The President re-emphasised the role of Parliament in fast-tracking the legislative agenda to ensure bills are enacted on time by member states. Addressing the East African Legislative Assembly in Nairobi, President Kenyatta pointed out that delayed implementation of the proposed EAC protocols by East African countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi was an impediment to development. "Our union must be strengthened to allow free flow of people, capital and services. We have to allow our people to take their skills and capital wherever they will be best rewarded," he said. He continued: "This weighty responsibility rests on the shoulders of the assembly members. My government is completely committed to ensure this course is realised. The issue of integration is not only a political process but requires the participation of all citizens. " He particularly challenged EALA to accelerate the legislation process of the EAC common market protocol, which anchors the right to freedom of movement and cautioned that existing political union among partner countries can't be achieved without eliminating barriers of economic development. President Kenyatta recalled the recent State visit by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, saying over half of the people who turned up for the launch of Taveta-Arusha road project were Tanzanians. "The turnout was quite telling. Half of the crowd I addressed were Tanzanians without passports and they were surprised to see their President at the event," said President Kenyatta. Source: Standard Difital

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 13 2015 (IPS) - African member states’ vision and ambition echo their peoples’ aspirations and builds on the continent’s robust economic growth, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a High-Level Event on the “Role of African Regional and Sub-Regional Organizations in Achieving Regional Integration.” The High-Level meeting is the first in a series of events marking Africa Week 2015, whose theme is “Moving From Aspirations to Reality.” Organized by the Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (OSAA), Africa Week 2015 engages member states and other stakeholders to address the continent’s development priorities.It specifically focuses on implementing both the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Adopted in January 2015 by African heads of State, Agenda 2063 is an action plan for “all segments of African society to work together to build a prosperous and united Africa.” It includes commitments to industrialise economies, develop infrastructure, eradicate poverty, improve education, and act on climate change. “They seek to build lives with quality education and health care, decent jobs, a clean environment and tolerant, inclusive and democratic societies,” noted the Secretary-General in his opening remarks. “They demand and deserve a future where guns are silenced throughout the continent and poverty and hunger have no place,” Ban continued. The first High-Level event of the week also underscored the importance of regional economic integration, highlighting the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreements. Launched in June 2015, the TFTA aims to...

The impetus for cross-country projects in Africa has always been motivated by the cost of doing business on the continent.There have been noticeable improvements in sectors such as the ICT sector, however, progress in other sectors, such as transport has been slow. What factors need to be present in order to guarantee the success of projects? From an operator’s view, a big issue is the cost of trade between countries on the African continent. There is a need for a free trade agreement and that many businesses are sceptical about the potential success of African projects, despite a number of very successful African projects, such as the Pedicle Road on which one-stop border posts have been implemented. The introduction of these border posts has reduced customs-related corruption significantly. It is necessary to get captains of industry into one room in order to try and kick start development and that more control over costs is necessary. Corridors do seem to be making a difference: roads are being improved as is infrastructure, which saves on travel time and thus reduces costs. The example of measures at ports in Dar es Salaam, which were instituted to reduce bottlenecks, is a further case of the cost-saving measure that had been introduced. In order to guarantee the success of corridors, it is vital that the commitment of member states is obtained. One-stop border posts and the implementation of the requisite technology at these border posts are essential to the free flow of people and goods...

Rwandan traders are set for early Christmas after the Tanzania International Container Terminal (TICTs) announced that it will open a country liaison office in Kigali before the end of the year. This is in a bid to bring the Dar es Salaam port services closer to traders in Rwanda. The announcement was made last week, in Kigali, by Paul Wallace, the chief executive of TICTS, a private company that handles 80 per cent of the Dar port traffic. “We have already made the decision and before the end of December, the office will be operational,” Wallace, who led a delegation of Dar es Salaam port authorities for a three-day promotional tour to Kigali, said. During their visit, facilitated by Ministry of East African Affairs, the delegation hosted members of the Rwandan private sector to a business lunch during which they discussed possible solutions to a number of issues in a bid to ease trade facilitation at the port and on the central corridor. Amb. Valentine Rugwabiza, the Minister for East African Community Affairs, told guests during the event that the delegation’s visit was a result of a number of conversations with Dar es Salaam through the Rwandan High Commission in Tanzania. “We wanted a direct engagement between TICTS, the private company handling 80 per cent of the traffic at Dar port, with the stakeholders, who are the members of the business community transiting cargo through the port,” she said. Rugwabiza revealed that although the government has been doing some advocacy...

The East African Community partner states have agreed on the outstanding trade issues under the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA). The EAC partners are expected to present their offer to the other TFTA members for a decision at the upcoming meeting in Kigali this week. If adopted, the deal will pave the way for EAC goods to enter larger markets such as South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea beginning next year when the TFTA comes into full force. The pending issues the five countries have already agreed on include rules of origin, liberalisation of tariff offers and dispute settlement. They have agreed to liberalise 63 per cent of their tariff lines to the other TFTA partners and 37 per cent of tariff lines to be liberalised and further negotiated. “This means that only 63 per cent of specified goods, which exclude sensitive goods, will be allowed into the region from the other TFTA partner states at zero per cent duty rate,” said Mark Ogot, a senior assistant director at Kenya’s Ministry of East African Community Affairs and a Tripartite expert. He said that the tariff offers by EAC allow completion of ongoing negotiations for a free trading area “Further discussions on the tariff offers by the EAC will depend on what the other countries will be offering but no country or bloc will be allowed to give a tariff offer below what other member states are offering,” said Mr Ogot. However, Tanzania will apply non-preferential rates on selected tariff lines...

