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VOL. 9, ISSUE 6, SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

Unveiling Opportunities Bright lights, shopping , business, sightseeing , trade , great food and now, a great way to get there ...on Ethiopian’s thrice weekly flights to its 8th destination in the far east.

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Kenya on brink of big gas find

BY HUMPHREY LILOBA NAIROBI, KENYA--Kenya could be on the brink of striking huge gas deposits, just months after discovering more oil in the Lake Turkana region.

Mining industry players and oil explorers in the country last week gave the strongest

hint that the country could be home to some rich gas deposits.

According to the Chief Geologist in the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum John Omenge, the small deposits already discovered in various parts of Coast region point to larger gas deposits in diverse areas currently under exploration.

We are very optimistic that Kenya has

Rwanda studies new rail plan

some major gas deposits. Exploration efforts I parts of Lamu have confirmed this and soon, we may come back with another major find,” Omenge said.

Already, various aerial seismic surveys have shown deposits of hydrocarbons in the coastal region of Kenya.

The deposits are of quantities comparable to other regional countries

such as Tanzania and Mozambique. Both countries have recently landed on major deposits of natural gas.

The Lamu blocks are said to be lying in the same geological belt with the Mozambican and Tanzanian geological belts.

The reality of gas finds in Kenya could

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INSIDE >>

Beeline for grapes

Earning

P.17 >> $260,000 from okra exports

BY DIAS NYESIGA KIGALI, RWANDA— Rwanda is carrying out a feasibility study on the cost, technology and compensation process involved with building its portion of the proposed new standard gauge railway.

Silas Rwakabamba, the Minister in- charge of Infrastructure said last week, “We are working more closely with our counterparts in Uganda to ensure the project is completed as scheduled,” he said.

The railway line is expected to cover a total distance of 1,900 kilometres and cost over $5 billion with

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agrees P.32>> Rwanda levy with Tanzania

SETTING AN EXAMPLE: Harvesting grapes in the vineyard owned by Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda in the Zuzu area, Dodoma. However his grapes are not for making wine but attracting bees to help in pollination for honey production. (Photo: Office of the Prime Minister)

Burundi rewarded Ethiopia with $7.5 million beats WASHINGTON, USA— Burundi is to receive another $7.5 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) because of the government’s good performance under the Extended Credit Facility.

Total disbursements from this facility have now reached $22.6 million. The decision was reached after a recent IMF review of the country’s finances.

Naoyuki Shinohara, the IMF’s Deputy Managing Director, said in a statement last week,

“The IMF Executive Board also approved a request for the modification of the performance criteria for 2013. It also approved the continuous performance criterion on non-concessional external debt guaranteed by the government and the Bank of the Republic of Burundi,” he said.

The IMF’s main job is to provide financial assistance in terms of foreign exchange to countries that experience serious

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MDG deadline

NEW YORK, USA-New figures have been published last week, which revealed that Ethiopia has been successful in attaining its millennium development target despite 2015 being the deadline.

The mortality rate for young children of age five years and below was to be reduced to a significant

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Tz issues quit notices to miners

BY LEONARD MAGOMBA MWANZA, TANZANIA-The government, through the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, has issued 30 daynotices to cancel mineral licenses to 102 individuals and companies due to failure to comply with the country’s Mining Act 2010.

According to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Eliakim

Maswi, license holders are required to rectify the defaulters within 30 days from September 9, 2013, failure to rectify the defaulters will lead to cancellation of licenses.

The notice made available to East African Business Week show that the licenses were issued between 2006 and 2012. The owners are from Dar es Salaam (94), Mwanza (3), Dodoma (3) Kilwa, Lindi (1) and Boston, USA (1).

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Uganda census due 2014

BY SAMUEL NABWIISO KAMPALA-UGANDA--Uganda’s long awaited national population census will be done in 2014 the Uganda National Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) announced last week.

According to the Bureaus communication manager, Godfrey , ‘Government has secured financial resources

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EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

2

NEWS

Ethiopia beats MDG deadline FROM PAGE 1 extent. And the task has been accomplished by the drought-prone Horn of Africa’s low-income country.

