Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and his Tanzania counterpart Jakaya Kikwete have heaped praise on the ongoing construction of 90KM Mwatate-Taveta road. The two leaders said the road is in the East African Community programme of the developing missing links along the regional infrastructure corridor. Speaking during the launch of the road, President Kenyatta said he is impressed with the progress being made saying it will enhance integration in the region. “This is one of the missing links aimed at enhancing the East Africa Integration objectives, and a crucial link between Kenya and Tanzania,” said the President Kenyatta. The two leaders noted that Arusha-Holili-Taveta-Voi Road Project links the Northern Corridor at Voi. The two leaders said the road project is the second to be funded by ADB, the first one being the improvement of Arusha-Namanga/Namanga-Athi River road. President Kikwete thanked President Kenyatta for inviting him to preside over the launch of the construction of the road saying residents of northern and north-west Tanzania use the road to transport goods from Mombasa. “It takes 14 hours from Arusha to Voi. But with the construction, it will only take two and a half hours, reducing the time and saving on vehicle maintenance,” he said. The Tanzanian President said the road is part of EAC projects and also the Arusha-Holili-Taveta-Voi-Mombasa transport corridor. On the EAC, President Kikwete said members States had planned major infrastructure projects to connect countries and the whole region. “In the past five years, trade between Kenya and Tanzania has grown by...

MOMBASA has recorded a drop in cargo vessels, reflecting a decline in import volumes with clearing agents attributing this to weakening of regional currencies against the dollar. The dollar is the main international currency of trade and goods to countries which are major importers become expensive when it strengthens. Kenyan
National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, clearing agents and Kenya Ports
Authority have confirmed slow import- vessel activities into the country. The
Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association yesterday said imports
in August dropped by about seven per cent. Speaking
on phone, KIFWA national chairman Auni Bhaiji said this is a
further decline from July’s six per cent drop. “There
is a decline in throughput which has affected business for our agents who clear
cargo for Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, DR Congo, South Sudan and Somalia. This is as a
result of the weak shilling which has affected business,” said Bhaiji. He
said importers mainly manufactures now opt to bring in “necessities”. KNCCI
deputy chief executive Nemaisa Kiereini said the strong dollar has affected
global trade, Kenya being among countries bearing the shocks. Last
week, KPA managing director Gichiri Ndua confirmed reduced port atcitivities.
“At the moment we don’t have a lot of ships while even the number of containers
in the yard is about 46 per cent of available capacity,” Ndua said. KPA's 14 day list shows it expects 43 vessels in the next two weeks compared to 47 which called at
the port in a similar period last year. These
include 17 container vessels, 17 conventional and five oil tankers. Last
week, the port received 21 general...

RIFT Valley Railways, the operator of the Kenya-Uganda railway line, has placed an order for 120 additional wagons at a cost of Sh665.76 million ($6.36 million), it announced yesterday. The firm, owned 85 per cent by Qalaa Holdings of Egypt, said the wagons bought from China CNR Corporation will be delivered in November. The new wagons have a capacity of 60 tonnes each, 20 tonnes more than the present fleet. RVR general manager for concession and external communications Sammy Gachuhi said the fleet was part of a wider plan to add 400 wagons under the Sh30.04 billion ($287 million) capital expenditure programme from January 2012. The firm, he said, has spent Sh13.19 billion ($126 million) in modern rail operating technology, rebuilding infrastructure and expanding haulage capacity. “Rising freight volumes, declining incidents and less blockage time are a testament to the success of the range of measures so-far implemented under the turnaround programme,” Gachuhi said during East and Central Africa Rail and Road Infrastructure Summit in Nairobi. RVR in August landed a deal to operate and manage the Inland Container Depot in Uganda. It will use the contract to cash in on cargo business from the port of Mombasa to other regions in the land-locked country, beyond capital Kampala. Last year, the firm acquired 20 locomotives at a cost of Sh2.2 billion from the US. RVR said it also completed the rehabilitation of the most damaged sections of the railway track between Mombasa and Nairobi, and rehabilitated and reopened the 500...

