ARUSHA: THE East African Community (EAC) together with the Republics of Kenya and Uganda are in the process of upgrading the Lwakhakha border post on the border between the two Partner States into a One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) as part of efforts to reduce congestion at the Busia and Malaba OSBPs. The transformation of the Lwakhakha border into an OSBP seeks to streamline customs procedures, reduce clearance times for goods and vehicles and enhance collaboration between border agencies from both Kenya and Uganda. The upgrade is expected to reduce the traffic from Malaba and Busia OSBPs, boost trade along the northern corridor and improve cross-border security. The initiative is a testament to the commitment of the EAC in fostering and promoting cross-border cooperation between the two countries. By implementing the OSBP concept at the Lwakhakha border. The two countries are set to create a more conducive environment for trade and commerce, ultimately benefiting businesses and communities on both sides of the border. ALSO READ: Is East Africa’s currency dream on hold? Speaking during a site visit to review the status of the ongoing feasibility study of the multinational Kisumu-Kisian-Busia/Kakira-Malaba-Busitema-Busia Expressway, on behalf of the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Aguer Ariik Malueth, Eng Godfrey Enzama, the Principal Civil Engineer at the EAC Secretariat, said that upgrading the Lwakhakha border post into an OSBP is part of the 256km feasibility study of project funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Eng Enzama, who represented EAC...

The African Continental Free Trade Area’s Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), launched on October 7, 2022, to pilot and expedite AfCFTA provisions, has seen initial success with eight countries participating in its inaugural phase: Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Tunisia. South Africa joined in January 2024. As the second phase of GTI gains momentum, Nigeria stands poised to enter, heralding new avenues for trade expansion. This step is crucial as Nigerian exporters, who are currently grappling with domestic economic challenges, see the GTI as a beacon of hope, a gateway to broader African markets. A newly released report, ‘Economic Impact of Nigeria’s GTI Participation: A Comprehensive Analysis ‘, assesses the economic impact of Nigeria’s GTI participation. It examines current trade dynamics, potential gains from tariff reductions, and strategies to optimize benefits. Key findings reveal that while Nigeria’s current trade volumes with existing GTI countries are modest, sectors like cashews, ginger, and manufactured goods show substantial potential for growth under tariff elimination. This move could significantly enhance Nigerian exports and imports, fostering a positive economic ripple effect and a promising future for Nigerian trade. Addressing potential challenges, such as reduced tariff revenue and increased competition for domestic industries, requires targeted policy interventions. Recommendations include active engagement of Nigerian businesses by the Government and the National Action Committee for Implementation of the AfCFTA (NAC-AfCFTA), ensuring comprehensive support through information dissemination, trade missions, and integration into continental value chains to bolster competitiveness. Moreover, exploring alternative revenue sources to offset potential tariff revenue losses...

The COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement officially came into force on Thursday following ratification by the requisite number of member states. The agreement required at least 14 out of the 29 countries in the region made up of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) to deposit their instruments of ratification before taking effect. According to SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi, the milestone was achieved when Angola deposited its instrument of ratification on June 25. He said other countries that have so far ratified the agreement are Botswana, Burundi, Egypt, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He highlighted that these countries collectively accounted for 75 percent of the Tripartite GDP in 2022. This development was announced during the 37th Tripartite Task Force Meeting on July 20, held on the sidelines of the 6th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Accra, Ghana. The meeting was attended by COMESA secretary general Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, EAC secretary general Veronica Nduva and Magosi. The TFTA aims to create an integrated market covering 29 countries in eastern and southern Africa as part of a bold move by Africa to reform internal trade. Commonly known as the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), the integrated market was launched in June 2015 in Egypt when the agreement was signed. The TFTA creates a combined population of some 600 million people covering half of the member states of the...

