The 2018/19 budget is a step-down from the $110,130,184 presented to the House in the previous financial year. The EAC has presented for consideration budget estimates for the financial year 2018/19, totalling $99,770,716 (about sh379b) to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). The chairperson of the EAC council of ministers, and Uganda’s 2nd Deputy Prime Minister, Ali Kirunda Kivenjija, presented the budget to the assembly in Arusha Tanzania. The 2018/19 budget is a step-down from the $110,130,184 presented to the House in the previous financial year, a statement issued yesterday said. According to Kivejinja, priority Interventions for 2018/19 will focus on enhanced free movement of goods in the region and further liberalization of free movement of labour and services; improved cross-border infrastructure to ease cost of doing business in the region; and enhanced regional agricultural productivity. Other priority interventions include enhanced industrial development through investment in key priority sectors including leather and textile; skills development, technological advancement and innovation to stimulate economic development. The implementation of the roadmap for the attainment of the EAC Monetary Union; strengthened Peace, Security and Good Governance and Institutional Framework for EAC Political Confederation are also set for consideration. The 2018/2019 Budget is allocated to the Organs and Institutions of the EAC as follows; East African Community Secretariat ($46,693,056), East African Legislative Assembly ($17,885,852) and the East African Court of Justice ($3,982,446). The Inter-University Council for East Africa shall receive ($6,847,969), Lake Victoria Basin Commission ($13,357,673) while $ 2, 518,137 is earmarked for the Lake...

The Building and Construction Industry in East Africa is witnessing a continuous growth and as a result driving up numbers in employment and productivity, experts have said. According to East Africa BUILD, the growth and getting more international exposure as the Governments and Trade Associations have boosted the confidence of international investors in the region which is a significant driver of economic activity and development. "East Africa's growth in the building & construction sector drives employment and productivity, which in turn encourages government investment in quality infrastructure projects. As East Africa's population continues to grow, now more than ever, it needs quality infrastructure." A statement from the firm adds. The African Construction report by Deloitte, states that the number of construction projects in East Africa have gone up by 65.1% between 2016 and 2017 while the increase in the total value of projects has been much lower, but still considerable at 20.7%. A brand new industry-owned trade show for the building & construction industry has been announced by a team of individuals with over 15 years of experience and it will be held for the first time in September 2018 in Tanzania. The event, which will be held from 20 - 23 September this year, at the Mlimani City Conference Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is expected to have over 200 foreign and local exhibitors from over 19 countries which include Turkey, China, India, U.A.E, Germany to name a few. East Africa BUILD will be the ideal platform for local...

Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are the key destinations for high-skilled Kenyan migrants, attracted by opportunities in financial, IT, engineering and hospitality sectors, a new UN report showed. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said labour shortages in information technology, engineering, finance, hospitality and management in some regional markets in Eastern Africa have fuelled migration of professionals from the region, some of them young. “Rwanda is a major destination for migrants from Kenya and Uganda and has attracted highly skilled professionals. Its burgeoning information technology sector has driven labour mobility among young highly skilled migrants from Kenya, who have taken advantage of economic opportunities in the sector, and demand in financial services and other skill-intensive sectors in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania has also fuelled mobility among professionals from Kenya” the agency said. Mutual recognition agreements between various professional bodies within the East African Community (EAC) allow for cross-border practices among professionals and accord experts from partner States in accounting, architecture, dentistry, medicine and engineering to the same treatment as nationals. “Such agreements, along with the abolition of work permits by some EAC partner States, have been vital in facilitating labour mobility among highly skilled professionals within the region. Regional investment in economic sectors, besides creating labour demand in specific sectors, has also become an important driver of intraregional economic migration” UNCTAD noted. Highly skilled migrants tend to earn relatively high incomes in destinations. “For example, skilled Nigerian migrants in Ghana and South Africa have household...

Kenya has for months been feuding with Tanzania and Uganda over the treatment of its confectionery products in the regional market. The bone of contention has been a 25 per cent tax that the two East African Community partners have been imposing on products with industrial sugar. And with every indication that the community’s trade dispute resolution structures may not rule in its favour, Kenya has threatened Tanzania and Uganda with retaliatory action should the standoff persist beyond July 1. The two neighbours have dared Nairobi to make good its threat. We wish to state that such kind of grandstanding is unnecessary among countries that belong to a single regional market. The East African Community integration, as revived 18 years ago, has clear laws that all members must obey to keep it alive. Playing by the community’s rules is the only way out of the current crisis. Otherwise the game of musical chairs can play forever. Lest we forget, Kenya has always asked for a stay of the remission scheme on industrial sugar on the understanding that products such as biscuits, chocolate, ice cream and sweets would be priced competitively for export market. That’s how the East African Customs Management Act (EACMA) states it. When such goods are diverted into any of the five six integrating countries – which EACMA regards as a single customs territory - such products are deemed to have come from outside EAC, and as such attract 25 per cent import duty. According to EACMA, similar treatment must be meted out...