A new record performance has been registered at the port of Mombasa by a Container ship that handled 852 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in less than an eight hour-shift.
 Evergreen Shipping Line vessel Mv. Cape Maas reported her first sling on Sunday, 30th August at 2320 Hours and remained busy moored alongside berth No 18 until Wednesday 2nd September when she recorded her last sling at 1940 Hours. The gearless vessel with a length overall of 212.6 meters and a breadth of 32.4 meters recorded 3,228 cumulative moves in 51.34 hours. She posted her best performance on the third shift using three Ship to Shore Gantries where she registered 116 berth moves per hour. The Colombian registered ship has a total capacity of 2,800 TEUs, a gross tonnage of 35,708 and a declared draft of 12.5 metres. Built in 2011, the ship has 506 refer plug points (338 plugs on deck and 168 plugs in cargo hold). She regularly calls at the port of Mombasa Monthly flying a Marshal Islands flag. Her last port of call was Majuro in the Marshall Islands. The record shift performance by the cellular vessel now shatters that of 755 moves set recently by the largest ever container vessel to call at the port. Maersk Shipping Line vessel, MV. Clemens Schulte which also worked with three Ship to Shore Gantries recorded the impressive performance during her second shift in August 20th. The celebrated vessel had recorded 3397 cumulative moves in 48.91 hours. Following the...

Rwanda and Kenya are the most competitive economies in east Africa and are among the top 10 most competitive economies in Africa at position three and six respectively. According to the newly released Global Competitiveness Report, Tanzania and Uganda follow in at positions 17 and 18 in Africa respectively while Burundi ranks last in the region and among the bottom four on the continent at position 29. Of the 144 economies assessed, the EAC countries save for Burundi improved on their economic productivity and prosperity moving up their competitiveness rankings from last year. Uganda emerged as the most improved economy moving up nine places from last year to position 122, followed by Kenya which moved up six places to 90th position while Rwanda and Tanzania moved up four places up to position 62 and 122 respectively. Burundi remained among the five least competitive economies in Africa and globally at position 138. The report says east Africa's economic improvement has been driven by overall better infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, goods market and labour market efficiency and innovation. However, despite this improvement, corruption, access to finance and political instability remain the most problematic issues affecting doing business in the region. The report defines competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. A more competitive economy is one that is likely to sustain growth. Increased foreign investment The highlights come at the time when Institute of Chartered Accountants in England...

The Federal Republic of Germany and the East African Community (EAC) have concluded bilateral negotiations to boost regional integration in East Africa at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. To highlight the strong commitment to supporting the integration process in East Africa, the Federal Republic of Germany has committed a total of 37 million euros in grants to the EAC for 2016- 2018 to include: 10 million euro in financial assistance will be invested in the establishment of a regional network of reference laboratories for communicable diseases. With this project, the German Government responds to a request for support from the EAC for the prevention and control of epidemic outbreaks in the region; Another 10 million euro in financial assistance will be used for Integrated Water Resource Management of Lake Victoria aiming at improving water provision and management of water resources and 17 million euros in technical assistance were committed to further support of the economic integration process, including a contribution to the EAC partnership fund. The programme is focusing on institutional strengthening of the EAC Secretariat and on supporting the implementation of the Customs Union, Common Market Protocols and Monetary Union. This includes the elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers such as tax harmonisation as well as Mutual Recognition Agreements for qualifications. At the same time Germany will support the EAC in promoting private investment especially in the pharmaceutical sector, including the establishment of a regional quality infrastructure for the pharmaceutical sector. Speaking during the negotiations, the EAC Deputy Secretary General...

Ethiopia has entered into a parallel oil pipeline deal with Djibouti in a development that is set to take the shine away from Kenya’s Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) project. The country, which is a main determinant of the viability of the Lapsset project, on Tuesday entered into a rival deal with Djibouti to construct a 550km line to transport diesel, gasoline and jet fuel from Djibouti to central Ethiopia. Energy infrastructure companies Black Rhino and MOGS Oil & Gas Services (BRM) will construct the pipeline at a cost of $1.55 billion (Sh160 billion at current exchange rates). The deal could become the second significant threat to the infrastructure corridor coming days after Kenya and Uganda shrugged off another challenge to the project after they rejected a push by Total France to have a proposed crude oil pipeline, being developed by the two countries, pass through Tanzania. Total wanted the route changed — from Hoima in Uganda via northern Kenya to Lamu on the Indian Ocean — in favour of another from Hoima via Dar es Salaam to the port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean. The development could split Ethiopia’s loyalties into two, giving it access to both ports in what may reduce the lustre on the Kenyan project. Lapsset is estimated to cost Sh2.5 trillion ($24.5 billion) and it will entail the development of seven components, including Lamu Port, railway, highway, oil pipeline, oil refinery at Lamu, resort cities at Lamu, Isiolo and Lake Turkana and airports...

