Recently, the permanent secretary in the Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation ministry, Prof Adolf Mkenda, lamented that Kenya had slapped a ban on rice imports from Tanzania, noting that the ban is allegedly on account of the commodity’s low quality and packaging, Prof Mkenda said Tanzania has demanded an explanation over the ban, which suggests that a new trade tiff is brewing. The ban comes a few months after President John Magufuli and his Kenyan counterpart, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, intervened to get their ministers in charge of East African Community (EAC) affairs to resolve an earlier trade dispute. Indeed, there are unresolved trade concerns between Tanzania and Kenya, and this latest only adds to the woes. But as good, old members of the EAC, we need each other in the regional integration stakes – along with the other four EAC member states, namely Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. So, tit-for-tat decisions should be avoided in the best interests of our peoples and economies. Indeed, such developments do not augur well for EAC cooperation and economic integration. And, in that regard, the relevant authorities must always seek to address contentious issues promptly, amicably and conclusively. Source The Citizen

Kampala, Uganda. 17th Sept 2018.   The 2018 Global Logistics Convention, under the theme ‘Freight Logistics: The Edge to Competitiveness’ is currently underway at Kampala Sheraton Hotel, hosted by Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA) in partnership with the National Logistics Platform and the Ministry of Works and Transport. While opening the Global Logistics Convention, Hon Monica Azuba Ntege, the Minister of Works and Transport highlighted government’s commitment to developing the logistics industry noting that this is showcased by the transport infrastructure diversification approach taken by government  that covers  road, railway, air and water. “In order to overcome the supply chain bottlenecks associated with over-reliance on the Northern Corridor, Government is developing the Southern – route  ( Central Corridor) via Water Transport from Port Bell to Mwanza Port in Tanzania. A new port at Bukasa is being developed which will also provide faster and cheaper means of transport directly by ship to Musoma or Mwanza in Tanzania and then by land to Dar es Salam or Tanga at the Indian Ocean. This project is set to be completed in 2020,” Hon Azuba said, adding; “The National Airline is being revived. A new airport is also being developed at Kabaale in Hoima District. The objective is to increase Uganda’s competitiveness by reducing the cost of air transport and ease connectivity to and from Uganda, with the intention of leveraging opportunities in the tourism, agriculture, minerals, and oil and gas sectors.” In his remarks, Adrian Green, Head of Growth and Economic Management at UKAid underscored...

In 2006, Uganda confirmed that it had discovered oil. It was a moment that would continue to define Uganda’s future. During the period of discovery and later developing the oil fields, logistics companies have played a crucial role. Right from the start as the country was in the process of discovering oil, logistics companies were moving equipment to the Albertine Graben. Indeed the Oil and Gas did contribute to the growth of logistics companies. Entities likeThreeWays Shipping, Multilines and Bemuga expanded their fleet as a result of the demand by the oil companies. In fact, at the time when oil companies were awaiting the government to approve production licenses, the most affected operations were those of logisticscompanies. They were forced to restructure. However, those were short-term blips. The long-term presents greater opportunities. The estimates indicate that even before oil is recovered, about $10billion will be spent. For Uganda’s economy, that money will be transformational. The estimate for jobs to be created is about 150, 000. Some of these jobs will be with logistics companies. It is important to note that the specialized jobs in the sector are the least whereas the non-specialized jobs – like drivers – are the most. Once oil companies approve their Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) in the oil sector, then it will open up for further investment by logistics companies.According to the Uganda government, there will be vast equipment to bring into the country in order to deliver first oil. The equipment and materials – mostly...

