News Categories: Rwanda News

Ethiopia and Somalia agree joint development of four seaports

The agreement was reached after a meeting in Mogadishu between President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo of Somalia and Ethiopia’s newly installed prime minister Abiy Ahmed. Officials did not say which ports would be developed. A joint technical team is to be formed immediately to outline proposals. The text of the agreement can be seen here. The development is being view as part of the complicated politics of the region, which is in the shadow of the struggle between the Gulf states on one side and Turkey, Qatar and Iran on the other, as well as Ethiopia’s difficult relations with Eritrea and the position of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland. In recent years Ethiopia has been moving closer to the UAE, and the announcement follows a pledge from the UAE to give it $3bn in aid. Under the terms of that deal, the money will be used as capital investment in construction projects. Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia’s communication affairs minister, said the money would significantly further the country’s development goals. The UAE is thought to be interested in investing in industrial parks, which have become an important part of Ethiopia’s strategy of building up an export-oriented manufacturing sector, as well as healthcare and hospitality projects. One billion dollars will be deposited in Ethiopia’s central bank to ease its foreign currency shortages. These have become so severe that the government has been considering the privatisation of Ethiopia Airlines, Africa’s fastest growing carrier. State-owned Ethio-Telecom, which has more than 65 million subscribers, has also just...

EAC set to embrace online drive to empower women

Arusha. A continent-wide online platform to support women entrepreneurs has been launched with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB). The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50MWS) will provide financial and non-financial information to women entrepreneurs within the African continent including the East African Community (EAC). “That would enable them to interact and grow their businesses,” said Mary Makoffu, the EAC director of social services. She added although there were already such platforms for women in business across the region, EAC was keen to partner and build on the existing structures “to better deliver on this project.” Besides the EAC, 50MWS is also being implemented in three other regional blocs, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the Common Market for Southern and Eastern Africa (Comesa) and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). “This is a good opportunity for women in business in respective regional economic communities (RECS) to penetrate markets of other blocs”, she pointed out. To introduce the three-year project, the EAC secretariat recently conducted meetings targeting ministries responsible for Gender, ICT, Trade and EAC Affairs as well as the civil societies. Each member state would, thereafter, be required to form respective country team that will help in collection of information to upload into the platform. The ministries responsible for Gender in each country, which normally disburse funds to support women’s economic activities, will be in charge of 50MWS coordination. “50MWS Project will also contribute to reduce to zero gender that were observed...

Integration to dominate agenda at forthcoming EAC meeting

Arusha. Market driven integration will top the sixth annual East African Community (EAC) Secretary General’s Forum slated for Nairobi early next week. The forum, which has been held every year since 2012, aims at providing an opportunity to the private sector, civil society and other interest groups to share experiences on regional integration efforts. It is convened by the EAC secretariat in collaboration with the Regional Dialogue Committee, which comprises members from partner states. “This year’s forum will review the work plan and progress reports on the consultative dialogue framework for the private sector, civil society and interest groups,” EAC said in a statement yesterday. The framework was adopted during a recent meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers, which is the policy organ of the six-nation community. About 100 delegates drawn from the private sector and civil society organisations as well as professional bodies, media, trade unions and EAC institutions are expected at the two-day meeting, which will start on July 23. Themed “Strategising for Impact:People-Centred and Market-Driven Integration’ the forum is expected to redefine the way forward in the EAC integration efforts. Through consultation and dialogue, non-state actors and EAC and partner states officials are expected to agree on concrete policy measures on issues pertaining to integration. Holding of the annual forum among key players in the EAC integration process was endorsed by the EAC Council of Ministers in 2012 and since then five EAC SG’s forums have been held in different capitals. Source The Citizen

