A new report on Barack Obama's main legacy project for Africa shows it is falling short of his original goal of bringing electricity to 20 million households in Kenya, Tanzania and four other countries by 2018. Mr Obama's Power Africa initiative, announced in 2013, has so far helped connect only about half the projected number of households, according to the programme's 2017 annual report published on Monday. “To date Power Africa has supported private-sector companies and utilities in connecting a total of 10.6 million homes and businesses to power solutions — that is approximately 53 million people who have gained access to electricity since 2013,” the report states. SOLAR LANTERNS But about two-thirds of those new connections take the form of solar lanterns, which power a single light and enable mobile-phone charging, the annual report notes. Power Africa touts the lanterns as “a critical first step [that] results in dramatic livelihood improvements” for households in remote and impoverished areas. Larger systems are required in order to provide Africans with power to run appliances and create businesses, the report acknowledges. 2 MILLION HOMES It says the US initiative has so far helped connect more than two million homes and businesses to such sources. The annual report cites additional progress toward Power Africa's revised and expanded goal of supporting the installation in several countries of 30,000 megawatts of generation capacity and 60 million new electricity connections by 2030. Hitting those targets will depend, however, on President Donald Trump's attitude toward a programme...

Speaking during the Africa Business Forum, South African Trade Minister Rob Davies said that available colonial era infrastructure was only geared towards fulfilling its role as a mere producer and exporter. “Colonialism has created infrastructure that was only geared towards the continent fulfilling its role as mere producer and exporter of primary commodities that were taken to other people’s economies. There is a huge amount of catch-up that we need to undergo as a continent in order to achieve regional integration,” said Davies. The continent is also losing over 40 percent of its competitiveness due to the absence of infrastructure or inefficiency of established infrastructure. He emphasized the role of infrastructure saying it would provide roads, rail, ports, energy transmission lines and ICT connectivity which are all necessary to facilitate economic development. “Infrastructure can be an important counter-cyclical tool because by infrastructure development we can to generate economic activity even if some of the other forms of economic activities are suffering from the negative waves,” he continued. The continent, therefore, needs integration which is dependent on three factors: free trade areas, infrastructure development and cooperation which are essential in promoting industrial development across the continent. “We need to partner to build the required infrastructure and the real capability that will assist all of us build our countries. Adequate, effective, affordable and well-maintained infrastructure is an essential tool for Africa’s growth and development,” he said in conclusion. Source: Capital Business

Kenya will use next week’s trade expo in Kazakhstan as a platform to diversify its share of the export market to the country from the current 0.16 per cent. Trade PS Chris Kiptoo said the import value of Kazakhstan is $30 billion annually and Kenya accounts for only Sh47 million of the market share. He said tea forms 97 per cent of the total exports to the country. “We are going to use the expo as an opportunity to boost export of other goods to Kazakhstan, which is a potential market for Kenyan goods,” said Dr Kiptoo at a media briefing in Nairobi on Tuesday. The government, he said, aims to export of fresh produce, which accounts for $1.1 billion of Kazakhstani imports and textile and apparel that stands at $900 million. “We have a lot of fresh produce that we can export to Kazakhstan, instead of relying on Netherlands, which is our major market at the moment for these commodities, we can diversify to other markets as well,” he said. Kazakhstan is among the top 10 buyers of Kenyan tea. Source: Business Daily

