Presidents of East African Community partner states recently announced they were banning imports of used clothes, locally known as caguwa. They gave sound economic reasons for the ban: promoting the local textile industry and other economic activities linked to it, creating jobs, raising taxes, and so on. There was even an appeal to a sense of pride. Wearing clothes someone else has discarded (in Rwanda that is called gukuburirwa) is not exactly dignified. No one goes around proudly showing off such clothes (ibikuburano). Despite these good reasons, the decision was bound to be contentious. And it was, by East Africans. Importers and wholesalers, big retailers in the towns and smaller ones in the village markets for whom it is good business wouldn’t let go without at least making some noise. Ordinary people also find second-hand clothes very affordable. That was to be expected and is understandable. Which is why East African leaders announced a phase-out period for the ban to be fully implemented. But now stiffer opposition to the ban on used clothes has come from an unlikely quarter – or maybe it is not so unlikely – the United States. Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper reported Wednesday, August 17 that the US Ambassador to Uganda warned the country against implementing the ban. Amb. Deborah Malac is reported to have issued the warning when she made a courtesy call on the Speaker of Uganda’s parliament, Rebecca Kadaga. Don’t be fooled by nice diplomatic words like “courtesy call”. They do not always...

Rwandan importers and exporters will no longer need to travel to Dar es Salaam port, thanks to a move by the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) to open a liaison office in Kigali in October. The decision was announced by the TPA Director General, Eng Deusdedit Kakoko, during a press conference over the weekend in Kigali. The press conference was also attended by the Treasury Registrar, Mr Lawrence Mafuru who headed the Tanzania delegation to Rwanda. "This is a clear testimony that Tanzania is committed to improve business environment to our clients in the neighbouring countries," Eng Kakoko told journalists, adding that TPA has vowed to make sure that Kigali exporters and importers using Dar port will continue to enjoy best possible services. He noted that having a TPA liaison office means that services shall be brought near to customers in order to cut down costs of doing business and reduce hurdles within the logistic and supply chain. The opening of the office means that business community will not be obliged to travel all the way to Dar es Salaam to clear their cargo; a step seen as healthy since it will help serve time. The liaison office will be a One Stop Centre whereby customers will be able to access information such as status of their cargo, applicable port charges, make payments through Electronic Payment System (EPS) and attend to any queries. "We call upon all our customers to make effective use of this office once opened and take advantage...

The East African Community has, over the past decade, been undergoing an integration process to open up opportunities for its over 146 million citizens by creating a larger market for business players in the region. The initiative also seeks to reduce the cost of trade and improving intra-regional trade that is still low compared to other trading blocs across the world. These efforts have already started to bear fruit with a recent World Bank report, “Connecting to Compete 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy” showing that the bloc had registered improvement in the movement of goods across borders. The survey ranked trade logistics performance of 160 countries globally. Interestingly, administrative as well as trade and transport reforms in the EAC region have had the greatest impact on logistics compared to infrastructure investments. This has translated into faster transit times and shorter dwell times, according to the report. It indicates that the average dwell time at Mombasa port reduced from 13 days in 2006 to about three days, while the Malaba border crossing point between Kenya and Uganda registered a decrease in border clearance times from 24 hours to six hours. The average time taken to move cargo from Mombasa to Kampala dropped to three days from 18 days, while Mombasa to Kigali now takes about six days compared to 21 days previously. All these developments have helped reduce the cost of doing business by 50 per cent. So, it is crucial that while regional governments promote hard infrastructure development,...

