Prime minister urged not to heed call by hardliners to refuse to settle debts with Brussels after triggering article 50 Theresa May will be urged by pro-EU Conservatives to reach a quick deal over the divorce bill from Brussels in order to maximise the chances of reaching a free trade deal within the tight deadline for Brexit talks. As the prime minister prepares to trigger article 50, the formal process for leaving the EU, on Wednesday, rebel Tories who seek the closest possible relationship with the EU are preparing to offer May political cover for settling what they see as Britain’s debts to Brussels. They fear that Britain could waste valuable time and erode goodwill by locking horns with the remaining members – the EU27 – over the price of exit, which must be agreed upfront, according to the EU’s lead negotiator, Michel Barnier. They are concerned that dragging out the issue would hand Brexit hardliners an excuse for walking away from the negotiating table without a deal. Barnier has suggested the outlines of a deal must be agreed within 18 months in order to allow EU member states to ratify it before the two-year deadline set out in article 50 of the Lisbon treaty. Neil Carmichael, the Stroud MP who campaigned for remain, said: “If we’re going to row about money all the time, then we’re not going to find ourselves in the right kind of relationship. Some of this money is about the support that we have been...

he East African Community (EAC) and the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) jointly has organized from 27 March, a two-day meeting in the capital Bujumbura to discuss the regional challenges “We shall seek to develop common positions in tackling the political problems affecting some of the countries belonging to both organizations such as South Sudan and the Burundi-Rwanda political impasse”, says Zachary Muita-Muburi, the ICGLR Executive Secretary during the joint ICGLR/EAC meeting, this 27 March in the capital Bujumbura. The same view is shared by Libérat Mfumukeko, Secretary General of the EAC: “Our main concern is how we can draw on our synergies towards finding a sustainable solution to the Burundi political impasse and respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Republic of South Sudan.” The EAC Secretary says among the areas identified for a joint intervention are the development of capacities to address conflicts, refugees and humanitarian issues, promotion of democracy and good governance, fight against illegal exploitation of natural resources, promotion of the private sector and civil society as well as combating sex and gender based violence. The ICGLR Executive Secretary says the EAC is a regional economic community committed to the promotion of the regional integration in order to transfer and foster economic development. As for the ICGLR, he says it is a regional mechanism established for the purpose of facilitating member states working with partners for political interventions to tackle peace and security challenges. “There is necessity for the two organizations to work...

One possible explanation of the slowing down could be the impact of Brexit and the turmoil – if I can call it so – it has created in the European Union. Until up to recently, the European Union was considered by many as a good example of unifying economies for the common progress of the members. Now that the future of the bloc is seen to be in doubt, even our East African Community members may be beginning to think that the whole East African project might not be viable in the long-run after all. I personally believe that Brexit and the other challenges facing the European Union today should instead provide the EAC partner states an important lesson that would help them formulate a better East African Community than the one they had envisaged, even if it meant revisiting the whole concept. But abandoning key joint projects, such as the envisaged railway, would be a missed opportunity. It’s clear there are some dishonest members who are bent on stabbing their peers at the back. I know there are national interests every country is pursuing, but that should not be to the detriment of a good working relationship in the community. There have been abrasive and bare knuckles in the way things are done. If this is not managed well then the Njonjo prophecy will come to pass. I hope I am wrong but I fear I may be right.     Source: The New Times

East African Community (EAC) countries have been told to go slow on the push to have a single currency for the region if they cannot fix the basics of trading in the region. In an interview with Daily Monitor, Mr Miguel Azevedo, the head of investment Banking for Africa at Citigroup, said the countries should focus on issues that boost East Africa as a trading bloc because a single currency may be hard to attain. He said: “Common currency goes with a few other needs, which means some common policies like similar budget policies, inflation levels and taxation among others. These things are harder to get. Just look at Europe. We have been working on the single currency for decades.” “What is doable and can create meaningful impact in the short term is creating a single market and I think it is getting there but governments need to be convinced that it is the way forward,” he added. In 2013, the EAC countries agreed on a timeline of about 10 years to have achieved a common currency. However, because the structures of the economies around the region differ, a common currency model has been noted to be risky. Mr Azevedo’s comments come with an understanding that for the EAC to be transformative, trade barriers and free movement of labour can help boost the region, especially the private sector to thrive. He notes that the focus on developing infrastructure within the region by Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan will somewhat...

The UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda Lord Dolar Popat has challenged the Government of Uganda to invest more in the tourism sector and reduce the cost of doing business, if the country is to attain the much desired middle income status. Lord Popat was meeting Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde to discuss ways of improving the trade between the two countries which has dwindled in the recent years. He is in Uganda to look out for investment opportunities for UK businessmen. According to Lord Popat, UK’s strategy is to see the economies of the former colonies grow and not just to make money out of them. The UK,he said, is currently on a mission to restore trade relations with her former colonies which have been penetrated by the emerging economies especially India and China. Uganda’s exports to the UK have gradually reduced from $47.5 million in 2013 to $29 million in 2015 with Uganda mainly exporting edible vegetables, flowers, coffee and tea. The imports from UK have also dropped from $103.3million in 2013 to $83.5million in 2015 with Uganda mainly importing pharmaceutical products, printed books, beverages and spirits and some textiles from UK. Minister Kyambadde told Lord Popat that Uganda’s focus is now on value addition especially on coffee, cotton, tea among other agricultural products and the minerals. “There are lots of investment opportunities in Uganda which the UK investors can exploit, and with the economic stability coupled with the Buy Uganda Build Uganda Policy that Government has started...

