KATIKA hatua inayoonesha kukabiliana na kuenea kwa maambukizi ya ugonjwa wa homa ya mapafu inayosababishwa na virusi vya corona, sambamba na kutathmini athari kiuchumi katika kongani zake, Taasisi ya Sekta Binafsi Tanzania (TPSF) imeunda kamati ya ushauri yenye wajumbe 14 wabobezi wa sekta mbalimbali. Akizungumza na waandishi wa habari Jijini Dar es Salaam jana, Mwenyekiti wa TPSF, Angelina Ngalula amesema kamati imepewa majukumu makuu manne ikiwemo kutoa ushauri kuhusu athari zitakazotokana na ugonjwa huo wa Covid- 19 kwenye kongani zote za sekta binafsi. “Tunategemea kamati itatoa ushauri na mapendekezo yenye mashiko kwa serikali, taasisi za kifedha na mashirika mbalimbali ya kikanda na kimataifa kuhusu namna bora ya kujenga miradi ambayo imeathirika kutokana na Covid- 19,” amesema Ngalula aliyeambatana na Katibu Mtendaji wa Baraza la Taifa la Biashara (TNBC), Dk Godwill Wanga. Ngalula alisema kamati iliyojumuisha wasomi na wataalamu wazoefu na waliobobea katika maeneo mbalimbali watatoa ushauri wa mikakati ya uwekezaji na kusaidia viwanda vinavyozalisha bidhaa zinazopelekwa nje ya nchi. Akielezea zaidi kuhusu majukumu ya kamati, Mwenyekiti huyo wa TPSF alisema kamati hiyo itatoa mapendekezo ya kisera kwa serikali namna bora ya kukabiliana na madhara yatakayokuwa yameletwa na Covid-19. Ngalula aliwataja wajumbe hao kuwa ni Dk Hoseana Lunogelo, Dk Tausi Kida, Lawrence Mafuru, Phillip Redman, Dk Charles Kimei, Susan Mashibe, Dk Joyce Mapunjo, Michal Bacham, Geoffrey Kirenga, Jennifer Bash, John Ulanga, Edwin Bruno, Seif Said Seif na Aloys Bahebe. Dk Wanga mbali ya kupongeza uteuzi wa kamati hiyo mahiri, alizitaka kampuni kutotumia mwanya wa ugonjwa wa corona kutolipa kodi kwani zipo...

The call is from Erastus Mwencha, the former Secretary-General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Tony Pengelly, the Director of the Secretariat for the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Trade Out of Poverty. Writing in The Daily Telegraph newspaper this week, they said: “Trade has been the heartbeat of Africa’s success, with the UK alone importing £12.7 billion in goods and services from Africa in 2016, much of which from the agriculture sector. “But this vital economic activity, and the millions of livelihoods it sustains, is under threat. “We must act now to keep trade with Africa flowing.” The writers noted that trade in the Eastern African Community had fallen by 25 per cent since the beginning of this year and warned of the danger of protectionist policies that were being advocated in the UK. “Policymakers must understand the full consequences if stringent new production standards are imposed on imports, as some in the UK are calling for. “Exports from much of Africa would be effectively locked out from the UK and their other major markets around the world, leading to countless jobs being lost on the continent, where unemployment rates are already as high as 70 per cent. “At the same time, British consumers would be denied goods such as Kenyan tea and green beans, or Ghanaian cocoa and fruit. “There are no winners in this situation,” write Mr Mwencha, who is also a former Deputy Chairman of the African Union Commission, and Mr...

