KAMPALA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Britain exiting the European Union (EU) is a wake-up call for the East African Community (EAC) member states to critically look at the integration process, a top government official said on Wednesday. Henry Okello Oryem, Uganda's minister of state for international affairs, told Xinhua in an interview that the happenings in Britain showed that the ordinary British people did not see the value of the EU to their ordinary lives, a similar incident that can occur to the EAC. The EAC, a regional trading bloc that brings together Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, espouses the EU integration model in its efforts to fast track economic development. The bloc already has a Customs Union, Common Market and is now working on a Monetary Union. Its ultimate goal is to have a political federation, a similar quest by the EU. Oryem said the integration process should not be left to the elites but also include the ordinary citizens of each member country who should play a critical role. He argued that until the ordinary citizens appreciate the value of the integration process, it would be a fallacy to integrate the bloc. "They really have to understand it, believe in it and embrace it in order for us to move forward because if they don't, then the consequences would be similar to what is in Britain if a referendum is called," Oryem said. He added, "With in the EAC, we need to go back on...

KIGALI, June 21(Xinhua) -- As Africa looks forward to continental integration, the Chinese government announced plans to roll out major joint ventures that will enable the continent to achieve integration agenda. Last year, the Chinese government announced that it will roll out 10 cooperation plans that will strengthen cooperation with Africa within the next three years. The programs cover the areas of agriculture modernization, infrastructure, industrialization, financial services, trade and investment facilitation, green development, peace and security, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health and people-to-people exchanges. China will also offer 60 billion U.S. dollars to ensure the smooth implementation of the cooperation initiatives. Speaking to Xinhua on Tuesday, Claver Gatete, Rwanda minister of finance and economic planning, said that China's major economic cooperation arrangements with Africa will play a crucial role towards boosting economic integration on the continent. "These economic initiatives and other efforts toward Africa regional integration hold the promise of boosting intra-regional trade and improving investment prospects in the continent, as well as African competitiveness," he said. Africa trade integration has long been a strategic objective for Africa policy makers and economists, despite the continent's market remains highly fragmented. On June 10, 2015 in Cairo, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) was officially launched which seeks to boost economic growth in Africa. TFTA brings together three of Africa's major regional economic communities -- the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). According to Dr....

DAR ES SALAAM. — The newly appointed Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) CEO has called on workers of the railway firm to be customer-centric in order to turn the authority into the best transport organisation in the region, a TAZARA statement said yesterday. Bruno Ching’andu, TAZARA Managing Director, met over 500 Dar es Salaam-based TAZARA employees and told them that he wanted to preside over a workforce that was proud to work for TAZARA, paid handsomely and competitively and operating in a safe environment, with plenty of opportunities to learn and grow. “I dream of a TAZARA whose workers are proud and happy to be working for this company,” said Ching’andu. “I want us to be customer-centric, giving maximum respect to our clients and contributing to the growth of the economies of Tanzania and Zambia by paying taxes and dividends to the shareholders,” he added. He challenged the workers to work as a unified team with one common goal in order to eliminate the divisive tendencies that pulled the authority backwards. He said he left a well-paying job in South Africa to join TAZARA because he knew it was possible to turn around the authority and begin to earn sustainable revenue, enough to pay employees’ salaries, taxes and dividends to the shareholders. “This company has everything it needs to make money. The Chinese came, built the infrastructure and handed it over to us to manage,” said Ching’andu. “They (the Chinese) gave us fishing rods and taught us how to fish, but...

