Arusha — The East African Community (EAC) secretary general Liberat Mfumukeko says he will not backtrack in his drive to cut down costs and putting in place prudent financial management at the regional organisation. He said the reforms he has instituted since assuming the position slightly over five months ago would also cover all organs of the Community as well as its institutions spread across the region. "The Community had expanded tremendously within a short spell of time which has necessitated it to review its institutional set-up and work on sustainable financial mechanism," he stressed. Mr Mfumukeko reiterated his hard-line stance against extravagant use of funds at EAC when he briefed the Irish ambassador to Tanzania Paul Sherlock on achievements made in the regional integration efforts. "Achieving the Customs Union and the Common Market and moving towards the Monetary Union within such a short time for the Community was commendable," he said after receiving credentials from the ambassador who will now be accredited to the EAC. The no-nonsense EAC boss took over the position on April 25th pledging to turn around the cash-strapped regional body through cutting down unnecessary expenditure in the wake of dwindling support from the development partners and delay by the partner states to remit their budgetary contributions in time. Source: All Africa

Workers loading maize onto a truck. PHOTO | FILE  IN SUMMARY Uganda has come to the rescue of Kenya and Rwanda, selling both countries more than 11,502 tonnes of maize worth $6.65 million over the past two months. This comes even as Zambia joins Tanzania in imposing a maize exports ban in order to build its reserves. Uganda and Tanzania have had a good harvest this year, and with Tanzania’s export ban, Uganda has been left to fill the maize shortage experienced by Kenya and Rwanda. Tanzania halted issuing export licences pending the release of a food availability assessment. The maize markets in Uganda are liberalised with minimum government interventions. This has seen them supply export markets in the region, mostly Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and recently South Sudan. Uganda has come to the rescue of Kenya and Rwanda, selling both countries more than 11,502 tonnes of maize worth $6.65 million over the past two months. This comes even as Zambia joins Tanzania in imposing a maize exports ban in order to build its reserves. Data from the East Africa Grain Handlers’ Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network shows that in the past two months, Kenya imported 11,303 tonnes of maize from Uganda valued at $4.61 million, mostly entering through the Busia border, while Rwanda has received 4,344 tonnes of maize worth $2.04 million through its Gatuna border. Uganda and Tanzania have had a good harvest this year, and with Tanzania’s export ban, Uganda has been left to fill the maize shortage...

· MOU worth AED 184 million signed between S.S. Lootah International and Oromia International Bank SC of Ethiopia · Al Ghurair: Our aim is to get accurate information on setting up business, highlighting investment regulations and sectors while identifying challenges for investors · Buamim: We look forward to stimulate economic partnerships between the business communities in both countries · Ethiopia is Dubai's 60th trading partner with trade value of AED 2.2 billion in 2015 · Trade mission promotes Africa Global Business Forum by calling on public and private sectors to participate in the fourth session of the forum next year in Dubai 09 October 2016 Dubai, UAE: The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry-led trade mission to Ethiopia concluded with the signing of an AED 184 million agreement between S.S. Lootah International and Oromia International Bank SC of Ethiopia to collaborate in supporting the coffee and other agricultural and livestock sectors with the financing and supply of needed inputs to boost their production and exports. The MoU covers financing requirements for the inputs and exports of production and value addition inputs products, export financing, warehousing and logistics for the agricultural sector including coffee and livestock production. The initial value of the agreement will be increased in its next stage with the rise in demand for the products. H.E. Yahya Bin Saeed Lootah, CEO, S.S. Lootah International, said that the agreement with the Ethiopian partner, which follows the signing of another agreement a few days ago with a Kenyan company reflects the...

