Over the last few weeks, rumors—and then a few stories—have emerged that the long-expected implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement due on July 1 would be delayed for up to a year while the continent deals with an unprecedented economic crisis in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the African Union hasn’t formally confirmed any intention to pause their plans, it hasn’t seemed totally unrealistic this would be under consideration during such unprecedented times. AfCFTA, which was ratified by enough African countries last year, created the world’s largest free trade zone with a combined GDP of $3.3 trillion. Dropping trade barriers between African countries would boost trade on the continent by over 50%, according to some estimates. Others believe it would double intra-continental trade in Africa. But even with all the practical concerns around a pandemic which is not believed to have peaked yet on the continent, many long time supporters do not believe now is the time to delay the AfCFTA’s implementation—they argue the opposite. “The Continental Free Trade Agreement can be one of the most important tools of our economic recovery,” says Paulo Gomes, a former World Bank executive director and chair of the executive committee of AfroChampions, an African Union-mandated network to coordinate private sector discussions around AfCFTA. “If I’m an African finance minister I don’t have quantitative easing and the money printing money tools of the wealthier economies—trade can be our stimulus.” For Gomes and others this isn’t simply about intra-African...

ZANZIBAR remain committed to main- tain and strengthen relations in East African Community (EAC) and other regional blocks as it sees more economic opportunities for its development, says the State Minister (State House) Mr Issa Haji Ussi. Talking about Zanzibar's position in regional blocks dur- ing the 2020/2021 fiscal year, the Minister said, under the umbrella of the united republic of Tanzania, the Isles is happy to continue being part in regional blocks. "Last year we were involved in many meetings and functions organized to discuss issues con- cerning the development and challenges in our relations. This is important in strengthening our blocks," Ussi said as some people speculate that Zanzibar has always been sidelined in EAC meetings and other blocks. He said the blocks have helped Zanzibar and Tanzania mainland promote economic diplomacy to boost their econo- mies, but implementation of regulations regarding Common External Tariff (ZET) and re- moval of Non- Tariff Barriers (NTBs) for smooth business within member countries re- mains a challenge. Mr Ussi also known as Gavu said that under the 'Coordination of regional relations and Tanzania Diaspora' programme for the next year, his office will ensure it takes part in regional meetings for the benefit of Zanzibaris. Apart from EAC, other re- gional blocks of which Tanzania (and Zanzibar) is a member are Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Afri- can Union (AU). Others are the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He said, "We also plan to...

Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam) AS coronavirus pandemic effects are being felt across the East African Community (EAC), the community feels the need to embrace the principle of comparative advan- tage so as to keep business going and bring life back to normalcy. The idea has been floated just a few days after Presi- dent John Magufuli and his Kenyan counterpart, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta conversed and solved a border dispute about truck drivers crossing from one country to another. Tanzania has, from the beginning opted for no lockdown practice and the move has since paid off. Speaking on behalf of EAC Secretary General, Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko, Kenya's EAC Affairs and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary (CS), Mr Adan Mohammed said that the aim of embracing the principle was to keep regional trade going and that EAC remains united and together defeat the Covid-19 for common good. "We must therefore strengthen our trade bond and utilise the principle of comparative advantage to keep regional trade going," said the CS upon handing over mobile labs from the EAC Secretariat to Kenya. "EAC must remain to- gether to defeat this disease for our common good," added Mr Mohammed. The principle refers to an economy's ability to produce goods and services at a lower opportunity cost than that of trade partners. A comparative advantage gives a company the ability to sell goods and services at a lower price than its competi- tors and realise stronger sales margins. The law of comparative advantage is popularly attributed to...

In the last few months since reporting the first COVID-19 positive case, African countries have borrowed at least $10 billion in new loans to deal with the adverse impact of the pandemic on livelihoods and economies. These add to mounting debts at a time when tax revenue is shrinking, export earnings are in free fall, and diaspora remittances are drying up. Meant to finance the region’s response to and protect its economies against ensuing disruptions from the virus outbreak, most of those loans have come mainly from the International Monetary Fund, with Africa dominating the lender’s COVID-19 emergency financing list. The Fund late April approved $1.23 billion of emergency funding for Kenya and Uganda, saying the pandemic will likely exact a severe toll on the two East African economies. The $739 million Rapid Credit Facility is meant to boost Kenya’s international reserves to help cover the balance of payments shortfalls this year while also providing resources to improve public health and support for households and companies hit hard by the crisis, the IMF said at the time. In addition to the IMF loan, Kenya has also turned to the World Bank ($6.6 million and $1 billion for budget support), the United States government, as well as raised about $20 million from private sector firms and individuals to finance its COVID-19 response. Among the six East African Community member states, Kenya has borrowed the most with an estimated $2.5 billion secured since March. Uganda meanwhile has added $540.2 million to its...

NAMANGA, KENYA — When Habibu Juma Ali lined up his truck full of Whitedent toothpaste behind hundreds of others waiting to cross the border from Tanzania into Kenya, he didn’t expect to wait two weeks to get tested for the novel coronavirus. Truckers are permitted to drive across the otherwise closed border between East Africa’s two biggest countries, but for the first two months of the pandemic, they had to get tested at the crossing. More than 150 tested positive and were turned back. The rest spent interminable days waiting for their results. Ali has spent his days on both the Kenyan and Tanzanian sides of the border town of Namanga, where, when you’re on foot, you can cross the border as easily as crossing a road. He has bought food at shops, exchanged money at banks and, at night, he sleeps huddled with other drivers on cardboard mats underneath his truck. They cook and share meals with newcomers as the line of waiting trucks grows. Others find racier ways to pass the time — chewing khat, shooting dice, hiring sex workers. The truckers’ growing web of interactions points to a dilemma at international borders: how to let essential trade through without the virus slipping in with it. At a meeting Friday to resolve the growing crisis, Kenya and Tanzania agreed that starting next week, drivers will have to get negative test certificates before starting their journeys. For many of the thousands of truckers who have already spent days or...

