The war on illegal sea trade has been heightened as navy officers step up operation at the Coast. The Kenya Navy has, together with the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS), increased their patrols on the Indian Ocean to tame illicit trade. The security operation is targeting illegal fishing, drugs trafficking and sea pollution among others. “As a part of a multi-agency collaboration, the Kenya Navy and the Kenya Coast Guard Services' personnel today conducted a joint patrol at the South Coast's brown waters to curb illegal trade,” said the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in one of its operation posts on Twitter. It is estimated that the country loses at least Sh10 billion in revenue annually due to illegal and criminal activities at sea. The Twitter update on the patrol last week came as KCGS Director-General Vincent Loonena met with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) acting managing director Rashid Salim to discuss maritime safety. KPA is a member of the Coast Guard technical committee where it plays an advisory role. The maritime agency was established by President Uhuru Kenyatta with its key roles being ensuring safety of the country’s territorial waters, safeguarding the ports and prevention of dumping of harmful wastes and pollutants in the sea. The Coast Guard also has a role in ensuring that vessels, sea farers and all sea users have the necessary licences for their operations at sea — whether work, leisure or business. It also offers search and rescue services and prevent illegal commercial activities such as...

Alec Ross, the author of Industries of the Future, opined in 2017 as the world embraces digital trade in goods and services, data remains its key raw material. Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of commentaries on the ongoing Kenya-United States negotiations of a bilateral trade agreement following a meeting between presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and Donald Trump in February. In a 19-page “Summary of Specific Negotiating Objectives” by the Office of the United States Trade Representative Executive Office of the President, a number of issues were highlighted and have elicited debate, among them, cross-border data flows. Data has become crucial in trade agreements. As more nations come to the realisation of its importance, most trade pacts contain provisions on data. In light of the proliferation of North-South Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), that is, agreements between the developed countries and the less developed, it is important that trade policy negotiators look at data provisions in these agreements with a tooth-comb. As the East African Community (EAC) countries continue to negotiate these FTAs, there is no better time to hold discourse on the place of data, especially regarding national security, transferability and localisation. The EAC is bereft of any serious provisions on data. Yet as e-commerce grows, digital trade will encompass a considerable chunk of these agreements. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) does not have a legal framework on this, meaning countries entering into agreements are largely left to their own devices. The WTO’s position on this is...

It is hard to see how African economies will bounce back to the vibrant fast growing hubs that they were over the past two decades, the pre-corona era. Countries like Rwanda that led East Africa (and most of the World) with annual economic growth averaging 9.4 percent now looks at annual growth rates of a mere 2 percent.  When the tourism and hospitality industries reopen their doors, will tourists and holiday maker flock in triple and quadruple their previous numbers and will they do so long enough for the industries to stabilize and resume growth? Will air travel shake off the blow it has taken, will it be willing to pocket less profit to attract business or will it hike prices to capitalize the anticipated initial high demand post the pandemic?  How individual industries will raise from the ashes of the pandemic is anyone’s guess but should recovery of global economies, especially of vulnerable third world countries like those in Africa be left to the invisible hands of commerce or should concerted regional and continental strategies be tabled?  Dare I say, it seems that the continent has again been stooped into the ill fated philosophy of individualism; it has again been divided and is again on the verge of been conquered. Just like they took individual course of action when the pandemic befell the continent, countries are destined to make individual response strategies, prioritizing self over whole.  Already this autonomy approach to the pandemic has rendered regional blocs asunder. Hard...