In the Framework of the WCO- East African Community (EAC) CREATe project, funded by Sweden, the WCO provides technical assistance to the EAC Member States with the implementation of a regional Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme. The goal of the project is to increase regionalization in the EAC region through facilitated trade for compliant traders. As part of the project, the WCO conducted a regional workshop from 6th - 10th March 2017 in Kampala, Uganda in order to support the region to review and update its Post Clearance Audit (PCA) Manual. PCA is a significant aspect for the successful implementation and administration of the regional AEO programme. During the workshop, 15 AEO and PCA experts from the five EAC member states, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania participated in the workshop. The participants, with the support of a WCO PCA expert, have reviewed and updated the EAC PCA Regional Manual with audit programmes that are relevant for conducting audits in other operators within the supply chain and customs clearance processes. The manual was updated in order assure the alignment with WCO Guidelines and best practices. Here, eight operators were identified for the inclusion in the PCA Manual including Clearing Agents, Freight Forwarders, Transporters, Manufacturers, and Warehouse and storage operators. The experts alluded that the updates on the Manual not only assist in the delivery and management of AEO, but also increase customs compliance in the region as the operators play a crucial role in overall compliance improvement. The updates on...

A new trade facilitation tool was launched Tuesday in Kigali aimed at enhancing intra-Africa trade. The One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) Sourcebook is expected to help governments improve cross-border and intra-regional trade across Africa. The second edition of the sourcebook was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), NEPAD, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The tool was launched at a regional workshop on the OSBP. The workshop runs up to March 16. Participants are exchanging views on further development of OSBPs in the continent. Participants were drawn from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and South Sudan. Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, the NEPAD chief executive officer, said the trade facilitation tool seeks to promote a coordinated and integrated approach towards easing trade, movement of people, and consolidating security. He pointed out one-stop border posts are crucial in facilitating trade on the continent because clearance time reduces for both travellers and goods under one roof. Mayaki said: “It is envisaged that the OSBP project will help reduce the cost and time transporters take to ferry goods across borders.” Mayaki affirmed NEPAD’s commitment to support initiatives that promote trade on the continent. He also urged governments and key stakeholders to fully utilize the sourcebook to help them determine the best way to develop OSBPs in each region. Snowden Mmadi, an infrastructure expert at COMESA, said studies show that time wasted clearing at ports, borders, and...

East African economies are seeking closer trade ties with countries outside the bloc as the volume of trade between the five-member states diminishes. A trade report by the  EAC Secretariat seen by The EastAfrican highlights a cocktail of factors stifling intra-EAC trade while undermining regional integration process. Non-tariff barriers (NTBs), poor infrastructure at the ports and on the main transport corridors, low value addition in the EAC region and lack of a common position on the implementation of duty exemption regimes by the member states have been identified as key factors that distort the Common External Tariff (CET). The other impediment is the lack of a comprehensive investment plan to promote EAC countries as a single investment destination. “In spite of the growth in trade and investment, the period 2015 exhibited continued sluggish performance that was witnessed in 2014. Trade in goods volumes as well as investment inflows remained flat or declined as a result of a number of challenges,” reads the report. The report dated August 2016 shows that trade among the EAC partner states is falling as member countries look beyond the borders for other  trading partners. Intra-EAC trade fell by 13 per cent in three years, with total value dipping from $5.8 billion in 2013 to $5.06 billion in 2015. Between 2014 and 2015, intra-EAC trade shrank by 10 per cent, from $ 5.6 billion to $5.1 billion. The bulk of EAC exports were destined to Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the European Union (EU), amounting to 14.6...

The question of the spirit and pace of East African integration was prominent at the just ended sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly in Kigali. The members were clearly exasperated by what they considered starvation of funds to the Community by partner states which had severely crippled its activities. This prompted members to ask: “Are we really serious about integration?” In March 2014, Charles Njonjo, the once powerful Attorney General of Kenya, warned that the East African Community was likely to face the same fate as its earlier version that collapsed in 1977. At the time many people disagreed with the analysis that had led him to the gloomy conclusion. Three years later, that warning and the legislators’ concerns lead to other questions. Is enthusiasm for integration waning? Or is Trumpesque country-first positioning hindering it? East Africans have long recognised that they are fated to live closely together. It is both aspiration and a fact of history. And so they always dream about how to make the bond work stronger and build big promises of what it should be like. But they also have a knack for knocking down what they are trying to build. Some clever people might start talking about an East African curse. In the early 1960s, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania formed the East African Community (EAC). The EAC was hailed as a shining example of regional integration. For a decade, East Africans lived through what may be called the glory years of integration. Then as...

A survey conducted by the East African Institute showed less than 5 per cent of youth between the age of 18-35 years identify as belonging to the polity that is the East African Community. They believe the EAC is a political construct of the elite — some regional trade deal to open up markets for free movement of goods, labour and capital. The community of the people of East Africa is not just a figment that dwells in the minds of the political and business elite. It is more than an expansionist or federal obsession of the Arusha bureaucrats. The Community is more than the lofty dreams of common currency or common trade tariffs. There is something more wholesome — we the people. We are the Community. The community, joined by bonds of kinship and exchange as are ancient as the hills. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta or Milton Obote did not bequeath the Community to us. When they created the first EAC, they were merely repairing the division that was wrought upon the people of East Africa by the British and the Germans. Across the borders, we share languages, traditions and beliefs. We share the picturesque beauty and splendor of Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika, the Indian Ocean, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Elgon, the Great Rift Valley, the Mara and yes the iconic statuesque men and women of the savannas. More importantly, our destiny is shared through the fears, hopes and aspirations of our youth. When asked what the...