By Marc Nkwame Arusha — AS the new Secretary General for the East African Community is set to report at the Secretariat this month, the East African Employers' Organization already has some tasks ready for him. "We want the new EAC Secretary General, Mr Liberat Mfumukeko, to push the five governments of the member states in fast-tracking free movement of workers, persons and labour," stated the chairperson of the East African Employers' Organization (EAEO), Ms Rosemary Ssenabulya, who is also the Executive Director of Uganda Employers' Association. Ms Ssenabulya was delivering a joint statement from heads of employers' associations from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi who gathered here under their EAEO umbrella to discuss the implementation of the East African Community's Common Market Protocol, launched back in July 2010 but until now, many figure that the CMP remains a far-fetched theory. Free movement of people, capital and labour were among the things stipulated in the East African Common Market Protocol. However the EAC stated earlier that, free movement of people will only be viable once each member state issued machine-readable Identity Cards. "We are however happy that, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have waivered work permit fees in their respective borders, which by itself is great achievement of the East African Community under the outgoing Secretary General, Dr Richard Sezibera," added the Executive Director of the Association of Tanzania Employees (ATE), Dr Aggrey Mlimuka, the Secretary General of EAEO. They were of view that, it is high time Tanzania and...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$228mn loan to the government of Kenya. The financing will go towards rehabilitating a 172 km road between Kenya and Tanzania. The renovation of this route, to be undertaken between 2016 and 2019, will facilitate trade between the two neighbouring countries, halving the travel time and transports costs between the border towns of Isebania (Tanzania) and Ahero (Kenya), southeast of Lake Victoria. The road forms part of the Sirari corridor, a major trade and transit route linking Tanzania, Kenya and South Sudan’s major ports. Once completed, the road in expected to facilitate local and international trade, opening up new markets particularly for the agri-business and fishing industries. “Lower transport costs will ensure that a greater share of the price of exported goods accrues to producers, thereby increasing incomes and reducing poverty,” says Amadou Oumarou, director of the transport and information and communications technology department at the AfDB. The strengthening of public transport is also part of the project, with the AfDB also financing the construction of three bus stations to further facilitate the movement of people in the region. Kenya and Tanzania are both part of the East African Community (EAC), of which they represent the biggest countries by geographic and economic size. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and President John Magufuli of Tanzania have pledged their commitment to reducing barriers to trade and integration in the EAC. The countries are working on a series of infrastructure projects to increase the ease of...

The U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in February as a rebound in exports was offset by an increase in imports, the latest indication that economic growth weakened further in the first quarter. But the growth picture should brighten in the months ahead, with other data on Tuesday showing that activity in the vast services sector picked up in March as new orders rose strongly, and sustained strength in the labor market. "There are some green shoots appearing this spring in the economic data which makes us more confident that 2016 is going to be a good year after a step-down in expectations and hopes at the start of the year," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit increased 2.6 percent to $47.1 billion in February, worse than economists' forecasts for a reading of $46.2 billion. When adjusted for inflation, the shortfall rose to $63.3 billion, the largest since March last year, from $61.8 billion in January. That prompted economists to cut their first-quarter gross domestic product growth estimates by as much as half a percentage point to as low as a 0.4 percent annualized rate. They see trade subtracting at least seven-tenths of a percentage point from GDP growth in the first quarter, up from 0.14 point in the fourth quarter. The economy grew at a 1.4 percent rate in the final three months of 2015. Though the trade report joined data on consumer and business...

