Kenya has inked a government-to-government deal with Mexico set to see the country directly procure cheap maize from the Northern America state in the event imports are required next year. Director of crops at the Ministry of Agriculture Johnson Irungu said a team was in Mexico last month where the deal was agreed upon. “We have reached a government-to-government deal with Mexico and this will make it not only cheap, but also convenient to import maize,” said Dr Irungu. He said the precautionary arrangement would ensure there are no delays as witnessed in May when the decision to import was reached late amid rising consumer cost of flour. The subsidy programme, which ends this month, saw the government pump in Sh6 billion to lower flour shelf price after it hit a record high of Sh153 for a two-kilogramme packet before coming down to Sh90 following the intervention. Under the subsidy programme, the government sold maize to millers at Sh2,300 for a 90 kg bag despite firms importing the produce at above Sh4,000, with the State settling the difference. The deal will see the government sell the produce to millers at a lower cost, avoiding the expensive subsidy. Dr Irungu said the maize that the government is currently buying through National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) will play a crucial role in the event the subsidy comes to an end and millers are left without grain to mill. Under the subsidy programme, the government sold maize to millers at Sh2,300 for a...

East Africa’s economic growth is among the fastest in the world and its countries are becoming increasingly integrated and interdependent. USAID supports regional institutions, including the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and their member states to address issues that require collaboration between countries. PROMOTING REGIONAL TRADE: USAID is reducing barriers to trade with and within East Africa by improving the efficiency and transparency of cross-border transactions, harmonizing safety and quality standards and reducing the time and cost of doing business in the region. Through greater investment and trade opportunities, our programs are advancing the interests of African entrepreneurship and the private sector, as well as its American counterparts. ENHANCING REGIONAL FOOD SECURITY AND RESILIENCE: By strengthening the ability of regional organizations to deliver on their mandate, USAID is helping safe, quality food move quickly and freely throughout the region. These investments also support research to address major agricultural threats such as aflatoxin and maize lethal necrosis, and help communities withstand cycles of drought without needing to rely on humanitarian assistance. BRINGING POWER TO AFRICA: USAID works with national governments and regional organizations to develop and improve power infrastructure, such as power plants and grids, and create the policies and regulatory frameworks necessary to fully utilize the region’s substantial renewable energy resources. IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF EAST AFRICANS: USAID helps marginalized and at-risk communities living and working in border areas and transit corridors access quality health services,...

For years African leaders have toyed with the idea of free movement by citizens across the continent, even raising the possibility of a single African passport. Now some African countries are taking bold steps to encourage borderless travel that could spur trade and economic growth on a continent in desperate need of both. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced during his inauguration last week that the East African commercial hub will now give visas on arrival to all Africans. That follows similar measures by nations including Benin and Rwanda. "The freer we are to travel and live with one another, the more integrated and appreciative of our diversity we will become," Kenyatta said. The African Union has cheered such steps, calling it the direction the 54-nation continent needs to take. "I urge all African states that have not yet done so to take similar measures," AU Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said on Twitter after Kenya's announcement. Trade among African countries is at just 16 percent, while trade among European Unionstates is at 70 percent, Mahamat told AU trade ministers on Friday. For a continent whose leaders often speak fondly of "African brotherhood" and once pondered the idea of a United States of Africa, the visa policies of many countries for many years suggested little progress in implementing the continent-wide, visa-free ideal advocated by the AU. Africans can get a visa on arrival in 24 percent of African countries, yet North Americans, for example, have easier access on the continent, according to a 2017...

