BAGAMOYO, Tanzania, March 15 (Reuters) - In its heyday, Bagamayo was a gateway to the heart of Africa for colonisers, with trade goods surging in from the Indian Ocean, and timber, ivory and countless slaves exported from the east coast harbour. Then Bagamoyo, which looks out towards the island of Zanzibar, fell on lean times for more than a century. Now Tanzania plans an $11 billion project to make it the region's biggest port and an engine of Africa's boom. The Chinese-backed project would dwarf Kenya's port at Mombasa, east Africa's trade gateway some 300 km (180 miles) to the north, and include an industrial zone and rail and road links to capitalise on growth in a region hoping to exploit new oil and gas finds. "It will be the engine for economic activity not only for Bagamoyo but for the entire region," said district executive Ibrahim Matovu, speaking from offices overlooking beaches where ship-builders hammer out wooden dhows as they have for centuries. Many doubt the plan can succeed and ask if Bagamoyo is even the right location for a port, given it is just 75 km (50 miles) up the coast from Dar es Salaam and far from gas deposits off Tanzania's southern coast. Politics also plays a role. President Jakaya Kikwete comes from Bagamoyo and many see the port as his legacy project. But a groundbreaking ceremony was delayed from July and the project is unlikely to be revived during an election season that culminates in October,...

Countries in East Africa have the best environment for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) compared to other parts of the continent, an organisation has said. African Guarantee Fund (AGF), which assists small firms gain access to funding and develop capacity, said the region had made it possible for budding businesses to thrive. AGF Chief Executive Felix Bikpo said the trend put East Africa in high potential for economic growth, considering that SMEs are key drivers to the modern economy in the world. BEST IN ENTIRE CONTINENT “We have launched an award that recognises the best SMEs in the entire continent and out of the 121 entries we had, all the three winners with quality and thriving SMEs came from this region. If you look at Rwanda where the overall winner comes from, you will understand that ease of doing business and growth of better business environment rests in this part of the continent,” said Mr Bikpo. The first edition of the awards was held in Dakar, Senegal, last year, with the next set to take place in Kenya. Three winners were awarded on Friday at a ceremony held at a Nairobi hotel. The Young Entrepreneurship Award went to Village Group Ltd from Rwanda, while the Regional Development Award was won by Tabaki Freight Services International from Kenya. Sosoma Industries from Rwanda scooped the best SME of the year award that came with a token of Sh4.5 million over and above the trophy. Winners will also benefit from free auditing and...

NAIROBI: Kenya contributed the bulk of large capital infrastructure projects implemented in East Africa in 2014, followed by Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda respectively, a new study released on Tuesday reveals. According to the third edition of the annual Deloitte African Construction Trends Report 2014, transport sector accounted for 59 percent of all the projects in Kenya, representing a growth of 17 percent, while 37 percent of projects were focused on energy and power capacity development. However, the report which was launched in Nairobi notes that mega infrastructure projects in the East African region dropped significantly in 2014 as activity increased in the rest of the continent. “While there seems to have been a dip in current activity, there are a large number of significant projects in the planning phase that have not yet reached financial close and are thus not yet reflecting in the statistics of projects under construction,” Mark Smith, the Head of Infrastructure and Capital Projects at Deloitte East Africa, told journalists in Nairobi. In the East Africa region, the Chinese companies are mainly carrying out various infrastructural projects in different sectors that include energy, transport and real estate as relations between the East African nations and China soar. The most famous project in Kenya is the Thika Superhighway constructed at a cost of 330 million US dollars. The road cemented China’s construction authority in Kenya, and introduced the Chinese to the ordinary Kenyan. China is also constructing the Standard Gauge Railway whose construction has started and...

