Dar es Salaam. Massive investments in infrastructure, real estate, technology, hospitality and construction in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have made East Africa the most preferred investment destination on the continent, a new study shows. In its study findings titled Africa Attractiveness Report 2018, Ernst & Young (EY) says East Africa last year overtook its western, southern and northern Africa peers in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI) for the first time in history. East Africa bagged 197 FDI projects in 2017, EY says, far above the 185, 172 and 162 projects registered in the north, west and southern Africa, respectively. The 197 new projects in East Africa were an 82 per cent improvement over the 2016 investments. “The project numbers for 2017 made the region Africa’s major FDI hub,” the report reads in part, adding that Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania received the highest number of FDI projects – 67, 62 and 35 respectively. The 35 projects registered in Tanzania were a 59 per cent improvement over the 22 registered in 2016. “Nine of the projects were in real estate, hospitality and construction (RHC),” the report states, attributing the improvement to government investments in related infrastructure, and private sector investments in the region’s hydrocarbons sector. Tanzania is currently building a 300-kilometre stretch of the standard gauge railway (SGR) between Dar es Salaam and Morogoro. This is part of the government’s wider goal of eventually linking Dar es Salaam to Rwanda and Burundi with high-speed electric-powered train services at a total...

The global trade wars have resulted in noticeable instability and lower economic growth is some African countries, says the global trade organisation. Keith Rockwell, WTO’s Director of Information and External Relations Division, said the rising US dollar as a result of the trade tensions was also hurting African economies. He said between 2013 and 2017, sub-Saharan African debt levels denominated in foreign currency were up 80 per cent, adding that in non-resource intensive countries the jump was about 18 per cent. Rockwell was responding to the Financial Times that had requested him to explain the impact of the ongoing trade friction between the United Stated and China at the regional dialogue on Challenges for the Multilateral Trading System-Perspectives from East Africa held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi last week. The dialogue was jointly organized by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), a German organisation promoting democracy and good governance, social justice and globalization with a human face and the WTO. “Per capita income growth remains sluggish. Rapid increase in the working-age population means that by 2035, the number of people in low-income countries reaching working age (15–64) will exceed that of the rest of the world combined,” he told the dialogue that brought together civil society organisations from Kenya and journalists from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia. Rockwell recalled an African proverb that says: “When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers most”. “And when global economic powers are engaged in trade wars it is African countries that...

For twenty years, only soldiers, refugees or rebels had ventured to the border between the enemy brothers of the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia and Eritrea. But with the normalization of their relations, the former desert no man’s land is now quivering with activity. Trucks loaded with bricks and wood, fruit and vegetable carts and local buses visiting their families are now crossing the border under the benevolent eye of soldiers who until a few months ago looked at each other as dogs from their trenches dug in the rock. “We have everything we didn’t have before, from the smallest to the largest,” says Abraham Abadi, a merchant in the Eritrean city of Senafé, whose shop is full of cookies, drinks and other goods from Ethiopia. We have everything we didn’t have before, from the smallest to the largest But the dramatic reopening of the border this summer has also brought its share of problems, with an influx of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia and a chaotic exchange market between the currencies of two countries with very unbalanced economic development. Once a province of Ethiopia, Eritrea gained its independence in 1993 after several decades of bloody war. The border demarcation then caused a two-year conflict in 1998 that left tens of thousands dead, before ending with more than 15 years of Cold War, with Ethiopia refusing to comply with UN recommendations on the demarcation of the border. Until the arrival in Addis Ababa of the reformer Abiy Ahmed, who decided last June to...

