INCREASED EFFICIENCY: TMA provided techincal and financial support to construct the Busia border crossing into a One Stop Border Post TradeMark Africa (TMA) is a multi-donor funded aid for trade agency established as a company limited by Guarantee, to support the growth of trade - both regional and international- in East Africa. Amelia Kyambadde,  Uganda’s Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Minister explains how TMA has been supporting Uganda’s efforts to trade better. The Minister is quick to acknowledge the role TMA has played in making Uganda’s main frontier posts more efficient and on a wider scale helping the East African Community (EAC) member states achieve a faster flow of goods and people across common borders. She says, ”One important issue we have embarked on, especially in the five years or so, is the elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs). In the past we used to have a very poor system for identifying NTBs. We would have big boxes like coffins stationed at borders or shops; so we would tell people to put in their comments on how their businesses are running or the challenges they are having. “But now we have done away with all that, we have an NTB mechanism with the support of TradeMark Africa (TMA) which has been very effective, “ she says. Mrs Kyambadde says, “You just use your phone. If for example, you have a challenge at a weighbridge, just press star *201 asterisk (*201#) and aform comes up. “It asks you whether you have a customs...

Tankers at Busia border. Cases of highway robbers targeting transporters are on the rise. PHOTO | FILE  Inspector- General Joseph Boinnet has deployed at least 200 police officers to work with the Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) in escorting cargo along the Northern Corridor. KTA chief executive Alfayo Otuke said the lobby group would next week meet the security agencies to plan on how to provide security for cargo. “This follows rampant cases of cargo theft and incidents hitting a notch higher...sometimes turning fatal besides losing cargo to highway criminals. “This situation has seen some transporters re-routing to Tanzania,” he said. Mr Boinnet’s move comes in the wake of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s order last month that he sets up a unit that will secure cargo along the corridor. The President, concerned about theft of cargo along the trade route, said the government would not tolerate theft of transit goods and asked the Inspector General to create a police unit charged with the responsibility of ensuring that cargo reached the borders safely. “Our neighbours are complaining that Kenyans are stealing their goods and we cannot accept this to be the status quo. “Action will be taken against those who think that Mombasa port and the Northern Corridor will be a place where our neighbour’s goods are going to be stolen,” he said at the commissioning of Mombasa port’s phase one of the second container terminal. Yesterday, Mr Otuke said lobby group would work closely with the police to ensure that cargo reached...

Mr Liberat Mfumukeko, the East African Community secretary- general. PHOTO | COURTESY IN SUMMARY EAC secretary-general Liberat Mfumukeko on Monday said that the free movement of people, goods, services and capital will continue to be a top priority during his tenure. Integration of East Africa Community member states is set to make considerable progress over the next five years following renewed push by the secretariat to a create borderless regional market. EAC secretary-general Liberat Mfumukeko on Monday said that the free movement of people, goods, services and capital will continue to be a top priority during his tenure. “You are aware that in three out of the five countries in EAC, their respective citizens can enter and exit their territories using their IDs. I am sure that shortly this will be the norm in all the countries after the process of ensuring this is complete. I also wish to inform you that come 2017, the international East African electronic passport will be in use,” he said. Kenyan, Uganda and Rwanda governments provide free work permit to all East Africans, Mr Mfumukeko said, adding that he will continue pushing Tanzania and Rwanda to adopt the East African Common Market Protocol which was ratified in 2010 and provides for free movement of workers. The cost of a work permit in Tanzania ranges between Sh525 and Sh262,500 ($6 and $3,000) and in Burundi from Sh5,250 and Sh7,350 ($60 and $84). Free movement of labour across member States will open-up new job opportunities for...

WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim came together on 7 October to argue that the benefits of trade must be spread more widely. They were taking part in a joint event entitled “Making Trade an Engine of Growth for All”, held at the IMF’s headquarters in Washington D.C. The three leaders also discussed the importance of making the credible and balanced case for trade. The Director-General said: “While I believe that trade is essential for economic growth and development around the world, I also believe that trade is imperfect. Despite the overall gains it delivers, it can have negative effects in some parts of the economy and those effects can have a big impact on some people’s lives. We have a responsibility to reflect on this and to respond. “We have to work harder to ensure that the benefits of trade are more widely shared. We also need a clearer analysis of the challenges before us so that we can tailor our response. The charge often levelled against trade is that it sends jobs overseas, particularly in manufacturing. Trade can indeed cause this kind of displacement, and we need to respond to it. But actually trade is a relatively minor cause of job losses. The evidence shows that well over 80% of job losses in advanced economies are not due to trade, but to increased productivity through technology and innovation. “So we need to be clear-eyed about the...

This is the first time for the Zanzibar archipelago to host the EALA as part of its rotational principle which serves as the second meeting of the Fifth Session of the Third Assembly. Some Tanzanian members of EALA come from Zanzibar, which is part of the United Republic of Tanzania. EALA Sittings are held under the principle of rotation as per Article 55 of the East African Community (EAC) Treaty. EALA meets at least once in every year at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha. Addressing journalists in the Zanzibar archipelago, EALA Speaker Daniel Kidega said the Assembly is expected to discuss three key Bills — EAC Gender Equality and Development Bill 2016, EAC Trafficking in Persons Bill 2016 and the EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill 2016. According to Kidega, there will be a number of reports which are expected to be discussed and debated before the House. The EAC Counter-Trafficking in Persons Bill 2016 seeks to provide a legal framework, develop common measures, strategies and programs to the prevention of trafficking in persons and the perpetrators of such actions. The Bill is to further develop partnerships for co-operation in counter-trafficking in persons and provision of protection mechanisms and services for persons. The EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill 2016 moved by Patricia Hajabakiga aims to provide a legal framework for the preservation of a clean and healthy environment through the prohibition of manufacturing, sale, importation and use of polythene materials. The Bill was re-introduced during the Sitting held in August in...

Nairobi — The launch of the Chinese-built Ethiopia-Djibouti railway has shown China's special position in the modernization of Africa's infrastructure, Kenyan scholars said Saturday. "The launching of the Ethiopia-Djibouti standard gauge railway line is expected to spur similar efforts of Africa to link the continent more effectively with an efficient railway transport network, which could be what Africa needs for close integration and expansion of intra-Africa trade," Gerishon Ikiara, an international economics lecturer at the University of Nairobi, told Xinhua. The fully electrified Ethiopia-Djibouti railway links Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to the Red Sea port of Djibouti. It was built by Chinese companies with the help of funding from a Chinese bank. Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Djibouti's President Omar Guelleh presided over the launch of the 752.7km Ethiopia-Djibouti railway on Oct. 5. The Ethiopian premier said the electrified rail helped cut travel time between the two countries from seven days to just 10 hours. Ikiara, who was Kenya's vice minister of transport, said the completion of the railway line was a major milestone in the modernization and expansion of transport infrastructure in Africa. "It is expected that the Chinese influence in Africa's development is going to rise rapidly," he said. "The emerging dominance of China in Africa's development is leading to increased competition for Africa's infrastructure financing and construction works," he said. The scholar said the railway line would help boost the development of the two countries. "The collaboration between Ethiopia and Djibouti in the successful implementation of...

The concept of a United State of Africa has gained traction after the African Union (AU) launched an African passport in July 2016. The goal is to have the document in circulation by 2020 to allow citizens of the 54 member states travel visa-free across Africa. PHOTO: COURTESYThe concept of a United State of Africa has gained traction after the African Union (AU) launched an African passport in July 2016. The goal is to have the document in circulation by 2020 to allow citizens of the 54 member states travel visa-free across Africa. The notion of a single continental bloc was advanced by the late Libyan President Col. Muammar Gaddafi who even put substantial resources into it to woo African states into buying the proposed idea. Although largely driven by his own political ambitions, Gaddafi had a valid proposition of a united Africa. While there are both pros and cons, the quest for one passport for Africans is welcome. There are numerous benefits to be derived from a united Africa that would outweigh those of a divided continent. If this becomes a reality and enables citizens of 54 member states travel with ease, it will spur growth by encouraging intra-Africa trade. A more integrated Africa would empower us to better negotiate for our rightful share at the global arena, perhaps starting with a permanent seat at the UN Security Council or a greater role in global trade institutions such as the World Trade Organisation. The question however is; how practical...