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta nominated Amina Mohamed for the position of African Union Commission chair. PHOTO | FILE  IN SUMMARY Rwanda is supporting Kenya’s nominee for the African Union Commission chair — Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed — but it remains to be seen which way Tanzania and Uganda will lean. Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo told The EastAfrican that her country would support Ms Mohamed, ruling out speculation that they would front the former president of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka or former EAC secretary general Richard Sezibera. Rwanda is supporting Kenya’s nominee for the African Union Commission chair — Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed — but it remains to be seen which way Tanzania and Uganda will lean. Ms Mohamed was proposed for the job by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, who cited her credentials in diplomacy and exemplary performance in her current docket. She has been Kenya’s ambassador/permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, and served as the assistant secretary general and deputy executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi. READ: Kenya nominates Amina Mohamed for AU chair job Ms Mohamed, who will be standing against candidates from the other regional blocs, stands a better chance of election if she gets support from all EAC member states. Elections to replace Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is stepping down after one term to prepare for a stab at the South African presidency, will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January. On Friday, a committee to vet candidates met in Addis Ababa. Rwanda’s Minister of...

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame. PHOTO | FILE  IN SUMMARY According to the latest Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) report released on October 3, Rwanda came fifth with 8.4 points improvement, behind Côte d’Ivoire (+13.1), Togo (+9.7), Zimbabwe (+9.7) and Liberia (+8.7) respectively. Zimbabwe mostly improved in the judicial process sub-category, where the country realised a 37.5 point improvement in an area the country has been scoring zero in the past eight years. The report says that overall, governance has improved by one score in 37 out of the 54 countries surveyed, where 70 per cent of the African citizens have realised improvement in human development, participation and human rights and sustainable economic opportunity categories. Rwanda recorded the greatest improvement in governance among East African states in the past 10 years according the latest survey. According to the latest Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) report released on October 3, Rwanda came fifth with 8.4 points improvement, behind Côte d’Ivoire (+13.1), Togo (+9.7), Zimbabwe (+9.7) and Liberia (+8.7) respectively. Though Ghana and South Africa feature in the top 10 performing countries in Overall Governance in 2015, they are also the eighth and 10th most deteriorated over the decade. But it is Zimbabwe’s performance that has sceptics question the report’s conclusion that Africa has generally improved in governance in the past 10 years. The concern is that while the latest Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance report shows that key human development indicators such as health, education and social welfare have...

Standards are a vital element in trade, because they help business interaction and access to markets in the economy.  Standards and compliance can also encourage trade by providing valuable information about product requirements or consumer preferences which all add to competitiveness. A standards regime helps open-up markets. It allows customers to compare offers from different suppliers, making it easier for smaller and younger enterprises to compete with larger and stronger companies. They also give small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) a competitive advantage by enabling them to compete on a level playing field with bigger enterprises internationally and to increase market share. With a total population of about 146 million people, the East African Community (EAC) offers fertile ground for companies to do business.  By doing so, this leads to economic growth generated by higher levels of intra-East African trade. The EAC has developed East African Standards to harmonize requirements governing quality of products and services across the Community. Companies rely on these standards and their own conformance to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and boost sales of their products and services. Implementation of common standards has put the EAC at the fore front of competition policy in sub-Saharan Africa.  It is foreseen that through harmonized standardization and compliance, any trade barriers encountered during the exchange of goods and services within the EAC is limited or avoided altogether. On the other hand, compliance with strict standards of regulations can often be expensive for companies. However research points to the fact that...

Geneva — African countries are boosting intra-regional trade and deepening economic integration at a time when politicians in the global North are raising doubts about the benefits of trade, says the head of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi told the World Trade Organization's annual public forum in Geneva: "Africa is widely noted for its low levels of intra-regional trade, but in fact the levels are much higher when North Africa is removed from the analysis." Speaking at a session on inclusive trade at the recent forum, he said economic integration will be key to Africa's long-term success and African nations must integrate more. "Africa has to know that there is no part of the world which has been successful in trading globally without learning first to trade with its neighbors," Dr. Kituyi said. UNCTAD says that in East Africa, intra-regional trade is closer to 26 percent, the same level as in Latin America. At the opening of the forum, Nigeria's Trade and Investment Minister, Okechukwu E. Enelamah, presented remarks for President Muhammadu Buhari which underlined the importance of an inclusive trade agenda. "This is a key question, particularly at this moment, when leaders are grappling with the challenge and consequences of inequality which has emerged as a major risk to peace and security," Enelamah said. 'Inclusive Trade' "Nigeria believes that a meaningful approach to inclusive trade will combine action by multilateral institutions for updated and more flexible rules, on the one hand, with...

