The U.S has made a fresh call for the East African Community not to phase out imported used clothes and leather products locally known as “Chagua”, but Rwanda says the U.S should not shift goals on what was agreed by the parties in 2015 when the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), pact was renewed. Genesis In 2015, the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State adopted a three-year gradual process to phase out the importation of second-hand clothes and footwear to promote textile, apparel and leather industries in the region and instead focus on evolving domestic industries. This move, was deemed to make EAC textile and leather factories self-sufficient to serve the local and international markets, including AGOA market which had kept the window wide open for African exports into the American market same year. Despite Kenya rescinding on the decision at a later stage, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania have remained “solid” on their stance to phase-out second hand clothing. The government of Rwanda deliberated on a strategy to develop the textiles, apparel and leather industrial sectors and a blueprint was consequently designed on how to implement such a strategy. A draft 2017-2019 strategy for the transformation of textiles, apparel and leather industrial sectors aim to increase the quality and quantity of textile, apparel and leather for both local and foreign markets. Rwanda’s strategy estimated that, if everything is implemented, this could create 25,655 jobs, increase exports to $ 43 million and decrease imports to $ 33 million by...

Expulsion of Ugandans by the Tanzanian government is not something new; it happens almost every year. But I have never seen the Ugandan government react until when herdsmen were expelled. The Foreign Affairs minister wrote a letter of protest and handed it over to the ambassador of Tanzania to Uganda. Being a shadow minister for East African Community Affairs, I don't think that this higgledy-piggledy scenario would be happening between member states under the East African Community, if the heads of states of member countries were transparently committed to the integration. It is important to recollect that on November 30, 1993, the heads of states of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania signed a permanent tripartite commission (PTC) which arrangement later ushered in the signing of the East African Community Treaty on January 22, 1999 by the three states. The integration process has been progressing in four steps embodied in protocols: I will only mention the two which have been birthed. First is the Customs Union Protocol, which came into effect in 2005; this allows East Africa to operate as a free trade area where partner states reduce or eliminate tax on goods originating from their countries and have a common tariff on goods imported from outside the participating countries. Secondly, there is the Common Market Protocol, which came into effect on July 1, 2010. This provides the region with a single economic space within which business and labour will operate to stimulate investment. The common market serves to provide freedom of...

Last year, there were a lot of discussions on how Africa could leverage on its regional economic communities for more integration on the continent. Continental Free Trade Zone, was also one of the major discussions in the recently concluded African Union summit; one to be led by the new African Union chairperson Rwandan president Paul Kagame. In a recent report by Brookings Institute, the importance of leveraging on Africa’s regional communities when talking about a Continental Free Trade Zone was laid bare. The report, titled “ Foresight Africa: Top priorities for the continent in 2018” featured contributions from many influential figures on the continent including Rwanda president Paul Kagame, Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara, former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, African Development Bank chairman Akinwunmi Adesina e.t.c, who all gave their thoughts on what they think will happen on the continent in 2018. Unleashing Africa’s Inner Strength The first chapter was about ‘Unleashing Africa’s Inner Strength,’ and the Rwandan president who is also leading the push for a Continental Free Trade Zone wrote on building a stronger African Union. The president referenced a survey conducted by Afro Barometer in 2015, which did an extensive study into the relative strength of regional bodies on the continent. Criteria such as trade integration, regional infrastructure, productive integration, free movement of people, and financial and macroeconomic integration were used to rank each regional bodies. The African Union recognizes eight Regional Economic Communities (REC); Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA),...

