Implementing the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) could increase the value of global exports by up to $1 trillion a year, according to a study. The report is the first detailed study by the WTO into the potential effects of the TFA, which aims to standardise, streamline and speed up customs processes around the world. The WTO said “fuller, faster” implementation of the agreement would increase the value generated and the TFA could result in a 0.5 per cent boost to global annual GDP. The report said developing countries would benefit most from the TFA and they are expected to enter 30 per cent more foreign markets as a result of the agreement, with a 20 per cent increase in the number of new products exported. The WTO said the agreement would help firms in developing countries enter supply chains because “timeliness and predictability in the delivery of intermediate goods are essential to the successful management of global value chains”. The report said the TFA would reduce trade costs among members by an average of 14.5 per cent and cut the risk of corruption. “There is evidence to show that the likelihood to engage in fraudulent practices at the border is higher the longer the time needed to clear goods,” said the report.“By simplifying trade procedures and reducing the time to move goods across borders, the TFA will increase the volume of goods flowing through customs, reduce the scope for corruption and increase the amount of revenues...

The 6th East African Community (EAC) week ended on Saturday in Kirehe district where MINEAC staff interacted with residents of Rusumo on the Rwanda-Tanzania border. They discussed regional integration and planted trees as a sign of Umuganda together with the community. In her remark, Minister Valentine Rugwabiza, urged Rwandans to exploit the EAC opportunities through promoting cross border trade, noting that the custom union grants the operation of the one-stop border post (OSBPs). "We want you to trade without barriers. The common market involves free movement of goods, services, people, labour, capital and the right of establishment. We want to develop all borders such that people near them can do cross border trade develop and transform their lives," Rugwabiza said. She observed that some students think that they will get employed in Rwanda after their studies yet the EAC market is wide. "Target the regional market which has expanded to over 143.5 million. All the infrastructure you see and development was due to the decisions made in EAC," she added. Held under the theme "8 Years of Rwanda in the EAC: Deepening the Regional Integration Agenda," the 6th EAC week was aimed at raising awareness on EAC integration, updating Rwandans on Key achievements based on EAC integration, promoting awareness on key ongoing projects, programs and to address the public's concerns on the integration. Source: All Africa

It was a suited affair, Wednesday night at the Kigali Serena hotel as a twenty-person delegation from Kenya Ports Authorities (KPA) took Rwandan traders on yet another dinner date, for the second time this year after the first one in March. As the case normally is on most dates, the courting party arrived earlier than the courted and readied the venue for a night of business talk and fun, in the end, it was a full house, the numbers more than those earlier anticipated; fortunately. The first meeting in March was an introductory affair of sorts where KPA Managing Director Gichiri Ndua, told his audience that day that ‘he was bringing the port of Mombasa services closer to Kigali’ in form of a country liaison office located in the city centre. On Wednesday, the presentations were kept precise and to the point, as if careful not to bore the guests with too much business talk after a busy working day; the band music was there to provide a welcome distraction in between speeches. The Kenyans spoke and their Rwandan counterparts listened and after all had been said and heard, Rwandan traders were given the stage to ask questions and point out issues they wanted fixed to ease business on the Northern Corridor. Less than a month ago, a delegation from the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam was here, for the first time and met Rwandan traders over a business lunch in Kigali; they pledged to open their own country office here,...

The Northern Corridor has registered a general decline in transport costs while the Central Corridor shows a steady but marginal increase in the past five years. According to the 2015 East Africa Logistics Performance Survey, the cost of transport from the port of Dar es Salaam to the landlocked countries of East Africa is twice higher than that from the port of Mombasa to the neighbouring EAC countries. “The average transport cost from Mombasa to Kampala came down from $3,400 in 2011 to $2,500 in 2015, while the rates from Dar-es-Salaam to Kampala have increased from $2,507 in 2011 to $4,500 in 2015,” says the report. Gilbert Langat, chief executive officer at the Kenya Shippers Council, noted that the 2008 post-election violence in Kenya saw many shippers and cargo traders shift to the port of Dar es Salaam due to the losses they incurred during this period. This lasted till 2012, when Kenya was going through election campaigns again. “Many shippers and cargo traders were not sure of the outcome of the Kenyan elections during 2012 period and preferred to ship their goods through the Dar port. So the Dar port saw an increase in cargo clearance, and transport on the Central Corridor also improved,” said Mr Langat. “But after the 2013 elections, with President Uhuru Kenyatta and his counterparts Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda focused on improving business at the port of Mombasa and the Northern Corridor, the cost of cargo clearance dropped.” The focus...

