Heavy investments in infrastructure in Kenya has meant increased importation of heavy machinery and equipment. Increased spend on such projects as expansion of road network, building of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) as well as geothermal, wind  and solar power  projects has resulted in shipping in of abnormal cargo. It is not uncommon to spot huge boilers, for example, being moved, snaking their way to factories either in Kenya or in neighbouring countries. The rising number of such abnormal cargo on the road prompted Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to formulate regulations, which were enforced in mid-October 2013, to reduce damage on the road and ensure safety of other motorists. The big question is how this type of cargo is moved with no or minor damages. Abnormal cargo, according to the Kenya National Highways Authority Regulations 2013, is one that exceeds the legal load or dimensional limits under the Road Traffic Act. The overall length for rigid vehicle is restricted at 12.5 metres, that of articulated vehicles at 17.4 metres, while a combination of vehicles is 22 metres under the traffic law. The allowable axle load limit on roads in the six-nation East African Community is 56 tonnes, with an additional cargo attracting an overload penalty. KeNHA, however, issues special exemption permits to transportation and logistics firms in business of moving abnormal load on a case by case basis. Such licences attract an additional fee ranging from Sh5,000 to Sh250,000 depending on the size and weight of the cargo. The...

Britain’s Secretary of State for International Development, the Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt, has hailed the “incredible power of technology to deliver aid in new ways” on her first official visit to Kenya. While in the country, Ms. Mordaunt saw how UK aid is supporting vulnerable communities in Marsabit County devastated by East Africa’s drought. In Nairobi, Ms Mordaunt also heard how UK support for innovative programmes is helping to create jobs for a rising population. Ms Mordaunt was also in the country to hear from British business about how new technology has helped them tap into the Kenyan market. The UK is the fifth largest exporter of goods to Kenya and trade between the two countries is worth over £1 billion annually. Ms Mordaunt also held a successful roundtable meeting with Kenya Cabinet Secretaries. The meeting chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury, Mr. Henry Rotich focused on ways of enhancing Kenya-UK bilateral relations and developing a partnership that will benefit both Kenya and the UK. The meeting also discussed President Kenyatta’s big four priorities: manufacturing, affordable housing, universal health care and food security for all Kenyans and agreed to work together to promote this agenda. During the meeting, the two governments agreed to co-host with the International Disability Alliance, the Global Disability Summit in London in July 2018 as a signal of commitment to work for all people. During her visit the International Development Secretary, launched the second phase of Trade Mark East Africa. The UK is significantly...

The East African Community will have a new logo later this week after judges scrutinize over 400 entries of a recently announced competition. The EAC spokesperson Richard Othieno says by the end of Wednesday, all the entries will have been presented to the branding experts for scrutiny. Also to be designed are logos for the three organs of the Community and eight institutions, totalling eleven. Under the EAC Brand Architecture competition, bidders are also required to recommend the corporate colour of the organization and a logo/emblem which should be a unique unifier of the EAC. The exercise will see a new flag designed for the Community, replacing the current one which has been criticised for having “too many colours. The winner of a design competition, which was launched in Juba, South Sudan on June 1st, 2017 and open to youths, will be awarded $ 25,000 (approximately Sh. 55 million). Source: 93.3 KFM

The East African Community is gearing up for the leaders’ retreat next month expected to seek sustainable ways to finance major infrastructure and health projects. For the infrastrcutre sector, the regional leaders will also consider new strategies to engage with the private sector and multi-lateral agencies such as the African Development Bank in financing. “The Heads of State Retreat on Infrastructure will also seek ways to mobilize the required financing to construct connecting roads that will decongest the cities and enhance ports logistics”, the Arusha-based EAC secretariat said at the weekend. Themed ‘Deepening and widening regional integration through Infrastructure and Health Sector Development in EAC Partner States’, the event will take place at Speke Resort, Munyonyo on February 21st to 22nd. “The Heads of State will address infrastructure and health development and financing in EA”, the statement said, adding that the meetings will also discuss ways to attain the objectives of the EAC Development Strategy. The retreat is expected to give impetus to infrastructure and health development by way of harnesing political support for regional flagship projects, funding committments and public-private arrangements. Railways, ports and inland waterways will be key priority projects to be discussed during the coming event as will be ways to seek finance to decongest the cities and improve ports logistics. Todate, three high level retreats on infrastructure development for the EAC bloc have been held so far; in 2008, 2012 and 2014. Through the retreats, several projects in transport, energy, civil aviation have been identified for...

