ENTEBBE, UGANDA - Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo sign agreements to work on key road networks within 24 months, connecting the two countries to ease business. However, security concerns on the routes remain key for business. Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed an agreement to increase trade and investment between the two Great Lakes Region countries. Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC noted that there are numerous trade restricting measures and infrastructure obstacles that raise the cost of doing business in the region. Museveni noted that both Uganda and the DRC now import many products from China, Japan and India, instead of manufacturing them at home. The total distance of the three key road networks will be 1,182 kilometers within 24 months after the respective ministers have agreed on implementation details. “One road we want to work on is from Goli to Mahagi-Bunia. Then the other road would be from Mpondwe to Beni. The other road would be from Bunagana to Rutshuru to Goma. So, when you produce, you supply goods, you supply services. But you also create jobs for the youth,” said Museveni. There have been expressions of fear among business about the militias operating in the eastern D.R.C. that may destabilize trade between the two countries. However, Tshisekedi reassured them that the two countries will ensure there is peace to promote business and development. “We intend to develop or build infrastructure so we can carry out economic...

For Uganda to achieve her ambition of becoming the regional distribution or even a production hub, the country will have to upgrade its transport infrastructure into a coordinated, seamless system. According to an interim study examining the development of a modern and cost-efficient freight logistics system in Uganda, multimodal transport system was zeroed on as the most preferred approach for the country to adopt, because it is the most cost effective compared to other available approaches. An effective multimodal transport system is one where there is integration, and cross interplay, by the various modes of transport including air transport, marine transport, and land transport. Land transport comprises of road, rail and pipeline transport. “The multimodal route is cost competitive vis-à-vis the Northern Corridor,” reads a section of the interim report, a position the stakeholders in their discussions agreed with without much hesitation. Being a land-locked country, Uganda is largely dependent on the regional transportation system to support her international trade endeavours, without which her economy could easily degenerate into abyss. Uganda is dependent on two major transport corridors for international trade, namely; Northern Corridor – connecting Uganda to the port of Mombasa in Kenya and the Central Corridor – linking Uganda to Dar es Salaam port in Tanzania. Currently, roads are the major mode of transport used to transport cargo to and from the ports in the region. But the cost of transportation by road on the Central Corridor is higher than the Northern Corridor because of the distance. The...

COMESA and Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote trade in the region by removing obstacles that impede the smooth flow or trade among the Member States in the region. Working closely with international and regional organizations, such as Trade Mark East Africa, national institutions, the private sector and civil society organizations, this will enable promote trade by unlocking the economic potential of the COMESA region through increased physical access to markets, enhanced trade environment and improved business competitiveness. The MoU marks an important milestone in providing a framework of cooperation and partnership between the two organizations in areas of common interest. These include market access, development or border post infrastructure, improvement of trade environment through trade facilitation and inclusion of the private sector as key players in economic development. The pact was signed by the Trade Mark East Africa Executive Director Frank Matsaert and COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe at the COMESA Secretariat. "We are getting into this partnership to ensure that through policy formulation, creation of trade facilitation tool which are automated as well as standards and non-tariff barrier (NTB) removal so that business people, whether SMEs or large enterprises get the benefits," Mr. Matsaert stated. Secretary General indicated that jointly, COMESA and TMA will implement trade facilitation initiatives in the region through application or respective regional and international instruments. In particular, support will be provided to Member States to implement the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement. The partnership between the two...

Asmara. Economy in the Eastern Africa, which is one of the fastest growing regions, is projected to grow by 6.4 per cent this year, despite facing some major risks. The 14-member region, which has been growing by 6.6 per cent since 2014, faces domestic and global economic risks, but the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) says the countries have recorded improvements in agricultural production and sustained infrastructure investment which sustained growth and will continue to do so. The resolution of the political conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia is also expected to provide a boost to growth in the Horn of Africa. Experts at the 23rd meeting of the intergovernmental committee of senior officials say the countries should now focus on regional cooperation to accelerate their economies. One of the challenges reported is weak trade between the countries with the East African Community (EAC) mentioned to have half of its potential. “Cross border problems affecting the region need a cross-border answer. Enhanced regional cooperation is needed to make regional growth more sustainable and inclusive,” said Mr Andrew Mold, the acting director for the ECA in East Africa who presented an analysis of the macroeconomic situation. Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania are top three countries with the fastest growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The region is also said to have a challenge of debts with Kenya and Ethiopia mentioned staying atop the list. Besides, climate change was identified as another major challenge as the eastern Africa still suffers...

The World Customs Organization of East and Southern Africa on Wednesday dispelled fears that the coming into effect of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement was likely to affect revenue collection among countries in the African region. Larry Liza, director of the customs organization in charge of building capacity said countries will need to put in place implementation measures and legal frameworks aimed at protecting revenue collection. He said there was need for countries to look at a broader picture on what benefits were expected to be accrued from the agreement. "The market may seem to affect revenue collection, but the agreement is expected to be more beneficial to society through increased trade facilitation and business opportunities," he is quoted as saying by the state-run news agency, the Zambian News and Information Service (ZANIS). According to him there was no need for stakeholders to be agitated with the impending implementation of the agreement, adding that it will allow the business community to have access to foreign markets. Source: Xinhau

