Kenya complied with the request by the East African Community’s secretariat to the five-member states to provide data on international trade and tax, the state statistician has said. The information will partly help establish the impact the Economic Partnership Agreement will have on the EAC bloc, a win for Tanzania which has been pushing for this before it ratifies the long-standing deal. In a January 13 letter to the region’s ministries responsible for EAC Affairs, the secretariat asked the five countries to provide data with description of products they are trading in, value of the imports, source of the products (exporting country) and the tax rates. “(The EAC)...requests you to liaise with your respective revenue authorities, bureau of statistics to urgently provide the EAC secretariat with the trade input data for 2006-2015 by January 18, 2017,” the letter, signed by deputy secretary general for finance and administration Jesca Eriyo, read in part. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said it submitted the data as per the request of the secretariat despite the short notice. “Kenya has done its part. We did that because the data is available. The secretariat is now going to analyse the data. Our work was to give the data which we have done,” KNBS director general Zachary Mwangi said. It is not clear whether Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi have submitted their data to help conclude a report on the dragging EAC-EU duty and quota-free deal, which is likely to further delay. The trade deal stalled...

The International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Christine Lagarde advised the East African countries in pursuit of integration to go slow on the project. The countries within East Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi have been integrating over the years with projection to have a political federation in about 20 years. The caution from the IMF chief is coming from the lessons that Europe has had to have especially after the United Kingdom held a referendum and the people chose to exit the European Union, New Vision reported. “Coming from the European Union and a country that is part of the eurozone, I would certainly stress that, hasting slowly is probably the best way to go and consolidate one step at a time and make sure that the steps you have taken are actually solid, sustainable and will take you the next level. Don’t rush to integration—infrastructure integration, market integration, custom integration. Those are the steps that have been taken and are being taken,” Lagarde said while addressing a joint press conference with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at State House Entebbe on Friday. She did point out that integration had its advantages and was perhaps one of the best options for the country to pursue its growth agenda. Uganda’s largest trade market for exports is East Africa but more significantly South Sudan. South Sudan was in March 2016 given the green-light to join the East African Community. Uganda also trades with the EAC and also enjoys lower tariffs on exports...

The newly established Tanzania and Zambia One Stop Border Post (OSBP) which is to start operation on February 1 at the Tunduma-Nakonde border will ease and boost trade between the two countries, senior officials said Sunday. The two countries have already signed an agreement on how the OSBP will be operating. The decision to establish the OSBP came as part of implementing orders issued by the presidents of the two countries, John Magufuli and Edgar Lungu. The two leaders issued the order in Dar es Salaam when Zambian President Lungu visited the East African nation last month. The signing ceremony of the key document was held at Vwawa town few kilometers from the Tunduma-Nakonde border, whereby Tanzania was represented by Amina Khamis Shaaban, Finance and Planning Deputy Minister and Adolf Mkenda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. Zambia was represented by Kayula Siame, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry. Tanzania’s Amina said that the Tunduma-Nakonde OSBP combines two stops for national border control processing into one and consolidates border control functions in a shared space for exiting one country and entering another. She explained that the post will be using simplified procedures and joint processing wherever appropriate. She further disclosed that the border facility is aimed at reducing transit costs incurred in cross-border movement by combining the activities of both country’s border organizations and agencies. According to the Tanzania’s deputy minister, the post will easy trade between the two nations, as goods will...

The AU should bolster the means and willpower of regions to use their militaries to enforce democracy. The decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to deploy a military force into Gambia to force President Yahya Jammeh to step down, has been widely hailed by democrats. The West African community massed a five-nation army on Gambia’s border last Thursday, after Jammeh refused to transfer power to Adama Barrow who had beaten him in the 1 December presidential elections. With the ECOWAS army effectively holding a gun to his head, Jammeh was unable to resist the entreaties of Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Guinean President Alpha Condé to step down. So he flew off to a very comfortable exile in Equatorial Guinea, in a presidential jet allegedly stuffed with stolen loot, including millions of dollars in cash and a few Rolls Royces. African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma welcomed the ‘bloodless transition’ – the ‘first peaceful transfer of power in the Islamic Republic of The Gambia since the country’s independence in 1965’ – and praised the mediators. But of course it’s highly unlikely that Jammeh would have quit office without the threat of military force. And the intervention could have been quite bloody if Jammeh’s army chief had not wisely decided not to fight ECOWAS. It’s highly unlikely that Jammeh would have quit office without the threat of military force And so other observers and commentators have more pertinently praised ECOWAS – not so...

In Summary The European Investment Bank (EIB) has already received a request for funding from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which is being processed as a loan, while a grant is also in the pipeline. Head of EU Delegation in Kenya says the EU is interested in supporting projects at the port to increase efficiency and facilitate trade. TradeMark Africa (TMA) country director Ahmed Farah said although a final decision had not been reached, there are high level negotiations going on and was optimistic the funding will come through. The European Union is considering investing at least $200 million (Sh20 billion) on Mombasa Port projects including modernisation of berths. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has already received a request for funding from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which is being processed as a loan, while a grant is also in the pipeline. TradeMark Africa (TMA) country director Ahmed Farah said although a final decision had not been reached, there are high level negotiations going on and was optimistic the funding will come through. “At the moment what we could say is that a loan of $180 million (Sh18 billion) is being processed while a grant of $20 million (Sh2 billion) is being considered. "TMA is assisting with the processing procedures and we expect a decision will be made soon,” Mr Farah. He spoke during an interview with journalists on Wednesday at the Galaxy Restaurant, Mombasa, after he led a team of EU Delegation to Kenya on a tour of Mombasa...

