The idea of countries working together under regional economic groupings to achieve real economic development, stability and unity, and growth, might be at stake as some countries move to protect their solo interests. This was observed yesterday during a roundtable debate on regional integration at the University of Kigali. Matters are not helped by cases whereby some countries are moving to protect their own interests, participants said. A case in point, the United Kingdom is in the process of leaving European Union, U.S. leaders are promoting the “America First” agenda, and a few others think that regional economic groupings are not working. In Africa, though, more than ever, the momentum to achieve regional integration is slowly taking shape, experts said. Moses Onyango, a Kenyan expert in international relations, observed that while there is improvement in regional integration across the continent, Africa still has a long way to go to get tangible benefits from the process. “If you look at the level of integration in African countries in comparison with other regions, for example, the European Union, you find that the African integration process is still facing major challenges,” he said. According to him, the issue of financing is what is still limiting the progress of integration in Africa. “Most of the challenges come about because of the member countries’ failure to contribute towards the advancement of the things that they agree on. This is the same problem that East African Community is facing,” he noted. Onyango indicated that for integration...

The contest between China and the West over Africa has made us forget our home, East Africa. There was a time when East Africa trended more than the rest of the world. It was the golden age when going to study in Uganda from Kenya or the other way was cool. We had the University of East Africa that ended in 1970, with each country getting its own university. That is not different from what’s happening in Kenya today, with each county yearning for its own university. History has no manners. It has a bad habit of repeating itself. We all know what happened to academia when the University of East Africa was devolved. Will the same happen as each hamlet gets its own university? I will say it for the umpteenth time that each East African country should have started other universities and left the University of East Africa intact. The few years this tri-country university existed was the golden age of academia in the region. Those who schooled there still call the shots in their countries and beyond. They straddle every profession from medicine to academia and politics. Shaken from their comfort zones, they dared dream. Find out who they are… And why not! Leaving your country endured single purposefulness and risk-taking. Today, we no longer want to leave our village from kindergarten to university. We love the comfort of familiarity but not the dent in our entrepreneurial spirit. Paradoxically, East Africans are more likely to study abroad...

Imagine a world where women and men, boys and girls are guaranteed equal rights and opportunities. This is the sole goal the newly launched East Africa Community (EAC) Gender Policy seeks to achieve. The journey which begun in 2006 culminated in a victory for both men and women as the policy roots for gender equality and equity, two pillars upon which the first steps to this journey were founded. During the launch at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania last Monday, Christophe Bazivamo the community’s deputy secretary general productive and social sectors, said the policy was developed out of the recognition that there still are disparities among men and women in various spheres of life. “For example, despite various accomplishments by Partner States in educating the girl child, and despite the various skills possessed by women and girls, there is poor representation of women in the employment sector and more so in political representation,” he said. The Treaty establishing the East African Community in Article 121 provides for women’s participation in governance including appropriate affirmative action at all levels. Rwanda leads in women representation with 64 per cent in the national Parliament, 38 per cent in Cabinet and 45 per cent in Public Service.  Kenya is among other partner states lagging behind in meeting the one third gender representation at all levels in government. Women representation in parliament stands at 28 per cent, 29 in Cabinet and 37 per cent in public service. Notably, gender inequalities have been blamed for...

Resolving the current economic and social problems facing East Africa requires a multi-faced approach, with a positive fiscal regime being one of the most important interventions. For local and international investors alike, committing to a country can only be desirable when it makes economic sense. Therefore, to boost the economy and much needed government revenues, it is essential that attractive tax incentives are put in place. The most common forms of tax incentives include exemptions of certain incomes from tax. Alternatively, another way could be reducing the tax rates on personal income tax and the corporate income taxes. As the name implies, personal income tax (PIT) is levied on income earned by individuals. It is progressive in nature, meaning that higher income earners pay more vis-à-vis low income earners. Specifically, there are three tax rate bands in Rwanda—0 per cent, 20 per cent and 30 per cent, which is the highest under Rwanda’s current tax system. The law on income tax stipulates that any individual who stays in Rwanda for 183 days or more automatically becomes a tax resident and is liable to pay PIT. Comparably, the neighbouring East African countries such as Kenya and Tanzania have 30 per cent as their highest rate band on personal income tax, similar to Rwanda’s highest rate band. While countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar do not tax personal income, in many Nordic countries the highest marginal tax rate on personal income is over 50 per cent....

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a unique and timely opportunity for the continent and offers more benefits than other trading arrangements with regions outside the continent, said Mr Andrew Mold, Acting Director of UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Eastern Africa. Mold indicated that the AfCFTA marks a fundamental step towards dismantling barriers and reducing costs to intra-African trade, boost industrialization, improve productivity and competitiveness of Africa for the creation of the much-needed jobs on the continent. HOME FINANCE HOSPITALITY INVESTMENT TRADE TECHNOLOGY ENERGY HEALTH የአማርኛ-ወሬዎች ABOUT US Continental Free Trade To Support Africa’s Industrial Exports Trade  September 24, 2018 Newbusiness The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a unique and timely opportunity for the continent and offers more benefits than other trading arrangements with regions outside the continent, said Mr Andrew Mold, Acting Director of UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Eastern Africa. Mold indicated that the AfCFTA marks a fundamental step towards dismantling barriers and reducing costs to intra-African trade, boost industrialization, improve productivity and competitiveness of Africa for the creation of the much-needed jobs on the continent. He was speaking in a two-day conference discussing the Industrial Policy of Rwanda for the Next Decade, a meeting organized by Rwanda Ministry of Trade and Industry, the International Growth Centre (IGC) and World Bank. Mr. Mold made the case for AfCFTA explaining that Africa’s trade with the rest of the world over the past six decades has not delivered the promised diversification and that...

