In Summary The app will follow the trajectory of the truck and detect any smuggling or short-landing. The app is expected to be launched within two weeks. Truck drivers have welcomed a decision by the government to introduce an application through which they can access coronavirus test results. EU ambassador to Kenya Simon Mordue said Friday they are partnering the government to release the app in two weeks. The cargo transporters said on Sunday the app will limit the frequency of travel to Covid-19 test centres to pick their results. They also said the development will hasten the delivery of test results to individual drivers thus reducing the time they spend queuing on the roads. Mark Kibet who plies the Mombasa-Tororo route transporting clinker to the Tororo Cement Industry in eastern Uganda said he was ready to download and use the app. “That is a good decision because that app will help us when our samples have been taken. We will only be returning to our vehicles and wait for the results to come out through our phones,” he said in Amagoro. Results take two to three days and when they are released, drivers have had to travel again to Malaba to pick them, he said. Truck drivers are screened for the coronavirus after every 14 days and it has been cumbersome for them to travel to test centres to collect result certificates. Abdallah Boru who plies the Mombasa-Kampala and Mombasa-Juba routes said developers of the app deserve commendation. It...

Summary In its latest African Economic Outlook 2020 Supplement report, the African Development Bank (AfDB) says that despite countries embarking on a cautious reopening of economies to stem further damage, the impact of the pandemic is bound to be severe. Losses are expected to be carried over to 2021 because the projected recovery will only be partial with losses ranging from $27.6 billion (baseline) up to $47 billion (worst case) from the potential GDP of $2.76 trillion without the pandemic. Cumulatively, the pandemic could lead to GDP losses in 2020–21 of between $173.1 billion and $236.7 billion in current value terms. At mid-year, African economies, already battered by the Covid-19 pandemic are now facing a total GDP loss of at least $145.5 billion. With many countries recording an unprecedented surge in the number of infections, and the continent’s total cases surpassing the half million mark as per World Health Organisation data, Africa is forecast to suffer GDP losses of between $145.5 billion and $189.7 billion from the pre-Covid-19 estimated GDP of $2.59 trillion. In its latest African Economic Outlook 2020 Supplement report, the African Development Bank (AfDB) says that despite countries embarking on a cautious reopening of economies to stem further damage, the impact of the pandemic is bound to be severe. Losses are expected to be carried over to 2021 because the projected recovery will only be partial with losses ranging from $27.6 billion (baseline) up to $47 billion (worst case) from the potential GDP of $2.76 trillion without the...

​​​​​​​IN a move to tackle foreign domination of shipping business in Africa, the African Union (AU) has adopted the Deep Blue Economy strategy by taking initiatives to promote maritime transport, port activities, maritime security, as well as interstate exchanges. In a report “Africa Blue Economy Strategy”, the AU noted that foreigners intentionally destroyed the budding African shipping lines and conferences to ensure that only Europeans offer such services and at their own prices. Besides, the AU is also expecting port activity in Africa to reach two billion tonnes by 2040. West Africa is home to port facilities in the process of continuous modernisation since the end of the colonial era. East Africa has expanded its ports, including Djibouti, which is responsible for exports to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India. The port of Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania carries many imports from India and China. To this end the group also concluded plans to reduce, if not eliminate foreign domination of shipping businesses in the continent as it commenced research and studies in fisheries, aquaculture, conservation and sustainable aquatic ecosystems, shipping/transportation, trade, ports, maritime security, safety and enforcement, coastal and maritime tourism, climate change, resilience, environment, infrastructure, sustainable energy and mineral resources and innovative industries, polices, institutional and governance, employment, job creation and poverty eradication as well as innovative financing. According to the report, the AU noted that in its current configuration, maritime trade remains dominated by arms conglomerates which unilaterally set freight rates and thus organise the shipping market as they see...

Today the House of Lords’ International Relations and Defence Committee has issued its first report of the current parliament, The UK and Sub-Saharan Africa: prosperity, peace and development co-operation. The report rightly argues that the UK should take a greater strategic interest in and seek a stronger partnership with Africa to support the delivery of the African Union’s (AU) strategy. In fact, ODI’s written and oral evidence to the Committee argued that the government should consider building on the recent UK-Africa Investment Summit to lay the foundations for a new medium-term post-Brexit economic partnership, to diversify UK investment in Africa and increase trade by taking advantage of Africa’s integration. Together with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Trade out of Poverty, we also suggested a UK-Africa Prosperity Commission is set up to inform these efforts as equal partners. The government must now take note of the House of Lords report, reset economic relations and publish an ambitious Africa strategy. The strategic approach to Africa falls short The Committee’s diagnosis on the state of UK-Africa economic relations is stark. It warns of a flatlining of the relationship between the UK and African countries between 2008-2018 in terms of trade and investment, at a time of growth in the continent and increased integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Reflecting insights from the APPG on Africa and ODI, it also presents the UK’s visa policy as a thorn damaging the relationship, but notes the good track record of UK aid for trade programmes such as TradeMark Africa and aid to support industrialisation in Ethiopia. It...

