Presenting Bills proposed by the Council of Ministers to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) for debate to facilitate the East African Community integration has become harder for lack of green light by the Sectoral Council. The bills must be scrutinised and accepted by the EAC Sectoral Council on legal and judicial affairs before submission to the regional Assembly. But sectoral council has not met for nearly two years, The New Times understands. The sectoral council on legal and judicial affairs is made up of East African Community Attorneys General, Solicitors General and ministers responsible for judicial and constitutional affairs. MP Patricia Hajabakiga, the chairperson of the Rwandan delegation to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), in a recent interview with The New Times, said laws such as the EAC Standardisation, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Testing (SQMT) Act that are outdated and need urgent review remain unaddressed. “Bills proposed by Council have to go through the sectoral council on legal and judicial affairs in order to be submitted to parliament. But the problem is that the sectoral council rarely meets,” she said. “They have not sat for the past two years to look at any legislation. This means that, for the past two years, apart from the Appropriation Bills which are budget related and don’t require the sectoral council on judicial and legal, no other laws came to parliament.” The SQMT Act, enacted in 2006, provides a framework for development and implementation of SQMT activities in the bloc and other...

IN SUMMARY Having become a world-class facility, goods are being cleared fast. There is neither congestion nor threat by any agency to auction uncollected goods. Imagine waking up to find the six East African countries have fully integrated their markets. A trader is able to move goods freely and a fully implemented common market protocol guarantees right of establishment in any of the member states. Sounds like a dreamland utopia already? Now imagine the integrated market is being served by three world class seaports — one in Mombasa, another one in Dar es Salaam and the region’s newest and largest one in Lamu. Since you’ll be waking up in Kenya at the end of the dream, let the old Mombasa port be the harbour of your interest. Having become a world-class facility, goods are being cleared fast. There is neither congestion nor threat by any agency to auction uncollected goods. For Kenya, the most advanced of the integrating states, ease of input flow into the region imply that local manufacturers are able to produce and export world-class goods as well. And so it has markets across the globe! But our dream is a local one. So Uganda remains top market for Kenya’s exports and investment capital. There is 1,300km standard gauge railway (SGR) connecting Mombasa port to Kampala. Business people are free to move at speeds of up to 120km per hour to any of the destinations served by the upgraded track. A single currency in circulation ensures traders do...

Cargo owners and passengers will wait longer to use the new standard gauge railway linking Mombasa to Nairobi after the government pushed back the date for it commercial launch. Transport principal secretary Irungu Nyakera told MPs on Tuesday that the new, faster railway will be ready in June, but open for commercial traffic six months later or January 2018. “It will take us about six months for the freight and commuter train services to operate commercially. We will be setting tariffs in the six months period,” he told the National Assembly’s Transport committee on Tuesday. Kenya Railways had expected the tracks for the Mombasa to Nairobi line to be ready by next month and the rail opened for commercial traffic in June 2017. The goal of the project is to cut the cost of transport and boost trade by replacing the slower, narrow-gauge line. It will cut the journey between Nairobi and Mombasa to four-and-a-half hours from 13 hours and reduce freight costs to eight US cents (Sh8.14) per tonne per kilometre from the present average of 20 US cents (Sh20.37). But business people who had been promised these benefits from June will wait longer with December 2017 being the earliest date they can enjoy faster movement of cargo cheaply. READ: SGR electric upgrade to cost taxpayers Sh49bn more In addition to speeding up the flow of cargo, Kenya hopes to transform its passenger service, now plagued by delays. The PS informed the committee that the ministry has set aside...

