Early at the beginning of the year, members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) conducted on-the-spot inspections of East African Community (EAC) projects, organs and facilities along the two trade corridors; Northern and Central. The aim of the tour was to identify bottlenecks to the effective implementation of the EAC Customs Union Protocol. Among the facilities put in place was the East Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Project (EATTFP) set up to reduce transit cargo time by eliminating Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and enhance safety. While many unnecessary weigh bridges were removed along the Central Corridor and resting areas for long distance truck drivers set up - at least after every 12 hours on the road - the safety issue still lags behind. When EALA members arrived at the Rusumo One-Stop Border Post along the Tanzania-Rwanda border, they pointed at the lack of adequate safety and emergency measures. Seeing the number of trucks hurdled together, with some carrying inflammable liquids and gases, it was as if they were waiting for disaster to strike … and it did this week. A fuel tanker on the Tanzanian side lost control and rammed into other parked trucks sparking an enormous explosion. The nearest fire engine was in Rwamagana, a two-hour drive on the Rwandan side. Rwanda National Police also sent another fire engine from Kigali. Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) had the quickest option; it immediately swung into action and dispatched its fire-fighting helicopter into action. It was not the first time RDF choppers had...

Maize moving from Uganda to Kenya has dipped in August to as low as 4.5 tonnes per day, down from highs of 500 tonnes per day in June-July. An analysis by The EastAfrican of raw data from Ratin, a daily tracker of trade across the borders, shows that this month, 1,324 tonnes of maize came into Kenya from Uganda compared with 11,828 tonnes in July and 8,545 tonnes in June. From June to mid-August, a total of 21,697 tonnes of maize moved from Uganda to Kenya and another 6,562 tonnes moved from Uganda to Rwanda. Uganda has the lowest retail price for a tonne of maize in the region at $102 in upcountry towns and $122 in Kampala. Burundi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, in that order, have the highest prices for the grain which retails at $397, $380 and $307 per tonne respectively in the country capitals. The largest bulk of maize from Uganda to Kenya came through the Busia border and a few tonnes came in through Malaba and Lwakhakha towns. Tanzania also exports maize to Kenya but no Kenyan maize has been sold to Tanzania. A total of 3,900 tonnes of maize came from Tanzania to Kenya through the Isebania border in June and July. Tanzania last year lifted a ban on maize exports in an effort to curb practices that jeopardised food security such as pre-harvest sale of produce and to encourage value addition and promote the export of flour instead. Data also shows that from March to...

As India marks its 71st Independence day ties between Africa and India increasingly strengthening as both parties seek mutually beneficial partnership largely through trade. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that the current India-Africa partnership includes implementation of 180 lines of credit worth USD11bn in over 40 Africa countries and USD600 million in grant assistance. Today India’s trade with Africa is over $62 billion with plans to increase this volume further. The Indian government says that they have taken a long-term view of its engagement with African countries by participating in existing institutions in order to support the continent’s drive to build itself from within. One such example is the Government of India’s recent decision to invest USD10 million in the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI). The shareholding positions India as the first non-African government to become a member of the pan-African and multilateral investment and credit insurer with the expected result of boosting India’s trade with Africa. The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) will represent the government’s shareholding in ATI. ECGC’s most recent results show the company has $99 billion in exposures and it insures 32 per cent of India’s exports. ECGC has operated in Africa since the 1960s with plans to deepen its engagement in Africa. “India’s membership in ATI is a landmark development for a symbiotic relationship between the two fastest growing regions in the world. It is indeed a proud moment to be the first non-African state shareholder of ATI. This partnership will...

