September 10, 2017 - A high-level delegation of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the financier of the Addis Ababa - Nairobi - Mombasa road project, visited the progress of the project on the Ethiopian side.  The Addis Ababa-Nairobi-Mombasa road project is an important section of the Cairo-Cape town trans-African highway, which will traverse nine African countries. Upon completion, the road connects Ethiopia and Kenya and will enable Ethiopia access the Mombasa port for its import-export trade. “The project is going well. We have witnessed some sections that have already completed and some are making progress. We haven’t gone very fine expectation as the original plans but a lot of mobilization has already done in fact,” he said. Noting the road project from the Kenyan side has completed a year ago, the Executive Director said “I hope the section remain on the Ethiopia side will also be done quick enough, so we will complete the corridor to connect the two countries as planned with the schedule.” He said the “We can say that this project is regional project which as you know it will connect the two countries, basically it will connect the East African region.” As Ethiopia is one of the countries least connected in the region, the Executive Director noted that “now it is being connected with excellent road facility.” The project will promote trade between countries the East African Community and also enhance integration. He added that the Ethiopian government is doing its work excellently for the implementation...

The treaty provides for Kiswahili to be developed as a lingua franca for the Community. Speaking at the closing ceremony of the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) International Conference in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Kivejinja said there is a need for Kiswahili to be used as a tool for integrating the people of East Africa. The conference in Zanzibar brought together Kiswahili stakeholders from the region to deliberate on how the development and use of the language can creatively be used in deepening and widening EAC integration and contribute towards the realisation of sustainable development in the region. Kivejinja underscored the commitment of the Community’s leadership in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and tasked the EACK with generating proposals on how Kiswahili can be used in the achievement of these goals. “I would like, therefore, to pledge the commitment of the council of ministers in taking forward the conference resolutions. We appreciate the progress being made by the commission and will continue to guide and enable it execute its mandate,” he said. The minister noted that with more than 120 different ethnic groups in Tanzania, Kiswahili was the most efficient and effective integration tool. “I would like to pay tribute to the founders of Tanzania for discovering an important tool in the foundation of the nation,” added Kivejinja. The EAKC executive secretary, Prof. Kenneth Simala informed the participants of the conference that the commission was working closely with regional Kiswahili associations in a bid to harmonise the activities of these associations....

As the U.S. continues its wholesale review of all trade agreements and preference programs—including the African Growth and Opportunity Act—it seems to still be building up on the AGOA program that’s so far still set to run through 2025. Last month, the United States Trade Representative said Togo is now eligible to enjoy trade benefits under AGOA for textile and apparel products. A statement in the Federal Register said: “…Togo has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent the unlawful transshipment of textile and apparel articles and the use of counterfeit documents in connection with the shipment of such articles…” Separately, the U.S. initiated a review in June of AGOA eligibility for Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, which came about when the East African Community (EAC) decided to ban imports of secondhand clothing to improve its own industry. The U.S. Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART)—which initiated the petition for review with the USTR—said the move to curb incoming used clothing is a barrier to U.S. trade, which goes against certain requirements under AGOA. According to local news reports in Rwanda, talks with the U.S. have begun. “We are talking to our partners in the U.S. We value our trade and relations with the U.S. and we are doing all that is possible not to be out of cycle and of course we have been engaging on the issue,” Rwanda Development Board chief operating officer, Emmanuel Hategeka, told the New Times. “We think there is a lot to gain if we...

Gas-rich Tanzania hosts a two-day congress aimed at bringing together policymakers and experts in the oil and gas industry. But the country needs to pick its strategic partners carefully, says analyst Anaclet Rwegayura. For ages, Tanzania's rich underground wealth was unknown. That has kept it safe for the present generation, which needs it to eradicate poverty. Many prospectors and investors have crisscrossed the country after the government opened the door to mineral extractors, and it seems that many thought the country's wealth was up for grabs. Did it ever come to their minds that Tanzania was hoping to capitalize on its resource endowments in order to kick-start its industrialization? Given the country's healthy economic turnaround with a roughly seven percent annual growth rate, the Tanzanian government is keen to see productive investments taking place. Extractive investors who cannot enable the country to create wealth and free the local society from the shackles of poverty, are not welcome. Developments and opportunities For two days beginning on September 11, representatives of international oil companies, indigenous producers, international and national service providers, financiers and consultants will meet in Dar es Salaam with Tanzanian policymakers and experts in the oil and gas industry to discuss, among many other issues, the implementation of the country's gas master plan. According to congress organizers, the UK-based CWC Group, this will also be the opportunity to discuss business opportunities in the Tanzanian energy market. On the road to an industry-led development, Tanzania should by all means avoid stepping into the unknown....

