Tanzania’s Bakhresa Group of companies has assured its Kenyan customers that its products will now be available after agreement to lift trade restrictions which affected products and services exchanged between the two countries. Kenya banned wheat flour and gas imports from Tanzania due to what it called safety and quality concerns and Tanzania reciprocated by slapping a ban on Kenyan tyres, margarine and fermented milk. President John Magufuli and his Kenyan counterpart, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta intervened into the saga and agreed to lift restrictions on imports from either country. The decision was announced at the weekend. Bakhresa exports to Kenya almost all its products including water, soft drinks, biscuits and wheat flour. “We thank and congratulate the two presidents for this bold agreement that will remove the trading hurdles,” Bakhresa said in a statement. “Our intention is to continue producing safe and high quality products for both local and international markets. We also urge all other manufacturers to make sure they meet these standards for the Tanzanian products to penetrate in the international markets and ultimately help the government efforts in driving the country into the industrial economy,” it stated. Source: The Citizen

Was the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act a poisoned chalice from the United States of America? It appeared so after the US allowed a petition that could see Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda lose their unlimited opening to its market. This follows the US Trade Representative assenting last week to an appeal by Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association, a used clothes lobby, for a review of the three countries’ duty-free, quota-free access to the country for their resolve to ban importation of used clothes. The US just happens to be the biggest source of used clothes sold in the world. Some of the clothes are recycled in countries like Canada and Thailand before being shipped to markets mostly in the developing world. In East Africa, up to $125 million is spent on used clothes annually, a fifth of them imported directly from the US and the bulk from trans-shippers including Canada, India, the UAE, Pakistan, Honduras and Mexico. The East Africa imports account for 22 per cent of used clothes sold in Africa. Suspending the three countries from the 2000 trade affirmation would leave them short of $230 million in foreign exchange that they earn from exports to the US. That would worsen the trade balance, which is already $80 million in favour of the US. In trade disputes, numbers do not tell the whole story. Agoa now appears to have been caught up in the nationalism sweeping across the developed world and Trumponomics. US lobbies have been pushing for tough...

Kenya has emerged as the continent’s trailblazer in championing women’s representation in top management of companies, despite failing to attain the constitutional one-third gender requirement. A report by the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) shows that listed multinationals fared better than indigenous firms in women representation on boards, at 27 per cent, against 20 per cent. The number of women in boards rose to 21 per cent this year, from 18 per cent in 2015 and 12 per cent five years ago. “The number of women heading boards remains low, with just five of the 52 (out of 62) listed companies that responded in the survey headed by a woman, similar to what it was five years ago. We also note that like in the boardroom, women representation in senior management was a quarter, meaning that there is one woman for every four men in the senior management teams,” said KIM chief executive Muriithi Ndegwa. In terms of the average representation on boards of women, Africa came fourth at 13 per cent behind Europe and Australia at 26 per cent and North America at 20 per cent. The ratio was however higher than South America at eight per cent and Asia at nine per cent. NSE chief executive officer Geoffrey Odundo said that the presence of a diverse and inclusive organisation is one of the greatest business catalysts that exist to broaden the talent pipeline, enhance brand and corporate reputation. “For diversity and inclusion...

Investors and organisers of the YouthConnekt Africa Summit that took place in Kigali from July 19-21, aim to raise $60 million to finance innovative projects by young entrepreneurs as part of efforts to create 10 million jobs before 2020. The event, which was organised in collaboration with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), is in its fifth edition. It brought together 2,500 delegates including heads of states, motivational speakers, celebrities, business leaders, investors, young innovators and development partners. Under the theme From Potential to Success the conference marked the launch of the YouthConnekt Africa Hub and Empowerment Fund that will identify and finance business projects for young entrepreneurs. Baraka Ochieng, programme analyst at UNDP regional office for Africa, told Rwanda Today that YouthConnekt has demonstrated the potential to empower young Africans in different sectors. “As Africa, one of the challenges faced by youth is unemployment, lack of entrepreneurship opportunities; lack of space in decision making within government and leadership. “So this platform provides many opportunities for the youth to be empowered. One of the goals is to create 10 million jobs,” Mr Ochieng said. On the creation of the YouthConnekt Africa Hub and Empowerment Fund, participants will have to agree on a model of outsourcing pledged funds and projects. Projects that promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are likely to secure funds from the UNDP. The Empowerment Fund seeks to raise $60 million before 2020 to finance key agendas like creating jobs for more than 10 million people...

Nairobi. Tanzania and Kenya have held successful talks that will see the lifting of restrictions on imports from either country. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Dr Augustine Mahiga, announced the decision in Nairobi yesterday following discussions between President John Magufuli and his Kenyan counterpart, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta. As a result, Kenya will lift the ban on wheat flour and gas imports from Tanzania, which, in turn, will remove restrictions on milk and cigarettes from Kenya. Additionally, the two countries will form a standing joint technical committee to address various issues. Diplomatic and trade relations between Kenya and Tanzania had been strained for some time, with both imposing tit-for-tat bans on each other’s exports. The ban on Tanzania’s imports was ostensibly attributed to safety and quality concerns, and Tanzania reciprocated by slapping a ban on Kenyan tyres, margarine and fermented milk. Tanzania also banned overland transport of maize from Zambia into Kenya, which is experiencing one of the severest shortages of the staple. The trade tiff is strange, given the huge volumes of goods flowing between the two countries and the potential harm that trade disputes could cause. Industry, Trade and Investment Permanent Secretary Adolf Mkenda had a few weeks ago said no action had been forthcoming from Nairobi since February and June when the two countries agreed that the ban be lifted. Kenya argued that wheat imports from Tanzania were outside the common external tariff benchmarks to allow free entry into the country. But Prof Mkenda...

