By James Karuhanga Two days before the 17th ordinary East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Summit, 17 regional Civil Society Organisations have expressed concerns that the crisis in Burundi is not on the agenda of the upcoming EAC Heads of State Summit. An EAC communiqué announcing the Summit did not mention the Burundi crisis among the list of items to be considered by regional leaders when they meet. A joint statement issued Monday morning by Burundian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and International Organisations to the Summit indicates that the groups are joining their voices "to address the EAC Heads of State." "We are deeply concerned that the Burundi crisis is not on the Agenda of the Summit despite the worsening situation and request that it be given due priority," reads part of the statement. "We urge the Summit to ensure implementation of the decisions taken by the three Extraordinary Summits on the situation in Burundi." Among others, the groups also call on the Summit to support the establishment of a credible investigative mechanism to independently examine all allegations of human rights violations in Burundi, as recommended by the Sub-Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) last November. The groups' joint statement was issued during their press conference in Arusha, Tanzania where EAC leaders are scheduled to meet, on Wednesday. "Ending the crisis in Burundi must remain a top priority for the Heads of State of the EAC, who are meeting later this...

By Henry Lyimo Simplified border clearance procedures at the newly opened one stop border posts at Holili and Taveta between Tanzania and Kenya will help boost regional tourism. Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Ramo Makani told reporters that tourism in the region stood to gain from the one stop border posts at Holili and Taveta and the highway between the border town of Taveta and Voi in Kenya whose construction was nearing completion. "The one stop border posts will simplify border crossing procedures which will add value to tourism, he told reporters after the official opening of the Holili and Taveta one stop border posts last Saturday. Simplification of border-crossing procedures will have a direct impact on tourism in terms of improved efficiency in cross-border movement, he said. The East Africa Community is a leading tourist destination in Sub Sahara Africa. In 2012, tourism in East Africa is reported to have contributed 12.8bn US dollars with the industry's total contribution to the GDP ranging between 4.8 per cent on the lower level as is the case with Burundi and 13.2 per cent on the higher level for Tanzania. The Deputy Minister said the border posts at Holili and Taveta and the Voi-Taveta Highway would help to unlock vast tourism potential of the region. "The one stop border posts and the road project when completed will provide an alternative route and a shortcut to Mombasa for tourists," he said Once complete, the new highway link will permit the...

Container traffic through Kenya's biggest port grew by 7.5 percent in 2015 after new cargo-handling infrastructure was built, shortening the turnaround time for ships, port management said on Tuesday. The Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, the biggest in east Africa and the region's trade gateway, handles imports of fuel and consumer goods and exports of tea and coffee from landlocked neighbours, such as Uganda and South Sudan. Its traffic considered a measure for economic activity in east Africa. Acting managing director Catherine Muturi told a news conference in Mombasa that the port handled 26.7 million tonnes of cargo between January and December 2015, compared with 24.88 million tonnes handled during a similar period in 2014. Container traffic increased by 6.3 percent to 1,076,118 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2015 from 1,012,002 TEUs registered in 2014. "Although this performance falls short of our target of 1.1 million TEUs for last year, it is a manifestation that the port traffic is growing at a fast rate," Muturi said. Imports totalled 22.68 million tonnes, an increase of 9.2 percent from the 20.77 million tonnes handled in 2014. Exports also increased by 5 percent to 3.53 million tonnes from 3.37 million tonnes in 2014. But the volume of goods headed to neighbouring countries decreased by 28.4 percent, from 731,912 tonnes in 2014 to 523,993 in 2015, a trend Muturi attributed to the introduction of a new cargo-clearing system. Uganda remained the biggest transit market, with its cargo growing by 8.2 percent to 5.98 million...

