IN what sounds to be something akin the European Marshall Plan after economies of the countries in Europe went on their knees at the end of World War II, Eastern and Central African leaders last week convened in Dar es Salaam for a similar initiative. The Marshall Plan required a lessening of interstate barriers, a dropping of many petty regulations constraining business and encouraged an increase in productivity, as well as adoption of modern business procedures. In a similar style regional leaders last week pledged to use the Central Transport Corridor to unlock the region's social and economic potential. The leaders, among other things, flagged off four modern cargo trains with consignments destined to Burundi, eastern Demoratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda. They rightly observed that the launch of the corridor would herald the beginning of the new way of doing things after a long period that was dominated with wasteful hauling of millions of tonnes of cargo along the over-stretched roads. The leaders were out to lure investors for a massive plan to upgrade infrastructure in the region that has made big hydrocarbon discoveries. The East African Community (EAC) member states - Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, whose combined gross domestic product (GDP) is $110.3 billion (about 204tri/-), are working to package joint infrastructure plans aimed at boosting trade and speeding up economic integration in the region. Oil and gas discoveries in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have turned the region into a globally reputed exploration hotspot....

The Connected East Africa 2015 Summit is an annual event chaired by the Kenya ICT Authority in consultation with key ICT industry players and key government decision makers, and 2015 marks the 7th year of such a summit. It is taking place at the Leisure Lodge Resort in Kwale Sub county, off the coast of Mombasa. The regional conference aims to address issues of building an integrated ICT infrastructure and policies in the region. The East Africa countries have formed an inter-ministerial committee which looks into breaking regional barriers in harmonization of ICT. This committee will report their progress at the Summit. The Summit also aims to establish a platform for collaboration, capacity building and knowledge sharing between government and the ICT sector with a view of linking and hastening implementation of government IT projects to world-class standards. Objectives of this 7th Edition summit will look to: To address gaps in ICT integration and shared infrastructure among the East African Member states To speed-up harmonization of ICT regulation across the region To build support on ongoing ICT integrated infrastructure projects across the East African region. To provide a platform for meaningful networking that will result in fruitful relationships that contribute to the economic development of the East African region. Set to feature a number of top speakers and an experienced panel from East Africa states and beyond to discuss issues from the objectives of the summit. The Summit is also set to feature an Award Ceremony that celebrates innovation in...

NAMIBIA'S continued dependence on imports has put pressure on the country's foreign reserves causing a N$1,8 billion balance of payment deficit for the 2014/15 financial year. Presenting the 2015/16 national budget yesterday in parliament, finance minister Calle Schlettwein said the deficit was caused by strong inflows of imports over exports. This, he explained, further put pressure on the stock of foreign reserves, although they remain sufficient to support the currency peg. He also said the deficit comes after the country enjoyed a surplus of N$598 million in 2013/14. In the monetary policy for January that was presented on 18 February this year, the Bank of Namibia said the country's reserve stocks had declined on a yearly basis by 13,7% to N$16 billion. “This was mainly due to the high import bill. Despite this pressure, the international reserves remain adequate to maintain the one-to-one link of the Namibian dollar to the rand,” the statement said. Schlettwein said Namibia should optimise trading opportunities by improving significantly on her productive capacity and avoid the trap of becoming a captive market for those countries with an ability to trade in finished goods. He also said Namibia believes in the relevance of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) as an engine for regional integration and industrialisation. About 30% of Namibia's budget is funded through SACU earnings, with the country raking in N$7,9 billion during 2011/12; about N$12 billion during 2013/14, while for 2014/15, the earnings were estimated to be N$18,12 billion. The SACU revenue sharing...

