Government is providing 20 acres of land, in close proximity to the current UN Logistics base, to expand UN operations. The Government of Uganda also welcomes proposals by the UN in the Global Service Delivery Model to consolidate further, the Entebbe Regional Service Center so that all peacekeeping, special political and other missions’ national staff and uniformed personnel are serviced out of Entebbe. These remarks were made by State Minister for International Affairs, Hon. Okello Oryem, in a meeting with Ms. Lisa Buttenheim, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday 28th April 2017. The Minister welcomed the ASG to Uganda and appreciated the support from the Department of Field Support in the transformation of the Regional Service Center Entebbe (RSCE), to what it is today. He encouraged other senior members of the UN leadership to continue to visit the RSCE. He said that he is looking forward to a visit by the UN Secretary-General when he convenes the Refugee Solidarity conference in June of this year. Emphasizing that Government remains ready to strengthen collaboration with the UN, Hon. Oryem also commended the leadership of the RSCE and MONUSCO for remaining engaged with the Government of Uganda and encouraged that this continues.  He pledged the Government’s commitment to provide support for its expansion of the RSCE. The Government, he said, will continue to give priority to Security, Infrastructure and other facilities and also mobilize the private sector to supply goods and services to...

US$253m in loans has been approved by The African Development Bank (AfDB) to the Kenya and Uganda for the upgrading of a 118 km road section connecting the two countries and the construction of the 32 km Eldoret town bypass, in Kenya. The development which is projected to be complete in 2021 will enhance the living standards of citizens in the two countries. Kenya is set to receive a whopping US$147mand Uganda US$106m. The AfDB loans will cover the costs 89% for Kenya and 88% for Uganda with the governments contributing 11% and 12% respectively. AfDB Infrastructure, Cities and Urban Development Department director Amadou Oumarou confirmed the reports and said in a statement released last month that the proposed intervention was in line with the AfDB’s Ten Year Strategy, which also includes five priority areas for development – the High 5s – which are Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. “The intervention meets four of the High 5s by contributing to the integration of the East African Community countries; improving the quality of life by providing socioeconomic facilities for people in the zone of influence; increasing agricultural production through access to markets; and the reduction in transport costs, which lowers the cost of doing business that will play a pivotal role in industrialization,” Oumarou explained. The project also includes the construction of a one-stop border post in Suam to facilitate trade between the two...

Kampala. Japan is pushing for a bilateral agreement with Uganda in a bid to expand and strengthen trade and investment between the two countries. While meeting the Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde at her office in Kampala last week, Japanese Ambassador to Uganda Kazuaki Kameda, said his government is considering starting preliminary consultations with Uganda, to exchange opinions on the possibility of initiating official negotiation as soon as possible. He said there are a number of areas to be covered in this agreement with emphasis on trade promotion and protection of investments. Mr Kazuaki requested the government of Uganda to look at the possible timing and place of negotiations. “Uganda has been a long time business partner with Japan and it is the reason why Japan would like to renew and strengthen this relationship further for mutual benefits,” he added. Mr Kazuaki also lobbied Uganda to support Japan’s candidature to host the Olympics in 2025. He informed the minister that Japan has picked interest to host the World Exposition in Osaka in 2025 competing with France, so far. He added that Uganda and Japan have had a cordial relationship, diplomatic relations since independence in 1962 and that Japan has made a contribution in private investments in the industrialisation drive of Uganda especially through manufacturing, value addition and employment creation. Ms Kyambadde welcomed the initiative, saying it comes at a critical time when Uganda is working towards reducing the trade deficit between the two countries. “Uganda’s main exports to Japan include coffee,...