East African Community Heads of State are expected to convene in Uganda’s capital Kampala next week to discuss a number of regional matters, including infrastructure and health sector growth. Olivier Nduhungirehe, the State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and East African Community, confirmed to The New Times on the agenda includes a two-day Joint EAC Heads of State Retreat on Infrastructure and Health Financing and Development. The meeting will be held between February 21 and 22 and will be followed a day later by the 19th Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State, which will also be held in Kampala. “We are going to examine the progress of EAC agenda; looking into a number of issues facing the regional bloc, ranging from EAC financing to infrastructure development,” Nduhungirehe said yesterday. EAC Secretary General Liberat Mfumukeko said in a statement that preparations are in “high gear” for the joint Heads of State retreat themed “Deepening and widening regional integration through Infrastructure and Health Sector Development in the EAC Partner States’’ Mfumukeko, who was speaking at a news conference held at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, to update the media on the upcoming Joint EAC Heads of State Retreat and 19th Ordinary Summit, said that the former is aimed at accelerating the attainment of the objectives of the EAC Development Strategy, African Union Agenda 2063, and the Sustainable Development Goals in the infrastructure and health sectors in the EAC. He said the joint retreat is expected to...

Pakistan has become Kenya’s largest export market even as trade with the country’s East African neighbours continues to falter. The value of exports to the Far East nation went up by 69 per cent from Sh40 billion recorded in 2016 to Sh64 billion last year, boosted largely by tea, Government data shows. Pakistan has in the past been a strong market for Kenyan exports and in 2014 was the fourth largest buyer of the country’s goods after Uganda, Tanzania and Britain. Over the past five years, however, the value of exports to the Asian country have steadily increased and pushed it to the top of Kenya’s export destinations. The value of exports to Pakistan have since risen from Sh18 billion in 2012 to Sh64 billion last year. Imports have similarly recorded a 30 per cent rise to stand at Sh18 billion in 2016, up from Sh12 billion in 2012. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) further indicates the value of Kenya’s tea exports went up by 28 per cent from Sh124 billion in 2016 to Sh159 billion last year. Aside from tea, other export commodities from Kenya to Pakistan include coconuts, dry nuts, mangoes, fresh flowers and powdered milk while the main import is mainly rice. IN DECLINE Uganda and Tanzania, which once commanded a lion’s share of Kenya’s export market, have been on a decline. Trade with Uganda, for years the leading destination of Kenya’s goods and services to the East African region, fell by 28...

East African nations that are en-route to banning the importation of used clothes may soon pay the price after Washington said it will impose trade penalties in retaliation to what it sees as a blockage of free trade. The US State Department's Harry Sullivan, the Africa Bureau acting head of the economic and regional affairs, said Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have until next week to reverse the decision or face the penalties. The East African leaders are expected to meet at the EAC Heads of State Summit on Infrastructure and Health Financing and Development in Kampala, Uganda on February 23. "I believe the results of the meeting next week will determine how we proceed," Mr Sullivan said in a conference call with reporters. East African Community (EAC) member states agreed two years ago to impose phased ban on used clothing imports (known as mitumba) over a three-year period beginning 2019. Kenya subsequently withdrew from that agreement following US threats to end its eligibility for duty-free clothing exports to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Kenyan retreat US trade officials say that the mitumba ban violates an Agoa stipulation requiring beneficiary countries to eliminate barriers to trade with the America. Kenya feared the loss of the duty-free and quota-free access to the US, its third largest market. Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda -- each of which earns far less through Agoa than Kenya -- jointly affirmed last July that they intend to proceed with the mitumba ban....

The headline news at the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa last month was the announcement of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), with 23 countries pledging to remove non-physical barriers to air routes, and ultimately create a single aviation area across the continent. Most of Africa’s major airlines belong to countries that are signatories, such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa. Together, they represent over 70% of intra-African air traffic. SAATM sets a new standard for regional policy-making because the benefits are clear and the challenges more practical than political. Furthermore, it brings together coalitions of actors in government and the private sector whose interests align well. What this flagship project from the AU shows is that regional integration can succeed as long as certain conditions are met. Important lessons may be gleaned from this example. Impact International industry groups and the major African carriers immediately welcomed the news. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) had recently estimated that a unification of 12 countries’ air markets could result in some 155,000 jobs and US$1.3bn additional GDP to their economies. It is also hoped that African airlines will be able to increase their market share on the continent, which currently stands at only 20% of the total. The benefits for the air traveller and African trade were plainly obvious, as it would make connections faster and cheaper, if implemented well. Moreover, SAATM may be more significant than the sum of its parts. Because of the largely bilateral...