La Banque mondiale a identifié le commerce intra-africain et la numérisation comme des moteurs clés de la transformation économique sur le continent, et a insisté pour que les goulets d'étranglement soient éliminés. La Banque a déclaré que les deux secteurs offraient des espoirs pour la transformation du continent, car ils pourraient offrir des opportunités significatives pour une concurrence accrue, des flux d'investissements directs étrangers (IDE) et une diversification économique. Cette affirmation figure dans l'évaluation de la politique et des institutions nationales (CPIA) de la Banque pour 2023, qui a été lancée à Accra le lundi 16 juillet 2024. Andrew Dabalen, économiste en chef de la Banque mondiale pour la région Afrique, a demandé aux gouvernements africains de créer un environnement propice au secteur privé, notamment en lui accordant des prêts abordables afin d'améliorer la productivité et d'élargir l'accès au marché. « Le commerce intra-africain est généralement faible ; seuls 20 % des exportations africaines sont destinées à un autre pays africain, mais les produits échangés sont principalement des produits manufacturés, de sorte qu'en général, ils sont susceptibles de créer beaucoup plus d'emplois que les industries extractives », a-t-il déclaré. « Si la composition du commerce change, et que la région peut commercer beaucoup plus avec elle-même, cela pourrait être un moteur de croissance majeur pour le secteur privé. En ce qui concerne la numérisation, M. Dabalen a déclaré que si 80 % de l'Afrique était couverte par la technologie 3G ou 4G, seuls 22 % l'utilisaient à des fins productives....

L'autorité fiscale du Malawi (MRA) s'attend à ce que les recettes mensuelles des douanes à la frontière de Mwanza augmentent de 8 % pour atteindre 26 milliards de kwacha lorsque le poste frontalier à guichet unique (OSBP) sera ouvert. S'exprimant à la frontière de Mwanza lorsque le ministre du commerce et de l'industrie, Sosten Gwengwe, a remis les installations aux organismes d'exploitation, le commissaire général adjoint de la MRA, Henry Ngutwa, a déclaré que les nouvelles installations permettront de dédouaner les marchandises en trois heures au lieu de plusieurs jours. Il a ajouté que les recettes fiscales devraient passer de 24 à 26 milliards d'euros par mois. Dans ses remarques, M. Gwengwe a déclaré que le gouvernement voulait s'assurer que toutes les frontières migrent vers des installations de service à guichet unique afin d'améliorer l'efficacité opérationnelle et d'ouvrir le flux du commerce transfrontalier. « L'application du poste frontalier unique réduira les retards aux frontières de près de 70 %, ce qui signifie une réduction des coûts de transit, la promotion d'une approche coordonnée et intégrée pour faciliter le commerce et promouvoir l'efficacité dans la prestation des services publics », a-t-il déclaré.  Le projet a été financé par la Banque mondiale avec le soutien du projet de commerce et de connectivité de l'Afrique australe pour un montant de 5,5 milliards d'euros. Lien

La récente ratification par le Parlement de l'Union européenne (UE) et l'Assemblée nationale du Kenya de l'accord de partenariat économique (APE) entre l'UE et le Kenya change la donne. Cet accord offre un accès au marché en franchise de droits et de quotas. Pour les agriculteurs kenyans, en particulier les producteurs horticoles, il s'agit d'une occasion en or. Pour tirer parti de cette opportunité, l'UE a collaboré avec TradeMark Africa pour la mise en œuvre du programme d'amélioration de l'environnement commercial et des exportations (BEEEP) dans le cadre de l'APE. Cette initiative vise à soutenir les petits exploitants agricoles et les producteurs, en les aidant à cultiver des produits de haute qualité de manière durable et à les acheminer vers le marché de manière efficace, principalement par le biais du fret maritime. Le passage du fret aérien au fret maritime au Kenya est motivé par des économies, des préoccupations environnementales et le besoin de résilience de la chaîne d'approvisionnement. Le fret maritime est plus économique pour les gros envois et est considéré comme une option plus écologique. La pandémie de Covid-19 a mis en évidence les vulnérabilités du transport aérien, incitant les entreprises à diversifier leurs stratégies logistiques. C'est là que les Export Supply Hubs (ESH), également connus sous le nom de centres de consolidation, entrent en jeu. Les ESH peuvent révolutionner l'exportation de fleurs, d'avocats, de mangues et de légumes vers l'UE et d'autres marchés. Ces hubs représentent plus qu'un simple changement logistique ; ils incarnent une transformation qui...

