Dar es Salaam — The work towards the construction of a crude oil pipeline between Uganda and Tanzania is officially on, with project the developers inviting reputable contractors to undertake a social and resettlement plan. To be known as East African Crude Oil Pipeline, the project - which will transport Ugandan crude to Tanga Port in Tanzania - will be built jointly by a French oil giant Total SA, the UK-based Tullow Oil and and Chinese state-owned oil company Cnooc Ltd. Total E&P Uganda - an oil and gas exploration company which is a subsidiary of Total SA - said in a statement yesterday that it wants reputable and experienced contractors to express their interests in carrying out the social and resettlement planning services for the Tanzania part of the East African Crude Oil Pipe line (EACOP) project that is scheduled to start in January 2017. "Resettlement planning is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2017 and shall comply with Tanzania legal and regulatory requirements and international best practices," the statement reads. According to the statement, the social and resettlement planning services will include preparatory work for land access. It also encompasses resettlement and livelihood restoration planning for temporary and permanent facilities as well as field surveys that will help the contractor to ascertain the costs of the project on the socioeconomic, asset and cadastral amenities to be covered by the affected areas. Among other issues, the contractor will be required to engage and consult with stakeholders in...

In the last few decades, the services sector has been a significant driver of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, trouncing the industrial sector in both developed and developing countries In the last few decades, the services sector has been a significant driver of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, trouncing the industrial sector in both developed and developing countries. Today, services account for the largest share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in most countries. This fact also holds true for most members of the EAC. In Uganda, services sector has contributed 54.9 per cent; both Kenya and Rwanda’s GDP’s growth receive about 47.5 per cent while Tanzania is rated at 43.6 per cent and Burundi is at 40.4 per cent. Despite this significance, trade in services currently does not live up to its full potential. This is why partner states are devising means to re-examine the services component of the Common Market which is a critical juncture to ensure that the private sector is able to gain these benefits. Ms Lillian Awinja, the executive director East African Business Council (EABC), shares: “We want to improve trade in services in the East African region through developing tangible positions for each sector and come up with feasible advice for policy-makers to facilitate trade in the region.” Ms Awinja said to take this further; focus will be put on several sectors within the Common Market Protocol mainly looking at business; communication; distribution; education; finance; tourism; and transport services. “We want to make sure that...

For an idea of how wealthy Africans want to think of their countries, flick through the adverts in one of the glossy pan-African magazines given away in the continent’s airport lounges. Banks are promoted with pictures of young glamorous Africans in smart suits strolling through glossy malls. New apartment blocks and golf courses grace the other pages. Africa, in these magazines, is rising. If, however, you want to get a real idea of how Africa’s economies are faring, you should go where few of the wealthy people in the lounges do: the land borders. Earlier this year, I spent a day at the border of Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. Whereas Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan, buzzes with new investment, at the country’s border, it is hardly noticeable. The start of no-man’s land is marked by a piece of string stretched across the road, and a small office manned by a pair of sleepy soldiers. It is not a busy place; when I was there, a few dozen lorries at most were waiting to cross. When African countries feature in Western politics, it’s invariably a debate over aid versus trade. In September, Barack Obama hosted a forum in New York designed to promote trade between America and Africa. “From Senegal to South Africa, Africans insist they do not just want aid, they want trade,” declared the outgoing President. In October, Britain’s new DFID secretary, Priti Patel, hinted at using Britain’s hefty aid budget to promote post-Brexit trade deals. The idea is that...

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has promised to provide adequate financial support to the East African community. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has promised to provide adequate financial support to the East African community. In a speech read for him by the speaker of the Kenyan senate, Ekwe Ethuro, Kenyatta expressed concern about the poor financial status of the community. Source: NTV Uganda

Cargo owners have up to midnight to furnish the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) with verified gross mass details of a packed container. Among the basic information required are the equipment location, standardisation certificate and business registration certificate. The rule to verify gross mass of a packed container took effect on July 1, and is one of the requirements introduced after amendments were made to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) by International Maritime Organisation (IMO) members. “This information must be provided to the master or the master’s representative sufficiently in advance of loading for proper stowage and safe carriage of the cargo. Any packed container received at the port without the verified gross mass shall not be loaded on to a ship,” KMA’s acting director general Comas Cherop said in a statement. The SOLAS amendments provide that there are two methods shippers may use to determine the container weight once the container packing process has taken place. This requirement is applying globally, and IMO directed that shippers, freight forwarders, vessel operators, and terminal operators must establish policies and procedures to ensure the implementation of this regulatory change. Under the SOLAS amendments, there are two accepted methods for weighing. Method one requires weighing the container after it has been packed. The second one requires weighing all the cargo and contents of the container and adding those weights to the container’s tare weight as indicated on the door of the container. “Weighing of all packages and cargo...

