Britain has assured Kenya its imminent exit from the European Union will not affect trade ties in any way. The assurance by British Prime Minister Teresa May to President Uhuru Kenyatta on the sidelines of the London Conference on Somalia last week came against the backdrop of growing uncertainty over the future of Kenya’s exports to the UK over failure by East African Community (EAC) nations to sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) deal. EPA would guarantee EAC traders duty and quota-free access to the EU market in exchange for gradual opening of up to 80 per cent of the region’s market to European products. Tanzania, the main opposer of the deal, cited the economic and constitutional uncertainties arising from Brexit as the reason for rejecting it. It argued that with the exit of Britain from the core market, it had little to gain from the partnership agreement negotiations and signing up the deal would not in any way spur its national interests. Kenya has been putting up a spirited fight to have all EAC countries get on board as a way of safeguarding unlimited duty free access of its exports to Europe. Tanzania and Uganda have stalled in signing the deal initialised in October 2014, saying it needs to be renegotiated afresh following Britain’s exit from the EU. But following last week’s meeting between President Kenyatta and PM May, the latter assured Kenya its exit from the trade bloc would not affect trade arrangements between the two countries. “The...

A new electronic cargo tracking system for monitoring cargo transiting through Kenya to neighbouring countries within the East African Community is expected to enhance trade competitiveness through improved security of cargo along transit routes. The Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) integrates transit cargo tracking platforms for three Northern Corridor Countries namely Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda with plans to roll out the same to include South Sudan, Tanzania and ultimately to destinations outside the EAC bloc. RECTS, which is funded by Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) through a grant from the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID), will add to on-going efforts to reduce the cost of doing business in the region. The cost reduction is through improved cargo predictability and increased truck turnaround time that will ultimately lead to lower transport costs. The system will also enhance cargo safety and help traders to better predict arrival of goods. RECTS will also reduce time wastage because it sends an alert when a truck stays in a particular spot longer than needed. Furthermore, importers will be able to monitor the movement of their goods. Transport delays and cargo theft are among the key concerns to importers and exporters who are forced to pay high insurance cover for goods on transit. This new tool represents a key milestone in the drive to cement East African co-operation as this is the second major step taken after the roll out of the Single Customs Territory initiative in 2013. By integrating transit cargo tracking platforms,...

The heads of the six East African Community member states will confront tough issues when they meet in Kampala, Uganda, on May 10 for their annual summit. The summit will provide another opportunity for the presidents to assess progress that the countries are making towards full integration and also address the emerging threats to regional security, stability and development. They will try to narrow their differences on the future of the regional economic bloc, which brings together over 170 million people with a combined national output of $157 billion in 2015. As Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni assumes the leadership of the EAC from Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, the leaders will have less to celebrate as cracks widen on their binding commitment to the spirit and future of the EAC — some may indeed consider a Brexit type withdrawal. Tension within the political leadership of the community is apparent, particularly between Kenya and Tanzania — which have a long history of suspicions over shared benefits, one that led to the collapse of the first EAC in 1977. Presidents Museveni, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Paul Kagame of Rwanda have demonstrated strong support for economic empowerment of the EAC countries and their people by deepening regional integration and expanding intra-regional trade. The three are often referred to as the “Coalition of the Willing” but Magufuli has openly challenged the EAC principles. His administration, for instance, has tightened restrictions on Kenyans being employed or investing in Tanzania, effectively stifling the implementation of the...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) will avail $1.1 billion to five African countries, including Kenya, to address challenges arising from climate change. The pan-African lender's president Akinwumi Adesina made the announcement Wednesday during the Feed Nigeria Summit in Lagos. Dr Adesina said the money would be used to address the current drought challenges in Nigeria, South Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. He also urged African countries to industrialise the agricultural sector and its value chain in order to transform their economies. Dr Adesina called on governments to provide incentives to food and agribusiness firms in rural areas through establishment of staple crop processing zones. “These staple processing zones will transform rural Africa into new zones of economic prosperity,” he said. According to the AfDB chief, staple crop processing zones, which were vast in agro industries zones, would encourage food industries’ operators to establish factories in rural areas. “Africa has no business importing food. Africa should be a net exporter of food. “Agriculture in Africa must move away from being treated as a social sector for managing poverty to a business of creating wealth,” he said. Dr Adesina said AfDB had committed $24 billion investment to agriculture in Africa in the last 10 years. Source: The East African

Kampala- The secretary general of World Customs Organisation Kunio Mirukiya has called for combined efforts towards boosting intra-African trade, proposing a number of reforms to ensure customs facilitate trade within the region. “First is infrastructure at borders because what is lacking is systems that can facilitate movement of goods and people. Customs should coordinate border management, have one stop border post or a single window and more security by collaboration is what Africa should be looking at,” Mr Mirukiya said at the 22nd World Customs Organisation East and South Africa council governing meeting in Kampala last Thursday. The meeting that attracted 22 countries from East and South Africa was aimed at looking at how best customs can facilitate trade and creating a platform for countries to collaborate and fight mutual challenges within the region. According to Mr Tom Moyane, the commissioner of South African Revenue Service, intra-African trade is an opportunity for the continent to look at the comparative advantage and economies of scale it can enjoy. Mr Dickson Katashumbwa, the commissioner in charge of Customs at Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) said that if African economies are to be boosted, there is need to have money circulating within the region. Speaking at the event, commissioner general URA Doris Akol said the tax body is grappling with illicit trade involving counterfeits, substandard goods and drought which has affected revenue collections. In addition, terrorist financing and money laundering continue to present huge challenges. On money laundering, Mr Moyane said it is “a...

