The eight regional trade blocs under the African Union (AU) will start negotiations in December this year that will see creation of a Continental Free Trade Area. Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) Head of Infrastructure Department Christian Appiah said all is set for the talks which will focus on dealing with opening of boundaries by dealing with tariff and non-tariff barriers. He says on their part, ECOWAS is ready to trade with the East African Community since both blocs are strongly established. “We have had several consultations with other regional blocs and at the African Union level, they recognize the regional economic communities that we have. At the moment each of these regional bloc is developing a strategy on how this continental collaboration is going to work,” Appiah told journalist at the Trade Mark East Africa offices in Nairobi on Friday. Apart from EAC and ECOWAS, other African regional blocs under the AU include, Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Others are the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD). The creation of a pan-African trade pact have been the centre of discussion for several AU summits with questions raising on how to actually implement free trade area considering the various tough policies among different member countries. However according to Appiah, there is no need to postpone as everything must start...

KAMPALA, (CAJ News) – THE fourth Agribusiness Congress East Africa conference set for the capital Kampala in November builds on the great excitement in the agricultural sector in Uganda. It is the first time that the event is taking place in Uganda. The summit comes at a time the farming sector is showing great potential. The Grain Council of Uganda (TGCU)’s Board Vice Chairman, Robert Mwanje, says the body is delighted to partner, support and host the fourth annual Agribusiness Congress East Africa. The success of the event in the East African region has given the TGCU the confidence to host the upcoming edition, setting it as a key entrant into the national annual calendar. “The Congress strives to set progressive action for the commercialisation of the industry by exchanging knowledge, best practices and dynamic conversations whilst showcasing leading agri technology to highlight the right tools for East Africa’s agri sector,” says Mwanje. Agribusiness Congress East Africa is a regional platform for discussions and knowledge sharing, to address those pertinent issues which are preventing the East African agricultural industry from flourishing as a global agribusiness hub. Industry organisations that are official partners include the East African Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, National Agricultural Research Organisation, Uganda Investment Authority, Uganda National Farmers Federation, Uganda Seed Trade Association and Agricona. Well-known suppliers Engsol, Mascor, John Deere and Chief Industries have already signed up as event sponsors. Event director, Yolanda dos Santos, expresses excitement ahead of the event. “We look forward to...

IN SUMMARY Officials from the Ecowas Commission visited East Africa to learn how to run successful trade and transport programmes to reduce trade costs and barriers through a single window system and the use of border posts. Trade and Customs officials in West Africa are seeking ways to improve the management of their borders. Officials from the Ecowas Commission from Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo and staff from trade, Customs and infrastructure departments participated in a five-day study tour from East Africa, from September 12 to 16. The visit was organised by the Accelerating Trade in West Africa project in collaboration with TradeMark Africa. The delegates visited East Africa to learn how to run successful trade and transport programmes to reduce trade costs and barriers through a single window system and the use of border posts. A statement from TradeMark Africa said that the officials wanted to better understand Customs clearance processes, electronic cargo tracking and monitoring, and monitoring of non-trade barriers both nationally and regionally. Delegates called on EAC Secretary General Liberat Mfumukeko to discuss areas of collaboration at the regional level. They also paid a courtesy call on Amelia Kyambadde, Uganda’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Co-operatives, who explained about the establishment of a non-tariff barrier monitoring system. The Uganda Revenue Authority shared information on trade facilitation measures such as electronic cargo tracking and the national single window systems. One Stop Border Post At the Busia Border, the delegates saw the design and operations of the One-Stop Border...

