LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 20: (Top L-R) South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Mandisa Pandor, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmend, Angola's President Joao Lourenco, Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, World Bank President David Malpass, UN executive secretary of Economic Commission for Africa Vera Songwe and IMF Africa Director Abebe Aemro Selassie, (Middle L-R) Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Malawi's President Peter Mutharika, Britain's Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom, Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, Guinea's President Alpha Conde, Britain's International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo, Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and Tunisia's President Kais Saied, (Bottom L-R) Britain's International Development Secretary Alok Sharma, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio, Senegal's President Macky Sall, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi, Morocco's Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani and Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara pose during the family photo at the start of the UK-Africa Investment Summit on January 20, 2020 in London, England. The British PM is hosting African leaders and senior government representatives along with British and African businesses during the UK-Africa Investment Summit, aimed at strengthening the UK’s economic partnership with African nations. By CNN For Citizen Digital British companies have made bigger profits investing in Africa than in any other region of the world, according to a new report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), which urges firms to...

In Summary The committee noted that there was a significant improvement of cargo transit time along the Northern Corridor following infrastructure initiatives undertaken in Kenya between 2013 and 2019. On infrastructure, the committee agreed to seek funds to improve roads especially in South Sudan, where less than one per cent of roads are in a good state according to the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Co-ordination Authority 2019 report. By ANTHONY KITIMO The 10-year-old Northern Corridor trade agreement will be updated by March to address emerging trade opportunities, meet current needs and boost regional trade. This was the main resolution of the 48th executive meeting of the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Co-ordination Authority member states — meeting in Mombasa, Kenya recently. The member states are Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. “The revised draft of Agreement and protocols has been received and is awaiting a validation workshop in March this year before its submission to the Council of Ministers,” said executive secretary Omae Nyarandi. The revised trade agreement will include the use of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway, which was not there in 2007 when the agreements were being drawn up; joint funding of infrastructure such as roads, one-stop-border posts, motion weighbridges; and speed up implementation of the Customs Union Protocol by adopting a single window system for regional custom data transfer to end cross-border delays. Trade Mark East Africa has committed budgetary support of $393,000 for the recruitment of system developers to enhance the current...

UNITED NATIONS, Sunday ” U.N. experts accused Uganda and Rwanda on Friday of refusing to provide straight answers about their role in an illegal trade in minerals plundered from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. UNITED NATIONS, Sunday ” U.N. experts accused Uganda and Rwanda on Friday of refusing to provide straight answers about their role in an illegal trade in minerals plundered from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. The expert panels report surfaced as all five governments of Africas Great Lakes region assured the U.N. Security Council of their continuing support for a long and costly internationally backed campaign to bring peace, stability and development to the war-torn zone. Uganda is suspected of facilitating the illegal export of Congolese gold while Rwanda is believed to be helping smuggle out tin ore, but both countries provided erroneous information when asked about their activities, the experts said. Despite a U.N. arms embargo, deficiencies in weapons marking and record-keeping requirements have made it virtually impossible to track the arms trade in Congo, the experts said, calling on Congo to set up its own arms marking system. Source: New Vision

Government has listed priority areas to energise the economy in financial year 2020/2021 against the backdrop of widening trade deficits and local revenue gaps. In its report on the Budget Framework Paper presented by the Committee on Budget, MPs warned of a growing trade deficit. The report blames the decline on trade wars with Kenya and the closure of Uganda’s border with Rwanda which has frustrated commercial activities. Tanzania, which has always shown a cold shoulder to East African Community economic integration projects, has also been singled out. “…[T]he trade surplus with EAC slowed down in the FY 2018/2019 compared to FY 2017/2018 mainly on account of existence of non-tariff barriers in some of the partner states – most especially in Tanzania,” partly reads the report. It continues: “the temporary closure of Uganda-Rwanda border and the decline in agricultural exports such as beans and maize to the region has also affected trade.” In figures, Uganda’s trade deficit has shot from $2.4 trillion to $3.7 trillion, an increase of $1.2 trillion (about Shs4.4 trillion). In recent months, Kenya has banned Uganda’s milk from its market and levied prohibitive taxes on poultry products from Uganda, a protectionist response to demands from local farmers to bar Ugandan products from their market. Rwanda, on the other hand, has maintained a closed border with Uganda, and an expected rise in global oil prices, noted the Committee, will worsen the economic situation, as government largely relies on petroleum imports to fuel the economy. To address these...

Government has listed priority areas to energise the economy in financial year 2020/2021 against the backdrop of widening trade deficits and local revenue gaps. In its report on the Budget Framework Paper presented by the Committee on Budget, MPs warned of a growing trade deficit. The report blames the decline on trade wars with Kenya and the closure of Uganda’s border with Rwanda which has frustrated commercial activities. Tanzania, which has always shown cold shoulders to East African Community economic integration projects, has also been singled out. “…[T]he trade surplus with EAC slowed down in the FY 2018/2019 compared to FY 2017/2018 mainly on account of existence of non-tariff barriers in some of the partner states – most especially in Tanzania,” partly reads the report. It continues: “the temporary closure of Uganda-Rwanda border and the decline in agricultural exports such as beans and maize to the region has also affected trade.” In figures, Uganda’s trade deficit has shot from $2.4 trillion to $3.7 trillion, an increase of $1.2 trillion (about Shs4.4 trillion). In recent months, Kenya has banned Uganda’s milk from its market and levied prohibitive taxes on poultry products from Uganda, a protectionist response to demands from local farmers to bar Ugandan products from their market. Rwanda, on the other hand, has maintained a closed border with Uganda, and an expected rise in global oil prices, noted the Committee, will worsen the economic situation, as government largely relies on petroleum imports to fuel the economy. To address these challenges,...