China accounted for over Sh1.8 trillion ($20 billion) worth of infrastructure development in East Africa last year, indicating the country’s growing influence in the region’s infrastructure development. New data shows that the Asian dragon’s share of the region’s Sh5.4 trillion ($60 billion) large infrastructure projects almost doubled from 19 per cent in 2013 to 31 per cent in 2014. According to the third edition of the annual Deloitte African Construction Trends Report 2014, China continues to bolster its lead in bagging mega-construction tenders in the region. “In terms of construction, China is still leading and maintains a strong foothold,” stated Mark Smith, head of infrastructure and capital projects at Deloitte East Africa. In 2013, Europe and the US accounted for 37 per cent of infrastructure construction but this share has since shrunk to 18 per cent in 2014. The report states that the number of mega-construction projects in East Africa declined by 55 per cent with the value of the same shrinking by 10 per cent, from $67 billion (Sh6 trillion) to $60 billion (Sh5.4 trillion). “Our view is that while there has been a dip in current activity, there are a large number of significant projects in the planning phase that have not yet reached financial close and are thus not yet reflecting in the statistics of projects under construction,” explained Dr Smith (pictured). In East Africa, transport projects took the bulk of the infrastructure spend accounting for 59 per cent of the projects with energy projects accounting for...

East African member states have been advised to make critical assessment of single income tax rates. A law expert, Anatoly Nahayo said recently in Dar es Salaam after launching his book titled “East African Community Tax Harmonisation.” He said the move will ease allocation of capital shares within EAC member states especially mobile capital. “Member states should find ways to agree in this matter. Otherwise, it will be difficult to shift to a common market effectively,” he said. Elaborating, he said, currently, ministers of finance in the member states have been given power to exempt tax and no one has to judge. He also said the EAC member states should debate on tax harmonisation and put in place laws that will govern it. He said there are many challenges that need to be addressed so as to create fairness particularly in employment around the bloc whereby workers move from one country to another in search of a job. There are double charges recorded to the workers moving from one country to the other especially rates charged on pensions and charged in general. Nahaya explained that if checked, all workers moving to another country within the bloc will be charged the same tax rates. Nahana further said there is no democracy to protest the decision of finance ministers to exempt individual businessmen or company. “It’s high time our local experts addressed national issues in the EAC. Currently, there is no tax harmonisation in the regional bloc,” he said. On April 9,...

Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) stakeholders have hailed the authority for its decision to strengthen partnership with them, saying it will improve ports’ services. Speaking during TPA stakeholders’ meeting in Dar es Salaam recently, they said the move is commendable and should be maintained for the benefit of both parties and the country at large. Chairperson for the National Steering Committee, Electronic-Single Window System, Otieno Igogo told journalists that strong partnership between the two parties will help make Tanzania’s ports especially the one in Dar es Salaam more competitive. “We are happy about this... we hope that this renewed partnership will be sustainable,” he said, promising to continue support TPA. For his part, Spokesperson for Tanzania Trucks Owners Association (TATOA), Elias Lukumay said the private sector has a lot to offer in today’s business environment, “we have a great role to play as private sector and TPA’s stakeholders... this is why closer working relations with TPA are crucial.” Lukumay said addressing challenges facing the port and improving services should be the ultimate goal of both TPA and its stakeholders. Tanzania Shipping Agency Association Chairman, Emmanuel Malya said the global shipping industry is changing fast and therefore closer partnership with TPA can help utilise such changes for the benefit of the country. “We can learn about new technologies in the industry and how we can benefit through such partnerships,” Malya said, advising TPA to make sure that it becomes the best and biggest port service provider in East and Central Africa as...

The impact of the deadly Ebola virus has fallen mainly on three African countries but tourism has taken a hit across the continent, tourism chiefs say. About 56 million people visited Africa in 2014, a two-percent rise from the previous year, according to UNWTO figures. However, growth lagged behind that in Europe, Asia and the Americas. And the increase was also down on the robust 4.8 percent gain a year earlier. "Africa has done well in spite of suffering from the Ebola symptoms which were associated unfairly" with Africa as a whole, UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) head Taleb Rifai said at the Berlin tourism fair (ITB) on Friday. Africa needed support, especially after the Ebola crisis, he said, adding: "It was very unfair the generalisation that happened." Marie France Adieme-N'Dja, of Ivory Coast's tourism office, said Ebola had created panic. "We have operators who have had cancelled bookings because of the fear of Ebola. However, in Ivory Coast there has not been a single case," she said. Showing off its nine national parks and 550 kilometres of sunny beaches, the Ivorian tourist office is one of many African stands at the ITB trying to woo back visitors as the epidemic appears to have been brought under control. Almost 24,000 people have been infected with the Ebola virus since December 2013, almost all in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, and 9807 of them have died, according to the WHO. The countries at the centre of the epidemic are forecast to...

