NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Investments in trade infrastructure as well as the removal of bureaucratic and procedural barriers to economic integration have positioned the East Africa region as the destination of choice for doing business, a study has shown. A study published on Wednesday by the TradeMark Africa (TMA), a donor-funded organization formed to help regional states speed up integration, said the harmonization of product standards has expanded the East African Community (EAC) trade basket. Encouraging results achieved over the past year, including investments in key ports have resulted in reduced cargo transit times on East Africa’s main transport corridors, and accelerated implementation of the EAC’s Single Customs Territory, said TMA Annual Report. TMA Chief Executive Officer Frank Matsaert said the reduction of average time to clear goods at Kenya’s Mombasa port and transport them to Kampala, Uganda to fours days has buoyed the investments in the EAC region. Matsaert said the reduction in the number of customs declarations by 90 percent leading to an increase in trade volumes, an example of fuel imports into Uganda which has increased from 32. 1 million litres to 108 million litres are behind surge in investments. "The results presented in this annual report point to an ever improving trade environment which is expected to spur investments and ultimately benefit the citizens of East Africa," he said in Nairobi. He said poor infrastructure, delays in cargo clearance and customs procedures at the port contribute to the high cost of doing business along the transport corridor....

KAMPALA, Uganda - Transport costs in East Africa are around 60% higher than those in the United States or Europe and this is complicated by the many underdeveloped supply chains which keeps rates up. The British government’s Department for International Development (DfID) has come up with a $16 million fund to pay for ideas that would provide practical savings for East African business people and traders. More money is being sourced. Consultancies and other firms are being invited to offer solutions that will help business people reduce their regional transport costs Over seeing Logistics Innovation for Trade (LIFT), is TradeMark Africa (TMA) who are already at the centre of streamlining cross-border trade across the region “Its aim is to encourage the private sector to invest in East Africa’s logistics and transportation industry, testing out fresh innovations that will help bring down the significant barriers to trade that slow the region’s economic development,” Frank Matsaert, the TMA chief executive officer said recently. He said, “The idea is that LIFT will shoulder part of the perceived risk of investing in East Africa and reduce the cost of entry for companies eyeing the region.” Deadline for applicants is tomorrow, but by last week more than 30 private firms had applied for grants in the first round. Matsaert said, “One example of the type of innovation TMA hopes to trigger through the grants is the development of electronic platforms allowing small businesses to jointly buy space on a truck rather than individually bearing the...

WASHINGTON: Senior officials from East African countries agreed during a workshop that significant progress had been made over the past five years in expanding and improving national accounts statistics and in implementing several 2008 System of National Accounts recommendations. They participated in the IMF’s East African Regional Technical Assistance Center (East AFRITAC) workshop in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Thirteen officials representing the East African Community (EAC) and national statistical offices of Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda took part in the East AFRITAC harmonization workshop during February 16-20, 2015. For each country, the economic statistics strategies were presented and discussed. In addition to harmonizing the national accounts, the statistical offices for Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, and South Sudan will continue to focus on implementing the General Data Dissemination System; while those of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will focus on implementing the Special Data Dissemination Standard. The workshop also helped to ensure that the technical assistance program for real sector statistics is closely aligned with member countries’ needs. The knowledge acquired by participants will contribute to improved planning and implementation of macroeconomic statistics development work in East African countries. Source: Customs Today

* Region has made big oil, natural gas discoveries * Infrastructure a barrier to regional trade By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala DAR ES SALAAM, March 26 (Reuters) - The leaders of five East African countries went on a charm offensive on Thursday to lure investors for a massive plan to upgrade infrastructure in the region that has made big hydrocarbon discoveries. Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, whose combined economies are worth a total $110.3 billion, are working to package joint infrastructure plans aimed at boosting trade and speeding up economic integration in the region. Oil and gas discoveries in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have turned the region into an exploration hotspot. "East Africa is a good bet for investors ... this is about mutually beneficial and profitable investments, for all stakeholders involved whether public or private," Rwandan President Paul Kagame told an investor conference in Dar es Salaam on Thursday. The East African Community (EAC), which groups the five countries, said in a 2015-2025 strategy document it needs between $68 billion and $100 billion over the next decade to build roads, ports, railways, transmission lines and oil and gas infrastructure. Tanzania plans to upgrade its railway and connect land-locked Zambia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to its Dar es Salaam port through a 1,300 km (780 miles) central corridor. Tanzanian transport officials said the government was in talks with CANARAIL, a Canadian rail consulting and engineering firm, for the construction of a 1,464km standard gauge railway...

Negotiations over the establishment of a Tripartite Free Trade Area on trade of goods between the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) have been finalized and will be launched later this year, COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya said during the 34th Council of Ministers meeting currently taking place in Addis Ababa. The tripartite FTA will not only be a major boost in intra- regional trade but would also stimulate the level of economic activity across the region and reduce poverty through employment creation and wealth generation, Ngwenya said Thursday. With 26 countries or 48 percent of the membership of the African Union, 56 percent of the population of the continent, the launch of the free trade area is also anticipated to significantly contribute towards establishment of an African single market Meanwhile, negotiations on the trade in services and trade-related areas such as competition policy and intellectual property rights will commence soon after the launch of the Free Trade Area in goods, he adds. The intra-trade within the COMESA region reportedly reached $22 billion in 2014 as the intra- trade in SADC and EAC has reached $72 billion and $8.6 billion respectively. I am confident that the establishment of the Free Trade Area would follow the same growth path, however it should be supported by accelerated growth pace of infrastructure and industrialization, Ngwenya said. He said even if intra-trade within Africa remains low, the continent recorded intra...