The management of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) is considering hiring new workers to bridge a staff shortfall. KPA's acting Managing Director, Catherine Mturi, said yesterday that the authority was conducting a "holistic staff rationalisation exercise to ascertain staff deficits". The outcome of the exercise will determine whether or not new staff are hired. The new workforce would enable the authority to effectively operate a new container terminal at the Mombasa port, which according to Dock Workers Union Secretary General Simon Sang', would require an additional 2,000 employees to run effectively. The port already has about 7,500 employees. In November last year, the authority sacked 129 employees found to have secured employment and promotions using fake academic and professional certificates. Mid last year, over 4,000 job seekers flooded KPA offices after the authority called for applications to fill vacancies left by employees who had gone on strike over National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) rates. Ms Mturi said those who had applied to replace the striking workers would be given priority in any new recruitment. On Monday, Japan's Toyo Construction Ltd handed over the first phase of the Sh31.5 billion terminal to KPA. "Because of the legal issues surrounding the concession, the authority will in the meantime run the new terminal. As from next year, we will be required to pay the loan that financed its construction," said Mturi. Source: Standard Media

By Samuel Karanja The cargo handling capacity at the port of Mombasa is set to increase following the completion of a new container terminal. The completion of phase one of the Mombasa Port Development Project will also ease congestion at the port whose cargo capacity has been increasing by the day. It has also seen the construction of two berths (berth 20 and 21) and another small berth where huge cargo ships can easily dock for off loading. The project, which took four years to complete at a cost Sh25 billion, was being supervised by Japan Port Consultant and undertaken by Toyo Construction Company. The second and third phases are expected to be ready by 2017 and 2020 respectively. The money is part of Sh50 billion loan by the government of Japan to fund development of the facility. Once the handing over is done on Monday, KPA is expected to invite a private operator to operate the container terminal under a concession agreement. Completion of phase one at the west of Kipevu Oil Terminal will now see the capacity increase from one million Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year to about 1.3 million TEUs within the same period. Project manager K Nagai said the facility was "100 per cent complete" and would be handed over to KPA on Monday. The facility has a waiting area for empty trucks, repair and washing zone and an area for lorries waiting to be loaded with cargo. There will also be weigh-in-motion bridges to...

Importers with overstayed and uncollected cargo at the port of Mombasa have 60 days to enjoy a waiver on storage and demurrage charges. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) want the cargo cleared out by the 12thof May in an effort of decongesting the port. The move follows a consultative meeting between regional revenue authorities, the Kenya ships Agents Association and the Ministry of Transport held in January. “The public is hereby notified that all storage charges, demurrage charges and customs warehouse rent accrued on long stay cargo discharged at the port of Mombasa shall be waived in full,” reads a joint statement from KRA and KPA. Port congestion has become a major challenge for the KPA. The port of Mombasa is a major gateway for goods headed into the East African region. Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan are major users of the port. However, congestion challenges continue to be a big concern. Rwanda for instance now only uses the port for 40 percent of its imports and exports, with the rest going through the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Kenya is constructing a Ksh 28 billion second container terminal to boost trade in the region, and handle increased importation of goods. The second terminal will have capacity to handle 450,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) with capacity to grow this to 1.2 million by 2019. In 2015 the port handled one million TEUs. Cargo not collected within the 60 days shall...

By Jackson Kiraka As the East African Community summit convenes this month, it will be welcoming a new club member -- President John Magufuli, who swept into power, overcoming perhaps the most competitive of Tanzania's elections since the advent of multi-partyism. By winning comfortably, Mr Magufuli, then considered an outsider by CCM standards, proved wrong the prediction by pundits that the ruling party CCM would suffer what its sister party -- Kanu of Kenya -- had suffered back in 2002. Dr Magufuli seems to be winning his countrymen over. This is attributed to his sweeping, no-nonsense handling of issues of national importance. Hospital stores have been replenished and new equipment bought, under-performing administrators sacked, easy government lunches scrapped, and unnecessary travel banned. However, Dr Magufuli has yet to step out of his country as president. BIG BROTHER Dr Magufuli's broom, like that of his Nigerian counterpart, General Muhammadu Buhari, seems to be sweeping swift, furious, and wide. His message seems clear, though: That the government must deliver for Tanzanians. And that is a breath of fresh air, even by regional standards. Tanzania is not just any other country. It is not Burundi. It is as strategic as it is pivotal in the regional integration matrix. In terms of size, Tanzania is Kenya and Uganda combined, its resource base perhaps only comparable to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's. Tanzania can easily become the EAC's big brother -- if it chooses to be. In 1967, Tanzania's Julius Nyerere, Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta,...

