Habari zinazoendelea kati ya Tanzania na Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki.

News of Tanzania in the East African Community.

this is getting political now you know many Tanzanians don't wanna hear that East African Cooperation thing!

this is getting political now you know many Tanzanians don't wanna hear that East African Cooperation thing!I was not aiming for only political stuff but also economic and social.For example, Tanzania companies investing in other EAC member states or Bongo artists performing in Uganda or Kenya e.t.c

CRDB Bank Tanzania Seeks EAC Expansion
Friday, 15 October 2010 07:14
The CRDB Bank Tanzania, one of the largest commercial banks in the country with a network of over 62 branches and over 200 ATMs, is now looking to take advantage of the recently adopted East African Community (EAC) Common Market, which allows for free movement of labor, capital and other resources within the EAC member states.

Ms. Tully Mwambapa, the CRDB Bank’s Marketing Manager, recently announced the company’s latest market expansion program to journalists in Dar es Salaam, saying that the Tanzania bank is currently planning to not only open a branch in each of the EAC member states, but also to install Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) services in an effort to ease the process of making transactions for its customers.

The CRDB Bank market expansion plan is reportedly part of the bank’s overall strategy to find additional methods of facilitating the money transfer process for Tanzanians living abroad who would like to transfer their savings back to their country.

According to CRDB Bank Manager for Small and Medium Level Customers, Ms. Nellie Ndosa, the bank's Tanzanite account, which was introduced ten years ago, is currently the account through which Tanzanians living abroad are able to conduct their transactions through Tanzania diplomatic mission.

Ms. Ndosa went on to indicate that the Tanzanite account currently has over 5,000 customers.

The expansion of the Tanzania banking sector to other countries within the EAC is expected to ease the difficulties that Tanzanians overseas have experienced in their efforts to send money back to their home country which will, in turn, help contribute to the overall Tanzania economic growth.

The CRDB Bank was re-established on July 1, 1996 as a private commercial bank as a successor to the former Co-operative and Rural Development Bank (CRDB), a public institution with which the majority shares were held by the Tanzania Government.

Over the years, the bank has grown and developed into one of the most innovative, first choice local banks with progressive profits being recorded every year since its founding and its shareholders receiving high annual dividends.

The CRDB Bank, which posted a net profit of USD 26.65 million last year, was recently awarded a certificate of excellence for standard banking services in East Africa by SuperBrands.

Since it first began listing its shares on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in 2009, the shares for the CRDB Bank have become increasingly in demand, as represented by the statistics for this year's second quarter, which indicate that they have been among the most traded at DSE and have contributed a turnover of 45 percent of overall transactions.

CRDB Bank Tanzania Seeks EAC Expansion
Friday, 15 October 2010 07:14
The CRDB Bank Tanzania, one of the largest commercial banks in the country with a network of over 62 branches and over 200 ATMs, is now looking to take advantage of the recently adopted East African Community (EAC) Common Market, which allows for free movement of labor, capital and other resources within the EAC member states.

Ms. Tully Mwambapa, the CRDB Bank’s Marketing Manager, recently announced the company’s latest market expansion program to journalists in Dar es Salaam, saying that the Tanzania bank is currently planning to not only open a branch in each of the EAC member states, but also to install Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) services in an effort to ease the process of making transactions for its customers.

The CRDB Bank market expansion plan is reportedly part of the bank’s overall strategy to find additional methods of facilitating the money transfer process for Tanzanians living abroad who would like to transfer their savings back to their country.

According to CRDB Bank Manager for Small and Medium Level Customers, Ms. Nellie Ndosa, the bank's Tanzanite account, which was introduced ten years ago, is currently the account through which Tanzanians living abroad are able to conduct their transactions through Tanzania diplomatic mission.

Ms. Ndosa went on to indicate that the Tanzanite account currently has over 5,000 customers.

The expansion of the Tanzania banking sector to other countries within the EAC is expected to ease the difficulties that Tanzanians overseas have experienced in their efforts to send money back to their home country which will, in turn, help contribute to the overall Tanzania economic growth.

The CRDB Bank was re-established on July 1, 1996 as a private commercial bank as a successor to the former Co-operative and Rural Development Bank (CRDB), a public institution with which the majority shares were held by the Tanzania Government.

Over the years, the bank has grown and developed into one of the most innovative, first choice local banks with progressive profits being recorded every year since its founding and its shareholders receiving high annual dividends.

The CRDB Bank, which posted a net profit of USD 26.65 million last year, was recently awarded a certificate of excellence for standard banking services in East Africa by SuperBrands.

Since it first began listing its shares on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in 2009, the shares for the CRDB Bank have become increasingly in demand, as represented by the statistics for this year's second quarter, which indicate that they have been among the most traded at DSE and have contributed a turnover of 45 percent of overall transactions.uwe unaweka source mkuu, haya si maneno yako

uwe unaweka source mkuu, haya si maneno yako

its obvious siyo ya kwangu!!! kwa haraka siku paste source ya Daily News

unajua wengine humu taarifa kama hizi ni part of our research, tuanafanya study

Sources ni muhimu sana, we should learn the culture, giving credit where it's due...

EAC: Talk to Tanzania govt, you’ll get food

The East African Community Secretariat wants its hunger-stricken partner states to contact Tanzania for emergency food procurement.

EAC Director for Economics Dr Nyamajeje Weggoro, told The EastAfrican that under the Common Market protocol, the partner states with food surplus are required to remove non-tariff barriers to allow free movement of food within the region.

Dr Weggoro said that the EAC believes that Tanzania’s ban on food export is an in-house protective measure and does not mean that it has locked out “its hungry partner states from purchasing emergency food.”

Dr Weggoro particularly implored Kenya to open talks with Tanzania to obtain food for its starving population.

Responding to a question by The EastAfrican, whether Tanzania has breached the Common Market Protocol by banning food exports, he said: “In my understanding, Tanzania hasn’t breached the Protocol by imposing a ban on food exports because the EAC countries are still sovereign states,” said Dr Weggoro.

Tanzania’s change of heart

With a severe drought ravaging the Horn and East Africa, Tanzania has asked drought-affected countries to negotiate directly with it at government level to procure food for their vulnerable populations.

“Neighbouring countries confronted with a food crisis are welcome to deal directly with the government instead of farmers, traders or agents in border regions for food purchases,” said Prof Jumanne Maghembe, Tanzania’s Minister For Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives.


Prof Maghembe said Tanzania has a food surplus of 1.7 million tonnes that it is considering selling to the EAC members.

Tanzania’s move comes against a backdrop of rampant food smuggling to neighbouring countries. Police in Arusha recently impounded several trucks that were said to be carrying grains to Kenya.

Tanzania police estimates that more than 400 tonnes of maize is trucked daily out of the country through Mara, Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions to Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia.

Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda are among the drought-affected countries.

According to Josette Sheeran, executive director of the UN World Food Programme, the food crisis in the region has left at least 10 million people food insecure due to widespread poor and erratic rainfall, combined with rising food prices in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.

Ms Sheeran said hunger was looming across the region, threatening the lives of millions of people already facing rising food prices and internal conflict.

With the failure of the April-June long rains in some areas, and below-average rainfall in others, the number of people in need of assistance is expected to rise in coming weeks.

“We should move quickly to break the destructive cycle of drought and hunger that forces farmers to sell their produce as part of their survival strategy,” Ms Sheeran said.

Source:
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/EAC++Talk+to+Tanzania+govt++you+will+get+food/-/2558/1210860/-/item/0/-/i1wwss/-/index.html

EAST AFRICAN STATES

http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc475/xiaohan1/4745009613_4754ab69ef_z.jpg

Tanzania scoffs at pipeline project for gas exports to region


… Prefers to satisfy domestic market, local projects first

ERIC TOROKA

THE Tanzanian Government will only allow the construction of the gas pipeline to other East African Community member states after has fully utilized the natural resources in its planned domestic projects, Minister for East African Community Samuel Sitta has said.

The East African Community recently said it is discussing the possibility of constructing a pipeline to carry Tanzania's natural gas to members of the bloc, that is Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

The planned domestic projects to be implemented include the construction of a power plant, construction of a fertilizer plant as well as the construction of gas distribution systems for cooking.

