East African citizens will soon be able to make and receive calls across several African countries at reduced rates following a decision by several African states to implement the One Africa Network. The decision, that is binding to 11 countries across Africa, was reached Monday at a high-level meeting of ICT Ministers and Regulators convened under the Smart Africa Initiative. The implementing countries include; Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Mali, Uganda, Senegal, South Sudan, Chad, Rwanda and Burkina Faso. Among other developments, the implementation of the One Africa Network will see harmonisation of tariffs on mobile voice calls, SMS and data transmission within the 11 countries. International traffic among Smart Africa member countries will also be tax exempt, consequently bringing down the calling costs. The ministers’ meeting also agreed on scraping charges incurred when receiving calls while roaming, meaning that someone will be only be required to pay the domestic rates for making calls. Implementation is set to start in May with a report on the initiative to be presented during the African Union summit slated for July in Kigali. Dr Hamadoun Touré, the executive director of Smart Africa Secretariat, said that this initiative will bring the continent towards the goal of integration as desired by the founding of the African Union. “This initiative is certainly a step up towards greater integration of the African continent. I appeal to all other countries of the African Union to join this initiative as soon as possible,” he said. “Ultimately, regional integration is about...

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. According to Uganda newspaper The Observer, the information is contained in a draft report dated April 11, 2016. The report will be presented to the presidents of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya when they meet tomorrow in Kampala. This development all, but ends Kenya’s fight to have the oil pipeline go through the Turkana area to Lamu port. “The comprehensive analysis of the different options (routes), studies and due diligence results has been completed,” said the technocrats in report. “The Kabaale-Tanga route is the only option to secure first oil export by mid 2020, with pipeline availability of 99 per cent.” The report says that on the Kabaale-Lamu route, the first oil export could only happen in mid-2022, with the pipeline availability at 80 per cent. The report was compiled by a team of technocrats in Uganda, led by Ernest Rubondo, the commissioner for petroleum exploration and production. The Observer understands that Kenyan and Tanzanian officials presented their positions touting the advantages of their respective routes. Last October, Uganda and Tanzania signed an agreement to explore the possibility of building a crude oil pipeline between the two countries, setting the stage for fierce competition from Kenya, which thought it already agreed a deal with Kampala. The competing options are the Kabaale-Lokichar-Lamu port (Kenyan) route, and the Kabaale-Tanga port (Tanzanian) route. Kenya is pushing for the...

About the Inquiry The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trade Out of Poverty (APPG TOP) is undertaking an inquiry into the UK’s Africa Free Trade Initiative (AFTi), which was launched by the Prime Minister five years ago. The inquiry will look at progress, potential and future development of the Africa Free Trade Initiative. This Inquiry seeks to answer the following three main questions: What has been achieved in AFTi since 2011 and what lessons can be learned? Is there a case for a successor to AFTi in the area of further facilitating trade and investment within Africa as a driver of growth and poverty reduction, and between African and the rest of the world, including the UK? What should a future AFTi look like, what targets should it seek to achieve, and through which means and partnerships should it be delivered? The Inquiry is led by a committee co-chaired by Lord Stephen Green, former Minister of State for Trade and Investment and Group Chairman of HSBC, and Mr. Ali Mufurki, Board Chair of TradeMark Africa and founder and Chairman of Infotech Investment Group. Other Committee members include Prof. Myles Wickstead, former Head of Secretariat, Commission for Africa and Ambassador Darlington Mwape, Senior Fellow at International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and former Permanent Representative of Zambia to the WTO. The Secretariat for the APPG-TOP, Saana Institute, will support the Inquiry committee in gathering evidence, organising hearings and preparing its Report. About the Africa Free Trade initiative (AFTi) The UK...

Energy experts from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda met in Kampala last week alongside all key stakeholders in the oil pipeline project. The meetings were being held ahead of the Northern Corridor Summit when President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and President Museveni of Uganda are scheduled to meet over the contentious issue. Tanzania wants the pipeline to end at Tanga while Kenya is offering Lamu, both along East African coast. The Tanzanian Team of Experts (ToE), according to a press statement from the Tanzanian Ministry of Energy and Minerals, emerged as key drivers of the meetings by making a compelling case as to why the infrastructure should pass through Tanzania. The ToEs included the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Permanent Secretary Prof Justin Ntalikwa and his deputy in charge of energy Eng. Dr Juliana Pallangyo, and experts from the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA). Negotiations and lobbying teams from the three neighbouring East African Community states spent busy hours working out the advantages and disadvantages of the options presented by Kenya and Tanzania. The team made a case that the proposed 1400-km pipeline from Hoima in Uganda to the port of Tanga should pass through the country owing to its experience in such projects, citing examples of among them the legendary 1,710-km, Tanzania, Zambia Mafuta Pipeline (Tazama), the latest development of the SongoSongo—Dar es Salaam gas pipeline, Mnazi Bay—Mtwara and the main pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam as success stories. The statement touched...