Since more than 66% cut has been brought in child deaths over past two decades, the report dubbed Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed said.

The report was released by the UN children’s fund UNICEF, the World Bank Group and the World Health Organization (WHO).

It unveiled that while in 1990, some 204 in 1,000 kids died before five years in age in the country, a notable 67% fall was there in the same in 2012.

In comparison, only six nations reported a higher rate. On the other hand, Malawi, Nepal, Liberia, Tanzania and Bangladesh have reached their goal.

The report said that eastern and southern African areas were, seemingly, making the greatest attempts to cut child death rates.

“The government has set some very bold and extremely ambitious targets. It has then backed them up with real resources and real commitment sustained over the last 10 years,” Ethiopian UNICEF Country Representative, Dr. Peter Salama said.

According to UNICEF, for a country that once made headlines for famine, poverty and war, Ethiopia is gaining a reputation as a development leader on the African continent. In just over 10 years, the country has slashed child

FROM PAGE 1

MILLENIUM STRIDES: Ethiopian mothers carrying their babies. mortality rates by half, rising in global rank from 146 in 2000 to 68 in 2012.

More money is being spent on health care, poverty levels and fertility rates are down, and twice as many children are in school.Even in remote parts of the country, such as the Gambella region near the border with South Sudan, more children are thriving beyond their fifth birthday, and their parents are having fewer children.

It all means that Ethiopia appears set to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

With Ethiopia leading the pack, African leaders made a strong commitment earlier this year to prevent child deaths, putting child

survival at the forefront of social development agendas across the continent and renewing the focus of African leaders to head their own countries’ efforts. Sub-Saharan Africa still accounts for the majority of child deaths, however, and high rates of preventable child disease and death persist, despite simple, affordable and high-impact interventions.

The pledge in Addis Ababa was to develop and implement countryled roadmaps that integrate efforts to end preventable deaths among children under 5 by 2035, and reduce the mortality rate for children under 5 to below 20 per 1,000 live births in all African nations.

Uganda census due 2014 FROM PAGE 1 totaling to Ush50.4 billion for the Exercises Government is conscious of this and is committed to the conduct of the National Population and Housing Census in 2014. In this respect, Government has allocated UG.X 50.4 billion (nearly $20 million) in the financial year 2013/14 to support the preparatory activities for the Population Census 2014,’ he said in press statement.

Nabongo said lack of information about the actual population in the country has impacted the government when it comes to national planning.

He said when the census is carried out in 2014 this will help the government to plan for the country.

The census will come after a two year delay.

It was supposed to have been conducted in 2012, but according to sources there was not enough money.

But Nabongo said, ‘Government had planned to hold another population and housing census in August 2012 as part of the World 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses (2005-2014). However, owing to other competing Government priorities, it was postponed to August 2013 and for the same reasons it has been postponed to August 2014,” he stated.

Nabongo said that if Uganda does not conduct the census in 2014, it would be the only country in Africa to forego the census within the 2010 round of census framework.

In Uganda the government have been undertaking population censuses at regular intervals averaging between 10-11 years having conducted the first

population count in 1911. Subsequent censuses were conducted in 1921, 1931, 1948, 1959, 1969, 1980, 1991 and 2002.

The September 2002 census, the most recent one in Uganda, was conducted

by Uganda Bureau of Statistics on behalf of the government.

Nabongo said a census provides information on the count of the population as well as a detailed socioeconomic profile of all administrative areas from the national down to the Local Council I level.

The profile includes information on personal characteristics, migration, citizenship, education, economic activity and unemployment, disability, orphan-hood, population distribution, population size and density, conditions of housing, sources of income and livelihood, household-based agricultural activity.

IMF rewards Burundi with $7.5m FROM PAGE 1 financial difficulties.

Member states with balance of payments problems may request loans and/or organizational management of their national economies. In return, the countries are usually required to launch certain reforms.

Shinohara said Burundi made progress under the ECF supported programme in spite of challenging

Kenya on brink of big gas find

socio-political and economic circumstances.According to the statement, he said the economic growth is expected to pick up, while inflation has been declining aided by moderating international food and fuel prices and tight monetary policy.