Efforts to advance the East African Community have often veered between halfhearted and impractical. The regional grouping must adapt – via strong yet achievable economic steps – in order to progress. For some, the 1977 dissolution of the East African Community (EAC) finally marked the forlorn end of Africa’s decades-long flirtation with Pan-Africanism. For others, it represented the triumph of sovereignty and nationalism over unrealistic infatuations with asymmetric economic marriages. The last fifteen years of the organization’s newest iteration have fallen somewhere in between the two – with ambitious pronouncements foreshadowing economic and even political integration coexisting withregional rivalries that have threatened to scupper the entire project. However, what is most needed is not wasted political capital nor governments looking inward, but a balanced solution: concrete steps to solidify the existing union and increase free flows of capital and labor, while giving each of the EAC’s member states the ability to craft domestic policies to suit their own domestic environments. How to achieve this? First, focus on improving the EAC’s economic mainstay – the customs union that binds together Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and, very soon, South Sudan. It all starts with the Customs Union Since 2005, EAC member states have been able to trade goods and some services with each other free of tariffs, in most cases. They have also synchronized and often reduced most of their external tariffs, reducing the transaction costs of international trade for foreign exporters and reducing the likelihood of one East African state...

By Anitha Kirezi East African exchanges should fast-track integration initiatives like the capital markets infrastructure (CMI) project, and create a pool of skilled personnel. This is essential to position the regional stock market as a platform of choice for raising long-term funding for governments and business community, Celestin Rwabukumba, the East African Securities Exchange Association (EASEA) chairman, has said. Speaking at the 27th consultative meeting in Dar es Salaam recently, Rwabukumba said the CMI project that is nearing completion presents new possibilities for investors seeking cross-border trade opportunities. With capital markets across the world becoming increasingly automated and integrated, regional stock exchanges require a modern system that meets different market needs. This will also make it possible for EAC capital markets to attract global capital flows and participate in international capital markets. Meanwhile, EASEA has agreed to increase product offerings at each stock market, train market intermediaries, carry out public awareness drives and support integration of market infrastructure as they plan to draft a five-year strategic plan. According to a statement from the EASEA secretariat, these initiatives are aimed at increasing market liquidity and depth. Rwabukumba, who is also the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) chief executive, has commended the Securities Industry Training Institute - East Africa, noting that the institute will help market players improve skills and technical capacity to meet global standards. "The institute is at the forefront of driving capital market training to meet the growing demand for relevant expertise in the market," he added during the summit...

Imports to South Sudan through Kenya’s main port have fallen to the lowest-ever level as resurgent violence in the world’s youngest nation hurt the fledgling economy and sent traders and citizens fleeing. Only 525 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo were cleared at the Mombasa port in July, compared with a monthly average of 4,000 TEUs in 2013, just before the nation descended into fresh fighting, according to Ayuel Mathach Deng, the government’s representative at the Indian Ocean port city. While landlocked South Sudan, which holds Africa’s third-biggest crude reserves, brings in most of its imports through Mombasa, it exports oil through its northern neighbor Sudan, from which it seceded in 2011 after decades of fighting. A civil war that began in December 2013 has driven up consumer prices -- with the nation’s inflation rate soaring to 661.3 percent in July -- while falling crude prices have dried up a key source of foreign exchange. “There are no dollars anywhere; at the central bank, in forex bureaus, anywhere,” Deng said in an interview on Aug. 12. “It is a matter of struggling if you need to import something.” Close Shop South Sudan, which depends on commodity imports including wheat, oil, rice and sugar, was the second-largest destination for transit goods through Mombasa after Uganda in 2015, according to Kenya Ports Authority data. The war between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, which has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than two million to flee...

Local importers and exporters using Dar es Salaam port have complained of thefts at sea port in which they have lost millions of dollars. However, Eng Deusdedit Kakoko (pictured right), the director general Tanzania Ports Authority, says all that is in the past. Business Times’ Peterson Tumwebaze caught up with him in Kigali last week to discuss efforts geared at addressing the challenges faced by Rwandan traders who use Dar port, particularly ensuring security at the port, as well as the strategies being put in place to eliminate non-tariff barriers (NTBs) along the Central Corridor and enhance trade between Rwanda and Tanzania. Rwandan exporters and importers using Dar es Salaam have complained about thefts at the port; what are you doing to address these challenges? Safety and security in the port area is guaranteed by TPA through its own mechanism and its agents, including inland container depots (ICDs), the Container Terminal Operator (TICTS). We have tightened security by installing a state-of-the-art integrated security system (ISS) which includes fixing CCTV cameras at various points around the port. More so, the Tanzania Railways and the truck operators along the Central Corridor give priority to cargo safety and security. The port exercises zero tolerance to any malpractice, be it among port employees, those of TICTS, or others. I wish, therefore, to assure customers in Rwanda, and around the world, that theft at the port premises is now history. Delays at the port are costing Rwandan traders a lot of money. How are you...

