East African Community (EAC) has made considerable progress on payment systems and financial markets integration. However, participants on the high level conference concluded in Arusha on Tuesday acknowledged that fiscal deficits need to be brought down to meet the convergence criterion and to ensure the stability of the future monetary union. Convergence goes beyond headline fiscal deficits and public debt, and fiscal risks need to be monitored closely. The conference was jointly organised by the EAC Secretariat, the European Union (EU), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) entitled 'Regional Integration in the EAC: Making the Most of the Common Market on the Road to a 'Monetary Union' in Arusha. In this regard, participants noted still high compliance cost in light of different regulations in member countries. On the Fintech front, however, the EAC region is ahead of many other countries in the world. The importance of proper sequencing and pace of financial integration was stressed in light of risks involved. Moreover, further progress is needed in data harmonisation and monetary policy frameworks and operations, and there is a need to establish the new institutions that will play a key role for the implementation and resilience of the union. EAC region policymakers reaffirmed their commitment to build a strong economic and monetary union. Participants assessed the current state and pace of economic integration and noted considerable progress towards a single entry visa, processing times at ports, and removal of internal tariffs. As indicated in the second EAC Common Market Scorecard 2016...

03 November 2016 | Bill Boyle The United Nations Conference on trade and development held in Kenya has made a call for tariff barriers and other restrictive measures to be dramatically eased. 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...

By Anne Robi East African Business Council has called on Tanzania and other EAC countries to focus on cross border investments for better and quick businesses development and promotion of integration. The Chairman the Council, Mr Felix Mosha, made the call yesterday in Dar es Salaam when opening a tentative programme for Public Private Dialogue on the Tanzania Private Sector involvement and contribution to the implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol (CMP). Mr Mosha said that focusing on cross borders investments was vital in the EAC common market development as it would help gather sources familiar to the EAC economic. "Tanzania and East Africa should collectively direct their focus towards cross border investments, which have so far made Kenya the third or fourth largest FDI investor in Tanzania," he said. Mr Mosha called on TPSF to ensure SMEs are fully informed about conditions for their effective trading opportunities within EAC. Mr Mosha said SMEs are not sufficiently informed about EAC Common market which denies opportunities in EAC. "Trade expansion in the East African integration should not be left to depend on large corporations. From the experience of EABC, SMEs are not sufficiently informed about conditions for their effective trading opportunities within the EAC," he said stressing the need for TPSF to put more efforts and ensure SMEs are fully involved. Meanwhile, TPSF commended the government's effort in the elimination of non-tariff barriers in the EAC market. TPSF Consultant Mr Salum Awadhi said a research carried out indicate that the...

A model Bill to guide East Africa member states in streamlining freight forwarding industry has been drafted. A key proposal in the model Bill financed by Japan International Co-operation Agency is creation of competent national authorities in each member State to license customs agents and freight forwarding practitioners. The proposed law intends to create a competent authority that will regulate the sector and ensure professionalism in member States. FACE CHALLENGES The industry has been facing challenges related to service delivery, professionalism and self-regulation compounded by the implementation of the Single Customs Territory that expanded the scope of operations for customs, clearing and freight forwarding agents in the East African region. "Several meetings recommended self-regulation and accreditation of the industry as the most suitable option. Development of the model Bill was considered important in order to guarantee uniformity and harmony of the resultant national laws given that clearing agents and freight forwarders operate across borders," said John Mathenge, the executive director of the Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations. Mr Mathenge was speaking in Mombasa during a workshop for East African stakeholders to validate the model Bill. Currently, competent authorities in East African Community that license customs agents and freight forwarding practitioners are customs departments of the revenue authorities in the region. Although this role is provided for in the East Africa Community Customs Management Act, the role of the freight forwarders and custom agents have not been properly provided for. "There are provisions for licensing but none on professional...

  ERIE, Pa. - Logistics Plus Inc., a leading worldwide provider of transportation, logistics and supply chain solutions, is proud to announce it has an expanded presence in East Africa with four new locations in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya; Kampala, Uganda; and Juba, South Sudan. The expansion will allow the Company to provide additional logistics and warehousing solutions in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and throughout the entire East Africa corridor, including Burundi, Tanzania, Somalia, and eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). Highlighted capabilities include: Largest fleet of 1,300 trucks in East Africa, all fitted with tracking devices for real-time positioning. Customs Clearance licenses in all countries. 90,000 square feet of warehousing space in Nairobi. 79-acre Inland Container Depot (ICD) adjacent to the Mombasa port - the only ICD with direct road and gate access to the port. 70,000 cubic meters (2.4 million cubic feet) of bonded and general warehousing space in Mombasa. 8,000 twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) of storage area at the Mombasa port at any point in time. Licenses to operate its own airplanes. 15-acres of bonded and general warehousing space in Kampala. ICD at Kampala can accommodate 4,000 TEUs at any point in time. 300-acre facility in Special Economic Zone in Juba with its own transportation yard and Container Freight Station (CFS). “These expanded capabilities in East Africa provide a nice complement to our already extensive presence in northern Africa and the Middle East,” said Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus. “The East Africa Community is an...

