MEMBERS of the private sector and the government have been advised to consult each other and see how they can solve challenges that impede Tanzania to take advantage of the readily rice market in the East African countries. A Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) consultant, Dr Halima Noor, told a news conference during a high level policy dialogue for rice value chain stakeholders that Tanzania was not utilising her potential in producing and selling rice in East Africa. "Something should be done now in this important rice sub sector," she said in Dar es Salaam over the weekend. Tasked by TPSF, Dr Noor presented a paper titled 'A Policy Scoping Study on Improving Rice Exports to the EAC region by the Tanzania private sector.' The meeting organised by TPSF and Trade Mark East Africa was attended by members of the private and public sector from within and EA countries. The study found out that several challenges face Tanzanian business persons such as 75 per cent tariff when exporting rice to Uganda and Rwanda which is contrary to EAC laws. The rice which is subject to 75 per cent tariff is the one imported from outside the region mainly from Asia. However, some EA countries claim that Tanzanian businessmen sell to them rice which is illegally mixed with the one imported from Asia. The meeting recommended setting up of Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) offices and verification machines in all border areas to strengthen quality control measures and curb smuggling. Another...

The World Trade Organisation is holding its 10th Ministerial Conference (MC10) in Nairobi from 15 to 18 December. Foreign Minister Amina Mohammed will be chairing the conference. It will be a challenging undertaking. The minister was expressing a common African sentiment when she said (in Geneva on July 1) that the Doha Development Agenda negotiations cannot be concluded without "credible" developmental outcomes in Nairobi. She went on to say African countries will blame Kenya for hosting the 10th ministerial meeting in Nairobi when all their developmental demands are pushed under the carpet for concluding the round.  Need for East Africa and Africa to Unite at the MC10 Minister Amina is right. Oduor Ong’wen, the executive director of the ODM, congratulated the minister for her statement. In times like this, all nationalist forces must join hands and not let the WTO divide and rule the nation (or the region, or Africa). I write as chairperson of SEATINI (Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute). I was also, from 2004 to 2009, the executive director of the South Centre. The SC is a policy and research think tank of the global South based in Geneva. It was founded among others, by the late Mwalimu Nyerere. SEATINI is an NGO. Since 1997, we have been engaged in developing technical and negotiating capacity of East African trade negotiators in Geneva as well as in the capitals of East African countries. We have also been working with national MPs and members of the...

African countries are expected to lobby for more access to the duty free global market for agricultural products at the upcoming World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Nairobi. Top on the agenda during the December 15-18 meeting is the issue of reduction of agricultural subsidies and implementation of domestic support measures to reduce competition from exports from developing countries. According to Peter Kiguta, EAC Director General of Customs & Trade, African countries are already negotiating on how to present these key issues to the other partners for negotiations. “This is the right time is Africa lobbying for support from developing countries to comprehensively address their issues,” said Mr Kiguta. African countries are seeking to address the issue of agricultural subsidies, “anti-dumping” barriers by rich countries like the US, Japan and Korea that restrict exports of agricultural products, steel and other goods from developing countries; the impact of lower industrial tariffs on domestic industries in many African countries; and the failure of the rich countries to provide adequate technical assistance to enable developing countries to comply with trade regulations and compete effectively. READ: Africa to negotiate for better terms at WTO meet READ: Africa to negotiate for better terms at WTO meet 
“Under the WTO, African countries have been forced to open their markets to cheap imports that undermine domestic agriculture and industry while rich countries have failed to lower their own trade barriers, which cost developing countries some $100 billion in lost opportunities,” said Mr Kiguta. He added that instead of...