Four Burundi citizens and a similar number of Kenyans are in the race to succeed Dr Richard Sezibera when his term as Secretary-General of the East African Community ends early next year. Although it is Burundi’s turn to nominate a citizen to the position, the insecurity in the country could prove a hindrance, hence the Kenyans’ decision to wait in the wings. The SG’s post is rotational and the occupant of the seat is chosen by the head of state of the appointing country. Burundi’s contestants are Foreign Affairs Minister Alain Nyamitwe; former EAC deputy SG - productive and social sector Jean Claude Nsengiyumva; EAC Deputy SG - Finance and Administration Libérat Mfumukeko; and the country’s East African Legislative Assembly MP Hafsa Mossi, a former journalist. The Kenyans said to be lobbying for the position are Abdirahin Abdi, the former EALA speaker; Peter Kiguta, the EAC Director-General of Customs & Trade; EAC Deputy SG Charles Njoroge; and Joseph Nyagah, national co-ordinator for the Northern Corridor Integration Project and a former Cabinet minister. It is expected that the new secretary-general will be sworn in at the EAC Ordinary Heads of State Summit in Dar es Salaam in February and not in April as earlier thought. “The summit that was to be held this month (November 30) has been pushed to February next year to allow Tanzania’s new government under the new president John Magufuli to settle into office,” said a source privy to the arrangements. “Thus it is better for the presidents to have a new secretary-general sworn...

(Seychelles News Agency) - In spite of being small in size compared to other African countries, Seychelles an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean is aiming to become the hub for trade between African countries. The island nation wants to emulate countries like Singapore which is today the centre in Asia for trading in commodities globally. After taking steps to promote the blue economy concept on the international scene, Seychelles is now looking at bringing African nations together through trade. Speaking to the press at a meeting dubbed the ‘African Prosperity conference’ that is being hosted by the island nation since Tuesday, the Chairman of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (SCCI) Marco Francis called for greater partnership between African nations. "I have travelled to many parts of Africa. Africa has some very good structures to do business. African businessmen have the same vision as we do, they want to do business and they want to expand. Let’s partner together.” Francis noted that today trade between African countries stands at only 16 percent while the majority of the continent’s imports are from European and Asian countries. As part of efforts to boost regional trade, leaders from 26 African countries joined together in June this year to sign an ambitious declaration in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt to establish a wide-reaching free-trade zone across almost the entire eastern half of the African continent. The Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA), which incorporates member countries from the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for...

In preparation for the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which is scheduled to take place in Nairobi-Kenya from 15-18 December 2015, the African Union held a Meeting of Trade Ministers on 20th July 2015 in Nairobi-Kenya. During the deliberations, the AU Ministers were unanimous in reaffirming the strategic objectives for an African Trade Policy, which should be based on Africa’s industrialization in order to achieve the structural transformation of African economies. The Conference was addressed by a distinguished cadre of personalities including H.E. Mrs. Fatima Haram Acyl, AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry, H.E. Mr. Mukhisa Khituyi, the UNCTAD Secretary General, Mr. David Shark, WTO Deputy Director General and, Mrs. Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Exeutive Director of the International Trade Center. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Ambassador (Dr.) Amina C. Mohamed, the Kenya Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade. During the meeting, the Ghana Minister for Trade and Industry, Hon. Dr. Ekwow Spio –Garbrah as is customary with his reputed leadership demeanor which excels on clear strategic vision, advocated the setting up of an unprecedented “African Trade Information Sharing Portal to boost trade and investment ties between African countries”. For a full decade and for most of the time as his Chairman, I have witnessed Minister Dr. Spio-Garbrah’s highly acclaimed professional work in the area of ICT and telecommunications during his term of office as the CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization. It was, therefore, of no surprise that he has opted to tap his...

