News Tag: Tanzania

Tanzania’s president visits Burundi

Upon arrival at Burundi’s Bujumbura International Airport, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete was welcomed by his Burundian counterpart Pierre Nkurunziza, other senior Burundian officials and some EALA MPs. A press release from the Office of the Burundian President said that Kikwete is scheduled to meet Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza Thursday, visit the Burundian Senate and attend the EALA session in the Burundian capital Bujumbura. The two-week session of the EALA, the East African Community (EAC) legislative arm, will analyze several bills including the EAC customs management bill, the EAC competition bill, the EAC cross-border legal practice bill and the EAC electronic transaction bill. The EALA is made up by MPs designated from the five EAC countries including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda Source: Spy Ghana

Oil trade mission to East Africa

A total of 12 Scottish organisations including Dundee University have joined the Scottish Development International organised trip to research the oil and gas sector in Mozambique and Tanzania. The mission is in response to a visit two years ago to Scotland by the then president of Mozambique calling for Scotland’s support to develop the sector. Gary Soper, SDI’s manager in the region, said the oil and gas plays in the region were hugely significant. “East Africa is a pioneering market, and with 150 trillion ft3 of gas discovered off the East Africa coast in deep water, Scotland’s unrivalled deep-water subsea delivery and offshore experience makes us the perfect partner to help bring it into production.” Existing operators in the region include ENI, BG, Shell, Ophir, and Petrobras, and they are collectively investing around
$2 billion to bring fields to production. Local oil and gas regulations mean a significant percentage of any development must be delivered locally — a condition that opens up opportunities for organisations involved in education and training. It is estimated that around 25,000 people will require training at a technical and vocational level, as well as access to higher education as the basin matures. Five of the 12 organisations on the mission, including the Dundee University delegates, are focused on this area. “We know there are huge opportunities for Scottish education companies in Mozambique and Tanzania and, working together, we aim to help our institutions and companies make the right connections and capitalise on the opportunities,” Mr Soper...

AFDB to finance Chinsali-Nakonde road construction

THE African Development Bank (AfDB) will finance the construction of the Chinsali-Nakonde Road at the cost of US$250 million. AfDB officer-in-charge for Zambia, Philip Boahen said the Bank would provide the resources for the rehabilitation of the 210 kilometre Road at the cost of $250 million. The project forms a section of the Trans-Africa Highway/North-South Corridor. Mr Boahen said the project aims at improving road transport infrastructure and services through development of the priority road corridor to reduce transport costs between northern Zambia and southern Tanzania. This is to facilitate cross-border trade, enhance tourism, and promote integration of the East Africa Community (EAC), Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). It would also improve accessibility for the communities in the zone of influence to markets and social services and contribute to the reduction of poverty taking into account green and inclusive growth. In an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Boahen explained that civil works for the Chinsali-Nakonde section would be implemented in two lots, namely the construction of 110 kilometers Isoka-Nakonde and 100 km Chinsali-Isoka road. The civil works are to be implemented in parallel, estimated construction time of 30 months each. Mr Boahen said the feasibility, preliminary design and detailed engineering design and environmental and social economic impact assessment studies had been completed and have been reviewed by the Bank. A resettlement action plan has been finalised for posting. The Bank has already approved advance contracting for the Zambian Government to...

Africa’s mega projects surge by 46% to $326bn in 2014

INVESTMENT in Africa’s mega projects surged by 46 per cent to $326 billion last year, led by heavy investment in transport, energy and power, according to the third yearly Deloitte African Construction Trends report, which monitors progress on capital intensive infrastructure on the continent. To qualify for inclusion in the Deloitte African Construction Trends report, projects must be valued at more than $50 million and had to have broken ground by at least June 1, 2014. While the number of projects that qualified for inclusion in the 2014 report fell to 257 from 322 in the preceeding year, the total value of projects under construction increased from $222.77 billion in 2013. “Africa’s rapidly growing middle class continues to drive demand for sustainable social infrastructure,” said Andre Pottas, Regional Director at Deloitte. “Africa is en route to a brighter future and overall we see the opportunities surpassing the challenges facing our continent.” Of the projects included in the 2014 Deloitte African Construction Trends report, no less than 143 were led by the public sector with a further 88 being private sector initiatives and 26 classified as public private partnerships (PPPs). Energy and power accounted for 37 per cent of the number of mega projects undertaken in Africa in 2014, followed by transport (34 per cent); mining (nine per cent); real estate (six per cent); water (five per cent); oil and gas (four per cent); mixed use facilities (two per cent); and health care (one per cent). “More than 10 per cent...

East Africa: Ethiopia to host 18th Comesa summit

Ethiopia will be hosting the 34th COMESA policy organ meetings that start on March 20 this week, leading up to the 18th COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa concluding on March 31. State Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Ahmed Shide, briefed journalists on the program, pointing out that there would be nine Summit sessions and the theme would be "inclusive and sustainable industrialization". The Summit will be preceded by the Council of Ministers meeting whose mandate is to monitor COMESA activities, including supervision of the Secretariat. In his briefing to the media, Ahmed emphasized the trade of COMESA (the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) had been growing but there was still a long way to go and the regional bloc needed to do more. However, there had been important developments under COMESA's regional integration agenda in intra-regional trade and the volume had increased. The State Minister said the opportunity of the Summit would help Ethiopia reaffirm its support to COMESA and share national best practices with other countries. He also noted that road links between member countries and ongoing railway investments, as well as the East Africa power system improvement were all boosting the capacity of COMESA member states and their capability to generate more wealth and opportunities to expand trade. Ethiopia is taking over the chairmanship of COMESA for the next year from DRC. Source: All Africa

