Kobero — IT is a big relief to traders at the Burundi and Tanzania border as time for cargo clearance has significantly been reduced, thanks to a pilot project of One Stop Border Post (OSBP) at the Kobero and Kabanga border points. The OSBP pilot project set up by the TradeMark Africa to ease transit cargo clearance at the border post has shortened cross-border procedures for cargo to a single day when everything works perfectly. The project began operations in June, this year at the Kobero and Kabanga border, which is a gateway for transit cargo for Burundi and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Tanzania. It handles about 70 per cent of all cargo transported by road to a landlocked East African Community (EAC) member state. Under the project, border control activities by Tanzania and Burundi authorities are combined under one roof to simplify procedures and save time for transit cargo clearance. A Customs Officer of Burundi government revenue collection agency, Office Burundais des Recettes (OBR), Mr Emmanuel Niyongabo, said here over the weekend that it takes a single day to clear cargo at the OSBP pilot project when traders submit proper documents and the system is working well. "Traders coming from Tanzania come here directly and it takes one day only to clear transit cargo," he told reporters on a site tour of One Stop Border Post facilities which are being built by TMA at Kobero and Kabanga to ease cross-border trade by reducing cargo clearance time....

Kobero, Burundi - 14 November 2014.At a colourful ceremony at Kobero, a border town west of Burundi’s capital Bujumbura, H.E President Pierre Nkurunzinza laid a commemorative stone to signify the commencement of the construction of the Kobero One Stop Border Post (OSBP). In attendance was Burundi’s Minister of Finance and Economic Development Planning, Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza, TradeMark Africa CEO, Frank Matsaert, Commissioner General of the Burundi Revenue Authority, Domitien Ndihokubwayo and governor of Muyinga among others. The Koberoone stop border post is a $6.4 million investment by TradeMark Africawhich will contribute to cutting down transit costs by 30%across East Africa borders Speaking at the ground breaking event, H.E Pierre Nkurunzinza, President of Republic of Burundi said: “As East Africa moves towards total integration, TradeMark Africa is facilitating the process for partner states through various initiatives like this OSBP aimed at reducing the high transit costs which make the region uncompetitive. Once the OSBPs are operational, delays at borders will be significantly reduced, thus benefitting businesses and easing cross border trade within the EAC”. TradeMark Africa (TMA)is funding 13 OSBPs in East Africa, including the Kobero OSBP located at the Burundi/Tanzania border - the pilot post that is proving that the system works. Each post consists of an office building for the border agencies, parking for trucks, a ramp for offloading goods, an inspection/verification warehouse and other facilities that are required at every border post. TMA CEO Frank Matsaert emphasized on TMAs continued investment in Burundi. “The EAC trade corridors have...

After 12 years of divisive negotiations toward Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), the East African Community (EAC) last month became the latest African region to agree to a bilateral trade deal with the European Union. Concluding the talks was not easy, and sticking points among stakeholders remain, particularly around key African exports like Kenya’s horticultural products. The final deal has far-reaching consequences for East Africa’s economic development—not all of them good, as alternatives to such economic liberalization pacts, which critics contend favor the EU, emerge. Following the Cotonou Agreement in 2000 between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states, which aimed to eradicate poverty in those regions and integrate them into the global economy, there was a definitive shift in the nature of the EU’s trade relations with all three regions. Since the 1970s, a preferential trading system had been in place, informed by the idea that such states should be protected from trade liberalization to assist their development. In 2002, however, negotiations toward EPAs began with what eventually became seven subregions of the ACP states. These were justified by the European Commission as a necessary change in order to satisfy World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on Regional Trade Agreements. It was also argued that they would act as a driver of development through the removal of trade barriers. ... Source: World Politics Review

