Dar es Salaam. High taxes charged on grains hinders smooth crop trade among African countries, it has been revealed. Eastern African Grain Council (EAGC) board of directors chairman Eugene Rwibasira told The Citizen recently as he made this revelation. “We recently bought tonnes of maize from farmers in Zambia at the cost of $1,500, but surprisingly, we were charged three times the actual buying price of the commodity for it to be exported elsewhere,” he said. Mr Rwibasira added that since the establishment of EAGC in 2006, the main barrier on grains trade has been import taxes within member states. The main objectives of the EAGC include providing market information, intelligence to support trade to buy and sell grains. He made the revelations on the sidelines of the EAGC annual meeting, which was later followed by the launch of 2018/22 strategic plan to enable boost trade structure, policy advocacy and institutional strengthening. Mr Rwibasira said the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia were prospective members of the council for this year. “We have also received requests from Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius and Sudan. They all want to join us,” he said. EAGC chief executive officer Gerald Masila said the current plan was to establish the EAGC Investment Company that will consolidate services to be offered on commercial basis. He said that the board was currently developing other investments to be offered commercially on the fee basis, in partnership with institutional experts who have a share in the vision and aspirations of...

How far is the rollout of the digital economic integration? The ministers have approved the initiative. The Secretariat completed the preparatory stage, from design to production of the key instruments especially the digital certificate of origin, presented them at several formal government meetings ranging from expert to ministerial level over the course of last year and early this year. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa will formally adopt the instruments at its upcoming summit in Bujumbura from June 1-10, then begin the digital free trade area. What type of feedback did you receive while promoting the digital FTA? The feedback from technical workshops and meetings is positive. Last year at the Digital FTA workshop in Seychelles, every Comesa member state said that it was ready to start using the digital certificate of origin. Customs authorities will have their work simplified once digitised, and users will face less complex procedures once the regulatory authorities begin to process clearances and approvals online. So far, who are the early adopters of the digital free trade area? All member states. In fact, some countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Mauritius and Zambia are already issuing electronic certificates of origin; many are using the self-certification system which is more advanced, when trading with partners such as the European Union. The self-certification system can be used in Comesa trade as well, because the Approved Economic Operators schemes [a certified standard authorisation issued by Customs office in the EU] already provide a basis for an...

Farmers from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo will benefit from a combined $26 million training by TechnoServe, aimed at increasing production of specialty coffee for export. The non-profit development firm is training 15,000 farmers in eastern DRC under a five-year project funded by the United States Agency for International Development to the tune of $23 million. In western Uganda, the firm is targeting 30,000 growers under a four-year project funded by Germany-based Benckiser Stiftung Zukunft and Enveritas of New York to the tune of $3 million. In the DRC, TechnoServe will train farmers on climate-smart techniques and work with co-operatives to establish and improve processing facilities. The firm’s chief executive William Warshauer said growing global demand for specialty coffee presents an opportunity for farmers in the highlands of South Kivu to earn higher prices for their crop. “While meeting growing consumer demand for unique high-quality coffee, farmers can lift themselves out of poverty and provide better futures for their families,” he said. USAID/DRC mission director Christophe Tocco said the new value chains will improve food security, give farmers and small businesses a viable legitimate income and support economic growth. In western Uganda, TechnoServe will provide agronomy training to Robusta coffee farming families. “Robusta coffee is an important cash crop for more than 1.3 million farmers across the country. With improved farming techniques, farmers can improve coffee yields by an average of 50 per cent,” said TechnoServe. Meanwhile, Starbucks with Swiss food company Nestle have already recruited farmers in...

