The East African Business Council (EABC) Tuesday signed a US$ 3.2 Million financing agreement with TradeMark Africa (TMA). This will support implementation of a 3 year programme, “Integrating Public-Private Sector Dialogue (PPD) for Trade and Investment in East Africa Community (EAC) Programme”. The partnership will support EABC’s advocacy efforts of improving coordination, reporting and resolution of Non- Tariff Barriers along the corridors; harmonization and adoption of East African Standards/ Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures; improve adoption and harmonization of Customs and Domestic Tax-related policies and trade facilitation in the EAC. To strengthen and sustain EAC’s trade and investment, it is critical that an enabling environment is in place to guarantee growth and predictability. Public‐Private Dialogue plays a crucial role in addressing constraints, providing short‐term stimulus with long‐term impact and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction. The project will enhance advocacy and dialogue on transport and logistics, trade facilitation, customs & tax, standards, and NTBs in a bid to increase trade and investments in the EAC. Also, the programme extends beyond the EAC and incorporates the COMESA, COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) “Inadequate trading regimes restrictions on the export of certain commodities, and lack of product diversification and the existence of NTBs continue to hamper intra-regional trade which is still low at 20% compared to other RECs SADC 40% ,” said Hon. Peter Mathuki, EABC CEO. The EABC is a key convenor of high‐level regional Public‐Private Sector Dialogue forums with an “Observer...

East Africa Business Council (EABC) has received US$ 3.2 Million (Shs11.8bn) from TradeMark Africa aimed at reducing trade barriers in the East African Community through supporting the implementation of a 3 year programme dubbed “Integrating Public-Private Sector Dialogue (PPD) for Trade and Investment in East Africa Community (EAC) Programme”. EABC officially signed a US$ 3.2 Million financing agreement with TradeMark Africa (TMA) on 20th August in Nairobi. The partnership will support EABC’s advocacy efforts of improving coordination, reporting and resolution of Non- Tariff Barriers along the corridors; harmonization and adoption of East African Standards/ Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures; improve adoption and harmonization of Customs and  Domestic Tax-related policies and trade facilitation in the EAC. Peter Mathuki, EABC CEO says that in order to strengthen and sustain EAC’s trade and investment, it is critical that an enabling environment is in place to guarantee growth and predictability adding that Public‐Private Dialogue plays a crucial role in addressing constraints, providing short‐term stimulus with long‐term impact and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction. “We appreciate this partnership with TradeMark Africa as it will support EABC to evaluate and monitor EAC policies to ensure they work for businesses at ground level and create momentum to accelerate needed the policy reforms to the business and investment climate in the EAC. Inadequate trading regimes restrictions on the export of certain commodities, and lack of product diversification and the existence of Non-Tariff Barriers continue to hamper intra-regional trade which is still low at 20% compared to other regions in SADC at...

The East African Business Council (EABC) on Tuesday signed a US$ 3.2 million financing agreement with TradeMark Africa (TMA) for support in implementing a three-year programme focused on the simplification and harmonization of trade procedures in the region. The partnership will support EABC’s advocacy efforts of improving coordination, reporting and resolution of non- tariff barriers along the corridors; harmonization and adoption of East African standards or sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures; improve adoption and harmonization of Customs and Domestic Tax-related policies and trade facilitation in the region. “We will coordinate, set the agenda and facilitate evidence-based research on public-private dialogues to reducing barriers to trade in the EAC region,” said Peter Mathuki, the EABC Chief Executive Officer. “We appreciate this partnership with TradeMark Africa as it will support EABC to evaluate and monitor EAC policies to ensure they work for businesses at ground level and create momentum to accelerate the needed policy reforms for the business and investment climate in the EAC.” As noted, public-private dialogue plays a crucial role in addressing constraints, providing short-term stimulus with long-term impact and contributing to economic growth and poverty reduction. The project will enhance advocacy and dialogue on transport and logistics, trade facilitation, customs and tax, standards, and NTBs in a bid to increase trade and investments in the region. The programme also extends beyond the EAC and incorporates the COMESA, COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). “Inadequate trading regimes restrictions on the export of...

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Intra-African trade declined to 14.4 per cent in 2018, with the continental countries trading more with the Asia, according to a review by the African Development Bank (AfDB) The Annual Development Effectiveness Review 2019, indicates the activity was low against a 2015 baseline of 14.6 per cent and a target for 2018 at 17 per cent. The trade is expected to reach 25 per cent in 2025. AfDB said non-tariff barriers and a lack of political goodwill to address the challenges impede progress. It also cites poor infrastructure in roads and energy transmission lines constructed or rehabilitated to enhance cross-border trade. “Intra-Africa trade could grow by up to 15 per cent if the bilateral tariffs that are applied today in Africa are eliminated and the rules of origin kept simple and transparent,” AfDB said. The bank points to barriers that could restrain the African regional economic integration that was given a boost in March 2018 with the established African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA is projected to increase intra-African trade by 52 per cent by 2022. Kenya ratified the deal. AfCFTA became operational in July after meeting the ratification threshold from other 22 countries. “By committing countries to remove tariffs on 90 per cent of goods, liberalising tariffs on services and addressing other non-tariff barriers, AfCFTA is expected to significantly increase the value of intra-Africa trade and investment,” notes the report. According to the bank, barriers such as cost of trading across borders remains high, more than Sh245,000 (at $2384), after falling slightly in 2017. According to AfDB, the countries are making initiatives...

