Only a few hundred kilometres separate Lagos, Nigeria, from Accra in Ghana. For the thousands of traders who ply this route, the journey through Togo and Benin can take a full day, punctuated by arduous border checks, harassment and solicitations from officials for kickbacks. "Customs officials and police at roadblocks will make you unload and unpack every little package in order to delay you for hours," says Ms. Lucia Quachey, secretary-general of the African Federation of Women Entrepreneurs, an organization of more than 4 million women across the continent, producing and trading everything from textiles to pharmaceuticals and vehicle parts. "Everyone knows the intention is to force travellers to pay." Some of this activity is illegal, she says -- deliberate efforts by officials to violate the principle of free movement of people and goods within the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It is also due to the slow implementation of regional integration agreements aimed at eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers in the region. Despite pronouncements of support by politicians for regional economic ties, the reality on the ground for traders such as Ms. Quachey remains difficult. African countries are grappling to undo a legacy dominated by trade with their former colonial rulers rather than with each other. Senegal's biggest trading partner is France, while Gambia trades extensively with the UK. Although Senegal surrounds Gambia, trade between the two neighbours is minimal. The continent's railways and roads often lead towards the ports rather than link countries across regions....

  IN SUMMARY The EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill, 2016 moved by Rwanda’s Patricia Hajabakiga tops the agenda of EALA’s two-week special session which begins in Nairobi on Monday. The light non-biodegradable plastic bags have been cited as top environmental nuisance across East Africa. Kenya had petitioned the EAC Parliament to introduce a levy instead of imposing a blanket ban on polythene bags as Rwanda had proposed. The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) members are headed for a major showdown as Rwanda pushes on with its bid for a total ban on use of polythene bags in the region. The EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill, 2016 moved by Rwanda’s Patricia Hajabakiga tops the agenda of EALA’s two-week special session which begins in Nairobi on Monday. Use of polythene bags is illegal in Rwanda. “The Bill, 2016 aims at providing a legal framework for the preservation of a clean and healthy environment through the prohibition of manufacturing, sale, importation and use of polythene materials,” EALA said in a statement last week. The light non-biodegradable plastic bags – primarily used for packaging at retail stores– have been cited as top environmental nuisance across East Africa. The civil society campaigners across the region have been united in their call for total ban on use of polythene bags which are also seen as posing health risks to citizens. This is the second time that Ms Hajabakiga will be trying lobby the regional parliamentarians to adopt the law banning use of plastic within the trading...

South Sudan refugees at a camp in Adjumani in northern Uganda. The $649 million requested by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the South Sudan crisis is only 25 per of the needed humanitarian assistance. PHOTO | AFP IN SUMMARY EU also noted that the number of asylum seekers pouring into the region is “expected to grow,” adding that the new funding was crucial in host countries but particularly in South Sudan. The $649 million requested by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the South Sudan crisis is only 25 per of the needed humanitarian assistance. Since fighting erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, the EU has been one of the biggest donors of the world’s youngest nation, providing close to a billion dollars to date. The European Union’s announcement of a $83.8 million package for the South Sudan refugee crisis has provided a timely boost, but a huge funding gap has been reported. The EU announced the package on November 11 after a visit by EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides to Uganda’s Bidibidi refugee camp. The EU also noted that the number of asylum seekers pouring into the region is “expected to grow,” with Mr Stylianides adding that the new funding was crucial in host countries but particularly in South Sudan. The $649 million requested by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the South Sudan crisis is only 25 per of the needed humanitarian...