He said, ‘The medium-term economic outlook remains difficult, with downside risks arising from uncertainties in the external

environment and refugee influx due to the conflict in Eastern Congo’.

However, Shinohara cautioned on the need for the Burundi government to continue efforts in raising tax revenues. ‘A renewed commitment to revenue mobilisation notably by further strengthening of tax administration and containing exemptions is critical to the success of the programme,’ he said.

be a welcome reprieve to the country’s struggling energy sector as it would form an alternative to the current over-reliance to the expensive hydroelectric power. It could also play an integral part in Kenya’s push for renewable energy.

In Tanzania for instance, natural gas deposits are estimated at 41.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) while the Mozambican deposits are estimated at 87 trillion cubic feet.

The two countries are said to hold potential to be the third largest gas

exporters in the world.

Immediately after landing the Tanzanian gas deposits, British firm BG Group and StatOil of Norway announced plans to construct a $10 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in East Africa.

This is the strongest indication yet that the region could be headed for better times ahead in regards to energy.

Kenya will however first of all need to streamline its exploration licensing processes given that Mining Cabinet Secretary recently cancelled over 100 licenses.

Tz issues quit notices to miners FROM PAGE 1 The Mining Act 2010, Sect 36 states that; “The holder of a prospecting license shall commence prospecting operations within a period of three months, or such further period as the licensing authority may allow, from the date of the grant of the license or such other date as is stated in the license on commencement period.”

A person who contravenes this shall be in default and commits an offence, and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than twenty million shillings.

While section 52 says the holder of a mining license shall develop the mining area and carry on mining operations in substantial compliance with his programme of mining operations with due diligence.

The Act requires the licensee holder to demarcate and keep demarcated in the prescribed manner the mining area; and take all appropriate measures for the protection of the environment in accordance with the Environment Management Act. The holder is to implement the proposed plan for relocation, resettlement of, and payment of compensation to people within the mining areas in accordance with the Land Act. The licensee holder is also required by the Act to employ and train citizens of Tanzania and implement the succession plan on expatriate employees in accordance with the Employment and Labour Relations Act, implement plan for procurement of goods and services available in the United Republic.

Rwanda studies new railway plan FROM PAGE 1 each country constructing a link in its area of jurisdiction.

“We will contribute whatever it will take to construct the railway line because we understand the economic benefits it will bring to our country,” Rwakabamba said.

The railway will run from Mombasa to Kigali through Uganda. Construction of the project was agreed upon by the three heads of state from Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Actual work is expected to start in November and end in March 2018.

Experts say the railway will help the region reduce such problems as high transport costs and nontariff barriers that have been hindering the smooth implementation of Customs Union Protocol.

“The way to make integration and cross-border business more realistic, is to make all member states less landlocked and more land-linked and the best way to realise this, is through a railway line,” Mark Priestley, TradeMark East Africa country director for Rwanda said.

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EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

NEWS

Rwanda banker wins kudos

BY DIAS NYESIGA KIGALI, RWANDA--The region’s private sector has been reminded of being vital to future economic growth as countries shift from agrarian development to servicebased enterprises.

The Rwanda Minister of Finance, Claver Gatete said last week, helping the private sector grow will boost regional economies.

“This is the time for the private sector to take a major role in lifting our regional economies when global economies are struggling,” he said.

He was speaking during the East African Round of African Business Leaders awards at the Kigali Serena Hotel.

He said with its potential to create employment, generate revenues in terms of taxes, produce and provide services, the private sector is seen as the means to shift economies to middle income status.

James Gatera, the Bank of Kigali Managing Director emerged as the East African Business Leader of the Year .

The awards are given out under the auspices of the Johnnie Walker Blue Label CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Awards.

(AABLA). CNBC is a top business news broadcaster.

AABLA recognises in-

Thieves ruin SOS gesture

BY LEONARD MAGOMBA

CONGRATS: Rwanda finance minister, Claver Gatete hands over the award to James Gatera (right), accompanied by his wife and joined at the podium by several Bank of Kigali staff members in recognition of the institution’s achievements throughout the year. It was noted that Gatera’s leadership qualities helped ensure this success. novators and pioneers in a variety of categories, reflecting the diversity of the African business environment.