HANGZHOU – Trade between African countries and the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu increased 20−fold, while the city’s imports from the continent rose 30−fold in the past half−decade. Local companies from the city have also invested US$39 million in seven African countries by the end of 2015, about 16% of the city’s overseas investment, according to Yiwu deputy mayor Xiong Tao during the fifth China−Africa Think Tanks Forum, which was held over the weekend. Last year, imports and exports between African countries and Yiwu reached 49,8 billion yuan (US$7,7 billion ), up 49% year−on−year, accounting for 2,7% of China’s total trade volume with Africa. “Africa is Yiwu’s second−largest continent−level trade partner after Asia, accounting for 23% of foreign trade,” Xiong said. Yiwu is the world’s largest wholesale market for small consumer goods. More than 3 000 African merchants are stationed in Yiwu, and nearly 300 Africans study here. The city reports 80 000 buyers from Africa every year. Besides, over 5 000 kinds of products from 29 African countries and regions are available at the Yiwu International Trade City. Source: The Namibian

The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) has unveiled a trade portal that will facilitate electronic issuance of ordinary Certificates of Origin (CoO). A CoO is an international trade document attesting that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country. Issuance of the CoO is only done by the KNCCI through a manual process that usually took a minimum of three days. The web based portal, designed in partnership with Trade Mark East Africa (TMA), will also allow application for membership of KNCCI. Speaking at the launch Friday, KNCCI chief executive Matanda Wabuyele said the portal will allow users to cut on costs and time spent in acquiring the CoO. “A customer can apply for a certificate of origin from the comfort of their home/location. In addition it cuts on paper, ink and archiving resources,” he said. Mr Wabuyele noted that automation of the process came in handy in fighting corruption as it eliminated unwanted privileges and preferential treatment. In the case of foreign trade, the portal is expected to benefit foreign traders by lowering transaction costs arising from periods of inactivity in the manual processing of formalities for export operations. It will also allow users to make payments using various means including real time gross settlement (RTGS), bankers cheque, online banking and electronic funds transfer (EFT). To facilitate the payments, it has been integrated with local platforms such as M-Pesa and Equitel. Source: Business Daily

Energy experts from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda met in Kampala last week alongside all key stakeholders in the oil pipeline project. The meetings were being held ahead of the Northern Corridor Summit when President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and President Museveni of Uganda are scheduled to meet over the contentious issue. Tanzania wants the pipeline to end at Tanga while Kenya is offering Lamu, both along East African coast. The Tanzanian Team of Experts (ToE), according to a press statement from the Tanzanian Ministry of Energy and Minerals, emerged as key drivers of the meetings by making a compelling case as to why the infrastructure should pass through Tanzania. The ToEs included the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Permanent Secretary Prof Justin Ntalikwa and his deputy in charge of energy Eng. Dr Juliana Pallangyo, and experts from the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA). Negotiations and lobbying teams from the three neighbouring East African Community states spent busy hours working out the advantages and disadvantages of the options presented by Kenya and Tanzania. The team made a case that the proposed 1400-km pipeline from Hoima in Uganda to the port of Tanga should pass through the country owing to its experience in such projects, citing examples of among them the legendary 1,710-km, Tanzania, Zambia Mafuta Pipeline (Tazama), the latest development of the SongoSongo—Dar es Salaam gas pipeline, Mnazi Bay—Mtwara and the main pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam as success stories. The statement touched...

By joining the bloc, the Horn of African country opened a new chapter of hope and opportunities in social and economic spheres. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli signed a Treaty of Accession into the regional bloc. Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony in the east African nation’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam, President Magufuli paid tribute to South Sudan, saying the event was historic as it was done in Tanzania, the current chair of the EAC. "A new chapter of diplomatic relations has been opened," said the head of state, adding that South Sudan has been in close relations with EAC members in areas of culture, trade and economic ties. He said the joining of South Sudan in the EAC has expanded the regional market of 160 million people. President Magufuli said in order for the EAC to have sustainable development it should nurture peace and urged the new comer to continue with talks aimed at ending strife in the country. "The main reasons behind integration is to promote trade, investments and infrastructure in order to bring about sustainable development and nurture peace among members of bloc," said the president. Tanzania President John Magufuli and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir | Coastweek President Kiir thanked the EAC leaders for accommodating him in the regional bloc. He said his country will work hard to see to it that the EAC became a vibrant bloc, adding: "To start with we will form a ministry that will...

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli were scheduled to sign the treaty on 15 April, the latter having been mandated by the recent regional heads of state summit to sign on behalf of the EAC. Throughout the protracted negotiations that led to the admission of Sudan Sudan into the Community followed by the formal accession, there was no unanimity of opinion regarding the new member. There were essentially two diametrically opposed schools of thought. The first group – and this is perhaps the larger group – felt that South Sudan was not ready to join the regional bloc and should not be allowed to do so. Matters were not helped by the outbreak of civil war in December 2013 and the numerous lost opportunities at crafting a lasting peace in the country. Many people felt that with the current instability in that country, allowing it to join the Community would be of no benefit. There is little trade that can take place in war-time, and indeed many traders from the region fled South Sudan when civil war broke out. Efforts to rebuild infrastructure stalled, and firms that had rushed to take advantage of opportunities in the world’s youngest state hurriedly closed down. Why, then, did some people feel that the country’s application to join the EAC should be approved despite the fighting and instability? There are those who felt that the region could have a stabilizing influence on South Sudan, bringing it on board and...

At what stage of EAC integration are we? Partner states are looking for experts to draft the constitution that will guide on what kind of a federation the region will take. We expect at least three people from all the partner states to be in charge of drafting the constitution. The deadline for having a Political Federation had been set for 2016, so what are the new timelines? We cannot have timelines without a constitution. The regional constitution will be the guide towards the federation. It will clearly define what should be achieved at what time, when the region should have the federation, when it will be launched and over what period it will be implemented. For now there are no timelines until the constitution is in place. In November we expect the Heads of State to approve the list of experts who will be in charge of writing the EAC constitution thereafter the process of a political federation will commence. READ: EAC leaders meet to decide on constitution of political federation There is the issue of disparate constitutions, with some members having done away with the presidential term limits. How will this be handled? The constitutional team will determine that. They will guide the partner states but the final decision lies in the hands of the EAC Heads. What the experts will propose will be adopted or sent back for amendments by the presidents. So far, what have the partner states agreed on? In the last few consultative meetings,...