On the evening of August 3, as I left my office in the centre of the capital city Bujumbura, I barely saw the motorbike in front of me before the bullets shattered my windscreen and I was shot directly in the face. Less than two weeks before the attempt on my life, the incumbent President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, claimed victory in an election that was marred by violence and intimidation of the opposition, rights activists, journalists and voters themselves. I am no stranger to the peculiarities of Burundian democracy. As an active citizen, over the past 20 years, I have been harassed, threatened, arrested, imprisoned and beaten by the authorities. In Burundi, the exercise of democracy often means these things. As a human-rights activist, I openly condemned the electoral process, the president and the result. The United Nations and the African Union also declared that the ballot was neither free nor fair! Still, the bullet was my reward for exercising my democratic duty. When Nkurunzinza announced that he would seek a third term in office — violating both the Constitution and the Arusha Peace Accords that brought peace to my country after a decade of conflict — widespread protests prompted new levels of government repression, human-rights abuses and a crackdown on civil society. The violence forced many members of Burundi’s political opposition, independent journalists and human-rights defenders to flee the country. They fled for good reason. It is a miracle that my own decision to remain in Burundi did...

THE volume of cross-border trade between Kenya and Tanzania will increase by 50 per cent once the Arusha-Mwatate road is complete, outgoing Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete has said. The 90km road is being constructed by China City Construction Group. It is co-funded by the African Development Bank and the Kenya and Tanzania governments. Kikwete launched the Sh8.4 million road at Taveta town yesterday at the start of his three-day state visit to Kenya. Present were President Uhuru Kenyatta, Mining CS Najib Balala, Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu. “This is one of the missing links aimed at enhancing the East Africa Integration objectives, and a crucial link between Kenya and Tanzania,” Uhuru said. He said once the road is complete, it will attract large-scale investors in Kenya and Tanzania. So far, 34km of the road from Taveta has been upgraded to bitumen status. “Free trade and non-tariff trade barriers will improve business in the region,” he said. Uhuru said Kenya will soon tap gas from Tanzania to improve its energy supply at affordable prices. He said the road’s construction has come at the right time during the construction of the standard gauge railway line. The President said goods from the Mombasa port will now be easily transported to Tanzania. Uhuru said the Isiolo-Moyale road connecting Kenya to Ethiopia will be opened by the end of this year. Source: The Star

Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and his Tanzania counterpart Jakaya Kikwete have heaped praise on the ongoing construction of 90KM Mwatate-Taveta road. The two leaders said the road is in the East African Community programme of the developing missing links along the regional infrastructure corridor. Speaking during the launch of the road, President Kenyatta said he is impressed with the progress being made saying it will enhance integration in the region. “This is one of the missing links aimed at enhancing the East Africa Integration objectives, and a crucial link between Kenya and Tanzania,” said the President Kenyatta. The two leaders noted that Arusha-Holili-Taveta-Voi Road Project links the Northern Corridor at Voi. The two leaders said the road project is the second to be funded by ADB, the first one being the improvement of Arusha-Namanga/Namanga-Athi River road. President Kikwete thanked President Kenyatta for inviting him to preside over the launch of the construction of the road saying residents of northern and north-west Tanzania use the road to transport goods from Mombasa. “It takes 14 hours from Arusha to Voi. But with the construction, it will only take two and a half hours, reducing the time and saving on vehicle maintenance,” he said. The Tanzanian President said the road is part of EAC projects and also the Arusha-Holili-Taveta-Voi-Mombasa transport corridor. On the EAC, President Kikwete said members States had planned major infrastructure projects to connect countries and the whole region. “In the past five years, trade between Kenya and Tanzania has grown by...

The Federal Republic of Germany and the East African Community (EAC) have concluded bilateral negotiations to boost regional integration in East Africa at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. To highlight the strong commitment to supporting the integration process in East Africa, the Federal Republic of Germany has committed a total of 37 million euros in grants to the EAC for 2016- 2018 to include: 10 million euro in financial assistance will be invested in the establishment of a regional network of reference laboratories for communicable diseases. With this project, the German Government responds to a request for support from the EAC for the prevention and control of epidemic outbreaks in the region; Another 10 million euro in financial assistance will be used for Integrated Water Resource Management of Lake Victoria aiming at improving water provision and management of water resources and 17 million euros in technical assistance were committed to further support of the economic integration process, including a contribution to the EAC partnership fund. The programme is focusing on institutional strengthening of the EAC Secretariat and on supporting the implementation of the Customs Union, Common Market Protocols and Monetary Union. This includes the elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers such as tax harmonisation as well as Mutual Recognition Agreements for qualifications. At the same time Germany will support the EAC in promoting private investment especially in the pharmaceutical sector, including the establishment of a regional quality infrastructure for the pharmaceutical sector. Speaking during the negotiations, the EAC Deputy Secretary General...

President Obama’s heralding of Africa as a continent ‘on the move’ highlights a region characterised by economic growth and where business is playing a positive role in lifting millions of people from poverty. Various nations across Africa increasingly present major economic opportunities given growing consumer markets, relatively under-developed natural resources and widespread political and economic reforms. ‘On the move’ also works as a description for improvements in trade across the region. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in particular has made major inroads into market openness. East Africa, to provide a clear example, is well-established as a bustling trade hub with Kenya at its heart. Yet it is also clear that progress is not uniform across the region, with the World Bank estimating that, on average, it takes 54 days, 10 documents and costs nearly $8,000 to import a single container into the Republic of the Congo, compared to 21 days, six documents and $2,080 cost incurred for a similar container into South Africa. The region as a whole has also experienced a major shift in terms of trading partners, with the conventional narrative of trade with Africa in recent years being a story of major investment by Asian trading partners. The region received 19 percent of its imports from Asia in 2004, but this had risen to 32 percent by 2013. Other trading partners across the Middle East, the UK, Europe and the US are keen to become more involved; look no further than President Obama’s trade visit and the renewal of...