British telecommunications firm Vodafone, which is Safaricom’s largest shareholder, has launched Mpesa transfer services between Tanzania and Kenya, opening a new frontier for the mobile money service. Vodafone has announced that 20 million Safaricom and seven million Vodacom Tanzania Mpesa customers can now make seamless transactions between each other. “With a substantial unbanked population transacting mainly in cash, the Tanzania-Kenya corridor represents a significant opportunity for M-Pesa to give people and companies an accessible, low-cost alternative to traditional international remittances,” said Michael Joseph, the Vodafone Director of Mobile Money. The announcement comes just two months after the Central Bank of Kenya awarded Safaricom a cash remittance operating licence, enabling the telecoms giant to transfer money out of the country. Safaricom has been offering one sided international cash transfer services under a licence that only allowed it to move money into Kenya through partners such as Western Union and MoneyGram. The new licence now enables Safaricom to take the battle for outward remittances to the doorstep of commercial banks and forex bureaus that have traditionally acted as agents for global money transfer providers. “This is a new chapter in the continuing growth story of Mpesa,” said Safaricom’s chief executive Bob Collymore. “Enabling transactions between Kenya and Tanzania will make it more convenient for individuals to transact across borders and unleash the transformative power of a first of its kind cross-border payment system.” According to the World Bank, formal remittance between Tanzania and Kenya stood at $133 million, money which Vodafone is...

China is set to be a key player in the financing of key Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP), going by a recent resolution by East African Community member states. There are 14 projects under the NCIP, including the standard gauge railway. Other aspects include ICT, oil refinery development and fast-tracking the political federation. The 9th northern corridor summit held in Rwanda last week chose China to finance the projects. Ministers of Finance and Infrastructure were also directed to take the necessary steps to start the arrangements. They were told to consolidate the financial requirement, structure and mainstream projects, appropriations in the financial year 2015/ 2016 and subsequent national budgets. “The ministers are also directed to expedite the joint mission to China to source financing as per the directive for the NCIP,” read the summit’s joint communiqué. Finance ministries in partner states are expected to coordinate funding of the projects. The initiatives, if implemented, will have a significant impact on the lives of East Africans. South Sudan and lately Burundi will ultimately benefit from this renewed commitment to the EAC integration. In attendance were Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and South Sudan’s Salva Kiir. EAC chairman and Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete, Burundi’s 2nd Vice-President Gervais Rufyikiri and Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Tedros Adhanom attended as observers. President Kenyatta pointed out that greater inter-connectivity of the East African region would increase the ability of member states to trade with each other. Source: Daily Nation

Kenya: The Single Customs Territory (SCT) regime introduced by East African countries a year ago has reduced the cost of doing business by about 50 per cent in the East Africa region, according to Kenya Revenue Authority ( KRA). The system has reduced the time taken to move cargo across the region from 18 days to three between Mombasa and Kampala and 21 days to six between Mombasa and Kigali. Addressing Mombasa port users at a Mombasa hotel, KRA Chief Manager Customs Service Department, Ebby Khaghuli said it has taken political goodwill to achieve the high performance in cargo delivery in the East African Community (EAC). In a presentation on the SCT status, Ms Khaghuli said the new system was achieved through great sacrifice by the states because no consultants or donors were involved in the process. She said the human and financial resources were met by each customs administration. The system is being implemented by revenue authorities in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi amid protests from Kenyan clearing and forwarding agents who claimed it has cost them jobs and business opportunities. "An analysis in EAC region has shown that the SCT has reduced the cost of doing business by about 50 per cent since implementation and the time taken to move cargo across the region from 18 days to three from Mombasa to Kampala, and 21 days to six days from Mombasa to Kigali. It takes political goodwill to achieve what has been achieved in the EAC region," Khaghuli...