KIGALI, Rwanda - World Bank Group Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Sri Mulyani Indrawati was recently in Rwanda and advised relevant authorities to make cross-border trade more user-friendly and safe writes AGNES BATETA. She was addressing a news conference recently at the conclusion of her a three day visit. She had talks with President Paul Kagame and toured various World Bank projects. “To make trade more user-friend or trade friendly in this case, Rwanda needs to have accessibility to infrastructure. This calls for connectivity with the other EAC member states,” Indrawati said. The East African Community (EAC) is composed of five member states including Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Burundi. It is set on developing into a Common Market of around 165 million people worth $120 billion. Indrawati said the efforts being made to upgrade both the Northern Corridor (that links Rwanda and Uganda through Kenya to Mombasa port) as well as the Central Corridor which links Rwanda to Burundi and Tanzania, are very useful. “The roads and the railways that create more predictability and less cost on transportation is very critical for Rwanda in this case,” she said. She cross-border infrastructure promotes regional integration, which is necessary for the EAC and the African continent to fully exploit existing potential. The World Bank estimates $93 billion for infrastructure investment in Africa “The need to create harmonization, whether this is on the customs, such as the one Customs Union which is already being implemented or initiated, will certainly require same...

The East African Community (EAC) has achieved much since being revived in 1999. However, it is now entering a crucial phase that requires greater levels of single-mindedness. Two senior IMF officials PAULO DRUMMOND and ORAL WILLIAMS give their personal views of what is in store in the coming years ahead. The East African Community (EAC)—comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda—has the ambitious goal of introducing a single currency by 2024. This journey towards integration commenced in 2000 and is underpinned by three main protocols: the customs union (2005), the common market (2010), and, more recently, the monetary union (2013). This increasing integration, which the East African heads of state see as steps towards their ultimate goal of a political federation, facilitates the free movement of goods, services, and capital around the region, which in turn improves the welfare of the general population through sustained, durable, and inclusive growth. Economic success As the EAC has improved macroeconomic management as part of the integration process, these efforts have delivered steady growth in real per capita incomes, which have remained above that for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. The EAC is also the second-fastest growing economic bloc after the Association of South East Asian Nations. Other reasons for the region’s success relate to progress made in financial inclusion in part through e-banking and ease of doing business. The region has attracted some $24 billion in foreign direct investment since 2000. More recently, several countries have become first-time issuers of...

KIGALI, Rwanda - The cost of doing business in the East African Community which has been still affecting healthcare delivery in the region is gradually falling. The EAC partner states are working together to address the infrastructural challenges to reduce the cost of doing business hence support the health sector of the region. “Transferring medical equipments from one part of the region to another is gradually improving,” Rogers Ayiko,a Global Health Specialist working at the EAC Secretariat as the Principal Health Systems and Policy Officer said during the 4th East African Healthcare Federation Conference held last week in Kigali Rwanda Ayiko said, “Previously some goods used to take months to leave one port and reach another country but with the concerted efforts of the EAC partner states, the number of days taken for good to leave say port Mombasa to Uganda has reduced now which is a very good progress as determined by the people of the region”. The other big cost that affects doing business in the region is the cost of communication. “The cost of communication is reducing gradually in the entire region,” Ayiko said. “EAC countries are coming together to agree to reduce on taxes so that people can be able to communicate across the region which is supporting doing business in the region,” he said. The current landscape of healthcare in EAC shows that the EAC Common Market has around 165 million people with a market worth USD 120billion which if collectively harnessed can help the...

It is always a pleasure to travel across East Africa and discuss the state of the East African Community with citizens. That has been my privilege this past week when I travelled to three partner states. During my conversations, one issue that formed part of the discourse was the benefits of the community to the citizens. Secondly, an explanation of the mistrust between citizens of neighbouring countries and what can be done about it. A few examples of some of the concerns raised will serve to illustrate my experience. In one conversation the issue raised was the possibility of men from one country marrying most of the women from another state. In another, the focus was on land being grabbed by citizens from other states. Others recalled their suffering when the original community collapsed. There was also focus on the state of constitutional development across EAC states and its implications on realisation of a political federation. I could go on and on. The pattern being painted was of real, practical issues. And while these could be dismissed as pedantic or peripheral, they are at the heart of the perceptions East Africans have of their neighbours. It is important that we address them candidly if we are to have a sustainable and people-centred integration process. Recently, Tanzania restricted access of Kenyan tour operators into Tanzania. The dispute escalated when Kenya stopped Tanzanian tour vans from picking and dropping tourists from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. In retaliation, Tanzania reduced the number of...

ARUSHA, Tanzania - East African Community (EAC) Secretariat staff have been advised to cut out unnecessary travel. In the run-up to the 2015/16 budget being passed last week, a report of the General Purpose Committee (GPC), presented by the Chair Dr. Odette Nyiramilimo suggested the need to further curtail excess travel and enhance implementation of the decisions and directives of the Council of Ministers. Consequently the Committee called for more Video Conferencing and that all departments within the EAC should adjust their budgets to reflect the same. In its report the Committee also expressed concerns that the social sectors at the EAC have been chronically underfunded over time. Committee members called for the re-allocation to the extent possible in order to restore some activities of the sector to allow for their effective implementation. The GPC also wants an overall strengthening of EAC Sensitisation policy and the requisite prioritization in funding. “While the Committee has previously recommended strengthening of the Corporate Communications Department to be able to spearhead the process, the Committee is of the view that efforts have to be enhanced and funding increased to facilitate Organs and Institutions to optimally participate both jointly and as entities, in the sensitization of East Africans,” a section of the report reads. Dr Nyiramilimo also calls for improvement of the conditions of service and emoluments of the EAC Staff to make the Institution more competitive and to retain the best caliber of staff. The Committee raises concern over the impending high number of...