The proposal would send the fuel north from Tanzania's commercial hub of Dar es Salaam to Kenya's port of Mombasa.

Danish engineering consulting firm, COWI A/S, in July began studying the cost and environmental impact of the proposed pipeline with a US$561,700 grant from the Tunis-based African Development Bank.

Recent discoveries of natural gas off the coast of Tanzania have taken the country's total reserves to 7.5 trillion cubic feet, sufficient to allow exports to the region.

In an interview with Business Times through-wire communication held this week, the minister for East African Cooperation, Samuel Sitta, said the government would only allow the construction of the gas pipeline to other EAC member states after the implementation of its planned domestic projects.

Constructing a fertilizer plant, cement plant, and a construction of power plant that would be able to generate 300-500 megawatts in Mtwara are the key projects.

“We have received the proposal from our neighbour Kenya to see if we can export natural gas to EAC member states. The proposal looks good but I don't have more details as we need to do a feasibility study. However, we have planned domestic projects to implement first in Mtwara then we would see what excess of natural gas remains for export,” the minister explained.

He said Kenya was ready to pay US$500 million for importing of natural gas from Tanzania, adding the project could be viable if and when Tanzania has utilized the natural resources in its planned domestic projects.
Speaking in a different vein, an impeccable source from the Tanzania Development Corporation (TPDC), has discounted the possibility of building a pipeline to carry natural gas from Tanzania to other EAC member states.

“Tanzanians are not fools. Our neighbours can utilize well our natural gas to manufacture various stuffs such as cement and fertilizer and sell at a low price. They can generate power and sell it to us from our natural resources,” a TPDC official noted.

Instead of constructing a pipeline to carry the country's natural gas to other members of the bloc, it is better to build a gas pipeline from Songosongo to Tanga and then install the power to the national grid ready for export to EAC member states.

“Our neighbours have been insistent to bring the project to take off but we blocked it and proposed them to do a feasibility study first and then the matter be discussed later on. By that time we hope our projects would be completed,” he further noted.

Natural gas in the country was found at two sites off the coastline in a drilling program led by Ophir Energy Plc., a UK based oil and gas explorer in October, according to TPDC director for exploration Halfani Halfani.

The company was due to start drilling a third deep water well off the southern coast in December in partnership with BG Group plc.

There are two gas deposits in commercial production in the country. Songo Songo holds 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, while the Mnazi Bay field near the border with Mozambique has 2 trillion cubic feet.

Peter Clutterbuck, the deputy chairman for Orca Exploration Group Inc., said Tanzanian waters have seen increased oil and gas exploration over the past decade, with the Songo Songo west field containing about 500 billion cubic feet.
http://www.businesstimes.co.tz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=794:tanzania-scoffs-at-pipeline-project-for-gas-exports-to-region&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=57

What UNIDO can offer to improve trade within EAC

THE United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) eyes EAC bloc as a hub for global market trade in agro-produce, Business Times can affirm.
It has began conducting training in each member states on effective competitive regional and international markets, to protect local consumers from unsafe products, and on the need to strengthen the limited supply capacity and developing a reliable food safety and quality assurance system. The food chain approach, risk analysis and traceability is being used.
UNIDO -EAC Programme Coordinator, Dr. Ananias Bagumire, recently availed himself for an interview with Business Times in Dar es Salaam, expressing efforts by UNIDO in supporting Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in the building-up of infrastructures and services for trade development and consumer protection.
It is on the point that most of the basic national capacities for food safety and quality have been established in the three countries, extending soon to EAC newcomers Rwanda and Burundi.
Stakeholders in the sector laud UNIDO for the programme, noting that it would not only tick the trade sector but also promote EAC integration.
“It is a good initiative that brings together common trading systems based on international standards for global marketing of our products,” said Wilberforce Karani, a representative of Kagera Tea Company Limited.

Again a positive reaction came from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives where specialists in crop protection Ms Rebecca Mawishi and Ms Lightness Muro underlined the support of the ministry as the main player in the food sector.
The view is that at this stage it has become essential to complete missing support services and put in place mechanisms for sustaining those infrastructures, and particularly upgrade the capacity of Rwanda and Burundi to participate.
“Only then the member countries will be able to fully participate and take advantage of the rule-based multilateral trading system as codified through the WTO agreements, mainly on SPS and TBT,” the coordinator said.

UNIDO is a United Nations development agency with a clear mandate to provide technical assistance in the area of industrial development and trade capacity building. UNIDO has 40 years of experience in supporting the development of national quality institutions in developing countries around the world.
However, Dr Bagumire says through hands-on experience acquired though these years, UNIDO has been exposed many problems that developing country producers face in understanding, implementing and showing compliance with international requirements like ISO/Codex, OIE and IPPC standards
It is with this background that UNIDO in October 2006 launched a region-wide programme in the EAC on trade capacity building in agro-industry products for establishment and proof of compliance with international market requirements.

This programme was an initiative to establish a coordinated effort at regional level to enhance the capacity of the five EAC member states as a whole, to participate in international trade mainly through enhancement of enterprises’ capacity to produce according to international market requirements, and strengthening of export oriented support services, mainly relating to conformity assessment procedures.
In particular, the programme is meant to enhance the institutional capacity and services of the five EAC participating countries to implement the WTO agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary issues and technical barriers to trade.
Such regional trade capacity building and harmonization lead not only to better access to industrialized markets, but also facilitate trade exchanges between the five countries and with countries from other sub-regional groupings such as COMESA and SADC, where similar capacity building and harmonization is on-going.
At the same time, the programme allows for an improved and coordinated regional food safety and generally, SPS regulatory framework and consequently better public health, and protecting local consumers against (local and imported) unsafe food products. Both the development of foreign trade and the protection of consumers ultimately lead to more solidified local economies, which in turn have a positive impact on employment, wealth and poverty alleviation.
Through this programme, UNIDO is developing capacity of export support institutions mainly involved in standardization and conformity assessment services at national level, and directly supporting development of model enterprises for demonstrating compliance with new international standards like ISO 22000 - 2005 on food safety management systems.
In addition, by working through the institutional framework of EAC at the regional level, the programme supports the development of an EAC Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) protocol. When ratified by member states it was expected to provide a basis for policy and legal framework for management of food safety, animal and plant health among member states and increase intra-regional trade and trade with other regions through the removal of SPS related non-tariff barriers.
The implementation of the EAC SPS Protocol will harmonize institutional and regulatory frameworks, and SPS measures and standards in order to ease the cross-border trade of agro-products in the region and abroad
However for these new developments to bear fruits for the regional economies, the businesses have to understand and adopt Standards and SPS measures in their operations so as to move their products across the borders unhindered.
Through this programme UNIDO is collaborating with the EAC and EABC and other agencies to ensure that private sector in the region is informed about the importance, need and strategies for complying with these new requirements. The programme has supported workshops and related fora where industry and business operators interface with regulators to increase the understanding of key players on these matters.

More so, UNIDO has partnered with EABC and others in coming up with an EAC Business Guide dedicated to explaining issues related to SPS and standards. Through the guide, pertinent questions regarding business compliance with SPS and standards established in the framework of EAC will be tackled.
Also UNIDO is cooperating with EABC to expand an EABC website to include a portal dedicated to SPS-related information so that the business community instantly seek and get answers to questions regarding SPS issues in the region. Members of the business community are encouraged to utilize these sources of information, an information brochure underlined.

http://www.businesstimes.co.tz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1265:what-unido-can-offer-to-improve-trade-within-eac-&catid=40:marketandeconomy&Itemid=58

EAC opts for joint security operations

By Nicodemus Ikonko, The Citizen Correspondent
Arusha. Alarmed by a rising threat of terrorism in the region, East African Community officials resolved yesterday to mount joint security operations. Security specialists meeting under the auspices of the sectoral council agreed to exchange intelligence more swiftly across the borders. They are also looking to set up a joint mechanism to better respond to mounting security challenges in the region, which has been hit by terror attacks in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Kampala.

They identified the major threats to peace in the region as terrorism, human and drug trafficking, cyber crimes, piracy, counterfeit goods, vehicle theft and insecurity in Lake Victoria and other waterways. Illegal small arms and light weapons also pose a challenge to security agents, along with money laundering, cross-border smuggling and cattle rustling.