East Africa continues to experience robust Private Equity (PE) activity and an increasingly strong exit environment according to the latest Spotlight on East Africa Private Equity report East Africa continues to experience robust Private Equity (PE) activity and an increasingly strong exit environment according to the latest Spotlight on East Africa Private Equity report released by the African Private Equity and Venture Association. The results indicate that the region’s diversified economies and newly emerging markets are becoming increasingly attractive to investors on the continent at a time when other regions have been exposed to commodity price-driven volatility. The findings show that East Africa reported a total of 167 PE deals between 2010 and 2016, with a total deal value of $1.4 billion (Shs5 trillion). Mr Berhane Demissie, the managing partner at Cepheus Growth Capital Partners, said: “East Africa is emerging as one of the most attractive regions for PE investment in Africa.” Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania demonstrate strong growth figures, with Kenya, the region’s largest market, accounting for 53 per cent of reported PE deals. Uganda came second at a distant 19 per cent followed by Tanzania at 10 per cent. Other findings highlight that although PE deal activity in East Africa is more focused on SMEs, a handful of large transactions have significantly affected year-on-year total deal values in the past. In his opinion about the member states on the findings, Mr Stephen Kaboyo, the managing partner at Alpha Capital, said majority of the companies in East Africa are...

President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) to assist the business community overcome trade barriers in order to actualise free trade across the East African Community (EAC). He said obstacles such as long clearing procedures, road blocks and changes in regulations negatively impacted business expansion. In a speech delivered by Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro on Tuesday, Mr Kenyatta said Eala and the EAC partner states are duty-bound to support the business community address challenges they face. “Our business community has been a keen partner and driver of our integration process. We are, therefore, duty-bound to support them in addressing the challenges they face in conducting and expanding their businesses,” he said. The Eala recently passed a binding legislation to eliminate non-tariff barriers (NTB) to trade among the EAC Partner states. NTBs come in various forms and often limit market access, changing the quantities of goods traded or increasing the prices of the goods. Mr Kenyatta noted the bringing into force of the EAC NTB Act 2015 was laudable and a critical area that requires concerted efforts from all, to bring a long-lasting and sustainable solution to the NTB problem. He said there is a need to do more in ensuring industrialisation flourishes and agriculture is given priority. “While keeping up our focus on infrastructural developments, we need to ensure that the goods that are carried on these roads and on the railway are made in East Africa,” he said. In his address to the Assembly in...

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Kenya and Uganda on Monday launched the Northern Economic Corridor Master Plan that provides the blueprint for the development of infrastructure that interconnects the East African region. Kenya’s Ministry of Transport Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, Infrastructure Secretary Francis Gitau told a forum in Nairobi that the corridor will link Kenya’s sea port of Mombasa to Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. "The Northern Economic Corridor has several large bottlenecks in logistics which cause inefficiency of logistics and therefore hinders growth in the region," Gitau said. "The aim of the master plan is to ensure that landlocked countries that depend on Kenya’s sea port can easily and conveniently access the rest of the world," Gitau said during the International Seminar on the Northern Economic Corridor. "When fully implemented, the master plan will reduce the cost and time of travel between the East African countries," he said. The transport corridor will have multimodal options including road, rail, waterway and a pipeline. The master plan also includes development of infrastructure to link agricultural and industrial production zones with key domestic and external markets. Government data indicate that total import and export freight from the Mombasa port will hit 61 million tons in 2030, which is 2.3 times the current amount. "We therefore need to upgrade the Northern Economic Corridor because it will handle most of the cargo," he said. The Kenyan official said that intra-Africa trade remains low compared to that of the rest of the...

Nairobi — Kenya is set to host a group of investors from Jordan as the two countries seek to strengthen their political, social and economic ties. The 100-strong delegation of investors and business representatives will be in the country in mid December to meet traders in tea, coffee, hides and skins, aviation, food and beverages and the hospitality industry. Other sectors that will be represented include medical, health and the construction industry. Principal Secretary for the State Department of Trade in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Co-operatives, Chris Kiptoo said that the visit is a welcome development following the recent call on the state by King Abdulla of Jordan. "As a regional economic power house and with the number of incentives that we give to any investors the Jordanian delegation will find plenty of opportunities to partner with local investor," said Dr Kiptoo. "Investors in Jordan are taking heed of their Head of State to explore trading opportunities in East Africa and Kenya in particular. Jordan has some of the best specialty hospitals in the world, is renowned globally for their aviation prowess and well developed cosmetics industry. The country is also known for their dealings in oil, refrigeration/cooling and heavy importation of tea coffee, meat and leather products. The visit will involve an exhibition at the KICC, business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) meetings as well as industry, plant and farm visits. Source: All Africa

TANZANIA Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) yesterday launched a freight and logistics platform in Dar es Salaam, calling upon the government and other key players to engage amicably in business to enhance the services in the country. Inaugurating the launch that drew in many stakeholders which form TPSF in its voice of the representing different private businesses owners which attended the occasion, Angelina Ngalula thanked the government for setting aside 2.18 trilion/- in its 2016/17 budget for the growth of the sector in the country. She named some of the business owners as Transporters Association of Tanzania (TAT), Tanzania Truck Owners Association (TATOA), to Tanzania Shipping Agents Association (TASAAA), among others. She said they collectively require strategic thinking and planning to improve economy that is not a one-man affair, adding that the private sector must marry with the government to revolutionise and improve the business climate currently prevailing in the country. She asked the government on behalf of the other key players in TPSF to address barriers in the market which create obstacles in their businesses, singling one as “consumers who must be protected in their rights and only served with standardised quality goods. ” Promising to conduct a survey to improve the business climate in the country, the chairperson of TPSF said that Dar es Salaam port and railway should be under one umbrella as in South Africa where the merge is doing well as they save time to consult one another as one body in business. She also mentioned...