Africa's trading bloc said it has resolved about 80 percent of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) restricting trade, a statement emailed to Xinhua on Thursday said. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said 385 out of 476 NTBs identified as most restrictive to trade in the region through an online reporting system have been resolved while seven were considered non-actionable, according to a statement released by the bloc's public relations officer Mwangi Gakunga. "Currently, eight categories of NTBs have been identified as most restrictive to trade in the region. They include Government participation in trade and restrictive practices tolerated by governments; lengthy customs and administrative entry procedures; technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures," the statement said. According to the statement, other barriers include specific limitations including quantitative restrictions, and quotas; charges on imports; transport, clearing and forwarding; and issues related to transit clearance; and other procedural restrictions. Customs and administrative entry procedures lead in the number of NTBs reported at 37 percent followed by transport, clearing and forwarding with 17 percent and other procedural problems with 15 percent, the statement added. "Part of the reason why reported NTBs take long to resolve is the different understanding the parties involved have regarding them," the statement said. The online system was developed within the context of a tripartite arrangement among three African trade blocs namely COMESA, East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), for reporting, monitoring and eliminating NTBs. It is a systematic way...

The 10th COMESA Business Dialogue under the theme "Taking Action on Illicit Trade- an Industrial Competitive Agenda" begins today at the African Union Conference Center. Hosted by the COMESA Business Council (CBC) and the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA), the meeting is part of the COMESA Summit 2015, which kicked off on Wednesday the 18th of March. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Dr. Armany Asfour, Chairperson of the CBC said that illicit trade and illegal economic activities hamper the growth of businesses, the public and governments alike, making effective Public Private Partnership crucial to tackle it. "They harm our business, they cause governments to lose revenue and they are potential health threats to the public" she said. Solomon Afework, chairperson of ECCSA, on his part said that illicit trades, in their pursuit of unlawful private gain, "distort local economy." In addition to that, as in the cases of illegal arms trade, "they help cause political instability." Ahmed Shide (pictured), State Minister of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) appreciated the timeliness of this year's COMESA theme, "Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization" and emphasized the importance of integration to confront the problem. "It is important that we tackle the issue of illicit trade. And this meeting is a key step in that direction," he said. Even though some of the COMESA member states are working to combat illicit trade, a regionally coordinated mechanism is lacking. Such fragmented nature of the legislations makes the fight against...

The economic integration of East Africa is destined for failure if decisions are not made at the highest level. The recent restriction on Kenya Airways flights into Tanzania was bad economics not just for East Africa, but the continent as a whole. It went against the principles of the free market economy we want to foster, and pointed to how poor leadership can potentially undermines our nascent union. Moreover, it came at a time when intra-Africa trade stands at barely 11 per cent, dwarfing all other regions on earth. Whereas it was a trying period, it is usually such situations that give rise to exemplary leadership that puts the interests of its people first. We could draw invaluable lessons on leadership from Mandela’s determination to put at the forefront the interests of both the black and white citizens in a divided South Africa. The trigger, as narrated by Paul Schoemaker, was the 1993 assassination of Chris Hani, a popular black equal rights advocate who was shot in cold blood by a right-wing white extremist when stepping out of his car. The killer was identified by a white woman, who turned him in. The assassination ignited widespread fury and sparked massive demonstrations in which the blacks wanted vengeance. Recently out of prison, Mandela rose to the occasion and appealed for calm in circumstances that portended looting, violence and mayhem. He said, in part: “Tonight, I am reaching out to every single South African, black and white, from the very depths of...

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) will be renewed before it expires in September. That’s a solid bet. When, exactly? For how long? And will SA be treated the same as other African beneficiaries? Those are questions awaiting an answer. Holding things up is strong opposition from most Democrats, and some Tea Party Republicans, to giving US President Barack Obama “trade promotion authority” (TPA). He needs this to conclude his Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade pact with 11 “like-minded” nations — China is not on the list — that rim the Pacific on both sides. Republicans are using Agoa as a hostage to obtain the Democratic votes they need to give TPA to Obama, with whom on this they are in rare agreement. Without TPA, there will be no TPP. Japan, New Zealand and other partners have said they will not make final offers without assurances that whatever Obama gives them in return will not be tampered with by Congress. The Democrats may be in the minority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but because of dissension within their own ranks, Republicans need help from the Democrats to give Obama what he wants. They have yet to get it. The American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisation, a labour federation, blames stagnant incomes and rising inequality on too much free trade. It has promised to withhold campaign money from any Democrat who votes for TPA. For some, the threat is serious enough: there is...

KISUMU Four border counties want to integrate their trade ties with other East African countries. Narok, Kisumu, Migori and Homa Bay representatives are meeting at Imperial Hotel in Kisumu to discuss regional integration. East African Affairs principal secretary John Konchella Kochella yesterday told the press the border counties want to harmonise rules on cross-border trade. Source: All Africa