Tag Archive for: East Africa

Andrew Stegmann

Plans for East African Single Currency 2024 Launch Well Underway

The East African Community Partner States are in the process of harmonizing critical policies and putting in place the requisite institutions to attain a single currency for the region by 2024 as outlined in the EAC Monetary Union Protocol.

EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko said that the Bill for the establishment of the East African Monetary Institute (EAMI) had already been assented to by the Summit of Heads of State, adding that the EAMI would later be transformed into the East African Central Bank that would issue the single currency.

“The establishment of this institute will help to provide impetus towards the formation of the East African Monetary Union, which is the third pillar of our integration,” said Amb. Mfumukeko.

Amb. Mfumukeko disclosed that the Council of Ministers had approved the EAC Domestic Tax Harmonization Policy, adding that proper implementation of the policy would reduce tax competition thereby enhancing cross-border trade and investment in the region.

On the Financial Sector, the SG said that the Community had developed requisite legal instruments (Bills) for the insurance and micro-finance sub-sector and strategies for implementation of financial education and insurance certification.

“Further, we implemented the financial market infrastructure for payment and settlement systems as well as finalized regional regulations for portability of pension benefits and consumer protection,” he added.

Amb. Mfumukeko was giving his New Year’s Address to the Staff of EAC Organs and Institutions spread across East Africa from the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. He said that Community would have in place an EAC Investment Helpdesk and a Buyer-Seller Online Platform by June 2020.

“Both facilities will increase intra-EAC trade by creating awareness and markets for products manufactured within the EAC region.”

The Community, with US$20 million support spread over five years the World Bank, had also operationalized an EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project.

“The project will support production of quality and harmonized statistics in the region through capacity building in the National Statistical Offices of the Partner States and the EAC Secretariat as well as support the establishment of the EAC Bureau of Statistics,” said Amb. Mfumukeko.

On the East African Court of Justice, the SG disclosed that sub-registries opened in the Partner States’ capital cities had elevated the visibility of the Court and reduced the costs of litigation and access to justice to the citizens of the Community.

“The residents can now easily take advantage of the Court and have their disputes resolved. In addition, the finalization of the review of the EACJ Rules of Procedure in 2019 will now provide seamless procedures to the benefit of the litigants,” said Amb. Mfumukeko.

On fisheries, the SG revealed that the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) updated the status of fish stocks on the lake registering a 21% increase in total biomass to 2.68 million metric tonnes between 2018 and 2019.

“The Nile Perch population increased by 48%, from 0.55 million to 0.82 million metric tonnes over the same period. LVFO also revised Co-Management Guidelines for Lake Victoria, which provide for enhanced participation of stakeholders in fisheries management as well as capacity of fish traders and inspectors to promote market access, improved revenue collection and enhanced fish quality and safety assurance.”

LVFO received funds from the EU for a Start-up Phase of ECOFISH Project to enable consultations with key stakeholders to facilitate development of the detailed program for enhancing regional policies and institutional frameworks.

The SG urged all EAC Staff to rededicate themselves to serving the region, a task he described as a privilege, adding that they had been recruited competitively based on their unique skills and expertise.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], Michael Longmire [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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JUA Technologies and BrazAgro to Distribute Solar-drying Tray in East Africa

JUA Technologies International, a Purdue University-affiliated startup developing solar-powered crop-drying devices, is partnering with BrazAgro Ltd., a supplier of Brazilian farm machinery, to distribute its solar-drying tray.

Dehytray is a solar-drying solution for small and mid-size growers and food processors and home gardeners. Its convenient size and ease of use are backed by years of research into drying technology. It is durable, approved for food use, and designed for optimum drying of foods using natural solar energy. It is designed for drying grains, fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and more.

The company was co-founded by the husband-wife team of Klein Ileleji, a professor in agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue, and Reiko Habuto Ileleji, a Purdue alumna who earned her PhD from Purdue’s College of Education.

When they visited Nairobi during the summer to demonstrate the Dehytray at the 6th Agritec Exhibition and Congress, they received immense interest in the product from local farmers and processors, who quickly realized its benefits to the profitability of their operations.

Securing distributors across wide-ranging regions, four continents and counting, is a challenging endeavor. The company implemented this partnership with BrazAgro, which will distribute the trays in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

Throughout East Africa, the Dehytray will be used to dry specialty crops like leafy green vegetables, okra, mango, bananas, guava, tubers such as cassava and sweet potato, coffee, and grains, among other food products. The Dehytray meets a high hygienic standard for sun drying of crops, is quite portable, and can be adapted into a wide range of processing operations for the farm or small to mid-size processor.

The Dehytray was developed at Purdue’s agricultural and biological engineering program. The research was funded partly by USAID and USDA. Field tests on drying specialty (horticultural) crops and grains using the Dehytray have been carried out in the U.S., Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, South Africa and Peru. The Dehytray has been shipped to customers on four continents since it became available on the market in December 2018.

Some of the technology used by JUA Technologies International is licensed through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization. JUA Technologies also received entrepreneurial support from the Purdue Foundry.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], American Public Power Association [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Kenya to roll out e-Passports in September

The immigration department in Kenya has announced plans to roll out East African e-Passports from 1 September.

Kenya joins over 50 nations worldwide in issuing a new generation travel document with security features such as biometric details, machine readable through an electronic chip.

A message from the Immigration department said: “This is to notify the General Public that the Department of Immigration will start issuing the e-Passport with effect from 1st September 2017. Holders of valid current passports will be allowed to use them for the next 2 years i.e to 31st August 2019 after which they will be rendered invalid. Please note that the department will no longer be issuing the current Ordinary, Diplomatic and East African passports.”

The move is compliant with a regional agreement to harmonise passports across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

“(The) EA e-Passport is expected to boost free movement of people across the region and it will be in line with implementation of the Common Market protocol which guaranteed the right to move between countries in East Africa,” the EAC Secretariat said.

“The EAC e–Passport will have Diplomatic, Service and Ordinary categories and is different from the current machine readable passport being issued by the Partner States. It will be valid for up to 10 years while the Diplomatic passport and service passport will be valid according to specific term of the service of the holder,” it added.

According to the Immigration department, new passport applicants can register on the eCitizen portal but will need to visit the department in order to have their biometric details recorded.

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