Kenya has for months been feuding with Tanzania and Uganda over the treatment of its confectionery products in the regional market. The bone of contention has been a 25 per cent tax that the two East African Community partners have been imposing on products with industrial sugar. And with every indication that the community’s trade dispute resolution structures may not rule in its favour, Kenya has threatened Tanzania and Uganda with retaliatory action should the standoff persist beyond July 1. The two neighbours have dared Nairobi to make good its threat. We wish to state that such kind of grandstanding is unnecessary among countries that belong to a single regional market. The East African Community integration, as revived 18 years ago, has clear laws that all members must obey to keep it alive. Playing by the community’s rules is the only way out of the current crisis. Otherwise the game of musical chairs can play forever. Lest we forget, Kenya has always asked for a stay of the remission scheme on industrial sugar on the understanding that products such as biscuits, chocolate, ice cream and sweets would be priced competitively for export market. That’s how the East African Customs Management Act (EACMA) states it. When such goods are diverted into any of the five six integrating countries – which EACMA regards as a single customs territory - such products are deemed to have come from outside EAC, and as such attract 25 per cent import duty. According to EACMA, similar treatment must be meted out...

Nairobi has given Tanzania and Uganda one more month to lift a ban on duty-free entry of Kenya-made sweets or face retaliatory action from July 1. Dar and Kampala slapped a 25 per cent import duty on Kenyan confectionery, juice, ice cream and chewing gum earlier in the year, claiming use of zero-rated industrial sugar imports. Trade Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo said revenue and standards bodies from both countries will separately visit Kenyan factories from June 11 in a bid to resolve the trade spat. “We will make the decision after the verification. We will retaliate (because) that’s always there for us any time, but first let’s allow this process to go on,” he said following the five-day EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) meeting in Arusha that ended last Wednesday. “A decision will be made by June 30 and communication will be made by the EAC secretariat on the findings of that verification. But we don’t want the verification process to be a moving the goal posts exercise.” The verification process, to be supervised by the East African Community’s secretariat, will extend to factories making other products such as cement, lubricants, cosmetics and wooden pallets which have also had difficulties gaining free access into Tanzania. Dr Kiptoo said Tanzania and Uganda have own lists of Kenyan products they suspect do not meet the rules of origin, which forms the basis for qualification for duty-free market access within EAC under the common market protocol of July...

New ambassadors of Russia, United Arab Emirates and Tanzania who presented their letters of credence to President Kagame have pledged to strengthen the existing bilateral relations between Rwanda and the respective countries they present. The new envoys who briefed the media in Kigali yesterday, shortly after presenting their credentials included Hazza Mohammed Farah Kharsan Alqahtane, Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE), Karen Chalyan, Ambassador of Russia, and Ernest Jumbe Mangu the High Commissioner of Tanzania, all who are resident in Kigali. UAE’s envoy said that his country is determined to enhance the relationship between his country and Rwanda in all aspects. “My main mission is to do whatever I can to develop relations with the government and the people of Rwanda,” he said. He lauded Rwanda for being a safe country with zero tolerance to corruption and hinted that this profile could attract tourists from his country to come and visit. “We will promote tourism to Rwanda. We have tens of thousands who spend their vacations in Europe and since Rwanda is one of the safest countries, this can be an attraction to our citizens,” he said. Ambassador Chalyan equally said that Rwanda and Russia want to further develop the existing cordial relations especially in areas of education, defence, and political affairs among others. “I have a very clear mandate to be as active as I can possibly be,” he said. Tanzania’s new High Commissioner to Rwanda said that he intends to promote more trade and movement of people. “We...

Bukoba — THE East African Community member states are poised to ratify laws to control the importation of inferior pharmaceutical and food products, says the Director of Medicines and Complimentary Products under the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA), Mr Adam Fimbo. " Tanzania was the first among EAC nations to have ratified the laws in controlling the safety, quality and effectiveness of food, medicines, cosmetics and medical devices," he disclosed. Other EAC nation will soon follow suit, he added. "Upon completion of this exercise we shall have uniform standards," he said. Mr Fimbo made the remarks recently during a meeting between TFDA officials and representatives of different media outlets from Kagera and Geita regions, as part of enlightening the people in the Lake Zone. He also revealed that TFDA had plans to install special mini-testing labs in all 32 entry points in seven zones to ensure consumers were safe and the market was free of inferior drugs, foods and diagnostics. Various strategies have been put in place that would maintain strict and timely testing of the products with state-of- the art laboratory stationed in Mwanza City as the headquarters in the Lake Zone area comprising six regions-Simiyu, Kagera, Mwanza, Geita, Shinyanga and Mara. He cited, for instance, that the Post Marketing Surveillance programmes (PMS), which between January and March this year, had handled 594 samples of human drugs it collected and tested and found that 96 per cent of them met the required standards. He urged the media to...

A new fund targeting women-led businesses in Africa will invest up to $500 million over the next decade to increase their participation in investment. The African Women’s Leadership Fund is a brainchild of the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa (Uneca), UN Women, the African Union Commission and the African Women Leadership Network. Uneca executive secretary Vera Songwe said that the Fund’s sponsors hope to address a significant gender imbalance in finance and investment. “Women are less represented in many organisations and very few are leaders. This in turn makes them less represented in key decision-making for the continent,” said Ms Songwe. In Africa, only five per cent of chief executives are women; 18 per cent of businesses lack women in senior roles; only 29 per cent are senior managers while 44 per cent of women hold line roles, a 2016 report by Mackinsey & Company notes. The fund’s strategy is to ensure that at least 65 per cent of its investment capital reaches women entrepreneurs and women-led companies. The rest — 35 per cent — will go to technical assistance in the form of capacity building, leadership training, mentorship and business development. The fund hopes to find emerging women managers who will eventually serve as examples of the potential that they and their peers could have if given the support they need. The fund covers each of the continent’s five regions — North Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, and Southern Africa — and will evolve over time...

