Rwanda and Tanzania appear headed for closer ties following President John Pombe Magufuli’s visit to Kigali, during which he held largely private talks with President Paul Kagame. On the surface President Magufuli’s visit to Rwanda was motivated by trade – opening a common border post. That Rwanda was his first official stop outside Tanzania pointed to an urgency to mend the frosty relations between the two countries that appeared to worsen during his predecessor Jakaya Kikwete’s reign. Before and during President Kikwete’s reign, a calculated approach to integration under the East Africa Community seemed to sap the patience out of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, leading to the formation of what was dubbed the coalition of the willing. The three countries, united by the need to expedite trade along the northern corridor, earmarked the standard gauge railway and port reforms. On the human side the coalition’s initiatives were anchored by measures to allow freer movement of labour and travel through single tourist visas and use of national identification cards for citizens crossing borders. The division saw many analysts fear for the bloc despite officials insisting that under the principle of reciprocity and variable geometry countries were allowed to join regional initiatives at the point where they felt ready enough. This sounded quite hollow with Tanzania and Burundi snubbing meetings called to fast-track integration. During the Burundi political crisis last year, Tanzania appeared to be sympathetic to President Pierre Nkurunziza. At the time, relations between Rwanda and Burundi were tense with the...

A combination of factors has conspired to deny Dar-es-salaam port in Tanzania business to competing ports in east and southern Africa. The factors include poor infrastructure and bureaucracy at the facility, value added tax levied on transit goods, regulations on permitted tonnage on roads and political meddling. The effect of these bottlenecks is that importers preference for Mombasa, Beira and Durban ports. In the first two months of this year, the port lost 36.4 per cent of import business from Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and DR Congo. Zambia, the largest transit user of the Dar-es-salaam port moved 1.9 million tonnes of cargo through the port last year. This was 34 per cent of the country’s total traffic of 5.6 million tonnes a year. Tanzania Ports Authority Marketing Director Francisca Muindi confirmed the Dar port is facing cut throat competition from other facilities in southern Africa. “There is urgent need to strengthen the railway infrastructure to win back business. Drastic changes need to be made to attract business back into the Port,” she said. Complicating matters for the facility is the weakening of the South African Rand against the US dollar which has made it cheap for importers to use Durban in South Africa rather Dar-Es- Salaam.” In addition, infrastructure needs to be improved both inside and outside the facility. The roads leading out of the port need to be expanded to dual carriage to ease congestion. Tanzanian importers in the North of the country — mostly fromTanga, Arusha and Usangi —...

In what signals the country's stay in a forced marriage, Tanzania's performance in a number of dimensions of regional integration has lagged behind that of its East African peers -Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. This is according to the Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII), a new tool designed to measure the level of regional integration among African countries. The index is a collaborative effort between the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). It seeks to collect data on the impacts of regional integration. Countries are assigned scores from a scale of 0.0 to 1.0. It was created using five dimensions including regional infrastructure, regional trade, productive integration, free movement of people and financial and macro-economic integration. While the four countries have performed well above the African average- Tanzania has not. Kenya, the largest economy in the region, set the example in regional integration leading in three of the five dimensions that was used to design the index including regional trade, productive integration and free movement of people. Tanzania was last three dimensions including regional infrastructure, free movement of people, financial and macroeconomic integration. In essence, it is easier for a Tanzanian to enter Kenya and set a business than it is for a Kenyan to get into Tanzania and do the same. READ MORE East Africa trading bloc ranked high in regional integration Tanzania searches for "ghost workers" on public sector payroll Treat Kenyan VIPs with more decorum Tanzania is...