NAIROBI, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The East African Community member (EAC) states plans to develop a policy framework to address the human and animal health threat of aflatoxin contamination and boost food security, the economic bloc said on Wednesday. Christophe Bazivamo, Deputy Secretary General of the EAC, told a regional forum in Nairobi that aflatoxins from fungi are widespread in the region and cause contamination of staple foods such as maize milk and groundnuts in the field and during storage. "The EAC partner states will therefore develop policies to aid in the formulation and implementation of intervention programs to curb the spread of aflatoxins," Bazivamo said. The overall goal of the framework is to said to contribute to food and nutrition security as well as to protect human, animal and plant health. Bazivamo said to eliminate the threat of aflatoxin, the region needs to create awareness and sensitize high level policy makers and other key stakeholders on the necessary policy action and interventions to mitigate impacts of aflatoxin. According to Bazivamo, the control of aflatoxin will enable the EAC to expand intra-regional trade in the agricultural products. He said a comparative analysis of trade-related impacts of aflatoxin indicate that export destinations such as the EU have rejected agricultural commodities from the region leading to huge losses. He urged the member states to focus on preventive measures given that disposal of aflatoxin-contaminated food can be a costly and time consuming affair. Mwangi Kiunjuri, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture,...

NAIROBI, KENYA: Pressure is pilling on Tanzania and Burundi to ratify tax harmonisation agreement signed eight years ago to boost trade among East African Community partner states. East African Business Council noted that slow pace in ratifying the document makes it difficult for Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda to implement the agreement which would make it attractive for businesses to expand operations in East Africa. “We have witnessed a decline in intra-trade among the Partner States as many companies shy away from expanding within the region due to the fear of double taxation, this needs not to be the case as we have a document to address all these,” said Adrian Njau, East African Business Council Trade and Policy Advisor. “The EAC business community eagerly awaits harmonisation of domestic taxes in EAC and hopes to see in harmonization removal of tax distortions that hamper efficient allocation of resources within the Community and come in the way of free movement of goods, services, labor, capital, and investments within the Community,” he added. The East African Business Working Group on domestic taxes identifies several challenges in tax harmonisation among them reluctance of Partner States to move with speed and finalize the legal framework for tax harmonisation, and fear by governments that tax harmonization may deplete revenue base especially in the case of excise. Other challenges are reluctance by stakeholders to provide data that would enable the working group and government stakeholders to quantify the actual impact of tax harmonisation, Strong lobby by some...

Financial support from Germany to the East African Community (EAC) would from now largely focus on improved trade integration of the bloc. Another key priority would be on technical cooperation, it emerged during last week’s talks between the two sides. “The cooperation will continue in many areas with more focus on implementation to achieve tangible results”, said Dr Kirsten Focken, the cluster coordinator of GIZ-EAC Programme based in Arusha. She said during a meeting to plan the next phase of development support to EAC by the European economic powerhouse that new projects have to benefit regional integration. “We have to come up with clear and smart project objectives, outputs and indicators for the next phase of cooperation,” she said. The fourth phase of the multimillion euro EAC-GIZ Support Programme comes to an end in the middle of next year. The planning process for a new phase of the programme started last September with a series of appraisal meetings by the consultants. EAC deputy secretary general (Productive and Social Sectors) Christophe Bazivamo said the long-standing German support to the bloc’s integration would continue. “Implementation of the Customs Union and continued implementation of the Common Market will remain the core areas of support and cooperation,” he told the meeting. The support in the next phase of the programme would focus on economic sectors through regional cooperation and improved trade integration. According to the EAC secretary general, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko, Germany had supported the EAC to the tune of 290 million euros in...

Few modes of transport evoke such a sense of history and romanticism as rail. The first recorded use of rail transport was around 500BC, when ancient Greeks used a rail-like system – most likely powered by humans or horses – to carry boats across where the Corinth channel currently is. In the 1400s, German miners used wooden railways that were pushed by hand or pulled by horse. After the first iron rails were introduced in England in 1767, it took less than 40 years before Richard Trevithick built the first steam locomotive, also in England. In 1830, the world’s first regular steam passenger rail service was inaugurated by the Canterbury & Whitstable Railway. Africa’s first network of railways was started in Alexandria, Egypt in 1852. By 1860, South Africa had launched its first steam train, running from Central Durban to the Point, and by 1897 a railway line between Cape Town and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe was completed. In the early part of the 20th century rail lines were being constructed across the continent, connecting cities and countries in North, East, West and Southern Africa. Today, fast-growing economies across the continent are upgrading antiquated rail infrastructure to support improved regional trade and mass local transit. However, according to the African Development Bank, the poor condition of rail infrastructure and rolling stock in many African countries is undermining the potential of rail systems to contribute to economic development. Critical priorities for rail development in East Africa Governments and rail operators are responding...