Speakers of Parliament from the East African Community (EAC) have met in Juba, South Sudan with a call on states to strengthen cooperation and promote peace in the region. The legislators from South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya met under the auspices of the Bureau of EAC Speakers from 17 to 22 September, 2018. The Speaker of the Uganda Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, pointed out the importance of member states supporting each other, saying they have cultural and economic ties. " Uganda bears a big brunt when there is instability in South Sudan because of the resultant influx of refugees who then put pressure on schools, hospitals and general infrastructure. I have had discussions with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to give additional support to the host districts,” Kadaga said. She also advocated for the actualization of the provision of the East African Customs Management Act in regard to free movement of labour, skills and capital. She said this will provide employment for the large population of the youth in the EAC. “I note that there is still a number of non-tariff barriers to trade and free movement of labour and capital amongst EAC partners,” said Kadaga. She further requested the government of South Sudan to grant security for Ugandan traders, saying reports indicate that Ugandan traders are facing hostility from Sundanese. “During a meeting with Ugandan traders in Juba, I was informed that they required extra protection because they are being threatened with eviction by the...

Lori Systems, a tech-enabled trucking logistics platform has launched into Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan after winning multiple bids associated with the newly built $4B railroad system in East Africa, with the joint goal of driving down the costs of goods in the region and unlocking the region’s growth potential. “We’ve opened new locations in Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda. Over the past year, we have grown rapidly – both in terms of throughput on the system as well as the team. Our team has grown from 15 to 70 since February and adds experience from organizations such as McKinsey, DHL, and NASA. Lori is focused on hiring the best talent in order to execute on bringing down the costs of goods across the continent,” Sandler said. The firm has also partnered Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway to help reduce the costs involved by truckers in moving bulk imports and exports. “We’re so excited to announce our working partnership with the Standard Gauge Rail in Kenya. In our continued efforts to bring down the costs of goods, we have been rapidly ramping up our operations to tackle massive transportation issues. We’ve already had success in bringing down direct costs of moving bulk grains, achieving a 17% reduction in Uganda,” said Josh Sandler, CEO of Lori Systems. The firm also recently partnered with Kuehne + Nagel,  DHL and Cargill to allow them to extract greater insight from their logistics data and drive informed action through improved technology, analytics, and operations. To further...

Countries can use the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) tool to create opportunities for African businesses and through them drive the continent’s industrialisation, economic diversification and development, said David Luke, coordinator of the Africa Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) In a presentation at the on-going 24th Sessions of the Inter-Governmental Committee of Experts (ICE) of Southern Africa in Mauritius, Luke said that the AfCFTA, which has been signed by 49 of the 54 African countries and ratified by seven so far, will reduce trade costs and facilitate business expansion and in the process provide great opportunities for African businesses to gain from and contribute to Africa’s rapid market growth. “It will have only a small impact on tariff revenues while helping to restructure African economies to deliver a more sustainable fiscal base. This is because the AfCFTA helps to pivot Africa’s trade away from extractive exports towards more sustainable and inclusive trade that is less dependent on the fluctuations of commodity prices.” Africa faces a changing world trading landscape with many evolving external challenges, he said, adding the AfCFTA, against this, could serve as a platform for African trade policy coherence providing Africa with the strengthened voice of 1.2bn people in future negotiations, fostering a common position on evolving trade policy issues, and ensuring that individual bilateral arrangements do not unravel the objectives of continental integration. The ATPC chief said that to fully utilise the opportunities of the AfCFTA, each country is recommended...

Since the turn of the millennium, Africa has experienced a steady and unprecedented economic growth. However, poverty continues for people across the continent, especially in the sub-Saharan region. Unemployment and inequality have remained high. The rural population and the urban poor, women and youth, have not benefited from economic growth. African policymakers realize that, for the benefits of growth to be shared by all, there needs to be a structural transformation of the economy. Specifically, there is an acknowledgement that its composition should change, with increased shares of manufacturing and agro-related industry in national investment, output, and trade. Manufacturing, thanks to its multiplier effect on other sectors of the economy, has always been one of the most important drivers of economic development and structural change, especially in developing countries. Manufacturing is an “engine of growth” that enhances higher levels of productivity and greater technical change, thus creating more jobs with higher wages for both women and men. Recognizing this, the United Nations has proclaimed the period 2016-2025 as the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III) in order to increase global awareness and encourage partnerships to achieve inclusive and sustainable industrialization. Today, Africa has exceptional opportunities for industrialization. In the next few decades, Africa will become the youngest and most populous continent in the world with a working age population expected to grow by 450 million people. or close to 70 per cent of the total, by 2035. With a rapidly growing population, and one of the world’s highest...

A policy seeking to protect and promote the rights of women, men, boys and girls within the East African Community (EAC) has been launched. Mr Abdikadir Aden, Chairperson of the Committee on General Purpose of EALA, said that the policy will look into areas of gender equality as well as protection of the youth and children. "In most institutions and even governments, the higher we go on the decision-making ladder, the fewer women we see. This has been many times referred to as the 'glass ceiling' that keeps women from rising to the upper ranks, regardless of their (academic and professional) qualifications or achievements and in comparison with their male counterparts," Mr Aden said during the launch of the programme in Arusha, Tanzania, on Monday. Mr Aden added that through social protection and community development, the EAC would be able to institutionalise gender strategies in the region. POLITICS He explained that despite various accomplishments by partner States in educating the girl child, there is still poor representation of women in the employment sector, more so in political representation. He said that there is still misleading data and false dichotomies between targeted programme interventions and those incorporating gender issues across different sectors. He also observed that there is lack of comparable data for tracking allocations and expenditures of resources for gender equality and the empowerment of women. "This lack of accountability delays progress in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women, girls and other marginalised groups," he said. POLICY He,...