The government has approved a draft law that seeks to impose a new levy on goods imported from outside the East African Community (EAC) in order to collect funds needed for regional infrastructure projects. The draft law establishing the Infrastructure Development Levy on imported goods was approved by last week's Cabinet meeting. According to the proposed law, all imported goods (from outside EAC), except those exempted under the law, are subject to a levy of 1.5 per cent on the customs value of imported goods. The government says the levy "is intended to mobilise funds for regional infrastructure projects that will assist in improving the infrastructure and reduce the cost of transport and the cost of doing business in the region." The regional infrastructure projects to be funded include the railway and energy networking infrastructure such as electricity grids and oil pipelines, which are being pursued under the Northern Corridor Integration Projects initiative. "To run these big projects, countries need huge financing. With the view to overcome this problem, EAC Heads of State introduced the idea to establish a levy on imports from outside the bloc to finance the projects," a Cabinet paper, a copy of which The New Times has seen, reads in part. The draft law approved by the Cabinet says the levy on goods imported will be collected at Customs points by Rwanda Revenue Authority in accordance with the customs legislation and deposited into a sub account of the Treasury. Although the draft law is yet to...

Arusha — The Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera this morning engaged, in a dialogue, Chief Executives Officers (CEOs) of Businesses in the Republic of Kenya on how to improve the integration process and the business-operating environment in the EAC bloc. While hosting over 50 CEOs for breakfast dialogue at the Sarova Stanley Hotel in Nairobi, the Secretary General noted that the intra-regional trade expanded from US dollars 1617.1 million in 2005 to US dollars 3800.7 million in 2010, and that the EAC total trade with the rest of the world maintained an upward trend by posting a growth rate of 8.3 percent in 2013 compared to what was recorded in 2012. On the investment front, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to EAC increased by 6.6 percent to US$ 3.7 billion in 2013 compared to what was recorded in 2012. He said that in order to maintain this momentum in the integration process, improvement in EAC's competitiveness has to be given the due attention by all stakeholders. He urged the private sector to dedicate this year 2015 to issues that affect the business environment in the region that could be brought to the attention of the EAC Heads of State for their interventions at their Summit on 30 November. Amb. Sezibera urged for the support of the private sector in ensuring that headways are made in areas not limited to total liberalization of free movement of labor and services (removal of work permit) and the...

The Saana Institute partnered with the Trade Out of Poverty All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to organise a seminar on trade, development and poverty reduction in East Africa on the 11th of February at the House of Commons. The event featured Frank Matsaert, Chief Executive Office of TradeMark Africa (TMA), Patrick Obath, Board Director for TMA and Director of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), and Lisa Karanja, Senior Director, Business Competitiveness at TMA. The debate was chaired by Robin Walker, Member of Parliament and the Trade Out of Poverty APPG. TMA is a pioneering $600 million Aid for Trade initiative, focused on increasing physical access to markets, enhancing the trade environment, and improving business competitiveness in the region. Funded by the Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, TMA works on reforms to improve border management, product standards, transport and distribution that will bring about vast benefits for East African economies by significantly lowering trade costs. In his presentation, Frank Matsaert highlighted some of the structural transport and trade issues hindering the growth of East African economies – poor road and port infrastructure, delays at border posts, low capacity of customs agencies, corruption and roadblocks. It can cost more than $5000 to import and export a container to and from Rwanda, in comparison to $300 for inland China. As showcased by Mr Matsaert, TMA’s approach has been to focus on the main trade arteries of the region, the North and Central Corridors. It...

The Africa Trade Fund (AfTra) has approved funding worth more than $1.4 million for four projects in support of trade development in Africa, the African Development Bank (AfDB) disclosed on its website on Monday.AfTra, a trade-related technical assistance facility hosted by the AfDB, was established in 2013 to provide funding for trade facilitation, building capacity for trade institutions, and developing products and markets in Africa. According to the AfDB, two of the projects that have just been approved will support value chains development in the apiculture and cashew industries. The first, titled Trade and Institutional Capacity Building in the Apiculture Sector, will be implemented by SNV Netherlands Development Organization, Zambia. It will improve the capacity of traders, processors and producers of honey and bee products. This will allow them, among others, to upgrade within the honey global value chain by exporting table honey instead of bulk honey, thereby capturing more of the value. The other value chains development project, presented by the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), aims to support cashew industries in both East and West Africa. These projects were all carefully selected to make sure that they achieve the goals of helping African countries trade better with each other and to facilitate their integration into global value chains, said AfTra Fund Coordinator, Moono Mupotola. "The projects are in line with AfTra’s central goal of unlocking Africa’s trade potential," Mupotola added. Source: Star Africa

Malawi is expected to host a four-day meeting of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa-East African Community-Southern Africa Development Community (COMESA-EAC-SADC) Tripartite Trade Negotiations Forum (TTNF) from February 21-24.Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesperson Wiskes Nkombezi said Monday that the meeting would, among other things, finalise work on tariff offers, the rules of origin regime, provisions in the annex, main agreement on trade remedies and dispute settlement and movement of business persons. “This meeting will be preceded by the fifth meeting of the Tripartite Technical Working Group on trade remedies and dispute settlement as well as the ninth meeting of the Tripartite Technical Working Group on rules of origin,” he said. He added that the two meetings would be held concurrently from 16-19 February. Nkombezi said 25 member states are expected to attend the meeting such as Botswana, Burundi, Angola, Comoros, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Lesotho, Kenya, Libya, Namibia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Mauritius, Mozambique, Uganda, Swaziland, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the host Malawi. Source: Star Africa

