KAMPALA Uganda (Xinhua) -- Ministers from the East African Community (EAC) are meeting in the Ugandan capital Kampala to discuss key projects that will fast track regional development and mutual security. The ministers, who are meeting in their 13th Northern Corridor Integration Projects summit that opened on Friday, will discuss and review progress made in the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway, mutual defense, peace and security, and airspace management. They will also discuss information communications technology, oil refinery development, power generation, transmission and interconnectivity and political federation. Sam Kutesa, Uganda’s foreign minister told the meeting that progress has been made in the areas of infrastructure development, data management, cyber security and human resources development. "We require attention in land acquisition and concerted efforts to speed up the reintegration projects," Kutesa said. The ministers after their meeting will send their report to the regional leaders meeting that will open on Saturday. The Northern Corridor summits started in 2013 with the aim of speeding up development in the region. The Northern Corridor is the transport corridor that links the EAC landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan with the Kenyan seaport of Mombasa. The corridor also serves northern Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. Source: Coast Week

The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has been advised to relax its taxation regime in order to woo clients, amid declining cargo volumes at the Dar es Salaam port, a trend that has been linked to unfriendly tax policies. Members of the Parliamentary Infrastructure Development Committee said a bad tax regime had forced customers to look for alternative ports for imports and exports. The committee’s chairman, Norman Sigalla, said that the volume of transit cargo at the Dar es Salaam port had declined due to value added tax (VAT), driving importers and exporters from neighbouring states to Kenyan, Mozambican and South African ports. “VAT is a key factor scaring away port users as it inflates the costs of clearing the cargo,” said Prof Sigalla. As a result, importers had switched to the ports of Durban in South Africa, Beira in Mozambique and Mombasa in Kenya. Double taxation The committee also advised the government to eliminate double taxation for cargo storage, citing the storage rent charged by the TPA and a similar warehouse rent imposed by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) for the same cargo. The MPs also recommended that authorities at the port extend the maximum period of stay free of charge at the port for imported oil from 30 days to 90 days in line with rival ports. Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo rely on the Dar port for their imports and export trade. The port handled 12.54 million tonnes of cargo in...

Uganda has chosen the Tanzania route as the best option to export its crude oil from Hoima, given approving scientific reasons put forward by technical teams in Kampala. Tanzania’s Minister of Energy and Minerals Prof Sospeter Muhongo was quoted by government-owned newspaper Daily News saying that the Energy ministers of Tanzania and Uganda had agreed on a recommendation that favours the Tanzanian route. Tanzania and Kenya have been competing to host the pipeline on their territories, with Kenya lobbying for the Hoima-Lokichar-Lamu port route while Tanzania pushed for the Kagera-Shinyanga-Tabora-Singida-Tanga port route. Although the final decision was expected to be made after the Summit of Heads of States of Northern Corridor in Kampala this weekend, there are reports that the pipeline issue is not on the agenda. According to media reports in Tanzania, Prof Muhongo and his Ugandan counterpart Irene Muloni favour Tanga port as the ideal route and they will advise their presidents who would them make the final decision. Prof Muloni said Tanga port has a competitive advantage over other ports in East Africa because it will make it cheaper and easier for Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo to use the pipeline. Discussions on the pipeline route are unlikely to be featured in discussions by the presidents as they meet in Kampala this Saturday under the auspices of the 13th Northern Corridor Infrastructure Summit. The EastAfrican has learnt that the pipeline is not a key issue on the agenda for the Heads of...