IN SUMMARY The European Investment Bank (EIB) has already received a request for funding from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which is being processed as a loan, while a grant is also in the pipeline. Head of EU Delegation in Kenya says the EU is interested in supporting projects at the port to increase efficiency and facilitate trade. TradeMark Africa (TMA) country director Ahmed Farah said although a final decision had not been reached, there are high level negotiations going on and was optimistic the funding will come through. The European Union is considering investing at least $200 million (Sh20 billion) on Mombasa Port projects including modernisation of berths. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has already received a request for funding from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which is being processed as a loan, while a grant is also in the pipeline. TradeMark Africa (TMA) country director Ahmed Farah said although a final decision had not been reached, there are high level negotiations going on and was optimistic the funding will come through. “At the moment what we could say is that a loan of $180 million (Sh18 billion) is being processed while a grant of $20 million (Sh2 billion) is being considered. "TMA is assisting with the processing procedures and we expect a decision will be made soon,” Mr Farah. He spoke during an interview with journalists on Wednesday at the Galaxy Restaurant, Mombasa, after he led a team of EU Delegation to Kenya on a tour of Mombasa...

Kampala — Cross-border trade in professional services generated a heated debate at the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) here on Monday with the MPs insisting there were still hurdles hindering its smooth implementation as required under the Common Market Protocol. While some regional legislators said not all professionals have been covered by the Protocol, others maintained that East African Community (EAC) partner states were yet to harmonise their laws in line with adoption of common approaches on the matter. "The schedules of the Common Market in their current format are also not open for all professionals but certain sectors," said Mr Abubakar Ogle from Kenya when the House discussed the draft of EAC Cross Border Trade in Professional Services Bill. introduced by Fred Mukassa Mbidde from Uganda last year. The lawmaker from Kenya underscored the need for the House to be duly informed on the professional services which have been accepted by all the partner states and those which are still under consideration. According to the mover of the bill, the proposed legislation intends to see to it that all professionals are allowed to crisscross the region as they render their services in line with the Common Market Protocol which came into force in July 2010. But Mr Ogle said in reality each of the five EAC member countries (South Sudan is yet to be fully integrated) had its regulatory framework governing its labour market as well as the professional standards it has set which is different from fellow countries...

2016 was “annus horribilis” for the East African Community (EAC) to borrow a Latin phrase made famous by Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom and Great Britain. The highs of 2015 appear to be distant memories today; the easier movement of citizens using IDs, the single tourist visa, the single customs territory, and the common market protocol were all exciting milestones along the way. The momentum then was such that any obstacle was overcome with pragmatism. When then Tanzanian president JM Kikwete seemed flat footed, the three heads of state from Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda conjured up what the media later called the “Coalition of the Willing” in a bid to further expedite projects which they viewed as helpful to the EAC integration cause. As if by divine intervention, at the end of 2015 Tanzania got a new president in the name of JP Magufuli. Almost immediately he seemed to gel with the other EAC leaders. He made quick reforms at home and simultaneously reached out with open arms to neighbouring countries in an obvious effort to mend any broken fences. Then 2016 happened. First was the summit in March that rather than bring good news, saw a conflict riddled South Sudan approved as the sixth member of the EAC. The heads of state then went on to lament the financial burden of the EAC Secretariat. Particularly, President Magufuli vowed to clean it up by reviewing its expenditure. These same sentiments were echoed by President Kagame...

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni is pushing for enhanced intra-regional trade as the next growth area for the six States integrating their markets under the East African Community. Speaking last week when he opened the East African Legislative Assembly’s fourth meeting in Kampala, Mr Museveni said these governments must champion the ‘Make-EAC-Buy-EAC’ to boost employment and expand value addition opportunities. “We (EAC) cannot continue to be a market for imports and must come up with policy instruments to ensure local industrial production runs at full steam in order to protect jobs and stimulate investments,” he said. President Museveni said East Africa’s high population, now estimated at 150 million people, and well-developed infrastructure portend a good future for the region. Joint projects “If there is wealth it is this 162 million people that are a wealth creator since they produce raw materials, related services and eventually consume the same goods and services,” he said. Speaker of the Eala Daniel Kidega said the assembly had made progress in enacting Bills and adopting resolutions that enhance EAC’s vision of a cohesive political, social and economic bloc. Developments in Kenya including roads upgrade, the Sh327billion railway and as Mombasa Port’s berth expansion served to enhance efficiency while reducing transport costs, he said. This should egg on Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan to pursue joint projects. Governments should work on conservation strategies while strengthening irrigation, early warning systems, research, extension and training, he said. Source: Business Daily

Finland has granted 9.8 million Euros to TradeMark Africa (TMA) to support its work in enhancing trade across the East African Community to increase prosperity in the region. The agreement will advance common goals of increasing trade within East Africa by reducing the time and cost of transiting and transporting goods. The partnership will also support East African Community (EAC) regional trade integration. This grant is also expected to broaden TMAs regional integration program at the Port of Dar es Salaam and key border posts along the Central Corridors, and will work with EAC Member States to remove barriers to trade. The agreement was signed by the Finnish Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Tarja Fernández and Frank Matsaert, CEO, TradeMark Africa. Finland’s strategy for development cooperation and action plan for aid for trade put more emphasis on the development of trade and regional economic integration. The Finnish government believes that supporting increased trade in the region in combination with assistance to the private sector will accelerate economic growth and jobs, with the ultimate goal of poverty reduction. Finnish Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Tarja Fernández said: “We know that the new strategy will move the region beyond the accomplishments of the past, creating job opportunities, and opening up, until now, marginalised areas to development through interventions at various nodes of East Africa Trade Network from ports to the hinterlands. That is why we are committed to supporting the second phase of TMA’s programme.” TMA aims to contribute to increased trade in Eastern...