“Brexit means Brexit”, according to Theresa May, the UK’s newly appointed prime minister. Though what this means for trade still remains speculative, experts watching the African oil and gas industry believe that Brexit will not significantly affect the sector. Yann Alix, a partner in leading global law firm Ashurst, who has a focus on deals and projects in the African oil, gas and mining sector, said that while currencies and stocks tumbled in a number of African jurisdictions immediately after the referendum result, “Brexit is unlikely to have a significant impact on the African oil and gas industry”. Stuart Carter, partner and head of oil and gas at European law firm Fieldfisher, agrees, but argues that in the longer term some effects may be felt. “The UK could be subject to some tariffs on oil and gas from the EU, so may be more likely to import petroleum from Africa”. However, Carter stresses that this is still highly unlikely. Speculation over the prospect of a second Scottish independence referendum brought about by the Brexit result might also prove to have an effect on the African oil and gas industry. Carter believes that projects could be delayed in the Scottish area of UKCS (United Kingdom Continental Shelf) and Africa could “potentially be one beneficiary” from a slowdown in the UKCS as teams become available for other projects”. Leaving the European Union has implications of fewer trade restrictions for UK business from the EU, and this could make working with African trading...

East African Community states need to develop rural infrastructure (especially electricity and ICT) to enhance mobile phone penetration and facilitate its use. The call was made by experts in reaction to the 2016 Brookings Financial and Digital Inclusion Project Report, which, despite showing substantial progress toward advancing financial inclusion in regional countries, indicates there is room for improvement. The report, released last week, evaluates commitment to and progress toward financial inclusion across 26 countries. It says Kenya retained its position as the highest-ranked country in the study by a five percentage point margin. Of four East African Community (EAC) countries in the study, Kenya scored an overall 84 per cent followed by Uganda and Rwanda at 78 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively, with Tanzania trailing at 68 per cent. Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, and Uganda held their places in the top five-ranked countries between 2015 and 2016. Country scores are hinged on four dimensions: country commitment, mobile capacity, regulatory environment, and adoption. The lowest income economy among the countries ranked at the top of the FDIP scorecard was Uganda driven in part by its strong levels of mobile money adoption. Rwanda, which ranked among the top 10 countries overall, is the other low-income country that demonstrated “a particularly strong performance” on the FDIP scorecard “Rwanda provides an effective example of how country commitment to advancing financial inclusion and the promotion of digital financial services can lead to a more inclusive financial ecosystem,” the report says. Rwanda jointly topped...

NAKURU, KENYA: The East African Grain Council (EAGC) has asked leaders in East African Community to incorporate private sector in promoting inter-regional trade. sector in EAC integration By Mercy Kahenda Updated Mon, August 15th 2016 at 12:13 GMT +3 SHARE THIS ARTICLE NAKURU, KENYA: The East African Grain Council (EAGC) has asked leaders in East African Community to incorporate private sector in promoting inter-regional trade. EAGC executive director Gerald Masila said policy to include private sector should be in line with EAC integration policy. Masila said there is huge investment gap in EAC member countries that should support cereal and grain value chain addition to boost food security and economy of farmers. "EAGC is working close with governments to ensure there are more private sectors investing in farming to boost production and inter-regional trade," said Masila. Masila said EAGC is engaging the EAC governments not to put barriers to regional trade for instance restriction of trading licenses to farmers that lock potentials. He said limiting trade barriers will see farmers sell their produce freely in EAC a move that will boost food security and economy among the states. Source: Standard Media