Regional trading times and costs have been reduced through elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers in the region advancing trade and prosperity, says a TradeMark Africa evaluation report. TradeMark Africa has been supporting the elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) to trade in the East African Community (EAC). NTB’s present a serious challenge to trade with an EAC wide cost estimate of NTBs (2010) being approximately US$490 million. Emerging results from the recently conducted independent evaluation of the NTB’s programme indicate a 14 per cent reduction in time taken to import goods from each East African country (from 36 days to 31 days) and a 20 per cent reduction in time taken to export goods from each EAC country (from 33 days to 26 days). Further results indicate a reduction in the cost of transporting a standard (40 foot) container from Mombasa to Kigali, from US$6,500 in 2011 to US$4,800, which is estimated to have generated a saving (at constant volumes) of approximately US$7 million on the Mombasa-Kigali route alone Similarly, Inland transportation times from Dar es Salaam to Kigali have dropped considerably, now to 3.5 days. Burundi tops the list of the East African countries that has witnessed the highest import reduction time – at 28 per cent (from 30 days to 43 days). The time taken to export from Uganda has successfully reduced from nearly 35 days in 2010 to under 30 days in 2015. Other areas that have witnessed great progress include – Tanzania which has witnessed a 99 per...

The officials who started a two-day meeting on Monday under the Northern Corridor Integration Projects Summit are from Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Ethiopia and host Uganda. The meeting precedes the ministers and the heads of state meetings that will be held later in the week. The Northern Corridor is the transport corridor that links the East African Community (EAC) landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan with the Kenyan seaport of Mombasa. The corridor also serves northern Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. Back in 2013, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta held an initial meeting to discuss how to cooperate and speed up development in the region. Their concern initially was the long time cargo to and from Mombasa took to reach its destination, infrastructure development and the cost of doing business in the region. Over the years, the scope and number of countries has increased. Uganda’s ministry of foreign affairs in a statement on Monday said the forthcoming meetings will review the status of implementation of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects since the last Summit held in December 2015 in Kigali, Rwanda. These projects are in the areas of infrastructure development, energy, information technology and socio-economic development. The projects are shared out by the countries to enable their fast-tracking. Uganda coordinates the Standard Gauge Railway, information communication and technology infrastructure, oil refinery development, fast-tracking political federation and financing. Kenya is coordinating...

President Yoweri Museveni alongside former Presidents Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania and Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya shall next month (May 29) be honoured for having championed the revival of the East African Community (EAC) in 1999. The recognition themed; 'Tracing and Trekking the Footsteps of our Founding Fathers-Walking the Talk', is the first of its kind initiative by Afrika Mashariki Fest, a regional integration non-partisan voluntary youth platform that believes youth must be vanguard of the EAC integration. Speaking at a press briefing ahead of the platform's second annual marathon slated for April 29th, Ronex Kisembo the event organiser said the awards will have a motivational impact on the stakeholders in the integration process, hence making it faster. "We felt the need to recognise and reward those outstanding individuals and organisations that have exhibited excellence and in a patriotic way supported or impacted on our dream (the EA integration)," Kisembo said. Following the Tripartite Agreement of 1993, a re-birth of the EAC integration was witnessed in 1999 under the championship of the three Presidents. The community has since grown from just three member states to six countries including; Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan being the latest entrant. Other individuals set to receive awards include; the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere (Tanzania), Mzee Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya) and Dr. Apollo Milton Obote (Uganda) under the Life achievement category for having championed the formation of the EAC in 1967. Meanwhile this year's marathon theme is 'Addressing Youth Unemployment through Embracing Sports.' According to Gyagenda...

