THE East African Community is reported to be in deep financial crisis as the Regional Parliament is resuming its session here this week to address the situation. The East African Legislative Assembly is embarking for its First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the Third Assembly which runs at the EALA chambers for twelve days, from this Monday, August 22, 2016 to next week’s Friday, September 2, 2016. EALA Spokesperson, Mr Bobi Odiko said here that the Assembly is to be presided over by the Speaker, Mr Daniel Kidega, with the top on the agenda during the two-week period being the debate on the Report of the Committee on Accounts on the EAC Audited Accounts for the Financial Year ended 30, June 2015. The report which examines and considers the EAC Audited accounts for the year ended 30, June 2015, arises from the audit of the EAC Organs and Institutions including 20 projects and Programmes and this in accordance with Article 134 of the Treaty for the Establishment of East African Community. “Upon completion of the audit, the EAC Council of Ministers tabled the Report of the Audit Commission to the House on 24, May 2016. The Audit Commission’s report which indicates that the overall budget performance stood at 65 per cent is set for debate at a time when the Community is facing a precarious funding situation,” said the EALA statement. The House is further expected to consider a Report of the Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources...

NAIROBI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan is expected to use the sixth Tokyo International Conference of Africa's Development slated for Nairobi, Kenya this week to boost trade relations between the nation and the continent at a time when it is trailing behind its Asian peers. According to data released Monday by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), while Japan's monthly exports to Kenya average 67.4 million U.S. dollars, India ships into the East African nation goods worth 193 million dollars and China's exports stand at 233 million dollars. In the January-May period, according to the KNBS data, Japan's exports to Kenya stood at 339 million dollars. During the same period, India was recorded at 965 million dollars while China at 1.2 billion dollars, according to the government agency. Japan's top exports to Kenya consist of iron and steel products and motor vehicles. "This conference will bring both immediate and long-term benefits to both Kenya and Japan. We expect to strengthen existing bilateral relations with Japan," said Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri. The East African nation is also expected to push for direct flights between Tokyo and Nairobi to boost its exports to the Asian nation. Source: Xinhuanet

The war in South Sudan has had a negative impact on trade in commodities such as foodstuffs. By Allan Olingo South Sudan is pleading with Kenya and Uganda for economic support to avert a humanitarian crisis after a fresh conflict brought the country to its knees. Mid last week, a delegation of Transitional Government of South Sudan officials led by First Vice-President Taban Deng Gai was in Kenya on a mission seeking a bailout. The EastAfrican has learnt that Juba will also be reaching out to Uganda later this month to craft a bailout package that will see Kampala pay its traders the $35.2 million Juba owes them in a bid to have them resume supplies to the country. "The vice president will go to Kampala to request the Ugandan government to pay traders who supplied cereals to Juba but haven't been paid. The money will then be converted into a loan, for which Juba and Kampala officials will work out a repayment plan," a diplomatic source with the knowledge of the matter said. The delegation to Nairobi, which included four ministers, met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Amina Mohamed and a number of Kenya government officials. A source privy to the discussions told The EastAfrican that Mr Gai informed President Kenyatta that the country's economy was in a perilous state and needed urgent help. Mr Gai implored the Kenya government to give his country a soft loan to help it deal with its current...

IN SUMMARY A new report by Uganda’s Ministry of East African Affairs blames this on lack of resources, which saw the bloc postpone the establishment of East African Monetary Institute (EAMI)—a precondition for having a single currency by 2024 — from 2015 to a yet to be announced date. The East African Community’s dream of a monetary union and a single currency may not be realised by the 2024 deadline. A new report by Uganda’s Ministry of East African Affairs blames this on lack of resources, which saw the bloc postpone the establishment of East African Monetary Institute (EAMI)—a precondition for having a single currency by 2024 — from 2015 to a yet to be announced date. Now, without the money for the EAMI, which will evolve into the East African Central Bank, the region is taking the longer route — that of the East African Legislative Assembly. According to the East African Monetary Union roadmap, the EAMI was to be established by partner states — and not EALA. Draft Bills EAC spokesperson Richard Othieno Owora said the bloc is trying to establish EAMI through an EALA Act even though this will delay other institutions needed for EAMU to begin working. These include the East African Statistics Bureau, the East African Surveillance, Compliance and Enforcement Commission, and the East African Financial Services Commission. “So far, the draft Bills for the establishment of the EAMI, the EASB, and EASCEC have been developed and negotiated by partner states,” Mr Owora said. He...

