52 skilled youths graduated from an expanded East African SAP Skills for Africa program this week in Kenya. The graduation ceremony took place at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi. All 52 graduates have already been placed at partner and customer organisations in the region. Head of SAP Skills for Africa, Meena Confait, said, “This year marked our first expanded East Africa program, with candidates from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia completing their training in key SAP solutions. In line with our commitment to diversity, we are also proud to announce that 40% of graduates are female. We wish all graduates well as they enter the regional workforce and apply their hard-earned digital expertise.” SAP Skills for Africa is a skills development initiative between SAP Africa, its customers, and various public and private sector partners, and focuses on training and certifying graduates in a broad spectrum of SAP software and business solutions. Since its inception in 2012, it has provided training and industry job placement opportunities for more than 400 consultants, with more than a third of them assimilated through the partnership with the ICT Authority. Valuable partner and customer ecosystem Considering the importance of SMEs in driving job creation and economic growth on the African continent, this year also saw the introduction of SAP Business One to the curriculum, which already supports more than 55 000 SMEs globally. “By focusing on developing practical digital skills related to actual market needs, SAP Skills for Africa graduates are able to...

Business Reporter Infrastructure experts from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Member States are meeting in Zambia to review the status of domestication and implementation of programmes in transport and communications, energy and information technology in the region. Among the key programmes in focus are; the establishment of a navigational route between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea known as VICMED, the regional power interconnectors and the proposed establishment of cybercrime capacity building centre. This is the 10th meeting of the Comesa committee of infrastructure experts representing the 19 Member States. Noting that the estimated financing requirement to close Africa’s infrastructure deficit amounts to $93 billion annually until 2020, Assistant Secretary General for Comesa, Dr Kipyego Cheluget said the implementation of Africa’s Vision of an integrated continent free of poverty is inextricably linked to the existence of infrastructure. “The emphasis at regional and continental levels is on innovation and creativity, thinking outside the box to come up with feasible instruments to speed up the development of physical infrastructure,” he said, adding that the Comesa EAC-Sadc tripartite region requires US$50 billion,” said Dr Cheluget. During the session, a progress report on the implementation of Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya (ZTK) Power Interconnector was presented. The project is currently under implementation to interconnect the three countries thus creating a link between the Southern African Power Pool and the East African Power Pool. This will make it possible for transmission of power from Cape to Cairo. According to a market study conducted on the...

Also the regional local units were backed by agro-inflows and central banks’ monetary actions. Tanzania shilling Tanzanian shilling, the second biggest economy in the region, traded flat with modest demand from corporates. “We saw moderate demand from corporates on today’s trading session due to month end obligations,” NMB Bank said in a statement yesterday. The commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2230/2270 against the green back. Another bank, CRDB said the market experienced matching supply and demand for the pair but some pressure was still faced on the right hand side. “We expect this pressure to ease up due to central bank intervention and as well as the incoming cashew-nut season,” CRDB said. Ugandan shilling Ugandan shilling has inched up on flows from charities and helped by some typical end of month hard currency inflows from non-governmental organisations and coffee exporters. Last Friday, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,597/3,607, compared with Thursday’s close of 3,600/3,610. Kenyan shilling Kenyan shilling eased against the dollar last Friday due to dollar from some multinational companies, traders quoted saying. The shilling of the largest economy in the bloc was quoted by commercial banks at103.15/35 per dollar, compared with 103.20/40 at Thursday’s close. It was reported also that traders were assessing the level of hard currency demand from importers to figure out its potential direction. Rwandese franc The Rwandan franc relatively remained unchanged at 846.18 yesterday compared to a last Monday 845.45. The stability was attributed to Rwanda’s foreign exchange reserves that kept the...