Washington is expected to start public hearings on the benefits of the duty-free window deal with Africa today, an event being followed keenly in Nairobi. Trade principal secretary Chris Kiptoo says the country is following the developments where the Donald Trump administration starts reviewing the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) that earns Kenya billions. African countries have been gripped by anxiety following the election of Mr Trump last year. He announced he will review all the international trade deals. “We are keenly monitoring the development in the US when it starts discussion on Agoa on January 23,” said Dr Kiptoo. Mr Trump has openly declared that he will not support international trade deals including the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). Last year, the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (Smart), an American trade body petitioned US trade authorities to strike off Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania from selling duty-free textile and apparel exports in the US for rejecting second-hand imports from the country. About 80 per cent of textile and apparel produced at the Export Promotion Zones (EPZs) are sold under Agoa— a trade pact, which allows US buyers to import goods from a number of sub-Saharan African countries without paying taxes. Kenya, is however, yet to fully exploit its share of the US market under the Agoa plan as it currently exports 10 products out of a list of many issued by America. Last year, the country used a paltry eight per cent...

Mombasa is set to get a free trade zone (FTZ) for motor vehicles this year in a policy move that could create thousands of new jobs for traders and service providers. An FTZ, such as the world renowned Dubai, is a re-export gateway where goods in transit are temporarily stored to avoid strict customs regulations and lengthy administrative procedures that home-bound imports face. The establishment of such a facility in Kenya - almost four years after the Cabinet gave its nod to the plan - means vehicle imports destined to other markets in the region will first be received and sorted in Mombasa. Goods in such a customs haven only get taxed when they end up in the local market. The country benefits from the job opportunities created for citizens and from collecting cargo handling fees. The 1,000-acre Mombasa re-export gateway will initially handle 100,000 vehicles annually, Treasury secretary Henry Rotich estimates in a draft Budget Policy Statement (BPS) released on Friday. The State-owned facility is tipped as one of the flagship projects that the government is banking on to raise the 2018 export earnings by 10 per cent and 20 per cent annually by 2022.  “We intend to strengthen trade facilitation programme,” Mr Rotich says in the draft BPS. The Mombasa FTZ is conceived to serve the landlocked states under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). All the vehicles on transit will be moved directly from Kilindini seaport to the FTZ from where they can be...

British funding of a 10-year-old aid package to drought-hit communities in Kenyais to end in 2024 as part of a new economic partnership with the country, the international development secretary has told the Guardian. The £143m programme, which has helped 600,000 vulnerable people in emergencies via direct cash transfers – a system criticised by some Conservatives as the equivalent of exporting the dole – is the first UK aid project of its kind which will be wholly taken over by a government in Africa. In an interview with the Guardian on her first visit to the continent as secretary of state, Penny Mordaunt said Kenya was a “profound success story” that had “stepped up and taken responsibility” by investing in its own people. Last week, Mordaunt warned Britain would cut aid spending to developing countries if they failed to invest in their own people. Setting out her priorities as a new development secretary, she said she would focus increasingly on helping developing countries “stand on their own two feet” and pledged to use aid as a “Brexit-ready proposition to boost trade and investment with developing countries” in a mutually beneficial relationship. Speaking to the Guardian in Nairobi at the weekend before flying to Somalia, Mordaunt said Kenya was a perfect model of this. “Kenya is an example of a country which I think is doing the right thing.” “There will be other nations who have said: why would they invest in vaccinations and start building up particular services because the international community is going to do...