A new chapter of warm relations has opened between the governments of Tanzania and Rwanda after Tanzanian President John Magufuli officially participated in the 22-year remembrance of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, according to Tanzanian Foreign Minister Augustine Mahiga. Rwandan President Paul Kagame was among the very first African leaders to congratulate Magufuli shortly after the electoral commission of Tanzania declared him the winner of last year’s presidential poll. Kagame also participated in Magufuli’s installation. Foreign Minister Mahiga says the administrations in Dodoma and Kigali have had frosty diplomatic relations since a disagreement between Kagame and former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete. This, after Kikwete urged Rwanda to hold discussions with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) - a Hutu rebel group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- to end its insurgency. Magufuli’s visit to Rwanda But Mahiga says President Magufuli’s visit to Rwanda marks a significant step towards improving relations between the two neighboring countries.He also says bilateral relations between the two East African countries could enhance the free movement of people, goods and services across their borders.Tanzania currently holds the rotating chair of the East African Community (EAC). “This time, I think relations have become extremely warm and a new chapter is being opened, and there have been a tremendous amount of goodwill and assurances from both sides, and I think we are on a totally different trajectory in terms of relations between Tanzania and Rwanda,” said Mahiga. “Tanzania is a neighbor of Rwanda...

China is negotiating for the creation of a free trade agreement with the EAC. The EAC has already signed co-operation agreements on trade with the US and the EU. Recently, China wrote to the EAC Secretary-General proposing to negotiate with the EAC partner states a comprehensive free trade agreement (EAC-China FTA). China also requested to undertake a joint feasibility study with the EAC on the proposed FTA, outgoing Secretary-General Richard Sezibera informed the Council of Ministers at a meeting in Arusha. The Council directed the Secretariat to undertake a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis on the implications of negotiating FTAs with third parties. "We are working on the directive of the Council," EAC spokesperson Richard Owora said. He said they expect to conclude the work by June 30. However, East African Business Council executive director Lillian Awinja cautioned that free trade with China would hinder EAC industrialisation. "EAC shouldn't rush to negotiate an FTA with China. We need to study, consult a wide range of stakeholders, and establish the impact of such a deal on the EAC industrialisation blueprint," Ms Awinja told The EastAfrican. She said the EAC needs to protect its investors in the manufacturing industry rather than expose them to unfair competition. Ms Awinja said that already China floods the EAC market with its products. "China has the capacity to flood the whole world with their products. If we are to protect our industries, let's choose only a few products from China," said Gasper Mpehongwa, a development lecturer at Tumaini...

When some of us heard that the first trip out of the country the president of Tanzania was making was to Rwanda, we were like, that’s great. Rwanda has acquired an international reputation for good governance and prosperity. Very fitting. Why? The answer is in the motto of the nation of Rwanda. Unity, work, patriotism. Those words symbolise and capture very well the philosophy of the fifth president of Tanzania. His ‘hapa kazi tu’ motto, he has vowed to serve all Tanzanians regardless of political affiliation, and he keeps reminding Tanzanians that the country’s riches belong to all citizens. “You must know, first of all, that you are in your brother’s place. Since you were elected, you presence has been refreshing. Your words and deeds reflect our vision. Your stance against corruption is very refreshing. We are committed to working with partners who feel we have to raise our level of dignity because that is what we deserve.” That was president Kagame speaking at the official dinner he hosted in honour of President Magufuli. He said much more but I believe when he stated the above he was not playing the polite host but expressing genuine feelings about a leader he admirers and respects. Tanzanian patriots must have felt very pleased to hear those words. Not too long ago there was a kind of frostiness between Rwanda and Tanzania and cold air and was blowing at the top of the food chain. Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya forged some kind of...

Construction for the new Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport corridor is expected to drive significant opportunities for the breakbulk sector, according to predictions from research consultancy Africa House. In a recent research note the firm states that nine development zones or "growth areas" have been identified including a dedicated bulk cargo center at Lamu which will help the port, as well as Isiolo area in the western interior, become major transport hubs. “It is estimated that Mombasa Port will have outstripped its capacity by 2025,” a spokesperson for Africa house said, adding that “a contract for the first three of planned 32 berths [at Manda Bay in Lamu] has already been awarded to a consortium of companies led by China Communications Construction Co. with the value of contract at 42 billion Kenya shillings.” Despite the overall positive expectations for growth in project cargo demand in the region the firm cautions that some factors still threaten downside risk. “Recent developments may, however, reduce the impetus for the LAPSSET Corridor. Uganda and Tanzania have announced the routing of the oil pipeline from Lake Albert to Tanga Port in Tanzania rather than Lamu. Ethiopia is strengthening its trade corridor to Djibouti Port,” a spokesperson added. Headquartered in Johannesburg, Africa House was formed following the merger of Whitehouse & Associates and Africa Project Access. The firm provides trade and project environment analysis alongside bespoke research on projects and opportunities in African transport and breakbulk markets. Source: Break Bulk