Consumer prices of sugar are projected to reduce substantially on increased supplies in the global market after the European Union (EU) formally scrapped quotas on the production and sale of the commodity after nearly 50 years. The end of the quotas means that there are no further limits to production or exports, allowing production to adjust to market demand both within and outside the EU. “Producers will now have the opportunity to expand their trade on global markets,” Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said in a statement following the close of production quotas on September 30. An analysis by the European Commission showed the end of the system will trigger a jump in sugar production. It said that between 2016 and 2026 the bloc’s sugar production will increase by six per cent while production of an alternative sweetener, Isoglucose, could triple from 700,000 tonnes to 2.3 million tonnes. Imports will, on the other hand, continue to drop from 3 to 3.5 million to 1.8 million tonnes and exports are expected to increase from 1.3 million tonnes to 2.5 million tonnes. “For the upcoming harvest, no longer bound by the limitations of the quota, an increase in production of roughly 20 per cent (20.1 million tonnes) is expected. This increase results from both an increase in area and higher yields because of good climatic conditions,” the EU said. The EU’s move could provide a boon to consumers in nations such Kenya where prices of the commodity remain...

The Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) has hired a German consultant to conduct a study aimed at boosting its safety and security oversight and raising the country’s global competitiveness. The study, being conducted by HPC Hamburg, a subsidiary of Hamburg Port in Germany, is funded by the World Bank to the tune of Sh120 million. Acting KMA director-general Cosmas Cherop said the consultant will also assess the logistics costs incurred on imports and exports though Mombasa port and make appropriate recommendations. “The study is in the final stages of the first phase with stakeholders’ validation work- shop set for later this month,” Mr Cherop said in an interview at the KMA headquarters. One of the key areas of focus is involvement of industry stakeholders in the development of new regulations after a court blocked implementation of section 16 (1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 2009. “The court ruled that we did not carry out proper consultations, which was unconstitutional. We will engage all stakeholders with a view of explaining to them what the regulations mean and also consider concessions each party can make,” said John Omingo, the regulator’s head of commercial shipping. He said KMA would ensure that all parties were taken care of to avoid litigations that slow their work progress. “We are telling our stakeholders that we will to come up with realistic regulations that are acceptable by all parties. However there will be need for us to consider areas of concession,” said Mr Omingo. There have been murmurs...

Kenya has retained the railway development tax in its budget plan for the next four years, indicating its continued gamble on the Mombasa-Malaba route as a major trade highway for years to come. The National Treasury projects that the railway development levy (RDL), which generated Sh18.2 billion in the financial year to June 30, will grow gradually over the period, netting Sh31.8 billion in 2020/21. The RDL is collected at the rate of 1.5 per cent on imports from non-East African Community states. When Kenya first introduced the RDL in its 2013/2014 budget, the target was to raise Sh10 billion annually for the Mombasa-Nairobi -standard gauge railway (SGR). “We will continue to implement the previously announced tax measures,” Treasury secretary Henry Rotich says in the Budget Review and Outlook Paper published last week. “The government’s fiscal stance takes account of risks associated with the macroeconomic outlook, budget execution and the projected resource envelope.” Kenya has grappled with widening gap between imports and exports over the years. Last year, the import bill hit Sh1.4 trillion against a total export revenue of Sh578 billion. The Treasury seeks to tap into the huge import bill to upgrade the country’s railway network. Through the four years, the Treasury also expects the import duty to grow from Sh89.94 billion in the financial year ended June 30 to Sh150 billion by 2020/21. Despite the exit of Rift Valley Railways, which has been managing the Mombasa –Kampala train service, Kenya still sees the route as a high-potential...

The United Nations migration agency said on Tuesday that it has concluded a training program aimed at assisting East African states to strengthen migration governance and migrant protection capacities. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that in cooperation from the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), it organized the two-week program that covered topics such as labor migration and border management, international migration law, and migration and development. In a statement issued in Nairobi, the IOM said the training aimed to enhance migration governance and migrant protection in the IGAD region, which comprises Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. "The training provided us with an opportunity to learn about current developments in the IGAD region, and I believe that we gained very relevant knowledge especially now that IGAD member states are in the process of developing national policies on migration and border management," said Mary Mideva Kezzah, from Kenya's Ministry of the East Africa Community, Labor and Social Protection. Thirty-four attendees were selected from institutions belonging to the National Coordination Mechanisms. They include interior, foreign affairs, and labor ministry officials, lawmakers, and officers of immigration and police services from IGAD member states. The training sessions resulted in a set of recommendations including the development of a training roadmap to be developed by the African Capacity Building Center (ACBC). The first draft of the document will be launched at the next training for IGAD participants from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 in Tanzania. IOM Tanzania Chief of Mission...

