Kenya Railway Corporation received 60 general cargo wagons imported from China with the next consignment of 150 flat wagons expected on February 20. In statement, KRC Managing Director Atanas Maina said the 60 wagons are part of the 1,620 wagons which will be used for movement of cargo. “Kenya Railways is very pleased that the rolling stock has started to arrive 106 days to the launch date which gives the corporation reasonable time to start testing and commissioning in readiness for trial operations as we bring on board the rail operator on 1st June 2017,” said Maina. Kenya Railways has so far received eight freight haulage heavy duty locomotives for mainline use out of the total expected 43. The locomotives that have been received include two shunting locomotives, two passenger locomotives and four freight locomotives. A total of 32 passenger coaches have been imported already. Maina said that the project is now in the final phase of construction and will soon be ready for operation. He stated that the delivery of the locomotives and rolling stock is an important component for the SGR project implementation and that the Corporation is right on track. “The wagons received today will play a vital role in enhancing transportation of bulk cargo in the country and will provide the kind of service that complements the existing demand.” President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to officially launch the SGR operations on May 31, according to the Transport Ministry. Maina said once the testing is completed they...

IN SUMMARY Transport investors see a ruse that has been carefully designed to conceal their future losses, a mystery that is already covertly redefining rules of competition. Truckers were the first group of investors to strongly voice their opposition against the SGR when the government first mooted the idea nearly six years ago. Data from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics show a decrease in the number of new vehicle registration for trailers last year. Official government information on SGR estimates that cargo transportation by road will decrease to 50 per cent from the current 95 per cent. Forget about a rosy picture where speed combines with efficiency in the cargo haulage to cut production costs as painted by government officials – and to some extent, private sector players. To a number of transport sector investors, the period after June 1, the date chosen by government for rollout of the first phase of Kenya’s standard gauge railway (SGR) represents an apocalypse of some sort. They see a ruse that has been carefully designed to conceal their future losses, a mystery that is already covertly redefining rules of competition even as the rest of the economy prepares to take a leap of faith. Chiraz Yusuf, managing director of Ocean Engineering, a manufacturer of steel trailers and truck bodies in Mombasa, believes his firm is already reeling from the shock of SGR. “The projection that SGR will cut the travel downtime from Mombasa to Nairobi has already put doubts on cargo business and...

IN SUMMARY Sudan is Kenya’s fifth largest tea market, importing 27 million kilos of the beverage worth Sh5.1 billion last year A number of restrictions in recent years have lowered the competitiveness of Kenyan tea and posed a threat on the trade. Kenya is the leading exporter of black tea in the world, selling 95 per cent of its tea in the global market. Kenya’s tea exports to Sudan have received a boost after consignment inspection fees were reduced by three quarters and the US’ lifting of sanctions — which were delaying payments — on the Horn of Africa country. Sudan has been levying an inspection fee of Sh82,800 ($800) on every consignment of tea originating from Kenya, subjecting exporters to high costs of doing business. The two countries have however reached an agreement which will see Sudan slash the cost of tea inspection by 75 per cent to Sh20,700, head of the tea directorate Samuel Ogola has announced. The directorate said that Kenyan exporters incurred a cost of Sh155 million ($1.5 million) between January and December when the directive on mandatory inspection of their tea was in force. “The Sudanese government has agreed to cut down significantly on the amount that they charge our tea on inspection, this comes as a relief to traders who have been incurring high costs,” said Mr Ogola. Additionally, the recent lifting of sanctions that had been imposed on Khartoum by America has also boosted sales of the commodity. Timely payments Mr Ogola said...

Kenya Railways yesterday received the first batch of wagons that will be deployed on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line. The consignment of 60 wagons arrived at the Port of Mombasa on February 10 aboard two ships and was offloaded yesterday under the supervision of SGR contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation, Kenya Railways engineers and the project supervisor, TSDI-APEC-EDON Consortium (TAEC). The consignment is the first batch of 1,620 wagons that will be used for movement of cargo between Mombasa and Nairobi. Kenya Railways lauded the wagons’ arrival, saying coming 106 days to the project’s launch on June 1, it gives them reasonable time to start testing and commissioning them. Kenya Railways has so far received eight freight haulage heavy-duty locomotives for mainline use out of the expected 43. Managing Director Atanus Maina said the project is now in its final phase of construction, and will soon be ready for operations. Source: Standard Media

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Slovak President Andrej Kiska is due in Nairobi on Monday for a three-day state visit to Kenya to seek ways of increasing trade and enhancing bilateral ties, a Kenyan official said on Sunday. State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu said this will be the first time a sitting Slovak President is making this visit. "Kenyan businesses will be looking to leverage the Slovak Republic’s areas of relative strength as the country looks to expand its basket of trading partners," Esipisu told journalists in Nairobi. The Slovak Republic is a high-income advanced economy with one of the fastest growth rates in the European Union. The economy has mainly been driven by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The country’s GDP is 138.277 billion U.S. dollars (2015 estimates) and GDP per capita stands at 25,525 dollars (also 2015 estimates), according to Kenyan government statistics. Esipisu said the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) has created a seamless market from South Africa’s Cape Town to Cairo, Egypt. "President Kenyatta will also make clear that the continent of Africa is also working towards consolidating its economies into a large Continental Free Trade Area therefore providing more business opportunities," Esipisu said. He said the Kenyan leader has paid state visits to dozens of countries since he came to office, and received a galaxy of global leaders here in Nairobi. "Kenyans are now seeing the fruits of these years of engagement with partners, with high-impact investments such as the re-starting of assembly plants for German and French...