Government has secured funding for the construction of the first logistics hub at the Gulu Railway station, targeting the markets in South Sudan through Alegu and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through West Nile. South Sudan and DRC are Uganda’s largest export markets. According to Mr Benon Kajuna, the director transport in the ministry of Works and Transport, the hub will be constructed on at least 24 acres – provided by the government. The project will cost $8.6m (Shs30.96b) of which $5.6m (Shs20b) is available with funding from DFID and TradeMark Africa. “In October 2016, we completed a pre-feasibility study for the project, with designs expected at the end of this year. Currently, a consultant is working on the proposed design for the project. We expect construction to commence by end 2018,” he told delegates attending the Joint Oil and Gas and Logistics Expo 2017 at Kampala Serena Hotel Conference Centre last week. A logistics hub is a designated area that deals with activities related to transportation, organisation, separation, coordination and distribution of goods for national and international transit, on a commercial basis by various operators. Gulu is one of the four areas designated in Uganda where there is a planned logistics hub. The Gulu hub is expected to serve the two export markets for Ugandan goods but also for re-exports destined for DRC and South Sudan. It will be a Private-Public Partnership (PPP), with some private sector players expected to come on board. According to Mr Mark Pearson,...

Kenya’s private sector players have sought help from their Tanzanian counterparts to lobby their government to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Europe. Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and the Tanzanian Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) are working on a plan they hope will convince Tanzanian authorities to endorse the deal during the East African Community (EAC) Summit. “The EAC Summit that was to happen in Nairobi in February was postponed to early this month. The summit has been postponed again to a date that is yet to be confirmed. Only Tanzania and Uganda have not ratified the EPA deal and we hope by lobbying with our private sector counterparts, we can have Tanzania sign the deal,” said KEPSA Chief Executive Carole Kariuki in an interview with The Standard. The agreement guarantees EAC member States quota and duty-free access to the European market. Speculation has been rife that the EPA deal is dead in the water, with Tanzania maintaining a hardline stance, arguing that the agreement in its current state would kill off its industries. Ms Kariuki said the two lobbies would be represented at the next EAC summit. Source: Standard Digital

In her 2010/11 Financial Year budget speech, Finance Minister Syda Bbumba said she envisages that the East African Community (EAC) Common Market which comes into force on July 1 will “stimulate greater productive efficiency, higher levels of domestic and foreign investment, increased employment, and growth of intra-regional trade and of extra-regional trade.” Kenya’s Finance Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, also spoke about how the Common Market would allow freedom of movement of goods, services, capital, business enterprises and skilled labour within the EAC. While most EAC budgets did not show plans on how their economies are positioning to survive and thrive under the Common Market, Kenyatta unveiled a robust plan. The Kenyan economy is far bigger than the combined economies of the other EAC states. Its budget shows that it is positioning itself to gain even more from the free flow of goods and services in the EAC. Kenyatta announced a duo-pronged strategy that looked inwards with the “build Kenya, buy Kenya” theme and an outward looking strategy that ensures competitiveness abroad. He proposed seven bills to support business expansion by cutting-down regulation and easing access to financing. Kenyatta showed he was aware of the apprehension among other states. He said: “Kenya is prepared to fully implement the provisions of the Common Market protocol from 1st July, 2010. I also call upon our brothers on the community to do likewise”. The Kenya budget was similar to the regional budgets in emphasising improving ease of doing business and investing in priority areas like...

Negotiations between the European Union (EU) and African countries for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) have consumed vast energies from both sides this century - yet with not a great deal to show for it. The EPAs were agreed to in principle in 2000, when the Cotonou Agreement replaced the 1975 Lomé Convention. In essence that fundamentally changed commercial relations between the EU and the developing African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries - from preferential, non-reciprocal, to normal, reciprocal trade. But if African countries accepted that change in principle, realising it has been extremely fraught. Taking the plunge into the icy waters of mutual free trade has evidently been too frightening for developing countries used to one-way traffic into the huge 510 million-person EU market. Magufuli warned that the EPA could wreck Tanzania's own still-fledgling industries And so, even after more than a decade of often tortured negotiations, the results are not impressive. Only 30 of the 76 ACP countries are implementing EPAs. In 2008, the Cariforum EPA was signed with 15 Caribbean countries. In the Pacific only two countries, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, signed on. In Africa, the EPA with ESA - the Eastern and Southern Africa group comprising Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Zimbabwe - entered into force in 2012. The Central African EPA was provisionally implemented in 2014 - but with just one African country, Cameroon. The major regional blocs, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC),...