Involvement of East African women in the region’s integration agenda is very important and must be enhanced, regional lawmakers have said. Rwanda’s representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), who are currently on a countrywide sensitisation tour, say Rwandan women should make the most of the integration agenda. Last Friday, the lawmakers interacted with women groups’ representatives in various parts of the country. The chairperson of EALA Rwanda Chapter, MP Patricia Hajabakiga, told The New Times, yesterday, that they traversed Gatsibo, Kayonza and Nyagatare districts where they met and talked to the leadership of women councils, cooperatives and civil society. Discussion topics included the historical background, the objectives, components of the EAC Treaty, and the negotiated protocols and laws. “We urged them to harness the benefits of Easct African Community integration and to increase production to take advantage of the bigger market.Women in EAC are more than 50 per cent of the total population and therefore their participation is critical,” Hajabakiga said. “However, it was noted that few women are involved in cross-border trade and most of those involved are still in the informal sector. We also noticed a lack of information on EAC matters on their part, and most of them acknowledged that they know that Rwanda is a member of EAC but had never been sensitised about it.” According to Hajabakiga, some of the women expressed concern that free movement of goods across EAC would make Rwanda a dumping place and a market for others. “Some raised...

Last Friday, yet another meeting of the East Africa Tourism Platform (EATP) took place, this time in Arusha, as a follow-up of the Kigali meeting in early February. EATP promotes East Africa as a single destination founded on growth, dynamism and investment. Regional integration calls for expansion of horizons be it size, scale, competitiveness or partnerships, resulting in an environment for tourism to thrive. By understanding that common challenges need to be solved by agreeable strategic solutions and in line with its mission and vision, EATP hosted this latest forum geared to offer a platform for open discussions on the vision of East Africa as a single tourism destination and the feasibility and viability thereof. Participants in Arusha were once again drawn from key companies and private sector tourism associations in the five East African Community member states of Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, as well as tourism boards of Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. The Arusha forum was a follow-up one where this time the stakeholders invited were the key business and tourism stakeholders, in other words those individuals considered the industry's movers and shakers. As key players and influencers, the participants were gathered in the same room to discuss challenges and opportunities to development of tourism in the EAC and promoting the region as a single destination. The stakeholders invited from the 5 countries of the EAC must have a say in shaping the future of tourism and are already working in the EAC and doing cross-border business....

The African Union (AU) is set to launch an electronic passport (e-passport) in the next two weeks in part of measures to boost movement of people across the continent. The e-passport, to be launched during the African Union's 27th Summit which kicks off in Rwanda from July 10, is part of efforts to boost intra-regional trade. The AU, however, says member countries will have to adopt and ratify necessary protocols and laws to prepare the way for use of the passport. Heads of state and government, ministers of foreign affairs and the permanent representatives of AU member states based at the headquarters in Addis Ababa will be the first group to get the e-passports during the summit. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), termed the move a "steady step toward the objective of creating a strong, prosperous and integrated Africa." The Rwanda summit will talk about Africa's integration and the introduction of a common passport. Countries like the Seychelles, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Ghana have taken the lead in ensuring easier intra-Africa travel by relaxing visa restrictions and in some cases lifting visa requirements altogether. The East Africa Community in March launched an the document. A phase out programme for the current East African and national passports will go on for two years staring January next year. Source: All Africa

Tanzania International Container Terminal (TICTS) envisages extending wings to neighbouring Rwanda, hardly a month after winning global respect as one of Africa's most improved ports. The US Journal of Commerce, which collects data on 140,000 port calls at 750 of the world's container terminals, has acknowledged TICTS as one of the most improved ports in Africa. "Everyone at the nation's largest port is delighted that our efforts have been appreciated by such an authoritative body," TICTS Chief Executive Officer Paul Wallace said in Dar es Salam over the weekend. "It is truly an industry achievement," Mr Wallace said of the recognition, adding: "This is just the start... the port is now poised for huge expansion over the coming few years." He however attributed the great achievement to the commitment of the company's valued employees and trust from TICTS parent company, Hutchison Port Holdings, which operate 48 ports in 25 countries. The company has over the past few years invested over 210bn/- to generate 1.35trn/- in the Tanzanian economy through wharfage, royalties and rent. According to Mr Wallace, the container handling firm is scheduled to open the Kigali office on July 1, 2016, to generate greater volumes through the port of Dar es Salaam. Already, the company has trained 16 young Tanzanian leaders who have just graduated in a year-long intensive management programme. Kazi Services' management experts Zuhura Muro and Petronella Mwasandube, with other formidable guest speakers, shared their wealth of experience in mentoring the young, gifted and potential future leaders of...