Kigali — Reflecting efforts to boost intra-regional trade and investment, 26 African countries have recently agreed to establish a Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) by January 2016. The TFTA agreement comprises the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). With a total population of 638 million people and a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 1.2 trillion, the TFTA will create Africa's largest free trade area. In one of the first papers to quantify the potential benefits from the TFTA, UNECA economists Andrew Mold and Rodgers Mukwaya suggest the TFTA could boost intra-regional trade by USD 8.5 billion. Particularly interesting is the fact that the economic sectors most likely to benefit are the industrial sectors - such as processed foods, light manufacturing and heavy manufacturing, providing an important impulse to regional industrialisation. The authors also speculate that, if the elimination of tariffs is accompanied by measures to remove non-tariff barriers and infrastructural deficits, the potential gains could be much larger. The TFTA is estimated to increase regional welfare by US$2.4 billion, with South African consumers being among the main beneficiaries. Other principal beneficiaries include Angola, D.R. Congo, Tanzania and Egypt. The paper also addresses concerns that industrial production in the TFTA may concentrate in the countries with the highest productivity levels - namely, Egypt and South Africa. The simulation results suggest that these fears are exaggerated, with little evidence of concentration of industries in the larger...

The East African Community (EAC), comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda has been urged to ensure full integration for inclusive growth in the region. Addressing East African Trade Union Confederation Youth Camp in Kisumu on Monday, Central Organization of Trade Union (Cotu) Secretary General Francis Atwoli said the integration is still very weak. Atwoli said while progress towards regional integration has been significant, the agenda is far from finished, pointing at many barriers. “We need free movement of people, goods and other services within East African countries. These barriers should be removed,” Atwoli said. He challenged Tanzania to remain optimistic and embrace the integration process to allow EAC to move in one direction. Atwoli said EAC was strong before it went down in 1977. He said the community was stronger in the past, noting that the new process started in the year 2000 and must ensure full integration to spur growth within the member states. The Cotu boss said no East African citizen should be denied work in the member states and opposed the quota system within the region. He said the system is discriminating and violates the rights of young people seeking employment opportunities within the region. “This quota system should be scrapped to allow young people to move freely and look for jobs anywhere they can find them within the region,” he said. Source: Hivisasa.com

AFRICAN countries have vowed to slash down amount of money spent through food imports by strengthening grain trade in the continent. This was declared by over 200 delegates from over 20 countries who attended the 6th African Grain Trade Summit held at the Rwandese capital Kigali.  According to Michael Hailu, the director of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Africa spends US $40 billion on food imports. "Why can't Africa, also export that much?" Hailu asked. The summit which drew delegates from  African countries and Europe including; Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, The Netherlands, Singapore, USA and Philippines recommended that structured grain trade in the continent is key in reducing high costs of food imports. The delegates, who represented the government officials, private sector, traders, farmers, processors, financial institutions, civil society and development partners all committed to work together through Private-Public Partnership (PPP) models to reduce the billions of dollars that get out of Africa through food imports The 6th African Grain Trade Summit held under the theme: " Towards Creating an Enabling Environment for Grain Trade in Africa: Technology, Investment, Information and Services," closed with a clear agenda for regional grain trade in Africa, and with renewed commitments for creating an enabling environment for structured trade.  The outcomes of the three-day summit reaffirmed the regional grain sector actors' commitment to structured grain trade in Africa and sets out a clear agenda on different priority areas to be achieved...

ARUSHA, Tanzania, 05 October 2015 / PRN Africa / — The 6th African Grain Trade Summit with a clear agenda for regional grain trade in Africa, and with renewed commitments for creating an enabling environment for structured trade concluded in Kigali,Rwanda. The outcomes of the three-day summit reaffirms the regional grain sector actors' commitment to structured grain trade in Africa and sets out a clear agenda on different priority areas to be achieved within the next two years, when the next summit will be held.
 In a major push to create an enabling environment for the grain sector in Africa, His Excellency Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, pledged to continue to support the operationalization of the single customs territory through the Northern and Central Corridor Initiatives. The President's remarks were delivered on his behalf by the Right Honourable Prime Minister, Anastase Murekezi.
 Over 200 delegates from 14 countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, The Netherlands, Singapore, USA and Philippines attended the summit. The delegates, who represented the Government officials, private sector, traders, farmers, processors, financial institutions, civil society and development partners all committed to work together through Private-Public Partnership models to reduce the billions of dollars that get out of Africa through food imports. 
In his remarks, the Hon. Kanimba, Minister of Trade and Industry, appreciated the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) for organizing such a high level summit, noting that, “The 6th African Grain Trade summit that we are...

The East African Community Secretariat has asked the International Monetary Fund for advice on how to harmonise its taxation policies as part of the ongoing regional integration programme. East African countries are seeking to harmonise their tax procedures in line with the EAC Treaty and the Common Market Protocol in order to boost investments and ensure free movement of goods, capital and labour in the region. So far, only Customs duties have been harmonised by setting a common external tariff (CET) in respect of imports into Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Under the Customs Union Protocol, which came into force on January 1, importation of raw materials, capital goods, agricultural inputs and some medical equipment into the EAC attracts zero duty. Importers of intermediate goods and other essential industrial inputs pay a tax of 25 per cent while finished products attract 30 per cent duty. “We are asking for input from the IMF, which has experience and is able to give us advice on how best we can achieve tax harmonisation,” said Peter Njoroge, director of economics at Kenya’s Ministry of EAC Affairs. “It is a complex issue, because even the European Union has never fully harmonised its taxes.” In the EU, plans to harmonise VAT and excise duty date back to 1967 and the early ’70s, respectively, but member states are still free to agree on their own tax systems as long as they comply with the bloc’s rules. The structure of taxation in the EU differs significantly...