East African ministers will, next month, head to Beijing for the annual Africa Power and Infrastructure Forum (AIPF) where they are expected to attract more Chinese investors into financing regional projects, including the proposed multi-billion dollar standard gauge railway. In its fourth edition this year, the forum is being organised by EnergyNet, an online oil and gas auction platform, in partnership with the China-Africa Development Fund formed in 2006 to support Chinese companies to develop investment partnerships in Africa. The fund currently has some $5 billion under its management and its handlers will be offering part of the money to African countries with attractive projects that require private investor financing. According to the organisers, more than 10 project proposals will be presented during the forum which takes place from October 15-16. The forum is expected to attract several Chinese investors looking for juicy investment openings at a time when China's economy is experiencing a downturn due to structural reforms. Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya are to each send a minister to jointly market the standard gauge railway (SGR), an important infrastructure venture aimed at facilitating regional trade along the Northern Corridor. The New Times understands that East Africa's lineup in Beijing will feature Rwanda's Minister for Infrastructure James Musoni, Uganda's State Minister for Privatisation Aston Kajara and Kenya's Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich. Rwanda's Infrastructure ministry, when contacted yesterday, couldn't readily confirm whether Minister Musoni will attend the forum but Permanent Secretary Christian Rwakunda said China has already agreed in principle...

Nairobi — An estimated 4,000 Single Tourist Visas (STV) have been issued since its launch in February 2014 for Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. This represents a month-on-month improvement from an average of the 156 visas sold in the 10 months to December last year to 305 this year. Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) Acting CEO Susan Ongalo says the improvement was due to an increased interest by members of the private sector umbrella body to participate in regional forums with a view of partnering and working with other players in member countries to develop unique East African products. "I came along with a delegation of 12 Kenyan tourism private sector players and county ministers for tourism who were keen to travel using their National Identification cards in order to better understand the process while cross-selling products within the region," Ongalo said during a tourism forum in Kigali, Rwanda, organised by East African Tourism platform (EATP). In July a report by KTF report acknowledged that a majority of regional and international travellers passing through Kenya are still unaware of the availability and process of using a Single Tourist Visa and National Identification for travel within the three countries. According to the research, up to 58.1 percent of travellers had neither used nor interacted with someone who had used STV, while 47 percent of travellers showed lack of familiarity on the existence of STV. During the forum, the East African Tourism players pledged to support and continue marketing the region as a single...

Tourism players in East Africa have pledged to support marketing of the region as a single tourist destination with a view of reaping maximum economic value from the initiative. The players say they are targeting to tap into at least 10 percent of the 140 million population in the region. An estimated 4,000 Single Tourist Visas have been issued since the launch of the Single Tourist Visa initiative in February last year. This represents a month on month improvement from an average of the 156 Visas sold in the 10 months to December last year, to 305 this year. With the Visa, foreigners can visit tourist attractions in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda on paying a fee of 100 dollars. East African Tourism platform Regional Coordinator Carmen Nibigira says there was need to package the region as one destination, celebrate flagship tourism events and find solutions to individual challenges together. Members also called for the speedy hotel classification within the East Africa region with a view of harmonising the product by next year noting that this would go a long way in ensuring services and products were of same quality across board. The three countries chose flagship products to be cross sold within the region with Kenya hosting the Magical Kenya Expo, Rwanda the Kwita Izina and Uganda, Martyrs Day. The operationalization of the single tourist visa and use of the national identity cards to travel across East African Community member states has increased trade and tourism activities due to the...

What, in your opinion, is the relevance of regional integration? Across the world different regional integration blocs have come up on the basis of different issues. But for our case (East Africa) we are looking at creating a competitive ground for all countries, especially small ones as well as allowing comparative advantage to strengthen a particular country's production capacity. Has Uganda realised any benefits from the integration? Yes! Certainly there have been benefits, especially in the area of trade. For instance, in the last 10 years Uganda has seen its trade across the region increase both in terms of volumes and quality. Trade volumes and investments by Ugandans in countries like Rwanda and Kenya have increased partly because of free movement of goods, labour and capital. How does Uganda's regional exports and imports balance sheet weigh? Of course it is an unbalanced equation. We have a lot of imports coming in and fewer exports and that is one of the challenges we are facing right now. Our exports cannot provide a buffer against currency volatility. Therefore one of our main works as Trademark East Africa is to work with government and see how we can improve our export potential. How far have you reached in regard to creati ng one-s top border posts? You have hit the nail on the head. Ours is an effort geared towards reducing the cost of trade across the region, especially on transportation of goods. We have mainly put our emphasis on improving physical access...