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Rob Davies says the development of infrastructure is an essential and absolutely fundamental catalyst for regional integration for increased inter-regional trade and for industrialisation in Africa. Minister Davies was speaking during the opening the two-day Infrastructure Africa Business Forum that started in Sandton. “As the government of South Africa we categorically stated that the development of infrastructure is an essential and absolutely fundamental catalyst for regional integration for increased inter-regional trade and for industrialisation in Africa. Therefore, infrastructure develop lies in the very heart of our efforts to promote high levels inclusive growth and development throughout the continent,” said Minister Davies. Minister Davies added there was a huge deficit in the infrastructure that is necessary to support high levels of inter-regional trade that connects African countries to one another. “As a continent Africa has an infrastructure deficit estimated at $93 billion per annum for the next 20 years. Colonialism has createdinfrastructure that was only geared towards the continent fulfilling its role as mere producer and exporter of primary commodities that were taken to other people’s economies.  There is a huge amount of catch-up that we need to undergo as a continent in order to achieve regional integration,” said Minister Davies. He explained that in addition to the infrastructure deficit, Africa was losing over 40% of its competitiveness as a continent due to the absence of infrastructure or inefficiency of established infrastructure. “The critical role of infrastructure development in achieving integration, growth and development in Africa can never be overemphasised. Through Infrastructure development we can provide roads, rail, ports, energy transmission lines and ICT connectivity that are all necessary to facilitate economic development.  Also, infrastructure can be an important counter-cyclical tool because by infrastructure development we can to generate...

Just when Africa started to embrace the world, it is now being confronted with the rising tide of populism and nationalism from the developed nations. The outcome of Brexit in the United Kingdom and the election of Donald Trump in the United States resulted from popular rejection of free trade and globalisation. As a result, this popular outrage against the political establishment is forcing many political leaders in the developed world to re-assess, focus on and tackle their own domestic issues. Hence, the African continent is falling off from their main agenda. Unlike in the past, when Africa mainly depended on the assistance of the developed economies, the rise of the Asian economies brings about new opportunities for economic cooperation and partnership for Africa. Africa and Asia trade relationship According to data from the International Trade Centre, from 2006 until 2016, trade between the two largest continents in the world increased from US$167bn to $292.9bn, a 75.4% increase. This is in spite of the fact that the Africa-Asia trade dropped from its peak of $423bn in 2014 due to the fall of commodity prices. The main exports from Africa are hard and soft commodities, while Asia exports machinery and manufactured goods to the African continent. Africa exported about $108.1bn to Asia in 2016; the top-three African exporters are South Africa ($22.3bn), Angola ($18bn) and Egypt ($11bn). Their combined exports represented 47.5% of the total African exports. As for imports from Asia, the top-three African importers are South Africa ($32.4bn), Egypt ($24.7bn) and Algeria ($15.6bn). They represent...

The unstable trade relations between Kenya and Tanzania could be facing another test over tariffs on milk and dairy products, which Nairobi says are contrary to the East African Common Market Protocol. Just when trade relations between the two countries seemed to be normalising after disputes that had been ignited by import bans in April, a meeting that had been planned for August 19 was postponed to September 9. Kenya plans to petition Tanzania to remove the $0.9 per litre tariff on milk and milk products. The tariff is being blamed for the significant drop in Kenya's dairy exports to Tanzania, which dropped from $20.8 million in 2015 to $1.8 million last year. Removal of tariff At the September meeting aimed at ironing out issues that caused the trade dispute, Kenya will be pushing for the removal of the tariff as it is contrary to the EAC protocol that guarantees freedom of movement of goods in the region. "The Tanzania tariff on milk and milk products is not in line with the EAC Common Market Protocol, and it is important for us to negotiate for harmonisation of tariffs for our products to compete," Margaret Kibogy, the Kenya Dairy Board managing director, told The EastAfrican. Although Kenya's dairy exports to Uganda attract minimal charges, the high tariff imposed by Tanzania is against the East African Community spirit of deepening trade, she added. Milk and milk products were some of the products in the trade war between the two countries that was...

THE East African Community (EAC) is moving towards getting energy solutions for the regional block as part of the integration factors. The EAC Deputy Secretary General, (Productive and Social Sectors), Mr Christophe Bazivamo, informed the second executive board meeting of the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE), that as the EAC integration was business oriented, energy was key to promoting trade in the region. A communiqué made available by the EAC Secretariat here from Kampala, Uganda where the meeting was taking place had the secretary noting that for some time now the region's development was troubled by low access rates of energy, where high price of the services and poor cooking solutions were partly to blame for the situation. "Low energy access rates, expensive electricity and poor cooking solutions have been hampering the region's development," Mr Bazivamo was quoted as saying. He reminded the meeting that the original plan of EAC was to have EACREEE as an EAC institution, but due to financial constraints, other innovative ways were devised and hence College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) was selected to host EACREEE as a Centre of Excellence. The secretary disclosed that efforts were underway for the EAC through the Inter -University Council of East Africa to ensure effective management of the EAC Centres of Excellence through the harmonisation of management guidelines. The meeting was attended by members from partner states except South Sudan and was a follow up of the first meeting that was...