President Uhuru Kenyatta with his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli at State House, Nairobi, when he toured the country earlier this month. The Tanzanian President gave the topic of Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) a wide berth during his two-day visit. [PHOTO:BONIFACE OKENDO/STANDARD]In July this year, a deal-signing ceremony between the East African Community (EAC) and the European Union was put off indefinitely. This was after Tanzania and Uganda declined to sign the European Partnership Agreement (EPA). One of the reasons the two countries cited in their stand was Brexit - Britain’s landmark referendum vote on June 24 to leave the European Union - casting a cloud of uncertainty over the future of the preferential trade deal. At the time, Tanzania and Uganda argued that after Brexit, it was necessary to wait and see if Britain, operating outside the EU, was a more strategic partner to East Africa or not. But the other more pertinent reason why Tanzania in particular declined to sign on and which it once again raised last week, was that scholars from the University of Dar es Salaam reportedly cautioned that signing and ratifying the deal would jeopardise Tanzania’s industrial sector. President John Magufuli’s main concern for pushing the ratification of the deal to January has always been the future of the country’s fledgling industrial sector. He has all along argued that ratifying the EPA as it is would flood Tanzania with cheap agricultural and manufactured imports. In addition, the country is weary of being a station for...

East African Community Secretary-General Liberat Mfumekeko (right) exchanges signed copies of the five-year EAC-USAid Regional Development Objective Grant Agreement with USAid East Africa head Karen Freeman (left) and Virginia Blaser, chargé d'affaires of the US embassy in Tanzania. PHOTO | COURTESY  In Summary Access to integrated health services in border areas like Mt Elgon in Kenya and Uganda will also be improved. EAC secretariat said about $30 million (Sh3 billion) of the amount will be used to strengthen its operations. The United States government will give the East African Community (EAC) $194 million (Sh19.4 billion) to finance trade, agriculture, health, climate change and other development projects to improve the economy of the region. This follows the signing of a regional development objectives grant agreement at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, on Wednesday. The five-year agreement was signed by US representative to the EAC Virginia Blaser, United States Agency for International Development (USAid) mission director for Kenya and East Africa Karen Freeman, and EAC Secretary-General Liberaìt Mfumukeko. In a statement to newsrooms, the EAC secretariat said about $30 million (Sh3 billion) of the amount will be used to strengthen its operations while the remainder will support EAC regional integration projects. “The new grant will deepen integration, improve cross-border risk management and support sectors like climate change, gender, livelihood, and population and health threats,” Mr Liberaìt said. The partners will work together on challenges that prevent integration in the five countries. HEALTH IN BORDER AREAS They are also set to increase...

Signs of protectionism in East Africa since the commencement of the bloc's Common Market regime have frustrated free movement of people and services. Integration efforts have been hampered by work permits required by some countries and delays in ratification of mutual recognition agreements for various professionals. Protectionist tendencies exhibited by some member states are mainly driven by the desire to shield certain sectors from foreign rivals. Whereas tariffs charged against foreign firms and professionals entering certain markets offer attractive revenue collection streams for countries, the overall share of tariff revenues in the East African Community has dropped to around 1.5 per cent of GDP since the Common Market was launched in July 2010, according to Mario Mansur, a tax expert based at the International Monetary Fund. "The application of such fees is driven by a traditional desire to collect more tax revenues needed to fund national programmes. But protectionism also plays a big role in countries seeking to protect local enterprises from aggressive foreign competitors," said Adam Mugume, executive director for research at the Bank of Uganda. Hurdles Whereas Tanzania recently announced reductions in work permit fees and professional service fees levied on foreign workers and businesses operating in the country, continued enforcement of these fees still poses hurdles to free movement of labour and services, contrary to provisions of the Common Market Treaty. Work permit fees have been slashed from $2,000 per year to $500 per year for every individual while professional service fees have been reduced from $3,000...

PARTNERSHIP: Representatives from the two countries’ foreign affairs ministry and TMA top officials were present. The  building of a One Stop Border (OSBP) is expected to increase efficiency by reducing time and transport costs incurred by businesses, farmers and transporters while crossing from one Partner State to the other. South Sudan joined the Community earlier this year. KAMPALA, UGANDA--South Sudan and Uganda have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together and in partnership towards construction of a One Stop Border Post (OSBP) in Elegu/Nimule towns along the Uganda/South Sudan border. “We are glad the partnership between the two countries has been established. This will provide a framework and mechanism for bilateral cooperation,” Moses Sabiiti, Uganda Country Director TradeMark Africa (TMA) said at the signing last week. For OSBP operations, persons, vehicles and goods make a single stop to exit one country and enter another. Generally, its implementation includes simplification of documents and procedures and greater use of ICT. Many of the documents will be received and reviewed electronically before the vehicle arrives. If inspection is needed, it will be done jointly thereby avoiding unloading and reloading cargo twice with the loss of time and potential damage to goods. The first OSBP was officially opened in Holili/Taveta towns on the Kenya/Tanzania border in February 2016. Since then others have become operational along the common borders. TMA is the Uganda Revenue Authority’s (URA) strategic partner, which meant they were involved in the brokering and crafting the MOU. The MOU establishes...

