At least 20 engineers are testing the standard gauge railway in readiness for the commissioning of train operations in July. On Wednesday, the train arrived at the Port Reitz station from Nairobi, with engineers saying the trains would travel at 120 kilometres per hour. “The train took two hours between Nairobi and Mtito Andei because the track there is complete. But from there we moved slowly because there are extensive tests that we need to do between Mtito and Mombasa,” Joshua Matu, the engineer who is coordinating the SGR project, said. “This proves that the journey between Nairobi and Mombasa will take four and half hours on the express train,” he added. Kenya Railways has said there will be two types of trains operating between Mombasa and Nairobi, the intercity and inter county with the former stopping only once at Mtito Andei while the latter will stop at all the seven stations. Mr Matu said for the next two weeks, engineers will be testing the track between Mombasa and Mtito Andei with a view to establish whether there are defects. “As the train moves, there is a system that takes images of the entire track and after that we analyse the pictures to establish if there is any part of the track that is not properly fixed or those that might have cracks,” he said. The engineer said the Miritini station will be complete by end of this month and was undergoing some final touches. This comes a week after...

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), on International Women’s Day yesterday, passed the East African Community (EAC) Gender Equality, Equity and Development Bill, 2016 after a lengthy debate. The Bill, moved by MP Nancy Abisai (Kenya), makes provision for gender equality, equity, protection and development in the Community and, after enactment, shall now await assent by the EAC Heads of State. “The Heads of State should assent to the Bill and pave way for its implementation. My hope is that once enacted, partner states will take it seriously,” Lilian Awinja, executive director of the East African Business Council (EABC) told The New Times. “The next partner state to appoint an EAC Secretariat General should appoint a woman in that office.” The Bill contends that whereas the partner states recognise the importance of gender equality and have developed programmes and enacted legislation in this pursuit, these efforts are at different levels and contain differences particular to each partner state. As a result, gender initiatives affect women, men and children differently across the Community. The passing of the Bill follows successful second and third readings after presentation of the Report of the Committee on General Purpose on public consultations held in the partner states. The committee chairperson, MP Odette Nyiramilimo (Rwanda), earlier told the Assembly that stakeholders in Kenya welcomed the Bill, saying it would give effect to the EAC Treaty and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In Uganda, she said, stakeholders called for broadening of the terms with...

The All India Skin and Hide Tanners and Merchants Association (AISHTMA) will sign agreements with three east African countries – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – to promote trade and investment partnerships in the leather sector. AISHTMA will sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Tanners Association of Kenya, and Uganda Leather and Allied Industries Association on March 9 in Chennai at a function to mark its Centenary Year. The MoUs will be signed in the presence of the delegations led by the respective countries’ Industry and Trade Ministers. “East African countries, which are rich in raw materials for leather sector, are looking to India as a partner for development. They have seen Indian leather industry’s growth in the past four decades – from less than a billion dollar exports level to $6 billion,” said M Rafeeque Ahmed, President, AISHTMA. The agreements will focus on supporting and coordinating activities related to production of quality hides and skins and manufacture of leather and increased value addition on hides and skins for domestic and export markets. Three months ago, a 10-member leather industry delegation visited the three countries and interacted with government officials about the possible investment and collaboration opportunities to develop the leather industry in their countries. These developments are part of the framework of ‘Supporting Indian Trade and Investment for Africa’ , a South-South Aid-for-Trade Project implemented by International Trade Centre (2015-2020), and funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). Source: Business Line