The sectoral council meeting on inter-state security resolved to step up joint operations and training to speed up the region’s economic integration.East Africa is increasingly shaping up as a convenient transit route for human and drug trafficking, according to the community deputy secretary-general in charge of political federation, Ms Beatrice Kiraso. This does not augur well for the region’s prospects in attracting tourists and investors, she said when she opened the meeting.

The sectoral council, which brings together EAC home affairs and internal security ministers, is now making a pitch for shared intelligence and building local capacity to combat these crimes.

The ministers approved the ratification and immediate implementation of the EAC Protocol on Combating Drug Trafficking and the recommendations on drug trafficking of the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Organisation.

Security officers are to be involved in implementing the EAC customs union and the common market. “They have identified different threats which will be dealt with,” said Mr Leonard Onyonyi, the EAC’s expert on small arms and light weapons. On vehicle thefts, the ministers directed partner states to domesticate the police chiefs clearance certificate and bring it into effect by January 1, 2012.

Mr Onyonyi said, however, that more needed to be done to meet the December 31 deadline for completion of the marking of small arms and light weapons. “We don’t see it being through then,” he added.“Perhaps 15 percent across the region on average has been covered. There is still quite a lot of work to be done.”The delay in weapon-marking can be put down to a limited number of marking equipment. Each of the EAC countries—Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda—has only three each.
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/component/content/article/37-tanzania-top-news-story/13683-eac-opts-for-joint-security-operations.html

Uganda yapaisha sukari Kagera

Phinias Bashaya, Bukoba
BEI kubwa ya sukari imezidi kuvuruga Mkoa wa Kagera, baada ya kuingiliwa na wafanyabiashara kutoka Uganda, huku ikipanda hadi Sh2,400 kwa kilo tofauti na Sh1,700 iliyotangazwa na Serikali.Uchunguzi uliofanywa mjini hapa, umebaini wafanyabiashara kutoka Uganda wameteka soko la sukari na kusababisha kupanda kutokana na mahitaji makubwa yanayodaiwa kuwapo nchini humo.

Katika maduka mbalimbali mjini Bukoba, licha ya bei ya sukari kupanda huku Serikali ikishindwa kusimamia agizo lake la kuteremsha bei, baadhi ya wafanyabiashara wa maduka wanalalamikia kukosa bidhaa hiyo.

Hata hivyo, baadhi ya wafanyabiashara walidai kuna ukiritimba katika usambazaji sukari, msambazaji ni mmoja ambaye anahusishwa na kuadimika kwa bidhaa hiyo kwa madai ya kuiuza kwa wafanyabiashara wa Uganda, ili kupata faida kubwa.

Akizungumzia matatizo ya kupanda holela kwa bei ya sukari mwishoni mwa wiki iliyopita, Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Kagera, Mohamed Babu, alikiri bei ya sukari kupanda kwa kasi mkoani hapa na kwamba, tayari amepewa taarifa za kuwapo kwa wafanyabiashara wa Uganda.Hata hivyo, Babu alikitetea Kiwanda cha Sukari Kagera na msambazaji wake kuwa, hawahusiki na upandaji sukari na kudai kuwa, hakuna sababu ya wafanyabiashara kupandisha bei.

Licha ya kudai kuwa serikali ina mkono mrefu wa kudhibiti upandaji bidhaa hiyo, kwa miezi kadhaa tangu kutolewa kwa bei elekezi, hakuna mabadiliko yaliyofanywa kushuka bei.

Badala yake, Babu alisema Serikali haiwezi kudhibiti upandaji sukari hadi maeneo ya vijijini na kuwaomba wananchi kutoa taarifa, ili ichukue hatua kwa wanaokaidi maelekezo ya bei halali.

Pia, taarifa kutoka Wilaya ya Missenyi ambayo ipo kilomita 18 kufika mpaka wa Mutukula, zilidai wafanyabiashara kutoka Uganda wamechangia kupanda kwa bidhaa hiyo kati ya Sh2,500 hadi Sh3,000.
http://www.mwananchi.co.tz/biashara/13-biashara-za-kitaifa/14348-uganda-yapaisha-sukari-kagera

Great :banana:

4 Kenyan youngsters picked for Man United Camp in Dar es Salaam

FOUR Kenyan youngsters have been selected to join Manchester United camp in Dar es Salaam. Kenyan daily, Daily Nation, named the players as Naim Ashraf (Nairobi Milimani), Mzee Ali Rama (Tononoka High School), Naomi Njeri (Matuu Memorial) and Emily Auma (Jera Girls).

The quartet reportedly secured the opportunity after their sterling performance during the just concluded Kenya secondary schools games soccer contest known as “The Airtel Rising Stars Tournament” held at Moi Forces Academy, Nairobi.

The October camp in Tanzania is a partnership between Airtel and Manchester United, the English Premier League 19-time winners, to identify and nurture young football talents from East Africa.

“This is a dream come true for me. I have been a keen fan of Manchester United and when I was picked by coach “Ghost” I was delighted that I would have a chance to train with one of the best clubs in the world,” said an excited Rama.

A panel of four coaches led by former Harambee Stars coach Jacob “Ghost” Mulee said all the 16 teams exhibited exceptional talent at the finals. “The competition was cutthroat. We are confident that the four players will be great ambassadors of Kenya’s football at the camp,” said Mulee.

The other members of the panel included Twahir Muhiddin, ex-international Micky Weche and former Harambee Starlets captain, Florence Adhiambo. The players will receive physical and technical training by analysing the club’s first team players to help understand the finer details of top level preparation.

Players will also be given valuable insight into the opportunities in the game. Manchester United staff will be on hand to help the players create a vision of how they can progress in the game and other aspects such as coaching, sports science and nutrition.

Manchester United — under the auspices of its soccer schools banner, Manchester United Soccer Schools — will provide technical support during the soccer clinics. The clinics will bring together players from 16 countries in Africa, including Tanzania and Uganda, representing eastern Africa.

This is an Africa-wide programme that will provide a platform for upcoming football talent to showcase their skills to leading scouts and coaches. Meanwhile, Airtel Tanzania is today expected to dish out sports kits and certificates to secondary schools whose teams took part in the Under-17 Airtel Rising Stars tournament.

The programme which involved players from 24 secondary schools in Iringa, Morogoro, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam started in July this year and is expected to come to and end this December.

Speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the Airtel Public Relations Mnager, Jackson Mmbando said his company would keep on improving the programme in a bid to promote youth soccer in the country.
Source:
http://www.dailynews.co.tz/sports/?n=22926&cat=sports

By NICODEMUS IKONKO, 28th August 2011 @ 12:10, Total Comments: 0, Hits: 300

DESPITE support from some East African leaders for Africa's new nation of South Sudan to join the East African Community (EAC), it is actually the old Republic of Sudan (of Omar Al-Bashir) which has formally applied to join the five-nation regional bloc.

EAC sources told the Independent East African News Agency (EANA) in Arusha that Republic of Sudan had submitted its application to become the sixth EAC member.

The application, according to sources, will come up for discussion at the EAC Council of Ministers meeting scheduled for early next month.

"Yes, it is true that Republic of Sudan has applied to join EAC and the Secretariat has brought up the issue to the attention of the EAC Council of Ministers," the EAC source said when asked to comment over the application.

Efforts to get comment from the council's current Chairperson from Burundi, Ms Hafsa Mossi, proved futile.

The EAC was revived in 1999 with a Treaty by three founding partners -- Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Rwanda and Burundi joined the bloc in 2007.

During a recent visit to Kampala, the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir reiterated his country's commitment to join the EAC "to reap the benefits of regional integration," but nothing formal has been forthcoming.

Presidents Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Rwanda's Paul Kagame had also invited the South Sudan to join the bloc in February, this year.

South Sudan applied for observer's status some two years ago, but it was rejected as it was still part of the greater Sudan. It was told to re-apply after this year's referendum.

The East African leaders have openly embraced South Sudan, a move largely pitched on economic interests.

Firstly, the landlocked South Sudan needs a gateway to the world after separating from the northern Sudan.

Secondly, a significant percentage of South Sudan's trade is with East Africa (80 per cent), while it clears a big chunk of its goods through the port of Mombasa, Kenya.