East African Civil Society Organizations' Forum (EACSOF) in collaboration with ActionAid's Global Platform will next week launch a three-year project for advocating African Charter. The project, among others, will mobilise the East African Civil Societies (CSOS) to support African Governance Architecture (Aga) through advocating for implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) within the region. The African Union (AU) adopted the ACDEG in January 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to promote democracy, rule of law and basic human rights, ensure democratic rule and constitutional changes of power through free, fair and transparent elections. Slated for December 11, 2017, at the East African community (EAC) Headquarters in Arusha, the grand inauguration of the project, will go alongside with three-day regional workshop, to create awareness to youth, journalists and civil society organisations. EACSOF acting chief executive officer Martha Makenge told journalists in Arusha that the EA regional youth workshop will ponder, among others, the Aga, which is the overall continental framework for promoting, nurturing, strengthening and consolidating democracy and governance in Africa. The workshop will focus on six broad areas such as understanding Aga and ACDEG, youth activism in East Africa, enhancing Youth Leadership skills through efficient leadership and facilitation skills processes. It will also cover campaign planning by developing youth critical pathway, tools for mobilisation, organising and engagement strategies and skills via creative activism and non-violent actions. "Public action based on the baseline to raise awareness on the Aga and advocate to the government to ratify, implement,...

As the UK calls time on its 44 year membership of the European Union (EU), repercussions are felt further afield. African countries which currently access the EU via the UK, such as Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, or have the UK as their main end market within the EU will be exposed when the UK ceases to be an EU Member State. The impact will be different according to trade patterns: for example, Francophone countries that traditionally trade more with EU countries other than the UK will be less affected than those whose main EU trading partner is the UK. However, there are signs that the UK is keen to preserve and promote trade with Africa. In June 2017, the UK published its trade policy in relation to developing countries and in July 2017, the Minister for Trade Policy, Lord Price, visited South Africa and Namibia and met with ministers from the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) and Mozambique to discuss maintaining the existing trading relationship. There have also been recent official visits to The Gambia and Ghana. Meanwhile, the depreciation in value of the pound relative to major currencies since the Brexit vote, is negatively affecting value for companies in Africa with revenues and reserves in sterling and may lead to companies converting reserves into US Dollars. RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF BREXIT Terms of trade The UK's notice to leave the EU expires end March 2019, but the terms of leaving remain the subject of negotiation. The UK...

Employers have welcomed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Tuesday announcement that Kenya is opening its borders to Africans, arguing it is a step in the right direction. Mr Kenyatta announced, shortly after he was sworn in for a second term, that any African wishing to visit Kenya will be eligible to get a visa on arrival. Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) executive director Jacqueline Mugo said that aside from making movement easier, issuance of visas on arrival will save costs and time. “This is a positive thing and is exactly what we have been asking for in order to enable Africa present itself to the world as one market,” she said. The rise of economic emigrants, security and sovereignty are among the reasons countries introduced travel visas as it enables immigration authorities to vet applicants. Director of Immigration, Maj Gen (Rtd) Gordon Kihalangwa said he could not give an authoritative analysis of the Executive directive at the moment. “At the point of making this directive, a lot of thought had gone into it, but we need to look at it closely and come up with the modalities of how it shall work,” he said. Kenya is currently grappling with drug trafficking and the terrorism menace, which some fear could escalate with the blanket opening up of the borders. Mr Kihalangwa noted that incoming visitors will still be vetted to ensure only well-meaning people get into the country. Currently, only 13 out of 55 countries in Africa have allowed liberal entry - described...

For decades, Kenya and other African countries have overly tended to spend much of their political and diplomatic capital engaging countries located far from their borders, particularly the former colonial masters. As a matter of fact, Africans treat their peers with inexplicable disdain and hostility. Little wonder that it is sometimes easier to communicate or trade with someone located in Europe or Asia than on the continent. While much of that is informed by a colonial legacy that should have — with conscious effort — been eradicated, the situation persists. Granted, some trading and economic blocs have put effort to address this structural anomaly, but we are not there yet. The East African Community (EAC) has generally done a commendable job though. For instance, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have continued to open their capital markets to EAC members. Tanzania, albeit belatedly, has followed suit. This will help listed companies in the bloc easily raise capital as well as allow investors, including pension funds to diversify portfolios and make some cash. On Tuesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta during his second-term swearing in borrowed a leaf from Rwandan head of state Paul Kagame and allowed Africans coming to Kenya to be issued with visas at the point of entry. While this looks like an obvious step to take, it will have a lot of implications. For one, it can ease domestic tourism that should act as stabiliser for the fragile tourism industry. Besides, trading between the continent’s economies that has by and large...