Burundi has said it is ready for East African Community-mediated dialogue in efforts to end the current political crisis that has rocked the country for a year now. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni remains the EAC-appointed mediator for the inter-Burundi dialogue, but early this year, the EAC Heads of State Summit appointed a team under the leadership of former president of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa to facilitate the mediation. “Former president Mkapa’s visit enabled him to assess the situation on the ground and we are ready to restart the dialogue under his mediation,” Foreign Affairs Minister Alain Nyamitwe told The EastAfrican. However, the government said it would not hold talks with opposition leaders or civil society organisations that played a role in violent protests and the failed coup last year. US special envoy for the Great Lakes Region Thomas Perriello blamed the government for the current crisis, during his seventh visit to the country since the crisis began last year. “Mr Perriello is not the facilitator and it is not up to him to say who should join and who shouldn’t… we believe things are improving and we are waiting for the facilitator to restart the talks,” said Mr Nyamitwe in response to the accusations. Currently, there is relative calm in the country since the crisis began, but the government said 46 people have been killed since January in ongoing targeted assignations and grenade attacks, which it accused the opposition of instigating. According to Bujumbura at least 698 people have been arrested...

East African countries have drafted a policy framework to harmonise their retirement benefits schemes that will see workers in the region receive part of their life savings on a regular basis before they retire from formal employment. Under the proposed plan, EAC citizens will also benefit from annuitized pension from companies they had worked for outside their countries but within the EAC regional bloc. According to Kenya’s Ministry of EAC Affairs, the draft EAC retirement benefits policy will be reviewed by the Council of Ministers during the Sectoral Council on Finance and Economic Affairs meeting in Dar es Salaam next month. The policy considers a number of pertinent issues necessary for the development and growth of the pensions sector in the region with a view to facilitating free movement of persons, services, goods and capital. It also seeks to promote prudent investment of retirement funds to promote prosperity and improve the welfare of the people of the EAC region. Among key issues under consideration by the regional bloc through the Capital Markets Insurance and Pension Committee are harmonisation of pension tax regimes to facilitate portability of accrued pension benefits across the EAC region and development of an annuity market in the region. Others are mutual recognition agreement on pension service providers that will allow them to set up offices across borders, increased pension coverage for both formal and the informal sector in the region, liberalisation of the pension sector to attract more players and synchronisation of investment principles and standards...

The recently conducted independent evaluation of the non-tariff barriers (NTBs) indicates that most barriers have been eliminated to ensure traders across the region reap the benefits of the trading bloc. Non-tariff barriers refer to restrictive measures such levies, quotas, embargoes and sanctions used by countries when trading with each other. According to TMA, of the 112 NTBs that were identified, 87 have been resolved through the East African Community Time Bound Programme on elimination of barriers. This was as a result of intervention by the National Monitoring Committee and the EAC Secretariat, with the support of TMA, which led to the enactment of EAC elimination of NTBs Act. As a result, the time taken to import goods from one East African country to another has dropped by 14 per cent to 31 days. Initially, it used to take an average of 36 days. Burundi has benefited most, with a 28 per cent reduction in import time from 43 days to 30. Time taken The time taken to export goods to any East African country has been cut to an average of 26 days. This is a 20 per cent reduction from the initial 33 days. It now takes 30 days to export goods from Uganda as compared to 35 days in 2011. Similarly, inland transportation times from Dar es Salaam to Kigali have dropped to about 3.5 days. The time spent to get an electronic certificate to clear goods has also reduced. Tanzania has witnessed the highest drop. It now...

“It’s a dream come true; I never expected this to happen in my life time,” said Mzee Iddi Amri Saadi, a 72−year−old resident of the peninsula, who for over five decades has been crossing the entrance of Dar es Salaam port on wooden boats or ferries. “I have heard stories of the construction of a bridge to Kigamboni for years, but it never happened,” said the father of eight who retired as technician at Tanzania Ports Authority over 15 years ago. Mzee Saadi believes that with the ultra−modern bridge which was constructed by the Chinese and launched on Tuesday, Kigamboni is headed for economic prowess. “I don’t think I have plans to relocate from here even if I finish college, I will stay here,” says Edmund Woiso, a second−year student of economics at Mwalimu Nyerere Academy at Kigamboni. Woiso believes that with the bridge, Kigamboni headland will become an alternative city to Dar es Salaam’s central business district. “Look at the real estate investments, hotels on the beach, cement factories and roads. Very soon we will have shopping malls and high−rise office blocks, which will mean that the people of Kigamboni will be self−sufficient, no need to go to Kariakoo or Posta,” said the 22−year−old young man. Since president Magufuli officially inaugurated the US$135 million landmark bridge, the place has turned into a beehive of activity. Pedestrians can cross the bridge free of charge but cars, motorcycles and bicycles pay a fee to enable the private investors to recover their...