The African Development Bank has approved the East Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) laying out the roadmap for accelerating regional integration in the region with regional infrastructure development among the main pillars of the plan. The bank has earmarked $3.3b (sh12.5 trillion) to finance the strategy according to a statement from the bank. The strategy will guide the bank’s regional operations in 13 countries, namely Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The Regional Integration Strategy Paper 2018-2022 maps out the direction of the Bank’s regional integration work in Eastern Africa over the next five years. The key objectives are fast-tracking structural transformation, increasing trade and promoting financial sector integration and inclusion. The strategy is focused on two mutually reinforcing pillars namely regional infrastructure development for competitiveness and transformation. The other is strengthening of policy and institutional frameworks for market integration, growing investments and value chains development. Eastern Africa is the fastest growing region in Africa, with real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 5.9% in 2017 compared to the continental average of 3.6%. But countries in the region grapple with poor infrastructure including power shortages, low electricity connection rates and high cost of electricity for manufacturing enterprises – about four times higher than the global average. They are also characterised by low-level industrialisation, with manufacturing added value below 15% in all the region’s member countries. “Most Eastern African countries depend on agricultural and mineral products for their exports,” said...

THE East African Community (EAC) will join other regional economic communities for a Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP) validation workshop for cross border road transport agreements, model laws and regulations in Eastern and Southern Africa slated for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia next week. TTTFP’s goal is to assist EAC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states to harmonise road transport laws, policies, regulations, standards and systems. Funded by the European Union (EU), the programme is coordinated by a Programme Management Unit hosted by SADC Secretariat on behalf of the Tripartite. According to a statement released by the EAC Secretariat, the programme is relevant for the Agenda 2030 as it not only contributes primarily to the progressive achievement of Sustainable Development Goal number nine but also promotes progress towards the goal. This does not imply a commitment by the Member States of SADC, COMESA and EAC benefiting from this programme. The overall strategic objective is to facilitate the development of a more competitive, integrated and liberalized regional road transport market in the East and Southern African region. The project purpose is to develop and implement harmonized road transport policies, laws, regulations and standards for efficient cross border road transport and transit networks, transport and logistics services, systems and procedures in the East and Southern African region. Target participants in the workshop are experts from 21 beneficiary member states representing Ministries and Government Agencies. Fifteen other regional subsidiary organisations with a...

Traders in landlocked states in East Africa are pushing for a single customs bond guarantee scheme for the whole region amid concerns that high cost of complying with Kenyan and Tanzanian laws have raised their cost of production. While the region operates as a single customs territory, Tanzania does not recognise the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Customs Bond Guarantee Scheme which shippers execute at the Mombasa port to move goods through Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan. Tanzania is the only East Africa Community (EAC) state that does not belong to the Comesa trading bloc, having opted to integrate its market with Southern Africa Development Community countries. That means a trader who orders goods through Dar es Salam will have to execute a Tanzanian security bond then revert to either national or Comesa one after crossing the border. “Manufacturing in a landlocked country that imports nearly everything through Kenya or Tanzania is a real challenge,” said Mr Salim Somji, chairman of Burundi-based Siphar S.A, a pharmaceutical manufacturer. “When everyone is thinking of competing in the expanded EAC market, we can only think of competing in other landlocked states of the region.” Regional customs bond guarantees ensure that the government is able to recover duties and taxes from the guarantors should the goods in transit be illegally disposed of for home consumption in the country of transit. While Comesa bond is more expensive, with its value being at 0.5 per cent of goods on transit, traders...

THE Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Libérat Mfumukeko, has stressed on the need for EAC member states to work closely in order to improve road safety and transport infrastructure in the bloc. In his condolence message to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta following the aftermath of the Kericho bus tragedy that occurred last Wednesday, the Burundian diplomat described the accident as a yet another call to all EAC partner states to continue to work together in curbing the scourge of road accidents. “We have lost too many lives in the recent past; this, therefore calls for an urgent need for member states to continue to work together improving transport infrastructure,” he observed. In the same vein, the secretary general commiserated with the families that lost their loved ones in last Wednesday’s tragic road accident at Fort Ternan in Kericho, which 56 people perished. “On behalf of the EAC and on my own behalf, I convey my heartfelt condolences to your Excellency, and through you to: the bereaved families, relatives and friends of the passengers, the government and the people of Kenya,” condoled the EAC secretary general. According to estimates by TradeMark Africa (TMA), road fatalities are said to reduce the economic output of EAC countries by about $115.6 million per year assuming average productivity per person lost to a road traffic fatality. The people lost would more than likely have long lives resulting in an estimated $5 billion worth of lifetime productivity from each year’s cohort of road...