By Michel Nkurunziza Local transport operators are seeking harmonisation of some new initiatives being launched in the sector at the regional level, arguing that this will help ease service delivery. The transport industry stakeholders, especially those offering trans-border services, say the move could help make them more competitive in the region. While meeting officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure recently, the transporters noted that different laws applied by the East African Community (EAC) member countries affect their businesses. Eulade Bagumya from Matunda Express said the firm wants to start operating on the Kigali-Kahama route in Tanzania, but raised concerns over standards of speed governors. Bagumya said some of the member states do not enforce the law on speed governors, noting that this offers a big challenge to Rwandan transporters. "For us we have speed governors, but when we start operations in Tanzania it will affect our competitiveness and profitability," he said. He added that local firms make few rounds to and from Kahama (Tanzania) because of 'limited' speed. "So, we need to advocate for harmonization of laws to ensure a level playing ground across the region,"he said. Minister for infrastructure James Musoni explained that there are ongoing discussions between Northern Corridor member states to harmonise transport sector laws and policies, including those on speed governors and fees cross-border transporters pay. According to Deo Muvunyi, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority director for road transport, speed governors are essential to ensure road safety and promote discipline on the roads. Sector review Meanwhile,...

The cost of doing business in the East African region has come down significantly after Tanzania and Kenya started joint border clearance procedures through one-stop border posts at Holili and Taveta border of the two countries. According to TradeMark Africa Director of One Stop Border Posts, Theo Lyimo, the two border posts set up by TradeMark Africa at a cost of approximately 12m US dollars, have cut down to about 30 per cent of time spent in border clearance since they started operations mid last year. “We have so far achieved 30 per cent reduction of time spent in crossing the border by avoiding duplication of activities,” he told reporters last Saturday after a grand ceremony to officially open the two border posts officiated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, East African Regional and International Cooperation, Ambassador Augustine Mahiga and Kenya’s, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Labour and East African Affairs, Phyllis J. Kandie. TMA has funded a $5.7 million state-of-the-art post on the Tanzania’s side of the border with Kenya at Holili in Rombo District in Kilimanjaro Region and another US$ 6.7 million infrastructure at the Taveta border post on the Kenyan side to simplify customs procedures between Tanzania and Kenya and boost trade in the Eastern African region. The ultra-modern buildings at the Holili and Taveta are furnished with modern furniture and equipment, internet facilities, as well as inspection sheds, warehouses, animal holding facilities, incinerators for burning biological waste and laboratory for testing goods at the border. TMA has...

By Zephania Ubwani Arusha — Volumes of traffic and revenue collection at the Holili border post will pick up tremendously after rehabilitating the Arusha-Voi road. A report presented to Finance and Planning minister Philip Mpango ahead of yesterday's official inauguration of the first integrated border post in East Africa showed that the flow of goods would be eased. The Tanzanian officials at the shared facility said the anticipated increase of the volume of goods and people through the introduction of One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) would partly depend on the condition of the roads connecting them with the adjacent countries. They said although revenue collection had increased reasonably well since the integrated border post at Holili on the Tanzania-Kenya border was operationalised, the traffic volumes per day had not changed much compared with the same before the introduction of the facility. "It is our hope that the number will rise when the construction of the Taveta-Voi road is completed," the report said. The Arusha-Moshi-Holili road extends from the Taveta border post in Kenya to Voi (a total of 157km) and its upgrading through a loan from the African Development Bank) is aimed at improving movement of people and goods within the region. It will also link the Mombasa Port with northern Tanzania and the land-locked EAC member countries. The stretch on the Kenyan side is part of the the Arusha-Moshi-Holili-Taveta-Voi road which will be massively upgraded under the East African Road Project and now nearing completion. A similar work has started...