The EAC | The political and economic integration of the East African Community

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IMF and EAC partner up to improve regional statistics
Central Banking
28 August 2014

The East African Community will receive technical assistance from IMF in effort to improve its collection of government finance statistics; Rwandan governor says partnership is ‘important’

The IMF will help the East African Community (EAC) improve the collection and use of public statistics as part of a new collaboration programme described as "important" by National Bank of Rwanda governor John Rwangombwa.

An inaugural workshop is being hosted this week in Arusha, Tanzania, to provide statisticians and economists from the EAC member states – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda – the opportunity to identify the areas where they most need assistance.

According to a statement issued by the EAC, the work will focus on improving the compilation and dissemination of government finance statistics (GFS) – an important milestone on the path towards an East African Monetary Union (EAMU).

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Kigali Conference of Religious leaders Forms EAC inter-Religious Council for Dialogue and Peace
East African Community
20 September 2014

The five-day East African conference on inter-religious collaboration to strengthen peace and security concluded successfully in Kigali, Republic of Rwanda, today with a resolution to create first ever East African Community Inter-Religious Council (EAC IR Council) for sustainable dialogue and information sharing among and between religious leaders and communities in the Region.

The leaders of Inter-Religious Councils of Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda signed in full view of over 150 delegates a two-page dubbed “Kigali Declaration” to pursue justice, peace and security also facilitate dialogue and shared vision in the face of the distortion of religious values and principles in the Region, among others.

They also agreed on promoting education of the youth as well civic education and encouraging a focused attention on youth unemployment and advocacy in situations of discrimination, corruption, nepotism and maladministration.

“Accepting that religious leaders have a specific responsibility to model the behavior that contributes to peace and justice, we further commit to the values of inclusivity and respect for diversity, integrity, industriousness, fidelity to truth and equality,” read in part the Declaration. (The scanned and signed full version of the Kigali Declaration will be available on the EAC website http://www.eac.int from Monday 22 September 2014)

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Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda seek consultant for power grid link
Reuters
25 September 2014

Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have invited bids for a consultant to oversee a feasibility study for connecting their nations by high voltage power line, part of efforts to meet growing demand for electricity and deepen integration of their economies.

The project aims to build a 400 kilovolt (kV) electricity line running from Olkaria, where Kenya is expanding geothermal power production, via Uganda to Birembo in Rwanda, a tender announcement published in Kenyan newspapers showed.

The three nations, with a combined population of more than 94 million and all members of the five-nation East African Community, are battling to keep up with demand for power as their economies grow by about 5 percent a year or more. Businesses often complain of erratic and expensive supplies.

The consultant will examine power needs and potential for export and imports until 2035, as well as assess designs and other details of the project. Bids are due by Oct. 17.

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Tanzania relaxes curbs on foreign stock, bond investment
Reuters
25 September 2014

Tanzania has set aside a rule that barred foreign investors from buying more than 60 percent of shares in a listed company on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, its chief executive said on Thursday.

The easing of restrictions is part of Tanzania's commitment under the East African Community (EAC) common market to open up its capital markets and free up movement of capital.

"The government... has lifted foreign investors' limits," the exchange's CEO Moremi Marwa told Reuters.

Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda have open capital accounts but Tanzania and Burundi have been more cautious.

Marwa said the opening of Tanzania's tightly-controlled capital account would bring in significant capital flows.

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Cheaper cross-border phone charges in East Africa
BBC News
8 October 2014

Mobile phone users in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda will soon enjoy cheaper cross border calls, after telecom operators agreed to cut roaming charges.

Charges for making or receiving calls in other countries in East Africa will be cut by more than 60%.

Kenya's communications minister revealed mobile phone users would pay reduced tariffs for calling a different network in a neighbouring country.

Those roaming will not be charged for receiving calls.

"We have reduced the cost of calling within the region," said the minister, Fred Matiangi.

Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda are three of the five countries that make up the East African Community (EAC), a common economic bloc, that aims to reduce barriers to trade and this move underlines the benefits of regional integration.

It is thought fellow EAC members Burundi and Tanzania will follow suit, to force telecom operators to cut the cost customers pay for making and receiving calls while they are in another country.

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Tanzanians call for fasttracking of integration
The East African
11 October 2014

Majority of Tanzanians say the East African Community has positively impacted the country’s economy and want it to join in fast-tracking integration, according to a new survey.

Three EAC member states, Kenya Rwanda and Uganda— sometimes called the Coalition of the Willing, have agreed to speed up several integration issues, with Tanzania and Burundi remaining cautious about hastening the process.

According to a survey brief launched in Dar es Salaam by an East African initiative, Twaweza, the majority of Tanzanians are positive about integration with the largest and economically most important EAC members, Kenya and Uganda.

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Tanzania puts aside $1m for customs pact
East African Businessweek
12 October 2014

Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has set aside an additional Tsh1.668 billion ($1.043 million) to support implementation of the Single Customs Territory (SCT).

The Customs and Excise Department (CED) has recruited 50 graduates for Customs basic training which started in August 2014. The SCT is a major part of the East African Community efforts to dismantle bureaucratic barriers across common borders.

TRA has also requested AG Chambers to lead agencies involved in cargo clearance in reviewing their respective legislations in line with the agreed SCT framework.