Windhoek – Ports in Southern Africa are not upfront with their terminal handling charges, which makes the ease of doing business in the region difficult and the hidden cost thereof ridiculously expensive, says Ed Richardson, Freight and Trade Weekly correspondent. Richardson said while a growing number of ports in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region is open to negotiation on charges, some simply do not respond to requests for information and information seekers have to rely on the World Bank for available data. This, he said, is due to the heavy competition experienced by the different transport corridors where there is no harmonisation of tariffs or political will to unify trading across borders. He stressed that ports that have invested in certain routes for over 100 years and have depots there would never advise a customer to go through another port. There are huge variations in terminal handling costs in the six ports in SADC countries, namely Namibia (Walvis Bay), Mozambique (Maputo, Nacala and Beira), South Africa (Durban) and Tanzania (Dar es Salaam). According to figures provided, the Walvis Bay port is unusually expensive, with double or three times higher tariffs, followed by Maputo and Durban, while the Dar es Salaam, Maputo, Nacala and Beira’s costs, which are the lowest, are on average similar. For example, for handling 20 feet cargo in transit, the Walvis Bay port charges US$216.88, while Maputo and Durban would handle the same cargo for US$148 and US$123, respectively. This is in stark contrast to...

JUBA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Monday opened its second edition of the Made-in-South Sudan Exhibition aimed at promoting locally-made products and open up the country's investment opportunities. Paul Mayom Akech, Minister of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs said this year's event focuses on exposing the country's agriculture and manufacturing potentials in a bid to reduce dependence on imports. Akech said the government seeks to boost South Sudan's manufacturing sector through enacting laws to safeguard investors and the local consumers. "Our immediate task is to enhance policies that will safeguard the producer and the consumer. Engage with financial institutions to provide resources to this local business groups, find them market outside South Sudan and make conditions of export easier for them," Aketch said. The event which brought together over 50 exhibitors is supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and it will run until Oct. 20. Participants are drawn from sectors such as agriculture, construction, cosmetics, beverages, electronics, textiles, banking and insurance among others. South Sudan depends on oil revenue for over 90 percent of its budget, but production reduced significantly due to civil war that erupted in December 2013, causing most oilfields in the country's oil-rich northern region to shut down. The east African nation is currently struggling with hyper inflation amid shortage of foreign reserves to support its import-dependent economy. Source Xinhuanet

After 20 years of bitter conflict, the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia is officially open for business and merchants are trading freely across the former war zone. Where soldiers stared each other down as recently as six months ago, a relaxed army presence now watches horse-drawn carts and buses full of visitors, as trade and tourism crosses the border of Africa’s longest-running conflict. Business booms between former rivals Merchants in the disputed territories once fought over between Eritrea and Ethiopia are now enjoying the benefits of open trade and a huge spike in the movement of people. For two decades, little more than soldiers, refugees and rebel fighters moved across the closed border between the two countries. However, now goods and people are free to cross the border, filling merchant shelves with goods that were previously out of reach. More importantly, the peace deal between Eritrea and Ethiopia has transformed a barren war zone into a border bustling with activity and potential customers for merchants to sell their product to. There are some early concerns developing from the open border, though. The business boom is accompanied by a surge in the number of Eritrean refugees crossing the border into Ethiopia in a bid to escape the repressive regime of Isaias Afwerki. There are also problems for Ethipiopian traders dealing with their new Eritrean partners, who have to deal with the unstable value of the Eritrean nakfa and unregulated exchange rates. While both governments have said they hope renewed trade will boost their economies,...