Employers have welcomed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Tuesday announcement that Kenya is opening its borders to Africans, arguing it is a step in the right direction. Mr Kenyatta announced, shortly after he was sworn in for a second term, that any African wishing to visit Kenya will be eligible to get a visa on arrival. Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) executive director Jacqueline Mugo said that aside from making movement easier, issuance of visas on arrival will save costs and time. “This is a positive thing and is exactly what we have been asking for in order to enable Africa present itself to the world as one market,” she said. The rise of economic emigrants, security and sovereignty are among the reasons countries introduced travel visas as it enables immigration authorities to vet applicants. Director of Immigration, Maj Gen (Rtd) Gordon Kihalangwa said he could not give an authoritative analysis of the Executive directive at the moment. “At the point of making this directive, a lot of thought had gone into it, but we need to look at it closely and come up with the modalities of how it shall work,” he said. Kenya is currently grappling with drug trafficking and the terrorism menace, which some fear could escalate with the blanket opening up of the borders. Mr Kihalangwa noted that incoming visitors will still be vetted to ensure only well-meaning people get into the country. Currently, only 13 out of 55 countries in Africa have allowed liberal entry - described...

The Port of Mombasa has been declared the best transit and supply logistics Port in Eastern and Southern Africa. In a colourful African Ports Awards ceremony held on Thursday in held in Livingston, Zambia on Thursday, The Port of Mombasa managed by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) also emerged second runners up in the category of best container terminal productivity after South Africa’s Port of Durban and Port of Ngqura respectively. In this category, the Ports of Durban and East London under the Transnet National Ports Authority of South Africa took position two and three respectively in a hotly contested competition that featured 12 Ports from the region. Speaking while receiving the award on behalf of the Authority after a two-day Port Management of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) investment forum and annual conference in Zambia, KPA Managing Director Mrs. Catherine Mturi-Wairi expressed delight for the award. The award comes after the Port of Mombasa was recently named, for the third year in a row, the best cruise Port in Africa by the World Travel Awards. South Africa’s Ports under Transnet National Ports Authority scooped most of the awards with all their four major commercial Ports featuring in the competition. Besides winning in the category of best container terminal in productivity, the Port of Durban also emerged leader in transshipment as well as best facility in management information system in the competition where entries for the award were coordinated and evaluated by CODEX African Ports Awards Consultant Company based in Abidjan, Ivory...

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) forecasts that global trade will rise by 3.6 per cent by the end of the year. Sea transport will continue to play a key role in this growth, given that nearly 90 per cent of all goods in the world are transported by sea. However, this rapid growth in international trade and cargo volumes, travellers and conveyances presents increasingly new challenges. They include security threats of terrorism, illegal trade in natural resources, trade in substances that pose a threat to public health and safety, illicit financial flows (money laundering) as well as piracy. TRADE AND TRAVEL Customs administrations and other players in the global supply chain need to continuously build and upgrade the capacity to handle the increased volumes and travel whilst enhancing security. This calls for a balance between facilitation of trade and travel, and enforcement of controls to safeguard public safety. Cargo inspection is a critical aspect in safeguarding the supply chain, security and protection of society against the organised transnational crimes of terrorism, hazardous substances and environmental crimes, and facilitation of legitimate trade. For the past 15 years, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has used modern cargo inspection tools such as X-ray cargo scanning at the Mombasa seaport and airport. The use of non-intrusive inspection equipment is consistent with the World Customs Organisation’s (WCO) Safe Framework of Standards, which states “that non-intrusive inspection equipment and radiation detection equipment should be available and used for conducting inspections, and in accordance with risk assessment....