Tanzania’s recent move to cut resident permit fees for residents of the East African Community bloc (EAC) has been described as a good gesture. The country’s Ministry of Home Affairs reduced by half, to $500 for the A-4 category resident permit for small-scale traders, businesses, artisans, fishing, farming or any legally recognised activity. The permits are for renewal every two years. Rwandan members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) commended the gesture from Tanzania but added that East Africa’s largest nation should now scrap the fees altogether. Martin Ngoga said: “It is a good development and marks good progress towards approximation of our laws in the EAC. It is a boost towards enjoyment of the freedoms provided by the common market protocol. We certainly still have a lot to do in that direction and, in so doing, we need to appreciate every step we make along the way. Some partner states waived, totally, these fees.” The Assembly has repeatedly voiced its concerns over the lack of harmonisation and approximation of national laws in the region, which they say negatively affects cross-border business, and the integration agenda. MP Straton Ndikuryayo, a member of EALA’s standing Committee on Communication, Trade and Investment (CTI), noted that Tanzania’s President John Magufuli made a commendable step. “The reduction of the amount by 50 percent is a big step in line with facilitating free movement of people, capital, and goods. However, my wish is to see a total waiver of work or resident permit for...

On-going railway construction works in Kenya. East Africa received more Foreign Direct Investment in 2015 compared to the previous year, even as the rest of the continent attracted less foreign investment. PHOTO | FILE  The Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, to East Africa grew last year despite an overall drop across Africa from $87 billion to $66.5 billion. A new report by Analyse Africa, a data service of the Financial Times shows 705 projects were supported by foreign investors across the continent in 2015 with infrastructure taking about 44 per cent of the inflows. The three East African counties were joint tenth in the continent with regard to attracting investments. In the period, Kenya saw one of the biggest increases with projects increasing by a half from 57 to 85. The projects had a value of $ 2.4 billion. Up to 44 per cent of the investors targeted infrastructure related areas including power, construction and ICT. Trends “This clearly demonstrates that foreign investors are thinking long term about Africa’s prospects,” said Ms.Adriene Klasa who edited the report. According to Ms Klasa, FDI decline in value does not mean the continent is in free fall. "While some larger economies are struggling disproportionally dragging down the region average, smaller players are stable and growing a steady clip,” she said Tanzania, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire are cited among economies that are stable. According to The Africa investment report, Coal, oil and natural gas were the top sector by capital investment in 2015, accounting for...

President John Pombe Magufuli with his host President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi, Kenya. PHOTO | DAILY NATION  For his no-holds barred war on inept and corrupt government officials, Tanzanian President John Magufuli earned the moniker “Bulldozer” soon after he was elected into office a year ago. That heavy equipment, like an elephant, takes a while to turn and President Magufuli has kept diplomacy watchers waiting for some signal on the direction he was likely to take, foremost on mending the evident but often denied fractious relations between Dar es Salaam and other East Africa Community capitals with the exception of Bujumbura. Until his first official visit to Rwanda 10 months into his regime, President Magufuli had focused on domestic matters, with reforms meant to rid bureaucracy, inefficiency and corruption top of his mind. Cargo clearance at the port of Dar es Salaam improved, Tanzania Revenue Authority collections increased and verification of invoices from government suppliers became stricter. While at it, the president delegated attendance of key international events including the World Trade Organisation Ministerial and the Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD) both held in Nairobi, adding to the feeling that all was not well between the two neighbours. Not surprisingly, reports that President Magufuli would be on a three-day state visit to Kenya last week proved a big talking point on social media in the two countries. “The visit by President Magufuli has opened a new chapter in strengthening of the bilateral and brotherly relations between our two...