La frontière entre Tunduma et Nakonde devient de plus en plus le moteur du commerce transfrontalier entre la Tanzanie, la Zambie et la République démocratique du Congo (RDC), les données montrant une augmentation constante du volume et de la valeur au cours des neuf derniers mois. Ce constat a été fait récemment lors de la visite de la présidente Samia Suluhu Hassan dans la région, dans le cadre de sa visite de travail dans la région de Songwe. Ces nouvelles données prometteuses interviennent neuf mois après que la Tanzanie et la Zambie ont convenu de relever huit des 24 défis commerciaux et d'établir des plans pour résoudre les 16 restants d'ici le 31 décembre 2023, afin de faciliter efficacement le commerce entre les deux pays, notamment en réduisant la congestion des camions à la frontière de Tunduma. S'exprimant hier, le vice-ministre des transports, David Kihenzile, a déclaré qu'au cours de la visite, les deux dirigeants ont convenu de relever les défis auxquels est confrontée la frontière, qui enregistre une moyenne de 124 000 camions traversant la frontière chaque année. Il a indiqué que la transformation des entreprises, sous l'impulsion de la sixième phase du gouvernement, a permis d'augmenter le nombre de camions traversant la frontière à 261 000. « Le volume de marchandises passant la frontière chaque année est passé de trois millions de tonnes métriques à 6,2 millions de tonnes métriques. L'augmentation comprend également la collecte de revenus, qui est passée de 76 milliards de shillings à 159 milliards...

The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) says it expects its customs monthly revenue at Mwanza Border to go up by eight percent to K26 billion when the one-stop border post facility opens. Speaking on Wednesday at Mwanza Border when Minister of Trade and Industry Sosten Gwengwe handed over the facility to operating agencies, MRA deputy commissioner general Henry Ngutwa said the new facility will enable it to clear goods within three hours instead of several days. He said tax revenue is expected to jump from K24 billion to K26 billion per month. In his remarks, Gwengwe said government wants to ensure that all borders migrate to one-stop service facilities to enhance operational efficiencies and open up the flow of cross-border trade. “The application of the one-stop border post will reduce border delays by almost 70 percent which means reduction in transit costs, promote a coordinated and integrated approach to facilitating trade and promote efficiency in the delivery of public services,” he said. The project was funded by the World Bank with support from Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project with a tune of K5.5 billion. Read original article

What you need to know: The new and promising data come nine months after Tanzania and Zambia agreed to address eight out of 24 trade challenges and put up plans to resolve the remaining 16 by December 31, 2023, to effectively facilitate trade between the two countries Dar es Salaam. The Tunduma-Nakonde border is increasingly emerging as the driver for cross-border trade between Tanzania, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with data showing a steady rise in both volume and value during the past nine months. This emerged yesterday when President Samia Suluhu Hassan visited the area during her ongoing working visit to the Songwe Region. The new and promising data come nine months after Tanzania and Zambia agreed to address eight out of 24 trade challenges and put up plans to resolve the remaining 16 by December 31, 2023, to effectively facilitate trade between the two countries, including reducing truck congestion at the Tunduma border. Speaking yesterday, Transport Deputy minister David Kihenzile said during the visit that the two leaders agreed to address challenges facing the border, which recorded an average of 124,000 lorries that crossed the border annually. He said business transformation spearheaded by the sixth phase of government has increased the number of lorries crossing the border to 261,000. “The volume of cargo passing the border annually has increased from three million metric tonnes to 6.2 million metric tonnes. Also, the increase includes revenue collection from Sh76 billion to Sh159 billion,” he said during the...

Addis Ababa July 13/2024 (ENA) Ethiopia is actively pushing for regional integration not only in terms of trade but also several areas such as infrastructure and energy; and it can in fact be described as even a leader of the African integration journey, ECA experts noted. In an exclusive interview with ENA, African Trade Policy Center Coordinator at ECA Melaku Desta said Ethiopia can be seen as an active participant and a leader in the journey towards African integration. This involves efforts to improve and expand physical connectivity such as roads, railways, ports, and energy networks that link Ethiopia with its neighboring countries and the broader region. By investing in and enhancing infrastructure, Ethiopia aims to facilitate smoother trade flows, foster economic cooperation, and strengthen political ties with its regional neighbors, Melaku elaborated. He further explained that historically, Ethiopia has not been extensively engaged in regional integration efforts. Its approach to such initiatives has often been characterized as reluctant. But, over the past six years, Ethiopia has significantly shifted its stance on regional integration by actively leading both the negotiations and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. “Ethiopia is actively pushing for regional integration not only in terms of trade but also several areas in terms of infrastructure, energy trading and others. I think right now, Ethiopia can be described as an active participant and even a leader of African integration journey” Participation and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offer immense...