President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and DP William Ruto during the state banquet at State House, Nairobi, October 31. /PSCU Africa has the potential of being a donor continent if it unites and exploits its vast natural resources, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has said. Magufuli, when he was hosted for a state banquet by President Uhuru Kenyatta, expressed the need for African countries to partner in development for the benefit of their citizens. The current East African Community chairman assured Kenya of his support in accelerating the EAC agenda as well as enhancing regional development. "With EAC’s population of 165 million people, add the regional economic blocs of COMESA and SADC with a combined population of over 400 million people and other African economic blocs including ECOWAS, the continent is poised to become a donor community," he said on Monday night. President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta during the state banquet at State House, Nairobi, October 31. /PSCU He underscored the need for harnessing the vast natural resources in the five East African community member states towards economic development of the region. Magufuli also urged the African nations to guard against outside forces, with selfish motives, which could be fuelling turmoil within the continent. "For instance, there is no reason why the Democratic Republic of Congo with its vast natural resources would be wallowing in poverty," he said. President Kenyatta said the presence of a significant...

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 14 that was held in Kenya was a huge milestone for the region. I was indeed honoured to be a panellist on the Ministerial Round Table, discussing Lowering hurdles for Trade: Trade Costs, Regulatory Convergence and Regional Integration at the conference. During the Ministerial Round Table that I was part of, it was collectively settled that while necessary and causative to sustainable development by fostering product standards, existing domestic regulations, in form of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), present hurdles prohibitive to regional and international trade. In this 21st century business landscape, tariffs are just but the tip of the iceberg, contributing to just about 5 per cent of trade costs. Non-Tariff Measures are now king, constituting invisible barriers, roughly at 30 per cent of international trade costs. The Round Table sought to identify these measures and focus on where barriers can be lightened and regional harmonisation accomplished to boost inter and intra-regional trade, making the region more attractive to investment. Some of the opportunities that could come about through a cautious balance of policy harmonisation are regulation convergence and standardisation across markets, thereby reducing trade barriers, including the burgeoning telecommunications industry. Anticipated to contribute some $300 billion to Africa’s GDP by 2025 and expected to grow the East African market size to 128 billion USD by the end of 2016, the telecommunications industry has tolerated prevailing trade barriers at the regional level, distorting competitiveness as the market opens up to foreign and...

The East Africa Community member states failure to fully comply with the Common Market Protocol is hindering trade liberalisation in the region, a report shows. However, EAC deputy secretary general for finance and administration, Jesca Eriyo, said reforms undertaken since 2014 have reduced the number of non-conforming measures to 59 in 2016, down from 63 in 2014. Eriyo was speaking in Kampala, Uganda, during the launch of the EAC Common Market Scorecard 2016. “The scorecard will strengthen the regional market, grow the private sector, and deliver benefits to consumers,” Eriyo said. Scorecard 2016 measures partner states’ compliance to the free movement of capital, services, and goods. The World Bank group and Trade Mark East Africa took 18 months to develop the concept at the request of the EAC secretariat, which alongside partner states supervised its creation. The report shows Burundi continues to earn full points on recognition of certificates of origin, an issue repeatedly identified as a significant non-tariff barrier in 2014. Kenya continues to score 90 per cent. Tanzania’s recognition of certificates of origin has improved from 50 to 60 per cent, while Rwanda and Uganda’s scores have both declined, “indicating a worsening performance in terms of recognising certificates of origin of other EAC member states”. The EAC average of resolution for new NTBs for the 2016 period was about 54 per cent, better than the 38 per cent rate for common market scorecard 2014, she said. Eriyo called for greater information sharing on the treaty and protocol provisions....

