fishermen Union, recently told Xinua news that over 1,000 tonnes of fish could not be exported in the past few months because of transport problems adding that a total loss of the exports destined for Japan and Israel stood at 5.5 billion Tanzanian shillings. The agreements between Rwanda, Tanzania follow the visit of President Paul Kagame to Tanzania at the beginning of this month where he held talks with his counterpart, Dr. John Pombe Magufuli. Source: Igihe

African industry captains see a silver lining in the rocky exit of the United Kingdom from the EU (Brexit) at a time when a continental free trade area is about to come into force. A survey by Deloitte on how companies are prepared to exploit the broad market of $3 trillion and a population of more than 1.2 billion people found that three-quarters of executives polled were confident of benefiting from the African Continental Free Trade Area and that competition was the least of their worries. Instead they were anxious about how the business climate was cyclically affected by elections, small fragmented markets, inadequate financing, high cost of financial transactions and energy. While most have a strategic plan on integration, the survey found that it was focused on diversification, going Pan-African and proof of concept approach, where experiments are done in segments and countries before being scaled up across businesses and terrain. Interestingly, few were thinking of going global because of uncertainties surrounding world trade, with the UK about to exit the EU, and China, US and Europe always one drastic decision away from a trade war. The UK Trade Commissioner for Africa Emmah Wayde-Smith, however, told The EastAfrican they have, over the past two years worked to ensure continuity of trade with Africa, irrespective of what form Brexit takes. Prime Minister Theresa May had pledged to quit if her proposal is adopted. It had already failed twice among seven other options, creating more anxiety over Africa's access to the...

Stephen Karingi, ECA’s Director for Regional Integration and Trade spoke to The New Times’ James Karuhanga, shedding light on what is expected between now and the next African leaders’ summit in Niamey, Niger in July. The excerpts: March 21, 2019, marks the anniversary of the signing of the AfCFTA. Is there cause for celebration now? There is definitely good reason for celebration and, why do I say so? When we were in Kigali, one of the things we hoped and committed to as African people, through our leaders, was that within the shortest time possible the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement will come into force. Now, 21 countries have ratified the CFTA. When we left Kigali there were a number of things that were outstanding. Some countries had reservations on the agreement. Countries like Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Djibouti. As we go into the first year of the CFTA signing, those countries have not only signed but they have also ratified the agreement. Why have they done so? It is because they have actually been able to talk to their people, talked to their private sector, and considered everything contained in the agreement and seen that there are benefits for their people and economy. So, really, there is cause for celebration because the agreement is almost coming into force. And, secondly, countries that were not sure then [last year] whether they were ready to sign and ratify have actually already ratified. What do you say is holding others back from ratifying...

The House of People’s Representatives (HPR) approved at a plenary session Wednesday the draft organic law on Tunisia’s accession to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) with 138 votes for, 1 against and 1 abstention. Tunisia’s accession to this regional grouping is likely to help boost Tunisia’s exports to the African market. Tunisia’s exports to these markets do not surpass 2.5% of the overall exports, according to an explanatory document of the accession process. The COMESA is an international organization with a regional focus on East Africa, created in 1994 and aims to create a customs union between the 21 member countries. Based in Lusaka in Zambia, it currently brings together 20 African countries, including Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Source: African Manager

The company was represented at the Africa CEO Forum by its CEO of Africa Mr. Jerome Petit. Mr Petit told press that Bollore already has several partnership agreements with Chinese companies and intends to build even more relations. With more than 1,500 participants, this is the 7th Africa CEO Forum. It brought together to the East African nation international investors, sector experts, high-level policy makers and some of Africa’s top CEOs. The forum serves as a platform to deliberate investment topics and key challenges around Africa’s private sector led development. Bollere Transport & Logistics is a member of Bollore Group which deals in global supply chains and industrial projects among others. With its headquarters in Paris, France, the company operates across some 106 countries across the World with at least 46 of these based in African states. Since Bollore deals in logistics and related regulations all along global supply chains, it is only a strategic move to partner with China whose investment in African infrastructure grows every year. So far, Bollore has four partnership agreements with China’s Huawei, the shipping company COSCO, China’s Alibaba and the China Communications Construction Company. In fact, Bolloré Logistics was awarded by China’s Huawei two distinctive Awards, the Excellent Core Partner and the Best-Quality Logistics Service Award in 2017 at the Huawei Logistics Core Partner Convention in Shenzhen, China. Bolloré Logistics received the awards in recognition of its ‘excellence in managing Huawei’s international transportation and supply chain.’ Ancient Trade: China’s proposed Belt and Road Initiative...

The Government of Djibouti, through its Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) has signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Prime Economic Zones Company limited (PEZ) for the development of its 10-hectare piece of land located in the Kigali Special Economic Zone in Masoro, Kigali. The agreement will see a joint venture firm established by the two institutions to develop infrastructure and advanced factory units on the land. The land was offered to Djibouti by the Rwandan Government in 2013 in reciprocity to the 20 hectares of land Djibouti offered Rwanda at the Port of Djibouti. Djibouti also gave Rwanda an additional 40 hectares of land in its new Free Economic Zone in 2017 for trade. Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of RDB (Rwanda Development Board), Emmanuel Hategeka said : “Our countries are experiencing strong bilateral relations and in addition to the signing of this MoU today, we have shared detailed plans with the Government of Djibouti on how we want to develop the land given to us in Djibouti.” The chairman of the DPFZA, Omar Hadi Aboubaker said: “Our goal is to open up Africa to the rest of the world by connecting Rwanda, which is at the heart to a third international sea port in Djibouti after Mombasa and Dar-es- Salaam. We will develop toll roads connecting Djibouti to Kigali and upon developing the infrastructure and factory units in Kigali; we will look for investors to whom we shall lease out...

A partnership agreement to launch a joint venture which will see the development of Djibouti’s land in Rwanda, was signed on Thursday in Kigali between the two countries. Djibouti has a 10-hectare piece of land in the Kigali Special Economic Zone which it was gifted in reciprocity to the land that Djibouti had given Rwanda back in 2013. The agreement was signed by leaders from Prime Economic Zones Ltd which manages the Kigali Special Economic Zone and Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, and was witnessed by Rwanda Development Board (RDB). The joint venture could be established as soon as next week and would pave way for the beginning of the work to develop the land, including designing of project proposals. “Together, we are going to develop infrastructure, advance factory units on the 10 hectares. In the next few months or years, we should see something on the land,” Emmanuel Hategeka, RDB’s Chief Operating Officer told the press during the signing. Jeanne Isabelle Gasana, the Managing Director of Prime Economic Zones (PEZ) told The New Times that both the companies will each have 50 per cent stake in the new joint venture. The leaders did not share many details about the plans for the development of the land, the kind of investments they will make and specific timelines for completion of activities set to be done. However, Aboubaker Omar Hadi, the Chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority indicated that this was part of the bigger plan for the...