RE: “Why EAC needs a regional currency” (The New Times, September 13). Look at the straitjacket that is the euro for the mostly southernmost (with Ireland as the exception) member states of the EU (the so-called PIIGS - i.e. Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) and be extremely wary of single currency systems involving countries at different levels of economic development, and which deprive the individual members of their ability to use currency valuation as an instrument of monetary and economic policy adjustment. Until our economies are better aligned, we must device alternatives to a single currency to reduce transaction costs of having to use the dollar intra-EAC trade. Mwene Kalinda ********************* The East African Community (EAC) does not need a common currency like the euro at this time. This would require multiple financial and economical adjustments which we are not ready for now. What is needed is a stable and sustainable means of payment across multiple borders. A common currency for EAC does not need to be a real currency at all — as long as it can facilitate transaction and reconciliation of accounts. A very good model for this payment mechanism is the special drawing rights (SDR) as used by the IMF. We could do something similar but tied to the relative value of the national currencies of the EAC partner states. The exchange rate could be revised weekly if necessary. In my opinion, this solution bypasses outside influence on our internal commerce and is sustainable. It does...

PARTICIPANTS to the East Africa workshop on the development of national and regional regulations and standards on lead and paint have called for the harmonisation of rules and regulations of the lead paint in the region so that they reach one gram in one kilogramme. Reading the workshop recommendations, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Senior Programme Officer, Eisaku Toda, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that participants also agreed on the need to amend the lead paint limit in the East African Community (EAC) paint standards. “Participants acknowledged the leadership of EAC and the importance of harmonisation of the 90 ppm total lead limit for paint throughout the region in support of the continental free trade area,” he said. Tanzania and Kenya national efforts were recognised during the meeting by being amongst the first to establish the lead limit for paints in all paints produced, sold, used and imported. Moreover, he said, Tanzania agreed to develop a justification to amend the EAC lead paint standards by October, this year, while Kenya offered to explore hosting a regional harmonisation meeting to a draft amended EAC standards for lead in paints, next steps and timeline for finalisation. Mr Toda said they also called for the need to come up with challenges on the implementation of the lead limit in paint but called on the importance of raising awareness among the public on the health and mental effects caused by the cumulative toxic in lead. On her part, World Health Organisation (WHO) scientist,...

NAIROBI (HAN) September 14.2016. Public Diplomacy & Regional Security News. By Allan Olingo and Fred Oluoch. You have just finalised your travel plans: Done your budget, reserved the tickets and accommodation and confirmed your passport is up to date. Then it hits you: You don’t have any information on a visa for the African country you are visiting. You assume it will be easy to get a visa as everything has been taken care of. But should you? Have you been to the embassy, filled out the forms, paid the fee and waited for the visa to be processed? Take visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo or Nigeria, for instance. If you have journalist under “Occupation,” you must get a written approval from the Ministry of Information in Kinshasa or Abuja, before the embassy in Nairobi issues you with a visa. This will cost you $200, on top of the $50 visa fee. While Mauritius, Rwanda and recently Benin are the leading examples of visa-free countries for Africans, Ghana from July introduced a visa-on-arrival policy for citizens of African Union member states. But national sovereignty, irregular immigration flows, xenophobia, terrorism and refugees still make African countries hesitant to adopt a visa-free Africa or even adopt the African Union passport. Cristiano D’Orsi, a lecturer in international legal protection for asylum-seekers at the University of Pretoria said that most countries on the continent have shown visa barriers for other African nationals. “The best reason put forward for this has been the economic burden...

FUNDING of entrepreneurial ventures will feature prominently in the maiden East African Business and Entrepreneurship Conference and Exhibition, which is slated for October 10 in Nairobi, Kenya. The three-day event, organised by the East African Business Council, in partnership with national investment agencies in the East African Community, will also throw a special look on women entrepreneurs, according to Angelika Farhan, EABC’s business development manager. “There are numerous programmes that  promote women entrepreneurs. Many women have an extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit but with limited access to financing,” Farhan said last week. “We want to show their power, energy and opportunities by inviting many female speakers who can report on their success stories. I was impressed by how many women entrepreneurs are active and successful in the ICT sector.” Organisers expect up to 300 participants from the infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy sectors, as well as from the ICT and leather and textile industries, and financing institutions. Policy-makers and top representatives of relevant international organisations will participate. “We expect Kenyan First Lady Margaret Kenyatta to host a special ladies dinner to encourage women to participate in this important networking event,” he said. Ladies showing the bedspread they make in Kitenge clothe at Cocoki Design Sewing. Christine Rukera, owner of Premium Cayenne Pepper, a Rwandan pepper producing firm, told The New Times that women entrepreneurs “for a long time had been dogged by financial constraints, not only loans from banks but also in accessing family funds.” “What took them so long to figure out...