June 3, 2018 (JUBA) – At least $4m has been set aside for the upgrade of key infrastructure connecting Uganda to South Sudan through Nimule border, TradeMark Africa announced this week. The money, an official told Uganda’s Daily Monitor, will help establish a one-stop border post at Nimule, help to upgrade the road infrastructure between the two countries in about six months, which will in turn improve trade. The TradeMark Africa South Sudan director, John Kalisa said the move would promote transparency and accountability among the two respective countries and agencies operating at the borders. The project, he added, also seeks to improve market access and fasten border processes leading to elimination of non-tariff barrier. The money will be reportedly also be used to construct a parking yard, access roads, examination shed and drainage systems. Currently, it takes traders an average of three days to clear goods through the Nimule border post. South Sudan has, in recent years, emerged as the largest importer of Ugandan goods. Over 150,000 Ugandan traders reportedly operate across the border with South Sudan, generating an estimated $900 million in business annually. Source: Sudan Tribune

TradeMark Africa, has availed $4m (Shs14.9b) for the upgrade of key infrastructure connecting Uganda to South Sudan through Nimule. The money, which is expected to establish a One Stop Border Post at Nimule, will also seek to upgrade the road infrastructure between the two countries in about six months, which will in turn improve trade. Currently, it takes traders an average of three days to clear goods through the Nimule border post. Mr John Kalisa, the TradeMark Africa South Sudan country director, said in an interview that this is expected to promote transparency and accountability among the two respective countries and agencies operating at the borders.” The project, he said, also seeks to improve market access and fasten border processes that will lead to the elimination of non-tariff barrier. The Shs14.9b will be used to construct a parking yard, access roads, examination shed and drainage systems. Source: Daily Monitor

Bukoba — THE East African Community member states are poised to ratify laws to control the importation of inferior pharmaceutical and food products, says the Director of Medicines and Complimentary Products under the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA), Mr Adam Fimbo. " Tanzania was the first among EAC nations to have ratified the laws in controlling the safety, quality and effectiveness of food, medicines, cosmetics and medical devices," he disclosed. Other EAC nation will soon follow suit, he added. "Upon completion of this exercise we shall have uniform standards," he said. Mr Fimbo made the remarks recently during a meeting between TFDA officials and representatives of different media outlets from Kagera and Geita regions, as part of enlightening the people in the Lake Zone. He also revealed that TFDA had plans to install special mini-testing labs in all 32 entry points in seven zones to ensure consumers were safe and the market was free of inferior drugs, foods and diagnostics. Various strategies have been put in place that would maintain strict and timely testing of the products with state-of- the art laboratory stationed in Mwanza City as the headquarters in the Lake Zone area comprising six regions-Simiyu, Kagera, Mwanza, Geita, Shinyanga and Mara. He cited, for instance, that the Post Marketing Surveillance programmes (PMS), which between January and March this year, had handled 594 samples of human drugs it collected and tested and found that 96 per cent of them met the required standards. He urged the media to...

A new fund targeting women-led businesses in Africa will invest up to $500 million over the next decade to increase their participation in investment. The African Women’s Leadership Fund is a brainchild of the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa (Uneca), UN Women, the African Union Commission and the African Women Leadership Network. Uneca executive secretary Vera Songwe said that the Fund’s sponsors hope to address a significant gender imbalance in finance and investment. “Women are less represented in many organisations and very few are leaders. This in turn makes them less represented in key decision-making for the continent,” said Ms Songwe. In Africa, only five per cent of chief executives are women; 18 per cent of businesses lack women in senior roles; only 29 per cent are senior managers while 44 per cent of women hold line roles, a 2016 report by Mackinsey & Company notes. The fund’s strategy is to ensure that at least 65 per cent of its investment capital reaches women entrepreneurs and women-led companies. The rest — 35 per cent — will go to technical assistance in the form of capacity building, leadership training, mentorship and business development. The fund hopes to find emerging women managers who will eventually serve as examples of the potential that they and their peers could have if given the support they need. The fund covers each of the continent’s five regions — North Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, and Southern Africa — and will evolve over time...

Arusha — The East African Community (EAC) has denied it is negotiating with China on a free trade agreement (FTA) proposed by the Asian economic giant. "Currently, there is no EAC-China FTA and no negotiations have begun, in this regard," an EAC official told The Citizen on condition of anonymity since she was not authorised to speak to the media on policy matters. She said recent reports on purported discussions on free trade between the EAC and China were due to "miscommunication". The official nevertheless confirmed that China had proposed to negotiate with EAC partner states a comprehensive FTA in order to boost trade volumes between the two sides. China, currently the world's second biggest economy, had also requested for a joint feasibility study with the community on the proposed trade arrangement. "This matter was considered by the EAC Council of Ministers in early 2016," the official said. She noted, however, that in view of similar requests received from other countries such as Turkey and Singapore, the EAC secretariat decided to undertake a study on implications of such negotiations. The study will inform the Council of Ministers, which is the policy organ of the EAC, on the way forward and subsequent response to requests by China and other foreign countries. "In this regard, the secretariat communicated with the concerned parties that the EAC was to undertaking internal consultations on their proposals and would revert after consultations are finalised," the official said. In June, last year, the EAC secretariat approved a...

The Government of Korea and the African Development Bank have issued a Joint Declaration following the conclusion of the Ministerial Roundtable of the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Conference taking place during the African Development Bank’s 53rd Annual Meetings in which Korea announced a $5-billion bilateral financial assistance package for Africa. The Ministerial Roundtable is the signature event of the biennial KOAFEC Conference, gathering a peer group of African Ministers of Finance who also serve as the African Development Bank Board of Governors to discuss topical issues and a pan-African approach to engagement with Korea. Taking place under the theme “Africa and the 4th Industrial Revolution: Opportunities for leapfrogging?”, the Ministerial Conference highlighted the need for long-term planning for industrial development and execution of projects, as well as a focus on value addition in sectors where Africa has comparative advantage for example in agriculture and natural resources. There was also a need to further leverage technology such as the mobile phone for more inclusive growth, in favour of the youth. The $5-billion financial assistance package will be delivered over two years through partnerships with various development agencies, including but not limited to the African Development Bank Group. The package leverages resources from various Korean bilateral agencies and platforms, including the Knowledge Sharing Program, the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, Korea Import-Export Bank, among others. Specifically, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina and the Deputy Prime Minister of Korea, Dong Yeon Kim, signed three cooperation agreements for the implementation of certain components of...