  President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and DP William Ruto during the state banquet at State House, Nairobi, October 31. /PSCU Africa has the potential of being a donor continent if it unites and exploits its vast natural resources, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has said. Magufuli, when he was hosted for a state banquet by President Uhuru Kenyatta, expressed the need for African countries to partner in development for the benefit of their citizens. The current East African Community chairman assured Kenya of his support in accelerating the EAC agenda as well as enhancing regional development. "With EAC’s population of 165 million people, add the regional economic blocs of COMESA and SADC with a combined population of over 400 million people and other African economic blocs including ECOWAS, the continent is poised to become a donor community," he said on Monday night. President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta during the state banquet at State House, Nairobi, October 31. /PSCU He underscored the need for harnessing the vast natural resources in the five East African community member states towards economic development of the region. Magufuli also urged the African nations to guard against outside forces, with selfish motives, which could be fuelling turmoil within the continent. "For instance, there is no reason why the Democratic Republic of Congo with its vast natural resources would be wallowing in poverty," he said. President Kenyatta said the presence of a significant...

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 14 that was held in Kenya was a huge milestone for the region. I was indeed honoured to be a panellist on the Ministerial Round Table, discussing Lowering hurdles for Trade: Trade Costs, Regulatory Convergence and Regional Integration at the conference. During the Ministerial Round Table that I was part of, it was collectively settled that while necessary and causative to sustainable development by fostering product standards, existing domestic regulations, in form of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), present hurdles prohibitive to regional and international trade. In this 21st century business landscape, tariffs are just but the tip of the iceberg, contributing to just about 5 per cent of trade costs. Non-Tariff Measures are now king, constituting invisible barriers, roughly at 30 per cent of international trade costs. The Round Table sought to identify these measures and focus on where barriers can be lightened and regional harmonisation accomplished to boost inter and intra-regional trade, making the region more attractive to investment. Some of the opportunities that could come about through a cautious balance of policy harmonisation are regulation convergence and standardisation across markets, thereby reducing trade barriers, including the burgeoning telecommunications industry. Anticipated to contribute some $300 billion to Africa’s GDP by 2025 and expected to grow the East African market size to 128 billion USD by the end of 2016, the telecommunications industry has tolerated prevailing trade barriers at the regional level, distorting competitiveness as the market opens up to foreign and...

The East Africa Community member states failure to fully comply with the Common Market Protocol is hindering trade liberalisation in the region, a report shows. However, EAC deputy secretary general for finance and administration, Jesca Eriyo, said reforms undertaken since 2014 have reduced the number of non-conforming measures to 59 in 2016, down from 63 in 2014. Eriyo was speaking in Kampala, Uganda, during the launch of the EAC Common Market Scorecard 2016. “The scorecard will strengthen the regional market, grow the private sector, and deliver benefits to consumers,” Eriyo said. Scorecard 2016 measures partner states’ compliance to the free movement of capital, services, and goods. The World Bank group and Trade Mark East Africa took 18 months to develop the concept at the request of the EAC secretariat, which alongside partner states supervised its creation. The report shows Burundi continues to earn full points on recognition of certificates of origin, an issue repeatedly identified as a significant non-tariff barrier in 2014. Kenya continues to score 90 per cent. Tanzania’s recognition of certificates of origin has improved from 50 to 60 per cent, while Rwanda and Uganda’s scores have both declined, “indicating a worsening performance in terms of recognising certificates of origin of other EAC member states”. The EAC average of resolution for new NTBs for the 2016 period was about 54 per cent, better than the 38 per cent rate for common market scorecard 2014, she said. Eriyo called for greater information sharing on the treaty and protocol provisions....

  Traditional barter market From salt bars to bank notes, the system of trade in East Africa has come a long way over the course of 100 years. The numismatics exhibition taking place at the Nairobi National Museum traces the evolution of currency and exchange in East Africa, from pre-colonial through to modern times, as part of the 50 years’ celebration of the Central Bank of Kenya. Long before East Africans came into contact with outside traders, traditional African communities were exchanging goods and wares through barter trade, a system dating back to prehistoric times. At market days, which were a customary part of cultural life, some of the most valuable items of exchange were livestock, ironware, salt, weapons, beads, cowrie shells as well as were foodstuffs. Arab traders travelling through East Africa’s interior in search of ivory, slaves and other goods, were the first to introduce money as an alternative to the cumbersome salt bars normally used as payment. The currency introduced by the Arabs was an assortment of foreign coins which reflected the multi-national nature of the Indian Ocean sea trade. There were Indian rupees and annas, pice bronze coins, British florins, and silver Maria Theresa thalers that originated from Austria. When the 1885 Berlin Conference carved up Africa among the European powers, Uganda and Kenya were allocated to Britain. The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) that administered East Africa before it became a formal protectorate issued the Mombasa Coins between 1888-1890. These were minted in India...

EUROPE is in crisis, and yet countries in East Africa are ready to sign on a poorly understood trade agreement with the EU whose overall impact will be disastrous for years to come. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will favour trade in the direction of Europe and stunt African progress. Tanzania has hesitated and called for public debate. Tanzania should provide the bold leadership required in the region to reject the EPA. It seems to me that the discussion on the EPA that is being pushed by Kenya, especially the flowers lobby, which does not understand the changes in the international situation. In 2016, Africans are a long way away from the era when British settler bigwigs in Kenya – Michael Blundell and Bruce McKenzie – could make decisions about the future of Africa. Then, they built the flowers trade as part of the lift capabilities of the British and European long term plans for Africa. These plans were thwarted by Tanzania and the liberation forces. In the period 1971-1990, there had been an attempt by the West to isolate Tanzania because Tanzania did not toe the line of the West on the future of Southern Africa. For a short while, especially the days of Nguvu Kazi, Tanzania was alone, yet Julius Nyerere did not blink. The present Tanzanian society is in a much better position than it was in 1984. The private sector has come out clearly against this Economic Partnership Agreement. Full Disclosure The Speaker of Parliament has...