SYPELGAZ, a trade union for energy, water and sanitation, says that despite the delays in resolving the case involving former employees of the energy and utility agency, EWSA, something constructive could happen after a meeting was held last week to resolve issues. The union petitioned court after 600 employee of EWSA, which has since been split into two companies – the Rwanda Energy Group (REG) and Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) – were dismissed from work in 2015. In May this year, the parties discussed a proposal by the Ministry of Infrastructure to settle the matter amicably. What was agreed included suspending filed lawsuits during the negotiation period to focus on reaching an amicable solution. The trade union accuses the Ministry of Infrastructure and its affiliated agencies for dragging their feet and lacking of commitment to resolve the issue as agreed during the May meeting in which parties resolved to conclude negotiations within two months. After last week’s (Wednesday) meeting, which was chaired by Ron Weiss, the CEO of REG, Jordi-Michel Musoni, the president of SYPELGAZ, said they are “hopeful”. “We are happy that there is at least this historic step but the commitment of two months is long overdue because of some complications that should not be. Workers are not used to seeing, in Rwanda, a public figure promising something publicly and fail to honour,” he said. Last year, SYPELGAZ petitioned court over the alleged illegal dismissal of more than 600 former employees having exhausted other avenues to settle...

The current world trade system is not perfect and China supports reforms to it, including to the World Trade Organisation, to make it fairer and more effective, china’s top officials say. China is locked in a bitter trade war with the United States and has vowed repeatedly to uphold the multilateral trading system and free trade, with the WTO at its center. But speaking late on Thursday to reporters after meeting French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi said some reforms could be good. While certain doubts have been raised about the current international trading system, China has always supported the protection of free trade and believes that multilateralism with the WTO at its core should be strengthened, Wang added. “At the same time, we do not believe that the current system is perfect and without flaws,” he said. “China supports necessary reforms and perfection of the current system, including to the WTO, to make it fairer, more effective and more rational,” Wang added. The basic tenets of the WTO, in opposing protectionism and supporting free trade should not change, but the rights of developing nations should also not be overlooked, he said. “The aim of reform should be to allow countries to enjoy the development fruits of globalization more fairly, not to further widen the differences between south and north,” Wang said. WTO reforms need to include listening to voices from all parties and broad consultation, and should especially listen to a respect the opinions of...

The African Union has launched an advocacy campaign to encourage more countries to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), ahead of the January 2019 deadline to implement the agreement. A business guide developed by the International Trade Centre (ITC) was launched to help the private sector and policymakers better understand and navigate the agreement. Albert Muchanga, the AU Commissioner of Trade and Industry, said the bloc was confident of getting the 15 remaining member states to ratify the agreement by December. So far, Kenya, Rwanda, eSwatini, Chad, Niger, Guinea and Ghana have ratified the AfCFTA, while three countries — Egypt, Kenya and Uganda — have ratified the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) Tripartite Free Trade Area. At least 22 ratifications are needed for the AfCFTA to enter into force and 14 are required for the TFTA. Comesa Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe said overlapping activities between the TFTA and the AfCFTA needed to be harmonised. Ms Kapwepwe, who is the chair of the TFTA Task Force, said closer co-ordination between the AU and the regional economic communities will be key to successful implementation of both agreements. “The narrative of the regional economic communities being the building blocks of the ACFTA should be promoted to ensure complementarity,” she said. Source The East Africa

A chara, – Those proposing that Ireland should leave the EU have pointed to Ireland’s low level of exports to non-European markets, and especially so-called “emerging” economies, as representing a major opportunity for exploiting these markets in the event of Irexit. This viewpoint fails to appreciate that foreign (mainly American) firms account for 90 per cent of Ireland’s exports. Where these send their exports is determined by their global production and marketing strategies. Foreign firms, for the most part, use Ireland as a base for serving the so-called EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) market, the great bulk of which is accounted for by the EU. In 2016, two-thirds of Ireland’s exports of goods and services went to the EMEA region. The EU accounted for over four fifths of these exports. For some American firms based in Ireland, the US itself is understandably an important market. Hence, that country accounted for almost one fifth of 2016 exports. This means that the rest of the world absorbed just a sixth of Ireland’s exports in that year. However, the American firms operating out of Ireland typically have similar operations serving the other major global regions (the Americas and Asia/Oceania) from bases within these regions. Thus, the firms in question have little reason to expand beyond the EMEA market, since to do so would be to compete with their parallel operations elsewhere. Leaving the EU, therefore, would greatly undermine probably the key reason why American firms locate in Ireland, with little prospect of alternative...