According to Anthony Lino Makana, South Sudan's roads and transport minister, the country has started talks with several oil firms to build a 200-km link to the existing pipeline running from Mombasa to Eldoret in Kenya.

Makana said such a pipeline would help South Sudan export its oil to Kenya, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Ethiopia.

Interestingly, Uganda has overtaken Kenya as the leading trading partner with South Sudan. Last year, Uganda's exports to South Sudan were worth $187m, while Kenya's were $184m.

Kenya is though the leading investor in Juba, whose authorities have increasingly turned to Sub-Saharan Africa, especially East Africa, for economic, cultural and political ties.

If their application is considered, the Republic of Sudan will be subjected to the conditions of accession.

Article 3 (3) of the EAC Treaty sets out conditions for membership; these include: acceptance of the Community as set out in the Treaty; adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice and contribution towards the strengthening of integration within the East African region.

Other conditions include geographical proximity to end inter-dependence between it and the partner states; establishment and maintenance of a market driven economy and social and economic policies being compatible with those of the community.

Moreover, Republic of Sudan will have to surmount many challenges for it to become a full EAC member.

The country's attempt to join the EAC comes at a time when the five EAC member countries have made major steps, including establishing a Customs Union and a Common Market.

http://www.dailynews.co.tz

Kenya lagging far behind Uganda, Tanzania in attracting investment

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/image/view/-/1229814/medRes/291834/-/maxw/600/-/wj59o2/-/kas.jpg
Kenya is the biggest loser in the battle for foreign direct investments (FDI) into the EAC region as more investors stream into Uganda and Tanzania.

By ALLAN ODHIAMBO

The FDI inflows to Kenya dipped to $133 million in 2010 from $144 million the previous year, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

Kenya’s FDI inflow stood at a high of $729 million in 2007, signalling the magnitude of the slump in just three years. A dip in FDI inflows has various consequences including fewer new jobs as firms take on austerity measures such as freezes in hiring.

“East Africa’s increase was modest (2.5 per cent), as inflows to the sub-region’s largest recipient, Madagascar, fell substantially (19 per cent). FDI to the sub-region’s two other large recipients, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania, have tended to be stable in recent years and held broadly steady in 2010,” the UN agency said in its World Investment report for 2011.

In 2010, Uganda attracted FDI inflows worth $848 million, up from $816 million the previous year, while Tanzania realised $700 million last year compared with $645 million in 2009.

Kenyan firms such as oil marketer Kenol Kobil are some of the biggest contributors to FDI growth in Uganda.

Data from Unctad shows that KenolKobil had the second highest greenfield investment in Uganda in 2010 worth $1.7 billion in coal, gas and natural gas projects. This was the third highest investment in a greenfield project among poor countries worldwide in 2010.

British firm Tullow Oil was the highest investor in greenfield projects in Uganda over 2010 with a portfolio worth $5 billion. Tullow also sank the resources into coal, gas and natural gas projects.

Greenfield investments involve the creation of business operations rather than simply merger and acquisition (M&A) with existing firms.

The Ugandan government estimates oil reserves in the Lake Albertine Basin at 2 billion barrels but says they could be much higher. This has triggered a scramble for this key resource, with multinationals and regional firms angling for stakes.

KenolKobil announced in January that it had bought Phoenix Uganda Petroleum Ltd for an undisclosed amount to raise its capacity in Uganda. The deal involved a 1,800 metric tonne fuel terminal, a three-storey office block and three service stations in Uganda’s capital Kampala, bringing its total to 66 stations.

Analysts have blamed Kenya’s lack of attractiveness for FDI on a myriad factors including political uncertainty, bureaucratic business approval processes and restrictive laws on foreign business ownership.

The World Bank last year pointed out that restrictions on participation in business had seen foreign investors steer clear of Kenya.

For instance, in Kenya, foreign capital participation in telecommunications is limited to a maximum of 70 per cent.

However, the law provides foreign investors with a grace period of three years to build up the required domestic capital contribution of 30 per cent.

In the transportation sector, there are ownership restrictions in railway freight, port and airport operation, in which foreign investment is allowed only up to 50 per cent.

“On the other hand, unlike in most other countries covered by the Investing Across Sectors indicators, domestic as well as international passenger air transportation is fully open to foreign capital participation,” the Bank said.

The tourism sector, one of the country’s most prosperous industries, is also fully open to foreign companies, as are other manufacturing and primary sectors.

Analysts have also blamed delayed reforms of the bureaucratic process in business licensing and management. Kenya dropped to position 98 out of 183 economies surveyed in the World Bank’s 2011 ranking for ease of doing business globally.

Slow licensing processes, complex taxation procedures and the high cost of registering property also contribute.

Inexperienced local firms

Investors have also cited Kenya as the most expensive destination for those aspiring to own property in the region. Investors part with 4.2 per cent of property value to cover cost of registration compared with Uganda’s 3.2 per cent Rwanda’s 0.4 per cent.

UNCTAD said the flow of FDI into Africa also remains hampered by lack of experience among local firms. “The scope for joint ventures between domestic and foreign partners in the African context is often constrained by the absence of domestic partners with the required technical and financial capacity,” the agency said.

The agency however pointed out that several joint ventures had begun yielding fruit as firms in the region tapped into the experience of multi and transnationals.

“In manufacturing, Coleus Crowns (Uganda) provides a successful example of a joint venture at the intraregional level. It is a joint venture between the Madhvani Group (Uganda) and Coleus Packaging (South Africa), which began production of bottle crowns in 2007. Since then, it has succeeded in establishing itself as a supplier to major TNCs such as Nile Breweries (an affiliate of SABMiller), Pepsi Uganda and Coke Uganda. It also serves the regional markets in Burundi, Rwanda and the Sudan,” Unctad said.
Source:
The East African: *- News*|Kenya lagging far behind Uganda, Tanzania in attracting investment

C

East Africans Free To Stay In Any Country In The Region




East Africans are now free to live in any of the member states so long as they notify immigration departments every six months, the five-member bloc has resolved.

According to the Director of Social Sector, Mary Makoffu, the development applies to those who wish to stay in a particular country but are not employed, visitors, students or those in transit to other countries.

Upon the presentation of a travel document, a citizen shall be issued with a pass which shall entitle him or her to enter into the territory of the host partner state and stay for a period of up to six months.

“You can stay as long as you wish as the only requirement is to notify the immigration upon expiry of the six-month period of your intention to extend stay.”

Under the provisions of the East African Community (EAC) Common Market on the free movement of persons, a Kenyan who seeks to enter the neighbouring Tanzania or Uganda, Rwanda or Burundi is required to present to the immigration authorities a valid common standard travel document and declare all the information required for entry or exit.

In the case of Rwanda, their citizens now have an identificationcard that is machine-readable. Kenya is in the process of developing one before the end of the year.

PERMANENT STAY

“For those willing to study in one of the bloc’s partner states, the immigration office of the host nation shall issue a student’s pass to an applicant who satisfies the requirements in this category. The pass shall be issued subject to terms and conditions, for a period not exceeding one year and shall be renewable, annually, for the duration of the study,” Ms Makoffu said.

However, if one wishes to enter another partner state for the purpose of undergoing training for a period not exceeding two months, he or she shall be exempted from applying for a student’s pass.

Indeed, this is the reason many Kenyans are flocking Uganda for studies.

Makkoffu said many EAC citizens are not aware of these provisions under the free movement of persons regulations and have been struggling to seek for work permits, which can be frustrating at times.

Meanwhile, Chinese nationals in East Africa are residing in the region under national laws of each particular state and they are not any threat to the regional integration process,” Makoffu said.

“EAC partner states have got national immigration laws that allow immigrants from other parts of the world enter, stay and work in their jurisdictions and they should not be discriminated.”

By LUKE ANAMI, The Standard

In the case of Rwanda, their citizens now have an identificationcard that is machine-readable. Kenya is in the process of developing one before the end of the year.

I wonder how long it will take for all member states to issue the new ID's.

From MARC NKWAME in Arusha, 11th September 2011 @ 16:00, Total Comments: 1, Hits: 547

THE Comoros and Somalia have expressed interest to join the East African Community (EAC), Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Bernard Membe, said over the weekend.