Chinese employees of the new railway that links Addis Ababa to Djibouti take pictures in front of the Chinese-made Ethiopian trains in Addis Ababa on September 24, 2016. The construction of the 752.7-km Ethiopia-Djibouti railway adheres to China’s level-two electrified railway standards. PHOTO | AFP  In Summary As many African countries have been following different gauge standards of Western countries, they are not in a position to form an integrated African railway network. A consortium of the two Chinese contractors, CREC and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), beat their Western rivals to win the bid. ADDIS ABABA Ethiopia and Djibouti launched Africa’s first modern electrified railway connecting their respective capitals Thursday. It also marked the first time that the complete spectrum of an overseas railway industry chain is fully backed by Chinese standards. The construction of the 752.7-km Ethiopia-Djibouti railway adheres to China’s level-two electrified railway standards. It has a designed hourly speed of 120 kilometres and a total investment of $4 billion. As many African countries have been following different gauge standards of Western countries, they are not in a position to form an integrated African railway network. In January 2004, African countries proposed an integrated railway network on the continent. With support from regional organisations like the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community, construction projects at transnational and intra-regional levels have been put on agenda. Before official planning was set for the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway...

The revision of rules of origin for products manufactured within the East African Community (EAC) have encouraged investment and boosted manufacturing sector within the region, the business community and officials have said. In Article 1 of General Agreement on Tariff and Trade, rules of origin are defined as laws, regulations and administrative determinations of general application applied by any member to determine the country of origin of goods leading to the granting of tariff preferences. Different stakeholders were speaking during the 7th session between the Ministry of East African Community and the Rwandan private sector, last week. The meeting sought to learn from the private sector’s experience on the implementation of the revised EAC Rules of Origin, and to share updates ahead of another meeting later this month that is envisaged to carry out a comprehensive review of Common External Tariff (CET). The 25 revised EAC rules of Origin (RoO) came into effect on January 23, 2015. While expounding on the revised rules, Fred Nuwagaba, a senior customs officer at Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), said they are more flexible, clearer and more explanatory. “They encourage investment in manufacturing, encourage investment in agriculture and aim at boosting processing industry in the region.” He warned the business community that, recently, there have been problems with people from some EAC member states who export cooking oil to Rwanda after only purifying and packaging crude oil commonly imported from Asia, a practice he said does not qualify for the preferential treatment under the new...

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) and Trade Mark East Africa has today launched the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC). The committee is aimed at promoting trade facilitation regimes in the country. Trade and industry minister, François Kanimba, officially launched NTFC and said that the committee will play a key role in the coordination and implementation of the trade facilitation agreement at national level. “The launch today marks our country’s commitment towards the implementation of the trade facilitation agreement which is one of the requirements of the World Trade Organisation,” Minister Kanimba said. He noted that this is in line with article 23 of the trade facilitation agreement of the World Trade Organization which states that each member state should establish and maintain a national committee on trade facilitation. Trade facilitation committees in the EAC partner states will ensure that authorities are responsible for controls and procedures related to the importation, exportation and transit of goods, and collaborate with one another. “We are grateful for the significant support undertaken by different government agencies present here in selecting and delegating members who will constitute the NTFC. I would like to reiterate our ministries and government’s firm commitment towards facilitating this committee,” Kanimba added. He urged the appointed members to be more active and productive towards the execution of their new mandate, adding that that consultation and full engagement of each member is crucial for the success of the NTFC. Rwanda has undertaken several reforms aimed at facilitating trade and efforts...