The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between East African Community (EAC) partner states and the European Union, search for a sustainable financing mechanism and assent to bills passed by the regional Assembly are among the agenda items of the upcoming summit, an official has said. The leaders of the six EAC partner states are due to meet in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, on Saturday for their annual summit that has been postponed three times in the recent past. While in Kigali, earlier this year, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) passed a resolution urging the Council to find a common stance on partner states’ funding deficit by having it on the agenda of next EAC Summit. Richard Owora, the EAC head of corporate communications and public affairs, told The New Times yesterday that the provisional agenda of the summit also includes matters concerning the EAC Political Federation, the fourth goal of regional integration, after the Customs Union, Common Market and Monetary Union. According to Owora, the 18th Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State will also consider various reports including the “report on the roadmap for the accelerated integration” of South Sudan. South Sudan deposited the instruments of ratification of the accession Treaty on September 5, 2016, and the summit is set to appoint a judge from South Sudan to the East African Court of Justice. South Sudan has already elected its nine members for the fourth East African Legislative Assembly in June. The summit will also consider a progress report on admission...

It used to take an incredible 45 working days to transport goods from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Rwanda, passing through Uganda, a distance of approximately 1,450 kilometers. “You can imagine how expensive that was,” said Mutaawe, Chief Strategy and Results officer at TradeMark Africa (TMA). She has dedicated her career to trade facilitation, working on the public, private and donor sides of the issue, and has seen some dramatic improvements. That shipment time is now down to eight days and counting. This makes a huge difference for traders in delicate or perishable goods which were getting damaged or ruined in transit. “And think of the difference for businesses who were having to ensure sufficient inventory as you wait for your shipment to come through; and the cost of people working across the chain, just following up on the shipment,” said Mutaawe. The improvement is also due to the hard and soft infrastructure improvements supported by TMA. Named for Trade and Markets, the agency is funded by the EU plus six member states, the US and Canada with a pot of $560 million for 2010-17. It focuses on improving trade competitiveness and expanding domestic and regional markets for the East African Community. “We have projects that are aimed at increasing physical access to markets; ensuring infrastructure is in place; that ports are working efficiently; to improve the capacity of ports, their entrance and exits,” said Mutaawe. That route from Mombasa to Rwanda used to include eight weigh-bridges and various...

Kenya Railways Corporation has received an additional 17 freight locomotives, six shunting locomotives, 50 flat wagons for containers and four unit cranes, two weeks to the expected launch of the Standard Gauge Railway. The country has so far received 25 freight locomotives out of the 43 it ordered from a Chinese manufacturer, while 763 wagons out of the 1,620 on order have also been delivered. KRC said the full order of five passenger and eight shunting locomotive and 40 passenger coaches has been delivered. as well as 763 Wagons out of the 1,620 on order. “It is expected that freight uptake via SGR will considerably increase rail transport capacity from the port once the operations commence in December 2017, and in accordance with the commitment made in the Mombasa Port Community Charter, signed in June 2014,” Transport PS Paul Maringa said yesterday at the port of Mombasa. Freight services are scheduled to start once the expansion and modernisation of the Nairobi Inland Container Depot is completed and handling equipment provided and installed. Kenya Railways will operate the freight trains between Mombasa Port and Nairobi as per the traffic volumes available. The freight tariffs are being determined and will be published in time for the commencement of the operations. Source: The Star