It was also agreed to expand the SCT sensitization program well beyond TRA, but with TRA overview.

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EAC states sign partnership deal with EU
Daily Nation
14 October 2014

East African Community member states on Tuesday reached an eleventh-hour agreement with the European Union in a bid to save the Community’s exports to the Union from incurring taxes.

Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday evening that the two sides signed an agreement following two-day negotiations over three key issues, namely taxes, subsidies and previous agreements affecting trade between the two blocs.

“The three areas that remained outstanding namely: Export Taxes, Export Subsidies and Relationship between Cotonou Agreement and EPAs were all agreed upon in favour of Kenya.

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East Africa Community partner states to harmonize tax regimes
The Standard
15 October 2014

The East Africa Community ( EAC) Partner States will have a harmonized tax system by April 2015, a senior Kenyan government official said on Monday.

Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Phyllis Kandie told a media briefing in Nairobi that negotiations are currently ongoing at the ministerial level.

"We shall begin by harmonizing the Value Added Tax ( VAT) and the excise taxes," Kandie said during the launch of the 2014 Taxpayers week. Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda have a VAT rate of 18 percent, while Kenya's figure stands at 16 percent.

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2014 Kigali - EAC business summit
NTV Kenya | 16 October 2014

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East African states to join the league of world's leading oil exporters
KTN Kenya | 17 October 2014

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AfDB grants $98 million towards EAC education development
Daily News Tanzania
19 October 2014

The African Development Bank Group will grant $98m to finance the first phase of East Africaʼs Centres of Excellence for Skills and Tertiary Education in Biomedical Sciences programme in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

Reports from the headquarters of the African Development Bank in Tunis indicate that the Board of Directors of AfDB has just approved loans amounting to over US $ 98.2 million for the project which aims at contributing to development of relevant and highly skilled workforce in biomedical sciences to meet East African Communityʼs immediate labour market needs and support implementation of EAC “free” labour market protocols.

A statement from the EAC Secretariat in Arusha reveals that phase one of the project will support the creation of a proposed network of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in biomedical sciences and engineering – nephrology and urology in Kenya, oncology in Uganda, cardiovascular in Tanzania and biomedical engineering and ehealth in Rwanda.

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Airtel debuts East African cross border money service
IT Online
20 October 2014

Bharti Airtel plans to launch a cross border money transfer product in East Africa.

This is a first in market initiative across Africa and will enable Airtel Money customers to send, receive and withdraw money from their Airtel Money wallets.

The pilot phase will kick off on 1 November 2014 with the first phase targeting Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. This follows an approval by Central Banks of the Governments of Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to launch this initiative.

The next phase of this initiative will roll out the service to other Airtel operating countries within the next year.

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[Manalive]

After browsing over this thread, I think its reasonable to assume that TZ is finally coming around.

[BUTEMBO21]

Originally Posted by SE9

East African states to join the league of world's leading oil exporters
KTN Kenya | 17 October 2014

Better late than never.

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Third EAC Academia-Public-Private Sector Forum Opens Thursday in Kigali
East African Community
22 October 2014

Forum to be attended by over 250 delegates from EAC Partner States

The third East African Community (EAC) Academia-Public-Private-Sector Forum opens in Kigali, Republic of Rwanda tomorrow, 23rd October, 2014. H.E. President Paul Kagame is expected to grace the opening.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) Professor Mayunga Nkunya, more than 250 delegates from the Partner States have confirmed to attend the two-day Forum.

“We are expecting a very high turn-out and looking forward to very vibrant and constructive discussions,” he added.

The delegates are drawn from the EAC Secretariat and Institutions, heads of higher education institutions, national commissions and councils for higher education, and national commissions and councils for science and technology , government institutions and ministries, international organizations, NGOs, academicians, students, private individuals, businessmen, media and stakeholders in academia and the private and public sectors in the Partner States.

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[Adm.Adama]

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EAC states unveil regional database for food, agriculture sectors
The Star
25 October 2014

East African Community Secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organisation have set up a database to collate food and agriculture statistics within the trade bloc.

EAC RegionSTAT Database will be a one-stop centre for information that will help in monitoring and evaluation of the region's food security situation. It will act as an early warning system and help in post-harvest conservation.

"The EAC region is frequently affected by food shortages and pockets of hunger, although the region as a whole has a huge potential and capacity to produce enough food for regional consumption and export,'' said John Konchellah, principal secretary for East African Affairs.

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Food Friday: Agricultural statistics, what the numbers mean for EAC food security
NTV Kenya | 25 October 2014

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East African Community gets German boost for vaccines
East African Businessweek
26 October 2014

The German government has signed a financing agreement for euro 20 million ($25 million) with the East African Community (EAC) in support of immunization in all five member countries.

The Germany Development Bank (KfW) Country Director, Wolfgang Solzbacher signed on behalf of the Germany government while the EAC Secretary General, Dr. Richard Sezibera signed on behalf of the regional bloc.

“This is a very important and critical programme and I am sure with such commitment, it will save lives of children and contribute to better health among the children of EAC partner states,” Dr Sezibera said.

The programme, launched in Arusha, will be implemented in collaboration with the GAVI Alliance, which is a public-private global health partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing access to immunisation in developing countries.

It is expected to reach out to 14 million children in the EAC region.

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