The governments of Kenya and Tanzania have downplayed reports that there is bad blood between the two on trade. There are reports that Tanzanians have been tough on Kenyan traders with the most recent incident being that of Tanzania authorities burning live chicken imported into their country from Kenya. There is also an incident where over 10,000 head of cattle belonging to Kenyans were auctioned by President John Magufuli’s administration. PS for International Trade Chris Kiptoo and Tanzania trade Permanent Secretary Prof Elisante Ole Gabriel jointly agreed there are no trade barriers between the two nations. Kiptoo however said there has been a decline in business between Kenya and Tanzania since 2012. Kenya was making over Sh46 billion in trade with Tanzania, while the Tanzania was making over Sh20 billion trading with Kenya. “Last year, Kenya made Sh34 billion and Tanzania made Sh13 billion in trade between the two countries. The business was in favour of Kenya, but as you can see it has been on a decline since 2012,” said Kiptoo. “This is why we are here today to discuss some of the trade barriers.” Tanzania is Kenya’s number two in trade after Uganda, but non-tariff trade barriers have been affecting business. “It is the responsibility of the political leadership in the respective countries to make a favourable environment for trade and investments. That is why we are here to engage,” said Gabriel. He said they have agreed that there be no sudden changes to trade laws and regulations...

Kenya is among 23 countries in Africa that launched the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), a move expected to lower air transport costs in the continent by 25 per cent. The open skies treaty which was signed on Monday at the just concluded African Union Summit on governance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is set to make it easier for Africans to visit African countries without the hassle of long paperwork-laden visa applications or expensive, long-winding air travel and will inadvertently boost the continent’s economy. According to the International Air Transport Association, an open air policy in Africa will add $1.3 billion (Sh136 billion) to the continent’s gross domestic product every year and create 150,000 additional jobs. In Kenya, the opening up of African air routes will add $76.9 million (Sh8.14 billion) to the country’s GDP every year while giving the national carrier, Kenya Airways unfettered access and multiple destinations to any city in the countries under the arrangement, as part of African Union’s move to improve connectivity and integrate countries Currently most countries in Africa are applying protectionism policy to safeguard their domestic carriers from competition, denying regional flights fifth freedom right. KQ for instance cannot stop in Kigali Rwanda to pick customers Other regional airlines that are set to benefit from the treaty includes: Ethiopian Airlines, RwandaAir and South African Airways, this even as statistics show that 80 per cent of air travel from Africa to the world is controlled by non-African Airlines. “We have seen 23 member...

A trade initiative is helping mid-size businesses tap opportunities there. A Kerala-based spices company recently started growing chillies in Rwanda, which is estimated to have increased the income of farmers there six-fold. A leather company from Tamil Nadu has set up a plant in Uganda producing one million pairs of shoes annually and is generating new jobs in both countries. And, 300 Ethiopian artists are getting handloom and handicrafts training in Bengaluru. These are just a few of the success stories that have been spun over the past two-three years by Geneva-based development agency International Trade Centre’s initiative — ‘Supporting Indian Trade and Investment for Africa’ (SITA). “We are looking at mid-sized companies which have less of a natural inclination to look abroad. Through the SITA initiative we are building bridges between India and East Africa by taking Indian companies to these countries to see with their own eyes what the opportunities are,” said ITC Executive Director Arancha Gonzalez, in a telephonic interview with BusinessLine. Investment flows worth $71 million and additional trade flows of $26.5 million have so far been generated between India and East Africa (with an additional $10 million in the pipeline) as part of the six-year project (2014-2020) funded by the UK’s Department of International Development. Gonzalez will be in India later this week and visit Jaipur, Chennai and Bengaluru to take stock of the progress made so far and prepare the ground for more partnerships. Multiple sectors The sectors being promoted include leather, spices, pulses, textile...

