Rwanda has opened the Masaka dry port for business with the launch on Monday of the $35 million-worth Kigali Logistics Platform, built and operated by Dubai World—a United Arab Emirates-based trade logistics firm. The facility provides services in container handling, loading and unloading from trucks, warehousing and cold storage; and is expected to reduce the time taken for cargo truck-turnaround from two weeks to three days. It was developed through a concession. Dubai World will run it for 25 years before handing it over to the government. The port’s construction began in early 2016 in Masaka, east of Kigali, close to the special economic zone and will link Rwanda to both the Northern and Central transport corridors, as well as save almost $50 million a year in logistics costs when operating at full capacity, according to the Rwanda Development Board. Patience Mutesi, the country director for Trademark East Africa told The EastAfrican that the logistics hub will help solve some of the persistent bottlenecks that dog the movement of goods to and from Rwanda. “Many challenges still exist for traders in the region. Offloading and reloading outbound cargo at both the Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports takes days and sometimes even weeks to be completed,” said Ms Mutesi. The Masaka dry port was therefore developed as the logical termination point of the proposed standard gauge railway from both the Uganda and Tanzania line, to improve connectivity with the ports of Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The Kigali...

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has said implementation of Digital Tax Stamps will go on urging manufacturers to embrace the system that seeks to fight illicit trade and counterfeit. The implementation of Digital Tax Stamps, according to details contained in the government gazette, will start on November 1 and manufacturers will have a grace period of three months within which they must install digital stamp equipment. Speaking in an interview, Mr Vincent Seruma, the URA assistant commissioner for public and corporate affairs, said Uganda was not the first in the region to embrace Digital Tax Stamps, noting it has been implemented across the region including in Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya. “We would like to urge stakeholders and manufacturers to embrace the Digital Tax Stamps as they are a critical tool in improving accountability of production [as well as protecting] local manufacturers,” he said, adding that the system will be beneficial not only to the tax agency but to also manufacturers. The gazette comes amid serious concerns with manufacturers urging government to come out clearly on who will bear the cost of installing digital tax equipment. Raised concerns Last Thursday, manufacturers, under Uganda Manufacturers Association, wrote to Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde, seeking government’s commitment to cover the cost of implementing Digital Tax Stamps. “…the affected members would wish to have unequivocal confirmation from government indicating that government shall pay for the costs associated with the implementation,” the letter reads in part. The manufacturers also urged government to prevail over URA not to...

Sudan and South Sudan have made a major breakthrough in border talks that concluded on Tuesday in Khartoum leaving only five areas subject to further negotiations. At the conclusion of its 11th Joint Border Commission on October 22, chairman Moaz Mohamed Ahmed Tengu said the two sides agreed on where the border should pass. “We agreed on the border lines, frontier marks and new maps will be drawn. We also agreed on the financial cost of the border demarcation programme. The African Union Office in Sudan witnessed the signing of an agreement, including full description of the agreed parts. However, five areas are still under contention including the Dabba al-Fukhar, Jabal al-Muqainis and Kaka areas on the border. The others are Kefi Kenji and Hofrat Al-Nehass commercial areas in South Darfur, a 13-square-kilometer region inhabited by tribes from Darfur in western Sudan. Source: The East African

Kwame Nkrumah famously proclaimed on the night of Ghana’s independence that “Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa”.  Africa, a continent rich in natural resources, holding around 30% of the world’s mineral resources is at the same time home to 5 of the 10 poorest countries in the world. In a recent report, the World Bank projects that a staggering 90% of the world’s poor may reside in Africa by 2030. Barriers to free regional trade, political turmoil, inadequate infrastructure and weak financial institutions remain key hurdles to economic advancement. Despite how grey the narrative looks, Africa’s growth outlook remains buoyant and continues to attract high foreign direct investment. Nkrumah’s vision was to restore Africa’s identity, “We are going to see that we create our own African personality and identity. We again rededicate ourselves in the struggle to emancipate other countries in Africa”. His desire was to see a well-functioning continent capable of harnessing its rich resources to become a global economic powerhouse. Kwame Nkrumah saw the need for neighbourhood/regional political independence – for he knew Ghana cannot be the only free country in Sub-Saharan Africa. He accordingly spent a great deal of his time, Ghana’s time and resources supporting the political liberation of fellow African countries. The going together, working together approach that Kwame Nkrumah and our political forefathers adopted in the political sphere is needed in economic development. Though recognized, the focus and zeal with which it was deployed in...

olitical effort to make it happen since no one country can make it alone. He added: “Regional cooperation is highly required to deal with it.  High level regional political commitment is key. Due to different legal and regulatory regimes in different countries harmonization of the existing legal and regulatory regimes is required.” According to Ntegano, in countries that have not implemented ONA, “it is not a problem [caused by] telecom operators; it is the governments.” Sarah Kabahuma of the East African Communications Organization (EACO) noted that in the four countries that implemented ONA, call costs are at $10 cents per minute. The challenge, she said, is with grey traffic – the use of illegal telephone exchanges for making international calls bypassing the legal routes and exchanges. Regarding EACO’s recommendations, Kabahuma noted that besides the need to conduct an impact assessment to review ONA especially on price caps, feasibility and challenges, “Burundi and Tanzania should join.” She added: “We should also expand ONA beyond the EAC to other regional economic blocs.” Source: The New Times