Mr Membe said the Republic of Sudan and Southern Sudan have also shown interest to join EAC, which now comprise Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

"The Republic of Sudan has officially applied and we have gone through the application, discussed it and it is now left to the summit to make its decision in November," Mr Membe said.

"We were surprised by the move by Khartoum, because many had expected that the new state of South Sudan which directly borders Kenya and Uganda would have rushed to join the EAC.

"However, it is the Omar al-Bashir's Sudan in the further North which has sent a formal application," he said.

"The EAC is the only regional bloc in Africa to reach the common market stage and the free movement of capital, goods and skilled labour. This is what attracts many states to join us," stated Mr Membe.

However, while any country is free to join the EAC, Mr Membe stressed that any country aspiring to join the EAC must be ready to comply to the Treaty for the establishment of the Community.

He said Section 137 of the Treaty provides that the official language of the Community is English while Swahili remains the regional lingua-franca.

"It therefore means that any country interested to join EAC must be ready to use, understand and speak Swahili without the need of an interpreter, failure to which is a disqualification," the minister explained.

Many of the interested countries speak English but none of the aforementioned four has Swahili in their listing of official language, therefore the decision to include them into the five-state EAC may not be that easy unless the states promise to take crash courses in the language.

Source: http://dailynews.co.tz/home

So now EAC has 4 potential future member states.

Sugar smuggling thrives in Tarime
BY CORRESPONDENT
16th September 2011

The sugar smuggling business is thriving at the Sirari border town in Tarime district, Mara region, creating sugar scarcity in the district'
The scarcity has led to a kilo of the commodity to sell at 3,000/- instead of the normal price of 1,700/-.
Speaking to this reporter recently, Gosebe, Kubiterere, Borega and Kogaja villagers and Sirari residents said illegal sugar business was mostly done at night and the police at the road block in Nkende Magena area were not effective to contain the situation.
They said there were over 20 trucks transporting sugar, rice and maize across the border to Kenya daily.
It is reported that a 50-kilo-sugar sack fetched up to 140,000/- in Isebania, Kenya, while in Tarime it fetched only 130,000/- and because of this businesspeople prefer to sell their sugar in Kenya, where they earn more.
This reporter noted some signs of corruption in Nkende area and at the Magenna road block, which made Tarime MP Nyambari Nyangwine (CCM) and district council chairman Amos Sagara to complain, saying the illegal business was denying the government a lot of revenue.
Source:
ippmedia.com

Political parties in EA ‘disregarding integration issue'
Thursday, 15 September 2011 22:52

http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/images/stories/raila%20odinga%20safi.jpg
‘‘I must confess that it’s only my party within the region which has stated the need for integration” KENYA PRIME MINISTER RAILA ODINGA

By Bernard Lugongo
The Citizen Rep orter
Nairobi. Political parties in East Africa were yesterday accused of excluding regional integration from their election manifestos and constitutions.Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga said when opening the East African political parties’ consultative meeting that parties should include in their manifestos the issue of East African integration if the region was to make the envisaged political merger a reality.

Mr Odinga, leader of Kenya’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), said the tendency of political parties in East Africa to shunt integration aside amounted to sabotage.He added that although there were dozens of political parties in the region, only one had seen the importance of incoråporating regional integration issue in its policies.

“The integration must be part and parcel of party manifestos. I must confess that it’s only my party within the region which has stated the need for the integration,” he said, adding: “Just as East African Community integration must embrace political parties, political parties must also embrace the integration process.”

However, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) also strongly advocated regional integration during election campaigns in the country early this year. Mr Odinga said it should become the responsibility of party leaders and ordinary members to ensure that party policies regarding the East African Community (EAC) were developed and implemented.

“The other side of the coin is that the integration process will open up tremendous opportunities in our region. We need these opportunities for our people, and we must work seriously towards party collaboration across national boundaries to realise our objectives.

“No nation, let alone any political party, is an island in today’s globalised world. To be relevant in that world, we need visions that go beyond our national borders,” Mr Odinga said.It was thus political parties with an international outlook that would be truly effective in supporting the EAC integration process, and helping to move it forward, he added.

“I challenge parties to ensure that the integration process remains consistently high on their agenda…we politicians must take the lead by being committed to working together.”

Kenya’s Assistant Minister for EAC Affairs, Mr Peter Munya, earlier said that the ultimate goal for East African countries was to have political federation, but that could only be achieved through stakeholders’ participation.

Political parties could help the region attain the goal by shaping national agenda and mobilising citizens, he said.
“Here, political parties have no option, but to look beyond borders to achieve political federation in the EAC for the benefit of people in the region,” he said, and urged partied to share ideas and create political linkage.

EAC Deputy Secretary General Beatrice Kiraso said integration was a political process that required the full participation of all those concerned.She urged parties to pursue the EAC vision of having a stable and united regional bloc.

Source:
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/news/-/14785-political-parties-in-ea-disregarding-integration-issue

Pinda: Sell seized sugar at govt price
BY CORRESPONDENT
24th September 2011

Says it is determined to help Tanzania end power blues

http://ippmedia.com/media/picture/large/PindaKatiba(6).jpg
Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda

Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda has ordered Tarime District authorities to ensure that all the 1,655 bags of sugar impounded while being transported illegally to Kenya are sold to local residents at the price set by the government.
He gave the directive at a rally here yesterday attended by government officials and residents of this municipality at the end of his week-long official tour of Mara Region.
A report on the region handed over to him on Thursday showed that the sugar in question was being lined up for smuggling into the neighbouring country, he said.
According to the PM, sugar smuggling has for long been roaring business in Tarime District despite the presence of roadblocks and enhanced inspection at border posts.
He applauded the police for doing a good job in striving to keep the criminal activity in check, adding though that unscrupulous elements including businesspeople continue to stubbornly buy sugar in bulk and smuggle it into neighbouring countries where the item is in short supply.
“I have directed the relevant authorities to hold the seized sugar and sell the entire stock at a price everyone can afford. We want to see who will dare complain over the decision,” he said.
“We are determined to end the smuggling of sugar, so police should not entertain or tolerate such dishonest traders. I have been told that there are too many roadblocks in place and this ironically facilitates the illegal exportation of sugar. We are working on this problem,” he declared, advising police to think of reducing the number of roadblocks as a way of ensuring more effective monitoring.
Alarmingly rampant sugar smuggling was recently reported at Sirari border post, a situation said to have touched off acute scarcity in Tarime District that saw the price per kilo rise from the 1,700/- fixed by the government to as high as 3,000/-.
On Thursday, police announced a countrywide operation meant to contain the smuggling of sugar to neighbouring countries and ensure that traders complied with the government directive on the indicative price for the item.
The development came just a day after Pinda announced that the government would consider deploying the military to end the smuggling following reports that some police officers had a hand in the racket.
Director of Criminal Investigation Robert Manumba told the media in Dar es Salaam yesterday that police had not failed to solve the problem and would use the coming two weeks “fighting to ensure that no more sugar is smuggled by taking appropriate measures against defiant traders”.
He said investigations had shown that the shortage of sugar was the work of traders hoarding the item to create scarcity in the market so that they could sell it at a price that would guarantee them a huge profit margin.
Addressing a rally at Bunda in Mara Region on Tuesday, the PM said some police officers have been using phones to notify their colleagues at roadblocks that it was all clear and they could safely release vehicles carrying illegal sugar across the border.
“We have sugar factories here and they are producing enough of the item and to spare. We have also established that some traders have been hiking the price and then, in collaboration with some police officers, selling the commodity outside the country,” he noted.
Major sugar producers in Tanzania such as Kagera Sugar and Kilombero Sugar have long declared that they produce enough quantities of the item and there should be no scarcity.
But the sugar is routinely smuggled to other East African Community partner states, where the commodity fetches higher prices chiefly owing to scarcity.
While retailers in Tanzania are directed to sell a kg of sugar at not more than 1,700/-, the current sub-whole price stands at as high as 110,000/- per 50-kilo bag, and the retail price at between 2,300/- and 2,500/- a kilo.
Meanwhile, in Kenya a kg of the item fetches Kshs 210, which, at the current exchange rate, is 3,570/-. In Uganda it is sold at Ush 6,000 (equivalent to 3,400/-) and in Burundi it is BFrancs 2,000 (about 3,100/-) per kilo.
Source:
www.ippmedia.com