THE Dar es Salaam Port serves the growing economies of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia. These economies are said to fuel the port’s 14 per cent annual growth, but also caused congestion due to limited working area. The port is currently ranked second biggest in East Africa and fourth largest container port on Africa’s eastern seaboard after Djibouti, Durban, and Mombasa. Tanzania Port Authority (TPA), has undertaken an ambitious expansion project dubbed the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project to modernize and improve its service. However, the port growth that had experienced in recently years and ambitious expansion project might not materialise if a number of issues are not addressed. The first is the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT), on transit goods for land locked countries which although it has not yet been enforced, it seems to have scared some port users from those countries. Dar es Salaam’s acting Port Manager, Hebel Mhanga said, for instance Zambia total cargo traffic in the first two months of this year, dropped by 47.6 per cent to 121 in comparison to the same period last year. In 2015, Dar port moved 1.9 million tonnes of Zambia’s cargo. This was equivalent to 34 per cent of potential business of 5.6 million tonnes to and from Lusaka. The figure makes Zambia the biggest Dar port user. “Thought VAT is yet to be enforced, it has scared importers to the extent they are using alternative ports in the region,”...

KAMPALA, UGANDA - 1.2 billion people currently live without access to electricity and more than 2.7 billion people are without clean cooking facilities. With over 95% of these people located either in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia, clearly there exists a vast gap which must be closed. But how? The 18th annual Africa Energy Forum (AEF) will take place from 22-24 June 2016, to try to uncover solutions to Africa’s energy deficit and present opportunities which will drive project investment on the continent, acting as a catalyst for economic development. AEF is the global investment meeting for Africa’s power, energy, infrastructure & industrial sectors, expected to welcome 1,000 investors, 500 public sector stakeholders, 300 technology providers, 270 developers and 70 countries in June later this year. Widely regarded as the most important networking event of the year for Africa’s energy community, global investors attend to collectively find solutions to the challenges currently limiting the development of Africa’s power sector. The conference will include country and regional focus sessions, panels on mergers & acquisitions, the impact of COP21 & COP22 on investment, off grid solutions, and discussions which will explore the relationship between Africa and countries such as the UK, USA and China. The Forum also features a buzzing exhibition of over 80 solution providers who supply to the African continent. 125 speakers have confirmed to date including several from the East Africa region, such as: Brigadier General Emeldah Chola, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Water Development, Zambia, Benon Mutambi,...

CHISHALA MUSONDA, Ndola THE Zambian and Malawian governments have shown interest to revive transportation of petroleum products using Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) line. Malawi transports freight using Tazara from Dar-es-Salaam to Mbeya where they have a government-owned inland container depot and storage tanks for fuels. From Mbeya, the cargo is moved by road into Malawi. Company deputy managing director Betram Kiswaga said Tazara has improved its operations and increased cargo transportation in volume. This follows renewed confidence shown from its customer base following improvement in Tazara’s operations which confirms that it has now attained some levels of stability. Briefing the media recently, Dr Kiswaga said the authority has received positive response from key customers who have increased their monthly volumes of cargo transportation. “We have received renewed commitment and are expecting huge volumes of freight from customers that had lost confidence in Tazara including the Zambian and Malawian governments that will be resuming transportation of petroleum products using Tazara line,” he said. Tazara is determined to continue building on its achievements to raise its operation performance even higher even though it faces challenges. “The authority faces challenges, but we take these challenges as an inspiration and a motivation to every employee to work even harder to survive and turn around this great facility,” Dr Kiswaga said. In November, Tazara received 10 diesel-electric locomotives and 18 coaches and Dr Kiswaga said this will help improve operations for the company. The equipment was bought through the 15th Protocol of Economic and Technical...

The East African Community is leading in regional integration and free movement of goods and people on the continent. A new report unveiled at the ongoing African Development Week meeting at Addis Ababa indicated the cross-border movements were easiest between Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. EAC's leadership in integration, which identified various matrices including roaming costs and volume of trade, is a major indicator towards achieving the dream of a unified Africa by 2063. "Deeper regional integration means larger markets and industrialisation and productivity as part of value chains," said Erastus Mwencha, the deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, adding: "It means talent mobility thanks to greater visa openness." Kenyan citizens, for instance, only need to produce their national identification documents to enter any of the countries in the bloc, while work permit requirements are minimal as the region works towards the dream of a common currency. A regional parliament made of 54 members, which has been sitting since November 2001, is charged with streamlining the respective country laws with the vision of the five-member community. Several firms have had their shares cross-listed at the various stock exchanges. Integration in the EAC was ranked ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc where Tanzania has a cross-membership. South Africa is the most developed economy in the trading bloc, and is naturally the biggest exporter into the 15-member community. Africa's largest bloc, the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (Cen-Sad), which draws membership from 27 countries in the northern part...