  Traditional barter market From salt bars to bank notes, the system of trade in East Africa has come a long way over the course of 100 years. The numismatics exhibition taking place at the Nairobi National Museum traces the evolution of currency and exchange in East Africa, from pre-colonial through to modern times, as part of the 50 years’ celebration of the Central Bank of Kenya. Long before East Africans came into contact with outside traders, traditional African communities were exchanging goods and wares through barter trade, a system dating back to prehistoric times. At market days, which were a customary part of cultural life, some of the most valuable items of exchange were livestock, ironware, salt, weapons, beads, cowrie shells as well as were foodstuffs. Arab traders travelling through East Africa’s interior in search of ivory, slaves and other goods, were the first to introduce money as an alternative to the cumbersome salt bars normally used as payment. The currency introduced by the Arabs was an assortment of foreign coins which reflected the multi-national nature of the Indian Ocean sea trade. There were Indian rupees and annas, pice bronze coins, British florins, and silver Maria Theresa thalers that originated from Austria. When the 1885 Berlin Conference carved up Africa among the European powers, Uganda and Kenya were allocated to Britain. The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) that administered East Africa before it became a formal protectorate issued the Mombasa Coins between 1888-1890. These were minted in India...

EUROPE is in crisis, and yet countries in East Africa are ready to sign on a poorly understood trade agreement with the EU whose overall impact will be disastrous for years to come. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will favour trade in the direction of Europe and stunt African progress. Tanzania has hesitated and called for public debate. Tanzania should provide the bold leadership required in the region to reject the EPA. It seems to me that the discussion on the EPA that is being pushed by Kenya, especially the flowers lobby, which does not understand the changes in the international situation. In 2016, Africans are a long way away from the era when British settler bigwigs in Kenya – Michael Blundell and Bruce McKenzie – could make decisions about the future of Africa. Then, they built the flowers trade as part of the lift capabilities of the British and European long term plans for Africa. These plans were thwarted by Tanzania and the liberation forces. In the period 1971-1990, there had been an attempt by the West to isolate Tanzania because Tanzania did not toe the line of the West on the future of Southern Africa. For a short while, especially the days of Nguvu Kazi, Tanzania was alone, yet Julius Nyerere did not blink. The present Tanzanian society is in a much better position than it was in 1984. The private sector has come out clearly against this Economic Partnership Agreement. Full Disclosure The Speaker of Parliament has...

By Anita Chepkoech The East African Community (EAC) is yet to fully implement the common market protocols which were meant to boost the region's trade, a new report has shown. The second East African Community Common Market Scorecard 2016 (CMS 2016) launched in Kampala, Uganda on Thursday shows that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi still run their trades as separate and distinct markets, keeping their economies small and disconnected due to several bottlenecks in the regulations. This was blamed on failure by individual states to lift legal barriers like recognition of business certificates from each other and double taxation. This is despite EAC presidents having signed the treaty to give the countries freedom of movement of goods, labour, services, and capital, which would significantly boost trade and investment and make the region more productive and prosperous. The protocol was signed on November 20, 2009 and came into force on July 1, 2010. "While there is positive progress, states have remained largely non-compliant in their services and trade liberalisation commitments," said Ms Jesca Eriyo, the EAC deputy secretary-general in charge of finance and administration during the launch of the report. She said the first scorecard launched in 2014 had raised similar concerns stating that regional trade in goods was being constrained by not less than 51 non-tariff barriers. NON-CONFORMING MEASURES Efforts to freely offer cross-border services such as professional services, distribution, transport and communication were slowed down by at least 63 non-conforming measures while only two of the 20 operations...

A new report by the EAC secretariat shows that the East African partner states are still lagging behind in the process of implementing the Common Market Protocol. TEA GRAPHIC |   NATIONA MEDIA GROUP IN SUMMARY This was blamed on failure by individual states to lift legal barriers like recognition of business certificates from each other and double taxation. The protocol was signed on November 20, 2009 and came into force on July 1, 2010. Efforts to freely offer cross-border services were slowed down by at least 63 non-conforming measures. The second scorecard was developed in 18 months by the EAC secretariat with the support of the World Bank Group and Trade Mark East Africa. The East African Community (EAC) is yet to fully implement the common market protocols which were meant to boost the region’s trade, a new report has shown. The second East African Community Common Market Scorecard 2016 launched in Kampala, Uganda on Thursday shows that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi still run their trades as separate and distinct markets, keeping their economies small and disconnected due to several bottlenecks in the regulations. This was blamed on failure by individual states to lift legal barriers like recognition of business certificates from each other and double taxation. This is despite EAC presidents having signed the treaty to give the countries freedom of movement of goods, labour, services, and capital, which would significantly boost trade and investment and make the region more productive. The protocol was signed on...