Throughout his tenure at Bank of Kigali, the institution has won several international awards, and Dr. Gatera has been highly instrumental in this success.

Other winners were Group CEO of Uchumi Supermarkets Limited, Dr. Jonathan Ciano, and Duncan Kabui, CEO of Chase Bank Kenya.

Peter Nduati, the founder and CEO of Resolution Health East Africa, was named Entrepreneur of the Year.

Contenders for the same category were Patrick Bitature, the founder,

Tz inflation goes down to 6.7%

BY LEONARD MAGOMBA DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA--Tanzania’s annual headline inflation rate for August has declined further from 7.5% to 6.7% recorded in July while that of neighbours, Kenya and Uganda has gone up.

According to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s Director of Social Statistics Directorate, Ephraim Kwesigabo said Uganda’s annual inflation rate goes up to 7.3 from 5.1 of July while the East Africa’s economic giant Kenya grows to 6.67 from 6.02% of July, 2013.

This means the speed of price hike for commodities in Tanzania, the East Africa’s second largest economy are minimal compared to its neighbours.

A survey conducted by EABW to the local market in Dar es Salaam last week shows that the price of rice and maize flour, (popular staples) went down to Tsh1,800 ($1.13) from Tsh2,000 ($1.25).

A food stuff vendor, Rashid Ramadhan told EABW that they still have a big stocks of both.

However, the overall index went up to 139.93 in August, 2013 from 131.09 recorded in August 2012. According to NBS, food and non alcoholic beverages inflation rate has decreased to 6.5% in August from 8.0%.

Kwesigabo said the annual inflation rate for food consumed at home and away has decreased to 7.1% as compared to 8.6 in July, 2013.

CEO and Chairman of the Simba Group of Companies, and Zafrullah Khan, the Group Managing Director of the Chase Group of Companies.

The Business Woman of the Year award went to Priya Budhabhatti, the Head of Human Resources at Craft Silicon.

She is recognised for her encouragement in inspiring Kenyan youth into making information technology their career choice at the Craft Silicon Foundation.

Her contenders were Professional Marketing Services Group CEO and founder, Joanne Muthoni Mwangi, and Nasim Devji, Group CEO of Dia-

mond Trust Bank in East Africa.

Dr. Gachao Kiuna, the CEO and Managing Director of the Trans-Century Group won the Young Business Leader of the Year award.

The late Ugandan entrepreneur, Dr. James Mulwana was also honoured for his many contributions to African business with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He died earlier this year.

The regional winners will go on to compete against finalists from across the continent for recognition as the top business people in their respective fields at the finale due in Durban, South Africa, on November 8, this year.

GEITA, TANZANIA-An ambulance emergency response vehicle has been used to steal diesel at the Geita Gold Mine (GGM) concession recently.

The ambulance was donated by the GGM to Nzera Village in Geita in December last year to help in medical transportation of patients, especially children and pregnant women.

The Tsh40 million ($25,000) worth vehicle was donated after community leaders had asked for help since the district hospital is 40 kilometres away.

The GGM’s acting General Manager, Mr. Jasper Musadaidzwa said. “We are deeply astonished by this theft attempt by few individuals who use the facility to advance their personal agendas instead of saving people’s lives,” Musadaidzwa said.

The ambulance is normally allowed into GGM to access the medical facilities. The arrested culprits were caught while loading the fuel into the ambulance near the Geita engine room.

Ugandan accountants under seige

BY PAUL TENTENA ENTEBBE, UGANDAThere is a growing number of fraudulent accountants who have overran the profession in Uganda.

This was one of the major observations, members of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) noted during their 18th annual seminar that was held at the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe last week.

“We’re here discussing about professionalism and striving for excellence.

But, we have a number of people calling themselves accountants who have invaded our sector. What can we do to eliminate them?” asked an ICPAU member.

In recent months there have been a number of frauds and embezzlement cases featuring accoun-

tants before the Uganda Anti- Corruption Court.

