For some time now, the Uganda Shilling has been in free fall and the economy is hurting! The Minister of Finance and the Governor Bank of Uganda have expressed concern but no real solution seems to be in sight yet. While reacting to the depreciating shilling recently, the Finance Minister, Matia Kasaijja, pointed out, and rightly so, that increased exports could rescue the shilling. He then called upon the business community to increase exports. I quickly scanned the landscape of Uganda’s exports and the picture was not rosy! A few examples can suffice! Uganda is still under a self- imposed ban for exports of hot pepper (capsicum) to the EU due to the false-codling moth found in Uganda’s exports! The South Sudan market is still in disarray due to civil war! The fish catches in Lake Victoria have dwindled to a minimum due to overfishing, badly effecting fish exports! And that is not all! What many people do not know, is that Uganda continues to lose out on the lucrative European beef market because, despite the enormous production potential, Uganda is still not able to export beef!! With this kind of picture, I don’t expect Kasaijja to celebrate any time soon. However, not all is lost. Despite the above bleak picture, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning can, with a few interventions, change the situation and turn Uganda into a leading exporter of beef. Beef exports to lucrative markets like the EU can go a long way in stabilizing...

Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Joseph Odumodu, discuses how the Africa Standards Organisation under his leadership, is enhancing trade on the continent, he spoke with Crusoe Osagie. Excerpts: As President of ARSO, what stage are you now in terms of harmonisation of standards across the region and the enhancement of intra-African trade? I will like to do some introductions. In 1991 I think, there was what they call the Abuja treaty and it was in that treaty ‎that African countries talked about the creation of Africa economic community. I do recall again that in that treaty, they identified the importance of quality infrastructure in the development of the African continent and there were other issues that they highlighted at that time, pointing out that African countries were not trading with each other enough but trading with other economic communities. What was also identified as a major constraint was the fact that we were already used to the quality of products coming from other continents but apparently, we do not trust each other about the quality of products we were circulating amongst ourselves. ARSO was actually formed about 50 years ago by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), but I must say that not much was done after the formation of ARSO in terms of using it as a vehicle for creating economic development for Africa. Just as in the case of Nigeria, nobody thought of how we can use standards to develop our economy. Today, at least...

A renewed sense of urgency to get things done characterised last Friday's inter-state council meeting of ministers from Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and DR Congo as they discussed how to make the central corridor, East Africa's hotbed for trade. The meeting, held in the serenity of the Lake Kivu Serena Hotel in Rubavu District, saw ministers approving more than 20 ambitious projects to be jointly implemented by the Central Corridor partners. Perhaps the most exciting of the projects is the proposed multi-billion dollar standard gauge railway connecting Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and DR Congo to Dar es Salaam port whose construction is to be launched in August 30. Also, this month, Dar es Salaam port will open offices in Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. Initially to be housed at the Tanzanian embassies in the respective countries, the move is aimed at getting the port closer to traders, said Dr Shaaban Mwinjaka, the permanent secretary in Tanzania's transport ministry. With Kenya ports authority already running an office in Kigali, renewed efforts to improve trade facilitation on the Northern and Central Corridors is gradually giving way to healthy competition between East Africa's two ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. That competition, according to analysts, will boost regional trade and ease transportation costs and lead to a positive effect on the final prices of goods and services. A good example is the recent launch of block trains bound for Uganda and Rwanda via Isaka-Mwanza and to Burundi and DR Congo via Kigoma, seen as...

