Kenya and the US are committed to developing bilateral relations, contributing to the deepening in trade, cooperation and investment for the two countries. Constance Hamilton, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative  for Africa said because the African markets are dynamic and evolving, “Our vision is to establish a Free Trade Agreement with an African partner to enhance value-added exports and create a positive trade dynamic in the region.” She said the US  is transitioning to a modern free trade agreement with African partners aligned with its long term growth prospects. Speaking at the second edition of the Amcham Business Summit 2019, a strategic platform to facilitate trade between the US and East Africa,  with themed ‘Partnering for prosperity’, Brionne Dawson, Senior Director, East and Southern Africa further reiterated that “Although East Africa has been one of the fastest-growing regions economically,  trade between the US and East Africa is still limited. We hope that the ongoing negotiations between representatives of the US and Kenya continue to drive progress in Trade.” President Uhuru Kenyatta said in his opening statement that, “The private sector will be key to developing our continued partnerships with the United States. Last year, through a working group, Kenya and the US developed a strategic partnership which gives us some privileges in trading with the US.” He added, “We have made steady progress in improving our business environment. This reflects the deliberate actions we have taken to promote development. Through enhancing security and infrastructure.” President Kenyatta said his Government strives to uphold good business practices...

Burundi has joined a group of nine African countries at a high risk of debt distress while Kenya’s risk of default has increased to moderate from low. This has seen the International Monetary Fund raise a red flag over the rate at which East African countries are accumulating debt. The region’s economies have fallen into a financial fix as they attempt to fund persistent budget deficits and implement mega infrastructure projects against a backdrop of declining revenue collection. As a result, the economies have resorted to massive borrowing, both from the domestic and international markets to quench their loan appetite, with fears that the increasing uptake of commercial loans could push most of them into debt distress. “An over-reliance on commercial public debt exposes sovereign balance sheets to greater rollover and exchange rate risks. Also, an increase in debt from domestic creditors could crowd out financing for private sector projects,” said the IMF. So far Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are among the top 50 countries in the world that are highly indebted to China, according to US-based research firm Brookings Institution. According to Brookings, countries are now shifting away from official multilateral creditors who come with stringent conditions to non-concessional, (commercial) debt with relatively higher interest rates and lower maturities. But this trend is raising concerns around debt sustainability given the possibility of higher refinancing risks and foreign exchange risks. The IMF, in its regional economic outlook report for sub-Saharan Africa released last week, says that surging public debt-to-GDP ratios...

Kenya's Chinese-built port in the coastal county of Lamu is expected to be launched in December, the port agency said on Monday. Daniel Manduku, managing director of Kenya Ports Authority told Xinhua in Nairobi that the facility that was constructed by the China Communications Construction Company will receive its first ship from the Maersk Shipping line next month. "The Lamu port will mainly be a transshipping hub for cargo destined for ports such as Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Maputo," Manduku said. The construction of the first berth has been completed and two others are expected to be completed by the end of 2020. "The third berth will be modified to handle crude oil exports from Kenya's northwest region," Manduku added. Manduku noted that the first three berths will be funded by the government while another 29 berths should be developed under a public-private partnership model. The port agency said that the Lamu port will complement the existing port of Mombasa to help facilitate the movement of cargo in and out of Kenya and its neighboring states, enhancing Kenya's status as a regional transportation hub because of the ability to handle larger sea vessels. "The new port is also expected to handle cargo to and from Southern Ethiopia," Manduku revealed. Source: Xinhau

Kenya has slashed pipeline tariffs by 50 per cent as it seeks to win back oil importers from landlocked countries to its network, after it lost the regional fuel transport market to Tanzania’s port of Dar es Salaam. The tariffs scheduled to be gazetted by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority set the rate at $30.89 per 1,000 litres from the previous $60 for the same volume. The three year revision will see the rates fall further fall marginally to $30.65 in 2020 and to $29.07 in 2021. Currently, it costs $60 per 1,000 litres of fuel that passes through the Kenyan pipeline and a further $35 on trucks to and from destination countries, compared with an average of $80 to move oil via Tanzania’s Central Corridor road network to and from Dar es Salaam. The tariff revision is hot on the heels of an announcement by Tanzania last week that it was forming a task force operating a One Stop Centre at the Dar port to improve efficiency. Works, Communications and Transport Minister Isaack Kamwelwe said the team will bring together at least 20 stakeholder organisations from key institutions, both public and private, involved in cargo clearance at the port. These include the Tanzania Port Authority, the Tanzania Revenue Authority, Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority, Tanzania Bureau of Standards, Tanzania International Container Terminal Services, Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association, Tanzania Truck Owners Association and the Dar es Salaam Corridor Group. The announcement brings to the fore the fierce competition for...

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has received and held a meeting with the United Kingdom Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda and Rwanda, Lord Dolar Popat, who called on him yesterday at State House, Entebbe. Mr. Museveni and his guest who was accompanied by the British High Commissioner to Uganda Mr. Peter West discussed issues related to investments and economic development between Uganda and Britain especially in the sector of agriculture in which, they noted, Uganda has great potential. Museveni informed Lord Popat that Uganda has gone the extra mile in churning out large quantities of agricultural and dairy products but the challenge is the low prices on the internal market. He added that the immediate solution to this challenge is to process them and add value to them for export markets. “Our farmers and processors of agricultural produce should adapt to the competitive world so that they are not eliminated in marketing,” Museveni stressed. Lord Popat and High Commissioner Peter West said that all that is required is for the produce from Uganda to meet both the European Union and United Kingdom uniform standard that pertains to food and beverage importation to Europe. Lord Popat commended Museveni for steering a fast, steady and progressive national economy in Uganda. Source: KMA News Agency