However the ICPAU leadership of has repeatedly denied such people are genuine members.

“We don’t know those people. Those are not our members,” the former ICPAU President, Naru Thakkar said when referring to the former convicted

Office of the Prime Minister Principal Accountant, Godfrey Kazinda. Kazinda (pictured) was found guilty of 29 corruption charges.

Uganda’s Commissioner General of Prisons Johnson Byabashaija, who delivered a keynote speech, advised the accountants to improve on their ethics to win back the confidences

of employers.

“The timing of this interesting theme is perfect and comes at a time when professionalism is threatened with moral decadence.

“It is vital that the idea of excellence which I believe is so important to our future, is more widely understood and promoted,” said Byabashaija.

He told the accountants good leadership is devoid of selfishness and greed.

“Those who work in the field of accounting and business must not only be well qualified but must also possess a high degree of professional integrity,” he noted.

Patrick Kagoro ,the ICPAU President, said the principles of good financial accountability have been forsaken in a number of organizations and it’s their role to revive and inculcate these principles.

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EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

NEWS

$540m for Tanzania power

BY EABW REPORTER DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA--- Upcountry electricity supplier, the Rural Energy Agency (REA) recently signed a total of Tsh881billion ($544.84 million) in contracts with various companies to provide electricity to 250,000 rural households in Tanzania Mainland.

According to the signed agreement, the second phase of the programme, would involve 24 districts in Tanzania Mainland.

These include Buhimbwe, Busega, Chemba, Itilima, Kakonko, Kalambo, Kyerwa, Mkalama, Momba, Nyasa,

Nanyumbu and Uvinza.

The distribution will also involve the construction of six stations for supplying electricity and will be built in Tunduru, Mbinga, Ngara, Kigoma, Kasulu and Kibondo districts.

The contracts will involve the distribution of electricity in 13 districts and construction of power distribution points in six districts in the second phase of the project.

The REA Board Chairman, Amb. Ami Mpungwe told a news conference, efforts are being made to ensure that 30% of the Tanzanian population has access to electric power by 2015.

The 14 regions to benefit with power according to him are Ruvuma, Arusha, Dodoma, Mara, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Singida, Mtwara, Mwanza, Tabora, Njombe, Katavi, Shinyanga and Simiyu.

“Some of these regions lacked qualified contractors and therefore have to wait for the re-announcement of a new tender next month (October),” he said.

The regions which have to wait for the October tender announcement are Mbeya, Geita, Kagera, Kigoma, Lindi, Manyara, Morogoro, Coast, Rukwa and Tanga.

“Once this tender is complete, the implementation of the projects will go along with other regions which had secured contractors,” he said.

Mpungwe suggested local companies to research on various energy sources, saying REA had the money needed for the construction of infrastructure and connection of power to rural residents.

He said, “We have the required financial resources...it is up to you to find ways to turn this money into power for people living in rural

areas.”

Mpungwe called for the active participation of the private sector saying the government alone cannot succeed .

The REA acting Director General, George Ncheali said the supply of power to the relevant households is expected to completed by mid 2015.

He said the firms were selected through a very competitive bidding process.

The outcome was four local and five foreign energy contractors were eventually signed up by way of several memoranda of understanding with the agency.

“We hope the projects will go as planned due to the fact that a lot of money has been sourced locally, “he said.

He said the foreign donors, included, Norway and Sweden who in total promised to provide Tsh50bil-

lion ($30.92million) This is the second phase of the project. The first phase of the programme started in 2010/2011 when REA provided grants to implement electric power projects in 16 regions.

REA received grants worth Tsh.130billion ($80.5million) from the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO).

The first phase according to the agency was planned to be completed by December this year.

The regions which were under the first phase are Kigoma, Kagera, Mwanza, Mara, Arusha, Shinyanga, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Tanga, Coast, Morogoro, Dodoma, Singida, Mbeya, Rukwa and Tabora which saw 24,000 new customers access electric power.

Like the rest of East Africa, Tanzania is fighting a power defecit.