Tanzania’s government is seeking at least $600 million from private investors for the construction of a standard gauge railway line from Uvinza, Kigoma in western Tanzania to Musongati in Burundi. The development comes after Burundi announced last month that it will start exporting between 1.5 million and 3 million tonnes’ worth of nickel per year in the next two years. Burundi has discovered about 10 million tonnes of nickel deposits. Shaaban Mwinjaka, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, said the planned railway, which will have an estimated operating route of 200km, will help transport the chemical, adding that the two countries had already signed a deal. “We are in talks with the Burundi government for a preliminary study for the railway line. We are looking for investors,” the PS said. Big Results Now He added that the new railway line would effectively lower the cost of imported goods in the region. The project falls under the Big Results Now (BRN) initiative modelled on the Malaysian development strategy. Mr Mwinjaka said Tanzania was also planning to upgrade the Kigoma port to cater for the anticipated increase in cargo traffic. “We expect to achieve sustainable socio-economic development and integration by unlocking the underdeveloped potential in Tanzania and Burundi,” he said. He said the government was planning to develop the Kabanga and Dutwa nickel mines in Tanzania. Transit cargo between Tanzania and Burundi is expected to increase to at least 12.8 million tonnes by 2030. Mr Mwinjaka said the government is seeking...

A surge in fuel imports and increased Customs revenues are the results of the rollout of the Single Customs Territory in February, reflecting the benefits of reduced trade barriers. However, the depreciation of the Uganda shilling has denied consumers price discounts. Reduced turnaround times on the movement of fuel, cement and clinker, wheat, used clothes and beverages have spurred significant growth in import volumes. “This Customs arrangement offers local businesses huge benefits in moving goods and raw materials across borders at a lower cost. “But some of these cost savings have been eroded by the depreciation of the Uganda shilling against the dollar, and this has constrained local businesses from passing on new cost benefits realised in the Customs value chain,” said Richard Kamajugo Uganda Revenue Authority’s Commissioner for Customs. The Uganda shilling fell by 2.9 per cent against the dollar during the first quarter of 2014/15. Results from a survey conducted jointly by the Uganda Revenue Authority and the Rwanda Revenue Authority show that the average time spent clearing and transporting cargo from Mombasa to Kampala dropped from 18 days, two hours and 27 minutes to an average of four days and 15 hours after implementation of the Single Customs Territory system. Similarly, clearance and transportation of cargo from Mombasa to Kigali dropped from an estimated 21 days to an average of five days and two hours. The cost of transporting goods from Mombasa to Kigali decreased from an average of $5,200 to $4,200 per trip, and the number...

BURUNDI President Pierre Nkurunzinza has urged increased efficiency by customs and immigration authorities at border posts to boost regional trade, expressing concern over time-wasting and cumbersome procedures. President Nkurunzinza made the remarks at the laying of the foundation stone for construction of One Stop Border Point (OSBP) facilities at Kobero in Muyinga Province that is set to cut on delays in transit cargo clearance at the border with Tanzania. The $6.4 million facilities constructed under financial and technical support of TradeMark Africa (TMA) is aimed at reducing time spent for cargo and passenger clearance at the border posts of Kobero and Kabanga on the Tanzania's side by combining activities of border control agencies of the two countries at one point. TMA is also constructing similar facilities at Kabanga border post and according to officials the two facilities are expected to cut down transit costs across Tanzania and Burundi border by 30 per cent. "Time is money, the concept of one stop border post comes to solve the big problem: Delays in controls at the border," President Nkurunziza told traders and hundreds of Muyungi Province residents at a colourful ceremony held at the Kobero border post over the weekend. He said the OSBP was an important project that would reduce delays to clear cargo at Kobero and Kabanga border posts and in turn contribute to reducing trade costs in East Africa. The project was going along with the objectives of the East African Community (EAC) to reduce delays in crossing our...

A Chinese-funded multibillion-dollar standard gauge railway project in East Africa is coming under fire for failing to meet the needs of the local communities it affects. The new network will sharply improve transportation links to key resource-rich areas in the region, helping to open up access to the world’s newest oil and gas discoveries, but local leaders are increasingly pushing the Asian nation to provide more of what local communities want: decent jobs and transparent deal-making. Once completed, the 2,935-kilometer network is expected to slash freight costs by more than 60%, boost regional trade and provide the first railway link to Uganda’s Lake Albertine Rift basin, believed to contain as much as 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil. But storm clouds are gathering over the project, with local communities in Uganda and Kenya increasingly questioning the bidding processes and demanding better jobs for local communities. “Contracts for the projects are shrouded in secrecy, this cannot be good for us as well as future generations” said Geofrey Ekanya, a member of the Ugandan parliament. “The Chinese are giving us cheap loans, but this should also translate into good jobs for our people.” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed the deal for the project with the leaders of Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Rwanda in May in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Although the project is being undertaken by all the countries jointly, each nation has to individually agree financing arrangements for the section of the project in its territory. The agreement gave Chinese...