Customs experts from revenue administrations across Africa are meeting in Harare to discuss modalities of implementing the One Stop Border Post concept on the continent so as to enhance Customs clearances and trade facilitation. The meeting, which runs from 14 to 16 November, is a precursor to the 8th Ordinary Meeting of the African Union Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs which will run from 17 to 18 November under the theme, “From Barriers to Bridges – Implementing One Stop Border Posts for Improved Trade Facilitation”. Almost all African countries are represented at this year’s event, which will see Zimbabwe assuming the Chairmanship of the African Union Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs. Speaking while officially opening the event at a local hotel, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Acting Commissioner General, Mr Happias Kuzvinzwa, applauded the One Stop Border Post concept as a sure way to improve on trade facilitation within the African continent. “One of the many ways to achieve the cognitive level of cooperation to improve on trade facilitation is the implementation of the One Stop Border Posts, which has the potential to improve the smooth flow of traffic at crossing points, as well as cutting down on the costs associated with the moving of goods across the borders,” said Mr Kuzvinzwa. He applauded the critical role being played by the Customs Technical Working Groups saying, this will help address issues in the Trade Facilitation Cluster of the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-African Trade. The Action Plan on...

By Rhiannon Snide and James Karuhanga The Ministry of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs is looking to more youth involvement in regional integration agenda, a top official said yesterday, at the launch of the latest edition of EAC Week. François Kanimba, the Minister for Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs, said this yesterday during a news conference to launch the seventh EAC Week. The campaign will run under the theme: "Regional Integration: A Necessity for Development." "There was a general agreement at EAC-level that the focus should be on how regional integration is a key driver for economic development. This is the key message wherever we are going to go, particularly when we talk to the youth," Kanimba told journalists in Kigali. "This message will be emphasised as a mobilisation tool for the youth to maximise their potential to contribute to the regional integration process. Youth can contribute in different ways." Held annually in all EAC Partner States during the month of November, the EAC Week aims to increase awareness among citizens on the EAC integration agenda. The three-fold objective of this EAC Awareness Week is: updating Rwandans on key achievements under EAC integration, promoting awareness on key ongoing projects and programmes, and addressing the public's concerns and questions on the bloc's integration agenda. The minister added: "When you look at the skill development programmes we are implementing, particularly in Rwanda, skills are a fundamental ingredient to realise benefits of regional integration process. Skilled people can move...

South Sudanese ambassador and Foreign Affairs undersecretary Joseph Ayok Anei. JOSEPH ODUHA | NATION MEDIA GROUP  South Sudan and Uganda have signed a One-Stop Border Posts agreement to enhance trade through the efficient movement of goods, persons and services within the two partner states. South Sudan’s ambassador and Foreign Affairs undersecretary Joseph Ayok Anei, told reporters in Juba on Monday that the deal was vital, especially for South Sudan whose economy was handicapped by political instability. High taxations The agreement was inked on November 8 in Kampala by the Foreign Affairs secretaries from both sides. Mr Anei said the deal would also do away with non-tariff barriers and curb the illegal and high taxations imposed on traders from both countries. Although politically instable, South Sudan has curtailed the flow of commodities from Uganda and Mr Anei was optimistic that efforts by the Juba administration to restore peace would open doors for foreign investment and encourage the free trade between the two countries. Young nation South Sudan was dependent on goods and services from the East African countries, especially Uganda and Kenya. The young nation has also signed a similar trade agreement with Sudan, but had not enforced it due to allegations of rebels support from both sides. Source: Africa Review