The tax bodies of the region have rolled out a scheme to consolidate gains from local Customs incentives in order to increase import revenues and minimise trade bottlenecks faced by business people while clearing goods. The Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) scheme allows accredited firms to enjoy shorter turnaround times for clearing goods at border points across the region and faster verification checks, according to officials. Local AEO schemes offer faster Customs clearing procedures to gazetted firms within national borders. Leveraging efficiency gains By leveraging the efficiency gains generated by the Single Customs Territory arrangement rolled out in February 2013, regional AEO firms could register Customs turnaround times of one day on certain trade routes compared with the current three-and-a-half days, sources said. Richard Kamajugo, a trade and Customs expert based at Trademark East Africa said: “For example, cargo consignments between Kampala and Katuna border station will take less than a day for beneficiaries.” Over the medium term, businesses should post higher profits due to the cost-saving thus effected. The AEO model is the brainchild of the World Customs Organisation, which offers incentives to importers and exporters for the purpose of improving tax compliance, increasing revenues from Customs transactions and boosting efficiency levels among beneficiary companies. After nearly three years of preparation, 13 pioneer firms were awarded regional AEO status last month, with revenue officials citing delays in resolving tax-related queries concerning selected businesses as a major challenge during the vetting process. Eligible firms were selected from the pool of existing...

Central Corridor member states are finding it difficult to attract private investors to finance prioritised infrastructure projects because of the huge financial outlay and the delayed return on investment involved. This puts the governments under pressure to either finance the projects from their budgets, or mobilise donors to fund the activities. These financing issues were raised last week during the 4th Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) regional task force meeting to review the Presidential Round Table (PRT) resolutions and finalisation of an implementation plan. “What private investors want is to put money in projects that make quick returns, but projects like railways are long term and this is partly why the private sector is shunning these projects,” said George Rukara, Assistant Commissioner of Water and Rail Transport Regulation in Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport. The five Central Corridor member states are Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Unlike Tanzania, the other Central Corridor members are landlocked and any efforts to access to the sea would facilitate trade. Drawing funds from their coffers would strain regional governments given that some have a tight budget for domestic expenditure and the Central Corridor projects have not been included in this year’s fiscal budget. Member states have the huge task of securing funds to finance more than 10 new joint development projects that have been prioritised and will be jointly owned and funded. The projects are to enhance intra-regional trade by lowering the cost of doing business...

KAMPALA, Uganda - The Ministry of East African Community Affairs has started a mass awareness campaign to encourage more Ugandans to take advantage of the opportunities created by regional integration. Not long ago a Ministry survey showed that 33% of the general respondents were not aware of the integration process. This has been given as a reason why Uganda has not fully benefited from integration. Speaking recently at a half-day stakeholders meeting in Kampala, the Ministry’s permanent secretary, Edith Mwanje, the government is putting in more efforts to ease trade and create more opportunities for citizens. “We received over 400 million shillings (about $115,000) from Trademark East Africa to carry out a campaign throughout the country so as to create awareness on the benefits and the opportunities of the EAC regional integration. “This campaign is an opportunity for Ugandans since it will be carried out all over the country and the ordinary Ugandans need to be sensitized in order to appreciate the purpose, benefits and challenges of the EC integration,” she said. Some of the activities planned include mass media campaigns, music competitions, theatre drama and stakeholder meetings. She said Ugandans have still not yet embraced the advantages of an economic bloc that has a market of 136 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $79.2 billion. “Since the launch of EAC Customs Union and the Common Market Protocol, investors are increasingly responding to the unfolding larger single market and investment area in an enthusiastic manner. “From 2004...

The Construction of Mbale-Tirinyi road generated a lot of excitement among the masses in late 1990s. This brand new tarmac road would provide a direct and faster route to Mbale bypassing the longer and busier, Jinja – Tororo – Mbale route. This road was envisaged to solve the problem of transporting foodstuffs and other commodities from the eastern part of Uganda to markets in the central part. However, some of the locals found a different use for the beautiful tarmac road, drying cassava. This has continued to date. This sad fact is one of the many activities happening on the many new multi-billion road infrastructure investments across the country. There is barely any meaningful economic boom coming out of some of the roads, remember that have been built on borrowed funds and tax payers’ money. Why is this so? Analysts believe the regions need to be supported in commercial agriculture to realize the benefits of such infrastructure. This may take some time though. It is predicted that the same could happen to Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) arguably, the country’s major infrastructure project since independence. The US $3.2 billion project will be funded with loan from Chinese Exim bank. Part of the funding is from the infrastructure levy of 1.5% on all imported goods. Analysts believe, the project may turn out to benefit more of Kenya and the Kenyan manufacturing sector which is said to be advanced than any of the other East African Countries (EAC). Could this be the reason...