On April 27 every year, the Dutch community around the globe celebrates King’s Day. This year we commemorated the 50th birthday of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. King’s Day is a special occasion to the Dutch because it brings our nation together in celebrations marked by a flurry of activities such as flea markets, concerts and music festivals and the eating of Dutch traditional foods like raw herring. I hosted the local Dutch community — the second largest in Africa — and guests from government, NGOs and the private sector at my official residence for the King’s Day fete. During the event, I reiterated that the Netherlands is shifting its focus in Kenya from aid to trade – a culmination of maturity in our decades-long bilateral relationship. The aid to trade relation between the nations is a partnership meant to stimulate private sector development, promote innovative financing, market and value chain development, technology transfer and creation of a favourable trade and investment climate. The shift from aid to trade policy by the Dutch government in its relationship with Kenya calls for a paradigm shift in engagement meant to spur sustainable economic growth and development through trade. A major highlight of the new diplomatic discourse is the emphasis on increased private sector engagement as demonstrated for instance, by the recent visit to Kenya by a business delegation made up of investors from the Dutch health sector. The investors were scouting for investment opportunities in the health sector and to assist in...

The European Union on Thursday renewed calls for all East African Community member States to sign a regional trade deal that could see Kenya fail to get duty- and quota-free access into the EU. EU ambassador to Kenya Stefano-Antonio Dejak said the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) deal will avert loss of jobs in the region and boost trade volumes. The trade deal with the European Union gives EAC member states duty- and quota-free access for their goods to the EU as long as they meet the set health and safety standards. It also gives Europe similar access to the East African Community. Kenya and Rwanda signed the pact by the February 2 deadline while Tanzania and Uganda have requested more time to review the trade deal.  Burundi has said it will not sign after the EU questioned its human rights records. “Hopefully the EPA will in due time be signed by the EAC member States... it provides for specific instruments to make sure that the trade volumes between the EU and the region grow,” the EU ambassador said during an event to mark Europe Day. The EPAs deal needs approval from all members of the EAC bloc. Source: Business Daily

Kenya and the other member states of the East African Community (EAC) are now greatly outperforming the economies of most countries in the sub-Saharan region, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a recent report. The economic expansion rate for the region as a whole dropped to 1.4 per cent last year, the IMF found. That was the slowest rate in more than 20 years and below the level needed to keep pace with a burgeoning population growth. The IMF regional survey presents a generally bleak appraisal that runs counter to the “Africa Rising” narrative that has taken hold in recent years. A weak recovery to a 2.6 per cent growth rate is expected this year, but “the sub-Saharan African economic outlook remains clouded,” the IMF said. The anticipated uptick will mainly result from one-off factors in a few countries – “a recovery in oil production in Nigeria, higher public spending ahead of the elections in Angola, and the fading of drought effects in South Africa”. the global financial institution predicted. “The outlook is also clouded by the incidence of drought, pests and security issues,” the report added. It noted that the economy of war-ravaged and hunger-plagued South Sudan, for example, contracted by nearly 14 per cent last year. The poor overall performance is partly attributed to “a very substantial commodity price shock”. The steep downturn in the global oil market produced negative growth in Nigeria’s economy, the largest in the region. POLICY ADJUSTMENTS The IMF also pointed to a...

A study on gender equality in East Africa has found that despite being ranked among countries with the highest number of women in political leadership, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania are no different from Kenya, as real power to make decisions and deliver equity still belongs to men. With female leaders failing to influence political decisions, the needs of women who form the majority of the population in East African remain subordinate to men. The study is titled "East African Community Gender Barometer," which has baseline statistics, where partner states check off progress on implementation of the yet-to-be assented to gender equity law that was passed by the regional assembly in March 2017. It emerged that the large number of women in politics hadn't made much of a difference in achieving equity. The gender equality, equity and development law is meant to protect women and children against sexual and gender-based violence, force EAC partners states to provide free primary and secondary education for all, reduce maternal and child mortality and protect the rights of civilians during war. The law is also meant to get EAC partner states to achieve gender parity in politics, so that both women and men enjoy the same influence in budgeting and deciding which public services are the most important for the population. This has not happened. In Uganda, for example, issues that affect women are generally underfunded. Jailed Makerere University researcher Dr Stella Nyanzi has for example pointed government's failure to provide money for menstrual...

East Africa Community (EAC) member states are set to meet in June to fast track implementation of the single air transport market, the bloc said on Wednesday. EAC Senior Transport Economist Eric Ntagengerwa told a regional forum in Nairobi that the 14th EAC Sectoral Council on Transport, Communication and Meteorology will be considering the recommendations by the Heads of Civil Aviation and Airports Authorities to adopt the regional Air Transport Regulations. "The outcome of the meeting will allow the region to remove all the fears on eligibility criteria, market access, fair competition and others that are delaying the adoption of the regional regulations which are required to fully liberalize the EAC domestic aviation industry," Ntagengerwa said during the validation meeting to study on costs and benefits of air transport liberalization in EAC. In 1999, 44 signatory African States signed the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) that calls for the full liberalization of the African aviation industry by removing all restrictions on access, price, frequency and capacity in intra-African air transport market. The EAC Partner States have committed to fully implement the decision as part of the Common Market Protocol and in line with the ongoing efforts by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) to establish a single African air transport market. Ntagengerwa said that the domestic air transport within the EAC remains un-harmonized until the regional regulations on liberalization of air transport market, which were developed by the EAC Secretariat in 2014, are adopted. "Although some...