The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has been commended for banning plastic bags. Eala passed the Polythene Materials Control Bill 2016 that if it becomes a law it will totally ban the use of plastic bags across the East African Community. According to stakeholders here, plastic materials threaten the ecosystem. The bill proposes the use of biodegradable packaging materials. Moreover, exemptions have been made for materials used in medical stores, industrial packaging, and agriculture. Punishment for those caught breaking the law will be left at the discretion of member states. Despite efforts by authorities to manage the environment, the use and right disposal of polythene materials have been a problem. The Lake Zone director for the National Environment Management Council, Mr Jamal Baluti, says the majority of the people are ignorant about the dangers of plastic materials to the environment. He says people cannot manage the use of plastic bags because there are no other packaging materials to replace plastic bags. "The idea of phasing out plastic bags across the bloc has been discussed by environment agencies of EAC member states." He noted that the amount of resources the government spends to unblock drainage systems and clean the environment is bigger than the cost of replacing packaging practices. According to him, the introduction of right policies and proper enforcement mechanisms will have plastic bags phased out easily. He cites Rwanda, which banned plastic bags in 2008 and replaced them by biodegradable packaging materials. Tanzania banned liquor sachets to protect the...

The European Union (EU) has signed a financing agreement with Africa’s largest trading bloc, COMESA, to enhance trade cooperation, according to a press release on Wednesday. The agreement was signed by EU Ambassador to Zambia and Representative to COMESA Alessandro Mariani and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)’s secretary-general Sindiso Ngwenya. The financing agreement involves a total of 68 million euros (76 million U.S. dollars) to fund the implementation of two programs aimed at reducing the cost of doing business among member countries of COMESA. According to the statement, the trade facilitation program was meant to reduce the cost of doing business and moving goods in the regional bloc and has identified five key priority areas for support. The five areas include monitoring and resolution of non-tariff barriers, implementation of the World Trade Organization trade facilitation agreement, coordinated border management and trade and transport facilitation along selected corridors and border posts. Source: Coastweek .

BUJUMBURA, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza Wednesday launched the week marking the 10th anniversary of Burundi's admission into the East African Community (EAC), committing to pursue the country's integration into the bloc. "I call upon officials closely following up the integration of Burundi in EAC to continue pursuing the country's integration," Nkurunziza said. The EAC, made up of six countries including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda has not yet reached the monetary union and the political federation - the last step of the bloc's integration. According to Nkurunziza, the challenge is "harmonizing" in the EAC in order to spearhead the bloc's integration. "We (Burundi) also have to harmonize our laws in the EAC region in order to avoid being obstacles to the full integration of the bloc," Nkurunziza added. He said such laws that need to be harmonized notably include tax administration policies. Nkurunziza underlined that Burundi has had good relationships with other East African countries even before the colonial period. "Before the colonial period, Burundian citizens went to Tanzania or Uganda to buy goods like salt that could not be found on the local market. Others went to those countries to seek jobs when Burundi was facing famine or hunger," Nkurunziza said. Burundi and Rwanda were admitted to the EAC in July 2007, joining Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. South Sudan joined the EAC in March 2017. Enditem Source: Xinhua Net

According to the DHL Global Connectedness Index, Africa is the world’s least connected continent, when considering the ease of moving people, trade, information and finance. All African countries need to focus on developing connectedness on the continent and building a good trade relationship. During the ongoing 2017 Africa Export-Import Bank Annual General Meeting, (AfreximAGM) taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank, Benedict Oramah and Claver Gatete, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Republic of Rwanda also spoke about Intra-African trade which is also part of the discussion for this year’s Annual General Meeting. Africa contributes about 15 percent to intra-African trade, which is very low when compared with other continents such as Asia and Europe with 50 percent and 70 percent respectively. Benedict Oramah highlighted what Afrexim is doing to boost intra-African trade. He revealed that Afrexim is trying to deal with the biggest constraint with intra-African trade, which is the knowledge of the market in other countries. The bank is also working on developing standards and certification programs. He also explained that Afrexim Intra-African trade is not just trade between African countries but also between Africans and Africans in the Diaspora. “We regard Africans in the Diaspora as the 55th African country,” said Benedict Oramah. So far, Rwanda is making headways in ensuring that it boosts intra-African trade in the East African Region and the entire continent. The country has taken a number of laudable steps to ensure that this is achieved. According...

The Fund is expected to eliminate some of transport hurdles that have been causing delays, Dorothy Nakaweesi writes. Transport ministers of the Central Corridor have signed a $30 million (Shs108 billion) external fund which is expected to eliminate some of transport hurdles that have been causing delays. The Central Corridor route connects the Port of Dar-es-Salaam by road, rail and inland waterways to Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and all of central and northern western Tanzania. This route forms part of the backbone of the regional transportation system in East and Eastern Central Africa carrying the import and export of five countries with a population of more than 120 million people. Uganda's transport minister, Ms Monica Azuba Ntege, speaking at the signing ceremony of a joint commitment at their 8th Interstate Ministerial meeting held in Kampala last week, said: "The economic success of all member countries and the subsequent well-fare of the people will depend on how well leaders will address the issues of infrastructure development in the Central Corridor." Improvement She said this corridor should emphasise improvement in infrastructure facilities which include ports, water ways, railway services, air services, roads, energy and communication. "This Corridor is a critical route for Uganda's international trade because it gives access route to the sea for our exporters and importers. Once all these commitments are fulfilled there will be a reduction in the cost of doing business along this route," She noted. Ugandan traders have...

