The European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are extending the Cotonou Agreement to December this year, after failing to reach a consensus on the structure of future relations. When the EU and 79 ACP countries adopted the Cotonou Agreement in 2000, they aimed at reducing/eliminating poverty and integrating ACP countries into the world economy. EU chief negotiator Jutta Urpilainen said the blocs are looking at a post-Cotonou partnership that addresses today’s realities, meets mutual needs and champions a common vision of solidarity and progress. The current agreement that governs trade and political relations between the two blocs was set to expire on February 29. It is based on three pillars: Development co-operation, economic and trade co-operation and political dimension. Formal negotiations between the EU and ACP countries have been ongoing since October 2018 but differences on the issue of migration and trade regimes has made it impossible for the groupings to reach a consensus. Analysts say that following Brexit and with new realities particularly the emergence of China in world trade and geopolitics, ACP countries want to push for a binding agreement that addresses their interests. For Africa, mutually beneficial strategic partnerships akin to those being pursued with individual countries like UK, US, China and Russia are key. Failure to reach agreements on the economic partnership agreements, a key component of the Cotonou Agreement has exposed structural weaknesses in EU’s relationship with ACP countries, leading to prolonged stagnation in trade. “The Cotonou Agreement has benefited Africa in...

Spotted: African company, Trademark East Africa, has created an information network for small businesses in East Africa. The network aims to make their goods more competitive, by reducing trade barriers and improving transparency. Trademark’s Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP) was created to reduce barriers for trade. Traditionally, there has been no communication between all the actors involved in cross-border trade in East Africa, and this has meant that goods and services are nearly impossible to track. No individual actor along the chain can account for where a product is or how long it will take to ship. The TLIP connects small producers to foreign buyers and provides an easy-to-use information network that facilitates transparent and timely cross-border trade. Small business owners can communicate directly with foreign buyers and both parties can see how the product moves through the trade chain. This system ensures all steps in the process are synchronised, meaning that the products move from the producer to the buyer faster and with more transparency. TLIP uses blockchain technology, so all parties involved in the transaction are looking at the same source information. https://youtu.be/nxhnjUq2jx4

26-28 February 2020, Kampala, Uganda Opening Remarks by Rt. Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business 26th February 2020 Honourable Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Secretaries of the Treasury, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, The Dutch Ambassador, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen The Government of Uganda is honoured to be hosting this regional conference on public debt management and sustainable economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. I am pleased to welcome you to the Republic of Uganda and to this conference that has brought together high-level policymakers and practitioners of debt management, academic experts and civil society representatives. Special thank you goes to the Dutch Government and specifically to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs for the support rendered to the government of Uganda in preparing this conference. This conference is timely. As I speak almost 40% of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are in debt distress or have a high risk of it. The IMF’s records show the average level of total debt for Sub-Saharan African countries had risen to 55% of GDP in 2016 compared to 35% in the early 2010s. Debt in itself may not be a problem if it is incurred for development reasons and at affordable costs. The reason for the rising debt burden can be attributed to an increasing level of investment requirements. In order to improve productivity and growth, countries need to invest in infrastructure. Thus bringing future...

On February 21, expectations were high among the Ugandan and Rwandan citizens that the border connecting the two countries that has remained shut for exactly a year would be re-opened as Presidents; Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame held their fourth meeting mediated by their Angola and DRC counterparts, at Katuna one stop-border post. The Katuna border is an important point for the two countries as it facilitates trade between Kigali and the rest of the East African countries. However, the meeting that was meant to reduce tensions between the two countries may not achieve much due to the outcomes. The meeting was also attended by Angola’s President Joao Lorenco and Felix Tshisekedi –who had held meetings with Kagame and Museveni in Angola in 2019 and three weeks ago. A communique issued from the Katuna meeting recommended that Uganda “verify” allegations made by Rwanda about the existence of hostile forces towards Rwanda in Uganda. The communique stated that this verification process should be done in one month from the Feb. 21 meeting. “If these allegations are proved, the Ugandan government will take all measures to stop it and prevent it from happening again” the communique reads in paragraph 4. The action later must be verified by the Ad-Hoc Ministerial Commission for the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding of Luanda, Angola. It is upon fulfilling this recommendation that another summit will be held at Katuna in fifteen days for the border re-opening having reached a compromise by both sides. This means...

The Personal Representative of the German Chancellor for Africa, Mr. Guenter Nooke who was on a working visit to Tanzania, yesterday held bilateral talks with EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha. The two leaders discussed development cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the EAC on matters relating to regional economic integration, with particular focus on Health and Agriculture, as well as Customs and Trade sectors. On his part, Amb Mfumukeko said the EAC and Germany have enjoyed a long standing partnership for the last 20 years, with commitments from the German Government amounting over Euros 470 million. He also requested Germany, through Mr. Nooke, to consider more support in Agriculture, Industrial development especially Agro-processing, and ICT sectors as part of institutional transformation in addition to the areas that the Federal Republic is currently supporting. Amb Mfumukeko reiterated that the EAC was deeply interested in penetrating the German and European market in general, which he described as being large and vibrant, adding that the region also hopes to benefit from technology transfer from Europe’s largest economy. Germany has long supported the EAC, and for the last 20 years spent about US$508 million to the region. The joint cooperation focuses on the areas of economic and social integration as well a health. Some of the Germany supported projects in the EAC include EAC Immunization Programme, EAC Regional Network of Public Health Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases Project, EAC Scholarship Programme; the Lake Victoria Basin...