The Minister of Works and Transport Monica Azuba Ntege has said government will sign a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Transport and Logistics sector to facilitate public and private partnerships (PPP). Azuba said government was already reviewing the National Transport Development Strategy to include the logistics sector so that it can be helped to develop and improve as it is crucial for economic Development This was during the official opening of the 2-day Global Logistics Convention 2018 taking place at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala. Minister Azuba said Uganda has been involved in infrastructure works to improve transportation of goods and services and facilitate trade and would continue to invest heavily in roads, railway, water and air transport to enable trade. “We have increased the number of Kilometers of the constructed roads from 1000 to 4500 in the last 10 years. We are in plans to construct the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Currently, major works to improve Entebbe airport are underway and government is in its last stages to revive the National Airlines. These will all facilitate the transport and Logistics sector and help in improving the country’s competitiveness,” she said. The National Logistics Platform supports Trademark East Africa’s strategy to reduce transport (road, rail, and air) cost and time along transport corridors by 10 percent and increase efficiency in private sector logistics services provision. It also expected to enhance customs and other trade-related agencies efficiency (25% reduction in time to process trade documentation) through integrated trade management systems and...

The value of foreign direct investment in Uganda increased by about 21 per cent last year to $700 million in spite of difficult economic conditions, with notable gains in the manufacturing, oil and gas sectors. But the investment outlook could come under pressure from latest political tensions, analysts warn. While Chinese-owned factories are engaged in production of building materials and beverages, new factories in eastern Uganda are focused on processing limestone, phosphates and iron ore. Investments in the cement industry are largely motivated by a considerable backlog in housing estimated at more than 500,000 units, projects such as the expansion and upgrade of Entebbe Airport, the planned 77km Kampala-Jinja Expressway and high demand for construction materials in markets like South Sudan. The cement plants in eastern Uganda include the Simba Cement factory, a subsidiary of National Cement Kenya with production capacity of one million tonnes per year, valued at $55 million. A new Hima cement plant in the same area has a production capacity of 800,000 tonnes per year and is valued at $40 million. This plant belongs to Lafarge Holcim, a global cement supplier and parent company to Bamburi Cement of Kenya. Renewed interest in Uganda’s oil and gas sector last year stimulated fresh investments in this industry as some old players returned to the country and new oil field services firms joined the sector. Political tensions Delays in approving field development plans submitted by Tullow Oil Uganda, Total E&P Uganda and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation slowed...

East African banks are bracing themselves for yet another period of reduced earnings as governments move to set up treasury single accounts to mop up public funds from commercial banks. The policy shift, which has been approved by the East African Community partner states, is expected to reduce cashflow within the banking sector and subsequently stifle economic activity by reducing lending to the productive sectors of the economy. The regional bloc has resolved that each partner state implements a Treasury Single Account (TSA) to ensure complete oversight over the government’s cash flows and to reduce the cost of keeping public money in several commercial banks. Tanzania’s Finance Minister Phillip Mpango said the move would reduce the number of government accounts operated in commercial banks and the Central Bank and reduce costs related to services offered by commercial banks to the government. The implementation of this policy comes as regional banks continue reporting mixed results attributed to a number of factors, including high levels of non-performing loans, high operating costs, slowdown in economic activity and controlled interest rates in some countries such as Kenya. The regional banks that have released their half-year financial performance for this year are Bank of Kigali, KCB, Equity Bank, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, Barclays Bank Kenya and Stanbic Bank Uganda. Related Content EA states opt for one bank account to curb misuse Kenya to launch Treasury Single Accounts in fight against graft In Kenya, KCB Group and Equity Bank announced profit after tax of $121 million...

ARUSHA - The East African Community (EAC) Gender Policy has been launched, with a call to member states leaders and stakeholders to use it to deliver gender equity and equality to all East Africans. Monday's launch of the policy in Arusha, Tanzania followed its adoption by the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Kampala earlier this year. Its aim is to mainstream gender in all aspects of the EAC integration process by promoting the different and complementary roles of men and women in all regional activities. “As the EAC secretariat, we appreciate that despite these challenges, partner states have made tremendous advances in addressing the ensuring gender equality as a key principle of the EAC integration," said Christophe Bazivamo, the EAC deputy secretary general of productive and social sectors, whose speech was delivered by Mary Makoffu. Makoffu is EAC's director of social sector. "The policy will further strengthen the mainstreaming of gender concerns in the planning and budgetary processes of all sectors in the EAC organs, institutions and partner states,” she said on behalf of Bazivamo. Ahead of the launch, Sheila Kawamara Mishambi, a former EALA member spoke passionately about gender matters. "People do not realise how easy it is to ignore gender equality issues. I cannot count the number of times I have been invited to a programme where we had to reword entire programme documents last minute because gender equality issues were not considered,” she said. Mishambi said an active gender policy would ensure that such scenarios are reduced,...