Tullow Oil sends 20 Ugandans for more skills

BY PAUL TENTENA KAMPALA, UGANDA--Upstream oil exploration company, Tullow Oil, has for the second year running, offered another 20 Ugandan students sponsorship to study and attain degreees in various fields related to the oil and gas industry.

The courses are to be undertaken in Britain under the Tullow Group Scholarship Scheme (TGSS), an education programme under Tullow Oil’s Local Capacity Development Programme.

The lucky students were selected from over 3,000 candidates who applied for the scholarships following a call for applications by Tullow in January 2013.

Five of the 20 scholarships worth $1.2 million a year have been awarded to successful applicants from Hoima and Buliisa districts

Uganda wins UN tourism position

BY WINNIE MANDELA

OFFICIALLY OPENED: The branch will cater for clients transacting border business. where Tullow operates to encourage participation in the oil and gas industry by locals in the Bunyoro region.

“Today, we are pleased to be expanding the local capacity base by extending this scholarship opportunity to 20 brilliant and talented Ugandans who

will participate in the growth and success of the oil and gas industry and economic diversification in Uganda,” Jimmy Mugerwa, General Manager Tullow Uganda said while congratulating the successful candidates .

He said, “We believe it is important

to develop local capacity of Ugandans not only to be suppliers to the oil and gas industry but also to support national talent development and participation of these scholars in diverse economic sectors that will contribute to the growth of the nation.”

Tz smallscale miners to get credit facilities

BY LEONARD MAGOMBA DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA----Small scale miners will now be able to enjoy credit facilities from financial institutions under the small scale development scheme that is aimed at raising their working capital for increased production.

Tanzania has a significant number of artisanal and small scale miners who mostly are not recognised.

Their mining areas are not licensed and often not geologically investigated.

Most of these small scale miners in the country are involved in mining gold, gemstones, construction materials and salt production but with very limited capital and poor mining equipments.

The Managing Director of TIB Development Bank Peter Noni said recently there has been considerably increase of artisan and small scale mining in the country.

Noni said between 1987 and 1997 small scale mining was the major producer of minerals in Tanzania during which period the mining sector in the country was not fully developed.

He said the between TIB Development Bank as a trust agency with the Ministry of Energy and

Minerals would require that the bank administer the provisions of the credit under the small scale development scheme on behalf of the government.

These provisions he said will be both short term and long term spanning to a period of between six months and three years depending on the category of the beneficiary, geological and business structure and related financial structure while having an interest rate of 7% per annum.

Last year they asked the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to address conflicts that between large scale miners by allocating permanent mining areas for artisanal mining.

KAMPALA, UGANDA--Uganda has been elected as vice-chair for the UN Tourism Organisation during a recent conference that was jointly hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe.

This was revealed during a news conference by Maria Mutagamba, the Minister for Tourism recently.

She also announced that World Tourism Day is scheduled for September 27th and celebrations will take place in Fort Portal, western Uganda.

According to the Minister, the theme for this year is ‘Tourism and Water’.

She said during the conference participants from across Africa discussed such issues as visa facilitation through provision of visa on arrival policies.

Also the need for easing the immigration process with biometric equipment and the introduction of the East African tourist visas.

She said, “The East African tourist common visa would be applicable by January 1st in Uganda and it will cost $100.”

The tourism sector is among the leading foreign exchange earners for Uganda and latest figures show that it raked in about one billion US dollars.

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16- 22, 2013

5

ENERGY

Tanzania in $50m deal for sun energy

BY KENAN KALAGHO DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA--Tanzania has received $50million funds from Climate Investment Fund (CIF) aimed at scaling up renewable energy program to low income earners in the rural areas of the country.

This comes after the country was endorsed by the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) for an investment plan that will help it to scale up the development of the abundant renewable energy in the rural areas.

This CIF plan is designed to transform the country’s energy sector, shifting from its increasing dependence on fossils and climate-sensitive hydro resources to a more diversified energy mix making use of the country’s abundant, reliable and cost effective geothermal and solar resources.

This initiative plan will be funded by CIF in partnership with the African Development Bank (AFDB), World Bank, governments, including private sector and other development partners, aimed at connecting low income countries to electricity.

