TradeMark Africa (TMA), the region's leading trade development agency, has received the world's most prestigious corporate procurement certification. The award makes TMA the second organisation in Africa, after the Africa Development Bank, to receive the certification, and the first in East Africa. A global professional body, the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) informed TMA of the certification this week. This comes after a detailed evaluation of the organisation's procurement structures and practices. "This award serves as further proof of TMA adhering to the highest international standards in procurement, maintaining the principles of probity, transparency, consistency and fairness as a benchmark of good management," said TMA Chief Executive Officer Frank Matsaert. Source: Standard Digital

Over half of regional and international travellers passing through Kenya are unaware of the availability and process of using a Single Tourist Visa (STV) and National Identification for travel within Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda more than a year after the process was launched. This is according to a survey commissioned by Kenya Tourism Federation (Tourism private sector umbrella body) to investigate the level of awareness on the STV and use of ID for travel within the three states. The research commissioned in February 2015 established that up to 58.1 percent of travelers had neither used nor interacted with someone who had used STV, while 47 percent of travelers showed lack of familiarity on the existence of STV. While majority of Immigration officials interviewed for the survey, were aware of the existence of STV and the countries involved in the initiative, 67 percent were not familiar with the cost of STV with 25 percent showing lack of familiarity with regards to the application process. Speaking while presenting the report,Strathmore University Centre for Tourism and Hospitality – Research Consultant, Mr. David Chiawo noted that the Current STV processing procedure had been described as very poor by travellers and therefore the need for review and necessary improvement. ”The survey further revealed limited and poor information available on STV for travelers and immigration officials with responses ranging from very poor to average with only 25 percent of travelers and less than 15 percent of immigration officials rating the current information as good,” said Mr....

MOMBASA, KENYA: Over half of regional and international travelers passing through Kenya are unaware of the availability and process of using a Single Tourist Visa (STV) and National Identification for travel within Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda more than a year after the process was launched. This is according to a survey commissioned by Kenya Tourism Federation (Tourism private sector umbrella body) to investigate the level of awareness on the STV and use of ID for travel within the three states. The research commissioned in February 2015 established that up to 58.1 percent of travelers had neither used nor interacted with someone who had used STV, while 47 percent of travelers showed lack of familiarity on the existence of STV. While majority of Immigration officials interviewed for the survey, were aware of the existence of STV and the countries involved in the initiative, 67 percent were not familiar with the cost of STV with 25 percent showing lack of familiarity with regards to the application process. Speaking while presenting the report,Strathmore University Centre for Tourism and Hospitality – Research Consultant, Mr. David Chiawo noted that the Current STV processing procedure had been described as very poor by travelers and therefore the need for review and necessary improvement. ”The survey further revealed limited and poor information available on STV for travelers and immigration officials with responses ranging from very poor to average with only 25 percent of travelers and less than 15 percent of immigration officials rating the current information as good,”...

The single tourist visa launched by East African Community member states early last year remains largely unutilised due to lack of awareness. A report commissioned by the Kenya Tourism Federation shows that over half of regional and international travellers passing through Kenya are unaware of the availability and process of using a Single Tourist Visa (STV) and National Identification for travelling in the region. The report shows that up to 58.1 percent of travellers had neither used nor interacted with someone who had used STV, while 47 percent of travellers showed lack of familiarity on the existence of STV. Majority of immigration officials are also unaware of the existence of the STV. Speaking while presenting the report, Strathmore University Centre for Tourism and Hospitality – Research Consultant, Mr David Chiawo said that the current STV processing procedure had been described as very poor by travellers and therefore the need for review and necessary improvement. LIMITED INFORMATION ”The survey further revealed limited information available on STV for travellers and immigration officials with responses ranging from very poor to average with only 25 percent of travelers and less than 15 percent of immigration officials rating the current information as good,” said Mr Chiawo. The KTF Chairperson Ms Lucy Karume said she was encouraged to note that majority of travellers, immigration officials, travel and trade officials showed high expectations on STV, which was a good indication for the tourism sector to accelerate awareness for STV to meet these expectations. “It is noteworthy that...

Considerable attention has been paid to the recent signing of the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA) which will bind three of Africa’s regional economic communities (RECs) together into one large free trade market of 26 countries, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the continent’s GDP. How significant the Agreement will prove to be lies in the (implementation) details. The parties to the Agreement chose a path toward integration that involves a gradual phased approach whereby each REC develops its own framework and blueprint. However, the three RECs — the East Africa Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA ) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC ) — are at very different levels of progress in this regard. Although the EAC was (re-)formed only in 2000, this community of five nations has accomplished far more than its REC peers. A few of the many accomplishments include the adoption of an external tariff, an expansion and improvement of the port infrastructure in Kenya and Tanzania, prioritization of regional transport systems, and the adoption of common sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Moreover, the EAC also has focused on important, but less flashy, process and systems improvements, such as harmonization of customs procedures, one-stop border crossings, and a system that allows sharing of customs clearance information. It is far from perfect, but the metrics show significant improvements, reducing the number of days of transit time from Mombasa to Kigali from twenty-one days to just six, for example. In contrast, neither...