Museveni, JK agree to speed-up joint railway
BY GADIOSA LAMTEY
4th October 2011
http://ippmedia.com/media/picture/large/MusevJK.jpg
President Jakaya Kikwete receives Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam yesterday. According to an official, President Museveni was in Tanzania for a one-day working visit. (Photo: Khalfan Said)

Tanzania and Uganda yesterday agreed to speed-up construction of the Tanga-Musoma-Uganda railway.
The two countries also agreed to expand Tanga and Musoma ports as well as to build a new port in Uganda for feeding the new railway line intended to connect the two countries.
The agreements were reached during a brief visit by Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, who jetted in Dar es Salaam for official talks with his counterpart, President Jakaya Kikwete.
The talks were held at the State House after President Museveni was received at the Julius Nyerere International Airport by his host. The Ugandan leader left shortly after the talks.
During the talks, the two leaders consented to speed-up the construction of the railway line to open up the third Ugandan gateway for cargo transportation from the Indian Ocean.
Other gateways that Uganda uses for transportation of its cargo to and from the Indian Ocean are the Dar es Salaam port in Tanzania and Mombasa port in neighbouring Kenya.
They said the construction must start as soon as possible and the two formed a task force to supervise the process. The task force will be formed by ministers of transport, finance and foreign affairs of the two countries.
Under the initiative, goods will be transported by rail from Tanga port to Musoma, where they will be ferried to Uganda through Lake Victoria.
According to a State House press statement released after the talks, the two leaders made the decision due to the benefits of the railway line to the economies of the two countries.
“They have also made the decision taking into account that without close and proper supervision of the two counties of Tanzania and Uganda, it will take many years for the railway line to be constructed,” it said.
The idea to have a railway line connecting the two countries from Tanga to Musoma was initiated by the first President of Tanzania, the late Julius Nyerere, but its implementation was delayed due to various reasons.
The Uganda leader arrived in the country around 11am at the airport where he inspected a guard of honour, watched traditional dances before proceeding to the State House for official talks with Kikwete.

Source:
www.ippmedia.com

The East African Community (EAC) is set to launch its fourth development strategy (2011-2020) focusing on boosting industry, energy, agriculture and food security.

Speaking in Arusha yesterday during the opening session of the EAC pre-budget conference, EAC deputy secretary-general charged with Finance and Administration, Dr Julius Rotich said the strategy would take a long-term view, spanning the EAC’s second decade.

“This will be a decade of concretising the community. It will involve a rigorous application to the challenges of the socio-economic transformation of East Africa,” he said. However, he did give the exact time-frame for the strategy.

Dr Rotich informed the delegates from all five partner states (Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi) that the strategy would come with ambitious plans to implement various master plans in industrial development, energy, as well as agriculture and food security.

“Individually, and collectively, the partner states are determined to achieve the status of a middle income economy between 2020 and 2030; and to move our region from a largely agricultural economy to industrial based economy,” he said.

Dr Rotich expressed his hope that the implementation of the strategy would stimulate investments, promote employment and growth; and lead to increased diversification as well as major transformation of the region’s economy, including poverty reduction.

The official further noted that great EAC challenge was sensitised and motivated to access the advantages and opportunities coming with the regional bloc’s common market protocol.

By Lusekelo Philemon
Source: http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=34114

EAC economies among fastest growing in Africa

ARUSHA, TANZANIA-Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda are among the six fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the East African Community (EAC) Secretary General Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera.
"Of the six fastest growing economies in Sub Saharan Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Mozambique, three are members of our Community," Sezibera said last week at the launching of the EAC Vision Consultative Group in Arusha, Tanzania.
He said this pattern is replicated even when considering sector specific growth.
"Two of the four fastest growers in the financial services sector; Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Ghana, are East African, while Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia are among the three fastest growing countries in the hospitality sector," he explained.
Sezibera said Rwanda is the fastest doing business reformer in Africa, and is among the top five globally for two years running while of the three Sub Saharan Countries with the highest infrastructure outlays, Uganda, Kenya and Ghana, two are in East Africa," he said.
He added that the EAC has within a relatively short time since its establishment in 2000, realized tremendous progress in regional co-operation and significant impact on regional development.
"The region's combined GDP has risen to $78b up from $20b in 1999 and following the enlargement of the EAC in 2007, the EAC region now boasts a sizeable market of a combined population of 130m," he said.
Sezibera noted that with the consolidation of the Customs Union and establishment of the Common Market, the regional programmes have reached its threshold with most of the region's development Master Plans have been taken to the implementation stages.
These include projects and programmes in infrastructure, roads, railways, inland waterways, ports and harbours, Communications/ICT, energy and Civil Aviation, which have been prioritized under the 4th EAC Development Strategy (2011-2016).
"EAC is also intensifying activities in agriculture and rural development, industrialization, Lake Victoria Basin Development among others,".
The EAC boss said the secretariat has also prioritized trade and investments promotion activities to the traditional markets in Europe and North America and the emerging markets of Asia and Latin America.
EAC is also participating as a bloc at the forefront of the Tripartite EAC-COMESA-SADC initiative towards the establishment of the Grand Free Trade Area of the three major African regional economic communities.

Source:
http://www.busiweek.com/11/the-eac-issues/eac-news/1877-eac-economies-among-fastest-growing-in-africa

Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi plan a $340m power project
Sunday, 13 November 2011 21:55

Mwanza. The governments of Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi are planning a $340 million worth joint electricity project in Ngara District, Kagera region in Tanzania. The project will make it necessary for the governments to compensate 125 households from 3 villages near the Rusumo waterfalls.

The project is scheduled to start next year under funds from the central banks of the three countries. A researcher on the Nile Basin, Naftali Omesa, said 82 households in Ngara District, and 13 in Biharamuro District would be affected.

He said a total of 17.9 acres would be taken over. (By The Citizen Correspondent and Agencies)

Source:
www.thecitizen.co.tz

THE East African Community (EAC) Summit has approved the Protocol on Cooperation in Defence subject to amendment in line with Tanzania’s demands.

The pact was due to be signed on Sunday but Tanzania put its foot down and refused to sign till some clauses regarding defence cooperation in the region were amended.

The 13th Heads of State Summit subsequently agreed to amend article 17 of the Protocol to provide for partner states to come up with a Mutual Defence Pact within one year.

The Minister for East African Cooperation, Mr Samwel Sitta, said the Summit’s decision was ‘a victory’ to Tanzania, which stood firm throughout the negotiations by the Council of Ministers before the Summit.

He said Tanzania is a state party to Southern African Development Community (SADC) Defence Pact and therefore needed a clear understanding on how to deal with the two protocols.

Tanzania also rejected a clause that stated that an attack on a member state should be deemed as an attack on all member states, saying further clarification was needed on what would happen if the attack was provoked by that member state.

Article 6 of the SADC’s Mutual Defence Pact states that: “ An armed attack against a State Party shall be considered a threat to regional security. Such an attack shall be met with immediate collective action by all State Parties.”

Tanzania also wanted a clear clause on what would happen in case member states went to war. The Summit agreed that these clauses would be negotiated.

Mr Sitta said the Summit also agreed not to include the issue of land on the list of federation matters.

Mr Sitta explained that Tanzania has always been careful in dealing with EAC issues because it is the one that suffered most when the community collapsed in 1977 as the country had invested heavily in harbours and railways. “This is why we are asking practical questions,” Mr Sitta said.

The minister said Vice President Mohamed Gharib Bilal told the heads of state during informal consultations that Tanzania wanted integration process no to be rushed, saying the countries needed to enjoy the benefits of common market and customs union before rushing to political federation.

Mr Sitta explained that while the members continue to reap the benefits of integration, EAC experts can continue working on the forthcoming protocols like monetary union.

During the Summit, Tanzania also made it clear that it was not ready to accept the use of Identification Cards in lieu of travel documents within the region.

The outgoing Summit chairman, Burundi president Pierre Nkurunziza, called on member states to widen and deepen integration by implementing the Common Market Protocol that provides for total free movement of goods and people in the region.

“We need to be more ambitious and work together because together we are stronger and individually we are weaker,” he said.

