South Sudanese opinion leaders have voiced their views on the decision by president Salva Kiir to admit their nation into the East African Community. The East African Community (EAC) is a trade bloc initially founded by three east African countries before expanding its membership to include Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. Members of the EAC share certain economic and immigration policies for their citizens to promote free movement of labour, capital, goods and services within the region. If the decision to join the EAC is ratified by South Sudanese parliament, the country would be obliged to change some of its national laws to allow the full implementation of some aspects of the Common Market such as immigration and customs. Civil society leader Edmund Yakani said parliament should not ratify the treaty to join the EAC. “Let them wait for some time. We are not saying it is bad idea to join but the time is not right," Yakani said during a recent radio talk show. 'We are not an island' Charles Majak, a member of parliament from Twic state, said he supported joining the EAC, describing it as a win-win situation for South Sudan and its neighbors in the EAC. “The decision to join is not bad at all. We are not an island. Countries thrives through cooperation, even in Europe, they are working together. That is why they have European Union and the Americans decided to bring different states together to form United States of America," Majak said....

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) says the construction of the road linking Kenya to Ethiopia will be completed soon. The Authority added that the sections form part of the strategic transport corridor linking Mombasa Port to Addis Ababa. For South Sudan, the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport corridor, known for short as LAPSSET, is meant to be a new lifeline to the outside world. The road covers Merille-Marsabit 121 kilometres and Turbi-Moyale 122 kilometres. “Once the road is complete, it will have significant impact in regional integration and boost trade for the benefit of Kenya and Ethiopia. He noted the increase in traffic along the corridor and the new trade opportunities with Ethiopia and champion development in the semi-arid areas,” said Gabriel Negatu, Regional Director for Eastern Africa Resource Centre of the African Development Bank Group. “The 498 kilometres from Isiolo to Moyale funded by the government, Africa Development Bank and the European Union amounts to 44 billion Kenyan shilling. This will play a key role in integrating Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. By providing a critical link in the Trans East Africa Highway connecting landlocked Ethiopia to the Port of Mombasa, the road corridor will also be key in supporting the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) corridor,” He added The new corridor will also improve trade between the two countries, open up Northern Kenya for more trade and business and contribute to an increase in the volume of Ethiopian goods transiting through the Port of Mombasa. Project Eng. Daniel Cherono noted...

In line with the mechanism, the government has also introduced stickers for transit buses and trucks to differentiate them from those travelling in the country at weighing bridges. Addressing journalists in Dar es Salaam recently, the Permanent Secretary (PS) at the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication, Eng Joseph Nyamhanga, said the new system will be adopted beginning today. “This system will subject all transit vehicles to inspection in not more than four inspection stations to reduce trip duration and attract more customers to use the Dar es Salaam port,” said Eng Nyamhanga. He pointed out that there was a process to establish one-stop inspection stations (OSIS) at the Central Corridor at Vigwaza in the Coast Region, Manyoni in Singida and Nyakanazi in Kagera. For Dar es Salaam Corridor the areas include the road from Dar es Salaam to Tunduma (Tanzania and Zambia border) and Uyole – Kasumulu (Tanzania and Malawi border). The established centres will include Vigwaza in the Coast Region, Mikumi in Morogoro, Makambako in Njombe and Mpemba in Songwe. Services that will be obtained at the OSIS include weighing bridges, police stations, Tanzania Revenue Authority branches and rest stations for transit drivers. Eng Nyamhanga noted that the initiative has come a few days after President John Magufuli issued a directive to reduce unnecessary non-tariff barriers when he was launching Rusumo International Bridge situated at the Tanzania and Rwanda border. He further said that for Tanzania to facilitate trade and transportation with the East African Community (EAC), Southern...