By mid-1970s, the East African Railways was the king of long-distance transportation with Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, Jinja and Kampala as the key hubs. Branches to Moshi, Magadi, Nanyuki, Nyahururu, Solai, Kitale, Lira and Kasese created a web of regional railway networks, and at each railway town, rail sidings provided connections to warehouses, factories and oil depots. Rwanda import and exports including petroleum products were handled though Kampala station. When the East African Community collapsed in 1977 Tanzania closed borders with Kenya, resulting in loss of transit traffic from Mombasa to Moshi and the lake ports of Mwanza, Moshi and Bukoba which were fed from Mombasa by railways via Kisumu port. The railways name changed to Kenya Railways (KR) in 1977. About the same time, difficult relationships between Presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Idi Amin of Uganda fractured links between Kenya and Uganda railways resulting in loss of rail synergy between the two countries. This is when transporters, mainly Italians and Somalis from Mandera, emerged from Somalia where they were engaged in long-distance transportation and populated the highway between Mombasa and Uganda with old Fiat/Iveco trucks. To fill the railways void, Rwanda formed a state company (STIR Kigali) to truck cargo (including petroleum) to and from Kenya. Source: Business Daily

The  Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary (CS), Peter Munya has assured investors of unrelenting government support in creating an enabling environment for investment. Citing Kenya as the best investment hub in East and Central Africa, Munya said the country has endeavored to make it easier and cheaper to invest particularly through the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) incentives, among other programs aimed at bringing down the cost of utilities. The  CS  who  was speaking at EPZ in Athi River, Machakos County during the official handover of Braun Infusion Plant flag to signify Germany’s first investment at the EPZ program on Tuesday said investors in the county can now enjoy reduced power tariffs. “For example, we recently gazetted new power tariffs that bring the cost of power down by 30 percent for all manufacturing industries in the country, so if you invest in Kenya, you can now enjoy the best power costs available in this region,” said Munya. The CS exuded confidence that Kenya is a very attractive investment destination as it has access to a big regional market in the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the upcoming Continental Free Trade Area. He noted that Since 2013 Kenya has been a leading destination for Foreign Direct Investment placing the country third after South Africa and Nigeria in terms of volumes and first in terms of companies coming to invest in Africa. Munya attributed this to consistent Private Public Sector Partnership polices that promote...

Passengers travelling from Juba in South Sudan to Gulu in northern Uganda now have a faster option, following the introduction of commercial flights between the two towns. The route will be operated by a privately owned airline; Sky Travel and Aviation, which will fly passengers twice a week to and from Juba.  The company had its maiden flight on Saturday from Juba international airport to Gulu airport with one passenger and crew aboard the white 5Y-MWW 12-seater plane.Emmanuel Cosmos Gombura, the director of the company told URN that the flights will ease movement of the business community between the two East African countries. The flights will cost $170 (about Shs 630,000) for a one-way ticket. Gombura added that they have lined up three planes on the route. This means that instead of the usual road trip of 306km, usually covered in six hours, passengers will spend less than one hour to arrive in Juba and vice versa by air.George Lapir Aligech, a businessman in Gulu town and president of Gulu Municipal Development Forum is optimistic that the flights will promote movement of the business community to promote trade and commerce. Meanwhile, Ojara Martin Mapenduzi, the Gulu district chairperson says the initiative will aid rapid economic recovery in Acholi in terms of business and fostering bilateral relations between the Juba administration and Uganda. Mapenduzi says the district will rally support from government to renovate and expand Gulu airport to international standards in order to attract and promote more commercial flights by...

Passengers travelling from Juba in South Sudan to Gulu in northern Uganda now have a faster option, following the introduction of commercial flights between the two towns. The route will be operated by a privately owned airline; Sky Travel and Aviation, which will fly passengers twice a week to and from Juba.  The company had its maiden flight on Saturday from Juba international airport to Gulu airport with one passenger and crew aboard the white 5Y-MWW 12-seater plane.Emmanuel Cosmos Gombura, the director of the company told URN that the flights will ease movement of the business community between the two East African countries. The flights will cost $170 (about Shs 630,000) for a one-way ticket. Gombura added that they have lined up three planes on the route. This means that instead of the usual road trip of 306km, usually covered in six hours, passengers will spend less than one hour to arrive in Juba and vice versa by air.George Lapir Aligech, a businessman in Gulu town and president of Gulu Municipal Development Forum is optimistic that the flights will promote movement of the business community to promote trade and commerce. Meanwhile, Ojara Martin Mapenduzi, the Gulu district chairperson says the initiative will aid rapid economic recovery in Acholi in terms of business and fostering bilateral relations between the Juba administration and Uganda. Mapenduzi says the district will rally support from government to renovate and expand Gulu airport to international standards in order to attract and promote more commercial flights by...

Symposium on Inclusive Participation of Women in Trade, which took place in Nairobi in September, was co-organised by Professor Leïla Choukroune and attended by Nancy, who is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Business and Law. Nancy says: ‘The Symposium dealt with the broader perspective of emerging global issues in trade and narrowed down to inclusivity of women in trade from a gender perspective. The event attracted high-level dignitaries including Kenya’s Minister for Trade, UNCTAD Secretary General, Ambassadors and CEOs from various organisations across the globe. Various presentations were made by specialists ranging from information technology, data analyses and legal perspectives. My paper was titled:’Legal Framework for Inclusion of Women in Trade: Case of the United Kingdom vis a vis Kenya.’ This was informed by the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, which included 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at ending poverty, hunger and inequality, supporting action on climate change, improving access to health and education, and building strong institutions and partnerships. The inclusion of a standalone goal (Goal 5) on women’s equality, as well as the mainstreaming of gender and inclusion through the other 16 goals, is a key achievement for the international community. Gender inequality in most spheres of development remains a major barrier to human development. The presentation demystified the legal and institutional framework of the rights of women in trade, reasons for the shift from exclusion and marginalisation of women for many decades and an increase in inclusion by creation of relevant legislation...