East Africa is emerging as a trade hub to rival sub-Saharan Africa is two heavyweight states of South Africa and Nigeria, according to analysis by Barclays published on Thursday. However the UK bank identifies five “sleeping giants” that present significant new opportunities for foreign companies; Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Tanzania and Ghana. This quintet which are “playing catch-up after significant political and economic upheaval . . . are increasingly attractive to foreign firms and international investors with an eye on long-term returns from fast-growing markets,” Barclays said in its inaugural Africa Trade Index. Matt Tuck, head of global corporate banking at Barclays, said the five were open to international trade and had rapidly growing populations that are likely to reach 325m in total by 2020, comparable to that of the US. Moreover, any repeat of the 7.3 per cent compound annual economic growth they have experienced over the past five years would lead to a significant rise in household spending. Most are relatively unreliant on commodity exports by African standards, shielding them from some of the storms currently battering emerging markets. “The core underlying fundamentals are getting better and with more stable government it does represent an opportunity for growth,” said Mr Tuck. “It’s a much more encouraging outlook than in the past.” Overall, Barclays found South Africa and Nigeria offered the best opportunities for foreign companies, in terms of unmet demand, the absence of major barriers to cross-border trade and their connectivity with other African countries. While South Africa is...

Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will begin issuing a common electronic passport in November. The national non-biometric passports will be phased out over a two-year period ending in 2017. But Burundi has until close to the cut-off date to change over, as its current document already conforms to the new international standard for passports. Benon Mujuni, Principal Immigration Officer in Uganda, said the new EAC e-passport will be launched by the heads of state during their annual ordinary summit, after which the responsible regional authorities will start writing to different international bodies to ensure that it is a recognised travel document worldwide. “ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organisation] is one of the international bodies that we shall inform about the internationalisation of the EAC passport,” he said. ICAO is responsible for coming up with regulations and standards in immigration and movement of mail and live agricultural products across national borders. The EAC set an October 2015 deadline for states to have completed the process of procuring passport booklets and issuance systems for the passports. James Baba, Uganda’s Minister of State for Internal Affairs, said that Kampala, which has just started the procurement process of the systems and booklets, is focusing on a November deadline. Mr Baba added that it is important for the region to start issuing this document by November 24, 2015, because this is when the international community will require all countries to phase out all non-electronic passports. Only Burundi currently issues an electronic passport, while Rwanda has purchased...

Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda are funding a campaign to promote the use of the Single Tourist Visa and identity cards for regional travel.   The campaign, to be launched by the three countries’ tourism boards, targets immigration officers, travel agencies, airlines and tour operators. The uptake of the Single Tourist Visa and use of IDs for regional travel remain low, blamed on lack of awareness and poor information among travel and tourism, trade and hospitality providers. Uganda is in the process of issuing IDs; its citizens currently use voters’ cards to travel to Kenya and Rwanda. “We expect 10,000 visitors to have taken up the Single Tourist Visa offer,” said Susan Ongaro, the acting CEO of the Kenya Tourism Federation. Launched in February 2014, about 1,560 Single Tourist Visas were issued by end of that year. The Single Tourist Visa costs $100 for all three countries, instead of $50 for each. The findings of a baseline survey on the awareness of the Single Tourist Visa and IDs to facilitate travel, commissioned by KTF, revealed low levels of awareness among travellers. The June 2015 report indicates that 58.1 per cent of travellers to Kenya  had neither used nor interacted with someone who had used Single Tourist Visa; and 47 per cent of the travellers showed a lack of familiarity with the existence of the Single Tourist Visa. Immigration officials showed high levels of awareness on Single Tourist Visa use with up to 70.8 per cent having used or interacted with someone who...