Over last five years, the cost of doing business and the time taken to get goods cleared and transported in the region went down significantly, the Evaluation Report by the multi-donor organisation says. The cost of transporting a standard 40-foot container from Mombasa to Kigali went down by $1,700 from $6,500 in 2011 to $4,800 in 2015. Transporters and businesses have saved $7 million on the Mombasa-Kigali route alone within the timeline, says the report. Time taken to export goods from each country in the region has reduced by 20 per cent to 26 days from the previous average time of 33 days while time taken to import goods from each country in the region also went down by 14 per cent to 31 days. NTBs are trade barriers arising from rules and regulations that are poorly designed or implemented. According to the report, the trade barriers can be intentional or unintentional. It is estimated that in 2010 trade barriers led to a cost of $490 million in the region. Frank Matsaert, CEO, TradeMark Africa (TMA), said that a reduction of these barriers will invariably lead to more trade in the region, which is ultimately TradeMark’s goal, of growing prosperity through trade. Burundi reduced the time taken to import goods from 43 to 60 days, the highest performance in the region. Tanzania experienced a 99 per cent reduced time (from five days to one hour) in application and processing of the Electronic Certificates of Origin. Inland transportation from Dar es...

Arusha — Newly-appointed East African Community (EAC) secretary general Liberat Mfumukeko hit the ground running on assuming office Monday evening, warning of impending measures to salvage the regional organisation from its current financial crisis. He said his administration will propose 'stringent measures' geared at cost-cutting, value for money, accountability and transparency and that it will not be business as usual as the regional organisation has to cope with unprecedented deficits in its budget. "Although we have experienced situations of financial instability on regular basis, we never sunk into a deep crisis because our leaders in partner states have always reacted in time," he said during a welcoming party by the staff members of the Community. He said the EAC was currently going through challenging financial times and that forecasts for the month of June this year show a deficit of more than $11 million. The situation has been aggravated by failure by development partners, who account for close to 70 per cent of the annual budget, to disburse about 30 per cent of the expected funds two months before the end of the 2015/2016 fiscal year on June 30th. Mr Mfumukeko, a Burundi national, assumed the highest office at EAC and succeeded Dr Richard Sezibera from Rwanda whose five year, non-renewable term ended on Monday. Both countries were admitted into the bloc in July 2007 after enjoying a status of observers to the Community from the late 1990s. He was appointed the fifth secretary general of the Community during the...

Inter-regional trade is becoming increasingly important but infrastructure has to catch up to demand. Inter-regional trade is becoming increasingly important but infrastructure has to catch up to demand, writes Karim Sadek, Managing Director at Qalaa Holdings The countries of East Africa are currently grappling with a set of challenges and developmental priorities that are similar to what we are going through in Egypt, our home market. Expanding trade and building infrastructure to keep pace with the demands of young, growing populations are among the most pressing challenges at present. In 2015 Egypt's trade with Africa accounted for less than five per cent of total trade and intra-African trade as a whole stood at only 12 per cent of the continent's aggregate trade. Although an upward trend has started to emerge, there is still much that needs to be done. The Africa Union's Agenda 2063 envisions a fully functional African common market with free movement of people, goods, capital and services. To realise this transformation goal, Africa needs to put in place the necessary strategies, processes and infrastructure to harness the continent's potential. While trade is growing by up to eight per cent per annum across the region, without the transport and logistics sector becoming more efficient, growth will be severely constrained. Reducing cost and time of transport and logistics would increase trade, reduce the cost of living, contribute to higher exports and faster growth for Africa. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), "Africa still has massive infrastructure needs" yet...

The newly-constructed Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Second Container Terminal has received its first container vessel after its completion in February. Mv Busan Trader from Colombia docked at the port of Mombasa on Monday at 2.30 pm and off-loaded the first container at 4.22 pm. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) officially took charge of the first phase of the facility after the official hand over from a Japanese contractor, on February 29, at the KPA headquarters. “It is the first vessel since it was handed over to us and this is a boost to our business at the port of Mombasa and the East African region,” said KPA Corporate Affairs Manager, Benard Osero. The Sh28 billion terminal was handed over after a thorough inspection by KPA top management and government engineers. According to Osero, the concessionaire to operate the first phase of the second container terminal at the main Mombasa Port is set to open up regional trade and boost economic growth. The first phase of the $300 million terminal comprises two berths which are set to handle increased cargo traffic within the East African region. The port of Mombasa is the biggest in the region and also doubles up as the gateway that handles fuel and consumer goods imports as well as exports of tea and coffee for landlocked neighbours such as Uganda and South Sudan to the European market. According to 2016 KPA statistics, the new terminal is projected to have a capacity of 450,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs),...

Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda ordered the conclusion of a deal between shipping lines and insurers to end the costly and inconvenient bonds. “The Summit directed ministers responsible for Finance and Trade to ensure that shipping lines and insurance companies finalise and sign an agreement on elimination of cash deposits for containers,” the leaders said in a joint communique at the close of a regional infrastructure meeting in Kampala at the weekend. Since containers are expensive, shipping lines servicing developing markets such as east Africa routinely demand cash deposits before releasing containers to consignors or freight forwarders. Shipping line agents charge $500(Sh50,000) and $1,000(Sh100,000) for 20 foot and 40 foot containers respectively for cargo destined for Kenya, while those on transit are charged $1,000(Sh100,000) up to $5,000(Sh500,000) for 20 foot and 40 foot containers respectively. Typically a new standard 20-foot container can cost above $3,000 (Sh300, 000) while a standard 40 foot may cost more than $4000(Sh400, 000), estimates by the United Nations Economic and Social Council showed. Container deposit is often not required in developed economies due to high level of professionalism and industrial competency among all players in the supply chain such as consignors, freight forwarders, haulers, warehousing operators and shipping liners. This is further supported by the fact that most developed markets have proper legal environments. “However, in some developing economies, there are higher risks of containers being stolen, damaged, abandoned or detained for prolonged periods. Ship liners impose container...

Mr Job Kemboi, the general manager Siginon Global Logistics says once the new line is completed, there will be need for more freight trucks to transport cargo from different railway stations to their final destinations, hence the move to expand its fleet. Mr Kemboi said contrary to the notion that the presence of SGR will spell doom to road transporters, the commissioning of the modern railway will create a booming business for logistics firms in Kenya. “There will be increased demand for road transport for our customers who are located inland, away from the Northern Corridor who will still need our services. We are confident that the SGR is a partner and not a threat to road transporters,” said Mr Kemboi. Recently, the Cabinet approved the expansion and modernisation of the inland container depot (ICD) in Embakasi and development of access roads ahead of an expected upsurge of cargo traffic when the new railway becomes operational. The depot marked for upgrade is located in Industrial Area, Nairobi and occupies 29 hectares. It has a stacking area designed to accommodate a throughput of more than 180,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) per annum. Mr Kemboi said that currently, the Kenyan transport industry consists of approximately 15,000 trucks that are at times overwhelmed by the amount of cargo discharged at the port of Mombasa for onward road transportation to serve customers along the Northern corridor and the hinterland. The SGR is expected to provide an advantage of fast and efficient cargo movement cutting...

Kenya Association of Manufacturers has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a regional trade agency to promote trade and investment for expansion of markets for local goods. The manufacturers lobby group signed the MoU with USAID-funded East Africa Trade And Investment Hub to aid in the efforts to support policy reform activities and expansion of trading avenues especially under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. “AGOA offers great opportunities for our local businesses especially the SMEs. It is essential we build their capacity to enable them leverage this partnership to realise financial sustainability for their businesses," said KAM chief executive Phyllis Wakiaga. "Beyond this we are also looking to diversify our exports through this partnership and increase competitiveness of various agricultural value chains.” Following the MoU signing, KAM will be organising and hosting trade delegations, policy and investment promotion activities that will attract investment in the mutual priority sectors which include textile and garment, leather and leather products, agro processing, horticulture, ICT and cotton. Kenya Association of Manufacturers has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a regional trade agency to promote trade and investment for expansion of markets for local goods. The manufacturers lobby group signed the MoU with USAID-funded East Africa Trade And Investment Hub to aid in the efforts to support policy reform activities and expansion of trading avenues especially under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. “AGOA offers great opportunities for our local businesses especially the SMEs. It is essential we build their capacity to enable them...