The only flag still missing from the railway master plan of the East African region ratified in 2008 is that of Tanzania. It is not missing by mistake. Tanzania, which is East Africa’s most populous country, was not on the table when the presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Southern Sudan sat to ratify the protocol for the development of a Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) connecting the port of Mombasa to Kampala, Kigali and Juba. Instead, Tanzania opted to walk alone and only bring on board any of its neighbours that would buy into its vision. As Kenya rushed to build the first phase of its modern rail in record speed to the envy of its neighbours, Tanzania took a back seat, the way a second born child would do, lurking in the shadows and learning from the mistakes of his elder brother, then retreated to plot how to do a better job when his turn came. And before Kenya could finish bragging about its fete in building the best railway in the region since the last century, Tanzania signed a second contract that will see it build an electric railway line that will move nearly twice as fast as the Kenyan line but at a fraction of the cost. Last week, Dar, which has upped its silent rivalry with Kenya as it races to compete for the top spot as the economic power house in East Africa, awarded a $1.92 billion contract to a Turkish firm to build 422 kilometres...

The Port of Mombasa received a total of 37 vessels that discharged and loaded containerised and loose cargo in the week ended September 27th 2017.Alongside the busy container terminal berths went 12 vessels recording ship average working time of 1.86 days as container dwell time registered 4.11 days.. The Conventional cargo terminal berthed 25 general cargo ships and handled 261,485 metric tonnes of cargo at an average of 37,355 metric tonnes per day.An on the spot check revealed that vessels at the Container Terminals discharged 13,367 Twenty Feet Equivalent Units (TEUs), full and empty recording an increase of 3, 174 TEUs or 31.13 percent compared to the previous week. The same ships loaded 12,397 TEUs for export, registering an increase of 1,041 TEUs or 9.2 percent compared to the previous week During the week under review, the total container yard population registered a total of 16,748 TEUs. This comprised 3,808 TEUs awaiting pickup order, 4,732 TEUS ready for collection and 1,243 TEUs full exports (Nominated/Un-nominated). Others included 1,209 transhipments 4,888 TEUs empties and 868 TEUS at the Customs Warehouse. Deliveries of containers from the port by road transport registered 11,141 TEUs while the rail transport lifted 260 TEUs only. The Container Freight Stations (CFS) received 820,768 TEUs, delivered 817,270 TEUs leaving a balance of 3,498 TEUs. Import population breakdown showed that, during the week the port had 5,579 TEUs transit bound and another 3,591 TEUs for local destinations. Containers destined for Uganda which is the traditional leading port customer in...

NAIROBI. — The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) yesterday signed a $90 million deal that will boost lending to Kenya’s small to medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). AfDB Director General for the East African Regional Hub Gabriel Negatu told a media briefing in Nairobi that under the agreement, they will extend the line of credit to the Kenyan bank in two tranches. “The first portion of $50 million will be for onward lending to SMEs in the infrastructure, transport, construction and agricultural sectors, while the second portion of 40 million dollars will be reserved for trade finance,” Negatu said. AfDB will provide the funding to CBA in foreign currency at lower than commercial lending rates. According to the pan-African bank, SMEs have difficulty in accessing foreign currency in the international markets due to Kenya’s systematic risks. Negatu said that the financing is part of the bank’s commitment to promote inclusive economic development by increasing SME’s access to credit. The trade finance line of credit will represent the AfDB’s first intervention in East Africa in the trade finance sector. CBA has presence in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda and has over 22 million accounts in its Mshwari digital banking platform. CBA Group Managing Director Isaac Awuondo said that the financing will enhance the bank’s ability to target the SMEs which are a critical pillar of Kenya’s economy. Awuondo said that SMEs account for 80 percent of employment opportunities in both formal and informal sectors. He added that SMEs typically face difficulty in accessing long-term finance...