In a world looking increasingly inwards, Africa will need to make its own opportunities, writes Kingsley Makhubela. Changes in the global landscape require emerging markets to consider how they must shape their future. Many countries in the developed world have focused their efforts and resources inwards as a result of challenging economic times. There is a danger that a shift away from emerging markets will negatively affect the global economy’s ability to grow. This would not bode well for Africa, given its growing integration into the global economy in recent years. To mitigate this, Africa must take steps to secure its own share of global economic growth and African citizens must sustain the economic growth of the continent. The greatest opportunity to realise its growth potential is often overlooked — Africa’s ability to trade and do business with itself. What is required is an inward and outward strategy acting in tandem — outwardly cementing Africa’s place in the global economy through foreign investment and improved trading links while internally driving the integration of regional trade. It is no coincidence that Africa’s recent growth, epitomised by the label "Africa rising", was in part realised due to increased levels of foreign direct investment. Improvements in fiscal policies, governance and regulatory frameworks, along with a move to diversify away from commodities, presented greater opportunities to investors. If Africa is going to capitalise on this base, it needs to collaborate on a shared future. Africa’s development must be underpinned by further regional integration and...

Nigeria's SME-dominant market is poised to overtake Kenya and South Africa in terms of cloud adoption in 2018 says Adebayo Sanni, MD at Oracle Nigeria. The West African country has only recently emerged from its first economic recession in over two decades and the experience has forced businesses to review their IT spending strategies and relevant technologies – and this has set the scene for improved cloud uptake, he says. The company believes by 2025, 80% of IT budgets will be spent on cloud services, all enterprise data will be stored in the cloud and 100% of application development and testing will be conducted in the cloud. But the real impact of cloud is a true barometer of success, says Sanni. "Today, the Nigerian economy is bolstered by a thriving small to medium enterprise (SME) community that makes up over 90% of the market, with many engaging in business that can only be made possible through cloud technology." He adds that the government's vision to be one of the largest economies globally by 2020 is a key driver behind cloud adoption. Market growth Regional representatives at market analysis and research firm IDC anticipate growth in cloud services in 2018, driven by issues such as the increase in hardware prices and investment by top tier cloud providers in Africa. The company has stated that in South Africa up to 93% of companies are developing a cloud strategy and are either in the implementation or planning phase of their cloud journey. Liquid...

There is life after the launch of the standard gauge railway, Container Freight Station (CFS) operators have been told. At least not for now. With freight trains hauling 216 containers or 4,000 tonnes daily from Mombasa port, there have been fears that little cargo would be available for CFSs. According to Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina, the railway will be extended to cover all the container berths at the port, meaning that cargo will be offloaded from the ship onto the wagons and delivered to the expanded Nairobi Inland Container Depot within eight hours. Freight trains started ferrying cargo on January 1 when a full load of 216 containers were transported to Nairobi. Two days later, there was a cargo deficit, forcing KR to delay haulage until the right volumes are achieved. KR started by charging Sh50,000 per twenty foot container with importers having to incur an extra Sh15,000 to shift their goods to the door-step in the last mile transport. Truckers charge between Sh65,000 and Sh80,000 for the same load. But two weeks ago, Mr Maina announced reduction of the rates from Sh50,000 for the twenty foot container to Sh35,000, sending the CFS owners into panic. “This now is crazy and we will have to go back to the drawing board because importers are excited by these rates,” said one operator requesting to remain anonymous. CFS Association of Kenya chief executive officer Daniel Nzeki said they were still taking stock of the effects of the new rates and...

Former Meru Governor Peter Munya has been handed the task of promoting regional integration, just over a year after he was accused of wrecking it. Mr Munya, who made political U-turns during the electioneering season last year, ditching Jubilee for two days to Nasa before returning to the fold, will now be in charge of East African Community, and the Northern Corridor Development, if the National Assembly endorses him. He was quick to accept the nomination: AGENDA AND VISION “I take this opportunity to thank His Excellency the President for the honour and privilege he has accorded me and the people of Meru by nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as CS in charge of East African Community and Northern Corridor Development. “I promise to serve with dedication to help the president achieve his agenda and vision of widening and deepening regional integration,” he added. But for him as the CS for EAC and Northern Corridor Development, perhaps the shoe will be in the other foot. In July 2016, Mr Munya caused controversy in Somalia when he visited Somaliland, a breakaway region yet to be recognised internationally, ostensibly to promote easier regulations on miraa from his county. While in Somalia, the then Meru governor met with Somaliland Deputy President Abdurrahman Ishmael, the Foreign Affairs minister and his Finance counterpart, where he reportedly offered to lobby for the region’s international recognition in exchange for freer Miraa deals. The proposal irked Mogadishu, who returned the favour by temporarily banning Miraa exports...