Expo 2018: PSF advocates for electronic payments

Shoppers and revelers at the forthcoming Rwanda International Trade Fair are encouraged to use electronic payments to access the exhibition premises as organisers announced they will also accept card-based payments, adding impetus to the country’s ambitions towards a cashless economy. The expo, which starts on July 26, will be hosted at the Gikondo Expo Grounds in Kicukiro District, is expected to attract over 500 exhibitors from over 20 countries. According to officials from the Private Sector Federation (PSF), the organisers of the annual exhibition, there will be no more tickets at the entrance as revelers will use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. NFC-enabled devices such as ordinary transport smartcards locally known as Tap and Go and the Quick Response (QR) code system powered by mobile money, will be used, according to Faustin Karasira, the Director of Operations at the Gikondo-based Federation. Speaking during an interview with The New Times, Karasira said that the cashless system will ease transaction, accuracy and prevent long queues, especially at the entrance. “We’re are employing more payment options in cashless transactions including smart cards, visa or master cards because we found that it is totally possible in the country and can be effective,” he said. He added that several banks and IT companies have approached them to have their products integrated into the system at Expo 2018. “Banks, telecom companies and AC-Group (providers of Tap and Go) are with us. If you have your transport smart card you can tap and continue. The same with a...

Paradox: To pay off its foreign debt, East Africa must cut down domestic borrowing

Since debts can only be repaid if a country generates money through economic activity, some countries may seek to expand their industrial bases or conversely the tax base from which they can collect tax revenues to pay off their domestic debt. The East African region had by 2017 accrued debts amounting to $127.76 billion on an annual gross domestic product that stood at $249.56 billion in that same year. On the continent, the region is a little less indebted than South Africa whose total debt amounted to $191.8 billion in 2017. Nigeria’s debt in comparison stood at $100.7 billion. Nigeria and South Africa are the continent’s largest and second largest economies respectively. That Nigeria was less indebted than South Africa and East Africa can be attributed to its oil revenue that funds the greater part of its national budget. Whereas the Nigerian government received a big chunk of its funding from oil revenue, South Africa taxed its industries and the difference was funded through borrowing. South Africa’s advanced integration into international capital markets and its large industrial base offer the government a high level of liquidity, meaning it can run large debts with greater ease than its East African counterparts. In 2017, South Africa’s domestic debt stood at $177.85 billion to East Africa’s $52.533 billion. In the same year, Nigeria borrowed $69.6 billion from the domestic market. Nigeria’s oil revenue gives it room to borrow less from its domestic markets compared with South Africa. Concurrently, Nigeria’s large and relatively advanced...

EAC wants members to review 100 laws

Arusha. The East African Community (EAC) is pushing partner states to review over 100 national laws to conform with the Common Market Protocol. The laws relate to free movement of goods, people, labour, capital, services and the right of establishment and residence. “Harmonisation of partner states’ relevant national laws for the purpose has been a monumental task,” said the deputy secretary-general (productive and social sectors), Mr Christophe Bazivamo. He was addressing a delegation from the Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development under the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad). The mission was seeking to understand the EAC’s policy on transboundary pastoralism and cross-border transhumance, which is the action or practice of moving livestock from one grazing ground to another in a seasonal cycle. Mr Bazivamo said there were still many barriers hindering free movement of people across borders in the region despite efforts to minimise and expedite border procedures. “Sensitisation of people at all levels is therefore necessary as part of efforts to knock down these national barriers.” However, Mr Bazivamo commended progress made in promoting the cross-border movement of skilled labour, citing the signing of mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) among various professionals. He added that MRAs have already been signed by the six member states among accountants, architects, engineers and veterinarians. Negotiations of MRAs for land surveyors and advocates have also been concluded and are awaiting signing by competent authorities. “Negotiations for MRA for pharmacists have commenced,” Mr Bazivamo added when briefing the visitors on efforts being made to...

Consumerism and climatic change

Consumerism is an economic and cultural ideology that encourages the acquisition of goods and services. The Theory of Consumerism states that a country that consumes goods and services in large quantities will be better off economically and experience high growth rate. Over last few decades industrialization has pushed production of consumer goods all over world. Post 1990’s globalization has further enhanced consumerism through multinational company’s growth. It is estimated that 1.7 billion people around the world belong to the consumer class. The consumer class includes people that are able to purchase non-essential goods such as expensive cars, fancy jewellery, and big houses Consumerism is responsible for manmade climatic change.   High rate of growth in production and consumption of non essential goods has led to deterioration of environment leading to climatic change. According to study from Norway between 60-80 percent of the impacts on the planet come from household consumption. Based on climatic change projections, globally countries will experience changing rainfall patterns, rising sea levels, and higher temperatures that will affect food security, agricultural production, water availability,  public health, among others. Population, technology, and consumption are considered to be factors responsible for climatic change. Yet of the three factors consumption seems to get the least attention as responsible factor. One reason for this  is that it may be the most difficult to change; our consumption patterns are so much a part of our lives that to change them would require a massive cultural overhaul, not to mention severe economic dislocation.  Again...