IN SUMMARY This was blamed on failure by individual states to lift legal barriers like recognition of business certificates from each other and double taxation. The protocol was signed on November 20, 2009 and came into force on July 1, 2010. Efforts to freely offer cross-border services were slowed down by at least 63 non-conforming measures. The second scorecard was developed in 18 months by the EAC secretariat with the support of the World Bank Group and Trade Mark East Africa. The East African Community (EAC) is yet to fully implement the common market protocols which were meant to boost the region’s trade, a new report has shown. The second East African Community Common Market Scorecard 2016 launched in Kampala, Uganda on Thursday shows that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi still run their trades as separate and distinct markets, keeping their economies small and disconnected due to several bottlenecks in the regulations. This was blamed on failure by individual states to lift legal barriers like recognition of business certificates from each other and double taxation. This is despite EAC presidents having signed the treaty to give the countries freedom of movement of goods, labour, services, and capital, which would significantly boost trade and investment and make the region more productive. The protocol was signed on November 20, 2009 and came into force on July 1, 2010. “While there is positive progress, states have remained largely non-compliant in their services and trade liberalisation commitments,” said Ms Jesca Eriyo, the EAC...

Apart from the bogus “birther” claim that U.S. President Barack Obama was born in Kenya, Africa has barely been mentioned by either presidential candidate Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump during the campaign. That silence extends to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows most products from 38 eligible sub-Sahara countries to export goods to the U.S. duty-free. Sixteen years since its launch, AGOA has not driven industrial development in Africa as had been anticipated. But the program has served as a catalyst for increased textile production and associated job growth in Kenya and other countries. AGOA is viewed positively even in countries where its benefits have not been felt. In the years following its enactment during the Bill Clinton presidency, AGOA has stirred little opposition from Democrats or Republicans, largely because it has not amounted to much of a threat to U.S. workers. The Congress recently approved a 10-year extension of presidency of with strong support from members of the major parties. Trade deals criticized as harmful to U.S. economic interests have, however, emerged as a key issue in the race for the White House. Trump has been forceful in condemning such agreements, and the resonance of his arguments has led his Democratic rival to take a similar stance. The candidates’ expressed opposition to trade schemes favorable to exporters in the developing world raises the question of whether the next White House occupant might want to undo or weaken AGOA. Should Trump overcome odds against winning the Nov. 8...

East Africa is a region of complexity and opportunity, as Felicity Landon finds out It’s not easy to achieve a snapshot of what’s happening in East Africa – mainly because politics, economics, corruption, borders and the lasting impact of conflict combine to keep the goalposts moving and investment plans uncertain. However, the region is attracting investment – earlier this year, for example, DP World signed an agreement to develop the multipurpose Port of Berbera in Somaliland, with the aim that the port should "achieve its potential for becoming a regional trade and logistics hub", according to the operato. The group already has operations in Djibouti, where it operates the Doraleh terminal, as well as in Mozambique. The phased $442m project at Berbera will include setting up a free zone to support the development of the port’s trade corridors. “Investment in this natural deepwater port will attract more shipping lines to East Africa and its modernisation will act as a catalyst for the growth of the country and the region’s economy,” said DP World chief executive Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem. A modernised port will provide an additional gateway for the Horn of Africa that is needed for its development, while serving other landlocked countries along the east coast, DPW added. In competition Along the coast of East Africa, ports are jostling for position when it comes to serving their landlocked neighbours. Mauritius, meanwhile, has started to position itself as a transhipment hub – in the words of one expert, seeking to...