Kenya secured Sh21.9 billion financial assistance from China for infrastructure development and drought mitigation. The money includes a Sh19.2 billion grant to deepen ties between the two countries. An additional Sh2.2 billion (150million Yuan) is for measures to tackle drought and a further Sh500 million (5million Yuan) for refugees. The deals were agreed during bilateral talks between President Uhuru Kenyatta, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Kequang at the Great Hall of the People. The talks were on the sidelines of the just-ended Infrastructure International Conference in Beijing, China. Kenya is also angling for part of the Sh870billion China offered developing countries for the multi-billion Silk Road Fund infrastructure development. In turn, the Chinese are enticing Kenya to open her skies. President Xi and Li are seeking partnership in the aviation industry, where Kenya would buy aircraft from China and in return, allow Kenya’s registered planes to access its routes. President Xi is keen to have a comprehensive and strategic relationship with Kenya, as he affirmed his commitment to the conclusion of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). On the commercial front, Uhuru also sought a Sh362billion ($3.59billion) loan for the third phase of the SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu and $161million for the construction of the Western by-pass by the China Roads and Bridges Corporation signed last year. President Kenyatta urged the two leaders to accelerate the issuance of the loans sought from China’s EXIM Bank to facilitate the completion of the projects. “The bank should fast-track the...

Rwanda’s ambassador to China, Lt. Gen. Charles Kayonga has praised the Belt and Road initiative as a platform for Africa to grow with the rest of the world. He said the initiative, pioneered by Chinese leader Xi Jinping gives developing countries space to have a say in the global economy, create jobs and prosperity. The Belt and Road forum opened in Beijing on Sunday. In his opening address, president Xi Jinping said the initiative aims to promote economic interdependence, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. “Manufacturing will open up economies of countries along the belt and road, create employment and reduce inequality,” said the Chinese leader. Hundreds of delegates are attending the forum, including 29 heads of state. Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta are among the leaders in attendance. Among others, the initiative seeks to build a network of infrastructure connecting China to Asia, Europe and Africa in the form of highways, bridges, sea ports and industrial parks. China is injecting $18.8bn in the Silk Road fund to give more momentum in the initiative, Xi said. He also pledged $8bn in aid to developing countries and international organization along the belt and road for education and humanitarian work. Kayonga said the belt and road initiative the vision of Africa’s Agenda 2063, which aims to integrate the continent and to develop sustainable economies. “The Belt and Road initiative is one of the mechanisms for infrastructural development. East Africa is working with China to develop a standard gauge railway...

More than 46,000 jobs and $202 million could be added to the region’s growth domestic product (GDP) per annum if East African Community (EAC) member countries embrace the open sky policy, a new study indicates. The study by the East African Business council (EABC) estimates that liberalisation of the airspace between the six EAC countries could result in an additional 46,320 jobs and $202.1 million per annum in GDP. According to the study, there is compelling evidence that full liberalisation of restricted routes will lead to about 9 per cent lower average fares and a 41 per cent increase in frequencies, which in turn will stimulate passenger demand across the region. “This study demonstrates that increased air service and traffic resulted in positive benefits for the total EAC economy,” said Lilian Awinja, the EABC chief executive officer. Sector players say one of the factors contributing to the slow implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision principles is a lack of clear and specific information regarding the impacts of enacting air transport liberalisation. “The East African Business Council (EABC) and the EAC secretariat, therefore, commissioned the study on the costs and benefits of open skies in the EAC bloc to understand the impact of implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision in East Africa,” she noted . She added that  liberalisation of air transport contributes to “greater trade and tourism, inward investment, productivity growth, increased employment and economic development” besides being supported by regional stakeholders. According to aviation experts, liberalisation offers a means to restructure national...

The Chinese government has approved Kenya’s request for Sh370 billion from the Exim Bank of China for the construction of the third phase of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Malaba through Kisumu. During bilateral meetings between President Uhuru Kenyatta, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, the leaders also agreed to designate the SGR as a critical route that needs enhanced security. President Xi said China will be represented at the launch of the first phase of the SGR next month by a high-level delegation led by a special envoy and two ministers. He also said that China will prioritise capacity building for Kenyan engineers and technicians who will manage the SGR and the trains. The building of the 120km phase II Nairobi-Naivasha SGR estimated to cost Sh153 billion is on course with contracted builder, China Road and Bridges Corporation. The second phase which links SGR to Naivasha’s planned special economic zones and the Olkaria geothermal fields begins a month after the June 1 commissioning of the inaugural 427 km Mombasa-Nairobi line that starts at Mombasa Port. The first phase of the project costed Sh327 billion. President Uhuru, who is in China to attend a major infrastructure conference and hold bilateral talks with Chinese leaders on trade and development, also walked away with more funding for infrastructure projects including Sh16.5 billion for the construction of the Nairobi Western bypass. During the talks, China elevated its relationship with Kenya to that of comprehensive strategic co-operation, giving the...