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are still squabbling over the implementation of the Common Market provisions, despite officials saying a lot of ground has been covered in resolving the issues. This came as Kenyan sugar-based products were denied preferential access to Uganda and Tanzania over the application of the Rules of Origin. For the fourth consecutive month, Cerelac, juice, ice cream and chewing gum from Kenya could not get preferential access to the Tanzanian market. A month ago, Uganda denied Kenyan confectionaries preferential access, arguing that Common External Tariff (CET) should be levied on the products since they were manufactured from industrial sugar imported under a 10 per cent duty remission scheme. Citing a 2017 legal notice, where Kenya was granted duty remission on raw sugar at a duty rate of 0 per cent for one year to manufacture sugar for industrial use, Tanzania is demanding full CET duties of 25 per cent on the products instead of the free access granted to products that meet the EAC origin criteria. However, Kenyan manufacturers argue that the products are not made from raw sugar but rather from industrial sugar imported under the EAC wide duty remission, which attracts 10 per cent levy. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) argues that only one Kenyan company, which was supposed to produce refined sugar, benefited from the provision for imports under the 0 per cent levy. The firm has yet to utilise to the opportunity. “The denial of entry for Kenyan goods into Tanzania continues despite KRA’s...

East African governments are betting on modernising their ports to ease transportation bottlenecks and compete for the regional maritime business. On Monday, Tanzania announced that construction of the $10 billion Bagamoyo port begins in June, setting the pace of the country’s ambitious plan to have one of the most modern ports on the continent. Kenya also announced that it had picked Toyo Construction Co Ltd of Japan for a $319 million Mombasa port container-terminal expansion project starting soon. Djibouti, which has in the past three years inaugurated three new ports worth more than $650 million, had earlier announced that it was in talks with French shipping company CMA CGM to develop a $600 million new container terminal in its biggest port Doraleh, as seeks to become the region’s transport hub. Djibouti’s race to modernise its ports has shifted focus from Mombasa and Dar ports, especially after Ethiopia unveiled an electric Standard Gauge Railway early this year to ease the movement of goods to and from the country’s port of Ghoubet, which serves as the main gateway for exports from Ethiopia — handling ships of up to 100,000 deadweight tonnes. Special economic zones The country’s port upgrades, it says, is part of its four mega ports projects “aimed at providing world-class logistics platforms for shipping…with world class facilities will vastly improve the efficiency and ease of doing business in the Horn of Africa.” Its latest container terminal upgrade at the strategically located port of Doraleh, which connects Asia, Africa and Europe,...

The World Bank says 18 sub-Saharan African countries are at "high risk of debt distress" in 2018 compared with just eight five years ago. The World Bank’s Pulse report doesn’t name the 18 but a report in TheEconomist says Kenya is among the 18 countries where government debt is above 50 per cent of GDP. The bank has also expressed concern that tax receipts are not meeting the cost of debt repayments in several countries. It warns that the consequences may be severe if action is not taken to address the issue in the coming years. This is because from 2021 international bonds start maturing and large repayments pose “significant refinancing risks” to the region, the bank says. Public debt rising The World Bank says that public debt relative to GDP is rising throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa, and the composition of debt has changed. More countries have shifted away from traditional concessional sources of financing toward more market-based ones. From 2013, the dynamics and composition of public debt changed significantly. Public debt increased from an average of 37 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 to 56 per cent in 2016, with more than two-thirds of the countries experiencing an increase of more than 20 percentage points. Debt sustainability risks in the region “have increased significantly” over the past few years, the report says. “Higher debt burdens and the increasing exposure to market risks raise concerns about debt sustainability,” the report says. Eighteen countries were classified at...

Dodoma — PRESIDENT John Magufuli yesterday called for unity and cooperation among East African Community (EAC) member states to maintain the region's sustainable development. Dr Magufuli said distrust and trade barriers in the EAC bloc benefit nobody, but were instead victimising the East Africans doing businesses and other socialeconomic related activities. He said massive investment in industrial and infrastructure development is vital for effective utilisation of existing natural resources to benefit the over 170 million people. Addressing the evening session of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) here, President Magufuli said Members of Parliament (MPs) were dutybound to improve people integration and adopt suitable laws and policies for the region. "EALA members should ensure that policies and legislations attract and promote investments ... this is your responsibility as parliamentarians to ensure that we all care for others," he said. Explaining on the shortage of industries, President Magufuli who aggressively champions industrial revolution in the country, said EAC member states have not been benefitting from their natural resources due to lack of manufacturing industries. "South Sudan, for instance, has huge quantity of minerals and oil reserves, but few exploiters are condemning the youngest African nation to endless conflicts. "....This is also the case with Tanzania ... we are the second country in Africa with largest number of livestock, yet, most of us here don't put on shoes produced from local industries," he said. He added: "We don't benefit from these raw materials and they do not help our 170 million people,"...