In an ambition to nourish an effective nationwide integration within the East-African bloc, the East-African Community - Youth Ambassadors Platform-Burundi Chapter, collaboratively with the Ministry at the Office of the President in Charge of East African Community Affairs, organizes a national debate on EAC integration under the theme: "YOUTH EMBRACING THE EAC INTEGRATION". The East African Community (EAC) is the regional intergovernmental organization of the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania and South Soudan, with its Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. South Soudan joined the community early in 2016 following Burundi and Rwanda which joined EAC on 1st July 2007. The youth of East Africa are important stakeholders in the EAC processes and form substantial part of the population. Article 120 (c) of the EAC Treaty provides for adoption of a common approach for involvement of the youth in the integration process through education, training and mainstreaming youth issues into EAC policies, programs and projects as one of the strategic interventions towards the realization of a fully integrated Community. The debate is to take place at National Institute of Public Health, commonly known as INSP, respectively on august, 20th 2016 and august, 27th with a final debate to be held on September, 10th. The debate will engage young people from partaking universities (University of Burundi, Ecole Normale Supérieure, INSP, Université Lumière, Université des Grands Lacs and ISMR) in a battle of opinions with the focus on enhancing the "East-Africanity" awareness among the youth for a functional...

By Zephania Ubwani [email protected] Arusha — Prof Humphrey Moshi of the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is one academician who would often argue constructively on a number of topical issues touching the country's economy and beyond with a bit of flexibility. That is why he minced no words when recently reached for comment on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) which Tanzania declined to sign recently in Nairobi during a UN Conference on Development and Trade (Unctad) as had been expected alongside with some member countries of the East African Community (EAC). "This is a very pragmatic decision by government of the United Republic of Tanzania," he told The Citizen saying for a long time he had been advising not only Tanzania but all the EAC partner states not to sign the agreements for a number of reasons. "One; If we want to industrialise, then the agreements contradict our aspirations for that agenda. Two; Opening our economies to products from the European Union (EU) would kill even the small scale productive activities such as animal and chicken husbandry given that local products such as milk and eggs can hardly compete with the imported ones," he said. The economics professor went further by revisiting the colonial and post-colonial trade pattern between Africa and EU, saying it will persist by signing EPA, making Africa - and in this case the EAC - remain a perpetually source of raw materials while Europe will continue to be a source of industrial goods - for...

IN SUMMARY Companies that are export-ready and are motivated and willing to export helps them penetrate markets and make good sales, leading to business growth. However such initiatives have to collaborate with the government agencies responsible for promoting exports as that makes interventions sustainable. Over the past few years, the East African Community has made notable strides towards regional integration. Milestones such as the coming into force of the East African Customs Union, the establishment of the Common Market in 2010 and the implementation of the East African Monetary Union Protocol have all served to facilitate trade among member states. The volume of trade, however, has not grown at the envisioned rate, with some countries still having to play catch-up. Intra-EAC trading fell from $5.8 billion in 2013 to $5.6 billion in 2014. Even with this scenario, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania continued to dominate regional trade as Burundi and Rwanda lagged behind. Overall, the share of intra-EAC trade, the region’s total trade fell to 10.1 per cent from 11.1 per cent in the same period, attesting to the existing imbalance in trade volumes among member states. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that Kenya’s combined exports to Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda declined from $69.9 million in January to $1.56 million in February, before rising to $88.8 million in March this year. Another study by Kenya’s Ministry of EAC in 2015 revealed that the Kenya’s exports to the EAC countries declined sharply. It attributed this to stiff competition from cheap...