Regional coffee growers, exporters and sector policy makers are turning their focus to domestic consumption, a move they say is intended to cushion them against fluctuations on the international market, which sometimes adversely affects their incomes. They were speaking Friday at the official launch of the 17th African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition (AFCC&E) in Kigali. The event is running under the theme, 'Specialty Coffees at the Heart of Africa', and it is focusing production and marketing of high quality coffee. The event was organised by African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) and Rwanda's National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB). About 2,000 people are taking part in the event, including coffee producers, exporters, roasters, policymakers and buyers from around Africa, the Americas, Europe, among other parts of the world. Samuel Kamau, the Executive Director of African Fine Coffees Association, said: "Local consumption is our future because we have to be self-sufficient. We cannot rely on donations. It creates the first base market for our farmers, so they do not have to worry about international prices going down." "For countries like Ethiopia, the prices on the international market are normally better than those on the international market. The international market has to pay more because (international consumers) are competing with the local people". Regional countries, he observed, can tap into the African Continental Free Trade Area, a deal signed in Kigali earlier this year with view to liberalise intra-African trade. "For instance, we want Rwanda to trade with Kenya, with Uganda and...

Non-tariff barriers remain the toughest headache for Comesa member states, and must be handled to clear way for free trade in Africa. Comesa Secretary general Chilese Mpundu Kapwepwe said there are also a number of sensitive products which member countries would not prefer to have tariffs removed, hampering the process to smooth harmonization of trade laws. “Once the restrictive barriers are harmonized, it will increase intra-trade among member countries,” she said on the sidelines of the heads of customs sub-committee meeting which ends today. The Tripartite Free Trade Area which should ideally harmonise the various trade groupings, has so far been ratified by 22 of the 26 member states of Comesa, East African Community and Southern African Development Community (SADC). The tripartite FTA brings together a population of 700 million people with an estimated Gross Domestic product of well over $1.4 trillion (Sh 140.9 trillion). It is looking to leverage on working recommendations for digital trade to see progress in the TFTA and the whole Comesa region. Identification, removal and monitoring of Non-Tariff Barriers to trade by the Member States in the Tripartite Community is one of the priority areas for policy harmonisation and coordination under the Tripartite framework. The two-day meeting is part of efforts for the 22 member states to give guidance and coordinate regional and national customs procedures and specifically customs related issues. The medium term strategic plan is focused on improving customs co-operation and trade facilitation to simplify and enhance automated and digitalized customs systems. Among...

The resolve by the East African Community member states to market the region as a single investment destination was laudable, as it was widely expected that the gains of regional integration would thus trickle down to all citizens. Still, while regional integration has been the mantra of the EAC heads of state and regional policy makers, the key question is whether this dream will ever be realised, going by the persisting trade wars between the member states. Although significant milestones have been achieved with the signing and ratification of key protocols, the region still has a long way to go to attain its goal of unity. The trade wars and the seemingly lack of commitment by some partner states on the implementation of joint regional projects such as the pipeline and the crude oil refinery have sent mixed signals about the commitment to regional integration. The trade disputes are eroding the gains of the Common Market Protocol, which provides for free movement of goods, services, labour and capital within the regional bloc. The success of the Common Market is critical to the ongoing regional integration process because it will pave the way for the achievement of the monetary union and the EAC political federation. Last week, Tanzania cracked down on sugar imports from Uganda, claiming the commodity had been sneaked into Uganda from Kenya, which is entangled in a domestic sugar crisis caused by importation of large amounts of contaminated duty-free sugar. Dar imposed a 25 per cent import duty...