Tanzanian gas exporters have termed Kenya’s ban on imports as protectionism, as its oil marketing firms lose their share of the market. They say the move is against fair competition practice as set by the EAC Common Market rules. However, the exporters may have to wait till the end of the year for a possible resumption of business after Kenya indicated that it will take up to six months to install a gas-testing facility at its border points. The Tanzania LPG Association said that the ban has benefited select companies in Kenya. “We don’t see any plausible reason for the ban on LPG trade between Kenya and Tanzania, save for undue influence by a few oil firms in Kenya keen to monopolise the LPG business in Kenya,” the association said in a statement. “This decision is already having a major impact on Tanzanian LPG companies since these companies trade a large part of their volumes with their Kenyan counterparts. This ban will affect Kenyans as it will allow select firms to operate in a monopolistic set-up.” The traders say they can readily supply the Kenyan market. “The LPG cost in Mombasa is much higher than in Dar es Salaam. Monopoly and protectionism have pushed prices up in Mombasa. The main reason why LPG from Dar es Salaam or Tanga is cheaper is because the offloading and storage infrastructure at these two ports is more efficient. Firms in Kenya have higher storage unit costs due to facilities like floating storage, which...

Kenya has lifted restrictions on wheat flour and cooking gas imports from Tanzania, which has in turn allowed milk and cigarettes from Kenya. The countries’ Foreign Affairs ministers said in Nairobi on Sunday that the move followed discussions between presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya) and John Pombe Magufuli. “The Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania will lift any other restrictions that affect products and services exchanged between the two countries,” they said in a statement read by Tanzania Foreign Affairs minister Augustine Mahiga, who is also in charge of the East African Community Affairs docket. Kenyans will however still have to apply for visas when travelling to Tanzania for business, though Mr Mahiga said they were looking into the issue. “If there are still some bottlenecks, we are pledging to address them to allow our citizens to travel easily,” he said. The two countries would continue to man border posts jointly while the production of an East African Community (EAC) passport would help ease movement across the states, he said. Committee The two countries also agreed to set up a joint technical committee chaired by the Foreign Affairs ministers and comprising the EAC Affairs, Trade, Finance, Interior, Energy, Agriculture, Transport and Tourism ministries and any other relevant government agency. Kenya banned the importation of cooking gas from Tanzania in April, with the Energy ministry at the time saying the move was meant to curb the proliferation of illegal filling plants. Petroleum Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau said at the...

President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday opened the Mwatate-Taveta road and commissioned the construction of a six-lane highway between Mombasa and Mariakani as part of efforts to decongest cross-border transport corridors. The Mwatate-Taveta road, built at a cost of Sh8.4 billion, is part of a transnational highway which runs from Kenya through Tanzania to Burundi. It was the Kenyan side that remained untarmacked until the African Development Bank agreed to jointly fund the project with the government. “All this investment in infrastructure we are making here and across the country, is meant to stimulate economic growth that will create the much-needed jobs for our young people,” said the President. The dualling of the Mombasa-Mariakani road will start with the construction of the 11.3 km from the Coastal city to Kwa Jomvu at a cost of Sh6.1 billion. The second section of the dualling of the highway from Kwa Jomvu to Mariakani would also be done concurrently at a cost of Sh6 billion. President Kenyatta, who was accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto, directed Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia (above) and the Chinese contractor to ensure the project employs local youth. Other projects in Mombasa include the Sh2.7 billion Port Reitz-Moi International Airport access road, a crucial link that will provide the necessary connection to the newly constructed second container terminal. The construction of the Mombasa Southern Bypass (Dongo Kundu–Mwache road) at a cost of Sh12.5 billion is also ongoing, President Kenyatta said with the DP adding that the contractor would be on...

The formal launch of the once touted the mega economic bloc for Africa, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA), faces further delay because only one country has so far ratified its creation out of 19 member states. A minimum of 14 ratifications are required for the agreement to come into force, combining three regional economic communities, the East African Community (EAC), Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). This emerged last week when Madagascar, a Comesa member, appended its signature to the Tripartite Agreement before senior officials of the EAC, Sadc and Comesa. "Egypt is the only country to have ratified the Agreement. A total of 14 ratifications are needed for the agreement's entry into force," officials at the event in Antananarivo were told. Under the Agreement, the three economic blocs were to merge into a single free trade area, the largest in Africa, with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $ 1.3 trillion, making it also one of the largest FTAs in the world. Although the signing of the Agreement by Madagascar, only a few days after South Africa did so, the EAC secretary general, Liberat Mfumukeko, the current chairperson of the Tripartite Task Force, admitted that negotiations were going at a snail's pace and that little has been achieved. "There had been limited progress in Phase Two negotiations and the agreement on the movement of business persons," he said in Kampala on July 7th, hardly a week before the Antananarivo...

Kenya’s tea export to major destinations registered a major decline in volume, even as the country continued over relying on traditional buyers that account for more than 85 per cent of the country’s market. Industry report from Tea Directorate for May indicates there was a decline in quantities imported by major buyers, except for Pakistan, compared with the same period last year, partly driven by low production. Egypt, which is the second largest buyer of Kenya’s tea, registered a 61 per cent fall to 3.5 million kilogrammes in May this year from 9.2 million kilogrammes in the corresponding period. “The total export volume for May was 28.05 million kilogrammes compared with 43.36 million kilogrammes recorded in the same period last year, representing a 35 per cent decrease,” says the report. “The Pakistan market recorded higher tea imports from Kenya while other markets recorded lower imports,” the report adds. The United Kingdom, a major buyer of the Kenyan beverage registered a 51 per cent drop compared with last year. The quantities imported dropped from 4.1 million kilogrammes to two million kilogrammes in May. Source: Daily Monitor