The real impact of commerce under a Pan-African deal to establish the world’s largest free-trade area will probably only be seen in three years, according an architect of the pact. While the first trade under the African Continental Free-Trade Area, which could cover a market of 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion is set to start July 1, it will be “very modest,” Carlos Lopes, the former executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, said in an emailed response to questions. That’s because a road map, laws and support mechanisms to facilitate continent-wide trade has to be finalized, he said. Lopes led the unit that provided technical support to the African Union, which is spearheading efforts to establish the continent-wide deal. Africa lags behind other regions in terms of internal trade, with intra-continental commerce accounting for only 15% of the total, compared with 58% in Asia and more than 70% in Europe. The African Export-Import Bank estimates intra-African trade could increase by 52% within a year of the pact’s implementation and more than double during the first decade. The agreement requires member states to work toward eliminating or lowering tariffs on 90% of goods to facilitate the movement of capital and people, and create a liberalized market for services. Tariff concessions, rules of origin and protocols governing services are still to be agreed on An agreement on tariffs could take time because countries are expected to offer concessions on an individual basis...

Women traders operating between Uganda and Rwanda have expressed their dissatisfaction at how the leaders of the East African community (EAC) have handled the border closure issue. Today 27th Feb 2020, marks one year since the closure of the Rwanda-Uganda border. The women under their civil society organisations, East African Sub-Regional Initiative for Advancement of Women (EASSI) and Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) say the closure is in contravention of the Treaty for the establishment of the East African community and common market protocol. It is extremely absurd that EAC which is now celebrating 20 years of existence, with a mission to widen and deepen economic, political, social, and cultural integration in order to improve the trade and investments has remained silent to the suffering and humiliation of the East African people living and depending on trade at the borders of the two countries,” said Sheila Kawamara, Executive Director EASSI. According to the chairperson Katuna Women Cross Border Traders Cooperative, Akankwasa Miria, ever since the border was closed, traders have been stuck with their merchandise and are not able to trade since most of their customers are from Rwanda “Before the closure, I used to make utmost 500,000 Uganda shillings a day but now I can’t even make 50,000 shillings. I am unable to pay school fees for my children and banks are demanding me I pay the loans I got to invest in the business,” said Akankwasa. In June 2019 after collecting over 600 statements...

Africa heads into a historic year in which the long-awaited African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) finally becomes a reality, with trading under the scheme scheduled to begin on 1 July. The largest free trade zone to come into being since the launch of the World Trade Organisation in 1995, the AfCFTA is a bold venture, especially on a continent where intra-African trade is languishing at about 18% of total trade. And the political will behind it is unprecedented for a pan-African initiative. Forty-one countries signed the agreement creating the AfCFTA in March 2018 and the rest came to the party eventually, with only Eritrea yet to sign. Ratification has been slower, with just over half having taken the process through their parliaments. The AfCTA will create a zone covering 1.2bn people with a combined gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion. It contains provisions for countries to reduce tariffs by 90% and address impediments to trade. As the D-day for trading under the agreement looms, the question is whether, once the hype and political rhetoric is stripped out of the picture, Africa is ready to take this big step into the future. The economic reality on the ground has undermined ambitious political plans in the past. It is worth remembering that the AfCFTA has not come out of nowhere. Africa is currently covered by a variety of free trade areas and customs unions, some of them overlapping, and this initiative will use existing formations and experiences as the building blocks for...

It is only four days short of a year since Rwanda closed its key crossing border point with Uganda at Katuna, the focal point of business transaction between the two countries. The communities along the common border are kinsmen and kinswomen, who use the border-crossing for day-to-day dealings. Closing the Katuna border meant the families would be separated and economies of the two countries adversely impacted. Prior to the closure, Uganda and Rwanda’s relationship had been getting colder over the years. Rwanda had accused Uganda of sheltering its dissidents, while Uganda accused Rwanda of infiltrating its security machinery. And at the height of this slow-baking conflict, Gen Kale Kayihura was arrested in June 2018. The former IGP was accused of aiding and abetting the forced repatriation of Rwandan nationals. This would turn out to be one of the sticky issues in Uganda-Rwanda ties. In the months that followed, President Kagame was quoted as saying: “You can attempt to destabilise our country, you can do us harm, you can shoot me with a gun and kill me. But there is one thing that is impossible: No one can bring me to my knees.” Source: Daily Monitor

Ambitious Construction Company, the successful contractor for the UGX 32 Billion (USD 8.8 million) Gulu Logistics Hub was last week officially handed the 12.24 site on which this multi-modal logistics and freights hub will sit. The handover of the construction site, availed by Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) effectively kicked-off the actual construction phase of the Gulu Logistics Hub, with completion expected within the next 18 months. “Gulu Logistics Hub will help unlock the production potential of northern Uganda. There is a lot of untapped potential that will be unlocked by this multi modal hub & other Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) projects, Eng Charles Kateeba , the managing director of URC said. On completion, this freight and logistics facility will have a spacious container yard, container freight station (CFS), container cleaning and repair station, a vehicle holding section, an administration complex and an access road connecting the hub to the main roads to South Sudan and Kampala. ” Gulu Logistics Hub forms a bigger part of the development projects for northern Uganda. European Union and United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) have through TradeMark Africa funded the Hub. Government of Uganda is funding the access roads, “Nelson Rwenaga, Assistant Commissioner Road and Air Transport at Ministry of Works and Transport noted. The Gulu Logistics hub will also have a railway sub-station; directly connected to the Tororo-Gulu metre gauge line, which will receive and dispatch in and outbound trains in addition to having sufficient space for loading and unloading...