The Community’s Director of Customs and Trade, Mr Kenneth Bagamuhunda, said here that the committee would supervise the implementation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and trade facilitation plans. The director said that regional and national implementation plans for the WTO and TFA had since been finalised and adopted by the EAC policy organs. “Amendments of regional laws, regulations and procedures, development of project proposals for resource mobilisation and sensitisation of stakeholders is currently underway,” said Mr Bagamuhunda. He cited the Single Customs Territory (SCT) and the interconnectivity of customs systems among some of the key TFA components that have been implemented by the EAC. “The SCT provides for free circulation of goods, reduces cost of doing land’s Representative to the EAC, said that his country had since disbursed $3.5 million as part of its contribution to TFA trade facilitation support programme, a multi-donor window of the World Bank group’s trade and competitiveness global practice – which in turn provides support for countries seeking assistance in aligning their trade practices with the WTO. “Every country is eligible to receive support under the programme. Eligible countries are expected to have demonstrated a strong commitment to implementing trade facilitation reforms in the areas covered by the WTO/TFA. “Moreover, the support programme will prioritise assistance to countries with other limited access to other donor support,” said Amb. Mattli. He expressed dismay over bureaucratic delays and ‘red-tape’ which he said were an ‘unnecessary and expensive’ burden for traders moving goods across borders. ” However,...

Inefficient border procedures are leading revenue losses of over 5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in some African countries, a roundtable conference on trade facilitation at the East African Community (EAC) headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, has heard. Speaking at the one-day conference on Thursday, James Kisaale, an assistant commissioner at Uganda Revenue Authority, urged sub-Saharan Africa countries, including EAC members, to embrace formalities like automation, as well as simplify and harmonise documents, and ease access to information to help lower cost of trade. Citing a 2013 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, Kisaale said reducing global trade costs by one per cent would increase global income by more than $40 billion, with developing countries being the biggest beneficiaries. Organised by the EAC Secretariat to review and fast-track the implementation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA), the roundtable brought together EAC development partners, as well as customs and trade experts from the EAC Secretariat and member states’ ministries of trade. The conference brought together development partners who will work with the EAC in the implementation of the TFA. While opening the roundtable, the EAC director general for customs and trade, Kenneth Bagamuhunda, said trade facilitation was an integral part of the EAC Customs Union Protocol which explicitly provides for reduction in the number and volume of trade documents. “Trade facilitation also provides for the adoption of common standards of trade documentation and procedures, coordination and facilitation of trade and transport activities. There...

A decision on whether all the East African Community partner states will sign the European Union-EAC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will be known in November during the Heads of State Summit. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who is the chairman of the EAC, held a meeting with the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on September 27 to present the concerns raised specifically by Tanzania on the EPA, leading to the delay of signing the agreement. "I arrived in Belgium on a three-day working visit. As chairman of EAC, I will hold discussions with the EU over EPA and other related issues," confirmed President Museveni on his Twitter handle. He was accompanied by the EAC Secretary-General Liberat Mfumukeko, ministers of trade from each partner state and assistant ministers or permanent secretaries. Betty Maina, Principal Secretary in Kenya's Ministry of EAC Affairs, said President Museveni presented the concerns raised by Tanzania on why it was unwilling to sign EPA, seeking clarification from the EU. "We expect that EU will respond to the concerns before November. A decision and partner states' position will then be known in November," said Ms Maina. Contentious issues Tanzania is concerned that signing a bad EPA will compromise the region's interests in subsequent trade negotiations. Among the contentious issues is that EU unilaterally puts embargos on trade under the EPA while Article 136 of the EPA still refers to the same agreement that the EU has used to put an embargo on Burundi. Tanzania also says that EAC partner...