President Kenyatta is right. The East African Community and the whole integration project needs ideas that spark the imagination. This should not be a one-off thing, but a permanent campaign to drum into the people of East Africa how economic integration can change their lives for the better. From my observations, occasionally we hear of awareness campaigns that come and go, but leave no lasting impact. We need noise. With such things as social media, I am sure we can do better. Source: East African Business Week

While all the five EAC partners of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi have each taken a slow approach to the integration process, Tanzania has come under heavy criticism from most of her neighbours that it has slowed down the process. A vote for John Magufuli is seen as a vote for Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and therefore continuation of the Republic of Tanzania's policy on the EAC integration process, while Edward Lowassa is likely to change it. Since the EAC's revival in 1999, following ideological differences in 1977 that led to its collapse, the EAC agreed on four pillars, on which the current integration process is hinged. They are the customs union, common market, the monetary union and finally the political federation. But while Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have shown passion, the perception from Kenya's politicians is that Tanzania and Burundi have slowed down the EAC integration process by failing to implement the requirements of the protocols. Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale says East Africa should not expect change if Magufuli wins. "I am praying, predicting and wishing that Lowassa wins. The mindset of CCM is too conservative for EAC," Dr Khalwale said during an interview with The Standard. The lawmaker, who served as assistant minister to the EAC between 2006 and 2007, said only a new leader from a different party can bring the desired change in the region. "Kenyans should not expect any change within the EAC if Tanzania's CCM's candidate is elected. CCM is anti-EAC integration," he...

Investors to score big as Rwanda Development Board automates critical processes Kigali, 22 October, 2015: Investors to Rwanda should expect better and more efficient services from Rwanda Development Board (RDB) as the government arm automates critical services offered to investors. The RDB and TradeMark Africa today unveiled a new online system that will enhance the capacity of RDB’s One Stop Centre to process and issue licensing certificates including the Investment Registration and Environment Impact Assessment Certificates, at the click of a button. [caption id="attachment_10147" align="alignleft" width="600"] TradeMark Africa Rwanda Country Director Hannington Namara (Right) and Rwanda Development Board’s Chief Financial Officer Mark Nkurunziza (Left) during the launch of RDB’s One Stop Center online portal[/caption] This will bring key government agencies responsible for the entire investor experience under one screen. The portal will link and exchange important information with among others: Rwanda Electronic Single Window, Online Business Registration, this will further speed the process of application for investment certificate, tax exemption requests and environmental impact assessment. Speaking during the launch, Mr. Mark Nkurunziza, the RDB Chief Financial Officer said, “Investors coming to Rwanda will now find it easier to register their investments. Importantly, the new online system will help us to attain our mission of transforming Rwanda into a dynamic global hub for business, investment, and innovation. The scope of our work includes all aspects related to the development of the private sector.” TradeMark Africa Rwanda Country Director added; “The launch of the portal is a sign of our continued support...

There are growing worries that even though the East African bloc continues to integrate, the rise of anti-competitive trade habits is bound to make it difficult for other companies to join the region. Some countries within the region continue to grapple with coming up with strong competition laws as they try to strike a balance between protecting their indigenous firms and attracting foreign companies. Ms Tania Begazo, a senior economist, Competition Policy Cluster, Trade and Competitiveness, World Bank Group, argues that opening markets and removing anticompetitive sectoral regulation will safeguard and encourage competition in the East African Community. “Competition is an ingredient for economic growth. You can’t attract investment if you are not competitive. Tackle cartel agreements that raise the cost of key inputs and final products, and prevent anticompetitive mergers,” she said. She was speaking at the EACOMP regional advocacy workshop organised by CUTS Nairobi with support from TradeMark Africa (TMA) in Arusha recently. As competition deepens, anticompetitive practices such as predatory pricing - where large firms with strong financial muscle collude to sell their goods or services below the cost of production - could make it difficult for other companies to enter the market. In his analytical report, Should EAC Regulate Competition?, Alloys Mutabingwa, the former EAC deputy secretary General, argued that countries needed to create a free and fair environment that promoted competition. “Whereas competition among firms is a precursor to economic development, a competition culture that is characterized by high levels of cartelization, heavy-handed government intervention,...

Tanzania is pulling all stops to attract tourists from North America, Europe, Southeast Asia and South Africa. Already an online tourism marketing portal was launched by President Jakaya Kikwete at the same time as commercial television adverts, which are to be aired by CNN and BBC for six months, were launched in October. The TV advert is part of the marketing campaign called “Tanzania, the Soul of Africa” that is meant to raise the international tourists arrivals from the 1.140,156 recorded in 2014 to 10 million by 2025, said Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Lazaro Nyalandu. The minister said that the marketing programme, which is expected to open up southern Tanzania, will cost $100 million, partly to be financed by the World Bank. “We are aiming at getting more tourists to visit the rich tourist products available in southern Tanzania and make the southern circuit an independent destination similar to the more famous northern circuit. The plan will also help develop bridges, roads and lodges in the south, thus encouraging mobility of tourists,” he said. Through support from the European Union, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the government of Tanzania has designed a tourism development master plan that will result in more investments in southern Tanzania. Through a programme to attract more tourists, Tanzanian government had focused its marketing and tourist product development in less developed, southern regions. Source: The East African

NAIROBI, KENYA - President Uhuru Kenyatta last week told regional legislators the East African integration message was not getting across fast enough and asked for more momentum from all concerned.  Quat “I wish to make it clear that we who are convinced of the imperative of integration must communicate it better to our people. Too often, the integration of East Africa is taken to be merely a political matter - a job for politicians, not ordinary people. True, leaders must lead.  But we have failed to spark the imaginations of East Africans when it comes to integration,” he said last week while addressing the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Nairobi. He asked on the Assembly to consolidate its work on the integration process.  President Kenyatta further said the citizens of the region were yearning to freely move, work and enjoy the tangible benefits of integration. The President was addressing a Special Sitting of the 2nd Meeting of the 4thSession of the 3rd Assembly. Keanyatta reiterated his commitment and that of his government to the integration process. “I will begin by repeating my Government’s complete commitment to East African integration. I know that the future of each of us in the region is bound up with the fate of all the rest.  Leaders must create the laws, the institutions, and the framework that will help us face that future together. Kenya will play its part in that great task,” he said. According to a press release, the President further urged...