Lake Kivu becomes major transport hub

Workers at this shipyard in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo are putting the finishing touches to a newly constructed boat that will sail one of Africa’s Great Lakes – Lake Kivu. The 58 meter-long boat is the 13th from a series of locally assembled boats named Emmanuel, by its makers. They have become a significant mode of transport from the lake side city of Goma to Bukavu, as an alternative to a journey that could take up to five days by road. The Emmanuel boats were a brainchild of a Congolese engineer called Emmanuel Semmanyenzi. The vessels are assembled in Goma by a group of local engineers and support staff, most of whom are self-taught craftsmen trained in the art of building pirogues that have sailed the lake for centuries. They use material imported from Europe and Asia. It takes about one year to completely assemble a boat. “All the equipment is imported, we don’t’ manufacture anything here, we import it. But everything is assembled here, we import and install here,” said construction foreman, Ponyo Baruti. Congo suffers from poor infrastructure and unreliable public transport. These boats have become a lifeline for people who have to cross Lake Kivu regularly to trade and connect with family and friends on the either side. A boat leaves daily from the port of Goma to Bukavu, and back, ferrying between hundreds of passengers and tonnes of goods, for a distance of about 130 kilometers. “We have no roads in Congo, the authorities do...

How delays are hurting Rwanda cargo truckers

Transporters want Rwanda to drop its biannual inspection of cross-border cargo trucks in line with the rest of the region’s more convenient yearly process. In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, renewals of certificates of roadworthiness are carried out after a year, but Rwanda requires truck inspection every six months. The Rwandans say this hurts their revenues and competitiveness. “Since we are cross-border transporters, our trucks spend days and months abroad and by the time they return, and the inspection certificate has expired, we have to ground the trucks until another certificate is available,” said Abdul Ndarubogoye, the chairman of the Rwanda Cross Border Transporters Association. The transporters complain about delays at the inspection centres of between four and 10 days. There are costs of feeding and accommodation for drivers during such waiting period, costs that are passed on to importers making transportation of containers to Rwanda expensive. While the Rwandans have boosted their fleets to compete for the regional cargo transport business, the share of foreign trucks delivering goods to the country remains high. Source The East Africa

East Africa splurges on infrastructure in budgets

Regional economies have allocated a third of their individual budgets in the new financial year to infrastructure projects, aiming to boost economic activity and spur growth. Of the $15.8 billion going to development projects, Kenya allocated $6.25 billion (39.5 per cent), followed by Tanzania at $5.3 billion, then Uganda at $3.05 billion and Rwanda at $1.28 billion. Kenya reduced its allocation from $7.4 billion in the 2017/18 fiscal year. Tanzania’s allocation increased from $5.27 billion in the year ending June 30. Uganda had set aside $1.32 billion, while Rwanda had earmarked $924 million for development expenditure last year. The projects range from airport upgrades to aircraft purchases, modernisation of road and railway networks, and energy generation. Tanzania says it will prioritise the construction of its Central Railway Line under the standard gauge railway project, for which it has budgeted $3.14 billion, with about half of it paid to the contractor. Kenya has allocated $747 million in the new financial year for the construction of Phase 2A of its SGR, from Nairobi to Naivasha in the Central Rift. Uganda is juggling between upgrading its metre gauge railway and initial work on its SGR, which is currently at the land compensation stage. Uganda Railways Corporation took over the operation of the metre gauge railway, after the termination of the Rift Valley Railways concession. Railway services on the Eastern Route resumed in February, and they reinstated the passenger rail service in the Kampala Metropolitan Area. Ugandan Finance Minister Matia Kasaija reiterated the country’s...