Dr. Kituyi is due to speak at several events at the East African Business and Entrepreneurship Conference and Exhibition, which takes place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 10 to 13 October. The event brings together leaders from the government and private sectors in the East African Community (EAC) states, as well as entrepreneurs and investors from abroad. "Countries such as Kenya have some of the most dynamic business people, demonstrated by extraordinary technological successes and innovation," Dr. Kituyi said. "But business also benefits from value addition, job creation, and regional integration, and must do more to make these things happen," he added. Analysts have long recognised that business has a critical role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including by creating jobs. More jobs, in turn, mean fairer growth, more social stability, and larger consumer markets. In particular, regional integration and regional value chains still represent untapped opportunities. Meanwhile, technological change offers risks as well as opportunities. On the one hand, East African countries like Kenya and Rwanda have led the way with innovation-led growth with such firms as mobile-banking company M-Pesa and RSwitch, Rwanda’s national e-payment system. On the other hand, technological change and the use of more robots in manufacturing may mean that East African countries can no longer count on low wages as a competitive advantage. "One of the most exciting questions for East African business must surely be to ask how can we stay ahead of the fast moving technological wave?," Dr. Kituyi said. The...

Uganda National Bureau of Standards champions quality During the past 27 years, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has made it a point that Ugandan products meet national, regional and international standards.  This responsibility has helped transform the mindset of Ugandan producers, manufacturers and business people from being pushed to standardize to actually demand for standardization of their products as a matter of routine. About ten to fifteen years ago, interventions to effect standards on domestic and imported products were dismal. It was hampered by a limited number of UNBS personnel who numbered only 99 employees at one point and general knowledge about standards among the general public was equally limited. Consequently, emphasizing standards during the early days of UNBS was an uphill task. However, Patricia Ejalu, the Deputy UNBS Executive Director, says over the years, the Bureau has been steadily building its capacity in different areas including human resources which has seen the number of employees increase from less than 100 to 240 today. The organization has also invested much time and effort in sensitization of the public to appreciate the issue of standards and this has paid off.  Today, the mindset of the people has now been solidly anchored to and actually demands standards. This has helped in making people appreciate the work of UNBS and gradually made the work of organization easer, because it is supported by the population. Ejalu says UNBS has improved its efforts in carrying out market surveillance on standards and this has...

Standards are a vital element in trade, because they help business interaction and access to markets in the economy.  Standards and compliance can also encourage trade by providing valuable information about product requirements or consumer preferences which all add to competitiveness. A standards regime helps open-up markets. It allows customers to compare offers from different suppliers, making it easier for smaller and younger enterprises to compete with larger and stronger companies. They also give small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) a competitive advantage by enabling them to compete on a level playing field with bigger enterprises internationally and to increase market share. With a total population of about 146 million people, the East African Community (EAC) offers fertile ground for companies to do business.  By doing so, this leads to economic growth generated by higher levels of intra-East African trade. The EAC has developed East African Standards to harmonize requirements governing quality of products and services across the Community. Companies rely on these standards and their own conformance to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and boost sales of their products and services. Implementation of common standards has put the EAC at the fore front of competition policy in sub-Saharan Africa.  It is foreseen that through harmonized standardization and compliance, any trade barriers encountered during the exchange of goods and services within the EAC is limited or avoided altogether. On the other hand, compliance with strict standards of regulations can often be expensive for companies. However research points to the fact that...