Kenya will address delays and backlog of trucks at the borders in a week's time, Industrialization, Trade, and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina has said. Even so, trust issues around Covid-19 tests continue to play out at the borders with Tanzania and Uganda, with drivers from either side complaining of discrimination and lack of transparency in the processes. Speaking to the Star yesterday, CS Maina said the  government has increased testing capacity at its borders to ensure speedy clearance of truck drivers. The CS last week during a Webinar by consultancy firm Delloite assured of government's commitment to support cross-border trade. “Nobody wants disruption of business,” the CS told the Star yesterday, “We have increased capacity to clear backlog.” She however insisted drivers must take tests before commencing their journeys. Under the guidelines in place, truck drivers test and receive Covid-19 results in a minimum time of 48hours before being proceeding with their journey. “In the context of Covid, we must ensure we support the health ministry and that we conduct safe trade,” CS Betty said. Most affected borders are the busy Kenya-Uganda border of Malaba and the Kenya-Tanzania border of Namanga. At Malaba, delays have caused a long queue with trucks stretching more than 50 kilometers on either sides. Kenyan truck drivers have accused Ugandan authorities of harassment once in their territory, where they are denied access to amenities such as toilets and hotels. “They eat, sleep, relieve themselves in the trucks,” Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) chief executive...

As Covid-19 caseload surpassed 225,105 on Saturday across the African continent, 43 African countries are now under full border closure due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus. The death toll from the pandemic has reached 6,040, while some 102,846 people have recovered, according to the latest data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The Africa CDC said that the northern African region is the most affected area across the continent both in terms of positive Covid-19 cases and the number of deaths. HIGHLY AFFECTED The highly affected African countries include South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Djibouti, Nigeria, and Algeria, said the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) Commission. Some countries on Saturday reported new records for their daily increases in Covid-19 infections. Egypt registered 1,677 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily surge so far, raising the national count to 42,980, the Egyptian health ministry said. The country has also reported a record single-day increase of 62 in Covid-19 deaths, taking the death toll to 1,484, said Khaled Megahed, the health ministry's spokesman. Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation with a population of about 107 million, reported 268 new cases on Saturday, the highest daily increase so far, taking the country's tally to 3,166, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said. WORST HIT South Africa, the worst-hit country on the continent, has registered a total of 65,736 cases and 1,423 deaths so far, according to Johns Hopkins University's latest tally....

Rwanda and Kenyan transport officials are expected to hold fresh talks separately with their Tanzanian counterparts over continuing truckers stalemate at their respective borders. Tanzania cross-border cargo truck owners want unconditional access into Rwanda, protesting the Covid-19 control measures requiring them to terminate their trips at the Rwanda border, with exception of perishables and petroleum products as per the deal reached by the governments on May 15. According to media reports, the Tanzania Truck Owners Association has requested the government to have talks with neighbouring countries and review its members claim that their Covid-19 certificates are being rejected at the borders while others have to wait for long to offload cargo at the Namanga (with Kenya) and Rusumo (Rwanda) borders. Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Vincent Biruta confirmed to The EastAfrican that parties were expected to meet, on a date yet to be set. He, however, did not reveal the specific demands presented by Tanzania, and whether the talks signal a setback to the previously reached deal. Clearance certificates “It will be a follow up on the implementation of the resolutions of the previous bilateral meeting with Tanzania,” he said through the Office of the Government Spokesperson. On the Tanzania-Kenya borders, the situation is the same, as drivers from the two countries are stranded and cannot enter or exit both sides at the Namanga and Holili/Taveta One Stop Border Posts. Tanzania’s Transport Minister Isaack Kamwelwe told The EastAfrican, the two countries are making arrangements to have talks...

An access road in Malaba border point is being revamped to ease traffic congestion that has been made worse by coronavirus. Transport secretary James Macharia told Parliament the Ministry is engaging TradeMark Africa (TMA) as the contractor for the upgrade. In the recent weeks, truck drivers have been stuck in traffic stretching 40km along the Bungoma-Kanduyi-Malava road due to lengthy wait for results of the Covid-19 test that is mandatory before crossing the border. “A Contractor will be on site this week to upgrade the stretch to the new bridge, to tarmac and to complete the bridge in one week,” Mr Macharia said in a statement to the Senate Committee on Roads. While traffic congestion is common on the Bungoma-Kandunyi-Malava road, it has become worse in the recent months after Ugandan authorities declined to recognise covid-19 results for tests conducted in Kenya. The road connects to the Malaba border point meaning that the traffic snarl-up is causing untold suffering to truck drivers and residents of the counties it passes through. Malaba border is the second busiest border crossing in Africa and serves a number of land-locked countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Nothern Zambia, DR Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan. Truck drivers have also complained of harassment from Ugandan authorities, time wastage before tests are conducted, poor handling when being tested and unlawful detention. Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula in his submission on the floor of the House noted that from Malaba border, the trucks are extending up to way...