Bujumbura - The East African Community (EAC) private sector wants a speedy implementation of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement, saying it will reduce bottlenecks in the movement of goods in transit across the borders. Speaking at the third regional annual meeting of Promoting Agriculture-Climate-Trade linkages in the East African Community (PACT-EAC), which was organised by CUTS International Geneva in Bujumbura last week, Dickson Poloji, a policy analyst at the East African Business Council (EABC), said business players should be sensitised on the agreement and its benefits, especially on the need for a regional trade facilitation committee in the EAC. “The trade facilitation agreement is very crucial to us and good for the private sector. The EAC partner states are already implementing over 50 per cent of the agreement,” Poloji said. All WTO members agreed to the Trade Facilitation Agreement during the ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia in 2013. It sets out provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit and measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. Once implemented, it would speed up the transit of goods to and from landlocked Least developing countries (LLDCs) like Uganda, and reduce the costs involved. While addressing a UN conference on landlocked least developing countries in Vienna, Austria recently, the WTO secretary general, Roberto Azevedo, said LLDCs were vocal in negotiations on cutting red tape in customs and other border procedures during...

The construction of the $3.6b double-track standard gauge railway (1,435mm) linking Kenya’s Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi could become an open door to Uganda’s economy. The standard gauge railway line, which is set to be completed in 2018 under a contract by China Roads and Bridges Company, which the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has focused efforts on designing, developing and maintaining a transport and infrastructure architecture that could facilitate sector growth and accelerate national economic development. According to the budget priorities for FY2014/15, the transport sector is a major priority which aims to pursue world class transportation systems for improved quality of life by ensuring the country is connected and served by an efficient, safe, accessible and sustainable transportation services. The new railway will supplement road transport, thereby increasing the efficiency of the Northern Corridor by providing gateway linking Kenya’s Maritime Port of Mombasa to the landlocked economies of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. It will significantly reduce the cost of road maintenance hence lowering the cost of doing business in the region thereby improving trade and attracting investments. The implementation of the SGR is expected to transform Uganda and the region for the better. An example of Kenya, to satisfy the growing demand for port services brought about by growing regional economies, they are developing a second commercial port at Lamu, under the LAPSSET project. For example, Mombasa Port, Lamu Port will be the beginning of a second transport and economic corridor...

The East African Community plans to allow bond sales across four markets in the bloc as investors look to fund projects such as railways that will link up the region. The framework will allow for the sale of “multi-jurisdictional, multi-currency” debt from within or outside the four-country group, Paul Muthaura, acting chief executive officer of the Capital Markets Authority in Kenya, the region’s biggest economy, said at a conference in Cape Town today. The group that also includes Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda is set to expand 6 percent this year, faster than the sub-Saharan African average of 5.1 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund, as governments in the region invest in roads and energy projects. Kenya sold infrastructure bonds last month for the first time in a year. A railway linking Mombasa, Kenya with Kigali and Kampala is project that may be funded with debt, Muthaura said. Another is the Lamu Port and New Transport Corridor Development to Southern Sudan and Ethiopia project, which will include an oil pipeline and refinery, he said. ‘‘As we see many domestic issuers in any one of the EAC markets moving into the others, they want to be able to capital raise relevant to their pipeline of projects in different countries,’’ he said. One ‘‘regional entity’’ has been approved for a bond sale, Muthaura said, without giving details. ‘‘They’re just looking at the markets to find the right timing for the issuance,’’ he said. ‘‘There are ongoing engagements with other potential issuers. We’re...