Patience Mutesi, the Country Director for Trademark East Africa. / Timothy . Kisambira Patience Mutesi, the Country Director for Trademark East Africa (TMA), says one of the organisation’s goals is to work with various partners like PROFEMMES Twese Hamwe to help women entrepreneurs get access to credit. The agency which was created to facilitate trade and promote business competitiveness in the region, has funded various projects worth $65 million.  Sunday Times’ Emmanuel Ntirenganya had an interview with Mutesi on a number of issues which include TMA’s priorities and how to empower women entrepreneurs for them to be competitive in the business sector. Below are the excepts.  *** As the new TMA Country Director, what are your priorities? My priority will be to ensure that we have a smooth transition between strategy one and strategy two, to make sure that the projects that we started in strategy one are closed well on time, on budget and on good quality. My second strategy is mobilisation to be able to adequately raise funds for strategy two. Smallholder women traders have been facing challenges of lack of capital to run businesses: how is Trademark East Africa going to help address such issues? In cases where some women lack access to capital, we look at institutions we can work with through PROFEMME Twese Hamwe, to have better access to finances. So, I would say that we work with a number of partners to be able to help these women improve their businesses. For us what we do is...

“…the whole relationship can change very quickly, just as quickly as it has just done overnight for SPL-IO in Kenya. South Sudan itself can even face suspension from EAC until it has sorted out her internal chaos.” The expulsion (if confirmed by Juba) of James Gadet, spokesman for SPLM/A-IO from his base in Nairobi, must signal a game change, if not yet from East African Community member countries as a whole, certainly from Kenya. Any opposition to Juba from Nairobi will, from now on, remain less vocal and less vitriolic than we have known it in the recent past. And while opposition residents of far away democracies may continue their vitriolic opposition to Juba through social media in particular, member countries of the East African Communities will find it difficult to host those openly hostile and planning an overthrow of the government of a member and neighbouring country such as South Sudan. The laws of the community are likely to prohibit such hostile activities from their territories. Countries like Ethiopia and Sudan, who have their own internal rebels and may use South Sudan as a base, may not find it beneficial to host anyone openly opposed to Juba. However, should war continue to destabilise South Sudan, displacing huge populations, as it is now doing, internally and externally, without a viable peace initiative on the table; and a collapsing economy; while Juba remains on the war path with uncompromising attitude, the whole relationship can change very quickly, just as quickly as...

The second East African Community Common Market Scorecard 2016, released last week, suggests a region that is still a long way off if the goal to economic integration is to be realised. According to the scorecard, member states continue to trade as separate and distinct markets keeping their economies small and disconnected, despite a standing treaty giving the countries freedom of movement of goods, labour, services, and capital across the six-nation bloc. Only two of the 20 operations that facilitate deeper financial integration were found to be free of restrictions in all of the member states. At least 63 non-conforming measures are slowing down trade in the service sector, while regional trade in goods continues to be constrained by not less than 51 non-tariff barriers (NTBs). Widely disparate recognition of certificates of origin by the member states is a case in point, though there was a slightly better resolution of new NTBs for the 2016 period, at about 54 per cent, compared to the 38 per cent reported in the 2014 Scorecard. But it is evident all is not well. Another analysis carried out early this year, The Political Economy of Regional Integration in Africa: The East African Community Report, pointed to policy implementation that is affected by weak or absent formal institutions, as well as strong emerging informal institutions. The report observed that a large number of formal rules to provide checks and balances on policy implementation have not been institutionalised. This includes the power provided to the Heads...

As the wheels of Brexit begin slowly to churn into motion, a clearer image is starting to emerge as to what it means for the UK’s trade relations with the rest of the world. While much has been made of Britain’s need to strike deals with major emerging economies like India, China, and Brazil, the appointment of Priti Patel as International Development Secretary – a vocal critic of the department’s focus on aid in the past – signals a shift in emphasis towards a pro-development trade policy for Africa. If handled intelligently this could present a significant opportunity for Britain to hitch its chariot to a region which is set to be the world’s fastest growing over the next century. The secretary is already keeping to her word. On a recent visit to several African countries, Ms. Patel unveiled a series of ambitious projects that go beyond the traditional British tradition of spending billions in aid every year through international organizations and individual commitments. Kenya will receive £95 million over four years for new infrastructure projects while a separate £30 million “Invest Africa” programme will seek to create 90,000 jobs across the region in sectors that would attract British investors. Whilst vowing to maintain the UK’s commitment to ring-fencing 0.7% of its budget for international aid, Ms. Patel has also promised to stop development money from being “stolen” and “wasted on inappropriate projects”. If she gets her way, more money will be allocated for projects that drive investment and foster...

