When the COVID-19 pandemic crisis started; most people were extremely pessimistic and predicted that the EAC region would drown in terms of trade declining catastrophically. But in fact, the East Africa Community economies (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda) have, by global standards, proven to be relatively resilient. The newly launched joint report by UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), TradeMark Africa (TMA) and African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) entitled “Waving or Drowning? The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on East African Trade” notes that declines in imports broadly reflected the adverse trade performance of the EAC’s main trading partners during the early phases of the pandemic in April and May 2020, but the imports of all the EAC Partner States subsequently recovered to pre-pandemic levels by the second half of 2020, after governments’ lockdown restrictions were eased, and a broader global trade recovery started to take place. Nonetheless, despite showing resilience, COVID-19 has reversed some of the gains made in trade facilitation. Immediately after COVID-19 outbreak, the ship dwell time at Mombasa port increased by 48% and Berth time increased by 52%. Cargo transit from Mombasa Port to Malaba (the border between Kenya and Uganda) increased from 7 days to 11 days by the second quarter of 2020. The time taken to transport goods via the Mombasa-Busia route was nearly three times higher. On the Central Corridor, the transit time from Dar-es-Salaam to various cities in the neighbouring countries more than doubled. The marked increase in transit...

Elegu, 10 November 2020: TradeMark Africa, the regional trade facilitating agency has handed over Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Elegu One Stop Border Post (OSBP) frontline staff and informal cross border traders. The delivery of PPEs at Elegu OSBP comes at the back of concentrated efforts undertaken by the Government of Uganda and its partners to further curb the spread of the novel COVID-19 virus that continues to cause havoc across the world. The PPE presented at Elegu OSBP were funded by Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) through TradeMark Africa’s Safe Trade Emergency Facility. Other OBSPs that have already benefited from this Safe Trade initiative are Busia and Mutukula. Ulrik Jorgensen, Counsellor and Teamleader Growth Team at the Denmark in Uganda Embassy and Damali Ssali, the acting country director for TradeMark Africa, Uganda delivered the PPE to Elegu OSBP. On hand to receive the PPE was Abel Kagumire, the Commissioner Customs at Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The equipment provided includes infrared thermometers, re-usable safety boots, full protective PPE, filtering facepiece respirator, reusable masks, plastic face shield. While receiving the PPE, Abel Kagumire, the URA commissioner customs underscored the significance of the Elegu OSBP as a strategic border for Uganda. “As a country, we look at Elegu border as a strategic border for growing our exports. We have a lot of agricultural produce in Uganda which is needed in South Sudan. That is why we come up with processes that help facilitate exports. We are challenging our people to add value...

Elegu, 10 November 2020: TradeMark East Africa, the regional trade facilitating agency has handed over Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Elegu One Stop Border Post (OSBP) frontline staff and informal cross border traders. The delivery of PPEs at Elegu OSBP comes at the back of concentrated efforts undertaken by the Government of Uganda and its partners to further curb the spread of the novel COVID-19 virus that continues to cause havoc across the world. The PPE presented at Elegu OSBP were funded by Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) through TradeMark East Africa’s Safe Trade Emergency Facility. Other OBSPs that have already benefited from this Safe Trade initiative are Busia and Mutukula. Ulrik Jorgensen, Counsellor and Teamleader Growth Team at the Denmark in Uganda Embassy and Damali Ssali, the acting country director for TradeMark East Africa, Uganda delivered the PPE to Elegu OSBP. On hand to receive the PPE was Abel Kagumire, the Commissioner Customs at Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The equipment provided includes infrared thermometers, re-usable safety boots, full protective PPE, filtering facepiece respirator, reusable masks, plastic face shield. While receiving the PPE, Abel Kagumire, the URA commissioner customs underscored the significance of the Elegu OSBP as a strategic border for Uganda. “As a country, we look at Elegu border as a strategic border for growing our exports. We have a lot of agricultural produce in Uganda which is needed in South Sudan. That is why we come up with processes that help facilitate exports. We are challenging our people...