Kenya and Tanzania on Friday agreed to reopen their borders after a tense week marked by a simmering trade dispute occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic. Travel guidelines and restrictions rekindled a festering trade war that has seen both countries impose sanctions on each other and ban trade in certain goods. Government officials from both countries, who met in Namanga for the better part of Friday, resolved to facilitate a seamless cross-border movement of goods and end the standoff. Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary James Macharia led a delegation of Kenyan officials to the meeting with the Tanzanian delegation led by Transport Minister Isack Kamwelwe. The bilateral deliberations came after President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Tanzania counterpart President Pombe Magufuli talked over the phone regarding heightened tensions that left traders from both countries staring at huge losses as truck drivers waited for days for results of Covid-19 tests, which are mandatory for them. It took the delegation six hours to break the stalemate in two stormy boardroom meetings, emerging with a memorandum of understanding. MOBILE LAB A source close to the meeting told the Nation that both sides were reluctant to cede ground on the procedure for screening truck drivers. CS Macharia said the two countries must unite to protect their trade interests and address the health concerns of citizens. “Kenya and Tanzania are trade partners, recording a turnover of more than $500 million (Ksh53 billion) annually. We have reached an agreement that Tanzanian and Kenyan drivers will be subjected...

Arusha. The leading horticulture industry’s body Taha has applauded the Tanzania and Kenya’s truce, saying the deal has saved the multi-million dollar agricultural sub-sector and thousands of related jobs. Latest data from the Agriculture ministry shows that horticultural export value had surged to $779 million in the 2018/19 financial year, up from $412 million in 2014/15 becoming the growth driver of the entire agricultural sector, contributing to overall agrarian exports standing at 38 per cent annually. The subsector also employs more than four million Tanzanians, a majority being youths and women. “We are very grateful to our two governments for amicably resolving the trade dispute occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic to allow a seamless cross-border movement of goods” said the Taha Group chief executive officer, Ms Jacquiline Mkindi, who represented Tanzania’s private sector at last week’s ministerial bilateral talks at Namanga border. Ms Mkindi said the border wrangle had put Tanzania’s multi-million dollars horticulture industry at a crossfire, as the lion’s share of horticultural crops is exported through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Mombasa port in Kenya. “Had the cold war continued, horticulture would be the first to be affected, as we heavily rely on JKIA and Mombasa port as the main export outlets of our perishable crops to overseas markets,” she said.“The Dar/Nairobi truce leaves everyone the winner. It keeps the shelves of Kenya’s supermarkets stocked with our fruits, brings foreign currency to our economy, saves Tanzanian jobs and sustains farmers and investors”. The two Governments, she...

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, global trade is predicted to fall by a record 27 per cent in the second quarter of 2020. In this episode of Doing Business in Rwanda, we take a look at the impact COVID-19 has had on trade and the establishment of cross border cargo transit logistics platform to curb the spread of the virus and facilitate smooth trade between neighbouring countries…. Watch video here: Source: CNBC Africa[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Many African countries are all too familiar with the social and economic upheaval posed by outbreaks of infectious diseases. Recent experiences with Ebola are fresh in peoples’ minds across West and Central Africa, as are those with TB and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. As a result, African countries understand the need for regional coordination in overcoming public health challenges. The World Bank Group has responded swiftly to each of these health emergencies – often through a regional response designed to counter immediate threats while also strengthening countries’ capacity to be proactive in detecting and responding to outbreaks. There are important lessons to draw from these experiences as we combat the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). First, leverage existing regional networks and operations to catalyze an immediate, large-scale response. Helping countries strengthen cross-border collaboration for detection and response to outbreaks is a long-standing priority of the Bank Group’s regional integration efforts in Africa. Large-scale investments, strong networks, and a joint vision among stakeholder countries are already in place. They are now being activated and scaled up quickly in response to COVID-19. The Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement Program (REDISSE) – a $670 million operation across 16 countries of West and Central Africa – has quickly mobilized over $193 million to help 13 countries with entry-point surveillance, reinforced laboratory testing capacity, infection prevention and control, access to essential medical equipment and materials, and risk communication. Having responded to Ebola in the last few years, REDISSE has provided countries with early and immediate access to financing so...

DAR ES SALAAM, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The East African regional business and private sector watchdog on Wednesday praised truck drivers for their continued delivery of essential commodities across the east African borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The East African Business Council (EABC) based in Tanzania's tourist city of Arusha said in a statement that the truck drivers were among those risking their personal health to keep products moving to stores, hospitals, homes and elsewhere during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the impact of COVID-19, truck drivers continue to deliver essential commodities including food, personal protective equipment(PPE), medicines, raw materials within and across the East African Community (EAC) borders, said the statement. "The EABC appreciates and recognizes the selfless dedication of truck drivers who are delivering goods to health facilities, factories and consumers," said the statement signed by Peter Mathuki, EABC Executive Director. "This will boost the availability of medical, PPEs and food crucial to protecting the health of our citizens and improving food security in the region," said the statement. The statement said stigmatization against truck drivers should never be an option, as this may lead to a disruption in the supply chain in the EAC member countries of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, thus affecting further trade and investment. "Let us support our truck driver in the region, our unsung heroes on the wheel delivering essential cargo into and out of our countries," said the statement. Enditem Source: xinhuanet