Burundi, the smallest and poorest of the five East African Community countries, is on the edge of a chasm. Barely 48 hours after President Pierre Nkurunziza launched his “re-election” campaign, police executed two demonstrators and injured dozens more. Their crime was exercising their freedom of expression and right to assemble and associate freely. If media reports are anything to go by, these killings are just the beginning of a bloody campaign period. Mr Nkurunziza’s unapologetic and seemingly violent bid for a third term is disturbing. First, it smacks of the big-man syndrome, which “legitimises” total disregard of the supremacy of the constitution. Second, Burundians who have witnessed genocide twice before, in 1972 and 1993, are so scared that thousands have already crossed over into neighbouring Rwanda. Third, those seeking refuge in Rwanda are the majority Tutsi, an unfortunate reminder of the circumstances that led to the worst genocide in human history. RISING TENSIONS Burundians and Rwandans in the US argue that it is just a matter of time before tensions start rising between the two neighbours over the ethnic divide and the materially opposing ruling elite on either side of the border. Mr Nkurunziza is an ethnic Hutu while his Rwandan counterpart, Mr Paul Kagame, is a Tutsi. Both leaders have rebel backgrounds but their leadership styles are totally different. Burundians fear that President Kagame may be compelled to intervene and in the process plunge the two countries into a conflict pitting Tutsis against Hutus. With memories of the 1994...

President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania told public and private stakeholders that the “Government of Tanzania welcomes private-sector participation in the new standard gauge railway (SGR) from the port of Dar-es-Salaam to Isaka and onward to Kigali in Rwanda and Musongati in Burundi”. He said his government also welcomes private-sector investments in toll roads where traffic volumes will offer meaningful returns for the private sector. President Kikwete was speaking to project developers and potential financiers, development finance institutions (DFIs) including the African Development Bank (AfDB) gathered at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Center (JNICC) in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania on March 26 for the Central Corridor Presidential Roundtable and High-Level Industry Forum. The goal of the Forum was to present priority projects on the Central Corridor to potential investors. Other Heads of State in attendance were Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Joseph Kabila of DRC sent high-level representation. The Heads of State at the meeting echoed President Kikwete’s call for the private sector to be proactive in working with governments to find much-needed finance to support accelerated development of East Africa’s infrastructure. The Central Corridor from the port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania to the hinterland countries of Burundi, Eastern DRC, Rwanda and Uganda is the second-busiest trade and transport corridor in East Africa after the Northern Corridor from the port of Mombasa in Kenya. With discoveries of oil and gas in East Africa, the need for upgrading and...

Arusha. The private sector should now contemplate financing development projects in the East African Community (EAC) bloc as a measure to cut down donor dependency. EAC Secretary-General Dr Richard Sezibera said in Kampala on Friday that the growing portifolio of the projects under the Community also called for diversifying the organisation’s resource base. “There is a need for the Community to tap into the potential funding from the private sector through the establishment of an EAC Private Sector Fund,” he said when he addressed CEOs from the private sector in Uganda. The initiative has been made by the Uganda business community and to start with some $20million would be raised to set up the fund expected to boost the participation of the private sector in on-going integration process. “The idea behind the fund is to see how we can ensure that the private sector plays a bigger role in the integration of the EAC. The fund will be used to address various challenges facing the private sector within the EAC,” the Community boss stated. Hosted by the East African Business Council (EABC) in collaboration with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), EAC Secretariat and Trade Mark East Africa, the Forum brought together over 150 key business leaders. Also in attendance were owners and CEOs of private businesses in Uganda who met to dialogue on issues impacting doing business in Uganda and the region as a whole and strategise on the way forward. Uganda’s minister of State for EAC Affairs, Shem...

By 2013, the U.S. had a trade deficit with Africa, importing more from Africa ($51 billion worth) than it was exporting to Africa ($35 billion worth), according to a report in East Africa BusinessWeek by John Sambo. Trade between the U.S. and Africa has grown 7 percent per year over the last decade, with U.S. companies investing $10 billion in African countries, second only to $11 billion from the U.K. More than 400 companies generate more than $1 billion in revenue in Africa, and many are American companies such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, General Electric, General Motors, Proctor and Gamble and Ford, BusinessWeek reports. Walmart plans to open 63 new stores in five African countries by December 2016. Ten economies account for 80 percent of economic growth. These include six in Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa; and four in North Africa: Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Libya. But the U.S. share in Africa’s trade has declined from 13 percent in 2001 to 7 percent in 2013, bypassed by China, which grew its share from 3 percent in 2001 to more than 14 percent over the same period. U.S. President Barack Obama’s President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa came out with its first report on how the U.S. can strengthen commercial ties with Africa following the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit of August, 2014. The council made eight recommendations that it says could hold the key to improving U.S. trade with Africa. These include: Improving perception of doing...

WASHINGTON, USA - Earlier this month, the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (DBIA) came out with its first report on how the United States can strengthen commercial ties with Africa. DBIA, which is chaired by Dominc Barton who is deputised by Karen Daniel, is a follow-up of President Barack Obama’s hosting of the US-Africa Summit last year. The report holds back no punches. Africa’s growth is about much more than just resources. Three sectors contributed more to growth from 2007 to 2013 than resources, namely wholesale and retail trade (22% of real GDP growth); agriculture (21%); and transportation and telecom (12%). Resources meanwhile contributed just 11% of growth in this period. Twenty-eight of the top 30 economies recorded positive growth from 2000 to 2013, and 11 of the top 30 averaged rates above six percent per annum over that period. For companies focused on a few key countries, the top ten economies account for 80% of economic growth – these include six in Sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana; and four in North Africa: Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Libya. Over the last decade, trade between the United States and Africa has grown at a healthy rate of seven percent per annum. By 2013, US merchandise trade with Africa totaled $86 billion, with U.S. imports from Africa ($51 billion) outweighing US exports to Africa $35 billion). Over the last decade, US companies have invested $10 billion into African countries, second only to $11 billion...