By Dorothy Nakaweesi Kampala — East African Community partner states have been challenged to benchmark themselves with the world's most advanced economies if they are to grow. This was said by former EAC Secretary General, Mr Amanya Mushega, who said EAC needs to revisit and do away with the standard way of judging itself by sub-Saharan African standards. "India, Singapore and South Africa refused to treat themselves that way. They aimed high, looked at the way the USA, Japan, Germany, UK and the USSR developed their human resources, copied them with the view to competing with them," Mr Mushega said. Mr Mushega was giving a keynote address during the opening of the two-day EAC-EU-IMF conference on regional integration on Monday in Arusha, Tanzania. The theme of the conference was 'Regional Integration in the EAC: Making the most of the Common Market on the Road to a Monetary Union.' Mr Mushega called for heavy investment in human resource development, and urged the Community to compare the number and quality of local skills with advanced economies. "For EAC to develop, exploit its resources, build industries, not cutting and wrapping imported products for it to build and maintain roads, railways, airports and dams, compete in local and world markets, it must put maximum efforts on the quality of education and skills of its population," he said. Speaking at the forum, the director of the IMF's African Department Mr Abebe Aemro Selassie, said the challenge for the EAC, as for other fast growing countries...

Uganda is to host the 17th edition of the East African Community Jua Kali/Nguvu Kazi Exhibition that will take place from December 5 to 11, 2016 in Kampala. The exhibition will held under the theme, "Buy East African MSE Products to build East Africa" According to the Ministry of East African Community Affairs, the Jua Kali /Nguvu Kazi Expo is an annual regional exhibition within the East African Community (EAC) with an objective of bringing together the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) artisans and innovators from the East African Region The purpose is opening up new market frontiers for their products as well as bridging up the technological gaps between them. The hosting of the expo among the EAC Partner States is rotational. It was held in Dar es Salaam last year and in Kigali in 2014. The exhibition, the ministry said, provides a forum for artisans to demonstrate their innovations to an East African region that is focused on attaining a fully-fledged Common Market complete with free movement of goods, services, labour, people, capital and the right of establishing business and residence. The EAC Jua Kali/Nguvu Kazi Exhibition is as old as the EAC itself, having been held every year since 1999 through collaboration between the EAC Secretariat, the Partner States and Confederation of Informal Sector Organizations East Africa (CISO-EA). At the exhibition, experts give the exhibitors professional advice on the key topics such as: opportunities offered by the East African Common Market Protocol; how to invest in...

The United Nations Conference on trade and development held in Kenya has agreed that historical tariff barriers must be lifted In talks which took place at the recent United Nations Conference on Trade and development, held in Kenya, between African ministers, there was agreement that present and existing domestic regulations, particularly in the form of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), remain a barrier to free trade across Africa. Opening the conference UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “Regulatory frameworks governing trade, investment in and technology play a critical role, and rather than working to change the economic model for the better, many actual and would-be leaders are instead embracing protectionism and even xenophobia,” he said. Speaking as one of the panellists considering the question of lowering the hurdles for trade costs, regulatory convergence and regional integration,Eddy Njoroge, writing in Standard Digital, said that trade barriers had to come down, particularly for the telecoms industry which contributes some $300 billion to Africa’s GDP:  “While we strive to position our regional telecommunications industry as the continent’s most competitive space that foreign investors can take note of, we need to clean our Augean stable – we have placed upon ourselves debilitating trade barriers right at home.” The ministers present were aware of the glaring contradictions in the present regulatory environment. The example was used in the discussion that while Tanzania’s converged licencing model supports the so-called tripleplay telecoms; IT and broadcasting model, Uganda’s model is on emphasising infrastructure licencing and Kenya’s unified licencing framework concentrates on the service level. Rwanda, the...