In order to achieve our economic goals as envisioned in the 2030 development blue-print, we need to be deliberate in creating an export push for our local goods. A growth in our export value will not only increase revenue to our country through foreign exchange earnings, but will also have a socio-developmental impact by catalyzing the creation of productive jobs, thereby absorbing the large numbers of unemployed youth. In other words, exports ensure a healthy circular flow of income, stimulating an increase in the production of local goods and expansion of industries, consequently opening up opportunities for employment. Raising the national income also translates to increased public funds that would enable the Government to adequately provide and maintain the equal distribution of public goods and basic amenities for all citizens, ultimately increasing their quality of life. Export growth is not just beneficial for economic growth, it the supports social and political development of a country. The unveiling of the National Trade Policy mid this year re-sparked enthusiasm in industry, as it sort to enhance export competitiveness through investment in value-add industries thereby expanding our regional and global markets. In fact, the new policy places emphasis on turning Kenya into an Export-led economy, in an effort to support inclusive development. Whilst this vision is indeed laudable, the tangibility of it is still out of reach owing to various challenges faced currently both locally and regionally. At the moment, despite the immense opportunities that lie in the region, Kenya’s total export earnings...

Data from SWIFT shows that FIN traffic growth in East Africa has outperformed the total growth of SWIFT globally. In the year to date, total message traffic volumes grew by 20.1% versus 8.2% growth for SWIFT worldwide. This clearly illustrates the increasingly important role that East Africa plays in SWIFT’s global business. Figures released at SWIFT’s Business Forum East Africa also show intra-regional traffic has increased 19.8%. Data also shows that intra-regional FIN payments traffic is up 19.8% from 2015, and now accounts for 69% of FIN payments traffic in the region. The average daily number of messages has almost double since 2013, from 15,234 to 27,907 in 2016. This growth in intra-regional FIN payments could be a reflection of the success of the East African Payment System, which was established by the East African Community in 2013. The multi-currency system, operating on SWIFT, links the domestic payments systems in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. It makes cross-border fund transfers much easier within the Community, supporting the free movement of goods, labour and services. The system aims to reduce transaction time and lower the cost of doing business in the region. SWIFT traffic growth in the East African Community is significantly higher than the rest of the continent, which also saw major growth. Total message traffic volumes in Africa have increased by 15.4% this year. This is still greater than in EMEA overall at 9.4%, the Americas at 7.8% and Asia Pacific at 5.4%. The growth in East Africa is...

Ministers from Eastern and Central African blocs meet today in Republic of Congo capital Brazzaville to chart a common position on the COP 23 in November in Bonn, Germany. COP 23 is the latest of the series of meetings of Conference of Parties that are signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty through which that member states commit to reduce greenhouse gas emission. The ministers expected to meet today in the Republic of Congo capital of Brazzaville are from the East African Community (EAC) and the Economic Community for Central African States (ECCAS). Rwanda subscribes to both blocs. The central focus of the meet is the acceleration of the operationalisation of the climate commission for the Congo Basin. Also on agenda is developing a strategy on how to speed up the operationalisation of the Congo Basin Commission of which the Blue Fund of the Congo Basin, the Green Business Fund and other initiatives created to ensure economic development within the region do not compromise environment conservation. The Blue Fund for the Congo Basin was ratified by 12 countries, including Rwanda, that heads the Commission of Central African Forests. Finding common ground The ministerial meeting was preceded yesterday by one for experts from the two blocs. Rwanda is represented by Dr Jean Baptiste Habyalimana, the ambassador to the Republic of Congo. The EAC Principal Environment and Natural Resource Officer, Eng. Ladislaus K. Leonidas, said that the conference is an opportunity for the two blocs to share experience. "ECCAS and EAC...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is currently looking for a co-financing partner to fund the 445 km Kenya-Tanzania highway, officials said. AfDB Chief Regional Program Officer Lawson Zankli told Xinhua in Nairobi in a recent interview that his bank has tentatively set aside 300 million U.S. dollars towards the road project that runs along the East African Coastline from Malindi in Kenya to Bagamoyo in Tanzania. "We are looking for partners to bridge the remaining 485 million dollars required to complete the transnational highway," Zankli said. The project will consist of rehabilitation of 215 km of bitumen road on the Kenyan side and upgrading from gravel to bitumen standards of 230 km on the Tanzanian side. Zankli said that AfDB is to play a catalytic role in attracting funding from other partners. AfDB's board is expected to approve funding in mid 2018 to pave way for actual construction by the end of next year. Zankli said that environmental and social impact studies for the road project are currently ongoing. He noted that the road is expected to boost the key economic activities along the Indian Ocean coast such as tourism. "The improved infrastructure will help in easing movement of tourists along the Kenya-Tanzania coastline," he said. AfDB's current portfolio of projects in the Eastern Africa region is about 9 billion dollars, out of which about 70 percent is committed on transport, energy and water infrastructure projects. The Eastern Africa region includes Burundi, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Somalia,...