Kenya is experiencing a shift in the pattern of its exports and imports, with some of her key traditional markets slowing down on the goods they are sourcing from the country. After the release of the Leading Economic Indicators for June 2017, it emerged that Pakistan had leapfrogged Uganda to become Kenya's leading export destination, buoyed by growing tea purchases by the Asian country. Exports to Uganda, which has for decades been the top market for Kenyan goods, have for sometime now experienced marginal growth. Trade with Tanzania also took a hit following a diplomatic row, while China's hold on the country's imports tightened. It is clear that the trading landscape is changing - and has been changing for a long time. Twenty-seven years ago, Kenya's trade with Africa was almost insignificant. Africa's share of exports was six per cent while imports took up less than one per cent. Indeed, there was little, if any, trade with its East African neighbours in 1990 - perhaps due to the embargo that had been placed after the collapse of the East African Community in 1976. China which today has a stranglehold in most sectors of the country's economy, was nowhere in 1990. Its share of imports was a paltry 1.3 per cent, with Kenya getting most of its manufactured products from Europe. Today, the Asian giant - which has also grown to become the second largest economy in the world - after the United States is literally pouring its cheap manufactured products...

If the U.S. and China have their way, Africa could soon begin to reach its potential as the next great frontier for apparel and textile sourcing. While there are determined efforts by the U.S. government and some key companies, the Chinese plan being implemented seems more comprehensive and likely to create a longer-lasting influence on the continent. The American Way The recent Sourcing at Magic trade show featured an African pavilion sponsored by the USAID East Africa Trade & Investment Hub. The Hub boosts trade and investment with and within Africa by deepening regional integration, increasing the competitiveness of regional agricultural value chains, promoting two-way trade with the U.S. under the African Growth & Opportunity Act, and facilitating investment and technology. The program, initiated in the Obama administration, covers the East African Community countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as Ethiopia, Madagascar and Mauritius. A spokeswoman for the program explained that since its launch in September 2014, it has supported $226 million in exports through AGOA, driven $51.2 million in private sector investment, helped more than 1,200 firms with capacity building assistance and helped create more than 33,000 full or part-time jobs. At the end of the project’s five-year mission, the goal is to facilitate $100 million in new investments in the EAC, increase non-oil AGOA exports to the U.S. by 40 percent, create 10,000 more jobs and double the value of intra-regional trade in the EAC. While AGOA was renewed in 2015 through to 2025,...

Kenya is seeking to safeguard its position as the region's preferred entry point through big infrastructure projects aimed at easing the movement of goods and people on the Northern Corridor. Three months after commissioning the standard gauge railway, the country has awarded the construction contract of the country's first expressway to an American company -- Bechtel International Inc. The 473km expressway will connect to the proposed Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway, thereby linking the Port of Mombasa to Malaba at the border with Uganda and onwards to Kampala. It is expected to improve connectivity, efficiency and safety of road transport between Nairobi and Mombasa. The six-lane expressway will be constructed at a cost of $2.1 billion. Uganda is already constructing the Kampala-Jinja Expressway, which forms part of the Northern Corridor. Commercial and industrial growth When completed over the next six years, the three projects will greatly improve the competitiveness of the Northern Corridor making it the preferred gateway not only for Kenya and Uganda but also for Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo. "This expressway will enable Kenya to competitively develop and expand internal and regional trade," said director-general of the Kenya National Highways Authority. Peter Mundinia He added that since more than 90 per cent of goods entering the East African region through the port of Mombasa are transported via road, the road project will lay the foundation for long term commercial and industrial growth. Of note is that the three mega road projects that are being constructed at a...