President Obama’s heralding of Africa as a continent ‘on the move’ highlights a region characterised by economic growth and where business is playing a positive role in lifting millions of people from poverty. Various nations across Africa increasingly present major economic opportunities given growing consumer markets, relatively under-developed natural resources and widespread political and economic reforms. ‘On the move’ also works as a description for improvements in trade across the region. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in particular has made major inroads into market openness. East Africa, to provide a clear example, is well-established as a bustling trade hub with Kenya at its heart. Yet it is also clear that progress is not uniform across the region, with the World Bank estimating that, on average, it takes 54 days, 10 documents and costs nearly $8,000 to import a single container into the Republic of the Congo, compared to 21 days, six documents and $2,080 cost incurred for a similar container into South Africa. The region as a whole has also experienced a major shift in terms of trading partners, with the conventional narrative of trade with Africa in recent years being a story of major investment by Asian trading partners. The region received 19 percent of its imports from Asia in 2004, but this had risen to 32 percent by 2013. Other trading partners across the Middle East, the UK, Europe and the US are keen to become more involved; look no further than President Obama’s trade visit and the renewal of...

About 80,000 traders in the region whose livelihoods depend on cross-border trade are set to find issues such as queuing, corruption and unfair taxes tackled through a $79 million World Bank grant. The funding will support the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation Project which aims to reduce costs faced by traders in east Africa's surrounding border areas. It will also help to develop regional markets near border crossings and facilities to handle an increased flow of goods, services, and people, as well as provide resources to strengthen government agencies at the border to deliver better quality and efficient services. "Regional approaches to trade facilitation are critical to leverage national efforts," said Makhtar Diop, World Bank Group Vice President for the Africa Region. "The three Great Lakes countries included in this project share similar challenges that must be tackled through collective action, and borders are the solution provided they are safe and enable traders to do business in a conducive environment." Hindering growth According to the financial institution, "inefficiency and corruption persist at border crossings, imposing a significant drag on the regional economy, particularly for small traders, 8 out of 10 of whom are women." Key markets are situated across the border and informal cross-border trade plays a major role in linking small producers to markets. Border crossing points, such as Petite Barrière in Goma, DRC, which averages 20,000 to 30,000 crossings a day, can become major bottlenecks for traders trying to reach potential buyers. Teeming border crossings such as Kasindi and...

A new record performance has been registered at the port of Mombasa by a Container ship that handled 852 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in less than an eight hour-shift. Evergreen Shipping Line vessel Mv. Cape Maas reported her first sling on Sunday, 30th August at 2320 Hours and remained busy moored alongside berth No 18 until Wednesday 2nd September when she recorded her last sling at 1940 Hours. The gearless vessel with a length overall of 212.6 meters and a breadth of 32.4 meters recorded 3,228 cumulative moves in 51.34 hours. She posted her best performance on the third shift using three Ship to Shore Gantries where she registered 116 berth moves per hour. The Colombian registered ship has a total capacity of 2,800 TEUs, a gross tonnage of 35,708 and a declared draft of 12.5 metres. Built in 2011, the ship has 506 refer plug points (338 plugs on deck and 168 plugs in cargo hold). She regularly calls at the port of Mombasa Monthly flying a Marshal Islands flag. Her last port of call was Majuro in the Marshall Islands. The record shift performance by the cellular vessel now shatters that of 755 moves set recently by the largest ever container vessel to call at the port. Maersk Shipping Line vessel, MV. Clemens Schulte which also worked with three Ship to Shore Gantries recorded the impressive performance during her second shift in August 20th. The celebrated vessel had recorded 3397 cumulative moves in 48.91 hours. Following the...