Tea prices at the Mombasa auction slid to a one-month low on Tuesday, reversing a trend of sharp increases in the past few weeks amid panic buying due to political uncertainty in the country. Market data from the auction indicated that the price of tea dropped by a marginal Sh5 a kilo at this week’s sale to trade at Sh305, down from Sh310 last week. Jitters about prolonged electioneering have triggered a steady rise in tea prices. East African Tea Traders Association (EATTA), which manages the auction, said the prices realised this week are favourable despite the slight drop. “This is still a good figure, as we have only lost a few cents, when compared to last week’s trading,” said EATTA managing director Edward Mudibo. In corresponding sale last year, a kilo of made tea was sold at Sh231 on average compared with the current value. Mr Mudibo said there was demand in the latest sale with buyers still practising cautious buying on Tuesday. Mr Mudibo pointed out that most teas still traded at above Sh400 per kilo bringing the average price to Sh300. Mombasa is a regional hub for the tea trade with the auction selling teas from more than 19 African countries. Each variety attracts different a price based on quality. About 132,480 packages (8,630,000 kilos) of tea were available for sale in Tuesday’s trading, where 118,020 packages (7,726,498 kilos) were sold while 9.36 packages remained unsold. Kenya is a leading exporter of black CTC tea and the...

Reading the history of Africa, you can never miss the scramble for its acreage and the resources, leading to the illogical, politically instigated birth of countries as defined by the borders we now know. Communities and commerce were disrupted as traditional trade routes and peoples’ movements were choked. The rise of additional barriers to trade can be traced to this. Fast forward to present times; technology is getting deployed to address some of our most pressing needs as caused or exacerbated by colonial actions. Earlier this year we saw the fintech space grab headlines with an influx of venture funding. This did not come as a surprise, as in retrospect the movement of funds had been curtailed by the scramble for Africa, which in essence is one part of what underpins commerce. Money is now able to traverse the continent in a split second applied towards the exchange of value. The battle for that turf remains; whoever can move the bits and bytes faster and cheaper will win. The second part of the commerce equation is commodities. The medium of exchange can cross borders fluidly but the product side doesn’t enjoy such benefits, at least not yet. To move products, one requires infrastructure and inventory; both of which are a hodge podge of varied grade deployments in Africa. Infrastructure covers roads, railways, airports, ports, warehouses, holding docks among others. Inventory covers trucks, airplanes, wagons, and various motorised plus non-motorised transports with carriage capacity; all available in plenty but lacking a...

Africa’s leaders, along with everyone else interested in US-Africa relations, have waited eight months for US President Donald Trump’s administration to explain its Africa policy. We aren’t there yet. But in recent weeks Trump has indicated the level and extent of his interest. And, senior African affairs officials at the State and Defence Departments are at last attempting publicly to outline US goals and objectives toward Africa. This, apparently without much guidance from their president. Trump’s inaugural address to the UN General Assembly said little about Africa – barely one paragraph towards the end. One sentence praised African Union and UN-led peacekeeping missions for “invaluable contributions in stabilising conflicts in Africa.” A second praised America, which continues to lead the world in humanitarian assistance, including famine prevention and relief in South Sudan, Somalia and northern Nigeria and Yemen. The next day Trump hosted a luncheon for leaders of nine African countries –Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, and South Africa. Only his welcoming remarks have been published but they are nearly devoid of policy content or guidance. His opening gambit reminded me of a 19th century colonialist hoping to become rich, as he proclaimed: Africa has tremendous business potential, I have so many friends going to your countries trying to get rich. I congratulate you, they’re spending a lot of money….It’s really become a place they have to go, that they want to go. Trump called on African companies to invest in the US. Then, shifting to security cooperation,...