As you take on the mantle, what key areas are you focusing on to ease doing business in the region? One of the issues I want to look at is harmonising domestic taxes and free movement of persons. We want to see Ugandan workers, Tanzanian workers or Burundian workers seeking temporary employment crossing the borders to any of the member states freely. But this has not been happening and it is inhibiting the principles of the Common Market which seeks for free movement of services, free movement of persons and free movement of capital. But we also want to see the EAC partner states harmonise the laws to control illicit trade in the region. The laws are taking long yet we want them to be done very fast to improve trade in the region. Illicit trade has continued to affect industrial growth in the region going by substandard and counterfeit goods and products clogging our market. What is stalling these processes? The East African Community (EAC) is an independent organ and we have no capacity to push them to do things according to the speed of the private sector. Private sector is profit oriented and we want to see things done yesterday, not or tomorrow. We are now involving Heads of State in the challenges we are facing in doing business so that decisions are made quickly. How are you going to boost intra-regional trade as a Council? I am glad to mention that intra-regional trade is booming among the...

In recent days, the big story in the East African region has been the US threat to withdraw export benefits enjoyed by Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi through what is popularly known as Agoa. Agoa is the acronym for "African Growth and Opportunity Act", backed by a law passed in 2000 in the US to provide a window in which tax-free products would be exported to the US domestic market from Agoa qualifying countries in Africa, including those in our East African Community bloc. For countries which fully utilised the opportunity, Agoa benefits have been immense. Kenya, for example, has so created nearly 70,000 Agoa-related jobs and in 2016, it exported to the US products valued at Sh867 billion, eight times more than the combined exports of Sh100 billion by Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The Agoa Act has thus been a signature trade deal between the US and African fledgling economies. With another extension of the benefits in the last term of President Obama's presidency, the Agoa deal was expected to continue. But now things are changing. A powerful US trade lobby group wants Agoa benefits for EAC withdrawn and have petitioned President Donald Trump to kick the EAC out of the arrangement. The lobby group is targeting Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi because of their decision to phase out importation of second hand clothes and shoes. Kenya is spared because it has rescinded on the EAC agreement to ban "mitumba" or impose huge taxes on such imports. The US lobby...

In line with what was reported last year, there continues to be a noticeable disparity in performance between the two core trade corridors of East Africa. Container trade in the Northern Corridor, which serves Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and parts of Rwanda, expanded by 1%, whereas the Central Corridor, serving Tanzania, parts of Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi and DRC, saw a contraction of 12%. This is according to Steve Felder, Managing Director at Maersk Line Eastern Africa – a member of A.P. Moller–Maersk – who says the 2017 First Quarter East Africa Trade Report issued by the company reveals that aggregate trade levels in the region have improved slightly since 2016, resulting in overall year-on-year growth of 1%. “While conditions in the East Africa region have continued to be challenging due to political instability, ongoing macro-economic headwinds and drought conditions affecting certain countries, we’re seeing healthy competition between the two corridors, both fighting for position in terms of some of the ‘swing’ countries that could export or import cargo through either corridor, specifically Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda.” The Northern Corridor While the Northern Corridor (serving Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and parts of Rwanda) import market experienced year-on-year growth of 6% in the first quarter, it declined slightly (by 1%) from the last quarter of 2016, says Felder. “In Kenya, liquidity is still very tight, caused by last year’s interest rate capping on the bank lending rate. In the next quarter we are expecting to see a slowdown in the import market...

Ethiopia's move and interaction on the economic fronts has not been as anticipated as its contribution and influence on the continent politics and peace building efforts, scholars argue. Scholars argue that owing to the ever growing economy of the county and market the country need to focus on Africa market as well, according to a report filed by Addis Zemen daily. According to 2016 African Development Bank Report, Benin, Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal are the leading countries for their market supply to other African countries. Ethiopia and other African countries have the lowest share in this regard. Africa's GDP has reached over 5.8 trillion USD, registering on average five per cent growth and predicts to reach 29 trillion USD by 2050. The same report indicated that the African foreign trade volume has grown by 200 per cent. Having such growth and market potential, the share of Ethiopia is very much limited, according to scholars. Jimma University Economics Lecturer Dr.Wondaferahu Mulugeta said Ethiopia's trade relations with African countries is very much low. He attributed similar products, lack of infrastructure connectivity with African countries to the reason for low level of the trade relations. According to him, industrial parks and agro processing factories are expanding. The FDI is also increasing. The government is also working to be hub of the light and medium manufacturing in 2025. He said against this backdrop the African market would be essential for Ethiopia in the coming couple of years. President of the Pan African Chamber...

The East African Community (EAC) leaders were on Tuesday urged to pool together and initiate dialogue with the Burundi leaders to end the stalemate in the country. Deo Hakizimana, President of the Independent Centre for Research and Initiatives for Dialogue (CIRID), a Geneva-based civil society organization, called on leaders of the regional bloc to work together to solve the stalemate through dialogue to save citizens from suffering. "The EAC is a respected strong bloc hence the need for the leaders in the region to strongly come out and engage the Burundian leadership and the opposition in solving the long standing misunderstanding in the country," Hakizimana said in Nairobi during the launch of Macky Sall Prize for Dialogue in Africa (PMSDA) in Kenya. The tiny central African nation has been in the midst of a political crisis since President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term earlier in April 2015. Since then several people have been killed, with the toll possibly considerably higher, and 250,000 have fled to neighbouring States with many others internally displaced. The UN has warned of a relapse into full-fledged civil war, calling the government to take all necessary steps to disarm pro-government militias and bring operations of the police, intelligence services and other security forces under the mantle of the law. The Burundi diplomat, who has been involved in peace initiatives, said that Africa is not rich in resources alone but has a wide range of bright people that could help solve internal...