The coming together of the East African Community members to harmonize customs processes has not only made it easier for traders to do business but also drastically reduced serious transnational crimes and enhanced revenue collection. This is mainly attributed to the implementation of the Single Customs Territory. Established in 2014, the SCT has reduced the cost of doing business by eliminating duplication of processes. It has also reduced administrative costs, regulatory requirements and the risks associated with non-compliance on the transit of goods. This is because taxes are paid at the first point of entry for all the partner states. Going by the latest statistics on revenue collection from the borders, it is evident that the investment on joint Customs initiatives is bearing fruits. Most One Stop Border Posts, being one of the SCT initiative, coadministered by KRA customs and revenue agencies from the other EAC member states have registered growth in revenue. Commonly traded goods in the region include sugar, timber, unprocessed tobacco and fresh farm produce, coffee, cotton lint, teak logs/beams, construction materials, vehicle spare parts and manufactured goods. Further, the OSBP concept has increased border crossing speed and efficiency hence reducing barriers to trade and improving business competitiveness. The average time taken to clear a truck is 5-10 minutes compared to 2-3 days previously. On the Northern Corridor, the turnaround time of goods transitin from Mombasa to Kampala has been reduced from 18 days to four, and goods from Mombasa to Kigali, from 21 days to six....

Ambassador Katureebe Tayebwa Consul - General of Uganda in Mombasa said more commitment was required from all stakeholders’ especially political leaders and state bureaucrats to remove barriers to trade. TRADE Many direct and indirect trade barriers continue to hinder increased trade among East Africans which could have led to increased prosperity in the region. Ambassador Katureebe Tayebwa Consul - General of Uganda in Mombasa said more commitment was required from all stakeholders’ especially political leaders and state bureaucrats to remove barriers to trade. This was during the Third Trade and Business Facilitation Symposium 2019 organized by the Consulate of Uganda in Mombasa and Trade Mark East Africa, an institution seeking to push prosperity in the region through increased trade. Tayebwa cited that Uganda’s tea exports go to the Port of Mombasa for the tea auction and so the two countries need each other. “We need to tackle the challenges that continue to hinder the seamless movement of goods in the region. We need to create networks in the region to harness the opportunities presented as well as create a platform where we can share challenges encountered in trade," Tayebwa said. Tayebwa said trade and business facilitation will be successful when supported through transformation of the economy and investing in infrastructure.' He said the governments in the region were investing heavily in infrastructure development. “We need to increase exports from the region. No country can develop without setting up industries for exports which create jobs and bring in foreign exchange,” Tayebwa...

East African Community member states are working towards linking the regional electronic payment system to other payment solutions in Africa, to moderate trade around the continent following the launch of the African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). EAC central banks are now finding ways of transforming the system by linking it with other payment solutions in Africa to allow seamless transfer of cash across the continent at both retail and wholesale levels. Bank of Uganda’s deputy governor Dr Louis Kasekende said the move will help improve intra-Africa trade and support the growth of regional firms. At present, Kenya controls transactions in the EAPS, which allows citizens of member countries to make and receive payments in regional currencies — the Kenyan shilling, Ugandan shilling, Tanzanian shilling, Rwandan franc and Burundian franc. South Sudan is yet to join the system, which links the respective real time gross settlements (RTGS) systems of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The operationalisation of the EAPS was largely meant to stregnthen regional currency convertibility. Kenya’s Central Bank is working in partnership with other regional central banks to smoothen the acceptance of the EAC domestic currencies as a way of enhancing regional trade and lowering transaction costs. In other regional blocs such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, execution of currency convertibility has been enhanced by grouping member states into clusters. These are the Southern African subgroup, Northern African subgroup, Central and Eastern African subgroup and the Indian Ocean subgroup. According to the Comesa...

Stakeholders in the logistics sector hope the third Global Logistics Convention, taking place on August 29-30 at the Kigali International Convention Centre, can spur countries to enhance rail and water transport, embrace technology and curb political friction, among others. Local and regional freight forwarders, truckers, sector experts, and others, believe the conference comes in handy as regards finding solutions to challenges in the sector. Abhishek Sharma, TradeMark Africa’s Senior Director for Transport told Sunday Times that the whole idea has been that the logistics industry needs to come together to discuss issues jointly and improve dialogue with governments in the region. Sharma said: “The main player that invests money in logistics infrastructure is the government. But the main user of the infrastructure is the industry; the freight forwarders, and others. It is very important that when we are planning logistics, there is a constant dialogue between the government and the logistics players.” By and large, however, Sharma said that even though challenges persist in the region’s logistics sector, in the last 10 years, the status of logistics in the region has improved significantly. “The [transit] time and the cost have come down dramatically along both the northern corridor and the central corridor. On the central corridor, for Rwanda, while the average speed of truck on transit was 7 kilometers an hour it has now improved to as much as 14 kilometers an hour, he said.” The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index – a tool created to help countries identify the...

EAST African Business Council (EABC) leaders paid a visit to President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda to engage him on measures to boost intra-regional trade in the EAC region, regional integration and private sector involvement in development activities. This is a good move by the council, which creates a platform for business titans in the region, to engage government leaders on matters pertaining to our wellbeing. Tak ing initiatives like that to push for measures that will drive regional integration process is commendable. The EABC leaders seem to be applying the wisdom from the old proverb of strik ing while the iron is hot as their initiative came at the most opportune time to tak e advantage of a strong political will by the regional leaders to enhance regional integration. The EAC Partner States with the foresightedness of the Heads of State are fully committed to the success of the regional integration agenda. The 19th Summit of the EAC Heads of State held in Kampala, Uganda on February this year deliberated on the status of the EAC integration and directed the Council of Ministers to tak e appropriate measures to fully implement the Single Customs Territory. The Heads of State summit also directed council of ministers to fast-track full implementation of the Common Market Protocol, speed up implementation of the Monetary Union, and make preparations for the drafting of the Constitution of the EAC Political Confederation as a transitional model to the Political Federation. The matters brought for the attention of...