At the best of times, the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat staff in Arusha would wish for more than the $110 million regional legislators are debating at present. Notably, the budget for 2015/16 is about $15 million less than the previous one of $126 million passed in financial year 2014/15. Paying for important EAC Secretariat programmes is perhaps the most nagging problem before the Partner States and as yet no definite solution has been presented. There is so much to do, but limited financial resources require that many vital programmes are left on the shelf until the cash is in hand. As closer regional integration becomes stronger, the importance of the Arusha Secretariat becomes just as crucial. For the present, Development Partners like the European Union (EU), have been quick to give a helping hand. On bilateral terms, Germany even paid for construction of the EAC headquarters. In other areas, other countries have been offering grants to push the regional integration agenda forward. But as most would agree, this kind of arrangement is not sustainable. The EAC must increasingly fend for itself if it is to be taken seriously as a viable economic bloc. According to the official stance, the Vision of EAC is a prosperous, competitive, secure, stable and politically united East Africa; and the Mission is to widen and deepen Economic, Political, Social and Culture integration in order to improve the quality of life of the people of East Africa through increased competitiveness, value added production, trade and...

THE tripartite free trade area is expected to be launched next month and is anticipated to offer Zambian farmers and agribusiness players’ wider access to export markets in the region. The agreement will comprise of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Africa (COMESA) member states. According to the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) Friday brief availed to the Daily Mail on Monday, the objective of the tripartite agreement is to strengthen and deepen economic integration of the southern and eastern African region. “The big free trade area encompassing SADC, EAC and COMESA is expected to be launched on June 10, 2015 in Egypt. This big free trade area will have 26 countries including Zambia and other trading partners such as South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, among others,” the statement reads. It however,, says in view of the amount of outstanding work to implement the SADC-EAC-COMESA Free Trade Agreement, the launch of this big free trade area next month will only be symbolic as countries will not be able to trade without completing work on applicable duties and rules of origin. The SADC-EAC-COMESA Free Trade Area will not come into force until a minimum of 14 countries sign and ratify the agreement. Once implemented, the big free trade area is expected to offer Zambian farmers and agribusiness players’ wider access to export markets in the region. It is also expected that Democratic Republic of Congo and...

THE East African Community Secretary General, Dr Richard Sezibera, has challenged the private sector to play a more active role in anti-corruption crusade saying they are seen to be facilitating the vice rather than fighting it. Dr Sezibera said in Dar es Salaam last week that he was concerned that many operators in the private sector set budgets under different names, for bribes, something which indicated that they were facilitating the vice. "We are concerned the private sector have budget lines called facilitation. This is a serious problem," he said at a meeting with Chief Executive Officers of business enterprises organised to discuss issues affecting trade and investments in the region. He said the impact of corruption on commercial interests was immense as it adds 10 per cent or more to the cost of doing business. "It is a serious problem and unless the private sector deal with this issue as an industry, we will end up at the bottom". The crusade against corruption was an area the EAC community had not made good progress, he said noting that private sector participation in the crusade against corruption is key to success. According to the United Nations, corruption adds 10 per cent or more to the cost of doing business in many parts of the world and as much as 25 per cent to the cost of public procurement. Corruption also impedes economic growth, distorts competition, and creates serious legal and reputational risks. Dr Sezibera said there were progress in improving...

During the period up to the 1970s, truckloads of copper ingots would line up in Mombasa port to deliver their cargo. A dedicated area — the “G” section — at the port would store Zambian copper awaiting export. In those years, the port “hinterland” covered reached as far as Zambia. That was then. Today, not a single kilogramme of Zambian copper is exported through Mombasa. Most of it goes through Dar es Salaam port. What happened? In those past years, it was generally accepted that Mombasa port’s absolute hinterland was geographically determined and static, covering Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern DRC. It has since been proved that hinterland can be influenced and changed by technology — such as the Single Window customs clearance, removal of non-tariff barriers and enhancement of physical infrastructure such as roads, rail and even port efficiency. The speed of change was slow in the past, but with the current ambitious investment in infrastructure by all regional governments, how will the network of refurbished roads, new road network, new standard gauge railway network and new ports influence supply chains? Kenya has unveiled an ambitious road construction plan — the building of an additional 10,000km of tarmacked roads in five years. Compare that to 14,000km in 50 years since independence. Two SGR corridors, Mombasa-Nairobi-Malaba and Lamu-Isiolo to Ethiopia and South Sudan, when completed, will open up new opportunities for Mombasa port. The proposed SGR master plan provides for a linkage of the Northern Corridor with a line...

Non-Tariff Barriers are still posing a serious challenge to regional trade and integration in East Africa, a regional chief has said. Speaking at the recently concluded private sector chief executives forum in Dar es Salaam, EAC Secretary-General Richard Sezibera said they account for significant proportion of the high transportation costs in the East African Community. “Transportation costs are estimated to be 60-70 per cent higher than in the US or Europe, and 30 per cent higher than in southern Africa,” said Mr Sezibera. In March this year, a key Bill on eliminating the barriers sailed through its third reading pending assent by Heads of State. The objective of the Bill, which was moved by the council of ministers, is to provide a legal mechanism for elimination of identified NTBs in partner States. According to the East African Business Council Chairman Felix Mosha, Eala played a significant role by passing the Bill, however, a number of issues crippling trade in the bloc still remain pending. “They include fast-tracking implementation of the single customs territory so that intended benefits can be realised by removing unfair competition and encourage efficiency and competitiveness in EAC,” said Mr Mosha. Source: Daily Nation