According to a statement from the AFDB, the geothermal development component is expected to receive $25 million from

USING SUN’ RAYS: Solar panels are becoming widely available all over Tanzania.

SREP and $45million support from the AFDB will catalyze development of more than 100MW of geothermal power thereby allowing environment for

large scale geothermal development.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of Persistent Energy Partners Mr. Christopher Aidun there

were about 22 companies in Tanzania collaborating with persistent Energy to make sure that they connect rural areas with renewable energy.

Two major conferences due

BY ANDREW ZABLON MWANZA, TANZANIA – Two major mineral conferences and exhibitions have been organized in East Africa region.

The two events would take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Kampala, Uganda.

In Tanzania, the event dubbed, “The Tanzania Mining, Energy/Power and Infrastructure IndabaTMEPII (Conference and Exhibition (TMEPII 2013)” will take place from 2-4, October, 2013.

The event has been endorsed by the Tanzania

Ministry of Energy and Minerals and the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy.

The Tanzania event is expected to attract 500 delegates/attendees and more than 60 exhibitors.

Genges Imports and Exports, a subsidiary of Genges Investments is the lead organizer of the event.

Genges Investments is a Pan African Investment group based in South Africa. Its objective is to invest in companies with compelling growth opportunities and good management teams.

Genges Investments has investments in mining and

energy sectors including coal, gold and mini hydro.

It has played a key role in facilitating mining and energy investments in Africa.

It had previously arranged international events like Zimbabwe Mining Indaba 2009 and 2010.

The official media partner is East African Business Week, one of the biggest regional newspapers. With its head office in Kampala, Uganda, East Africa Business Week has expanded to Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and recently in Ethiopia.

The TMEPII 2013 will bring together top industry

leaders.

Building on the experience of the previous conference will provide a strategic platform for investors and key stakeholders to exchange views.

Participants would also evaluate investment opportunities in Tanzania and East Africa’s mining, energy and power, infrastructure sectors on the implementation of TMEPII 2012’s recommendations.

One of the main objectives of the conference and exhibition is increasing local content and indigenous participation in the mining, energy, power and infrastructure sectors.

Vivo Energy wins major deal to supply roads firm

BY PAUL TENTENA KAMPALA, UGANDA--Vivo Energy Uganda has put pen to paper on a major construction deal to supply fuel and lubricants for the construction of a national road in north-eastern Uganda.

A team from Vivo Energy Uganda has concluded negotiations with China Road and Bridge on a new high-profile road construction project. A contract was signed to seal the deal (picture below).

The three-year contract will see Vivo Energy Uganda supplying approximately 3,000m3 of Shell Gasoil Extra (AGO) fuel and 45,000 litres of lubricants per year for the construction of the Moroto - Nakapiripit road project.

“China Road and Bridge is part of the China Communications Construction Group – one of the largest road construction companies in Uganda, whose involvement in the country’s road construction business dates back 15 years. We are obviously delighted to add them to our portfolio, and are especially excited to be involved in this project” remarked Edward Walugembe, Head of Commercial, Vivo Energy.

The Moroto – Nakapiripirit project is a 74km road in the north-eastern part of Uganda, and involves a complete upgrade from murram to full bitumen. The key advantage of the offer to China Road & Bridge included Vivo Energy’s speed of mobilisation and promise of supply reliability despite the remoteness of the site.

“Also instrumental in the contract win was Vivo Energy’s strong Customer Value Proposition (CVP) – tailored around high-quality fuels (Shell Diesel Extra) and lubricants (Shell Rimula), and strong Customer Relationship Management traction in the construction sector,” Walugembe. said.

“This contract is very important as it ensures that we maintain our stronghold in the Commercial Fuels market in general, and in the Construction sector in particular, and also helps replace volume from a couple of our other road construction projects that are drawing to a close.”

With industrial activity in Uganda expanding at a significant rate, many new opportunities are presenting themselves to the Vivo Energy Uganda Commercial business, particularly in the areas of manufacturing, power and exploration for oils and minerals.

