The government has harmonised offloading and clearance of imported goods at the port of Mombasa to curb delays. Maritime and Shipping Affairs Principal Secretary, Nancy Karigithu, said the State wants to clear obstructions in clearance of cargo and reduce bureaucracy in handling of ships. Public and private sector agencies involved in ship, cargo, crew and passenger clearance are to link up with the Single Window System, she said. Procedures and customs, immigration, health and other public authorities’ documents are among those to be streamlined. “Documentation procedures work best where the paperwork is streamlined for simplicity and efficiency. A large number of unnecessary paperwork and slow documentation processes are a serious danger to our competitiveness as a country and even as a region given the wide geographical coverage of our port users,” the PS said Wednesday. She said the harmonisation process started yesterday. “We will know how we are going to be getting information on the goods beforehand and it has to be electronic. By the time the ship is arriving in Mombasa all agencies involved in cargo will have information and we will be able to work much faster and release the ship from the port as quickly as possible,” she said. Speaking at Nyali Sun Africa Hotel in Mombasa, Ms Karigithu said the government will implement the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic. “The convention...will facilitate smooth transit in ports for ships, cargo, crew and passengers,” the PS added. The move is aimed at...

East African nations that are en-route to banning the importation of used clothes may soon pay the price after Washington said it will impose trade penalties in retaliation to what it sees as a blockage of free trade. The US State Department's Harry Sullivan, the Africa Bureau acting head of the economic and regional affairs, said Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have until next week to reverse the decision or face the penalties. The East African leaders are expected to meet at the EAC Heads of State Summit on Infrastructure and Health Financing and Development in Kampala, Uganda on February 23. "I believe the results of the meeting next week will determine how we proceed," Mr Sullivan said in a conference call with reporters. East African Community (EAC) member states agreed two years ago to impose phased ban on used clothing imports (known as mitumba) over a three-year period beginning 2019. Kenya subsequently withdrew from that agreement following US threats to end its eligibility for duty-free clothing exports to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Kenyan retreat US trade officials say that the mitumba ban violates an Agoa stipulation requiring beneficiary countries to eliminate barriers to trade with the America. Kenya feared the loss of the duty-free and quota-free access to the US, its third largest market. Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda -- each of which earns far less through Agoa than Kenya -- jointly affirmed last July that they intend to proceed with the mitumba ban....

The headline news at the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa last month was the announcement of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), with 23 countries pledging to remove non-physical barriers to air routes, and ultimately create a single aviation area across the continent. Most of Africa’s major airlines belong to countries that are signatories, such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa. Together, they represent over 70% of intra-African air traffic. SAATM sets a new standard for regional policy-making because the benefits are clear and the challenges more practical than political. Furthermore, it brings together coalitions of actors in government and the private sector whose interests align well. What this flagship project from the AU shows is that regional integration can succeed as long as certain conditions are met. Important lessons may be gleaned from this example. Impact International industry groups and the major African carriers immediately welcomed the news. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) had recently estimated that a unification of 12 countries’ air markets could result in some 155,000 jobs and US$1.3bn additional GDP to their economies. It is also hoped that African airlines will be able to increase their market share on the continent, which currently stands at only 20% of the total. The benefits for the air traveller and African trade were plainly obvious, as it would make connections faster and cheaper, if implemented well. Moreover, SAATM may be more significant than the sum of its parts. Because of the largely bilateral...

Environment Principal Secretary Charles Sunkuli has said collaboration between East African Community members would help eliminate plastic bags. "During a meeting of Environment ministers in Arusha last week, we agreed that cooperation is needed if we are to eliminate the menace," Mr Sunkuli told the Nation on the side-lines of the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook forum at Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa that ended Tuesday. The PS said the ban in Kenya had seen an 80 per cent drop in the use of the bags. "The environment is no longer filled with the pollutants," he added. Mr Sunkuli said ministry officials would appear in Parliament to explain the ban, adding that jobs had been created since August 2017 when the law came into effect. PETITION AT HIGH COURT "Jobs for women and youth involved in manufacturing of non-plastic materials like sisal and papyrus have been created. Others are making gunny bags and biodegradable and fibre bags," he said. Asked about companies still manufacturing plastic bags, Mr Sunkuli said he was not aware of any. In Mombasa, County National Environment Management Authority director Stephen Wambua and inspectorate chief Mohammed Amir have been conducting crackdowns on businesses flouting the law, particularly at Kongowea market. They said since the ban on plastic bags took effect, the tourism city had become "aesthetically clean". "We are working with Nema to identify sources of the flat bags," Mr Amir said. But the ban is yet to take effect in grocery markets. In August 2017, the...

JOHANNESBURG - The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) has boosted US trade with Africa, which rose 15.8percent to $338.5billion (R4.04trillion) in the past year. Briefing the media from Washington DC yesterday, Harry Sullivan, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs acting director for economic and regional affairs, said the exponential growth was as a result of trade conducted under Agoa, a legislation allowing qualifying sub-Saharan African countries to export certain products to the US duty free. Sullivan said African exports to the US rose 24percent to more than $24bn, with agricultural products accounting for $2.7bn in 2017. Madagascar’s garments exports to the US rose 57percent to $152bn and Ethiopia’s total exports accounted for $92bn. The US government, which was forced into a PR exercise recently, when Trump characterised African states as “shithole countries”, said it would continue to work with Africa to reduce impediments to trade and investment - and encourage intra-trading among the continent. Sullivan identified the East Africa community as needing more focus in terms of reducing time and costs associated with transporting goods. “These are really important,” he said, adding that many of the barriers keeping African countries from doing business with each other would be dealt with. He noted that Africa lagged behind the rest of the world in terms of intra-trading, and added: “We are supporting regional immigration. (The US will) help African economies to develop regional value chain to spike global markets.” They wanted to catapult Africa into the lucrative global...