All eyes were in Dar es Salaam last week as leaders of East African Community launched construction of the East Africa’s Central Corridor railway-line that will link up land-locked countries of the region to the port of Dar es Salaam. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi flagged off block trains to their countries from Dar es Salaam using the Central Railway line. DRC Congo President, Joseph Kabila was represented by his Minister for Transport, Justin Kalunga Mgwana Ngongo. The block trains are designated to transport exclusively, consignments directly to Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, without any interruptions or delays, according to the Minister for Transport, Samwel Sitta. The cargo will be transported directly from the Dar es Salaam Port to the borders of the respective countries where they will be received by local trains. It is projected that the time used to reach the final destination will be cut down from two weeks to just two days. And hardly had the dust settled, the government announced launching of construction of a new standard gauge railway from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma. and to begin this year. The Minister for Transport, Samwel Sitta told reporters in Dar es Salaam last Sunday that it is planned that the construction of the 2500 kilometres railway will be launched done in June this year. The new developments in the central corridor happen when regional countries are undertaking measures to free trade by Non-Tariff...

FINALLY, the government announced what we had been waiting to hear so eagerly. Transport Minister Samuel Sitta told reporters last Sunday that construction of a standard gauge railway to link the hinterland of the East African region with the port of Dar es Salaam will begin this year. The 2,561 kilometre long railway, estimated to cost 14 trillion/-, will begin at the port of Dar es Salaam and serve the landlocked countries of Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It will have spur lines to Kigali, Bujumbura and Masaka. The railway project, which is expected to be accomplished within five years, is meant to ease movement of cargo by rail, which is cheaper and carries more freight than road transportation. The announcement happened after Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi flagged off block trains to their countries from Dar es Salaam using the Central Railway line. The block trains are designated to transport exclusively, consignments directly to Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda, without any interruptions or delays. The cargo will be transported directly from the Dar es Salaam Port to the borders of the respective countries where they will be received by local trains. It is projected that the time used to reach the final destination will be cut down from two weeks to just two days. The challenges of upgrading and expanding Africa’s transport network are manifold but the rewards are enormous....

Tanzania plans to spend $14.2 billion to construct a new rail network in the next five years financed with commercial loans, the transport minister said, as the country aims to become a regional transport hub. Tanzania, like its neighbour Kenya, wants to profit from its long coastline and upgrade existing rickety railways and roads to serve growing economies in the land-locked heart of Africa. Read the original article on Theafricareport.com : Infrastructure: Tanzania to spend $14 billion on railways | East & Horn Africa Oil discoveries in Kenya and Uganda and gas finds in Tanzania have turned east Africa into an exploration hotspot for oil firms but transport infrastructure in those countries has suffered from decades of under-investment. "This will be the single biggest project ever to be implemented by the Tanzanian government since our country's independence," Transport Minister Samuel Sitta said in a statement issued on Sunday, referring to the year 1961. Sitta said the railway network would meet the huge demand for the transportation of cargo to land-locked neighbouring countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda as well as domestic needs. The projects include constructing a 2,561 km (1,536 miles) standard gauge railway connecting the port at the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam to Tanzania's land-locked neighbours, Rwanda and Burundi at a cost of $7.6 billion, Sitta said. Two additional lines, to cost $6.6 billion, would connect Dar es Salaam to the coal, iron ore and soda ash mining areas in...

DAR ES SALAAM, March 30 (Reuters) - Tanzania plans to spend $14.2 billion to construct a new rail network in the next five years financed with commercial loans, the transport minister said, as the country aims to become a regional transport hub. Tanzania, like its neighbour Kenya, wants to profit from its long coastline and upgrade existing rickety railways and roads to serve growing economies in the land-locked heart of Africa. Oil discoveries in Kenya and Uganda and gas finds in Tanzania have turned east Africa into an exploration hotspot for oil firms but transport infrastructure in those countries has suffered from decades of under-investment. "This will be the single biggest project ever to be implemented by the Tanzanian government since our country's independence," Transport Minister Samuel Sitta said in a statement issued on Sunday, referring to the year 1961. Sitta said the railway network would meet the huge demand for the transportation of cargo to land-locked neighbouring countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda as well as domestic needs. The projects include constructing a 2,561 km (1,536 miles) standard gauge railway connecting the port at the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam to Tanzania's land-locked neighbours, Rwanda and Burundi at a cost of $7.6 billion, Sitta said. Two additional lines, to cost $6.6 billion, would connect Dar es Salaam to the coal, iron ore and soda ash mining areas in the south and northern parts of the country, he said. Sitta said the...