Africa, it is often said, is a continent that leapfrogs various intermediary stages of technology. From fixed to mobile telephony, Africa leapfrogged the usual phases of technological advancement. It does not come as a surprise, therefore, that on a global level, the East African Community is one of few regional blocs that have scrapped mobile roaming charges. And this is just the beginning. Introduced in October 2014, the One Network Area aims to harmonise tariffs on mobile voice calls, SMS and data transmission within the EAC. Today, roaming charges between Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda have been removed, making all mobile calls between the three countries local. This has led to a minimum 400 per cent increase in the volume of calls — a direct benefit to EAC citizens and African businesses operating across the region’s borders. Previously, making calls across the EAC was more expensive than calling Europe, America or Asia. The second phase of the ONA initiative is underway, with telecom operators revising SMS and data charges downwards. Rwanda began this process in August 2015, and the idea is to have a truly integrated regional bloc with all mobile telephony barriers removed. Compare this with older and more advanced regional blocs in the West or in Asia. The European Union for example, only recently voted new rules that will scrap mobile roaming charges — a reality that will happen in 2017. This has taken the EU almost a decade of negotiations and an interim cap on roaming charges is...

TANZANIA Ports Authority (TPA) has finally secured funds for construction of berths 13 and 14 which were on drawing board for almost five years. The fund, 690 million US dollar, put together by World Bank, DFID and TPA, will enable the much awaited project to take off in 2016/17 fiscal year. TPA’s acting Director of Planning and Investment, Gladson Urioh, said the fund will also involve the construction of berth 12 after relocating Kurasini Oil Jetty to Mbwamaji in Kigamboni. “A German consultant is on site… if all go as planned we expect to have the twin container terminal design shortly,” Mr Urioh said at a seminar for editors and senior reporters from mainstream media last Friday. The design would enable to set construction process and whether to have a partner on running the project and terminal. He said the construction of the two terminals was delayed as the previous two contractors, from China, were disqualified after failing to deliver in previous projects. “We had to start afresh on designs as the previous contractors did not leave behind any document for the berths as they were yet to complete the task,” Mr Urioh said. The consultant will, among other things, propose suitable Public Private Partnership (PPP) option for development and operation of berths 13 and 14. Mr Urioh said the project fall under Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway that geared on expanding and improving also berths 1 to 7. The berths, according to TPA, will be transformed to dedicated service...

The East African Community is leading in regional integration and free movement of goods and people on the continent. A new report unveiled at the ongoing African Development Week meeting at Addis Ababa indicated the cross-border movements were easiest between Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. EAC's leadership in integration, which identified various matrices including roaming costs and volume of trade, is a major indicator towards achieving the dream of a unified Africa by 2063. "Deeper regional integration means larger markets and industrialisation and productivity as part of value chains," said Erastus Mwencha, the deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, adding: "It means talent mobility thanks to greater visa openness." Kenyan citizens, for instance, only need to produce their national identification documents to enter any of the countries in the bloc, while work permit requirements are minimal as the region works towards the dream of a common currency. A regional parliament made of 54 members, which has been sitting since November 2001, is charged with streamlining the respective country laws with the vision of the five-member community. Several firms have had their shares cross-listed at the various stock exchanges. Integration in the EAC was ranked ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc where Tanzania has a cross-membership. South Africa is the most developed economy in the trading bloc, and is naturally the biggest exporter into the 15-member community. Africa's largest bloc, the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (Cen-Sad), which draws membership from 27 countries in the northern part...