The UK government has been urged to keep trade with Africa flowing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that experts say is threatening to destroy 20 years of economic progress on the continent. The call comes from Erastus Mwencha, the former Secretary-General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Tony Pengelly, the Director of the Secretariat for the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Trade Out of Poverty. Writing in The Daily Telegraph newspaper this week, they said: “Trade has been the heartbeat of Africa’s success, with the UK alone importing £12.7 billion in goods and services from Africa in 2016, much of which from the agriculture sector. “But this vital economic activity, and the millions of livelihoods it sustains, is under threat. “We must act now to keep trade with Africa flowing.” The writers noted that trade in the Eastern African Community had fallen by 25 per cent since the beginning of this year and warned of the danger of protectionist policies that were being advocated in the UK. “Policymakers must understand the full consequences if stringent new production standards are imposed on imports, as some in the UK are calling for. “Exports from much of Africa would be effectively locked out from the UK and their other major markets around the world, leading to countless jobs being lost on the continent, where unemployment rates are already as high as 70 per cent. “At the same time, British consumers would be denied goods such as...

COVID-19 | TRADE Uganda enjoyed a booming cross-border informal trade, 80% of which was being done by women as their sole source of income. However, the inevitable closure of borders because of the dangerous COVID-19 is threatening to drive the women out of business, writes Faridah Kulabako Over the past decade, increasing the participation of women in cross-border trade has been a key focus area for stakeholders in trade, including the Government, through the ministries of trade and the East African Community affairs and development partners, including TradeMark Africa (TMA), USAID and the Eastern African Sub Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women. Policies have been instituted to increase the participation of informal cross-border women traders to boost their incomes, improve living standards, and contribute to the country’s overall economic development. Data from the Bank of Uganda (BOU) indicates that informal cross-border exports fetched the country a total of $595m (about sh2.8 trillion) in the 2017/18 financial year. The Democratic Republic of Congo was Uganda’s leading export destination, accounting for $291m (sh1.3 trillion). It was followed by Kenya with $149m (sh691b) worth of exports, Rwanda, and South Sudan at $54m (sh250b) each, then Tanzania at $45m. The main export items were agricultural produce, mainly beans, maize, sugar, bananas, and fish. Trade was generally booming, then the COVID-19 reached the region, necessitating the closure of borders and paralysing movement. According to the Elegu Women Traders chairperson, Margaret Auma, her group members are now stuck with merchandise – cereals, grains, and...

Legal Practitioner and Senior Partner at AB& David Africa, David Fosu-Dorte has called on African governments to domesticate purchases and procurement processes to boost Intra-African trade strategizes and minimize the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We could see Africa and some countries in Africa becoming an alternative base of supply chain of some items. We may have to as African countries coordinate our response to COVID in such a way that COVID becomes an impetus for increasing intra African trade rather than decreasing it,” he said. Speaking on the Eye on Port Panel discussion on how national and international Trade and regional Protocols have been frustrated by the COVID-19, the lawyer, said the global consequences of COVID-19 should teach African nations a lesson to boost intra-African trade because the reliance on the West and Far East has obviously proven not to be the best sustainable option. AfCFTA Implementation He also indicated that the COVID-19 has significantly impacted the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in various ways, including uncertainty surrounding the level of commitment of governments, and the closure of borders indicating a substantial reduction of intra-African trade volumes since the pandemic. “Businesses on the continent are having stresses so you don’t expect them to ramp up production especially at a point they can’t export. So in the absence of open borders, in the absence of free movement, definitely, all these are going to affect the ability to produce and even when the restrictions are lifted...

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The Covid-19 outbreak has transformed life. We can feel the economic and health impacts in Kenya, the UK and across the globe. Good people are working hard to support their communities – including those with day jobs who now have little income. Others are shamelessly trying to exploit the situation. Many of us with office jobs have been able to work from home, where we have become adept at conference calls, trying to keep a routine and balancing the demands of childcare and exerting extreme willpower not to snack on unhealthy foods. It has been decades since we have faced a peacetime challenge like Covid-19. The UK stands with Kenya as one of our strongest partners. By working together, we will reduce the impact of the virus for both our nations – saving lives, protecting development gains, supporting the economy and helping Kenya bounce back quickly so those most in need reap the benefits. The G20’s decision on April 15 to freeze debt payments has given 76 economies some breathing space – including some of Kenya’s debt. On April 12, the UK announced a global support package of Sh26 billion to UK charities and international organisations to slow infections and save lives globally, including in Kenya. The total amount of UKaid committed to the global fight against Covid-19 is Sh97 billion, making the UK one of the biggest donors to the international response. An equally distributed vaccine will be the best defence. In Kenya, leaders, businesses and communities are leading...

