The new work permit requirements for foreign nationals in Tanzania is causing unease in the region, with the East African Business Council (EABC) calling on Dar to reconsider measures, which are contrary to the EAC Common Market Protocol. A notice issued last year from Tanzania’s Prime Minister’s office indicated that all foreigners wishing to work in the country would be required to obtain separate work and residence permits. The EABC said the move undermines the Common Market Protocol, which allows for free movement of people, goods and services in the bloc. “Tanzania should reconsider the step of introducing the work permit fees in addition to the resident permit fees. The government had progressively reduced and finally zero-rated these fees like the other East African countries,” said Lilian Awinja, acting executive director at EABC. As per the notice, work permits for those employed in Tanzania under Class B (a person who has been offered a specific job by a specific employer and he or she has the required qualifications and experience) will now cost an additional $1000 over the usual $2050. Those with dependants will pay an extra $500 to obtain the dependant pass. The new requirement does not differentiate between EAC nationals and citizens of countries outside the region. While Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya have waived work permit fees for East African Community citizens to encourage free movement of labour, Tanzania maintains the restrictions for EAC citizens and other foreigners. Work permit fees in Tanzania range between $2,000 and $3,000,...

Dar es Salaam — The construction of the $10 billion (about Sh22 trillion) Bagamoyo Port has been suspended, The Citizen has learnt. The government wants to focus, instead, on improving the capacity, performance and efficiency of the Mtwara and Dar es Salaam ports. The minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Prof Makame Mbarawa, confirmed yesterday that the construction of what would be the largest port in Africa has been suspended, not shelved, to pave way for upgrading berths 1 to 7 and the construction of berths 13 and 14 as well as developing the Mtwara Port depending on the availability of funds. These activities would take years to complete, the minister said because the process has to start from finding funding. "We are looking for funds for the port of Dar es Salaam and then for the Mtwara Port," he said. The World Bank has agreed to fund the upgrading of berths 1 to 7, Prof Mbarawa said, though he did not disclose the amount. Plans are to start the construction anytime this year and finish in two years. Funding for constructing berths 13 and 14 and for upgrading the Mtwara Port has not yet been found. Talks with the World Bank for the possibility of providing the funds for berths 13 and 14 are ongoing and if successful the project would start at the end of this year. Government preference was start upgrading berths 1 to 7 and construction of berths 13 and 14 together. "It all depends with...

Dar es Salaam — The government has said the processes for the construction of the Bagamoyo Port will not be halted and will continue. Reacting to reports about the suspension of the construction of the $10 billion (Sh22 trillion) port the, ministry of Works, Transport and Communications said in a statement issued yesterday that the construction of the port will start in July of this year upon conclusion of financing negotiations with key partners. According to the statement availed to this paper, the government was currently in discussions with China Merchant Holding International (CMHI) and Oman which are expected to be concluded by March, this year. It said the governments of Tanzania, Oman and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of the Bagamoyo Port project, October 16, and last year. "The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania in December, 2015 compensated a total of 2,183 Bagamoyo residents Sh45.65 billion [to pave way for the project]. A joint working team, comprising technical people from the United Republic of Tanzania, China and Oman is preparing technical and commercial contracts for the implementation of the Port of Bagamoyo," the statement further added. The Bagamoyo project will occupy 800 hectares and another 1,700 hectares of Portside Industrial Zone, which will be developed. The new port, to be the largest in African, will be able to handle 20 times more cargo than the Dar Port. Source: All Africa