President John Magufuli yesterday outlined at least five issues that East Africa Legislative Assembly (Eala) members need to work on to support the development agenda of the region. The issues, according to him, include intra-regional diplomatic disputes, trade barriers and mistrust among member states. Dr Magufuli also mentioned low industrialisation and poor infrastructure as major hurdles to development in the region. Addressing Eala members who were meeting in Dodoma, President Magufuli said: "There are some disputes, which you are all aware of, that have persisted for a long time. In fact, they are playing a role in delaying the region's development. "But it is also my wish that you, as representatives of East Africans, will be discussing possible solutions to trade barriers and how to spur investment in the region. Also, don't forget also that mutual trust in the region is important in promoting peace and unity." On industries, Dr Magufuli challenged Eala members to help mobilise domestic and foreign investments in manufacturing and processing of natural resources. His emphasis also was on the need to improve electricity production, which was still low compared to demand. "The East Africa Community (EAC) has a total population of about 170 million. This is a huge market, and that is why it is important to focus on industrialisation. We cannot continue to import everything," noted the Head of State. "You have been elected at the right time. Intra-regional trade is picking up. It has now reached $5 billion from $1.8 billion in 2005....

Tanzania’s President Dr John Pombe Magufuli on Tuesday emphasised the need and urgency for the East African Community to work harder, in unity, to fast-track the development of the six-member bloc. Magufuli was addressing a special sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in the Tanzanian capital, Dodoma. Speaking in Kiswahili, he urged the Assembly to strive to remove “as early as possible” barriers to trade, movement of people, and others afflicting the region. He said: “Our sole responsibility is to bring development to the people we lead. It is important we understand that the East African Community is for the citizens and not the leaders”. Industry, transport and energy sectors The Tanzanian President put emphasis on lawmakers attaching importance to the sectors of industry, transport and energy, among others, as key drivers of the bloc’s development. Asking them what would be the use of having abundant resources such as minerals, and others, that do not really benefit EAC citizens, Magufuli told regional lawmakers that the lack of an enhanced industry sector costs the region a lot. By exporting raw materials, he said, the region is only enriching others while it’s poor get poorer, a situation that no rational leader in the region should tolerate and urged EALA members to leave no stone unturned in their quest to protect and advance the region’s industrial sector. “If we don’t protect our own industries we shall just remain escorts. A market of 170 million is a big market. If we have...

Delegates from South Sudan, the latest entrant into the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), jetted into the country ahead of discussions on the ratification of the free movement of people protocol by member states. The Government of South Sudan is pushing for the regularisation of an informal movement of people that is currently taking shape in the region. The four-day IGAD meeting was due to be opened Tuesday at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala by internal affairs minister Gen. Jeje Odongo. The eight-member trade bloc has Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea. According to IGAD officials, experts from South Sudan and other member states will discuss the proposed IGAD protocol on free movement of persons. "This high-level experts meeting will bring together high level experts from ministries, authorities, commissions and parliament of the Government of South Sudan. "The aim of this high-level experts meeting is for experts to deliberate on the provisions of the proposed IGAD Protocol on Free Movement of Persons," a statement issued by IGAD over the weekend noted. Foreign ministers from IGAD member states, delegates from the Europe Union, United Nations and key labour movement experts, are also expected to attend the meeting, where a political endorsement for fast-tracking the free movement of people protocol will be discussed. With a never-ending conflict in South Sudan, it is estimated that majority of South Sudanese are living outside their country as refugees. At 1.3 million, Uganda accommodates the largest number of South Sudanese refugees. The right...