PRESIDENT John Magufuli has appealed to Tanzania and Rwanda residents to utilise fully the opportunities availed at the Rusumo International Bridge and One Stop Border Post (OSBP) for robust economic transformation, poverty reduction and improved livelihoods. President Magufuli made the remarks on Wednesday during the opening of Rusumo International Bridge and One Stop Border Post (OSBP), saying the move aimed at easing congestion and delays in transportation of goods. “Utilise fully the opportunities available through the Rusumo International Bridge and One Stop Border Post to bring about not only your own development by improved economies of the two countries” he said. Dr Magufuli further stressed the importance on unity among East African Community (EAC) member countries, saying that such unity would make the countries stronger economically and speed up peoples’ development. He noted that the EAC countries -- Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan, with a combined population of 165 million, had a better chance to hasten peoples’ development.” I hereby appeal to all residents in the EAC region to utilise this opportunity by trading and making business together. With unity we can perform wonders, he said. The refurbished border facilities are expected to ease trade along the Central Corridor, which links Rwanda to Dar es Salaam Port. Speaking at the event, President Kagame touted peace as a foundation of a cooperation that will transform the two countries. Long distance drivers to all Great Lakes regions have all the reason to celebrate as President John Magufuli announced that...

On a sweltering Kenyan morning on the outskirts of a national wildlife park, Chinese and local workers maneuver a massive concrete rail-bridge structure onto towering support piers. In the distance, trucks loaded with shipping containers rumble down a highway. The bridge at Voi, northwest of the port of Mombasa, is the latest construction frontline for the initial 327 billion-shilling ($3.2 billion) stretch of an ambitious railway project to link the East African country with landlocked neighbors including Rwanda and Uganda. As a faster alternative to the trucks clogging the only road running inland to the capital, the Chinese-built and -financed standard-gauge railway, known as the SGR, has the potential to transform trade in the region. A wagon carries railway sleepers on a superbridge which will form part of the railway A wagon carries railway sleepers on a superbridge which will form part of the railway Photographer: Riccardo Gangale/Bloomberg Kenya’s rail line, the country’s biggest investment since independence in 1963, is among the most advanced of the more than $30 billion of African rail projects planned or under way. Together, they span more than 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles), enough to connect Cape Town to Copenhagen. It’s one of the bright spots on the world’s least developed continent, where governments are wrestling with drought-induced food shortages, weakened currencies and shrinking budgets following the plunge in commodity prices. Held Back “Infrastructure constraints are one of the major things holding back Africa and this standard-gauge railway will make a big difference,” said Mark Bohlund,...

The presidents of Rwanda and Tanzania have pledged to strengthen the two countries’ relations to enable their citizens to work together for shared benefits and development. The leaders made the commitment yesterday at the two countries’ border at Rusumo, where Rwandan President Paul Kagame welcomed his Tanzanian counterpart, John Pombe Magufuli, for a two-day working visit. At the border, the two leaders inaugurated the newly-constructed Rusumo International Bridge and a one-stop border post between Rwanda and Tanzania, which brings customs and immigration officers from both countries under one roof. The leaders urged Rwandans and Tanzanians to actively use the border for their business and visits to each other, encouraging them to build stronger relationships that are crucial for mutual interests. “We want trade to increase because that will be to the benefit of both the people of Rwanda and the people of Tanzania,” President Kagame said, adding that cooperation based on peace has potential to transform the two nations. Speaking to both Rwandan and Tanzanian citizens and dignitaries gathered on the Rwandan side of the Rusumo border, President Magufuli pledged stronger cooperation: “Tanzania will cooperate very well with Rwanda. I would like to ask businesspeople in both countries of Rwanda and Tanzania and citizens from the entire EAC (East African Community) to work together and build our unity. I trust that we can build our countries’ economies by working together,” Magufuli said in a short speech. He thanked President Kagame for inviting him to visit Rwanda and described him as...