<a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/pcs/click?xai=AKAOjsvEX_v8VtGE43MSAP7JzBnfTClKbJaICdKv9PgUVa5_oZApzaVbOqXSV8dxHaYtKiq21h47IF3_nqK8f9gsd-Rk_y8x82cnCXR7k3xHjqk5Yq8ntk7yUiibhsdEhJqJXSfIZpGwd5gytZQFUxR65qX7rD7oNcHUBm0xv5OFNwyB_oEn5-ldggnR5Ju2BKHgYR79eUEn-d6YlUI_PkN4unQa9Y-rSmOxvSZ_PzLsBWg9xr5h8BnsddE2a2jthfIJAhoEDRYvUx5opmgbd_KwouS33x8DzEXHHcPcnmj8DXlWn0_oEpm9tL-q_sNEGid5TdW3uKPlQhKBbTVnT7qYquKcvUOQTb5zgXi0eXM-qfMJ82Ai6HpXs-HwNov9O8MWqUlVj2V09R4N9IJeyAfbtQd5YKBK7nssxRVqAx9nfvx2erB_FLu27zw1qK0yacxFaJZSgMOrrr7E9R3ap3JCMUD1VdikQ0jgw015fhjn0h2sJ9Kn7kll1hDS6cfdUe_p5U3_XaOjYQ6_9AIVk8Kxpe5mQIJc_MjxXcZYzH8mtMfdTTmRqx9A-XxN1Cz6vFi9xjLWOhsKznpKTTeHkmFuZP9LucmEayYyIikRZhT8QDqfdgFtKrWF_isU1N98WIA0X8wvPrFUXIJuFr2APPS-nSR0EILeOiWSFVMiXJoC0RpzKMomVn2FYBZDgKHvMeEDQn0-Ng6g9cvPRU_sNIEaS2Z9qLMLXB47&amp;amp;sig=Cg0ArKJSzEn4UksEE0_cEAE&amp;amp;urlfix=1&amp;amp;rm_eid=3245246&amp;amp;adurl=https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/?brand=CHBH&quot;><img src=&quot;https://s0.2mdn.net/2878480/Google_Chrome_Baseline_Fast-DownloadNow_EN_300x250.jpg&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;250&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /></a><img width=&quot;0px&quot; height=&quot;0px&quot; style=&quot;visibility:hidden&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;&quot; />​ <a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/pcs/click?xai=AKAOjsvEX_v8VtGE43MSAP7JzBnfTClKbJaICdKv9PgUVa5_oZApzaVbOqXSV8dxHaYtKiq21h47IF3_nqK8f9gsd-Rk_y8x82cnCXR7k3xHjqk5Yq8ntk7yUiibhsdEhJqJXSfIZpGwd5gytZQFUxR65qX7rD7oNcHUBm0xv5OFNwyB_oEn5-ldggnR5Ju2BKHgYR79eUEn-d6YlUI_PkN4unQa9Y-rSmOxvSZ_PzLsBWg9xr5h8BnsddE2a2jthfIJAhoEDRYvUx5opmgbd_KwouS33x8DzEXHHcPcnmj8DXlWn0_oEpm9tL-q_sNEGid5TdW3uKPlQhKBbTVnT7qYquKcvUOQTb5zgXi0eXM-qfMJ82Ai6HpXs-HwNov9O8MWqUlVj2V09R4N9IJeyAfbtQd5YKBK7nssxRVqAx9nfvx2erB_FLu27zw1qK0yacxFaJZSgMOrrr7E9R3ap3JCMUD1VdikQ0jgw015fhjn0h2sJ9Kn7kll1hDS6cfdUe_p5U3_XaOjYQ6_9AIVk8Kxpe5mQIJc_MjxXcZYzH8mtMfdTTmRqx9A-XxN1Cz6vFi9xjLWOhsKznpKTTeHkmFuZP9LucmEayYyIikRZhT8QDqfdgFtKrWF_isU1N98WIA0X8wvPrFUXIJuFr2APPS-nSR0EILeOiWSFVMiXJoC0RpzKMomVn2FYBZDgKHvMeEDQn0-Ng6g9cvPRU_sNIEaS2Z9qLMLXB47&amp;amp;sig=Cg0ArKJSzEn4UksEE0_cEAE&amp;amp;urlfix=1&amp;amp;rm_eid=3245246&amp;amp;adurl=https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/?brand=CHBH&quot;><img src=&quot;https://s0.2mdn.net/2878480/Google_Chrome_Baseline_Fast-DownloadNow_EN_300x250.jpg&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;250&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /></a><img width=&quot;0px&quot; height=&quot;0px&quot; style=&quot;visibility:hidden&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;&quot; />​ The government will take the views of the private sector in deliberation of its position on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and the East African Community (EAC), a cabinet minister has said. Industry, Trade and Investments Minister Charles Mwijage told members of the private sector at the CEO Roundtable gala dinner in Dar es Salaam on Saturday that the government would take on board their views in reaching a position on the protracted negotiations of the trade deal with the EU. "You will be invited when we deliberate on the government position on EPAs," the minister told a number of heads of businesses at the 8th Annual gala dinner, which is a policy dialogue forum and a platform for captains of industry to engage with the government on the issues affecting the business environment in the country. He said although the government did not consult them when it decided not to sign the trade deal, it had their interests at heart to make sure the local businesses were protected from any deal that may have negative impacts on them. Leaders of the East African Community (EAC) postponed EPA with the EU when they met in Dar es Salaam in September and demanded more time to assess the impact of the agreements before the actual signing takes place....