KIGALI, Rwanda - Rwanda’s Ministry of East African Community held the third MINEAC-Private sector breakfast meeting to review the challenges that business people face when using the Central Corridor to and from Dar es Salaam. Present were leading businessmen and women from different companies and sectors that range from transport, logistics, export-import, mining, manufacturing, freight forwarders and shippers who predominately use the central corridor for business. “The Central Corridor is very important for Rwanda’s trade as it accounts for over 60% of the regional trade and therefore all initiatives aimed at improving the central corridor will have a direct impact on transport costs, and competitiveness thus contribute to the reduction of cost of doing business in Rwanda,” Rwanda’s Minister of East African Community Affairs, Amb. Valentine Rugwabiza said. The Minister was speaking during the meeting that focused mainly on “Accelerating the removal of Non-Tariff Barriers along the central corridor”, held last week in Kigali. “This is why last month our leaders came together in Dar-es-Salaam to focus precisely on those two things, how to improve efficiency on the Central corridor and how to work together (governments and business people) to develop the Central corridor,” Rugwabiza said. The Central Corridor is a trade and transport corridor which covers the United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Tanzania. “The largest part of the Central corridor is in the United Republic of Tanzania and therefore this is why Tanzania is needed to do a lot in terms of improving...

Nearly a month after Rwanda and Tanzania held bilateral talks on how to increase efficiency on the central corridor, members of the business community say little is being done by the Tanzanian authorities to improve the situation. The reluctance to eliminate NTBs has continued to cost traders millions of dollars and could soon reach billions if the situation is not treated with a great sense of urgency. For example, importers still have to part with $4,200 and $5,000 to ship a container from Dar es Salaam to Kigali, a distance of only 1,497 kilometres. This, businesspersons say, is too expensive and affects their competitiveness. The traders were speaking during the third breakfast meeting between the private sector and Ministry of East African Community affairs, in Kigali, yesterday. The traders say that up to now, regional customs transit guarantee issued by Rwanda is not activated in Tanzania Revenue Authority system which is a challenge to Rwandan clearing firms. Also Rwanda freight forwarders are not registered on Tanzania TRANCIS limiting handling of EAC transit cargo. John Bosco Rusagara, the chairperson of Rwanda Shippers Council, said this has restricted companies in the country to only handle internal-bound cargo. Rwandan traders most often face discrimination, delays and their right to access to customs premises are often violated, Rusagara said. This could affect Rwanda's competitiveness given the fact that the Central Corridor handles more than 60 per cent of the country's total trade. "We are losing a lot of money through bribery, corruption, bureaucracy, discrimination,...

FINALLY Africa's free trade area comprising of 26 countries with a combined population of over half a billion and a combined US$1.1tri gross domestic product (gdp) will be launched in Egypt next June. The Tripartite FTA will account for half of the membership of African Union, that contributes just over 58 per cent total GDP and 57 per cent of the total population on the continent. Acting Director of Trade, Investment and Productive Sector at East African Cooperation Ministry, Mr Bernard Haule, said the African grand FTA launching will usher in trade in goods at zero tariff among the members who belong to Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). "Leaders from the tripartite blocs who will include President Jakaya Kikwete as current EAC Chairman, will launch it in Egypt at a summit to be held next June," Mr Haule said saying negotiations on the subject among the three regional blocs are almost concluded. Mr Haule said it's only clauses on movement of business persons and settlement of disputes which are not yet concluded as part of Phase I of the negotiations while Phase II which will involve trade in services and intellectual property rights are yet to start. "The heads of state will also give a directive on the beginning of negotiations relating to trade in services and dispute settlement mechanism," he pointed out. Since 1980, African leaders have been mulling the idea of establishing a grandeur FTA...

Arusha — The training of Judicial Officers on Judicial Management of Commercial and Trade related Disputes in the EAC context organized by East African Judicial Education Committee (EAJEC) and the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with Rwanda National Judiciary and Trademark East Africa (TMA) concluded yesterday in Kigali, Rwanda. The 20 - 23 April 2015 training aimed at enhancing the knowledge of Judicial Officers on the Management of Commercial and Trade related Disputes in the EAC Context as well as enabling them to effectively perform their roles in the EAC integration matters. Addressing the Judicial Officers at the training during the official opening, Chief Justice of the Republic of Rwanda, Hon. Prof. Sam Rugege noted that given the increased pace of the EAC integration, disputes are bound to increase and as such there is need for Judicial Officers in the region to regularly enhance their knowledge on the EAC Trade Laws and the management of commercial and trade disputes. He reiterated the paramount importance of the Judiciaries in the integration process and noted that the training was offering an opportunity for the stakeholders to play an active role in the promotion of justice. "The Judiciaries are expected to play a vital role in the EAC integration and actively participate in the development of the East African Community jurisprudence" asserted Rwanda's Chief Justice. Hon. Chief Justice Sam Rugege emphasized that e-commerce was increasingly becoming important both at national, regional and global levels, with lots of advantages in commercial transactions such as mobile...

JAKARTA - INSTANT noodle producer Indofood plans to build a factory in Morocco, its sixth in Africa, this year. It is one of a growing number of Asian companies investing in the continent of late. More natural resources from Africa, such as crude oil from Angola, are also flowing to Asia. But trade between both regions remains well below its potential, and business leaders on both sides today agreed to form an Asian-African Business Council (AABC) to step up links, share know-how and boost investments. Source: The Straits Times/Asia