South Sudan’s government said it will appoint six members of its parliament as representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly in an attempt to fulfil its obligations of becoming a full member of the regional bloc. South Sudan foreign affairs spokesman Mawien Makol Ariik, told Radio Tamazuj that once a membership fee of one million dollars is paid, the representatives will be sent to represent South Sudan at the regional parliament. “South Sudan government is almost becoming a full member in the East African Community and we just need to pay our membership fee. This month, we are expected to choose six members to represent South Sudan to East African parliament,” he said. East African heads of states agreed to admit South Sudan as its sixth member state last November during a summit in Tanzania. However, there have been concerns raised by South Sudanese after the government decided to join the East African Community which includes Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Some claim that South Sudanese will benefit from the exemption of visa payment and educational services in the region, while others who are against the decision say South Sudan has little to offer the region. Source: Radio Tamazuj  

Kampala — Uganda's Finance minister Matia Kasaija and his Kenyan counterpart are yet to get confirmation of the specific dates for further negotiations and possible financial closure from China's ministry of Commerce which supervises EXIM Bank, the prospective financier of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), Daily Monitor has learnt. Technocrats from ministries of Finance and Works as well as the SGR project led by Mr Kasaija had been scheduled to travel earlier-on for the meeting on February 27 (yesterday), but the arrangement suffered setbacks. The Ugandan team was supposed to travel with the Kenyan delegation to Beijing, China. Mr Kasaija, yesterday, said they will travel any time but confirmed that they are yet to get the requisite clearances. "It is true we did not travel; first, because we have not yet got confirmation from China's ministry of Commerce about the date of meetings, and secondly we are waiting for clearance from their ministry of Foreign Affairs which did not come through--because as you might know this is a government-to-government meeting." The meeting is expected to reach a final understanding regarding the financing of the multi-billion dollar railway from Nairobi to Malaba on the Kenya side, and Malaba to Kampala on the Uganda side. The stretch from Mombasa to Nairobi is complete and is expected to be commissioned this June. If the discussions are fruitful, Uganda expects an advance of $2.8b (Shs8 trillion) or 85 per cent financing for construction of the Malaba-Kampala stretch (273km). Each kilometre will cost $8.4m (approximately...

Kenya has joined East African neighbours Uganda and Rwanda to launch a common cargo tracking system intended to reduce the cost of trade and check tax evasion. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Wednesday launched the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System, which enables real time tracking of transit cargo from Mombasa port to its destination through an online platform monitored in the three countries. KRA commissioner general John Njiraini said the new system would be operational by the end of the month to replace the current tamper-prone Electronic Cargo Tracking System. “Unlike the current system where we use multiple vendors to install the tracking and which we can only trace up to the border point, this one allows three countries to monitor the cargo in real time hence limiting the opportunity for any collusion to evade tax. It is a game changer in the cross border trade and will go a long way to safeguard Kenya as a major transit point for cargo in this region,” said Mr Njiraini. Kenya began piloting the system with 1,500 gadgets so far. Uganda and Rwanda, which have both launched the system have the same number of devices although it requires at least 7,000 such gadgets to fully monitor cross-border business. There are also plans to roll out the system in South Sudan, Tanzania and ultimately to destinations outside the EAC bloc, including DRC in a bid to eliminate customs border checks and deal with cargo diversion that existed due to border changeover processes....

Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have unveiled a Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTs) in a bid to curb lose of cargo in transit. Speaking in Kampala, where the Sh440 million system was launched, customs officials said the system would reduce transit time from Mombasa to two days from the current seven. The system will enable revenue authorities jointly track movement of goods from port to destination electronically. The service will be free as revenue authorities will meet all operational costs. Uganda Revenue Authority Commissioner General Doris Akol said the system will reduce cost of doing business, enhancing cargo safety and helping traders predict arrival of goods. “The partnership helps us monitor goods, ease cargo handling, improving revenue collection and reducing diversion of untaxed goods. This will benefit traders and assure potential investors of level playing field in our region,” she said. The United Kingdom Department for International Development has supported the project with Sh457.6 million grant. RECTs comprises satellites, central command centres in each of the revenue authorities headquarters, smart gates and rapid response units. An electronic seal is attached on transit cargo vehicles and communicates with the command centres giving real time updates. Rapid response units are stationed along sections of the Northern Corridor identified as notorious for diversion of goods. Source: Media Max

Despite the lack of consensus among the East African Community (EAC) partner states over the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU), Uganda still believes that all is not yet lost. Already Rwanda and Kenya have gone ahead to sign the deal, with the former’s Parliament even ratifying it. As for Tanzania, she has refused to append her signature on the dotted lines after raising several objections which ultimately resulted in the Tanzanian Parliament voting against the deal. Meanwhile, Daily Monitor understands that Uganda and Burundi who are yet to sign the pact, are reading from the same script, with the latter playing a leading role to broker consensus among the split member states. In a meeting last week at the ministry of Trade in Kampala with Mr James Wharton, the U.K Undersecretary of State for Trade/DFID, Ms Amelia Kyambadde, the Trade minister, said Uganda is ready to sign the agreement, although it will prefer to sign it as a block. She, however, said a meeting of the regional heads of state will happen soon and a decision regarding the pact will be arrived at, stressing that as a country, Uganda is committed to signing the deal. On his part, Mr Wharton, said even as they are negotiating their way out of Brexit, something that could take not less than 24 months, he urged that the deal be concluded amicably. When interviewed for this article last week, the Permanent Secretary, ministry of Trade, Amb. Julius...

Arusha. The postponed summit of the East African Community (EAC) leaders will be held early next month as the region continues to be divided over the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union. The meeting of the heads of state, which was initially scheduled for Dar es Salaam yesterday, will be held in Arusha on April 6 following consultations between EAC secretary-general Liberat Mfumukeko with the leaders of the partner states. “The upcoming 18th summit is scheduled for Arusha on April 6,” affirmed the EAC boss in Nairobi on Friday last week after holding talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. During the 17th Extra-Ordinary Summit of the regional organisation held in Dar es Salaam last September, it was agreed that the EPA stalemate be tabled again during the meeting of the regional presidents early this year. Tanzania, which has spearheaded its rejection against the EAC-AU trade arrangement deal, was given until the following meeting of the EAC heads of state to decide whether to ratify the pact or reasons for the delay. EAC-EU-EPA negotiations started in 2002. It was not until 2007 that the framework agreement on tariff was finalised. The East African countries had committed to liberalise up to 82.6 per cent of imports from the EU by value. But the process was interrupted in July last year, when Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda declined to ratify the deal, preferring further consultations on economic implications. Officials of Customs and Trade Directorate at the EAC secretariat could not be reached to...

The Uganda Revenue Authority on Friday launched three customs trade facilitation programmes to ease trade in the region Minister of Trade,Industry and co-operatives Amelia Kyambadde,joined by Evelyn Anite the state minister of Finance for Investment and Privatization,launched the services. Trade Mark East Africa funded URA innovation aims to ease trade facilitation through a centralized Document Processing Center (DPC).Introduction of a Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System(RECTS) ,and accredition of new Authorized Economic Operators(AEOS). The trade facilitation programmes funded by Trade Mark EastAfrica (TMA),will be used to monitor transit cargo under customs control in Kenya,Rwanda and Uganda. That will improve the ease of doing business in Uganda and the EastAfrican community,also promote trade and investment thus support the growth of regional and international trade in EastAfrica. They were joined by URA,Commissioner General Doris Akol,World Custom Organisation Director Compliance.Anna Brigette and officials of (TMA). URA.Commissioner General Akol, said”Our dream of being the model tax body is starting to bear fruits.REATS and other innovations ensure better trade facilitations.” Previously,each country operated a separate national cargo tracking system.According to officials, this posed challenges like, lack of complete transit monitoring mechanism leading to cases of dumping, delayed bond cancellation and refund processing and poor information exchange. They further added that, the process was a barrier to cross-border trade due to multiple verification steps at all borders along, and costly both in terms of money and time. The implemention will be done in phased manner, so far four stations have been rolled out in Mbale, Mbarara, Kampala...

Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Saturday affirmed his government’s commitment to construct a dry port in Mwanza region aimed at easing trade between Tanzania and Uganda. Speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Magufuli said that upon completion of the dry port construction, there will be no need for Ugandan traders travelling to the country’s major port of Dar es Salaam, situated over 1,000 kilometers from Uganda. "At the same time my government will repair MV Umoja in Lake Victoria to ease cargo transportation between Mwanza and Uganda," said the Tanzanian leader shortly after the signing of diplomatic agreements between the two East African countries. Magufuli added that the two countries have also agreed to rehabilitate an 11-km road stretch from Port Bell in Lake Victoria to Kampala. He said the Tanzanian government had also reduced truck check points to facilitate fast transportation of cargo between the two countries. Magufuli commended trade growth between the two countries, saying statistics showed an increase from 89 million U.S. dollars in 2015 to 96.7 million dollars in 2016. Magufuli said the two leaders also discussed the construction of the 1,403-km pipeline to transport crude oil from Hoima in Uganda to Tanga Port in Tanzania. He ordered for immediate pipeline construction take-off, saying any minor issues will be resolved while construction activities were on progress. Source: Coast Week

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli yesterday described the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) as a “form of colonialism”, dampening Tanzania’s possibility of signing the deal with the European Union (EU). “It is bad for our country,” Dr Magufuli affirmed. Addressing a joint press conference with visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at the State House here, Dr Magufuli disfavoured EPAs, which are aimed at creating a free trade area between EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States. His Ugandan counterpart warned African countries that EPA might break up their unity. “It’s better if the signing of the deal is shelved until further consultations are made.” President Museveni arrived in Dar es Salaam yesterday morning for a two-day state visit. Dr Magufuli noted that after studying EPA he had realised that African countries would not benefit from it economically as its architects touted. He noted that terms included in the agreement were not intended to help African countries to grow economically. “I believe that our neighbour, Uganda, will second us for the betterment of our countries. We have discussed EPA for a long time but to me it seems like another form of colonialism… it is bad for our country,” he said. There has been criticism in other quarters that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by EU are incompatible with World Trade Organisation rules. President Museveni noted that the fact that many African countries had not signed EPA shows that the proposal was meant to create...

Non-compliance of regional trade agreements by Rwanda’s neighbours is taking a heavy toll on the nation’s earnings from cross-border trade. Legislators are concerned that informal trade with Burundi, Tanzania as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo, faces multiple barriers resulting in low export volumes to these strategic markets. A report tabled last week by parliament’s Standing Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs shows that while trade with DR Congo suffered as a result of the instability in the Kivu Province, Burundi and Tanzania have imposed restrictions intended to block Rwandan traders from accessing their markets. The highlighted practices are contrary to the provisions of the East African Community Customs Union as well as other trade agreements with regional trading blocs such as the Economic Community Great Lakes Region (CEPGL), which brings together Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo. “We want the concerned authorities to address the issues we found,” said MP Adolph Bazatoha, who leads the committee that carried out an assessment at different borders. Mr Bazatoha said the issues had been forwarded to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs. Burundi is Rwanda’s second largest cross-border trade market after DR Congo, with agricultural and livestock products being the major commodities traded in informal transactions. However, trade with Burundi is carried out illegally after the government imposed trade restrictions with Rwanda. Worsening diplomatic relations with Burundi led to the closure of the border with Rwanda in July last year. Ties between the two countries deteriorated in 2015...