East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 13 September 2016:The officials from the Departments of Trade, Customs and Infrastructure of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led by Transport Facilitation  and Policy Expert, Mr. Appiah Christian  and Trademark East Africa led by Director General, David Stanton  today paid a working visit to the EAC Headquarters and held discussions with the Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko and other EAC Senior officials. The purpose of their visit was to gain insight on major developments realized as well as challenges experienced within the EAC especially on areas of Trade and Customs, Investment, and infrastructure  as well as sharing  experience of the same from ECOWAS. In his welcoming remarks, the Secretary General hailed the good relationship  between EAC and ECOWAS  as well as the increasing opportunities for  inter-regional trade brought about by the establishment of regional economic communities (RECs) in Africa. Amb. Mfumukeko, emphasised the increasing collaboration between the EAC and ECOWAS. He said the EAC was keen on what ECOWAS has attained in the area of financial integration and movements of people. Noting the establishment of a tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA) between the East African Community (EAC), South African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Secretary General said he looked forward to the FTA linking up with ECOWAS and other RECs to form an African Continental FTA (CFTA). Accompanying the Secretary General, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning...

The Minister for Natural Resources, Dr Vincent Biruta (L), and Dr Josua Dione, senior advisor to the African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, sign the 'Kigali Declaration' that paves way for the establishment of the Climate Application and Prediction Centre for Central Africa in Kigali on Monday. / Timothy Kisambira Rwanda has become the first country to sign up to a framework that paves the way for the establishment of the Climate Application and Prediction Centre for Central Africa, which will serve the 11 member states of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). The centre, whose creation was agreed upon during the last ECCAS Heads of State and Government Summit held in Chad in May, last year, will provide much needed support to the bloc’s member states in terms of recording data, as well as forecasting and sharing information related to weather and climatic conditions. The centre, which will be hosted in Cameroon, is expected to start operations next year. Rwanda on Monday signed up to the Kigali Declaration on the Establishment of the Climate Application and Prediction Centre for Central Africa on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) User Forum in Africa, a gathering of global climate specialists and meteorologists. Participants follow proceedings at the EUMETSAT meeting in Kigali. / Timothy Kisambira The declaration represents the strongest commitment to date to make the centre a reality, officials said. Other member states are expected to sign the document...

Heads of two leading travel agencies in Kigali say they have sustained major financial losses due to the border closure between Burundi and Rwanda. In late July, the Burundi government suspended food exports to Rwanda – allegedly due to drought – and Burundian security officers have since prevented passengers’ buses from crossing the border. Relations between Burundi and Rwanda have soured since Burundi’s President Nkurunziza, who was elected for a controversial third term in July 2015, accused Rwanda of supporting rebels in Burundi. Volcano Express and Yahoo car Express, which carry passengers between Burundi and Rwanda, and Uganda and Kenya, have seen a sharp decline in business. Movement is virtually at a standstill; there are no passengers, some bus routes in Burundi have stopped, and businesses are no longer making cross border transactions. Olivier Nizeyimana is the Managing Director of Volcano Express. Some of his buses registered in Burundi are simply waiting inside the country, doing nothing. “Our buses are locked there. Some escaped by other borders, but they were empty. The government should respect our business, as we are paying taxes”, he says. On July 30th, Burundian Vice President, Joseph Butore ordered the Police to prevent all traders from taking products into Rwanda. Previously, many passengers were businessmen from the region, as well as relatives of families that have fled to Rwanda and Uganda due to crisis. No more fruits on Rwandan market Since the closure of border, Rwanda is experiencing significant shortages of food imported from Burundi, including...