The hash-tag, 'What Would Magufuli Do,' was among 2015's most trending topics on Twitter but there's one more question for Tanzania's new President John Pombe Magufuli; what will he do on learning that Rwandan miners are abandoning using Port of Dar for Mombasa, over theft? Following allegations of repeated theft of Rwandan minerals while in transit to overseas customers, the affected traders have now resorted to using the Kenyan Port of Mombasa to avoid further losses, The New Times has learned. Among the firms that have made the shift to Port of Mombasa is Mineral Supply African Ltd (MSA), arguably Rwanda's leading exporter of precious stones. The firm confirmed that it is now shipping some of the cargo through Port of Mombasa, albeit being a longer route and definitely more expensive. It takes seven to 10 days transporting a vessel through Mombasa, at an extra cost of $500 (about Rwf370,000). "It is a precautionary measure. For instance, if we have three containers to ship, we move two through Mombasa and the other through Dar es Salaam," Fabrice Kayihura, MSA's deputy chief executive, said last week. Kayihura explained that by shipping through the two ports, they hope to avoid the possibility of losing all cargo incase thieves strike again at Dar es Salaam, where they have been victims of multiple thefts on several occasions in recent years. The most recent theft the exporter suffered was about four months ago when MSA and another shipper, Trading Services Logistics (TSL), lost minerals worth...

History was made in recent days. Top trade and development officials from all across the globe gathered December 15-18 to discuss economic growth opportunities and international commerce — the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Ministerial Conference — and that meeting took place … in Kenya. It was the first time that this biennial meeting of the world’s key trade decision makers has ever been held in East Africa. That’s not a coincidence. While much of the world is battling economic uncertainty and tepid growth, the nations of the East Africa Community (EAC) — Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda — are quietly putting into place the building blocks for substantial growth, productivity increases and profitable trade opportunities. East Africa’s aggressive steps have not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by the WTO’s decision to convene its all-important Ministerial Conference in Nairobi.While the WTO Ministers negotiated programs, rules and agreements for the global marketplace, key private sector representatives, thought leaders and economic development officials from around the world were also in Nairobi going about the equally important task of actually making trade, investment and growth a reality. This included Canadian officials who have made clear their interest in doing business in and with East Africa, particularly in the energy and mining sectors. This conference, the annual Trade and Development Symposium (TDS), is where critical stakeholders have an opportunity to confer and share ideas for creating greater opportunities for enhanced trade and sustainable growth; it offers a unique and vital platform for wider discussions that...

East African Community (EAC) said it is about to fulfill one of its mandates as EAC citizens will soon acquire EAC e-passports that will help ease their movement in the EAC bloc, Footprint to Africa reports. According to a statement from the secretariat, EAC Secretary General Mr Richard Sezibera said the launch of the New Generation e-East African Passport early in the New Year will be a major milestone towards achieving a harmonization in the region. The EAC e-passport, Footprint to Africa gathered had been scheduled for launch in November last year but was postponed to allow more time to airbrush pending issues on the travel document. EACs Chair of the Council of Ministers Abdallah Sadaala Abdallah said during last year’s budget presentation to the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala), that the immigration sub-sector had prioritised the need to enhance the capacity of the Immigration Directorates and Departments to develop integrated e-immigration management systems, create enhanced e-immigration services for the public. “This is by adopting advanced Technology and improving processes and to put in place a secure e-immigration network, through the adoption of biometric technology at all borders to reinforce the national security systems,” Abdallah added. The secretariat also allotted funds for study into a regional e-Passport that would be used by the regional citizens for international travel. EAC states also plan to use common passport for global travel and the assembly approved Sh5, 096,364 ($49,840) for an assessment of the needs and preparedness of partner states to execute the...

Senior officials from the East African Community (EAC) have confirmed that the grouping will launch a joint ePassport project. Secretary General, Richard Sezibera disclosed on Wednesday that citizens of the five-member community bloc will soon be in a position to develop the regional travel document. Sezibera said he is looking forward to the launch of the New Generation e-East African Passport early in 2016, a statement from the secretariat issued in Nairobi disclosed. “This is the time for creating a truly African market – in goods, and services including financial services. This is the time for shared industrialization, creating value chains across countries and regions”, he said. “I am glad East African continues to be at the forefront of integration, and growth. The Single Customs Territory continues to deliver benefits to East Africans both on the central corridor, as well as the another corridor,” he added. The EAC countries include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. Source: Security Document World