TradeMark Africa (TMA), the region’s trade development agency, has received the world’s most prestigious corporate procurement certification. The award makes TMA the second organisation in Africa, after the Africa Development Bank,to receive the certification, and the first in East Africa. “This award serves as further proof of TMA adhering to the highest international standards in procurement, maintaining the principles of probity, transparency, consistency and fairness as a benchmark of good management,” said Frank Matsaert TMA Chief Executive Officer. He added, “They were also able to offer evidence as strict adherence to their prevention of bribery and corruption policies as they continue to work hard to maintain these high standards. This was a strong submission and a credit to TMA. I hope they will progress from strength to strength,” A global professional body, The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) informed TMA of the certification this week. This comes after a detailed evaluation of the organisation’s procurement structures and practices. CIPS analysed TMA procurement processes according to 110 questions under the following headings; leadership & organisation, people, performance management, process and systems and strategy. The CIPS process, through the 110 questions, provided the greatest audit,internal/ external and constructive feedback received from internal and external stakeholders. After an evaluation period of eitht months,TMA received the news of the certification on Monday making it the first East African company to have qualified for the award. The award of the certification places TMA among a very select group of companies globally. Currently, there...

The lack of regulations governing cross border trade were a stumbling block for Tanzanian traders to effectively venture into cross-border businesses, experts said yesterday in Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Gender Network Institute Director, Christine Warioba said this at the ‘Women Cross Border traders’ workshop organised to discuss rights, tariffs, policy and regulation governing cross border trade. For decades, she said most of traders have not been aware of their rights or policy governing cross border trade thus giving room to corruption. “It’s our hope that they will now acquire enough knowledge and skills that would enable them to move further,” she said. Mariamu Athuman, a cross border trader from Tanga said lack of rules and policy had seriously affected their businesses. She hailed the training, saying that it will give them the exposure to undertake cross border businesses. Beatrice Ezekiel, the facilitator, said the knowledge and skills acquired will help them understand policies and regulations governing the subsector. She admitted that lack of knowledge and policy governing cross border trade blocked free and easy trade. February this year, the government and the Chamber of Commerce Industrial and Agriculture (TCCIA) were called on to take concrete steps to reduce red tape to enhance women’s cross border trade. The TWCC facilitator, Ndemanyiswa Mbise, said this in her research findings on women entrepreneurs engaged in cross border trade across five borders: Rusumo, Mutukula, Sirari, Namanga and Kabanga. She said women engaged in the trade face various problems, including gender unfriendly inspection and unnecessary...

The move to use Tanga Port to offload Petroleum product imports under the Bulk Procurement System (BPS) has been commended by the key stakeholders in the oil sector as well as the general public. We are told that using Tanga Port to offload imported petroleum products would reduce costs of fuel and boost the region's economy, making it more vibrant as opposed to the current situation. Statistics show that Tanga Port is the second largest port after Dar es Salaam, with the capacity of handling 750,000 metric tonnes of cargo per year. Last year alone, Dar es Salaam Port handled 14.6m metric tonnes while Tanga Port handled 579,000 metric tonnes. Also using the port as a second discharging point for imported petroleum products will help decongest the Dar es Salaam Port and reduce delays for ships to dock before they are offloaded from the current two days to zero to make it more efficient. Similarly, dependency on one main Port of Dar es Salaam is risky, considering the security of supplies of petroleum products for the country. In case of a problem it would be easy to control any risk with alternative ports in the country. Furthermore, the use of alternative ports in the country will increase the efficiency of the Dar es Salaam Port, which is competing with other major ports in Africa such as the Mombasa Port in Kenya, ports of Richards Bay and Durban in South Africa, the Port of Beira in Mozambique and Walvis Bay in...

On June 10, 2015, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) agreed to expedite their efforts to unite into a single, trans-African free trade zone, to be known as the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA). The TFTA would cover 26 countries stretching north to south from Egypt to South Africa and east to west from Mauritius to Namibia (see diagram below). According to the Communiqué of the Third COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Summit issued at the conclusion of their recent meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the TFTA countries collectively account for 632 million people or 57 percent of Africa’s population and nearly 58 percent of Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As noted in the Communiqué, the TFTA represents the “Market Integration” leg of the overall tripartite integration process that also includes “Infrastructure Development” and “Industrial Development.” Implementation of the TFTA would be of significant economic interest to foreign investors seeking to trade into larger regional markets and to companies within individual countries seeking to expand into the continent, as well as to their governments. The ambitious attempt to forge a trans-African free trade zone has long been a priority for African leaders seeking to reduce obstacles to intra-African trade and promote economic opportunities throughout the continent. The Communiqué cites TFTA as a “decisive step” to achieve the African Economic Community envisioned in the Lagos Plan of Action and the Final Act of Lagos of 1980. The parties...

JUBA, 20 June 2015 [Gurtong] - Hon. Racheal Nyadak Paul, Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting while addressing journalists after the council of ministers meeting on Friday said the council has agreed to join the EAC. “The Council resolved that joining the East Africa Community is a key interest to the people of South Sudan” said Nyadak. Nyadak added that the approval on the timeline on how the agreed project can be implemented will be discussed in the assembly which the council has agreed. “There will be a summit in October this year where possibility may be South Sudan can be a member of EAC” she said. The Deputy Minister said the council also had a briefing on the aspects of joining the EAC including discussions on the risks and benefits. “The council further discussed and resolved the need to sensitize the community on how important joining the community is and if there are risks they have to be discussed on how to come out of those risks” she said. “Already there are interests and there are gains or benefits of joining the East Africa Community” she said. In regards to obtaining a visa to the East African countries, she said “you don’t obtain your visa in Juba to travel to the East Africa like Kampala or Nairobi; you just get your visa at the airport whenever you feel like to travel. I think these are the good things that we have seen” she explains. Source: Gurtong