The East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) has signed a financing agreement with TradeMark Africa (TMA) that will enable automation of the tea auction in Mombasa. TMA will provide financing of US$ 1.5 million. The automation is expected to reduce the tea trading cycle by about 65% from the current 45 - 60 days to less than one month. Reduced delays will ensure that farmers receive timely payments negating need to take loans to finance their producer operations. The Mombasa tea auction is the world's largest black tea auction and handles about 75% of tea exported through the port of Mombasa covering shipments from the EATTA member countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Madagascar and Mozambique. In 2015, the auction handled more than 350 million kilos of tea, providing a platform through which more than one million farmers in Africa could sell their tea, before shipping it across the world. The proposed integrated Tea Trading System (iTTS) will encompass the entire tea export processes including pre-auction, auction, post-auction and a Business to Business marketing network. Already mentioned above Speaking at the signing ceremony, EATTA Chairperson Nicholas Munyi said, "This portal will simplify the tea auction with the added benefit of increasing transparency and thus gaining stakeholder confidence in the auction." TMA CEO Frank Matsaert added that TMA is committed to boosting intra- Africa trade and also East Africa's trade with the world by reducing the barriers to trade. "Automation of key trade systems is one way...

Political stability of East African Community (EAC) is dependent on how individual countries will handle the high rate on unemployment among its youth population. East African Legislative Assembly Speaker Daniel Kidega said the fight against corruption and promotion of good governance will contribute significantly in the community’s achieving of its objectives. Kadega said the increase in population, now at 160 million, could be a great disaster if the respective governments fail to create a conducive environment that will see manufacturing industries thrive, in order to create employment among its youth population. He expressed fear on the rising unemployment and underemployment in the region, noting that seven out of 10 people are jobless, while six out of 10 live in informal settlements. Kidega was speaking over the weekend during the commencement of the 10th inter-parliamentary relations, whose theme this year is, “good governance and poverty reduction in East Africa region”. Source: Media Max

Six years ago it took almost three weeks for a shipping container to travel the 1,100km from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Kampala, the Ugandan capital. While poor infrastructure did not help, the delays were largely down to the myriad layers of red tape between the two countries. Now that journey is regularly done is seven days. Frank Matsaert, chief executive of Trade Mark East Africa — a donor-funded agency working to boost trade in the region — attributes the progress to “a series of interlocking reforms that have worked as a result of concerted political will by east African leaders”. Such developments are not confined to one part of the continent. The vast majority of Africa’s 54 nations are members of at least one of what African Union officials call the ‘spaghetti bowl’ of more than a dozen regional economic groups, FT reported. Last year three of the largest — the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the east African Community (EAC), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) — came together under the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement. The even loftier ambition of Africa’s leaders, however, is to create a single free-trade area spanning the continent that would boost commerce, stimulate growth and create much-needed employment. This week the African Union and UN are hosting the first conference on the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), as the pan-African trade initiative has been named. The African Export-Import Bank estimates that intra-African trade will be worth $180 billion...

