Kenya Railways (KR) has received another batch of locomotives and rolling stock that will be deployed on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). It consists of three passenger locomotives, eight passenger coaches, and 120 open-top wagons which arrived at the port of Mombasa aboard two ships from China. The firm received the first batch of the locomotives and rolling stock in January with the second, third and fourth batches arriving last month. To date KR has received eight freight haulage heavy duty locomotives for mainline use out of the total 43, two shunting locomotives out of the eight on order and 330 wagons out of the total order of 1,620. Source: Media Max

The first SGR train will leave Mombasa station for Nairobi on June 1. Transport CS James Macharia said phase one of construction is 99 per cent complete. The railway project from Mombasa to Nairobi will cost Sh327 billion. Macharia said tracks have been laid from Mombasa to Nairobi South in readiness for the first run. He made the announcement on Monday when he briefed President Uhuru Kenyatta on the progress of the SGR at State House, Nairobi. The President commended the progress made and underscored the importance of the project in transforming the transport sector. The meeting was attended by China Communications Construction Company Vice President Chen Yun and China Roads and Bridges Corporation President Lu Shan. Macharia said test-runs of locomotives, tracks, signalling and communication facilities is ongoing. He said construction of 33 stations is also about to be completed, 15 locomotives have been received, while Sh15 billion has been paid out as land compensation. Some Sh84 billion has been used under local content, with people living along the railway line getting direct employment. Others have benefited through delivery of goods and services to the project. The CS said 60 Kenyan students have been offered scholarship to pursue railway and train-related engineering courses in Chinese universities. Another 300 technicians trained by the CRBC at the Railway Training Institute are currently attached to the SGR project. CRBC President Lu said his company has offered Sh1 billion to develop an engineering school at the Railway Training School. The meeting discussed phase...

On February 13, a report on Lapsset’s environmental and economic impact was published, and for the first time Kenyans have a clearer picture of what this mega project will do for Lamu’s economy. (This report is available on Nema’s website) The report by the Lapsset Development Authority, which I urge all Kenyans to read, has debunked myths and misconceptions on infrastructure spending. It clearly shows the dividends such projects are expected to yield. These benefits will be felt across various counties. Natural justice demands that we first have a look at Lamu county, where the project begins. Lamu primarily depends on fishing, and this is where Lapsset will have the biggest impact. Fishing accounts for three out of four jobs, but the industry is yet to scale up and diversify into value addition, which would create more skilled jobs and increase earnings. For lack of infrastructure, many a fisherman relies on the activity for subsistence living, not as a source of gainful employment. However, this is set to change with the proposed fishing port, which will be part of the larger Lamu Port. Building a fishing port and creating capacity for local fishermen will enable them to venture into the deep sea to exploit the rich Exclusive Economic Zone, whose waters are home to over 150 varieties of fish. This rich catch would then be taken to the fishing port for value addition. Fish fillets, fish sticks, breaded shrimp, canned tuna, fish oil and other derivatives such as fish meal...

Kenya is banking on marketing campaigns in leading global cruise conventions and enhanced security to increase the number of international tourists arriving by sea. Last year, the Port of Mombasa was voted Africa’s leading cruise facility for the second-year running by the World Travel Awards. “Mombasa is a preferred destination for cruise holidaymakers since after they arrive at the port, it takes them a short time to head to national parks for game drives,” said Tourism Cabinet secretary Najib Balala. Cruise tourism, he said, is a lucrative market for Kenya, adding that visitors arriving by sea are high-end holidaymakers. To tap the potential of this segment, Kenya is building a Sh350 million cruise ship terminal at the port. The project, which is expected to be completed before the forthcoming cruise tourism season in November this year, would significantly boost the industry as the port currently lacks a facility for catering to global international holidaymakers. Mr Balala, Kenya Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer Betty Radier and officials from the Kenya Ports Authority were in Miami, US, on Monday, where they participated in the Seatrade Cruise Global convention which closed its doors on Thursday. The forum is the cruise industry’s premier global event and brings together business, industry cruise lines, suppliers, travel agents and partners in the sector. As the epicentre of the cruise industry, Seatrade features exhibitors and attendees from around the world including key industry players. Mr Balala said Kenya’s participation in the Miami convention would boost the country’s growing...

The question of the spirit and pace of East African integration was prominent at the just ended sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly in Kigali. The members were clearly exasperated by what they considered starvation of funds to the Community by partner states which had severely crippled its activities. This prompted members to ask: “Are we really serious about integration?” In March 2014, Charles Njonjo, the once powerful Attorney General of Kenya, warned that the East African Community was likely to face the same fate as its earlier version that collapsed in 1977. At the time many people disagreed with the analysis that had led him to the gloomy conclusion. Three years later, that warning and the legislators’ concerns lead to other questions. Is enthusiasm for integration waning? Or is Trumpesque country-first positioning hindering it? East Africans have long recognised that they are fated to live closely together. It is both aspiration and a fact of history. And so they always dream about how to make the bond work stronger and build big promises of what it should be like. But they also have a knack for knocking down what they are trying to build. Some clever people might start talking about an East African curse. In the early 1960s, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania formed the East African Community (EAC). The EAC was hailed as a shining example of regional integration. For a decade, East Africans lived through what may be called the glory years of integration. Then as...

Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Rwandan business community to foster trade ties between the two countries. Speaking during the second edition of the Rwanda Business Forum in Nairobi, KNCCI Chairman Kiprono Kittony said the agreement would deepen dialogue and establish new areas of collaboration.   “With just 12 per cent of inter-country trade among African nations, there is so much opportunity and room for growth between us,” he said. Source: Standard Media

A survey conducted by the East African Institute showed less than 5 per cent of youth between the age of 18-35 years identify as belonging to the polity that is the East African Community. They believe the EAC is a political construct of the elite — some regional trade deal to open up markets for free movement of goods, labour and capital. The community of the people of East Africa is not just a figment that dwells in the minds of the political and business elite. It is more than an expansionist or federal obsession of the Arusha bureaucrats. The Community is more than the lofty dreams of common currency or common trade tariffs. There is something more wholesome — we the people. We are the Community. The community, joined by bonds of kinship and exchange as are ancient as the hills. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta or Milton Obote did not bequeath the Community to us. When they created the first EAC, they were merely repairing the division that was wrought upon the people of East Africa by the British and the Germans. Across the borders, we share languages, traditions and beliefs. We share the picturesque beauty and splendor of Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika, the Indian Ocean, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Elgon, the Great Rift Valley, the Mara and yes the iconic statuesque men and women of the savannas. More importantly, our destiny is shared through the fears, hopes and aspirations of our youth. When asked what the...

This century is Africa’s to own, or to lose. Economic transformation is occurring across the continent, from Mauritius to Ethiopia and Ghana, across East Africa, and for some, like Rwanda, the changes are coming breathtakingly fast. New natural resources are being discovered. Investments in health and education have led to rising life expectancy, reductions in maternal and child mortality, and an increasingly educated young population. In regions such as East Africa, massive investments in infrastructure – energy, roads, rail and IT – are being made, driving growth and providing employment. Although the growth is still patchy, and there remain areas of political instability, insecurity and conflict, the continent has an agreed blueprint for dealing with her challenges and investing in her future – Agenda 2063. Africa’s problems have been studied and analysed over and over. Plans and blueprints exist, in ministries across the continent, and for all the Regional Economic Communities. East Africa has Vision 2050, aiming to turn the region into an upper middle-income bloc by 2050. The time for planning and analysis is over. Now is the time for execution. But to succeed, we need to move with dispatch, aware that we are in competition with the rest of the world, and that this competition will get tougher, not easier. One of the critical game changers for Africa is the 26-member Free Trade Area between Comesa, EAC and SADC. The agreement, first mooted in 2008 in Kampala, and signed in 2015 at Sharm al Sheikh in Egypt, covers...

A new trade facilitation tool was launched Tuesday in Kigali aimed at enhancing intra-Africa trade. The One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) Sourcebook is expected to help governments improve cross-border and intra-regional trade across Africa. The second edition of the sourcebook was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), NEPAD, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The tool was launched at a regional workshop on the OSBP. The workshop runs up to March 16. Participants are exchanging views on further development of OSBPs in the continent. Participants were drawn from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and South Sudan. Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, the NEPAD chief executive officer, said the trade facilitation tool seeks to promote a coordinated and integrated approach towards easing trade, movement of people, and consolidating security. He pointed out one-stop border posts are crucial in facilitating trade on the continent because clearance time reduces for both travellers and goods under one roof. Mayaki said: “It is envisaged that the OSBP project will help reduce the cost and time transporters take to ferry goods across borders.” Mayaki affirmed NEPAD’s commitment to support initiatives that promote trade on the continent. He also urged governments and key stakeholders to fully utilize the sourcebook to help them determine the best way to develop OSBPs in each region. Snowden Mmadi, an infrastructure expert at COMESA, said studies show that time wasted clearing at ports, borders, and...

Kenya and the European Union (EU) have exuded confidence that three East African countries yet to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) will do so during the next month’s head of state and government summit, unlocking the current stalemate. Kenya hopes her neighbours Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi will sign the trade protocol so that the region can enjoy duty and quota free market with EU. “We have hopes that the rest of the EAC countries yet to sign so that we can move together as a bloc,” said Dr Chris Kiptoo principal secretary international trade on the phone. Negotiations on the 14-year-old trade deal were concluded in 2015. EAC and EU  agreed to append signatures as well as ratify the same through their legislative structures. Principal Secretary for East African Affairs, Betty Maina last week, during a public policy breakfast meeting on strategies to enhance Kenya’s competitiveness, said  that Kenya will continue accessing market under the EU Market Regulations of 2007 until otherwise. Move together Alessandro Tonoli, Trade advisor European Union Delegation to Kenya, in a statement, recently expressed optimism that all the five countries will sign the EPAs to avoid being locked out of the EU market. Tonoli said that EAC Heads of State last year expressed willingness to move together as a bloc to continue enjoying the duty and quota-free market under the EU’s everything but arms initiative. The Heads of state in the EAC region will have their next Ordinary Summit in Arusha on April, which will...