Tanzania: Sino-Tanzania trade boosts investment flow

INCREASED trade between Tanzania and China has resulted into signing of an agreement for promotion of commercial and investment opportunities in the country. Speaking in Dar es Salaam, Head of government communication unit in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mr Athuman Nkungu, said the agreement has made it possible for China to increase items under preferential trade. "The country signed an agreement last year where China increased the number of items for importation from Tanzania under duty and quota free arrangement from 95 to 97 per cent," he said. Adding that "the increased trade transactions is what is now being experiencing where many Tanzanians go to China and vice versa under the bilateral relationship." He said the government was working at its best to ensure that all conflicting laws that dog trade performance were eliminated. Business Administration Officer in the ministry, Ms Prisca Mbaga said they were now educating the local business operators to tap the opportunities available in East Africa and Southern African countries. "There are a lot of opportunities which we encourage Tanzanians to utilise to improve their welfare and the national economy as wel," she said. Source: All Africa

Wheelbarrows of dollars: Understanding informal trade in East Africa

While the continent has seen increased trade with global powerhouses such as China and India, Africa’s formal trade flows are generally hampered by poor infrastructure and bureaucratic systems that lead to long delays at ports and borders, and increase transportation costs. Furthermore, formal regional trade within Africa remains the lowest in the world. Compared with trade between borders in Europe (around 70%) and Asia (50%), intra-African trade averaged around a measly 10-12% over the past decade, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). However, according to Ecobank’s head of research, Edward George, formal trade paints a very small picture of overall trade flows on the continent, with informal trade being comparatively innovative. And one example of this can be seen in illicit Somali trade across East and Central Africa. Understanding Somalia’s informal trade During a presentation at the Africa Trade & Export Finance Conference held in Cape Town last week, George said large volumes of goods transported across the Indian Ocean often do not make it to their destination ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. In many instances these goods end up at Somali ports – particularly Bosaso, Kismayo and Mogadishu – where they then enter the informal trade network. “These flows really are the hidden underbelly of East Africa trade,” he highlighted. “There are no reliable estimates for the size of the flows, and I wouldn’t dare hazard a guess. But anyone trading goods in East Africa will tell you that the Somalis control the...

Tanzania dreams of mega port

The government of Tanzania is planning to invest $11bn into development of a new port in Bagamayo, aiming to make it west Africa’s biggest port and an engine of economic growth. The project, backed by Chinese investors, wants to beat Kenya’s Mombasa port, also on the African east-coast, which is currently the most important trade-gate in the region. The plan foresees an industrial zone to be built around the port together with rail and road links to improve ailing transport infrastructure. "It will be the engine for economic activity not only for Bagamoyo but for the entire region," district executive Ibrahim Matovu told Reuters. Start of the construction, however, has been delayed since July last year and some doubt it will kick off before the general election, which will take place in Tanzania in October. "Unfortunately, I think they lost a bit of focus. There is a need for more coordination and clear direction on priority projects," said Jacques Morisset, the World Bank's lead country economist. Funded jointly by China Merchant Holding International and Omani sovereign wealth fund, the project has been criticised by many as a mere vanity venture of the country’s current President Jakaya Kikwete, who comes from Bagamoyo. Critics say Bagamoyo’s location is not that well suitable for a new port as it is only 75 km (50 miles) up the coast from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city and an existing major port. Investing into the development of the Dar es Salaam port instead of building...

African lions follow in the footsteps of Asian tigers

On the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland this 16-17 March, more than 500 business leaders, bankers and politicians will gather for the annual Africa CEO Forum. Some of the themes to be debated – finance, urban growth and the role of state and market – are argued about everywhere on the planet. Here, The Africa Report talks to several chief executives to understand the concerns of African managers amidst the shifting global economic currents in 2015. There has been a slow but sure rise in intra-African trade, but it remains hamstrung by politicians' inability to dismantle trade barriers. Africa trades 12% with itself, where Asia and Latin America have internal trade levels of about 60%. There are now some causes for optimism: three large trade blocs plan to fuse, with an official announce- ment expected in Cairo in May. The tripartite agreement between the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the East African Community should create a free-trade zone across Eastern and Southern Africa that encompasses 625 million people, 26 countries and a gross domestic product of $1.2trn. Infrastructure concerns are also being addressed in many African countries and regions. There has never been such a solid pipeline of power, port, road and rail projects in Africa. Importantly, regional infrastructure such as power pools and cross-border transport projects are also being tackled, such as East Africa's rail projects to link Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Bonds and bourses In the...

Trade volumes within EA region on the rise

Trade volumes and the number of roaming mobile phone calls across East Africa have increased following efforts by regional leaders to further open up the bloc to members. A Kenyan official in the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority, Mr Joseph Nyaga, said voice calls across the four countries have increased by over 1,000 per cent. Those from Kenya have gone up by 260 per cent. At the same time, the length of time taken to clear cargo at Mombasa Port has reduced as well as movement of goods by road from the facility to Kampala and Kigali. It now takes seven days, compared to 12 in 2007-2008. Mr Nyaga, who is a former Cabinet minister, spoke last week during the launch of a report on the impact of the Northern Corridor in the region. ASSESS PROGRESS “The four presidents (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda) commissioned the report to assess the progress made since efforts were initiated to ease movement of goods and people in the region,” he said. Other factors that have opened up the region include a common market protocol that allows easier movement of people, use of identity cards to cross borders, issuance of East African tourist visa and creation of one network area where roaming mobile phone call charges have been standardised. Mr Nyaga said a study would be conducted to assess the impact of roaming charges on SMS, data and mobile financial services. Another measure that has boosted trade volumes include reduction of air...