President Nkurunziza also handled over the chairmanship of the EAC for the next one year to Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.

Chairperson of the Council of Ministers Musa Sirma (from Kenya) presented several key documents which were later approved by Chairman Kibaki.

Mr Jean Ping, the chairman of African Union Commission, said the Commission was working on modalities to establish a central bank, investment bank and a monetary fund to foster development in the continent.

Earlier on, protracted informal discussions among heads of state ensued as they tried to reach consensus on issues regarding the federation.

The discussions led to the overhaul of the timetable with the heads of state spending seven hours instead of one and half hours doing the informal talk.

Meanwhile the Heads of State Summit rejected Sudan’s request to join the East African Community (EAC) as the country failed to meet the basic criterion of geographical proximity to the community.

Reading the communiqué of the Summit, the EAC Secretary General, Dr Richard Sezibera, said the Summit had decided that Sudan, which applied in June this year, could not be considered for admission at this point in time.

The EAC treaty and rules of procedures for admission of foreign countries require that there must be geographical proximity (bordering) to and interdependence between the new state and the EAC’s partner states.

Other criteria include adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, rule of law and observance of human rights and social justice.

Applying countries also need to have an established and maintained market driven economy with social and economic policies that are compatible with those of the EAC.

The Summit also received a report that Republic of South Sudan had submitted its application, directing the Council of Ministers to verify the application on the basis of criteria for admission of foreign countries.

“The council has been directed to submit recommendations to the summit at its 10th extraordinary meeting which will be held in April next year,” Dr Sezibera said.

From FARAJA MGWABATI in Bujumbura
http://dailynews.co.tz/home/?n=26013&cat=home

TANZANIA has reiterated its position on the East African Community’s (EAC) integration process, insisting it must be undertaken step-by- step as stipulated in the Treaty establishing the Community.

''We don't want to see this community collapse like the former because it will affect many people,'' Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of East African Cooperation Dr Stergomena Tax said on Tuesday.

Dr Tax, who was briefing journalists in the aftermath of the EAC Summit in Bujumbura last week, said Tanzania wants the citizens to enjoy the benefits of Common Market and Customs Union protocols first before moving on to the next stages.

She said Common Market and Customs Union are important stages that provide benefits to the people through harmonization of various laws to facilitate trade.

''Attaining the Common Market in ten years means we are already too fast but we want people to feel it and be part of the integration because we say the current EAC is people-centred,'' she added.

Dr Tax said it was not true that Tanzania was delaying the process of integration but the country wants interests and concerns of the country addressed and taken on board.

''Some people say Tanzania is worried about ceding its sovereignty but that is not true because we made many compromises when negotiating the Common Market and Customs Union. We will continue as negotiations continue,'' she noted.

Ms Tax reminded the critics that 75 per cent of Tanzanians rejected the idea to fast tracking the political federation, which must be respected.

On the Summit, she said it approved a policy and strategy for industrialization, a protocol on cooperation in defence, protocol on prevention and combating of corruption, protocol on immunity and privileges of the community and its institutions.

The Summit mandated the secretariat to produce a roadmap for establishment and strengthening of EAC secretariat, organs and institutions of the community.

Some institutions to be established include Customs Union Authority, Common Market Authority, Monetary Union Authority, Central Bank for Monetary Union and Unified Federal Treasury.

She said the Summit also approved that Headquarters of Kiswahili, Health and Science and Technology commissions will be in Tanzania (Zanzibar), Burundi and Rwanda respectively.

By FARAJA MGWABATI, 6th December 2011 @ 12:00
http://dailynews.co.tz/home/?n=26167&cat=home

A huge question mark has been curved by the conspicuous absence of four Heads of State of the five-member East African Community (EAC), at celebrations to commemorate the 50th independence anniversary of co-member Tanzania, held in Dar es Salaam on Friday.

Observers are puzzled over whether the absence was a normal occurrence or a big snub of the country, and specifically its leader, President Jakaya Kikwete.

Tanzania’s regional partners were represented by high-profile representatives, but their below-presidential ranks raised eyebrows, as observers feel that, the top-most leaders should have attended in person, as a demonstration of solidarity.

Withholding the gesture has raised speculations, considering, especially, that, unlike relatively lighter events like witnessing the investiture of a president after an election or re-election, Tanzania was marking 50 long years of nationhood. Plus, there has been nothing to suggest that any of the presidents in the neighbourhood had travelled abroad, or had been tied up by too hugely taxing domestic commitments, to spare a day or two off to give a close neighbour company at the latter’s momentous event.


President Kikwete’s colleagues in the EAC are Mr Mwai Kibaki (Kenya), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and Pierre Nkurunzinza of Burundi.



Out of 14 Presidents who were reportedly invited to attend the golden jubilee, only five turned up but they were mainly drawn from the South Africa Development Corporation block, of which Tanzania is a member.


The guest presidents were Namibia’s Mr Hifikepunye Pohamba, Armando Guebuza of Mozambique, Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania and Ikililou Dhoinine of Comoros.


Kenya and Burundi sent their Vice Presidents Mr Kalonzo Musyoka and Mr Therence Simunguruza respectively, while Uganda and Rwanda were represented by Prime Ministers Messers Amama Mbabazi and Bernald Makuza, respectively. North Korea, Gambia and Botswana were also represented.

From as early as when official entourages sneaked their way into the Uhuru stadium that hosted the celebrations, curious observers begun circulating SMS messages enquiring why not a single EAC President had shown up.


A majority of them appeared to suggest that the absence of the other top men at a time when the momentum for East African political federation seemed to be building up, was not positive, or at least sent the wrong signal.

Efforts to get comments on the issue from local government officials, as well as those of the other EAC member countries didn’t yield results, as phone calls and email messages went unanswered.



However, opinion was sharply divided among a cross section of people who volunteered their views. And separately on the social forums, commentators wondered if the other EAC member states were sidelining Tanzania, as a silent demonstration of misgivings over its hard-line position toward formation of the envisaged federation.

Last week, President Kikwete and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame skipped a regional heads of state summit in Bujumbura, Burundi, that was attended by the other three presidents. They each sent junior-ranked representatives.


The Speaker of National Assembly Ms Anne Makinda also skipped a parallel meeting of all regional Speakers and did not even send a representative.

But during the summit, Tanzania caused uneasiness, by boycotting the final signing event of the ministerial committee on two important protocols on the Political Integration and Defence Cooperation. It was protesting over the inclusion of land and security matters in the two protocols.

Even though the country finally endorsed the protocols the following day, it forced amendments that had first to be endorsed by the Presidents present.
Kigoma North MP Mr Zitto Kabwe yesterday said he was apprehensive of the absence from the Uhuru fete by the four EAC Presidents. “Diplomatically it was not a good sign for Tanzania….I believe it must have had something to do with the way we carried ourselves in Bujumbura,” said the Chadema MP and deputy leader of official opposition in Parliament.

According to the MP, Tanzania’s hard line stance on some of the regional issues may have not gone down well with the other countries. “You cannot rule out the possibility that they are not happy with the way we run our diplomacy. Mr Samuel Sitta should come out and explain,” said Mr Kabwe.

He warned that Tanzania may be going the UK way over integration issues.
His position was shared by a distinguished political commentator, Prof Mwesiga Baregu of St. Augustine University, who observed that Tanzania portrayed a negative image in Burundi. “The miss on Friday may be just one sign of annoyance with us.”

The prof who attended the Burundi meeting, said: “My worry is that the rest of EAC states look at Tanzania as the stumbling block and may begin to isolate it.”
He said it was time the government decided to move on like the rest or ditch the whole integration plan, warning that the countries may take a decision similar to that of the EU where slow reformers were not allowed to hold others back.

But the University of Dar es Salaam’s Political Science and Public Administration Lecturer, Dr Benson Bana, said nothing much should be read into the matter.

He said the mere fact that the neighbouring countries sent delegations showed that the spirit of the EAC was alive.
According to Dr Bana, President Museveni was in the country not long ago. He however admitted that the country may be sidelined by other EAC member states.

According to Bana, Tanzania may not want to fast-track the political federation owing to its experience in the Union of the republic of Tanzania and the need to protect other national interests.