The story of Africa’s trade with itself is grim. According to COMTRADE 2016, intra-European trade stands at an estimated 60 per cent, intra- Asian trade at just over 40 per cent while intra-Africa trade stands at a low of about 20 per cent. Historically, the freedom of movement of goods and people has always been a natural attribute of growing societies. Presently, this movement is paramount to building Africa’s regional economic integration, facilitating trade and fostering economic growth. When we look at Intra-European trade comparatively, the establishment of the European Union’s (EU) single market in 1993 revitalised the EU economy significantly. Businesses especially those in the manufacturing sector enjoyed the fruits of economies of scale because they were able to operate across borders. With access to a greater diversity of products and markets the competitiveness of the region rose remarkably. This vibrant single market was made possible through the elimination of barriers (tariff and non-tariff) such that citizens and industries could benefit from direct access to 28 countries and over 500 million people. This resulted to higher GDP, increased employment opportunities, increased trade, and better investments into the EU economy. Our regional integration has constantly been hampered by among others political instability, poor infrastructure, inadequate power supply, inadequate market intelligence, high cost of doing business and corruption. In turn trading with each other has become a costly affair. A report by the African Development Bank states that only 75 per cent of countries in the Top 20 most visa-open countries...

The conversation about logistics cannot be discussed without trade. Trade opens up borders and allows for the free movement of goods. The most recent development on the African continent was the signing of an African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) by 44 African countries in March 2018. The ambition of the agreement is to boost intra-African trade with the eventual aim being creating one single trading bloc for African countries. It seemed like a mountain to climb prior to the signing of the agreement considering that negotiations started in 2015. These negotiations are being led by the African Union with support from entities like UNECA. The signing alone marked a significant milestone on the continent especially since Africa as a trading bloc has lagged behind markets like the European Union. Total trade among African countries is still below 11%, according to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). If the intra-African trade improves as a result of this agreement, then it would present an opportunity for logistics companies because all the available goods will need to be moved around the continent. The economies in Africa are growing and countries continue to invest in infrastructure projects that would boost industrialization. As countries do this, they will need to access markets. Some of those markets are available in Africa. Often it is noted that Africa’s trade imbalance with countries like China remains large. The opportunity as a result of the emerging trade agreements on the continent would be that Uganda gets to...

SYPELGAZ, a trade union for energy, water and sanitation, says that despite the delays in resolving the case involving former employees of the energy and utility agency, EWSA, something constructive could happen after a meeting was held last week to resolve issues. The union petitioned court after 600 employee of EWSA, which has since been split into two companies – the Rwanda Energy Group (REG) and Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) – were dismissed from work in 2015. In May this year, the parties discussed a proposal by the Ministry of Infrastructure to settle the matter amicably. What was agreed included suspending filed lawsuits during the negotiation period to focus on reaching an amicable solution. The trade union accuses the Ministry of Infrastructure and its affiliated agencies for dragging their feet and lacking of commitment to resolve the issue as agreed during the May meeting in which parties resolved to conclude negotiations within two months. After last week’s (Wednesday) meeting, which was chaired by Ron Weiss, the CEO of REG, Jordi-Michel Musoni, the president of SYPELGAZ, said they are “hopeful”. “We are happy that there is at least this historic step but the commitment of two months is long overdue because of some complications that should not be. Workers are not used to seeing, in Rwanda, a public figure promising something publicly and fail to honour,” he said. Last year, SYPELGAZ petitioned court over the alleged illegal dismissal of more than 600 former employees having exhausted other avenues to settle...