Japan and India have finalised a blueprint for developing Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in African countries, an attempt aimed at countering the expanding Chinese footprints in the continent. The first SEZ, Indian companies will be taking part of, will come up around Mombasa port in Kenya, which is being developed with Japanese assistance. Around 10 Indian companies have evinced interest in being part of the SEZ which will focus on infrastructure, pharmaceutical, fertilisers and manufacturing. Mombasa port is the gateway to the East African market, where Indian firms have considerable influence and presence. “Indian companies have large presence in the region and Japanese companies have advanced technologies, both of them coming together for Africa is a win-win situation for both countries,” Japanese ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu told Hindustan Times in a recent interview. India and Japan are warming up to Africa in a way amid China’s rapidly expanding economic and strategic influence in the resource-rich continent. Both the countries aspire to become permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the African union has 54 members, one third of the total membership of the United Nations. Indian officials said New Delhi has been partnering with Japan for the development of African continent based on what two countries can do together for “economic prosperity and capacity building and development of the countries in the continent.” China’s new military base in Djibouti — first in the region — has raised concerns in many world capitals as this showed China’s...

The EAC Deputy Secretary General, (Productive and Social Sectors), Mr Christophe Bazivamo, informed the second executive board meeting of the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE), that as the EAC integration was business oriented, energy was key to promoting trade in the region. A communiqué made available by the EAC Secretariat here from Kampala, Uganda where the meeting was taking place had the secretary noting that for some time now the region’s development was troubled by low access rates of energy, where high price of the services and poor cooking solutions were partly to blame for the situation. “Low energy access rates, expensive electricity and poor cooking solutions have been hampering the region’s development,” Mr Bazivamo was quoted as saying. He reminded the meeting that the original plan of EAC was to have EACREEE as an EAC institution, but due to financial constraints, other innovative ways were devised and hence College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) was selected to host EACREEE as a Centre of Excellence. The secretary disclosed that efforts were underway for the EAC through the Inter -University Council of East Africa to ensure effective management of the EAC Centres of Excellence through the harmonisation of management guidelines. The meeting was attended by members from partner states except South Sudan and was a follow up of the first meeting that was held on June 10, 2016. Addressing the board members, the Chairman of the Executive Board and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry...

Protracted trade dispute between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam has hit Kenya's dairy sector hard with the value of exports to Tanzania dropping by 80 per cent between 2014 and last year. Data from the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) indicates exports to Tanzania dropped to Ksh130 million ($1.3 million) last year from Ksh648 million ($6.3 million) the previous year. The regulator attributes the reduction to trade restrictions by Tanzania on Kenyan products. Tanzania is one of the key markets for Kenyan milk products but Dar es Salaam has imposed tariffs that make it hard for dairy product to access the market. Dar es Salaam levies Ksh10.25 ($0.1) for every kilo of milk exported. “These tariffs need to be abolished because they are taking a toll on the products that we export to Tanzania. This is not in the spirit of the East African protocol that allows goods from regional states to access any of the market without restrictions,” said KDB managing director Margaret Kibogy. The MD noted that Tanzanian milk products do not attract levies when entering the Kenyan market, adding that Tanzania should reciprocate the gesture. KDB said trade between the two countries kicked off well this year but the ongoing standoff, if not resolved soon, will drastically eat into export earnings. In the first half of the year, dairy exports to Tanzania earned Kenya Ksh141 million ($1.4 million), surpassing what was recorded in the 12 months of 2016. This week, Tanzanian officials put off a meeting intended to...