A nother senior lecturer of the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr. Azaveli Lwaitama, on his part also said that Tanzania was not on the right track when it comes to matters of the EAC political federation but stated that this may not have any link with the failure by the presidents in question to attend the ceremony.

The Citizen Reporter
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/component/content/article/37-tanzania-top-news-story/17836-puzzle-as-ea-leaders-miss-uhuru-celebrations.html

Interesting view.

Tanzanian sues EAC Secretary General

Arusha, 27 January, 2012 (EANA)--In a dramatic turning of events, a Tanzanian has filed a case at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ)in Arusha seeking to declare null and void aspects of the East African Community (EAC) Summit communiqué released in Bujumbura last November that mandated the Secretariat to spearhead the establishment of a regional political federation, claiming the directive breached the Treaty.
In an application filed on January 20, 2010 and given court reference number 01 of 2012, Dar es Salaam resident Timothy Alvin Kahoho also claims that the summit grossly breached the EAC Treaty in particular articles 6,7 and 123(6) by mandating “the Secretariat to produce a road map for establishing and strengthening the institutions identified by a Team of Experts as critical for the functioning of the Customs union, Common Market and Monetary Union.”
Mr Kahoho also strongly contests the directive to the Secretariat to “formulate an action plan for the purpose of operationalising the other recommendations in the report of the Team of Experts, and (to) propose an action plan on, and a draft model of the structure of the East African Political Federation for consideration by the summit at its 14th ordinary meeting.”
A journalist and activist, Mr Kahoho also argues that “the summit approved the protocol on Immunities and Privileges for East African Community, its organs and institutions for conclusion in breach of Articles 73 and 138 of the treaty.”
He further wants the court to declare that “the Summit has no mandate under the treaty to exclude partner states and the Council (of ministers) from performing functions vested to them by the Treaty and which have an impact in the integration process.”He also prays for the costs of the application and any other reliefs that the court may deem fit to grant.
The court gave the Secretariat 45 days to respond to Mr Kahoho’s application, which no doubt will set a number of precedents in regional administrative law since it is the first time that a citizen has come forward to challenge the decision of the heads of state, otherwise referred to as the Authority of the regional body.
Mr Kahoho argues further that the protocols on Immunities and Privileges for East African Community employees, its organs and institutions and Monetary Union have not yet been negotiated and their establishment agreed upon by the partner states. He therefore sees the move as an usurpation of the powers of partner states and vest them in the Secretariat, which is against the letter and spirit of the EAC treaty, argues.
The applicant further pleads that he is aggrieved by the directives of the Summit and believes that if they are not rectified, the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African community shall be irrevocably breached “setting a very dangerous precedent for the future decisions and directives of other organs of the Community” given the fact that they were made by the highest organ of the regional grouping.
Mr Kahoho has petitioned the court on the strength of Article 30(1), which states: “Subject to the provisions of Article 27 of this Treaty, any person who is resident in a Partner State may refer for determination by the Court, the legality of any Act, regulation, directive, decision or action of a Partner State or an institution of the Community on the grounds that such Act, regulation, directive, decision or action is unlawful or is an infringement of the provisions of this Treaty.”
The case will no doubt stir debate and attract attention particularly in Tanzania where political federation has evoked considerable resentment and the directive by the Bujumbura summit is seen in some quarters as an attempt to federate the region via the back door. Whichever way, the court’s opinion shall be as landmark a decision as Mr Kahoho’s case too stands to test democracy and rule of law even in a federated East Africa.
Efforts to get comments on the case from the EACJ Registrar, Dr John Ruhangisa proved futile yesterday.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY

Tafadhali wacheni Kuaribia Jumuia ya Africa Mashariki wakati!

Tafadhali wacheni Kuaribia Jumuia ya Africa Mashariki wakati!
:ohno:

The government has said that the establishment of the East African Federation can only become a reality after the full implementation of the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union by the partner states.

This was said yesterday by the Karyabukama Kiliba who is the Director of the Political, Defence and Security department in the Ministry of East African Cooperation.

Addressing reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday the director said there have been misleading reports about Tanzania’s objections to fast-tracking the East African political federation.

“Our government has always been blamed that it has been deliberately delaying various stages of the integration process. The claims are baseless because our country believes that the community has more benefits than costs,” said Kiliba.

The director said however that the government has always been stressing that the integration must go stage by stage as has been stipulated in the treaty that established the EAC.

The treaty states: “The Partner States undertake to establish among themselves and in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty, a Customs Union, a Common Market , subsequently a Monetary Union and ultimately a Political Federation in order to strengthen and regulate the industrial, commercial, infrastructural, cultural, social, political and other relations of the Partner States to the end that there shall be accelerated, harmonious and balanced development and sustained expansion of economic activities, the benefit of which shall be equitably shared.”

The government stressed that it is only when all the stages of the integration are fully accomplished, that it can say for sure that it is ready to discuss modalities of the political federation.

Kiliba said however that they wanted to avoid the pitfalls that led to the collapse of the former EAC in 1977. “We don’t want to repeat similar mistakes which could lead to the collapse of the current community,” stressed the director.

“Our government must safeguard and defend the interests of its people in all the discussions concerning the integration just as the other member states of the East African Community are safeguarding and defending their peoples’ interests,” he stressed.

He said a political federation is a fourth stage in the integration process and therefore it can’t be discussed differently from other stages of the integration adding: “We must effectively and appropriately implement a Customs Union, a Common Market, and later a Monetary Union.”

On the rule of consensus which Tanzania supports, the director said the rule is very important in meeting the ends of the integration. The rule calls for not using votes, but for members to agree with each other.

Kiliba said if the rule is broken and votes are called for, then the integration will not be reached.

“It is so because no member state will accept to be dragged by another member,” he noted.

In November last year, Tanzania refused to sign key EAC documents which included the controversial land, foreign and security issues.

BY PATRICK KISEMBO
http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=38047

Tafadhali wacheni Kuaribia Jumuia ya Africa Mashariki wakati!

Jenga Hoja yako vizuri badala ya kurusha blanket statement. Soma pointi 3 nilizo bold...hizo ndo haki za kila mwanachama wa Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki.

The government has said that the establishment of the East African Federation can only become a reality after the full implementation of the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union by the partner states.

This was said yesterday by the Karyabukama Kiliba who is the Director of the Political, Defence and Security department in the Ministry of East African Cooperation.

Addressing reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday the director said there have been misleading reports about Tanzania’s objections to fast-tracking the East African political federation.

“Our government has always been blamed that it has been deliberately delaying various stages of the integration process. The claims are baseless because our country believes that the community has more benefits than costs,” said Kiliba.

The director said however that the government has always been stressing that the integration must go stage by stage as has been stipulated in the treaty that established the EAC.

The treaty states: “The Partner States undertake to establish among themselves and in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty, a Customs Union, a Common Market , subsequently a Monetary Union and ultimately a Political Federation in order to strengthen and regulate the industrial, commercial, infrastructural, cultural, social, political and other relations of the Partner States to the end that there shall be accelerated, harmonious and balanced development and sustained expansion of economic activities, the benefit of which shall be equitably shared.”

The government stressed that it is only when all the stages of the integration are fully accomplished, that it can say for sure that it is ready to discuss modalities of the political federation.

Kiliba said however that they wanted to avoid the pitfalls that led to the collapse of the former EAC in 1977. “We don’t want to repeat similar mistakes which could lead to the collapse of the current community,” stressed the director.

“Our government must safeguard and defend the interests of its people in all the discussions concerning the integration just as the other member states of the East African Community are safeguarding and defending their peoples’ interests,” he stressed.

He said a political federation is a fourth stage in the integration process and therefore it can’t be discussed differently from other stages of the integration adding: “We must effectively and appropriately implement a Customs Union, a Common Market, and later a Monetary Union.”

On the rule of consensus which Tanzania supports, the director said the rule is very important in meeting the ends of the integration. The rule calls for not using votes, but for members to agree with each other.

Kiliba said if the rule is broken and votes are called for, then the integration will not be reached.

“It is so because no member state will accept to be dragged by another member,” he noted.

In November last year, Tanzania refused to sign key EAC documents which included the controversial land, foreign and security issues.

BY PATRICK KISEMBO
http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=38047
January 30th, 2012 09:11 PM