National development across Africacontinues to support the commitment undertaken by the 54 members of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November 2016 to create a continent-wide free trade area.  At the helm of this initiative is Africa’s transport sector, taking continuous strides to unlock cross-border opportunities for intra-African trade and development. There is a much to be gained from a free trade area for Africa, as intra-African trade is the lowest of any region in the world at a mere 10%.  A properly executed free trade area could change the status quo and transform Africa. As projects and initiatives in support of transport infrastructuredevelopment to boost intra-African trade continue to crop up across the continent, Africa’s transportleaders take action to demonstrate their vision of modernised transport and free trade for the region. . The Federal Republic of Nigeria has most recently reaffirmed its commitment to intra-African trade and development with the confirmation of The Honourable Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Nigeria’s Minister of Transport, to join the strategic round table discussions that will be held during the 6th annual African Ports Evolution Forum in Durban, South Africa this October. The Honourable Amaechi’s presence in Durban this October alongside Kenya’s Principal Secretary of Maritime and Shipping, Nancy Karigithu and South Africa’s Minister of Transport, The Honourable Joe Maswanganyi will catalyse the ensuing strategic pan-African discussions for cathartic expansion and modernisation of ports, corridors and multi-modal connectivity. The African Ports Evolution Forum, now in its 6th year, is an annual initiative created in response to Africa’s transportinfrastructure gap. The initiative unites ports authorities, Ministries of Transport, terminal operators and rail operators to support the scale of development currently underway across the continent.  Not only will Ministries of Transport from Nigeriato Kenya to South Africa be in attendance but also myriad ports authorities from Namport to Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority...

South Sudan has been directed to waive visa requirements for all the East African Community partners and offer a duty-free market for all the goods originating from the EAC states. The EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers responsible for EAC Affairs and Planning, during their meeting in Arusha between August 20 and 25, said that for South Sudan to fulfil its ascension for the Community, it is expected to meet the compulsory integration requirements of the Treaty. This means that South Sudan has to align its Customs administration with the EAC Customs Union. Juba will have to introduce zero duty on goods and services to the other partner states and implement the EAC Common External Tariff, where imports from countries outside the region are subjected to the same tariff when sold to any partner state. Rules of origin Also, goods moving freely within the region must comply with the EAC Rules of Origin and with provisions of the Protocol for the establishment of the region’s Customs Union. The oil rich nation was also directed to make its contribution to the EAC budget and establish requisite institutions like a revenue authority. “It is also a requirement to actively participate in all policy meetings of the EAC to enable decision-making, which is based on consensus by the partner states,” said the Sectoral Council in its report. South Sudan became the sixth member of the EAC after signing an Ascension Treaty last year at the Heads of State Summit in Dar es Salaam. It...

Traffic on the global payments network Swift has grown by 20.1% in East Africa over the past year, indicating an increase in trade flows with and within the region. East Africa has outperformed the total growth for Swift globally, which amounts to 8.2%. The figures released by Swift this week also show that intra-regional traffic in the region is up by 19.8% compared to 2015, now accounting for 69% of payments traffic in East Africa. Since 2013, the average number of daily messages in the region has almost doubled, from 15,234 to 27,907 in 2016. According to Swift’s head of Sub-Sahara Africa, Denis Kruger, the notable growth in Swift traffic volumes “could indicate an increase in trade flows, both within the East African region and between East Africa and other countries”. Swift research has shown that its traffic data is closely correlated to economic activity. A rise in traffic volumes in therefore a sign of a long-term growth trajectory for East Africa, despite challenging global conditions, the company says. The figures, Swift notes, reflect the success of the East African Payment System, which was established by the East African Community in 2013 with the aim to reduce transaction time and lower the cost of doing business in the region. The multi-currency system, which operates on the Swift network, links domestic payments systems in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, making cross-border fund transfers within the countries easier, supporting the free movement of goods, labour and services. The rest of the African continent...