Policies to Maximize the Gains of Trade Opportunities for the Poor, and Minimize the Risk This important report reviewed here was prepared by the World Bank which we hope will receive the due consideration it deserves considerable attention and study in the formulation of new development strategies in the future. Further progress in the Doha negotiations, and in particular achieving a substantive outcome on agriculture, is necessary to increase the effectiveness of trade in reducing poverty. The agriculture sector, which employs most of the poor, will continue to play a key role in lifting people out of poverty. Its role could be strengthened if more was done to remove remaining obstacles to agricultural exports. Tariffs and subsidies are particularly high in the agricultural sector and anti-competitive behaviour in some segments of the supply chain can make it particularly hard for the poor to benefit from trade participation. The increasing importance of supply chains in production has highlighted the linkages between the agriculture sector on one side and the services and manufacturing sectors on the other, showing that progress in removing obstacles to trade ideally should occur simultaneously across all sectors. In the long run, the capacity to leverage agriculture for reducing poverty will depend on achieving continuous improvements in productivity, reducing the costs to trade in agricultural goods, reducing tariffs on imports and key intermediates such as fertilizers and agricultural machinery, and improving access to a range of services that are key inputs in the production chain. The capacity to...

Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) has launched G-Soko Platform, an online trading platform that will link smallholder farmers to grain buyers through a structured market mechanism. The platform was officiated by the East African Community’s Secretary General, Richard Sezibera. The G-Soko platform is developed by the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) in partnership with Food Trade Eastern and Southern Africa, and Virtual City, a leading mobile software solutions firm supporting the supply chain and agribusiness industry in Africa. This is through a five year trade enhancement and promotion programme that aims at encouraging trading in regional staple food markets. The UK through DFID Africa Regional Department has invested £35 million in the Food Trade Eastern and Southern Africa programme to stimulate the regional grains market through partnerships with private companies and policy influencing. Executive Director of EAGC, Mr Gerald Masila, said, there is urgency to expand regional food trade due to the exponential growth of staple food imports. “Linking rural food surplus production zones in Eastern Africa to major deficit urban consumption centres requires a well-functioning regional market. We wanted to address this deficiency but also do it in a way that is inclusive and effective. This is why we developed G-Soko; a market transaction platform that will enhance food trade across borders, and contribute towards making trading more transparent,” he said. The platform performs a structured trade function that integrates the entire grain trade from farm to market. Through G-Soko, farmers are able to aggregate their produce through a...

KAMPALA, Uganda - The Ministry of East African Community Affairs has started a mass awareness campaign to encourage more Ugandans to take advantage of the opportunities created by regional integration. Not long ago a Ministry survey showed that 33% of the general respondents were not aware of the integration process. This has been given as a reason why Uganda has not fully benefited from integration. Speaking recently at a half-day stakeholders meeting in Kampala, the Ministry’s permanent secretary, Edith Mwanje, the government is putting in more efforts to ease trade and create more opportunities for citizens. “We received over 400 million shillings (about $115,000) from Trademark East Africa to carry out a campaign throughout the country so as to create awareness on the benefits and the opportunities of the EAC regional integration." “This campaign is an opportunity for Ugandans since it will be carried out all over the country and the ordinary Ugandans need to be sensitized in order to appreciate the purpose, benefits and challenges of the EC integration,” she said. Some of the activities planned include mass media campaigns, music competitions, theatre drama and stakeholder meetings. She said Ugandans have still not yet embraced the advantages of an economic bloc that has a market of 136 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $79.2 billion. “Since the launch of EAC Customs Union and the Common Market Protocol, investors are increasingly responding to the unfolding larger single market and investment area in an enthusiastic manner." “From 2004...