As long as not enough momentum is built up over the East African economic integration ideal, the issue of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) is likely to stay with us for sometime to come. It is easy for politicians to pay lip service to these great ideals. Technically that is their job. For people on the ground it can be a totally different story. Here we are talking about protection of jobs and livelihood. Paradoxically, it is also frequently the same politicians who shout for the elimination of NTBs who then turn around and tell their people to ignore what they are saying in public. Most trade barriers are put up in response to competition or specifically fear of competition. NTBs are a  favourite tool, because the government can think of plenty of other reasons to impose them other than competition. They can also cite unfair competition when one government subsidies the production of an enterprise. It is well and good that there is a mobile phone system that allows one to report NTBs in real time. But dismantling NTBs will only quicken when all EAC governments are singing the same song of ‘free trade across  borders’. This is not to say that there are no genuine reasons why one product or commodity should not be restricted. But let us not use these same genuine reasons to impose NTBs out of fear of competition. On paper, the East African Community Treaty is a momentous collection of what can define a great undertaking. You...

NEW KAPIRI-MPOSHI, Zambia - The Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) is still a good investment 40 years after its construction by the Chinese. This is despite its present dilapidated condition that has adversely affected operations and diminished efficiency. “The three governments namely China, Tanzania and Zambia are still discussing together on how best to bring the railway line to life and make it run profitably. Although it may take some time to arrive at lasting solutions to the challenges facing the railway,” Yang Youming, the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia said last week hosted by senior TAZARA officials. TAZARA is managed by the Tanzania-Zambia Railways Authority and runs from Dar es Salaam to Kapiri-Mposhi in north east Zambia. Yang said TAZARA is a viable venture that still has an important role to play in the future economic development of Tanzania and Zambia. Former Tanzania President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere campaigned passionately for the 1860 kilometre line. It was built with Chinese financial and technical aid to give landlocked Zambia an alternative to export its copper and limit dependency on then Apartheid South Africa. TAZARA still ranks as one of sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest infrastructure projects, although at the time in the mid-1970s Western governments and multilateral financial institutions shunned the idea. Ambassador Yang said there was a bigger role for TAZARA to play in future, not only in social economic development, but also in terms of the relationships amongst the states of China, Tanzania and Zambia as well as in the relationship between China and Africa...

Reducing tariffs is a great start for increasing trade within Africa, but important non-tariff barriers (NTBs) must also be reduced in order to boost trade both within and outside of the continent. In fact, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa found the costs of NTBs in 2010 were higher than the costs of tariffs. The African Development Bank notes that, “while tariffs have progressively fallen, the key challenge to intra-African trade is non-tariff barriers that stifle the movement of goods, services and people across borders.” What sort of non-tariff barriers exist in Africa? Infrastructure across the continent is poor, discouraging the movement of goods and people. Less than a quarter of roads are paved, and those are often filled with potholes. It’s not uncommon for airfare with a layover in Europe or Asia to be cheaper than direct intra-continental flights. Meanwhile, seaports are crumbling and rail connection is paltry. “Thick borders” are also an issue, created by burdensome administrative procedures for clearing goods for import and export. Lines of trucks at the border lead to waits measured in days due to excessive bureaucratic red tape and burdensome administrative procedures. A report by Transparency International (TI) and TradeMark Africa (TMA) found that drivers at Rwanda-Tanzania customs stations spent an average of 72 hours obtaining customs clearance. World Bank economist Paul Brenton found that a truck serving supermarkets across a Southern Africa border may need to carry up to 1600 documents to comply with different countries’ requirements for permits, licenses, and other required...

According to the 2013 Society for International Development report, The Future of Inequality in East Africa, gains from EAC integration could be hampered by the growing inequality gap in the region. Half of the population of the EAC, representing 71 million people, lives on $1.6 a day. There is evidence that women bear the brunt of poverty but their empowerment is a central precondition for poverty’s elimination. According to the World Trade Organisation, there is a strong correlation between increased international trade and increases in female employment in exports, connection to markets and often higher wages in export-oriented industries. Analyses of several countries have even argued that each country’s economic development is “as much female-led as it is export-led.” Supported by the Netherlands government, and presided over by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed, TradeMark Africa on October 15 launched the $4.5 million “Women and Trade Programme’’ to run till December 2016, with a second five-year phase of an additional $10 million to commence in 2017. Targeting 25,000 women in its first phase, the programme’s goal is to increase incomes and improve livelihoods for women traders and women-owned enterprises by strengthening the enabling environment for women traders, facilitating the removal of the internal impediments to trade faced by women and proactively promoting the ‘’voice’’ and participation of women in export and trade in East Africa. In many countries in Africa, the majority of small farmers are women, producing crops such as maize, cassava, cotton and rice. These have enormous potential...