The power trade project in East Africa, linking Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda is experiencing delays due to lack of infrastructure required to complete the works. Chief executive of Uganda Electricity Transmission Company, Erias Kiyemba, told local media the EastAfrican that the partner States will not be able to meet the new deadline that had been shifted to April this year. Kiyemba stated the reason for this as challenges linked to delays by the contractor. "We are behind schedule...The transmission lines are not yet complete because of delays with the contractor, both on the Ugandan and Rwandan side. Even if we had finished ours, the Rwanda side is also facing challenges... they haven't finished theirs, and power can't jump,” he noted. Power trade –beginning of 2015 The media reported that this project forming part of the Northern Corridor Infrastructure Projects was initially planned by the three countries to start trading power by the beginning of 2015. However, so far Rwanda has managed to complete a high voltage 220kV interconnection electric grid transmission line to tap power from western Uganda, but the Birembo/Shango sub-stations are reported to be running behind schedule. A sourced only known to the East African, said that they plan to complete the sub-stations by October. “We experienced some delays in our Birembo/Shango sub-stations, but we are now at 80% complete,” the source said Furthermore, a media statement revealed to the East African from Rwanda's Ministry of East African Affairs read: “The Kagitumba-Mirama-Shango line was completed in October last...

Uganda has cautioned its traders to remove overstayed cargo at the Mombasa port before next month when a final waiver on storage charges expires. An estimated 637 cargo containers destined for Uganda have been lying at the port for more than 21 days, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) said, raising concern over congestion at the gateway facility. “Owners of these goods are requested to immediately clear the goods out of the port as delays in clearance will lead to accumulation of storage and customs warehouse rent charges. Please note that prolonged stay may lead to the goods being deemed to have been abandoned and be disposed of through auction to create space for incoming cargo,” URA said in a public notice published on Monday. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) in March extended an amnesty to traders to removed overstayed cargo from the port. The two agencies said all storage, demurrage charges and customs warehouse rent accrued on long stay cargo discharged at the port on or before November 30, 2014 would be waived in full. “The cargo must however be cleared and removed from the port or container freight stations (CFS) within 60 calendar days with effect from March 14,2016 up to May 12, 2016,” the agencies said on February 29 adding that any cargo that shall not have been removed by the deadline would be destroyed. “Importers are therefore advised to take advantage of this final amnesty and clear their goods before the...

Running under the chairmanship of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the major highlight of the conference is the impending announcement of the route the oil pipeline from Uganda will take with all indications pointing to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. Energy minister Irene Muloni confirmed the development last week that it would be poignant to announce the route at the summit because it is a critical infrastructure project for the region Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia are attending this summit which is one of the most significant regional steps so far at propping up the region’s competitiveness through improving infrastructure. The Secretary-General of the East African Community and the executive secretary of the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Coordination Authority will attend as observers. Private sector representatives from Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda will also participate. Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP) will represent the oil and gas private sector while Private Sector Foundation and East Africa Business Council will represent the wider interest of the regional private sector. The Northern Corridor is the transport corridor that links the EAC landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan with the Port of Mombasa, Kenya.  The corridor also serves Northern Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. Under the NCIP framework, the presidents and their respective governments continue to provide the political impetus necessary for the implementation of the projects in a faster and more efficient way. The forthcoming meetings will review...

Kampala — The East African Community new generation e-passport will replace all national passports in the region starting next year, the State Minister for East African Community Affairs, has said. Mr Shem Bageine said the decision to replace national passports was reached by the heads of state of member countries during a March summit in Arusha, Tanzania. In the same summit, South Sudan signed concession treaty, bringing the number of EAC member states to six, including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. In an interview at the weekend, Mr Bageine told Daily Monitor e-passports, which have been fast-trucked since 2013, will replace existing EAC passport and the national passports. "The phasing out process of national passports begins January 2017 and is expected to end by December 2018. It means after that whoever is travelling to outside East Africa will use that document," said Mr Bageine. The e-passports, according to Mr Bageine, will act as a symbol of unification for all East African citizens on top of the planned use of Swahili and printing of a single East African currency. "The passport will in fact strengthen the federation because people will begin thinking more as East Africans," he said. Regional governments in consultation with the International Civil Aviation Organisation, a global body that regulates air transport, have already agreed on the identity and security features of the passports. Asked what will happen to Ugandans whose national passports' validity extends beyond the two years of withdrawal, Mr Bageine said in the period...