About 80,000 traders in the region whose livelihoods depend on cross-border trade are set to find issues such as queuing, corruption and unfair taxes tackled through a $79 million World Bank grant. The funding will support the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation Project which aims to reduce costs faced by traders in east Africa's surrounding border areas. It will also help to develop regional markets near border crossings and facilities to handle an increased flow of goods, services, and people, as well as provide resources to strengthen government agencies at the border to deliver better quality and efficient services. "Regional approaches to trade facilitation are critical to leverage national efforts," said Makhtar Diop, World Bank Group Vice President for the Africa Region. "The three Great Lakes countries included in this project share similar challenges that must be tackled through collective action, and borders are the solution provided they are safe and enable traders to do business in a conducive environment." Hindering growth According to the financial institution, "inefficiency and corruption persist at border crossings, imposing a significant drag on the regional economy, particularly for small traders, 8 out of 10 of whom are women." Key markets are situated across the border and informal cross-border trade plays a major role in linking small producers to markets. Border crossing points, such as Petite Barrière in Goma, DRC, which averages 20,000 to 30,000 crossings a day, can become major bottlenecks for traders trying to reach potential buyers. Teeming border crossings such as Kasindi and...

IN a bid to enhance tax compliance including the culture of demanding receipts on purchase of goods, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) plans to introduce prizes. TRA’s Principal Taxpayer Service Officer, Ms Rose Mahendeka, said at a seminar on new tax laws to Tanzania Tax Writers Network (TAWNET) organised by Vodacom in Dar e Salaam that the culture of asking for receipts after buying various goods will check revenue loss. She said the practice will not only boost revenue collection but curb leakages used by some traders in dodging tax. “To participate in the draw, buyers will have to send special numbers on the receipts and win various prizes which will be announced when it begins,” she said. The government collects over 800bn/- monthly, but the current efforts will boost further the collections. She said many buyers do not know the importance of receipts for the goods they purchase, saying receipts help keep good records of the financial transaction during auditing. TRA principal tax payers’ education officer Mr Hamis Lupenja said the new Value Added Tax (VAT) law will provide and expand tax collection scope. He said, for example, more areas are included in the tax base and are taxed like insurance industry with the exception of health insurance when compared to the old law that left them aside. Some of the weaknesses of the old VAT law were the powers given to the minister to provide tax exemptions that at most time was misused leading to decreased revenue collection....

Kampala. Job creation and transfer of technology must be part of the outcome of the negotiation between the EAC countries and the US, an analyst has cautioned. Currently, EAC member states are developing a regional negotiation model which will be used to engage the US on matters pertaining to trade and investment within the region as well as enhancing trade between the two parties. Generally, the EAC-US Trade and Investment Partnership is an initiative that seeks to support the EAC economic integration as well as enhancing the EAC-US trade and investment relationship. According to Mr Francis Mangeni, a trade analyst and the director of trade customs and monetary affairs at Comesa, the five EAC member states, among them Uganda, must ensure that the agreement has a provision that regulates the entry of investors into the country. Mr Mangeni said investors should come here (in EAC) not on their terms but according to the conditions of the regional governments. Without such restriction some investors, he said, could end up messing the country then pack their bags and walk away the way they came in- scot free. Mr Mangeni was speaking last week in Entebbe during a regional stakeholders consultative meeting. The Southern and Eastern African Trade, Information and Negotiations Institute (Seatini) country director, Jane Nalunga, said: “We must know what we want and always negotiate on the basis of what we want—and not from the point of weakness.” Efforts—facilitating local trade. “In negotiations there is a need for strategy. And those...

The East African Community (EAC), an inter-governmental organisation comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania, is pushing for a long-term preferential trade agreement with the US to eliminate the fear of unilateral withdrawal of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by the US government. EAC believes the limitation of AGOA is that it is unilateral and can be withdrawn any time. This year the US extended the AGOA up to September 30, 2025, but the EAC thinks that this span of 10 years is insufficient for increasing trade volume by leaps and bounds. Hence, the EAC recently submitted its plea to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the modus operandi and the time to begin negotiations on the pact, according to African media reports. The community of five members seeks a trade partnership similar to the one it shares with EU, which provides protection against undue competition. EAC also believes that it has not been able to utilise the US quota-free market under AGOA since the agreement does not match the World Trade Organization's structure for free trade agreements due to its 10-years duration of operations. The long-term trade agreement, which EAC is pushing for will include services and foreign investment for matters concerning development, apart from those required for trade in goods. Trade between the EAC countries and the US was worth $2.8 billion in 2014, with US exports to EAC being $2 billion, and imports from the region amounting to $743 million. (HO) Source: Fibre2Fashhion.com

The fast-growing port of Dar es Salaam is working to double its annual capacity to 30 million metric tons per year and reduce dwell times from nine days to five by 2020, in an effort to become the top gateway to landlocked East African countries. Source: Joc.com