As the COVID-19 virus continues its gallop across the world, we are forced to constantly reassess our expectations of both the human and economic costs that it will bring. Indeed, the world is now reaching a point where unilateral decisions by food exporters and falling national revenues could have devastating effects for food-insecure countries, compounding health problems for already vulnerable citizens. Earlier this year, when the virus was more or less limited to China and a few of its neighbours, analysts were more focused on disruptions to global manufacturing value chains, foreign direct investment, and the likely impact of the Chinese economy’s slowdown on global GDP, given the weight of China in the global economy. Consequently, at the beginning of the pandemic, little emphasis was placed on food security, given the expectation that food markets would be well supplied, as cereal stocks would reach their third highest level on record and that, as a result, export availabilities for wheat, maize, rice and soybeans would easily meet anticipated demand. Food Security Devastating effect on food security It is now feared that the COVID-19 pandemic could have a devastating effect on food security if major cereal exporters adopt trade barriers or export bans, as experienced during the 2007-2008 food crisis, or if coronavirus’ effects on the labour force and logistics become important. In addition, for countries that strongly rely on food imports, food security is vulnerable to revenues lost as a result of slowing economic activity caused by COVID-19. Developing countries, particularly...

Just when Africa was preparing to roll out the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) COVID-19 struck. Policy and advocacy think tank, AfroChampions has provided a detailed report of how the global pandemic could disrupt this beautiful plan which would have changed the face of trading among African countries. The AfCFTA was described as the game-changer for Africa's socio-economic development by the Macroeconomics and Governance Division, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The March 2020 opening and operationalization of the Accra AfCFTA Secretariat has delayed. AfCFTA Secretary-General has been sworn in but is without the full complement of secretariat teams due to disruptions to recruitment and staffing. The AfCFTA, which is headquartered in Accra would have provided the opportunity for Africa to create the world's largest free trade area, with the potential to unite 1.3 billion people, in a $2.5 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development. AfroChampion in their report said that the continent as a whole had a commitment and readiness level of below 50 per cent arguing that, Africa that was looking forward to opening its borders to a new trade revolution starting July 2020, now has almost all of its borders shut in order to fight the pandemic. They believe with this pandemic, it is likely some more countries will lose interest in AfCTA and that could have a negative impact on the policy. They also predicted that COVID-19 could plunge some companies into serious financial stress. “COVID-19 is already destroying much of...

The Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mrs. Kristalina Georgieva has advised Africa not to deviate from its plans to enforce the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). She described the initiative as a catalyst for enhanced growth. Georgieva said this recently at the just concluded Virtual Spring Meetings of the IMF/ World Bank in Washington. Responding to a question on how badly the pandemic has affected African economies, she said: “Sub-Saharan African had a lot of countries stepping up over the last years and it is so tragic to see that momentum being stopped and then a number of countries that have even before the coronavirus had been experiencing very dramatic difficulties, conflicts and natural disasters. “Sub Saharan Africa ought to be the center of our attention and it is. We now have more than 30 countries applying for emergency financing. We are prioritising and rapidly responding to this request recognising how critical this lifeline is for them.” She further added: “We need to think beyond that and we need to think about recovery. We need to make sure that the African continental free trade agreement doesn’t get derailed because of the coronavirus and that means engaging with the leadership in Africa and making sure of that we are putting not only financial resources, but also opening up trade channels and making sure that we support the industries in Africa that depend on trade and the revival of trade.” “We are going to have an extraordinary session with President...