JUBA (HAN) August 20.2016. Public Diplomacy & Regional Security News. The East African Community Extraordinary Summit scheduled for Dar es Salaam next month will not mediate the South Sudan conflict as the country is yet to attain membership status in the regional body. A spokesperson for Tanzania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mindi Kasiga, told The EastAfricanthat despite signing up to become an EAC member, South Sudan is yet to deposit instruments of ratification with the EAC Secretariat. Ms Kasiga said that the agenda for next month’s EAC Summit which had earlier been scheduled for August, 19, is an evaluation of the status of the ratification of the EAC Treaty by South Sudan. The postponement of the Extraordinary Summit was requested by the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ms Mindi said, without giving the reasons for the request. However, another source said that Tanzania had said it was not ready for the Summit. Tanzania has reiterated its support for mediation effort undertaken by leaders of the  Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad), which is pressing the reluctant President Salva Kiir to accept the offer of beefing-up of peacekeeping troops composed of both Igad and UN, to avert a full-scale war in the world’s newest state. The UN agency for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief has warned that the situation in South Sudan could slide into “even worse humanitarian tragedy” if immediate preventive measures are not taken. The extraordinary summit will also deliberate on a report from the EAC’s mediator for the Burundi peace talks, the...

Dr Magufuli, who doubles as the chairman of the regional economic grouping, mentioned some of the most persistent challenges as access to clean and safe water, improving transport infrastructures, strengthening health services and build industries that would lead to increase of employment and revenues. He noted this in a conversation with the EAC Secretary General, Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko, at the State House in Dar es Salaam. “It would be more beneficial if you executives of the EAC make big efforts to ensure that member countries focus on addressing problems facing the people,” he said, adding: “if you manage to do this and work on reducing unnecessary expenditure, we will achieve more.” He commended Ambassador Mfumukeko, who took over the position last April, for coming up with good plans and strategies towards implementing the community’s objectives, including reducing expenditures, attract investors and closely supervise projects and programmes under the bloc. Mr Mfumukeko expressed satisfaction on the cooperation he receives from Dr Magufuli as EAC chairman and promised to perform his duties accordingly for the benefit of East Africans. Meanwhile, President Magufuli said goodbye to former Country Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), Dr Natalia Kanem, who has recently been appointed to the post of Deputy Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of the organisation. Dr Magufuli commended Dr Kanem for being appointed to the new position, saying he was optimistic that she is going to be a good ambassador for Tanzania, particularly on influencing the United Nations to help...

Presidents of East African Community partner states recently announced they were banning imports of used clothes, locally known as caguwa. They gave sound economic reasons for the ban: promoting the local textile industry and other economic activities linked to it, creating jobs, raising taxes, and so on. There was even an appeal to a sense of pride. Wearing clothes someone else has discarded (in Rwanda that is called gukuburirwa) is not exactly dignified. No one goes around proudly showing off such clothes (ibikuburano). Despite these good reasons, the decision was bound to be contentious. And it was, by East Africans. Importers and wholesalers, big retailers in the towns and smaller ones in the village markets for whom it is good business wouldn’t let go without at least making some noise. Ordinary people also find second-hand clothes very affordable. That was to be expected and is understandable. Which is why East African leaders announced a phase-out period for the ban to be fully implemented. But now stiffer opposition to the ban on used clothes has come from an unlikely quarter – or maybe it is not so unlikely – the United States. Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper reported Wednesday, August 17 that the US Ambassador to Uganda warned the country against implementing the ban. Amb. Deborah Malac is reported to have issued the warning when she made a courtesy call on the Speaker of Uganda’s parliament, Rebecca Kadaga. Don’t be fooled by nice diplomatic words like “courtesy call”. They do not always...