Arusha. The East African Community (EAC) is mobilising funds for renewable energy projects which can lead to reduction of firewood and charcoal use by 50 per cent. The new drive would start with formulation of the Regional Renewable Energy Master plan alongside with energy efficiency and conservation programmes. “Our main focus is on ensuring environmentally friendly energy sources through attracting investments and promoting competitiveness and trade,” said the EAC deputy secretary general (Productive and Social Sectors) Christophe Bazivamo. He was speaking during the on-going exhibition of renewable energy technologies by the German energy initiative called Energiewende. The July 23 to August 10 exhibition at the EAC headquarters is aimed at exposing the region to efficient energy technologies from Germany, which intends to stop the use of nuclear energy. “Modern energy services mean accessing 50 per cent of the population that currently uses traditional cooking fuel to renewable sources,” he said. Available statistics indicate that modern energy consumption in EA was about 130 KwH per capita, which is considered one of the lowest in the world. In an effort to promote renewable energy, the community last year created the EA Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency based in Kampala, Uganda. According to Mr Bazivamo, funds are also being mobilised to facilitate the formation of the proposed Regional Renewable Energy Association and harmonisation of the standards. The Germany government pledged to assist the region in the renewable energy drive, saying it would increase energy efficiency and protect the climate. “We...

Intra- Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) exports recorded a slight drop in value, partly due to the decline in oil prices and commodity prices since 2014. Total intra-Comesa exports fell by 1.76 per cent to Shs29.2 trillion in 2017, down from Shs29.7 trillion recorded the previous year. According to records, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Sudan took the lead in inter-Comesa exports out of all the 21 member countries after Tunisia and Sudan joined the bloc. Egypt in the year ending, exported goods worth Shs5.6 trillion to mostly Comesa members. Kenya followed with trade worth Shs5.3 trillion. Uganda took the distant third position at Shs3.7 trillion. Zambia and Sudan were in the fourth and fifth position with export trade worth Shs3.4 trillion and Shs2.9 trillion, respectively. Ms Yvette Sylla, the chairperson of Comesa Council of minister, however, added that intra-Comesa exports recorded a negative. The other factor associated with the decline in 2016 is the drought which affected most of the countries especially in eastern Africa. Intra Comesa trade Uganda is among the top five member countries that have contributed to the 81 per cent growth of intra-Comesa trade since the Free Trade Area started that started in 2000. Latest records from the Comesa Secretariat, show that trade has risen to nearly $8 billion (Shs29.6 trillion) as of 2017, up from $1.5 billion (Shs5.5 trillion) recorded in 2000. Ms Sylla said: “Comesa’s programmes and approaches to market integration, including the resolution of non-tariff barriers served as a...

East African Business Council (EABC) was established to foster private sector interests in the East African Community. But over the years, this task has proven tougher to chew. Prosper’s Ismail Musa Ladu interviewed the director Madhvani Group and chairman Uganda Sugar Manufacturers’ Association, Mr Jim Mwine Kabeho, who last month completed a one-year term (2017/18) at the helm of EABC. Excerpts below. How would you account for your time at the helm of EABC?  During the one year, I concentrated on promoting local content. This is because currently, all partner states are carrying out mega projects in oil and gas, mining, building dams and bridges, construction of roads, railways and establishing airports and harbours. All these need materials such as cement and steel which can be sourced locally. Even skills, food and labour can all be sourced domestically. But because we do not have an EAC Content Bill for the region, contractors, most of whom are foreigners, are taking advantage of that gap and importing all materials outside East Africa. This is not acceptable! I also advocated for increased agricultural sector funding. I encouraged women in business programmes and made a call for businesses in the region to embrace innovation and technology, let alone getting involved in climate change mitigation measures. Issues of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) remain a challenge for private sector in the region. How did you handle this perennial problem? Over the 12 months, we massively fought Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs). This was done by trying to harmonise positions...