(L-R)Executive director of Uganda Law Society Samuel Olumo, Commissioner, Productive and Social service at  Ministry of East African community affairs Naboth Namanya  and Permanent secretary for Ministry of East African community affairs Edith Mwanje during a dialogue. Photo by Mary Kansiime. The executive secretary, Kilimo Trust, Prof. Nuhu Hatibu said government institutions continue to exploit farmers, taking their produce on loans and pay them (farmers) late which greatly affects their operations. Hatibu was presenting a paper on titled: 'Enhancing food security and Agricultural Value Chains in the Region' during a dialogue workshop for the private sector and civil society in Kampala yesterday. "We have realized that many institutions go and get produce from farmers but fail to pay on time. This forces farmers to go for loans," he noted. He also added that governments have failed to support their farmers to make right choices of crops which are needed on the market. "Some produce low quantities as a result of their conventional methods used. Other fail to get markets for their produce and thus working in loses," Hatibu noted. He observed the need to open up the regional markets for people to sell their produce across the border. "If we have a regulation in place; we can look at the comparative advantage for each country. This will help us address the issues of food security, employment, nutrition and boost wealthy," he said. He stressed that individual countries have not supported their farmers in skills development and how to penetrate the...

In the last few decades, the services sector has been a significant driver of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, trouncing the industrial sector in both developed and developing countries In the last few decades, the services sector has been a significant driver of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, trouncing the industrial sector in both developed and developing countries. Today, services account for the largest share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in most countries. This fact also holds true for most members of the EAC. In Uganda, services sector has contributed 54.9 per cent; both Kenya and Rwanda’s GDP’s growth receive about 47.5 per cent while Tanzania is rated at 43.6 per cent and Burundi is at 40.4 per cent. Despite this significance, trade in services currently does not live up to its full potential. This is why partner states are devising means to re-examine the services component of the Common Market which is a critical juncture to ensure that the private sector is able to gain these benefits. Ms Lillian Awinja, the executive director East African Business Council (EABC), shares: “We want to improve trade in services in the East African region through developing tangible positions for each sector and come up with feasible advice for policy-makers to facilitate trade in the region.” Ms Awinja said to take this further; focus will be put on several sectors within the Common Market Protocol mainly looking at business; communication; distribution; education; finance; tourism; and transport services. “We want to make sure that...

For an idea of how wealthy Africans want to think of their countries, flick through the adverts in one of the glossy pan-African magazines given away in the continent’s airport lounges. Banks are promoted with pictures of young glamorous Africans in smart suits strolling through glossy malls. New apartment blocks and golf courses grace the other pages. Africa, in these magazines, is rising. If, however, you want to get a real idea of how Africa’s economies are faring, you should go where few of the wealthy people in the lounges do: the land borders. Earlier this year, I spent a day at the border of Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. Whereas Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan, buzzes with new investment, at the country’s border, it is hardly noticeable. The start of no-man’s land is marked by a piece of string stretched across the road, and a small office manned by a pair of sleepy soldiers. It is not a busy place; when I was there, a few dozen lorries at most were waiting to cross. When African countries feature in Western politics, it’s invariably a debate over aid versus trade. In September, Barack Obama hosted a forum in New York designed to promote trade between America and Africa. “From Senegal to South Africa, Africans insist they do not just want aid, they want trade,” declared the outgoing President. In October, Britain’s new DFID secretary, Priti Patel, hinted at using Britain’s hefty aid budget to promote post-Brexit trade deals. The idea is that...