In Summary Mr Joho said the Jubilee administration has failed to correct historical injustices in the Coast. The governor added that the recent tours by Jubilee leaders in the Coast region will not sway locals. Governor Joho declared that his presidential ambitions for 2022 are still alive. Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has accused the Jubilee administration of creating an employment crisis in the Coast region by establishing a dry port in Naivasha. Mr Joho said it does not make economic sense to create a dry port when there is a sea port in Mombasa. “We will not cease from opposing any move aimed at taking away port services from Mombasa to Naivasha,” he said. He added that the inland terminal will transfer key services to Naivasha causing massive job losses in Mombasa. Speaking on Saturday in Gazi, Kwale County, Mr Joho said the Jubilee administration has failed to correct historical injustices on the Coast. He questioned why the President would write off a Sh2.3 billion debt owed by coffee farmers in his backyard but ask the Waitiki squatters to pay for their title deeds. The governor added that the recent tours by Jubilee leaders in the Coast region will not sway locals. “This is not a Jubilee zone and we will not vote for Jubilee. Jubilee has no room here,” he said. HISTORICAL INJUSTICES He claimed that land problems in the Coast region require a comprehensive approach that addresses the origins of historical injustices. At the same time, Governor...

By: JAMES ANYANZWA. The East African Community has formed a 25-member taskforce to revise the region’s Common External Tariff (CET) and fine-tune the existing rules of origin to boost intra-regional trade and attract new investments to the bloc. The taskforce comprises four experts on tariffs, fiscal policy, trade and statistics from each of the five member countries — Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi — plus one representatives from the private sector, notably associations of manufacturers or chambers of commerce from each of the member states. The timelines for the completion of the exercise have also been revised from July to September 2017. The EAC Council of Ministers agreed that the 12-year-old CET has failed to live up to the expectations of the changing business environment with some member states and manufacturers blaming the three-band tariff structure for loss of revenue and a drop in intra-regional trade. The current CET is based on three bands of 25 per cent for finished goods, 10 per cent for intermediate goods and 0 per cent for raw materials and capital goods, with a limited number of products under the sensitive list that attract rates above the maximum rate of 25 per cent. Kenya hopes to rally other EAC member states to increase the tariff bands from three to four to be responsive of the needs of industries that import industrial inputs. “The dynamics in the region have changed and therefore there is a need for the CET to be reviewed to reflect the current...

Kenya will later this month know whether its bid to build a customs union with its neighbours still holds. East African Heads of State will meet in Arusha on February 28, where one of the items on the agenda will be the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). Trade Principal secretary Chris Kiptoo told People Daily in a telephone interview that EAC countries are supposed to sign the EPAs as a bloc so that they can enjoy quota and duty-free market access. However, he said, Kenya has no issue to raise during the summit on the EPAs as it has already signed and ratified the trade pact with EU. “As required under the principles of the EPAs Kenya has signed and ratified the trade protocol, only awaiting the other partners to follow suit. But all the EAC countries are individually supposed to sign and ratify the trade deal and collectively sign the document with the EU,” said the PS. The deadline for the EAC member states to sign the trade agreement as a bloc was set for October 1, 2016 but there has been resistance from some countries. The EU parliament, on request by Kenya, agreed to extend the deadline to February 2. The deadline is over and only two countries have signed.  Kenya has signed and ratified while Rwanda has only signed. Tanzania has refused to sign, claiming the agreement would have serious consequences for its revenues and the growth of its industries. Uganda has expressed a commitment...

Slovak President Andrej Kiska is due in Nairobi on Monday for a three-day state visit to Kenya to seek ways of increasing trade and enhancing bilateral ties, a Kenyan official said on Sunday. State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu said this will be the first time a sitting Slovak President is making this visit. “Kenyan businesses will be looking to leverage the Slovak Republic’s areas of relative strength as the country looks to expand its basket of trading partners,” Esipisu told journalists in Nairobi. The Slovak Republic is a high-income advanced economy with one of the fastest growth rates in the European Union. The economy has mainly been driven by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The country’s GDP is 138.277 billion U.S. dollars (2015 estimates) and GDP per capita stands at 25,525 dollars (also 2015 estimates), according to Kenyan government statistics. Esipisu said the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) has created a seamless market from South Africa’s Cape Town to Cairo, Egypt. “President Kenyatta will also make clear that the continent of Africa is also working towards consolidating its economies into a large Continental Free Trade Area therefore providing more business opportunities,” Esipisu said. He said the Kenyan leader has paid state visits to dozens of countries since he came to office, and received a galaxy of global leaders here in Nairobi. “Kenyans are now seeing the fruits of these years of engagement with partners, with high-impact investments such as the re-starting of assembly plants for German and French automakers VW and...

Claims that some East African Community Partner states did not voted for Kenya’s nominee to the African Union Commission Chairperson seat, must not be allowed to affect the bilateral relations between the EAC countries. The loss of Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Amina Mohamed’s bid for the AU top seat must not affect the unity of the East African Community. Instead, the loss should be an eye opener on the deep rooted cracks existing within the community. Consequently, our leaders must put all the cards on the table and forge the way forward if the community is to remain united and vibrant. Kenya’s disappointment is understandable. The country sent diplomats across 53 countries during the three months intensive lobbying season seeking for votes, where close to $3.5million was spent. All the same, the loss should not be seen as a Kenyan defeat but as an East African Community loss. The claims that Amina lost to Chad’s foreign affairs minister Moussa Faki Mahamat after seven rounds of voting due to the refusal by Uganda, Djibouti and Burundi to vote for Kenya are damaging to the unity of the EAC to say the least. Already, Uganda has dispelled claims that it voted against Amina Mohamed after Kenya said she will review her bilateral relations with her neighbours. Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this claim was unsubstantiated and false. It was a noble move for Uganda which immediately released a statement reiterating her support to the candidature of Amina before and during elections. In...