The Presidential Roundtable in Dar es Salaam gave the Central Corridor, linking Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Dar es Salaam port, the much-needed impetus as regional leaders renewed their commitment to an agreement to improve the infrastructure and facilitate access to the sea for land-locked countries. The industry and investors’ forum was co-chaired by Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, and discussed action East African Community member states must take to ease the movement of goods by improving the port, road and rail services. The main nodes of the Corridor are the port of Dar es Salaam, road network, rail and ferry infrastructure, and border crossings at Kobero/Kabanga (Tanzania-Burundi), Rusumo/Isaka (Tanzania-Rwanda) and Mutukula (Tanzania-Uganda). The Central Corridor is one of the region’s two main transport corridors. The other is the Northern Corridor linking Mombasa port in Kenya to Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan by road and railway. Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete promised to minimise, and finally eliminate non-tariff trade barriers to ease trade and to develop the infrastructure at the port and along the Corridor. The meeting was also attended by Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Pierre Nkuruzinza of Burundi. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta was represented by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed and DRC’s President Joseph Kabila was represented by Minister for Transport Justin Kalunga Mgwana Ngongo. To signal its commitment to easing transportation of goods within the Central Corridor, Tanzania has recently launched block trains that transport cargo direct...

Reports that the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has passed a law aimed at compelling member states to eliminate trade barriers and end protectionism is long overdue. It is quite worrying that despite the good intentions of the East African integration some of the partner states have been guilty of hindering smooth trade relations between them. It is our utmost hope that the Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers Bill, 2015, sponsored by the Council of Ministers and passed by the assembly will be assented to by the heads of state so as to ensure that integration within the bloc becomes a reality rather than mere talk. As stated by the Council of Ministers, the non-tariff barriers that exist in the countries that form the East African Community should be eliminated for the integration process to succeed. We concur as it would be an exercise in futility for the bloc to pass a law that is not enforceable within the borders of a partner state. The proposed law will bar the member countries from imposing any new trade barriers while seeking to identify and remove existing hurdles. We have stated before that the only way a conducive trading atmosphere can be created in the region is if all members read from the same script and avoid actions that only hamper local and regional production. Following the launch of the Common Market Protocol in 2010, many expected the transition to be smooth. However, this has not been the case as internal disputes have...

Next month, Indonesia will be hosting the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference. According to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the commemoration aspires to remind the world that Indonesia played a significant role in the anti-colonial struggle. Amidst complex contemporary global politics, it will be a challenge for Jokowi to convince the world that this Asia-Africa gathering is necessary and relevant. Institutionalizing effective cooperation between the two continents should be a priority. Ten years ago, Indonesia hosted the Asia-Africa Conference golden jubilee, out of which came the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP). At that 2005 summit, Asian and African leaders agreed to revive the 1955 Bandung Spirit, whose one aim was to advance cooperation between the two continents. The NAASP expanded the form of Asia-Africa engagement from merely non-aligned and anti-colonial rhetoric to broader cooperation. Since then, there have been several projects and programs under the NAASP banner, from diplomatic training and technical cooperation to a business forum. Nevertheless, the NAASP receives little in the way of either public attention or political will. Does the NAASP really boost Asia-Africa relations? That is unclear. Certainly, interactions between Asia and Africa are growing, especially on economic matters, but they do not appear to be driven by the NAASP. Asia and Africa currently lack any formal institutional links, despite the long-standing rhetoric of Asia-Africa solidarity. This is in contrast to Asia’s relations with other continents, which have been developed in institutions such as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the Forum...