Dodoma. The government is engaging the financial sector in a bid to accelerate financing for industries-led economic growth, which is expected to transform Tanzania into a middle income country come 2025. This comes at a time when Bank of Tanzania (BoT) figures show that the manufacturing sector – which is meant to spur the country’s industrialisation dream – accounts for only 11 per cent of commercial banks’ total loans to various economic activities. The rate compares poorly with 27.2 per cent and 20.7 per cent for personal and trade activities respectively. In a deliberate move to see the commercial banks play an increasingly important role in the advancement of an industrialised Tanzania, the Ministry of Finance and Planning convened a workshop here yesterday that brought together financial sector regulators and stakeholders from insurance, capital markets, banks and microfinance institutions. The private and government institutions’ officials held a conversation over how they would play theie role in the much-touted industrialisation. Government officials highlighted areas they said were not yet well addressed and gave assurance that the political commitment, which normally determines the economic base of a country, was available. “I hope you will come up with strategies that prioritise financing industrial development through creative products,” said the Bank of Tanzania governor, Prof Florens Luoga, who read the opening speech on behalf of Finance minister Philip Mpango. “You must also discuss why agricultural insurance does not exist in Tanzania, why there is high cost of borrowing and why only a small percentage of...

Dodoma. The government has explained how it attracts industrial investment including by ensuring peace and security in the country.  Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Mr Anthony Mavunde told the National Assembly on Wednesday that the government has been removing some legal barriers by reviewing laws and policies governing investment.  Mr Mavunde was responding to a question asked by Ms Rukia Ahmed (Special Seats -CCM) on behalf of the Industry, Trade and Investment minister Charles Mwijage.  Ms Ahmed asked what the government has in its plans to attract industrial investment touted by the government.  Mr Mavunde also added that the government created enabling infrastructure and making information and data about Tanzania's investment opportunities available. "We have Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), embassies and local governments which all help inviting investors," he said.  Source: The Citizen

Dar es Salaam. CEOs in Tanzania believe that business growth in the next three years will be “modest” due to some unresolved challenges, The Citizen has learnt. This was revealed yesterday during the unveiling of an East African CEO outlook covering Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. At regional level, according to the report, 92 per cent of East African CEOs are “very confident” about their companies’ growth prospects in the next three years. “This position on the growth of our businesses can be attributed to a practical appreciation of the challenges impeding businesses even as they project modest growth,” warned KPMG Tanzania partner Vincent Onjala. They include threats such as emerging technology, operational risks and policy unpredictability. Mr Onjala said advances in technology have been swift, and some companies were unable to keep up. Going by the findings, only one in ten Tanzanian CEOs reported being prepared for a cyber attack, although half are positive that they are able to contain the impact of an attack on strategic operations. Kenyan CEOs are more confident, as seven in ten believe they can contain the impact of an attack on strategic operations. Ugandan CEOs, on the other hand, are slightly less confident at two in ten. “But the good thing is that CEOs in Tanzania believe that digital transformation is going to be critical. They are now taking it as a personal agenda for them to transform their businesses,” Mr Onjala told The Citizen. KPMG Tanzania managing partner Salim Bashir said CEOs believe...

Arusha — The East African Community (EAC) has denied it is negotiating with China on a free trade agreement (FTA) proposed by the Asian economic giant. "Currently, there is no EAC-China FTA and no negotiations have begun, in this regard," an EAC official told The Citizen on condition of anonymity since she was not authorised to speak to the media on policy matters. She said recent reports on purported discussions on free trade between the EAC and China were due to "miscommunication". The official nevertheless confirmed that China had proposed to negotiate with EAC partner states a comprehensive FTA in order to boost trade volumes between the two sides. China, currently the world's second biggest economy, had also requested for a joint feasibility study with the community on the proposed trade arrangement. "This matter was considered by the EAC Council of Ministers in early 2016," the official said. She noted, however, that in view of similar requests received from other countries such as Turkey and Singapore, the EAC secretariat decided to undertake a study on implications of such negotiations. The study will inform the Council of Ministers, which is the policy organ of the EAC, on the way forward and subsequent response to requests by China and other foreign countries. "In this regard, the secretariat communicated with the concerned parties that the EAC was to undertaking internal consultations on their proposals and would revert after consultations are finalised," the official said. In June, last year, the EAC secretariat approved a...

The Government of Korea and the African Development Bank have issued a Joint Declaration following the conclusion of the Ministerial Roundtable of the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Conference taking place during the African Development Bank’s 53rd Annual Meetings in which Korea announced a $5-billion bilateral financial assistance package for Africa. The Ministerial Roundtable is the signature event of the biennial KOAFEC Conference, gathering a peer group of African Ministers of Finance who also serve as the African Development Bank Board of Governors to discuss topical issues and a pan-African approach to engagement with Korea. Taking place under the theme “Africa and the 4th Industrial Revolution: Opportunities for leapfrogging?”, the Ministerial Conference highlighted the need for long-term planning for industrial development and execution of projects, as well as a focus on value addition in sectors where Africa has comparative advantage for example in agriculture and natural resources. There was also a need to further leverage technology such as the mobile phone for more inclusive growth, in favour of the youth. The $5-billion financial assistance package will be delivered over two years through partnerships with various development agencies, including but not limited to the African Development Bank Group. The package leverages resources from various Korean bilateral agencies and platforms, including the Knowledge Sharing Program, the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, Korea Import-Export Bank, among others. Specifically, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina and the Deputy Prime Minister of Korea, Dong Yeon Kim, signed three cooperation agreements for the implementation of certain components of...