Timely completion of infrastructure projects is a key ingredient to economic growth. It should be prioritized. This was a shared view at the recently held ‘Innovation Series’, a thought leadership forum organized by Brainchild Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) at the Golf Course Hotel in Kampala. Experts at the forum urged the government and its partners to be more innovative to accelerate timely delivery of planned infrastructure and services to Ugandans in a bid to promote social and economic growth. The Acting Executive Director for Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Eng. Andrew Kitaka said that Innovation in the infrastructure sector is no longer a need but a strategic necessity because it is a key catalyst for growth and development as well as a driver for better and sustainable business performance that leads to industry leadership. Kitaka said that young people should develop applications that will help in solving the traffic challenges in Kampala and the country at large. Andrew M. Mwenda, the founder and strategy and editorial director at The Independent Publications Limited, publishers of the weekly political and business magazine, proposed that KCCA should think of introducing a congestion charge to reduce traffic congestion. Mwenda argued that the levy would provide funds that the city authority would use to invest in infrastructure that is badly needed by city-goers. He also suggested there should be construction of satellite cities outside Kampala in addition to building ferries for water transport, all aimed at reducing congestion in the city of Kampala. According...

With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) set to officially start operating from July next year, there is need for concerted efforts to enlarge the group of State parties under the agreement in excess of the current 28 countries that have so far deposited instruments of ratification. Enlarging the group will see the continent creating a much bigger market that will ensure intra-African trade delivers, in particular by contributing to the continent's industrialisation and structural transformation processes thereby creating more job opportunities and reducing poverty along the way. This was said Tuesday by Stephen Karingi, Director of the ECA's Regional Integration and Trade Division, at the ongoing 23rd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE) for Eastern Africa in Asmara, Eritrea. "To operationalize the AfCFTA, we need to finalize the remaining critical components like goods schedules and rules of origin. We also need to enlarge the group of State parties and to create institutions, establish operative mechanisms, and introduce obligations into law and regulation to effectively implement the AfCFTA," said Mr. Karingi. He said Africa also needs to take complementary measures to maximize benefits, in particular following AfCFTA national strategies; conclude Phase II negotiations, especially competition policy, intellectual property rights, and investment, and use the AfCFTA as a vehicle for achieving the African single market. Mr. Karingi said following the implementation of the AfCFTA, based on the sole reduction of tariffs on goods, Africa's GDP would increase under all scenarios. In preparation for July 2020,...

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uganda, Hon. Sam K. Kutesa, Tuesday officially launched the 1st Uganda – Democratic Republic of Congo Joint Business Forum at the Ministry Headquarters. The Forum under the theme “Promoting Bilateral Trade, Investment and Connectivity for Mutual Peace and Prosperity” is being co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Development; in partnership with Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Trademark East Africa and KTA Advocate. While speaking to the members of the Press, the Minister informed the Meeting that Uganda and the DRC enjoy fraternal and excellent bilateral relations. This is evidenced by the high level exchange of visits including at the level of Heads of State, Ministers and Senior Government officials. The two countries have established cooperation frameworks including the Joint Permanent Commission which have enabled the two sisterly states to achieve common goals and objectives. He further noted that the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the key export markets for Uganda’s exports. Total exports for 2018 stood at USD 531m, with formal trade standing at USD 221m (Two Hundred and Twenty One Million) while, informal trade currently standing at USD312 (Three Hundred and Twelve Million). The 1st Uganda – DRC Business Forum will be presided over by H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda and H.E. Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The objective of the Joint Business Forum...

The east Africa region, the fastest growing sub region on African continent, needs to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to create jobs for 8.5 million youth in the sub region entering the job markets every year. “The struggles that we see today in terms of achieving growth and creating jobs for our youth could be something of the past if we actually work together to exploits the benefits of the free trade area agreement,” said Vera Songwe, UNECA Executive Director of UNECA. She made the statement this morning in Asmara, Eritrea addressing the 23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE). “We know because of the analysis that we do at the UNECA that the African Continental Free Trade agreement stands to deliver about $1.8 billion worth of additional revenue to the continent ad can create about 2 million jobs a year,” she said. The experts are gathered from the 14 countries found in the east Africa sub region namely, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Madagascar, Tanzania, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Rwanda, Seychelles and Somalia. The fastest growing The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) predicts that East Africa sub region will grow at 6.5% by 2020. “This is the fastest sub-region on the continent [Africa]. Today this east Africa region is growing at 6.4%. We expect it to grow at 6.5% by 2020. The overall continent is growing at only 3.4%,” she said, in her...

The Inter African Coffee Organisation (IACO) has joined forces with the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) and the International Coffee Organization (ICO) to launch the Ksh.95 billion ($950 million) ‘Africa Coffee Facility’ (ACF) to boost Africa’s coffee industry and achieve a 40 percent increase in high-quality exports worth $5 billion a year. The ACF is projected to transform Africa’s coffee production – currently 10 percent of the global coffee market – into a vibrant and resilient industry again. Coffee is a primary source of income for more than 12 million households in Africa and contributes a significant proportion of tax income in a number of these countries. The largest annual export value of African countries is recorded by Ethiopia at $762.8m annually, followed by Uganda ($468.4m), Kenya ($229.5m) and Tanzania ($129.2m). Speaking at the event, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri said, “We need to build the capacity of our smallholder producers as well as revamp our producer organizations, empower women and the youth through entrepreneurship development. This includes a value chain transformation from a subsistence to an entrepreneurial orientation among our farmers.” This year the Government of Kenya allocated 3 billion Kenya Shillings (equivalent to USD 30 million) towards supporting coffee producers. Dr. Fred Kawuma, Secretary General of the IACO, said, “Africa produces some of the highest-quality and much-loved coffee in the world but its contribution to the global coffee trade has declined significantly since the 1970s when nearly a third of all coffee was produced on the continent.”...