East African citizens will soon be able to make and receive calls across several African countries at reduced rates following a decision by several African states to implement the One Africa Network. The decision, that is binding to 11 countries across Africa, was reached Monday at a high-level meeting of ICT Ministers and Regulators convened under the Smart Africa Initiative. The implementing countries include; Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Mali, Uganda, Senegal, South Sudan, Chad, Rwanda and Burkina Faso. Among other developments, the implementation of the One Africa Network will see harmonisation of tariffs on mobile voice calls, SMS and data transmission within the 11 countries. International traffic among Smart Africa member countries will also be tax exempt, consequently bringing down the calling costs. The ministers’ meeting also agreed on scraping charges incurred when receiving calls while roaming, meaning that someone will be only be required to pay the domestic rates for making calls. Implementation is set to start in May with a report on the initiative to be presented during the African Union summit slated for July in Kigali. Dr Hamadoun Touré, the executive director of Smart Africa Secretariat, said that this initiative will bring the continent towards the goal of integration as desired by the founding of the African Union. “This initiative is certainly a step up towards greater integration of the African continent. I appeal to all other countries of the African Union to join this initiative as soon as possible,” he said. “Ultimately, regional integration is about...

The oil pipeline route puzzle has been solved, with Uganda choosing to export her crude oil to the East African coast through Tanzania and not Kenya. According to Uganda newspaper The Observer, the information is contained in a draft report dated April 11, 2016. The report will be presented to the presidents of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya when they meet tomorrow in Kampala. This development all, but ends Kenya’s fight to have the oil pipeline go through the Turkana area to Lamu port. “The comprehensive analysis of the different options (routes), studies and due diligence results has been completed,” said the technocrats in report. “The Kabaale-Tanga route is the only option to secure first oil export by mid 2020, with pipeline availability of 99 per cent.” The report says that on the Kabaale-Lamu route, the first oil export could only happen in mid-2022, with the pipeline availability at 80 per cent. The report was compiled by a team of technocrats in Uganda, led by Ernest Rubondo, the commissioner for petroleum exploration and production. The Observer understands that Kenyan and Tanzanian officials presented their positions touting the advantages of their respective routes. Last October, Uganda and Tanzania signed an agreement to explore the possibility of building a crude oil pipeline between the two countries, setting the stage for fierce competition from Kenya, which thought it already agreed a deal with Kampala. The competing options are the Kabaale-Lokichar-Lamu port (Kenyan) route, and the Kabaale-Tanga port (Tanzanian) route. Kenya is pushing for the...

About the Inquiry The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trade Out of Poverty (APPG TOP) is undertaking an inquiry into the UK’s Africa Free Trade Initiative (AFTi), which was launched by the Prime Minister five years ago. The inquiry will look at progress, potential and future development of the Africa Free Trade Initiative. This Inquiry seeks to answer the following three main questions: What has been achieved in AFTi since 2011 and what lessons can be learned? Is there a case for a successor to AFTi in the area of further facilitating trade and investment within Africa as a driver of growth and poverty reduction, and between African and the rest of the world, including the UK? What should a future AFTi look like, what targets should it seek to achieve, and through which means and partnerships should it be delivered? The Inquiry is led by a committee co-chaired by Lord Stephen Green, former Minister of State for Trade and Investment and Group Chairman of HSBC, and Mr. Ali Mufurki, Board Chair of TradeMark Africa and founder and Chairman of Infotech Investment Group. Other Committee members include Prof. Myles Wickstead, former Head of Secretariat, Commission for Africa and Ambassador Darlington Mwape, Senior Fellow at International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and former Permanent Representative of Zambia to the WTO. The Secretariat for the APPG-TOP, Saana Institute, will support the Inquiry committee in gathering evidence, organising hearings and preparing its Report. About the Africa Free Trade initiative (AFTi) The UK...