The Economic Commission for Africa has said that the entire continent stands to gain much more from AfCFTA than it benefits from other trading arrangements with regions outside the continent. The statements were made during a policy dialogue to discuss the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and assess the country’s readiness to tap into the agreement’s potential. The Economic Policy Research Network (EPRN) of Rwanda in partnership with UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Rwanda Ministry of Trade and Industry were part of the stakeholders at the dialogue. Andrew Mold, Officer-in-Charge of ECA in Eastern Africa said that Africa stands to gain much more from AfCFTA than it benefits from other trading arrangements with regions outside the continent. He noted that the ECA has estimated that if fully implemented, the AfCFTA could double the amount of intra-African trade. Mr Mold explained that despite having been granted preferential market access to high-income markets for many decades now most countries on the continent are still import-dependent and export excessive amounts of unprocessed commodities, and, as a consequence, run up large trade deficits. “Large trade deficits slow down the pace of economic growth and development”, he said. “We clearly need a new approach to tackle these problems – the implementation of the AfCFTA is that approach,” Mold said. “We are talking about 1.2 billion people with a combined GDP of $2.2 trillion, so it’s a huge market”, said Michel Sebera, Permanent Secretary in Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade and Industry. Sebera added...

Only a few recommendations — 16 per cent — of the 5th EAC Secretary General’s Forum held in Burundi in 2017 have been implemented. Lilian Awinja, executive director of the East African Business Council (EABC), said this week that 43 per cent of the recommendations were partly implemented, 36 per cent were not implemented and 5 per cent had no update at all. “These figures are worrisome,” Ms Awinja told the 6th Annual EABC Secretaries General Forum in Nairobi. The annual forum reviews the work plan and progress reports on the Consultative Dialogue Framework for private sector, civil society and other interest groups, considers translating the resolutions into policy and defines the success stories of the dialogue process. The 6th Forum featured about 100 representatives from the private sector, civil society, professional bodies, academia, media, EAC organs, development partners and other interest groups. In the Bujumbura forum in June 2017, the parties agreed on 33 recommendations, including the establishment of a One Network Area (ONA) to reduce the cost of communication through harmonisation of roaming charges, and one airspace to facilitate air transport. Introduced in October 2014, the ONA was meant to harmonise tariffs on mobile voice calls, SMS and data transmission within the EAC. Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda removed roaming charges, making mobile calls between the three countries local. This led to a 400 per cent increase in the volume of phone calls — a direct benefit to EAC citizens and businesses operating across borders. The second phase was...

The Single Customs Territory is a milestone towards integration of the EAC region. It is a stepping stone towards the attainment of a Customs Union. In a bid to enhance the clearance of goods, minimise controls at internal borders and decongest the ports to boost trade facilitation in the East African Community, the presidents of the EAC partner states agreed to fast-track the implementation of the SCT, which was later launched in October 2013 and implemented by revenue authorities in January 2014. After successful rollout of the SCT processes for all imports into Uganda in December 2017, Uganda Revenue Authority is now set to roll out the SCT procedures for Ugandan Exports that are destined to the world all over. The rollout is effective July 19, 2018, and will commence with a pilot of coffee exported through the Port of Mombasa, and subsequently other exports, including tea, hides and Skins, etc. According to Dicksons Collins Kateshumbwa, the Commissioner Customs URA, the new procedures will be piloted with Uganda’s main exports because the benefits are expected to have instant significant impact on Uganda’s competitiveness and on the economy as a whole. Between July 2017 to December 2017, Uganda’s Top 20 exports contributed 64.58 per cent of the total exports worth, with a value of Shs3,036.036b out of a total of Shs4,701.093b. The top exports included coffee, gold, maize, beans, and tea, with values of Shs888,880b, Shs502.699b, Shs179.604b, S164.646 billion , andShs152.715b respectively. The main destinations of Uganda’s exports in the same...

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) plans to set up a team to oversee the implementation of the Digital Free Trade Area (DFTA). The DFTA is an online platform for trade facilitation comprising three segments namely electronic trade (e-trade,) e-logistics, and e-legislation. The e-trade aims at promoting electronic commerce by providing a platform for traders in the Comesa bloc to conduct business online. The e-logistics segment uses ICT as a tool to improve transportation of goods to customers, while e-legislation looks at the preparedness of countries to put in place laws that enable them to carry out e-transactions and e-payments. “The DFTA platform will enable duty-free and quota-free trading and provide an online regional market. Hence, it will empower cross border traders to do business using ICT thereby minimising physical barriers,” said the Comesa in a statement. The sub-committee, which will be made up of members of trade, ICT and other relevant ministries in member states will be charged with the responsibility of ensuring that Comesa realises the dream of achieving a digital free trade area. The decision was reached during a council of ministers meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, last week. The ministers also allowed the including of other stakeholders in the committee, including the private sector, to hasten implementation. The council instructed the Comesa secretariat to finalise DFTA gap analysis in member states by the end of this year. The DFTA will require both technological and legal inputs, especially in the fields of intellectual property, competition,...