ARUSHA, Tanzania (Xinhua) -- The Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) is set to establish the East African maritime security coordination center in Mwanza city, which will guarantee safety for passengers, fishermen, and other maritime vessels in the Africa’s largest fresh-water lake. LVBC is a specialized institution of the East African Community (EAC) that is responsible for coordinating the sustainable development agenda of the Lake Victoria Basin. The regional security center will be fitted with sophisticated information and communication systems that will inform the three EAC’s member states if anything happens in the lake. Lake Victoria is shared by three EAC states namely Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda Maritime transport, safety and security officer, Eng. Gerson Fumbuka said the 25-million U.S. dollar project will make the lake free from disasters such as the MV Bukoba ship, which sank in 1996, killing 894 on board. He said that the center will also be equipped with rescuing boats in case of emergency and will also be fitted with communications tower that will help to direct ships and other marine vessels to navigation sites at Mwanza south port. Fumbuka said that the project would cost almost 25 million dollars that will be funded by the African Development Bank. The new center will be located at the marine services, Mwanza north port. He said that the center will specialize in searching and evacuating people, and it will make its communications through satellite and disseminate the information to the ports whereby within 15 minutes the emergency boat...

During the 2016 presidential primaries, while the United States media has been obsessed with who said what to Megyn Kelly, the world has looked on with amusement at Republican Party infighting. Those of us in Africa, however, have been wondering what the outcome of this election might mean for the continent. Will Trump put up trade barriers to shore up jobs at home? Will he reduce foreign aid? What about his approach to climate change? Will Clinton approach foreign affairs differently as president than she did as secretary of state? Trump has been quoted on record as saying, “It is necessary that we invest in our infrastructure, and stop sending foreign aid to countries that hate us.” This is perhaps good news for Africa, as these countries don’t have a reputation of hating America. Trump clearly has strong views on China and continues to flip-flop on policy issues such as sending aid to the Middle East. From an African perspective, this may be perhaps a case of “no news is good news,” as the region often stays below the political radar. U.S.-African relations are complex and mutually beneficial, a reality that has not gone unnoticed by the Republican Party. In February, President Obama signed the Electrify Africa Act of 2015, which establishes a comprehensive U.S. policy to improve access to affordable and reliable electricity in sub-Saharan Africa for at least 50 million people by 2020. Why is this important? Whoever enters the White House in 2017 will quickly come to...

A recent agribusiness conference in Nairobi highlighted the desire of United Arab Emirates officials to expand trade with African nations and how leaders from Dubai are looking closely at continuing to expand trade with East African nations, including Ethiopia. Dubai imports 85 percent of its food from beyond its borders, and much of that comes from Ethiopia, according to Informa Middle East. The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Ethiopian International Office-organized roundtable in June was attended by Abdul Razak Mohammed Hadi, UAE's ambassador to Kenya, and Omar Khan, director of International Offices at the Dubai Chamber. In an interview with the Gulf News Journal last week, Khan expounded on the prospects for trade between the UAE and East African nations. “Dubai Chamber considers Africa, particularly East Africa, to be an important trading partner.” Khan said. “Dubai’s 2015 non-oil revenue with the members of the East African community was almost $3.5 billion, a nearly 10 percent increase from 2014. We want to sustain and encourage this growth.” Khan said that with a rapidly growing population, the UAE stands to gain by enhancing trade partnerships with other nations. The UAE, he said, will need an increasing supply of fresh food, especially in the Dubai area. Khan cited forecasts expecting food sales to increase by nearly 30 percent by 2019, and the retail value of packaged food sales to rise from approximately $4.4 billion in 2015 to approximately $6.3 billion by 2019. “Dubai Chamber seeks to promote bilateral ties and work with...