East African Community (EAC) partner states that are yet to sign the EU-EAC economic partnership agreement (EPA) are not in position to do so pending clarification of issues they have identified in the draft agreement, the regional bloc has said. This was noted in a statement issued after yesterday’s 18th ordinary summit of the EAC Heads of State, held under the theme: “Towards sustainable growth and development of the Community” in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. “It was however agreed that due to this action Kenya should not be disadvantaged since she has already signed the agreement,” the communiqué reads in part. In September last year, trade ministers of Rwanda and Kenya signed the deal at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Last year, the East African Business Council (EABC) advised the partner states to sign the deal quickly since failure to meet the EU deadline for ratification (which has since passed) could see EAC exports to EU attract import duty, especially for Kenya, the region’s largest economy. Whereas Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania have an option to rely on the Everything But Arms (EBA) trade arrangement under which they can still enjoy duty-free market access to the EU, Kenya does not have the same privilege as its economy is considered to be more advanced than the others. Kenya sells some 30 per cent of its exports to the EU. At the summit, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda assumed the bloc’s leadership that’s held on rotational basis and was mandated to...

The East African Community (EAC) leaders have directed partner states’ ministers in charge of EAC affairs to resolve long-standing unresolved non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and report to the next summit. The directive was made at the EAC Heads of State Summit on Saturday in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. It comes after the Council of Ministers had also called for an end to a host of long-standing unresolved NTBs hindering trade in the region. “The heads of state noted with concern the declining intra-EAC trade and directed the Council to resolve the long-outstanding non-tariff barriers and report to the 19th summit,” reads part of a joint communique issued after the summit. Meeting before the summit, the central decision-making and governing organ of the regional bloc raised concerns that at least 19 non-tariff barriers remain unresolved as reported by a monitoring tool that was put in place. The ministers specifically raised concern over four longstanding NTBs whose solution, they said, requires policy guidance. They include the restriction by Uganda on beef and beef products from Kenya, since 1996. Others are requirement by Tanzania that cigarettes manufactured in Kenya and exported to Tanzania should have a 75 percent local content, and requirement by the Tanzania Foods and Drugs Authority (TFDA) that companies exporting to Tanzania should register, re-label and retest goods certified by other partner states. This trade barrier has existed since 2003. Raymond Murenzi, director-general of the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB), told The New Times that the issues concerning the TFDA are “very serious” as...

It had been a while since I travelled upcountry by public means. So at the weekend when I jumped on a bus to Kafunjo Parish in Ntungamo District to attend a friend’s wedding, I had not prepared for the interestingly ‘new developments’ that would be part of my long journey. The first development was the black kaveera (polythene bag) given to passengers. On such long distances most of them eat all sorts of things along the way, and those with reactive stomachs often puke them back. I had to applaud the foresightedness of Global Coaches management for introducing the kaveera (never mind that government banned kaveera)and small buckets to protect their buses from the repugnant vomit of passengers. An old man behind me asked the conductor if he could ease himself in one of the buckets, and the bus roared in laughter. Another ‘development’ that is now ‘officially’ part of such long distances is the sugar-tongued herbal medicine merchant who buys a seat so he can use the journey to hawk his herbs. This time he was selling a powdered concoction that he claimed it gives a man “lasting power” in bed. The same powder, he said, is a cure to diabetes, ulcers, varied allergies, syphilis, blood pressure, joint pains and all sorts of maladies that make life unbearable. He made a killing from passengers but I was left wondering who regulates such ‘medics’ and their merchandise. The sardines When I reached Mbarara I took a taxi to Ntungamo. We...

Richard Kamajugo, the senior director at TradeMark Africa, a non-profit agency that works around the region to strengthen trade and markets says in terms of competitiveness, there is already competition among countries to be logistics hubs in the region but what will make Uganda better than the others is efficiency. “It will be the ultimate determinant of where the business goes,” he says, “That is why all parties involved, public and private must buy into the vision of turning Uganda into a logistics hub.” Kamajugo says although infrastructure is a key contributor to logistics efficiency, Uganda should also focus on processes that lead to simplification and coordination of trade procedures. He says lengthy, bureaucratic and repetitive procedures increase the time and therefore cost of trade. He says improvements in automation through upgrade of customs and other government agency IT systems; enhancing exchange of information and implementation of One Stop Border Post (OSBP) clearance procedures have had a positive impact on border processes in Uganda. Another expert; Jennifer Mwijukye who is the Chief Executive Officer of Unifreight, a local logistics firm, says much as the government has over the last decade invested massively in road and other infrastructure projects around the country, there is need for linkage of the transport and warehousing infrastructure across the country. Uganda’s logistics performance is already showing improvement, according to the World Bank Logistics Performance Index, which is an interactive benchmarking tool that measures performance of the logistics supply chain on parameters such as customs clearance,...