The East African Community (EAC) is likely to see a sharp decline in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) this year owing to the current Covid-19 pandemic that continues to ravage economies across the globe. According to the latest World Investment Report 2020 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) FDIs in East Africa declined by nine per cent to $7.8 billion in 2019, from $9 billion in 2018. The report forecasts FDI inflows to the continent will fall by 25 to 40 per cent in 2020, exacerbated by low commodity prices. “Although all industries are set to be affected, several services industries including aviation, hospitality, tourism and leisure are hit hard, a trend likely to persist for some time in the future,” said James Zhan, Unctad director of investment and enterprise. The decrease, according to the report, comes after the continent recorded a 10 per cent decline in FDIs flows to $45 billion in 2019 from $46 billion in 2018. Alternatively, the expected transformation of international production also brings some opportunities for development, such as promoting resilience-seeking investment, building regional value chains and entering new markets through digital platforms, the report reads in part However, capturing these opportunities will require a shift in development strategies. According to Mukhisa Kituyi Secretary-General of Unctad, export-oriented investment geared towards exploiting factors of production, resources and low-cost labour will remain important. But the pool of such investment is shrinking, and the first rungs on the development ladder could become much harder to climb. He...

Cross-border travel after COVID must be safe and predictable and shouldn’t require excess disclosure of personal health information. Developing such crossing experiences will take cooperation between the health sector as well as aviation, travel and tourism sector stakeholders. Timing is of the essence to prevent further harm to economies and make travelers comfortable with travel. When the six nations of the East African Community opened to essential trade in June, COVID-19 testing created kilometers of backed up trucks along the borders as truck drivers waited for hours to get test results. By working together to share test results in a harmonized system, border crossing and regional integration was later accelerated within East Africa. We need this kind of coordination and harmonization on a global scale. Unfortunately, that is not the current trajectory of COVID-19 era border crossing. COVID brought a patchwork of closed borders and complex border entry requirements as reopening countries attempted to balance the urgent need to restart travel and cross-border economic activity against the imperative of protecting their population’s health. Such disparate efforts are slowing travel and halting a range of industries such as tourism. Without intervention, these efforts will lead to fragmented policies and procedures and make international travel confusing and uncertain long into the future. Image: IATA The need: Safe, dynamic borders that respect private data For cross-border traffic to resume fully, travelers need border crossing experiences that are safe, predictable and do not require excess disclosure of personal health information. Such policies are not universally in place....

Commencement of trade under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been pushed to a tentative date in January next year. The African Union Commission’s original date of July 1 is considered untenable due to the Covid-19 pandemic. AfCFTA’s Secretary General Wamkele Mene said African governments are currently focusing on the fight against the pandemic, saving lives and livelihoods. Mr Mene said the market at the moment is not conducive for the launch considering more than 42 countries out of 55 countries in the continent are in lockdown and the containment measures are complicating intra-trade as observed in borders where trucks queuing for more than 50 km waiting to deliver essential goods. WIDE CONSULTATION Addressing private sector players in a webinar organised by Africa CEO’s Forum on Thursday, Mr Mene said the decision to push the date forward was made after wide consultation. “Suspension of the implementation of AfCFTA from July 1 was not my decision but that of African Union Heads of States. I advised the assembly on the reality, facts, science and data on the ground on the situation of Covid-19. The decision of the new date, which also depends on how quick the pandemic is contained, was widely consulted and involved the private sector,” said Mr Mene. The secretary general, appointed by the AU in March to oversee the implementation of the agreement also said the postponement was as the result of the pending negotiations which were halted by the pandemic.   “The Covid-19 crisis was...

The UK government announced on Tuesday it was merging its Foreign Office and development aid offices, in a new strategy it says will help strengthen London’s influence abroad. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons the UK was now facing an increasingly “competitive world” and needed to make changes in government structure to suit the times. It means the Department of Foreign and International Development, which pumps about £100 million (about Ksh13.3 billion) a year into Kenya, will be dissolved in September. “We have a responsibility to ask whether our current arrangements, dating back to 1997, still maximise British influence,” PM Johnson said. Created in 1997, the Department of Foreign and International Development (DFID) had been a separate organ of the UK government charged with managing foreign aid abroad. In Kenya, it spent £98 million last year on hunger safety net programme, regional economic development for trade and investment, as well as other programmes on security, governance and humanitarian work.   Mr Johnson said the department, while successful, having been formed after the Cold War era, was now facing competition as other countries manage aid as a foreign policy issue. The UK foreign policy has traditionally been managed under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which was created in 1968 after the merger of Foreign and Commonwealth departments. “This is exactly the moment when we must mobilise every one of our national assets, including our aid budget and expertise, to safeguard British interests and values overseas,” Mr Johnson said...

In August 2018, Somaliland President Musa Bihi appointed me to come and head the Liaison office in Nairobi. My previous mission was in the United Arab Emirates where I played a similar role as head of the embassy in Dubai. In Nairobi, part of my mission is to work towards strengthening the ties between Kenya and Somaliland which have been cordial since the pre-independence days when we were both under the British colonial rule. During the period I have served in Nairobi, I have come to appreciate the good working relationship the Kenya government and my country has despite the obvious stumbling block occasioned by the fact that Somaliland remains virtually unrecognized internationally. From culture, education, trade and social issues, Kenya and Somaliland are joined on the hip making the two countries able to work with each other and supplement the other. On paper, Kenya, just like many other states do not recognize Somaliland, but beyond the political radar, Kenyans accept and appreciate the existence of Somaliland as an independent state. The fact that we have a liaison office in Kenya that acts as a link between the two countries is testimony enough that Kenya recognises the existence of Somaliland. It is for this reason, I have engaged in vigorous shuttle diplomacy within the Kenyan government not only to acquaint myself with my hosts but also to implore on the Kenyan government on the growing need to open a liaison office in our capital city, Hargeisa. I have met the...