The Rwandan government has opted for the standard gauge railway, as it is faster and more efficient and will therefore lower transportation costs across international borders, thus boosting economic growth. The EAC Railways Master Plan incorporates the standard gauge railway’s Northern and Central Corridors, placing Rwanda strategically at the heart of the East African economy. The government will commit a total of $2.5 billion (over Rwf2140 billion) to the massive project that will link the country with Tanzania, according to an official at Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA). During President Paul Kagame’s visit to Tanzania, a bilateral agreement with President John Magufuli was settled to construct a 400-kilometer standard gauge railway (SGR) line from Isaka to Kigali. After talks between both heads of state, Magufuli told media that the construction of the railway line will be jointly financed by the two countries. The Manager of Planning and Research Division at Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA), Fabrice Barisanga said that the 2014 action plan revealed that the whole railway project from Dar es Salaam to Kigali will cover 1,464 kilometres. He said that currently, they are looking at 494 kilometer Isaka-Kigali phase where Rwanda has 150 kilometers to construct. The action plan shows that the whole project will cost $2.5 billion passing through Eastern Province’s Districts of Kirehe-Ngoma-Bugera to Kicukiro District in Kigali, Masaka Sector. The railway is expected to ease transportation between Rwanda and Tanzania. Currently, 70 per cent of Rwanda’s importations transit through Tanzania. Some of the benefits have...

Environment Principal Secretary Charles Sunkuli has said collaboration between East African Community members would help eliminate plastic bags. "During a meeting of Environment ministers in Arusha last week, we agreed that cooperation is needed if we are to eliminate the menace," Mr Sunkuli told the Nation on the side-lines of the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook forum at Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa that ended Tuesday. The PS said the ban in Kenya had seen an 80 per cent drop in the use of the bags. "The environment is no longer filled with the pollutants," he added. Mr Sunkuli said ministry officials would appear in Parliament to explain the ban, adding that jobs had been created since August 2017 when the law came into effect. PETITION AT HIGH COURT "Jobs for women and youth involved in manufacturing of non-plastic materials like sisal and papyrus have been created. Others are making gunny bags and biodegradable and fibre bags," he said. Asked about companies still manufacturing plastic bags, Mr Sunkuli said he was not aware of any. In Mombasa, County National Environment Management Authority director Stephen Wambua and inspectorate chief Mohammed Amir have been conducting crackdowns on businesses flouting the law, particularly at Kongowea market. They said since the ban on plastic bags took effect, the tourism city had become "aesthetically clean". "We are working with Nema to identify sources of the flat bags," Mr Amir said. But the ban is yet to take effect in grocery markets. In August 2017, the...

Smuggling, illegal trade, street vending and related terms could soon be erased from the Rwandan vocabulary when it comes to trade between Rwanda and its neighbors. Assia Nyiraneza 30, a mother of three has spent her life on the run, just to make a day’s sale of dry fish in Rusizi, the Rwanda – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Nyiraneza says she has never been in good books with law enforcers who always confiscate food stuffs she smuggles across the border. “I have no respect in life and at time when I run with a child on my back, I wonder if the children will not grow with trauma,” Nyiraneza told KT Press. Today, Nyiraneza can afford a smile when she sees a three storied building at finishing phase – the Kamembe cross border market. “We were told it is our market and we will have a place inside the beautiful building. We (smugglers) are going to redeem our dignity,” she said. Nyiraneza and her colleagues deal in silver fish, commonly known as Indagara,but they sometimes cross to Bukavu in DRC to smuggle some manufactured products. It is never a fortunate venture. It is the same scenario at Rubavu, and other borders between Rwanda and her neighbors. Rwanda is finishing up construction of cross border markets where trading with neighbors will be formalized, allowing border communities to have an address and exchange and trade in a secure environment. Currently, six border markets are under construction at different phases at different borders...