TradeMark Africa (TMA) expanded into Ethiopia will bring with it a host of benefits into the country. The organisation recently signed a Host Country Agreement (HCA) with the government of Ethiopia  paving the way for TMAs expansion into the country. Since its formation, TMA has made a significant contribution to this growth by delivering large scale impact in its highly successful first strategic phase which was completed in December 2017. Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs State Minister Professor Kassu and Transport State Minister Hiwot Mosisa represented the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia while TMA was represented by its CEO, Mr Frank Matsaert. According to a statement by TMA, the HCA now paves way for the establishment of TMA’s Ethiopia Country Programme, with physical presence in Ethiopia, budget and staff to manage the country programme. These are the three areas of focus once the organisation sets base in the country: Reducing trade costs on corridors: This focuses on the transport, logistics and infrastructure of particularly busy corridors (ports, roads and border posts), to reduce the cost of trade and transport. Improving the trading environment: This focuses largely on introducing new electronic systems to streamline ports, borders and corridors and to ease and fasten movement of goods and people. It includes wide policy and regulatory measures that apply global best practice to trade facilitation and export markets. Increasing private sector competitiveness: This focuses on increasing the role of business in public policy making on trade, and ensuring the private sector takes advantage of an improving trading environment, especially...

Aisha Inshuti holds dual Rwandan-Ugandan citizenship. Having completed university, the 24-year-old ventured into a cross-border business of selling women's hair products. She buys them in Uganda and sells them in Rwanda. "Crossing the border is sometimes difficult especially with politics these days," she tells DW. "Many Rwandans have dual citizenship. You can have both Rwandan and Ugandan nationality, but these days we hear there is a problem with the Ugandan and Rwandan government," she said. Nowadays, she claims, Ugandan immigration officials even go to the length of confiscating the Ugandan identity cards of people with dual citizenship. "It will take you ages – if not forever – to get it back, so we have resorted to only using the Rwandan national ID," Inshuti says. At a bus terminal in Uganda's capital Kampala, Joki Wanjeri, a 27-year-old Kenyan trader, waits for her bus back home to Nairobi. She deals in women's footwear and shares Inshuti's sentiments. Ugandan officials create obstacles that impede free trade between the two countries, Wanjeri says. "Once you reach the border on the Ugandan side they want money [bribes], otherwise you cannot cross," she laments. "It's easy for the Ugandans to cross from Kenya with our goods, but when it comes to us it's a different story." Political wrangling to blame While Akol Amazima, a Ugandan political analyst cannot confirm the traders' experiences, he does believe that the root of problems lies in intra-regional politics. The problems at the borders are often the result of political differences between the countries. "When the political situation...

Kenya has reached out to the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat in a bid to solve escalating trade disputes with some member states. EAC and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed yesterday said the executive arm of the trade bloc should come in where countries are unable to solve non-tariff barrier issues amicably. “The biggest issue is the interpretation of rules by officials at the border. To solve this, we want a different approach where the secretariat takes a leading role in resolving the issues rather than members resolving disputes among themselves,” he said at a press briefing in Nairobi. Blocked from markets Kenya Association of Manufacturers Chairman Sachen Gudka said despite efforts to solve a trade spat where Uganda and Tanzania slapped duty on Kenyan confectionery and sweets, some products were still being blocked from the two markets. Kenyan manufacturers are also frustrated by Tanzania’s push-back over duty-free sugar imports after the country slapped the commodity with a 25 per cent duty. Kenya invited the two countries to inspect companies using industrial sugars to produce sweets, cakes and ice cream, also known as confectioneries, to ascertain that what was being used was not brought under the duty-free window. “The issue of the industrial sugar expired on June 30. However, some products still cannot access the partner states,” said Mr Gudka. KAM members also met Tanzanian official to iron out longstanding trade disputes, including lack of preferential status on edible oil products, cement and lubricants. CS Aden said there were...