The value of inter-regional trade among East African Community (EAC) member states has reduced to Sh523.5 billion in 2015. EAC, Labour and Social Protection Cabinet secretary Phyllis Kandie said the value stood at Sh595.4 billion in 2013. She attributed the decline to weak capacity within individual EAC partner states to resolve most of the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs). The CS said this in a speech read by the principal secretary, Betty Maina at the launch of the Regional Market Scorecard 2016. “The scorecard points to the existence and emergence of several NTBs within the partner states, and the slow pace at which their elimination was being executed, subsequently undermining intra-EAC trade,” Kandie said. The scorecard facilitates implementation of the Common Market provisions while at the same time identifying obstacles and recommending interventions to mitigate barriers. She said non-recognition of EAC Certificates by member states was a protectionist approach that denied the business community access to the EAC market. The Scorecard 2016, launched in Kampala, shows that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi still run their trade as separate and distinct markets, keeping their economies small and disconnected due to several bottlenecks in regulations. This, she said, was fuelled by failures of individual states to lift legal barriers, for example, refusal to recognise business certificates from other EAC members and double taxation. EAC presidents have signed a treaty that gives EAC countries freedom of movement of goods, labour, services, and capital. The protocol was signed on November 20, 2009 and came into...

The Kenya Pipeline Company has taken over storage facilities at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries in a three-year lease agreement ahead of planned early oil programme from June. The refinery, which has been dormant since September 2013, is set to be modified at an estimated cost of Sh1.5 billion to store waxy crude oil from Liokichar Basin for export, Petroleum Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau had said in October last year. In the deal announced yesterday, KPC will manage KPRL’s existing storage facilities with the two state companies lending their technical expertise and assets towards the realisation of the government’s early oil programme. The lease agreement ends previous reports of an acquisition by KPC after it sought a consultant to assess the Mombasa-based refinery's viability. Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter yesterday said the lease agreement will enable the country shore up its strategic petroleum reserves from the current low of 12 days to 30 days, with plans underway to increase the reserves to three months. “KPRL has both storage facilities and grounds that will be used to increase the country’s ullage which will in effect create enough capacity for berthing vessels to discharge fuel into KPC’s system,” Keter said during the signing ceremony in Nairobi yesterday. He said the move will enable Kenya save billions of shillings incurred in demurrage charges annually for fuel vessels docking at the port of Mombasa, a factor that could significantly reduce the cost of fuel. “In addition to this, the government is looking to invest in...

President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with President Uhuru Kenyatta, with the White House saying that the US leader sought to "reaffirm the strong bilateral relationship between our two countries." The telephone conversation also focused on "economic partnership and mutual dedication to overcoming terrorism and other regional security challenges through close cooperation," a statement from White House added. CALL LIST "President Trump expressed appreciation for Kenya's significant contributions to the African Union Mission in Somalia and recognized Kenyan troops' sacrifices in the fight against Al-Shabaab," the statement said. Mr Trump spoke last month with the presidents of Nigeria and South Africa. Those choices as the US president's first direct contact with sub-Saharan leaders caused a well-placed source in Washington to suggest at the time that "a failure of Kenyan diplomacy" accounted for Mr Trump's omission of Mr Kenyatta from his initial Africa call list. "Nigeria and South Africa have been working this for some time," said the source who is knowledgeable about the Trump administration's efforts to formulate Africa policy. "They've been in contact." "Kenya hasn't done that," the source added. Tuesday's phone call puts paid to suggestions that Mr Trump values Kenya less than other regional powers in Africa. It also confirms the assertion last month by Kenya's Deputy Chief of Mission to Washington David Gacheru that "a telephone conversation between President Kenyatta and President Trump is already in the works and should be taking place within a short time frame." Tuesday's discussion also touched on "ways to boost...

The East African Community’s (EAC) push towards establish a common market is under jeopardy as partners states continue to impose restrictive trade terms. This has seen the value of trade diminish in the last three  years, with the Kenyan government raising concern over introduction of protectionist laws that threaten full market integration. East African Community and Labor Cabinet Secretary, Phyllis Kandie said on Tuesday the latest trend is denying the business community prospect of an enlarged EAC market. She made the remarks during the launch of the East African Community scorecard whose aim is to facilitate implementation of the provisions of the Common Market while at the same time identifying obstacles and recommending interventions to mitigate barriers to the implementation processes. The EAC common market protocol has been in place since 2010 with the aim of deepening regional trade. However, the five member states have appeared to read from different scripts in the recent past casting doubts over the strength of regional unity. Trade within the EAC, Ms Kandie said, had been on a steady decline from Sh593.6 billion in 2013 to Sh522 billion as of 2015. The East African community secretariat has launched a common market integration scorecard aimed at identifying areas holding back creation of a strong regional market. The World Bank’s Trade and Competitiveness Manager for East Africa Catherine Masinde said the emergence of new restrictive measures in free movement of goods, capital and people, contradict earlier progress and erasing earlier gains already recorded. “Attracting investment requires...