DAR ES SALAAM, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior official with the East African Community (EAC) said on Thursday implementation of the bloc's single customs territory (SCT) has tremendously reduced the cost of doing business in the region. Dicksons Kateshumbwa, chairman of the EAC Committee on Customs, said turnaround time has been reduced from 21 days to 3-5 days on average between the entry points to Kampala in Uganda, Kigali in Rwanda, and Bujumbura in Burundi. The six-member EAC is implementing a number of customs projects, including the SCT, transforming the way of doing business for the benefit of EAC members economies. "Capacity building and sensitization to support the SCT has been done and is ongoing," Kateshumbwa told a news conference in Dar es Salaam. The SCT started in 2014 on both the northern and central corridors where goods are assessed and declared at the first point of entry and move to the destination partner state with taxes and duties paid upfront. Kateshumbwa said integration of customs functioning was enhanced through cross-border deployment of staff in partner states, leading to better accountability, deterrence of smuggling and closer cooperation among customs authorities. "So far we have rolled out goods on the SCT on pilot basis," Kateshumbwa said. "However, the most important decision we have made today is that we have agreed on the full implementation of the SCT effective July 31, 2017." He said customs automation across the region has been enhanced in all member states -- Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda,...

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with regional trade facilitator TradeMark Africa (TMA) to improve cross border trade and enhance trade links between the country and East Africa Community (EAC) member states. The government of the Netherlands has committed $6.7 million to kick-start the projects. TMA will invest in projects involving already available resources such as water transport, simplifying trade processes through training and facilitating adoption of ICT around Eastern DRC. They will comprise dredging and rehabilitation of Kalundu Port on Lake Tanganyika; capacity building and implementation of Integrated Border Management Systems on the border crossings in Rusizi between Rwanda and Bukavu; rehalibitation of the Ports of Kasenyi on the DRC side and Ntoroko in Uganda; as well as infrastructure work at the border crossing at Goli, Uganda and Mahagi, DRC. “Trade is a way to reduce conflict and unemployment. The agreement will contribute to the training of cross border traders in trade issues, exporting and tapping into regional markets. This will especially benefit our youth,” Prof. Nehemie Wilondja, DRC Directuer du Cabinet noted. TMA Director General David Stanton said they are seeking to replicate the success of similar initiatives between EAC governments and businesses to drive down the costs of trade along the key transport corridors, which include the border with DRC, in the country. The institution has facilitated projects along the Northern Corridor from Mombasa Port, Kenya linking Uganda, Rwanda, DRC and South Sudan; and the Central Corridor connecting Dar es...

Uganda is among the fastest growing countries in East Africa economically. However, despite its competitive position as a logistics hub, businesses still face a variety of high-level logistics risks including lack of private sector strategy on logistics, poor organisational capacity and technical skills, bureaucracy and red tape in setting up logistics operations, poor transport facilities, weak adoption of logistics practices and dysfunctional advocacy. It is against this background that Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP), Uganda Freight Forwarders Association, Ministry of Works and Transport and National Logistics platform  supported by Department of International Development (DFID) through TradeMark East has partnered to host a three day  logistics expo that will bring together over 500 participants from logisticians, government officials, civil society organizations, development partners, academicians, and other private sector stakeholders to discuss and define integrated roles each will play in transforming Uganda into a logistics hub. Titled “Transforming Uganda into a Regional Logistics Hub – What is your role?” the event will result in clearer definition of the various stakeholders’ role in and contribution into realizing Uganda’s dream of becoming a logistics hub. Speaking prior to the event,Dr Elly Karuhaga, the Chairman of the UCMP noted that , “Oil and Gas require efficient logistics. Now is the time, we expect the first oil to pop out in 2020, a lot is happening, we need to be ready.” With support from Department of International Development (DFID) through TradeMark Africa, the National Logistics Platform is developing a 10 year Private Sector Strategy that...