The current mismatch between capital seeking profitable ventures and the chronic deficit of large-scale investments in Africa can be addressed through closer collaboration with institutions such as the World Bank Group. This was said by President Paul Kagame on Tuesday during the opening of a two-day Development Finance Forum hosted by the World Bank Group in Kigali. Kagame said that despite the strong prospects in Africa in regards to investment opportunities, there exists a mismatch between capital seeking investment and large-scale investment funding. “In the global context, there is an excess of capital looking for profitable ventures such as these as we all know. Yet in Africa, there is a chronic deficit of large-scale investment funding. That is what we are here to address in practical terms,” he said. To make up for the mismatch and change status quo, the President called for close collaboration with the World Bank Group. The Group’s private sector support arm International Finance Cooperation, and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which offer targeted interventions to change status quo such as risk guarantee facilities. “We still have a long way to go but the direction of travel is clear and the necessary partnerships are increasingly in place. Among the most important is Africa’s partnership with the institutions that make up the World Bank Group,” he said. Kagame, who is also African Union chairperson, called on countries to make the most of the organisation’s expertise in aspects such as regulatory reforms and private sector development. “The heart of...

President Paul Kagame has told a World Bank Financing Forum in Rwanda that Africa is on the right track to attain its investment targets, despite remaining with some distance to move Addressing the World Bank’s annual Development Finance Forum in Kigali on September 11, Kagame said that in Africa, there’s a chronic deficit of large scale economic funding but such forums by development partners signal there are a positive way to development. The World Bank’s forum brings together public and private sector leaders to explore initiatives towards increasing private sector investments in East Africa’s priority sectors. This year’s two-day forum taking place at Marriott Hotel Kigali has picked Agribusiness, Tourism and Housing as key priorities for funding in East Africa. “The three priority areas have been chosen with consideration. Housing finance, tourism and agribusiness are all expanding rapidly in our region. These industries can energize the economy as a whole particularly the service sector,” Kagame told delegates at the forum. He, however, reminded that the region and the continent as whole still lack the capacity to produce high quality products. “But despite the strong prospects we are far from tapping the full potential or even meeting existing demand for affordable high-quality products,” he said. But President Kagame added: “It is gratifying to see such strong participation from around East Africa and even beyond joining the very substantial delegation from the World Bank Group. The focus this year is investment opportunities in the East African Community.” “The heart of the Bank’s...

Arusha. The East African Community (EAC) will embark on another bid to woo investors during the forthcoming regional business conference following a sharp drop in foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the bloc in the last two years. Statistics released here last week indicate that FDI inflows to the six-nation bloc went down to $6.6 billion last year from $8.8 billion in 2016, a 25.3 per cent drop. The situation is equally not rosy for intra-EAC investments during the same period. They plunged by 22.3 per cent from $254.1 million in 2016 to $197 million last year. Existing business opportunities in the region aimed to counter the declining trend will be key during the third East African Business and Entrepreneurship Conference and Exhibition slated for Kampala, Uganda end of next month. “The conference will showcase investment opportunities in the region,” said Lilian Awinja, the chief executive officer of the East African Business Council (EABC), which is organising the event. Statistics issued by EABC and seen by The Citizen showed another worrying scenario – decline of combined exports from the region to the outside world by 9 per cent from $16.2 billion in 2016 to $14.3 billion last year. No reasons were given by the Arusha-based business body on the reasons for the sharp fall of investments from abroad to the bloc. Efforts to reach officials at the EAC Secretariat to comment on the same were not successful although one of them downplayed the statistics, saying the region was still attractive to...