The East African Community (EAC) countries are leveraging on a single online visa to help increase tourist arrivals in the region, Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto has said. Ruto told a tourism conference in Nairobi that Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, which had launched a single visa initiative earlier this year, were leveraging on technology to remove hurdles in the promotion of tourism in the region. "We are leveraging on technology to market the region as a single destination with diverse tourist attractions, and I assure our visitors that we will make it worthy their while," he said when he officiated at the opening of the 40th Conference of the Africa Travel Association (ATA). Ruto noted that the decision to issue a single visa for visitors coming to Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda was a milestone in promoting the three countries as a single tourism destination. The lack of a regional common visa has been a major drawback towards marketing East Africa as a single tourist destination. Foreign tour operators had complained of cumbersome immigration procedures at border entry points for those who wish to cover various circuits in East Africa. Sources said the five East African Community countries, which also include Burundi and Tanzania, are also in the final stages of implementing a single visa. Ruto said that efforts put into the promotion of tourism in Kenya were bearing fruit, with tourist arrivals in the country hitting 1.13 million last year, up 5 percent year on year. Source: Coast Week

Despite popular opinion, Africa has been very active on the international trading stage, though results have been disappointing. At the ministerial conference in Bali, Indonesia in 2013, African countries failed to push for their needs. After progress and losses, what is the place of Africa in the multilateral trading system as the continent heads into the WTO ministerial conference in Nairobi, Kenya?
 As the world is rushing towards regional and mega-regional trade agreements, it is necessary to review the place and role of the African continent in all of its evolutions. These have already transformed international trade relations and set the next boundaries of the global economic governance system. Africa’s place in the multilateral trading system has often received special attention, even though ithas mostly focused on the contextual and factual analysis of the weakness of the continent’s contribution to global commercial transactions or the vagaries of the participation of African states in trade negotiations. There has been more than enough criticism suggesting that Africa is not making sufficient effort to take part in international trade. On the contrary, African countries merit a spotlight on their significant progress to open up to trade. A continent that has come a long way Africa’s place in the international trading system has often been simplified to a single statistic: less than 2 percent of international trade. The analyses that support the theory that African countries barely participate in international trade are mostly based on a quantitative approach. However, such a static approach hides...

In East Africa, Rwandan Minister of Infrastructure James Musoni last week confirmed that planned power imports from Kenya have been delayed due to incomplete high voltage transmission lines and substations between Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The three countries including South Sudan have engaged into an arrangement dubbed the 'Northern Corridor Integration Projects'. Speaking at the two-day iPAD Rwanda Power and Infrastructure Investment forum in Kigali, Musoni said Rwanda will have to wait until April 2016 for the power to be imported, due to the delayed upgrade of infrastructure. Rwanda expects 480MW of power import Uganda has committed to export 50MW to Rwanda, while Kenya has agreed to export 30MW while 400MW will be coming from Ethiopia. The regional electricity power exchange line from Olkaria in Kenya to Birembo in Southern Province, through Uganda, has the capacity to transport 400kV. "But the electricity interconnection lines we have with Uganda can only transmit 2MW," Musoni said explaining the delays. IPPs to the rescue The delay on power import has resulted in the Rwandan government calling for tenders from independent power producers (IPPs) to set up a thermal power plant, which is expected to be delivered by February 2016. According to The East African newspaper, among the three Northern Corridor countries, Rwanda is at an advanced stage of completing its infrastructure projects, with about 75% of work on power stations completed. Rwanda began electricity cuts in June, which worsened in August as water levels at the hydro power generation stations reduced.The state-owned utility, Rwanda Energy Group,...