Throughout the developing world, port concessions have been plagued by rumours of corrupt dealings and allegations of high-level rent-seeking. The most dramatic of them all was the case where the Djibouti Government filed an arbitration case in London against international port concession operator Dubai Port World (DP World), alleging that it bribed a top public official to secure the concession to run the largest container terminal in that country, Dolareh. Although, Djibouti lost, the case revealed sensational insights into dealings between corrupt elites and global concession o perators. In Senegal, the Justice ministry was reported to be investigating Karim Wade, former minister and son of the ex-president, on corruption related to the concession at the port of Dakar. I recently also came across a story about how a major scandal had erupted in Guetemala over a port concession involving another global operator. A port is a very critical piece of infrastructure and national asset. Here in Kenya, 30 per cent of national government revenues come from Customs duties. But even more critical, ports are the means by which contraband, ranging from drugs to ivory, escapes to the rest of the world. Thus, when you are giving out a port built with public money to a private party to run for you, security and the integrity of the private operator must be paramount. In retrospect, I think we did not do a very good job at screening owners for integrity when we introduced container freight stations. Which brings me back to...

Some 150 more cargo wagons have been delivered for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line at the Port of Mombasa. The flat wagons will be used for freight transportation once the SGR starts operation. This is the second batch of wagons delivered under the SGR line development in Kenya following delivery of 60 open wagons last month. The 25-tonne axle flat wagons are suited for operations on the 1435mm SGR line; could carry a payload of 70 tonnes and are designed to run at 120 km/hr. Kenya Railways Managing Director Atanas Maina received the wagons at the port of Mombasa. He said the wagons will be used to ferry all types of containers — large-size cargo including steel, automobiles, tractors and box-cargo. “The demand for transportation in the country today exceeds the capacity of the roads and the existing railway line. These flat wagons will provide a working solution for transportation of freight in the country and will go a long way in decongesting the Port of Mombasa. “Once we commence operations, railway transport will increase its market share of the total freight and cargo transport in the country,” Mr Maina said. Three types of wagons have been ordered for operations on the SGR line: Open-top wagons, Covered wagons and flat wagons. Operations on the SGR line will engineer a significant shift of freight transported from road to rail. Freight trains on the SGR line are able to haul 4,000 tonnes per trip and 22 million tonnes per annum. These...

The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) sits in Rwanda this week for its second meeting this year. The meeting started yesterday in Kigali and comes barely a month after the one held in Kampala, Uganda. It is worth noting that the Kigali sessions have coincided with the release of the East African Common Market Scorecard 2016. The document, whose findings representatives to the regional body are likely to find troubling, was released in Dar es Salaam last Wednesday. It paints a worrying picture of the commitment of the governments of Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi in moving the key protocol forward. It is important to note that the report is a review of the progress made so far in entrenching the Common Market agreement, a year after it came into effect. Findings show that the EAC is still synonymous with trade restrictions. All countries are said to be dragging their feet in meeting agreements in the free movement of goods, services, people and capital. Even more worrying is the fact that Tanzania and Kenya, the two leading economies, were found to have introduced new barriers to trade, reversing significant progress that helped move the countries forward towards becoming a truly integrated market of more than 120 million people. These countries still treat people from elsewhere within the bloc as foreigners, while some bar residents from investing in capital markets within their jurisdiction. Regional investors seeking to open shop in either of the markets have found restrictions and hurdles that...