The maize trade in Eastern and Southern Africa is set to rise following a roadmap to address bottlenecks caused by differences in standards and regulations. It was launched by Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) in Kampala, and is known as the Comesa Mutual Recognition Framework (C-MRF). The aim is to provide equivalence of analytical results and recognition of certificates of analysis that are issued by the participating countries. This will eliminate the need for multiple testing by both the exporting and importing countries. C-MRF was developed by the Comesa Secretariat in partnership with six countries that have significant maize trade in the region. They are Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, which will also pilot the framework. The key components are common grading criteria, proficiency testing for aflatoxins and a risk-based sampling protocol. Varied capacities At the launch, Thierry Mutombo Kalonji, the director for agriculture and industry, said the lack of mutual recognition of technical standards and conformity assessment (testing and certification) was a persistent non-tariff barrier. "Comesa Secretariat initiated the framework in recognition of the fact that regulatory barriers are sometimes a result of varied technical capacities in the public and private sector entities across the region," he said. "Without mutual recognition of standards and certificates of analysis, regulatory barriers persist; causing an unpredictable regulatory environment that comes at a high cost to traders and contributes to the growing informal trade, now estimated at over 80 per cent in some countries." Further still, countries with...

The partnership seeks to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Customs administrations and grow prosperity in the region Nairobi, 15 December 2015 - TradeMark Africa (TMA) has today signed an initial 5 year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the World Customs Organization (WCO) in the implementation of key areas of mutual strategic interest around the trade facilitation agenda in East Africa. [caption id="attachment_11154" align="alignleft" width="600"] TradeMark Africa (TMA) CEO exchanging MOU documents with Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Kunio Mikuriya in Nairobi, Kenya[/caption] The partnership will see the two organisations collaborate in setting up a framework for boosting international and regional trade in the EAC and implementing key trade facilitation initiatives – predominantly through the use of WCO trade facilitation tools - to help implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. The collaboration will see both parties strive to improve border management procedures and customs clearance procedures, as well as bring in automated features such as the implementation of electronic single windows in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of trade regulatory environment. Speaking during the signing, TMA CEO Frank Matsaert said that the new partnership will be a great milestone in the organization’s ultimate objective of growing prosperity through trade. “This partnership will allow us to implement best practice international trade tools and instruments that will propel us in our journey towards improving the regional trade landscape, with tangible and sustainable gains for all citizens of East Africa.” TMA works closely with EAC Institutions, national governments,...

Dar es Salaam – December 11, 2015 – Finland and TradeMark Africa (TMA) signed an agreement for additional funding on Friday December 11th to further support TMA's work in enhancing trade across the East African Community to increase prosperity in the region. The agreement was signed by the Finnish Ambassador to Tanzania, H.E. Pekka Hukka and Mr. Ali Murufuki, TMA Board Chair. Finland has supported TMA since 2013. The grant agreement will make available an additional Euro 2 million (approximately TZS 4.7 billion) to TMA activities in Tanzania. [caption id="attachment_11134" align="alignleft" width="600"] TMA Board Chair Ali Mufuruki exchanging MOU documents with the Finnish Deputy Head of Mission in Tanzania, Simo-Pekka Parviainen[/caption] The additional funding is intended to fill some funding gaps in the implementation of TMA's Strategy 1. They will help TMA to achieve its goals of enhancing trade and removing trade barriers more efficiently than with their original budget. The funds will be directed at enhancing one-stop border posts at Holili, Mutukula and Kabanga and improving cross-border trade. The logistics industry will also be supported to be organized more efficiently. At the moment, East Africa’s trade corridors are characterized by long transit times and high costs. Freight costs per kilometre are more than 50% higher than costs in the United States and Europe. "Tanzania needs a business friendly environment that attracts investment, both domestic and from abroad. A key part of this equation is making logistics cheaper and more effective," emphasized the Finnish Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Pekka Hukka. TradeMark...