Governments and regulators in East Africa are facing a herculean task of expanding and deepening financial markets to spur sustainable economic growth. A survey of stockmarkets in 17 African countries showed that only Kenya’s financial markets rank among the top five leading markets on the continent. According to the Africa Financial Markets Index (AFMI) ranking by Barclays Africa Group, although Kenya’s financial market is the most advanced in the East African region, it ranks behind South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana and Namibia on the continent. The index, which measures Africa’s financial markets based on depth and breadth, access to foreign exchange, transparency, tax and regulations, macro economic opportunity, legality and enforceability, ranks Rwanda at position eight, Uganda at 10 and Tanzania 11. Kenya emerged the leading in East Africa due its strong contract enforcement policies, market depth as well as the capacity of local investors. The country also led its East African peers market depth pillar, which focussed on the range of financial products, currencies and hedging options, and capacity of local investors’ parameters. Kenya is also ranked ahead of economic giants like Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt due to the ongoing reforms in its financial markets. “African financial markets have traditionally suffered from a lack of depth relative to other regions. This has been a key factor holding back the ability of firms and investors within and beyond the continent to exploit expansion opportunities,” said Barclays managing director and head of markets, George Asante. Ethiopia Although Ethiopia is one of the...

Prices of goods in East Africa are expected to remain stable this year, a reprieve for consumers, following near double-digit inflation last year. A report by African Development Bank (AfDB) released last week indicates that inflation in the region is expected to fall sharply due to improved crop harvests, having spiked to nearly 10 per cent last year. East Africa is also expected to post the fastest growth on the continent, which will likely attract more investors into the region. “Growth is expected to remain buoyant, reaching 5.9 per cent in 2018 and 6.1 per cent in 2019. Strong growth is widespread in the sub-region, with many countries (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) growing five per cent or more,” said AfDB in its 2018 Africa Economic Outlook report on the continent’s macroeconomic performance and prospects. Factors to spur growth Some of the factors expected to contribute to faster economic growth are increased private consumption and manufacturing, especially in Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda, and investment in public infrastructure in Djibouti and Ethiopia. “African economies have been resilient and are gaining momentum,” said Akinwumi Adesina, president of AfDB. “Challenges remain, especially for the structural transformations that would create more jobs and reduce poverty by deepening investment in agriculture and developing agricultural value chains to spur modern manufacturing and services.” At the launch of the report at the headquarters in Abidjan on Wednesday, Mr Adesina said that Africa’s infrastructure requirements are about $130 billion to 170 billion a year. “That’s far higher than...

The Directorate of Horticulture has banned all avocado exports following a severe shortage that has raised prices of the fruit to a three-and-a-half-year high. The average price of a 90-kilogramme bag of avocado shot up to Sh2,560 in December, making it the highest cost of the commodity since May 2014, when a bag was selling for slightly above Sh2,700. A single avocado is currently selling for between Sh50 and Sh80 in Nairobi’s retail markets, up from between Sh10 and Sh20 each during high season. The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), under which the Directorate of Horticulture falls, attributes the increase in the price of the fruit to the biting shortage of popular varieties, Fuerte and Hass, which are off-season. Avocado contributes seven per cent of Kenya’s total fruit export to the global market but production has been static over the years. Farm production stood at 230,948 tonnes in 2015, rising slightly to 246,057 tonnes in 2016. About 387.2 tonnes worth Sh5.4 billion was exported in 2016, compared to 461.1 tonnes worth Sh7.1 billion last year as per AFA data. Foreign investors have been keen on financing the avocado sub-sector in Kenya because of its low-risk investment environment, wide market access, and improved infrastructure. The Netherlands Trust Fund launched a $1 million project in 2016 to enhance the export competitiveness of the avocado sector in Kenya. The project’s strategy includes updating the commodity business plan for the avocado sub-sector and increasing the export capacity of exporting SMEs and farmer groups linking...