Kenya’s exports to its three leading markets in the six-nation East African Community fell by Sh3.51 billion in the first full month following adoption of Covid-19 containment measures, official data shows. Earnings from goods sold to Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda amounted to Sh5.61 billion in April, a drop of 38.47 percent compared with similar period in 2019, according to leading trade indicators published by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). Delays have rocked cross-border trade after partner States locked borders and ordered Covid-19 testing for truck drivers, with results taking 48 hours on average. Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda early May reached a deal for testing of truck drivers for Covid-19 at the point of departure to ease tailbacks at border points after each nation initially insisted on separately conducting mandatory testing. Delays threatened to renew long-standing trade disputes between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam mid-last month before the ministers for transport intervened. The provisional CBK data shows Kenyan traders trucked goods worth Sh2.03 billion to Tanzania in April, a 34.16 percent drop compared to a similar period in 2019. Exports to Uganda contracted 39.16 percent to Sh2.69 billion, Rwanda's orders plunged the sharpest at 44.82 percent to Sh890 million. The exports to Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda fell by nearly half in April, or 48.82 percent, compared with the monthly average of Sh10.97 billion in the January-March 2020 period. During the first quarter of 2020, exports to the three countries were estimated at Sh32.91 billion, a growth of 18.15 percent over...

Anti-Counterfeit Authority has released findings of the National Baseline Survey on the extent of counterfeit and other forms of illicit trade in Kenya. According to the study conducted between October 2019 and February 2020, the Government revenue lost in 2018 stood at Kes 102.99 billion up from Kes 101.23 billion in 2017. From the 16 sectors of the economy that the study concentrated on, building, mining and construction was heavily affected by counterfeiting with a share of 23.37% in value of total illicit trade, followed by energy, electrical and electronics with a share of 14.67% in 2018. The sector with the most government revenue loss was food, beverage and non-alcoholic drinks with a share of 23.19%, followed by textile and apparel at 20.09%. Thirty (30) percent of the firms were aware that their products were being counterfeited and sold in the market, whereas 56.4% of the sampled firms were not aware that their products are being counterfeited and sold in the market. Between 2016 and 2018, 7,484 jobs were lost in Kenya due to illicit trade with counterfeiting accounting for 32.59% of the jobs lost. The study also cites piracy as a critical form of illicit trade. According to the findings, the loss of sales as a result of pirated products stood at KES 2.2 billion over the period 2016-2018. Although the trend depicts marginal decline between 2017 and 2018, the loss as a result of total sales is quite high ranging between 37.69% and 42.14%, which is a clear...

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority has Wednesday released findings of the National Baseline Survey on the extent of counterfeit and other forms of illicit trade in Kenya. The purpose of the study is to determine the extent and magnitude of illicit trade in the country. According to the study conducted between October 2019 and February 2020, the Government revenue lost in 2018 stood at Ksh 102.99 billion up from Ksh 101.23 billion in 2017. From the 16 sectors of the economy that the study concentrated on, building, mining and construction were heavily affected by counterfeiting with a share of 23.37% in value of total illicit trade, followed by energy, electrical and electronics with a share of 14.67% in 2018. The sector with the most government revenue loss was food, beverage and non-alcoholic drinks with a share of 23.19%, followed by textile and apparel at 20.09%. Thirty (30) per cent of the firms were aware that their products were being counterfeited and sold in the market, whereas 56.4% of the sampled firms were not aware that their products are being counterfeited and sold in the market. Between 2016 and 2018, 7,484 jobs were lost in Kenya due to illicit trade with counterfeiting accounting for 32.59% of the jobs lost. The study also cites piracy as a critical form of illicit trade. According to the findings, the loss of sales as a result of pirated products stood at Ksh 2.2 billion over the period 2016-2018. Although the trend depicts marginal decline between 2017 and...