Rwandan companies from the agricultural and handcrafts sectors will attend Chinese International Import Expo (CIIE) as the country seeks to boost exports on the global market. The event will take place from 5th to 10th this month in the city of Shanghai and countries are expected to present their national image, promote trade and investment as well as help their companies to open new markets, and advance economic globalization. This year’s CIIE is the second edition, and it will provide 270,000 square metres of exhibition area for goods and 30,000 square metres for services. Goods like high-end intelligent equipment; consumer electronics and appliances; apparels, automobiles; food products, medical equipment and services like emerging technologies, service outsourcing, creative design, culture and education, logistics, among others are expected to be presented. The first CIIE that happened in the same city in 2018 attracted 172 countries, regions and international organizations. More than 3,600 enterprises participated in the expo, which attracted more than 400,000 domestic and overseas purchasers. The cumulative intended turnover for deals of purchase of goods and services reached $57 billion. This year’s edition is expected to establish a unified “product debut” area, and have interactive modules that will provide visitors a more immersive exhibition experience. According to Rwanda Development Board, the country will be represented by Gashora farms (chili producers), West Hills Coffee Limited, Garden Fresh, Damarara Coffee, Rwanda Mountain Tea, among others. “Rwanda targets having more companies export to China by participating in this expo. The CIIE will be a...

The Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) has urged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)to tap into financing opportunities through the Export Growth Fund (EGF) expected to substantially boost exports and tackle trade deficits. The call was made on Thursday as BRD launched one year campaign to improve EGF and raise the uptake of the fund among exporters in a bid to increase exports. Held at Kigali Marriot Hotel, the launch of the campaign attracted participants from BRD management, partners and media to have an insight into the fund’s performance and available opportunities. Supporting export development is one of the strategic interventions of BRD. The bank plans to achieve it through the EGF initiative, the Rwanda Growth Anchor Initiative (RGAI), the establishment of Advanced Factory units& Special Economic Zone Infrastructure and the launch of a Technical Assistance Program. In November 2015, the Government of Rwanda initiated EGF, a public fund managed by BRD to facilitate access to export and related funding. SMEs involved in export sector or with export potential are targeted beneficiaries of the lending scheme channeled through financial institutions. EGF falls under export promotion, one of the priority sectors of the economy at BRD. The other key sectors of focus include agriculture, affordable housing, energy and education. EGF is one of the key interventions to promote the growth of exports which has windows for critical undertakings in the sector like market penetration in form of matching grants, subsidized interest rates and credit insurance guarantees. Under the EGF, an exporter desirous...

Uganda is set to join regional neighbours including Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania in implementing Digital Tax Stamps Solution which official say is aimed at increasing revenue collections and fighting counterfeits goods. On Thursday 31st October 2019, the Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda convened a meeting of key stakeholders to reach a harmonized position on how to implement Digital Tax Stamps (DTS) Solution. According to the statement released by the Ministry of Finance and URA on Friday, the meeting was attended by the Uganda Manufacturers Association representatives led by the Chairperson, and officials from Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. “The meeting resolved that, with effect from today 1st November 2019, all the tax payers dealing in the gazetted products whether locally manufactured or imported shall have their products affixed with Digital Stamps. However, they have been given a 3-month grace period of up to 31st January 2020 to finish all stock that does not have stamps in the distribution chain,’’ the statement reads in part. In the same period that installation of stamps affixing technology will take place in the manufacturers’/importers’ production lines. According URA’s Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs, Vincent Seruma, government is expecting to collect Shs150bn in 2019/20 Financial Year after the affixing the technology at various factories. The joint statement adds that the main focus of the implementation of DTS is to enhance government’s revenues through combating counterfeit products on the market and protect consumers’ health and manufacturers’ earnings as well...

Tanzania is unlikely to meet the November deadline for the first phase of the 300km-long $1.9 billion standard gauge railway being built between Dar es Salaam and Morogoro. Sources from the Tanzania Railways Corporation told The EastAfrican that the current short rains have slowed laying of the tracks on concrete sleepers along the line. The rains have also paralysed drilling works at a hill where a tunnel needs to pass through as well as building of bridges, which have to be constructed in dry weather. Jamila Mbarouk of TRC said despite a slow down in construction, the SGR project is at an advanced stage. She said construction at various sites has reached 70 per cent. The contractors, Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi, in partnership with Portuguese firm Mota-Engil Africa have completed a stretch of 210 kilometres and are finalising works on the main stations. She said the first phase has six main stations at Dar es Salaam, Pugu, Soga, Ruvu, Ngerengere and finally Morogoro. The Dar es Salaam and Morogoro stations will be the biggest. Source: The East African

Whatever is holding the second round of talks between Uganda and Rwanda has to be resolved quickly to allow the two sister counties fast-track the peace process. After months of bickering, which climaxed in Rwanda closing its border point at Gatuna on February 28, and advising Rwandans against coming to Uganda, President Museveni and his counterpart Paul Kagame met in Angola in August and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on regional cooperation and security. The principals set up a joint ad hoc commission to help implement the MoU. The commission held their first bilateral meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, on September 16 and agreed to meet again in Kampala after 30 days. The 30 days elapsed on October 16, and the much-awaited meeting did not happen. The fear is that the silence on both sides and endless preparations for a follow-up meeting might be misconstrued to mean a deliberate attempt to throw the baby out with the bathwater yet Rwandans, as well as Ugandans, have for long been waiting to rejoice the return of normalcy. The restrictions at the border have messed up things. Uganda has not only been trading with Rwanda but also uses the country as a gateway to eastern DR Congo. The constraints at the border between Uganda and Rwanda have disrupted trade between the two sister nations and in some cases ruined lives. The traders at Gatuna border have expressed anger and frustration and questioned procrastinating. Small business owners lost source of livelihood in endless border...