Firms eyeing water transportation services on Lake Victoria may have to make do with undeveloped landing sites, which could eat into their starting costs. It is a lesson starters like Globology have learnt the hard way, even though there are plenty of opportunities and great need for the infrastructure. The firm recently launched ferry services from Asembo Bay (Kamito) to Homa Bay, in an effort to revive the collapsed Lake Victoria transport system. But the excitement among locals did not match the reality on the ground  as it sought to navigate the Winam Gulf. Globology general manager Seth Onyango said the vessel landing sites are wanting and need to be constructed for the viability of the water transport. “During the launch the landing sites were a challenge, we had to suspend the operations. We are now improving on the landing sites in Asembo Bay and Homa Bay by building jetties,” said Mr Onyango. Now the company has to dig deeper into its pocket to put up Sh 700million jetties at the landing site for the new route. “For us it is a new route, we are still not sure we will meet our target to ferry at least 132 passengers per trip. It a matter of wait-and-see,” he said. The challenge is not exclusive to this firm. Experts say inland water transport is viable, given the increasing road network. But challenges remain. Kenya Maritime Authority branch Inspector Jeremiah Onyango said if properly developed, water transport could play a vital role...

Increased use of cargo scanners at the port of Mombasa and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport largely helped the taxman to grow daily non-oil revenue by Sh131 million in six months ended last December compared to the similar period in 2016, fresh data shows. The Kenya Revenue Authority said collections from non-oil imports averaged Sh1.257 billion daily in the July-December 2017 period compared with Sh1.126 billion a year earlier. Commissioner-general John Njiraini also attributed the growth in daily revenue flows at the Customs to “benchmarking of cargo values to address undervaluation” and “stricter application of cargo auction processes”. “Customs recorded overall growth of 7.7 per cent, with non-oil collections, which account for about 70 per cent of revenue growing at 8.1 per cent,” Mr Njiraini, whose second three-year expires on March 3, said in a statement. “Customs performance, however, continued to be adversely impacted by sluggish import growth with container volumes in H (first half) recording marginal growth of 2.8 per cent compared to growth of 4.9 per cent in H1 of FY (financial year) 2016-17 (which ended last June).” The Scanner Integration Project, which connects all readers at border entry points to a command centre at Time Tower, has been largely funded by the Chinese government. The integration started last October and was initially set to be completed by March. The integration is expected to help customs officials monitor and analyse contents of cargo entering and leaving the country from the command centre. About Sh1 billion was invested in...

This comes after the completion of the standard gauge railway by the Kenyan government from Mombasa to Nairobi. Kenya ports authority has opened its doors to Ugandan businessmen to begin picking their goods from Nairobi instead of Mombasa. This comes after the completion of the standard gauge railway by the Kenyan government from Mombasa to Nairobi. This was revealed by The Managing Director of Kenya Ports Authority Catherine Mthuri during a meeting with lawmakers of the East African legislative assembely at the port of Mombasa. Source: NTV

The East African Legislative Assembly has called for closer co-operation between Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports to hasten importation and exportation of goods. The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has constituted two teams to look at the workings of the region’s transport corridors including ports. The Northern Corridor team, led by Mathias Kasamba, will cover the Mombasa port, the Kenya Revenue Authority and Holili-Taveta, Namanga and Malaba borders. “Much as the Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports serve the East African Community, there are areas where they can co-operate and hasten importation and exportation of goods,” said Mr Kasamba. EALA is seeking to develop policies that will among others increase resource allocation for the expansion of the Port of Mombasa to further improve efficiency at the port. In September 2017, Kenya ports Authority(KPA) announced that it had secured a Sh35 billion loan from the Japanese government for the construction of the second phase of the second container terminal at Mombasa port aimed at decongesting the port. “We already have the Sh35 billion financing from the Japanese government. We are now in the tendering process but construction must commence by January 2018,” said Ms Mturi-Wairi at the time. The biggest port in East Africa and the region’s trade gateway, Mombasa handles imports of fuel and consumer goods and exports of tea and coffee from landlocked neighbours such as Uganda and South Sudan and its traffic flows serve as a barometer of economic activity in the region. EALA is also keen...

Zanzibar — MEMBER states within the East African Community now wish to establish National Kiswahili Councils within their respective countries to show commitment in promoting the language in the region. The call was made here yesterday by Prof Kenneth Inyani Simala, Executive Secretary, East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) during a meeting with team of the East African Legislatives Assembly (EALA) delegation on 'the on-spot assessment of institutions, installations and facilities of the EAC on the central corridor.' "Despite financial challenges facing the Commission, we have been playing our part well, advising the governments on how we should move on. It is unfortunate that there is slowness in implementation," Prof Simala said here yesterday at the Commission offices. "It is only Tanzania which has the Kiswahili Council. I urge other member states to do the same and implement other agreed plans," the Executive Secretary said as he also listed some challenges facing the commission. The team of EALA delegation led by Hon Wanjiku Muhia from Kenya heard Prof talk about weakness in legislation, insufficient budget allocation, under staffing, and last year's attempted theft of the commission's funds from its account (he did not release details at the open meeting). He said that after raising voice including reporting to the police about the missing money from the Commission's account, the amount was returned, "But we need to know who had taken the money and why?" Prof Simala said he has visited Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya to see the pace of building...