Britain has assured Kenya its imminent exit from the European Union will not affect trade ties in any way. The assurance by British Prime Minister Teresa May to President Uhuru Kenyatta on the sidelines of the London Conference on Somalia last week came against the backdrop of growing uncertainty over the future of Kenya’s exports to the UK over failure by East African Community (EAC) nations to sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) deal. EPA would guarantee EAC traders duty and quota-free access to the EU market in exchange for gradual opening of up to 80 per cent of the region’s market to European products. Tanzania, the main opposer of the deal, cited the economic and constitutional uncertainties arising from Brexit as the reason for rejecting it. It argued that with the exit of Britain from the core market, it had little to gain from the partnership agreement negotiations and signing up the deal would not in any way spur its national interests. Kenya has been putting up a spirited fight to have all EAC countries get on board as a way of safeguarding unlimited duty free access of its exports to Europe. Tanzania and Uganda have stalled in signing the deal initialised in October 2014, saying it needs to be renegotiated afresh following Britain’s exit from the EU. But following last week’s meeting between President Kenyatta and PM May, the latter assured Kenya its exit from the trade bloc would not affect trade arrangements between the two countries. “The...

Xi made the remarks when meeting with his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, who attended the two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing. Xi said the comprehensive cooperative partnership between China and Kenya has developed rapidly in recent years, and the bilateral ties are at their best time in history. He proposed that China-Kenya ties be upgraded to comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, calling on the two sides to view bilateral ties strategically. The two sides should keep their high-level exchanges, and continue to support each other on issues related to core interests and major concerns, Xi said. Through the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, the Chinese leader said the two sides should build a corridor of industrial economy and jointly forge a new pattern of cooperation integrating the railway, Mombasa port and Mombasa special economic zone. He said the two nations should strengthen cooperation on people-to-people exchanges and advance the program of Chinese culture center. He also called for deepened cooperation on peace and security issues and the judiciary, to deal with transnational crimes. On his part, Kenyatta said the forum had demonstrated to the world the tangible fruits of the Belt and Road Initiative, providing a historic platform for developing and developed nations to discuss cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit. He added that Kenya wants to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China on issues related to African peace and development, and develop a strong Kenya-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and robust Africa-China relations. Chinese...

A new electronic cargo tracking system for monitoring cargo transiting through Kenya to neighbouring countries within the East African Community is expected to enhance trade competitiveness through improved security of cargo along transit routes. The Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) integrates transit cargo tracking platforms for three Northern Corridor Countries namely Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda with plans to roll out the same to include South Sudan, Tanzania and ultimately to destinations outside the EAC bloc. RECTS, which is funded by Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) through a grant from the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID), will add to on-going efforts to reduce the cost of doing business in the region. The cost reduction is through improved cargo predictability and increased truck turnaround time that will ultimately lead to lower transport costs. The system will also enhance cargo safety and help traders to better predict arrival of goods. RECTS will also reduce time wastage because it sends an alert when a truck stays in a particular spot longer than needed. Furthermore, importers will be able to monitor the movement of their goods. Transport delays and cargo theft are among the key concerns to importers and exporters who are forced to pay high insurance cover for goods on transit. This new tool represents a key milestone in the drive to cement East African co-operation as this is the second major step taken after the roll out of the Single Customs Territory initiative in 2013. By integrating transit cargo tracking platforms,...