TradeMark Africa has been supporting the elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) to trade in the East African Community (EAC). The barriers present a serious challenge to trade with an EAC wide cost estimate being approximately 490 million US dollars. Emerging results from the recently conducted independent evaluation of the NTB’s programme indicate a 14 per cent reduction in time taken to import goods from each East African country (from 36 days to 31 days) and a 20 per cent reduction in time taken to export goods from each EAC country (from 33 days to 26 days). Further results indicate inland transportation times from Dar es Salaam to Kigali have dropped considerably, now to 3.5 days. The results also show a reduction in the cost of transporting a standard (40 foot) container from Mombasa to Kigali, from 6,500 US dollars in 2011 to 4,800 US dollars, which is estimated to have generated a saving (at constant volumes) of approximately 7 million US dollars on the Mombasa-Kigali route alone. Burundi tops the list of the East African countries that has witnessed the highest import reduction time – at 28 per cent (from 30 days to 43 days). The time taken to export from Uganda has successfully reduced from nearly 35 days in 2010 to under 30 days in 2015. Other areas that have witnessed great progress include Tanzania which has witnessed a 99 per cent reduction in application time (5 days to only one hour) for getting an electronic certificate of origin....

Unemployment and underemployment among skilled Rwandans could reduce if young graduates took advantage of the opportunities offered by the East African Community (EAC) integration. Dr James Ndahiro, Rwanda’s East African Legislative Assembly member of Parliament, said there are many jobs that Rwandans can secure in the region under the common market that provides for free movement of labour, people and goods, among others. Ndahiro said other Rwandans could start up businesses to engage in cross-border trade, noting that this would also help create more jobs. The EALA member was speaking during a sensitisation drive about the benefits of the EAC integration at University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology in Kigali on Tuesday. The Rwandan EALA MPs are currently carrying out a countrywide sensitisation campaign about the opportunities presented by EAC integration under the theme, “The EAC integration agenda: Accessing the gains of integration”. The MPs explained the opportunities Rwanda can exploit in different sectors across the EAC bloc. Ndahiro urged the students to be aggressive and use their skills to compete for the numerous regional jobs that are advertised regularly in the media. “Rwanda joined the EAC with the aim of tapping into the region’s economic benefits, so you should not shy away from competing for these jobs in the region if you qualify,” he said. Patricia Hajabakiga, another EALA MP, urged the students to learn the languages that are commonly used in EAC countries, especially Swahili and English to increase their competitiveness in the regional job market....

All eyes are on Kampala as the Ugandan government announces the route for the envisaged pipeline to export its crude oil; with chances indicating that the conduit will pass through Tanzania's Tanga Port. Media reports from Kampala have indicated that powers that be have chosen the Tanzanian route due to a number of factors as flat terrain, with over 1,239 kilometres of flat or leveled and dry terrains, security and low cost compared to the Lamu Port through Kenya. Other factors that kept Dar es Salaam on the competitive edge includes the fact that the country has vast expertise in implementing such huge projects and compensating people for land to create required leeway for the pipeline will not be a problem either. What is more, contrary to arguments put forward by some ill-advised and so called environmental conservationists, the pipeline will not traverse any internationally protected area or national park save for just 33 kilometres through the Biharamulo game reserve. Total E&P of French has already secured the US $4 billion (roughly 8trl/-) required for the mega project and showed willingness to dish-out the funds should the pipeline pass through Tanzania. No wonder, based on these facts, Alon Mwesigwa, a journalist with the privately owned newspaper in Uganda, the Observer, had the courage to write last Monday that; "the oil pipeline route puzzle has been solved, with Uganda choosing to export her crude oil to the East African coast through Tanzania and not Kenya." The writer continues to cite a...