Rwanda has officially joined Africa50, a Pan-African infrastructure platform that was created to bridge the infrastructure gap. The platform seeks to develop and invest in bankable projects, catalysing public sector capital, and mobilising private sector funding. Finance ministry’s Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Caleb Rwamuganza, who signed Rwanda’s membership on behalf of government, said that Africa50 provides Rwanda with a unique opportunity to pursue to key infrastructure projects. “We have several infrastructure projects in the pipeline that we hope to realise in the near future. Joining Africa50 simply takes us another step closer to that objective,” Rwamuganza said. Africa50’s primary target sectors are transport and power, which represent almost 70 per cent of projected infrastructure investment needs between now and 2025, and have a significant economic and transformative impact. Africa50 Chief Executive Alain Ebobisse said that the initiative brings together public and private sector partners to finance infrastructure development. “More than ever, Africa50 is in a position to deliver its mandate. In just two years of operation, Africa50 has brought together key players from Africa’s public and private sectors and the broader Pan-African and international development finance community,” Ebobisse said, Africa50 supports commercially sustainable projects through increasing the number of investment-ready, infrastructure projects and provide financing at earlier stages of projects. It also provides primarily equity and quasi equity with flexible exit options, while accessing preferential debt from the Africa Development Bank and development finance institutions. The third general shareholders meeting was also attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta...

Kenya must raise production standards and up its marketing to counter similar efforts by its neighbours racing for a pie of the United Kingdom (UK) market, latest trade and investment report states. According to the latest study by Overseas Development Institute (ODI) exports to the UK from the rest of the world have risen by 15 per cent in eight years to 2017. Kenya lost out on all its top three exports to the same destination during that period. “Kenya has lost its competitiveness to other countries and that has to be rectified by upping its standards, improve marketing and branding of its products as well as diversifying,” said Dirk Wellem Te Velde, principal research fellow and head of Economic Development Group. Data from International Trade Centre showed that the value of Kenya’s exports to the UK has been on decline, moving from Sh50.3 billion in 2009 to Sh37.6 billion in 2017. This is tipped to fall further should the country fail to address challenges of infrastructure, diversity and standards to ward off increasing competition. The study showed that Kenya’s share in UK imports fell from 16 per cent in 2011 to seven per cent by 2014 as vegetables and flowers lost competitiveness to neighbouring countries due to improved wages, marketing systems, diversity and standard compliance. Diversification “Lack of diversification has reduced Kenya’s competitiveness and given rise to significant competition from other African countries such as Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Ivory Coast, all gradually eating into Kenya’s market share in...

Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Southern Sudan have already put the regional Act effect which, among other things, seeks to reduce the spate of accidents. Briefing reporters here yesterday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication Joseph Nyamhanga said the new regional Act embodies many new aspects, unlike the existing one. He was speaking at a forum aimed at imparting knowledge and awareness about the new regulations to heads of key stakeholders in the transport industry from both private and public sectors. "Before the Act comes into effect, we have seen the need to educate you about it and its relevant regulations, hoping that you will also bequeath the knowledge to others in the transport industry," he said. He urged experts with the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) to continue disseminating education and knowledge on the fresh vehicle load control regulations to all transporters countrywide. Dwelling on impending changes after the Act and its regulations come into effect, he said offenders will be fined up to $15,000 or three years’ imprisonment in default. "This is why we have set ample time of at least four months in order for all transporters in the country to read between the lines and understand them well since we will not entertain any excuses when the Act and regulations come into force," he cautioned. Elaborating, he said according to the new regulations, limitation of weight in axle of super single tyres has been set at 8.5 tonnes instead of the current 10...