Regional employers and the trade unions want the East African Community to speedily and fully implement the Common Market Protocol to allow free movement of labour and capital. The East African Trade Union Confederation (EATUC) and the East African Employers Association (EAEO) want all barriers to free movement of workers in the region removed quickly, according to statement issued by the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala). The regional parliament Speaker, Daniel Kidega, has promised his support. All this turned out at Eala Chambers in Arusha, Tanzania, on Friday, as the organisations called on the Speaker, to make a case for facilitation for free movement. "A lot was expected following the entry of the Common Market Protocol in July 2010. While the intentions are noble and good, the outcome in terms of implementation has not lived up to our expectations," Kidega said. "More could have been done in terms of the provisions of the free movement of persons, labour, goods, services and capital. We are hoping as an Assembly that the Protocol shall be fully enforced". The Speaker urged EATUC and EAEO to petition the Assembly over the matter, promising that EALA will address the issue. On work permits, Kidega noted that some partner states had entered into bilateral arrangements to reduce the existing permit fees and urged harmony. "Given the importance of free movement of labour, EATUC and EAEO have embarked on a process to provide joint recommendations to the governments of the EAC Partner States in order to speed...

EMPLOYERS and the trade union fraternity in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania want the Arusha-based East African Community (EAC) to speedily and fully implement the Common Market Protocol. The East African Trade Union Confederation (EATUC) and the East African Employers Association (EAEO) are taking the issue a notch higher by calling for the removal of all barriers in a bid to promote free movement of workers in the region. The trade union body and the workers organisation called upon the East African Legislative Assembly Speaker, Mr Daniel Kidega in Arusha, to make a case for facilitation of freer movement. The Chairperson of the East African Employers Association and Executive Director of the Federation of Uganda Employers, Ms Rosemary Ssenabulya, led the delegation. The Chairperson of the East African Trade Union Confederation, Mr Francis Atwoli, was represented by Mr Wafula Wa Musamia, a Member of the Governing Council of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) and General Secretary of the Kenya Quarry and Mine Workers Union. Also in attendance was the Executive Director of the Association of Tanzania Employers (ATE), Dr Aggrey Mlimuka and senior officials of EATUC as well as the Chair of EALA’s Legal Rules and Privileges Committee, Mr Peter Mathuki and Mr Bernard Mulengani. In his remarks, the Speaker of EALA stated that the hopes of the citizens of the region can and will be fulfilled by the full implementation of the Common Market. “A lot was expected following the entry of the Common Market Protocol...

ARUSHA, Tanzania (Xinhua) -- East African employers and trade unions have called on EAC partner states to swiftly and fully implement the trading bloc’s Common Market Protocol which came into force in July, 2010. The East African Trade Union Confederation (EATUC) and the East African Employers Association (EAEO) asked partner states to completely remove all non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in an effort to promote free movement of workers in the region. They also called on the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Daniel Kidega to make a case for facilitation for freer movement. Rosemary Ssenabulya, chairperson of the East African Employers Association and Executive Director of the Federation of Uganda Employers, led the delegation when representatives met with the EALA Speaker at the EAC headquarters. Kidega said that the hopes of the citizens of the region can and will be fulfilled by the full implementation of the common market. "A lot was expected following the entry of the Common Market Protocol in July 2010." "While the intentions are noble and good, the outcome in terms of implementation has not lived up to our expectations." "More could have been done in terms of the provisions of the free movement of persons, labor, goods, services and capital." "We are hoping that the protocol shall be fully enforced," Kidega said. The Speaker urged the EATUC and EAEO to consider petitioning the EALA over the matter, promising that the assembly will seek to address the issue. He pledged EALA’s support to the workers...

History will judge us kindly, Kenya’s president said in response to questions from our special correspondent. ----------------------------------------- You have been the chairman of EAC and Igad at the same time. What were your challenges? How do you rate your performance in both positions? It was an honour and a privilege to be chosen by my peers to lead both organisations. The challenges interlocked. For example, during my tenure at Igad, we had some difficulties with conflict, which look as though they’re coming to an end. But conflict, of course, means that the East African community’s ambitious plans for regional integration are set back. There were several similar interwoven challenges, where a problem in one place had consequences for our plans elsewhere. Let me say that I look back on my time as EAC chair with fond memories. We have made a start on some vital infrastructural matters, and we have strengthened and deepened our integration. It is still too early to judge the full effect of these efforts, but I am confident that when the history of the period is written, it will show that progress was made. What is the progress on the “Coalition of the Willing” projects? There are funding hiccups for some, especially in Uganda and Rwanda. How is this being addressed? Do you feel that the initiative split EAC? In my view, it is misleading to speak of a Coalition of the Willing. We are one, united Community. We may have different priorities, but all of...

South Sudan is lobbying to be admitted to the East African Community despite not meeting all the membership requirements. The application by South Sudan will be discussed at the EAC summit in Nairobi on February 20. Diplomatic sources see only a remote chance of the nascent state being admitted then, although the leaders, who are the decision makers, can resolve to accept the application against the advice of their technocrats. South Sudan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin says it would be “prudent” to admit the country then have the EAC help it to meet all the conditions from within the bloc. Dr Benjamin said the argument that South Sudan should first meet certain criteria is not convincing because there are standards the country has already met and it can be given a grace period to fulfil those that are pending. “We always argue with our sisters and brothers within the EAC over why they want to wait for South Sudan to reach the level they want and yet these standards can be achieved when we are inside,” Dr Benjamin told The EastAfrican. “It is possible to admit us so that other members can shape us in the way they want us to conduct ourselves.” The 1999 EAC Treaty sets out conditions for membership — including adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice. In December 2012, EAC members rejected South Sudan’s application, citing...