Government has listed priority areas to energise the economy in financial year 2020/2021 against the backdrop of widening trade deficits and local revenue gaps. In its report on the Budget Framework Paper presented by the Committee on Budget, MPs warned of a growing trade deficit. The report blames the decline on trade wars with Kenya and the closure of Uganda’s border with Rwanda which has frustrated commercial activities. Tanzania, which has always shown cold shoulders to East African Community economic integration projects, has also been singled out. “…[T]he trade surplus with EAC slowed down in the FY 2018/2019 compared to FY 2017/2018 mainly on account of existence of non-tariff barriers in some of the partner states – most especially in Tanzania,” partly reads the report. It continues: “the temporary closure of Uganda-Rwanda border and the decline in agricultural exports such as beans and maize to the region has also affected trade.” In figures, Uganda’s trade deficit has shot from $2.4 trillion to $3.7 trillion, an increase of $1.2 trillion (about Shs4.4 trillion). In recent months, Kenya has banned Uganda’s milk from its market and levied prohibitive taxes on poultry products from Uganda, a protectionist response to demands from local farmers to bar Ugandan products from their market. Rwanda, on the other hand, has maintained a closed border with Uganda, and an expected rise in global oil prices, noted the Committee, will worsen the economic situation, as government largely relies on petroleum imports to fuel the economy. To address these challenges,...

Building Cities in Africa – FBW Group Development News UK and Africa businesses urged to “seize the moment” A leading East African architecture and engineering firm is urging businesses in the UK and Africa to “seize the moment” following a major summit looking to deliver more investment and jobs. FBW Group, which is helping deliver large-scale development projects across the region, has also welcomed UK International Development Secretary Alok Sharma’s pledge of new aid to help build green cities across Africa with quality infrastructure. Malawi Creator Centre, Medical Training building: The new UK Centre for Cities and Infrastructure that he has announced aims to “turbo-charge investment” in fast growing cities across the developing world. It will provide British expertise to African governments and city authorities to improve the way cities are planned, built and run, including making them more environmentally-friendly. The focus will be on improvements to infrastructure, including water and energy networks. Mr Sharma’s announcement came on the eve of the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 which took place in London earlier this month (January). In the post-Brexit world the British government is looking to increase exports and encourage UK companies to be more active globally – and specifically turn their attention to markets like Africa. The aim of the London summit was to create new lasting partnerships to deliver more investment, jobs and growth, benefiting both Africa and the UK. It brought together UK and African business representatives, African leaders, international institutions and young entrepreneurs. FBW has operations in...

Government has listed priority areas to energise the economy in financial year 2020/2021 against the backdrop of widening trade deficits and local revenue gaps. In its report on the Budget Framework Paper presented by the Committee on Budget, MPs warned of a growing trade deficit. The report blames the decline on trade wars with Kenya and the closure of Uganda’s border with Rwanda which has frustrated commercial activities. Tanzania, which has always shown cold shoulders to East African Community economic integration projects, has also been singled out. Victoria University “…[T]he trade surplus with EAC slowed down in the FY 2018/2019 compared to FY 2017/2018 mainly on account of existence of non-tariff barriers in some of the partner states – most especially in Tanzania,” partly reads the report. It continues: “the temporary closure of Uganda-Rwanda border and the decline in agricultural exports such as beans and maize to the region has also affected trade.” In figures, Uganda’s trade deficit has shot from $2.4 trillion to $3.7 trillion, an increase of $1.2 trillion (about Shs4.4 trillion). In recent months, Kenya has banned Uganda’s milk from its market and levied prohibitive taxes on poultry products from Uganda, a protectionist response to demands from local farmers to bar Ugandan products from their market. Rwanda, on the other hand, has maintained a closed border with Uganda, and an expected rise in global oil prices, noted the Committee, will worsen the economic situation, as government largely relies on petroleum imports to fuel the economy. To address...

The African Union-led agreement is designed to establish the world’s biggest free-trade zone by area, encompassing a combined economy of $2.5-trillion A truck and trailer drives into a Beitbridge customs and immigration control point on the SA border with Zimbabwe. Picture: REUTERS Nyoni Nsukuzimbi drives his 40-tonne Freightliner for just more than half a day from Johannesburg to the Beitbridge border post with Zimbabwe. At the frontier town — little more than a petrol station and a KFC — he sits in a line for two to three days, in temperatures reaching 40°C, waiting for his documents to be processed. That’s only the start of a journey Nsukuzimbi makes maybe twice a month. Driving 885km farther north gets him to the Chirundu border post on the Zambian frontier. There, starting at a bridge across the Zambezi River, trucks snake back miles into the bush. “There’s no water, there’s no toilets, there are lions,” says the Zimbabwean. He leans out of the Freightliner’s cab over the hot asphalt, wearing a white T-shirt and a weary expression. “It’s terrible.” By the time he gets his load of tiny plastic beads — the kind used in many manufacturing processes — to a factory on the outskirts of Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, he’s been on the road for as many as 10 days to traverse just 1,600km. Nsukuzimbi’s trials are typical of truck drivers across Africa, where border bureaucracy, corrupt officials seeking bribes, and  myriad regulations that vary from country to country have stymied attempts...

Conference is being hosted jointly by Pakistan and Kenya and will also be attended by dignitaries from other African States. Conference will provide an important opportunity for Pakistani and African businesses to interface, identify the areas for enhanced engagement, and develop proposals for customized economic collaboration. During the visit, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will hold meetings with the Kenyan leadership including Cabinet Secretaries for Foreign Affairs & International Trade, African Community and Northern Corridor Development. Source: IPPMEDIA