Dar es Salaam — President John Magufuli has officially handed over the leadership of the East African Community (EAC) to Mr Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, during the 18th EAC-Heads of state meeting in Dar es Salaam. Dr Magufuli asked the new EAC Chairman, Mr Museveni, to steer the community by maintain the cost-cutting measures. "During my chairmanship, the EAC saved USD3million through cost cutting. I hope the coming chairman will continue with the same," said Dr Magufuli. Further, Magufuli urged Museveni to make every endeavor to finish some of the thorny trade deals that the EAC was still negotiating with other countries. "I failed to find a solution for EAC EU trade deal but I am optimistic President Museveni will take this forward," added Magufuli. Source: All Africa

The country’s newly-elected representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) have pledged to take the region’s integration agenda to the next level when they begin their duties next month. Rwanda’s new team of nine for the Fourth EALA was elected by both Chambers of Parliament yesterday and will be sworn in on June 5 together with their counterparts from Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, South Sudan and Tanzania. MP Odda Gasinzigwa, a former minister for gender and family promotion, said: “I will not let my country and the region down. I will work with my colleagues to heighten the integration agenda of the East African Community.” Gasinzigwa was first elected to the regional Assembly last October and yesterday won re-election for another five years. Among the new entrants at the regional Assembly is Fatuma Ndangiza. Despite being a first time legislator at EALA, she is no stranger to East African Community (EAC) affairs since she, among others, previously headed Rwanda’s team on an EAC experts verification committee set up to work on the introduction of South Sudan into the EAC. Ndagiza says she is happy to take on her new duties. “It is another responsibility I have been given and I wish to assure Rwandans that they will be well represented. It is clear that the Community has achieved a lot but wherever there are obstacles, we will work together to remove them. “Under the Common Market Protocol, for example, we will collaborate to ensure that agreements already signed are implemented...

Arusha, Tanzania | JUMUIYA| The 18th Ordinary East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Summit has been set for May 20, 2017, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Top on the agenda is the consideration of EU-EAC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and Sustainable Financing Mechanism for the Community. The Summit will also consider the status of the EAC Political Federation, the appointment of a Deputy Secretary General from the Tanzania, the appointment of a Judge from South Sudan to the First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice. The Summit will also receive a report on the roadmap for the accelerated integration of South Sudan into the EAC, and consider progress report on the implementation framework for the EAC Institutional Review. Also on the agenda are: a progress report on the verification exercise for the admission of the Republic of Somalia into the EAC; a report on the modalities for promotion of motor vehicle assembly in the region and to reduce the importation of used motor vehicles from outside the Community, and; a report on the review on the textile and leather sector with a view to phasing out importation of used textiles and footwear. The Summit will consider assenting to Bills passed by the East African Legislative Assembly and will also present awards to the winners of the EAC Students Essay, 2016. The Summit will also declare the transformation of the EAC into a Common Higher Education Area. Source: The Independent

“Trade has been growing over the past years save for ‘just’ last year … the removal of non-tariff barriers is among issues to be resolved,” he explained. Dr Mahiga was speaking during the 34th EAC Council of Ministers meeting held yesterday ahead of the 18th EAC Heads of State Summit scheduled for tomorrow in Dar es Salaam. The minister noted, for instance, that other countries in the regional bloc had raised concerns on existence of Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA), complaining that the two entities were subjecting traders to double inspection of goods. “They look at the existence of the two institutions as a form of non-tariff barriers to trade … so these are among issues to be sorted out,” he stated. Earlier during the session, Uganda’s third deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs, Mr Kirunda Kivejinja, urged countries in the bloc to focus on how to fast-track the integration rather than dwell on minor issues. “Uganda and Tanzania could become the food basket of the EAC given their vast arable land but you will hear people discussing trivial issues like how many Tanzanians, Kenyans or Rwandese are employed at the secretariat. Source: Daily News

East Africa has developed something of a reputation for gender equality in politics over the years. Rwanda has a higher percentage of women in parliament than any other country in the world while Burundi, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda are also among the highest ranking nations for female political figures (top 31 of 130 world parliaments) However, the latest East African Community Gender Barometer report by EASSI suggests those numbers don’t paint the full picture of gender equality in the region’s political environment. The study finds that, despite women sitting in many parliaments seats, they generally lack the same political influence enjoyed by their male peers. According to the group responsible for the study, Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are no different from other countries in the region when it comes to handing political power to women. Female politicians lack power in East Africa Rwanda and Bolivia are the only two countries in the world where female politicians outnumber men. Rwanda tops the list where 61.3% of the country’s members of parliament are female (source: ipu.org). Gender equality was a key part of Paul Kagame’s strategy for rebuilding Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. More than two decades later, Rwanda is the shining example of gender equality in politics, but it seems the stats might not tell the whole story. The latest EAC Gender Borameter report suggests these numbers don’t always translate into political influence for female politicians in East Africa. According to Dr Josephine Ahikire, the Dean at the School of Women and Gender Studies who designed the...

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and their South Sudan counterparts recently signed a memorandum of understanding to monitor and ensure high standards of goods in transit between the two countries. The MOU signed on Wednesday May 10 by Dr Ben Manyindo, the executive director UNBS and Dr Mary Gordon Muortat, the executive director of the South Sudan National Bureau of Standards (SSNBS), signals a commitment by the two bodies to work together on issues of standardization and conformity assessment (testing, certification and inspection), metrology, calibration and training. This will be done through development of direct relationships between the two bodies, ensuring standardization assessment, joint training programs and exchange of information among other methods. IMPROVEMENT IN TRADE The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and their South Sudan counterparts recently signed a memorandum of understanding to monitor and ensure high standards of goods in transit between the two countries. The MOU signed on Wednesday May 10 by Dr Ben Manyindo, the executive director UNBS and Dr Mary Gordon Muortat, the executive director of the South Sudan National Bureau of Standards (SSNBS), signals a commitment by the two bodies to work together on issues of standardization and conformity assessment (testing, certification and inspection), metrology, calibration and training. This will be done through development of direct relationships between the two bodies, ensuring standardization assessment, joint training programs and exchange of information among other methods. Source: All Africa