Arusha — ANOTHER submarine telecommunications system is set to link the East African region with South Africa, Asia and Europe. A statement from China's Huawei Marine, now made available here, reveals that HM was completing a 'desktop study' for a new subsea cable system, dubbed the 'Peace Subsea Cable' whose first phase is meant to connect South Africa, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia and Pakistan (Gwadar and Karachi). Peace is short for 'Pakistan East Africa Cable Express' and the system has been designed by Chinese firm, Tropic Science, to provide a new information expressway for interconnection among Asia, Africa and Europe - through existing land and subsea cables The report further explains that Huawei Marine would begin a marine survey on January 15, with the Peace system expected to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2019. The first phase will span some 6,200km and would link Pakistan (Gwadar and Karachi), Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya. The second phase would provide an "extended option" to South Africa and Europe with a total length of about 13,000km, all based on 200G dense wave-division multiplexing technology on a design capacity of 60Tbit/s. "The Peace system will provide a new information expressway for interconnection among Asia, Africa and Europe by connecting with existing land and subsea cables," Huawei Marine and Tropic Science said in a joint statement. Tropic Science chairman He Liehui said the system will become "an important infrastructure for Asian, African and European intercontinental communications and promote economic development of the regions"....

Users of cargo facilities at the Moi international airport in Mombasa are pushing for establishment of cold storage at the airport to facilitate exports. Mohamed Abdulahi, a director at the Mombasa Slaughter House said they have secured contracts to supply beef to Middle East but are constrained when it comes to storage at the airport ahead of shipment. “We are expanding with a plan to invest more than Sh100 million to buy processing equipment so that we meet a demand of up to 10 tonnes per month but the problem is that at the airport there is limited space for storage,” he said Wednesday. He said when flights are delayed they are forced to find alternative storage, which is expensive, making them uncompetitive in the target markets. Other exporters who need cold storage facilities at the airport include Kenya Meat Commission and horticultural producers. Their push comes at a time construction work for a new cargo handling container freight station (CFS) at the airport is nearly complete. The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) awarded the contract to GN Cargo Kenya Limited. According to Guled Aden, a director at GN Cargo, there are a few regulatory procedures remaining before they roll out the service. “We will also have cold storage facilities and we expect to launch it in March after we obtain all the necessary approvals,” he said. Establishment of the centre is expected to raise export volumes channelled through the airport with the CFS targeting raising fish and meat exports to...

Production of railway parts like T-beams and sleepers for the standard gauge railway between Nairobi and Naivasha has started. The China Communication Constriction Company (CCCC) says for the last one month, it has prefabricated 32,928 rail sleepers and 126 T-beams at the Emali construction site. Sleepers hold the rails upright and keep them spaced to the correct gauge while the beams are load bearing structures reinforced with concrete, wood or metal, with a T-shape cross section. The rail sleepers and T-beams will be used to construct a 39-kilometre stretch starting at the Nairobi terminus to the Ngong Hill section. “To cover the 39km, the section office will pre-fabricate 389 spans of T-beams, with each span made of two symmetrical sections and 80,000 rail sleepers,” the company said. They are pre-fabricating three spans of T-beam and 784 rail sleepers daily, according to the CCCC spokesperson Steve Zhao. The 120km Nairobi-Naivasha line is funded by Exim-Bank of China at a cost Sh150 billion. Mr Zhao who was speaking during a media familiarisation tour. Phase 2B of the project from Naivasha to Kisumu will cost Sh350 billion, the bulk of which is expected to be financed through loans from Exim Bank of China. Source: Business Daily