Road construction is another fast-growing sector – one which, according to Edward, has become one the key focus areas for the Ugandan government. “There are a number of other road construction projects planned to commence during this financial year, as stipulated in the government’s infrastructure plans laid out in the budget,” he says in closing. “We at Vivo Energy Uganda will certainly be ready to pounce on these and any other opportunities that arise in this sector.”

6

6

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 2 - 8, 2013

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

EDITORIAL

OPPORTUNITIES TO WATCH

EAST AFRICAN

ww

Customs Union comes with pain Drug trafficking in East Africa remains a very serious issue. It sometimes overlooked by the much of society but encouiraged by a selected few because of tthat the huge sums involved cause many to pretend it is not a huge problem.

R It is a huge problem when you consider the potential health and sTt

ecently members of the East African Cement Producers Association (EACPA) met in Dar es Salaam.

During their talks, the company bosses and representatives agreed that cheaply imported and often sub-standard cement is a source of sleepless nights for them. It is also dangerous for gullible buyers.

They complained that the situation threatened their business prospects and called into question the rationale of their multi-million dollar investments against this kind of competition.

They asked that governments (and in this instance, the Tanzania government), should not have lowered customs duties without consulting with them first.

In reply the deputy finance minister, Janet Mbene basically said there was still not enough cement to meet the growing demand. There is a construction boom.

And it made sense to allow entry of more supplies, needless to say that is also means a wider choice for consumers in terms of the price range.

According to the East African Community Secretariat, while the Customs Union is generating major benefits, it has also brought about greater competition among domestic firms. In the short run, the firms that stand to gain most are those that are already competitive.

On the other hand, competitiveness depends very much on your working environment. Things like adequate uninterrupted electricity, enough water and good roads to ferry inputs and finished products to the marketplace. Your wage bill also can come into play.

If these factors are not in place or are not up to scratch then obviously the manufacturer may find themselves priced outside the market and unable to sell their product.

Another implication of the Customs Union is that it is minimizing discretionary powers earlier enjoyed

by Partner States, and which sometimes had created uneven playing ground for firms.

Such powers, in particular, related to granting of exemptions from customs duties. The Partner States have undertaken harmonization of their exemption regimes which shall be administered regionally. In some cases, this has been viewed negatively as reduction of national sovereignty.

In view of the current global trend where trade negotiations are increasingly being carried out under regional blocs, formation of a Customs Union in East Africa was not a matter of choice but a necessity.

It would have been difficult for Partner States to negotiate a Free Trade Area (FTA) with other regional blocs unless they had liberalized trade among themselves.

Due to the multiple memberships of the Partner States in other regional organizations, the EAC Customs Union could enter into a FTA with other trading blocs, or in the extreme circumstance, merge with them to make a larger trading bloc.

The vast majority of economists have accepted the proposition that free trade among nations improves overall economic welfare.

Free trade, usually defined as the absence of tariffs, quotas, or other governmental impediments to international trade, allows each country to specialize in the goods that it can produce cheaply and efficiently relative to other countries. Such specialization enables all countries to achieve higher real incomes.

Although free trade provides overall benefits, it hurts some people. Some of the groups that are hurt by foreign competition wield enough political power to obtain protection against imports. Consequently, barriers to trade continue to exist despite their sizable economic costs to the final consumer.

Regional manufacturers must therefore first always question their own inefficiencies before complaining about unfair competition.

Regional IT back-room firms head for Kampala

BY BAZ WAISWA KAMPALA, UGANDA-This week several regional company representatives and policy makers in the Information Communications Technlology (ICT) field meet in Kampala to discuss and debate critical issues and needs in offshore/near shore business processing outsourcing (BPO).

Hosting the event at Kampala Serena Hotel from September 18th, are the National Information Technology Authority NITA-Uganda, together with the Uganda Business Process Outsourcing Association (UBPOA) .

The objectives of the conference include setting up an infrastructural network that can support the BPO industry in Uganda, to market Uganda as a preferred destination within the region, establish partnerships with private sector for more sustainability and engage all stakeholders that provide services to Basically BPO, involves hiring a company which is capable of doing tasks on your behalf at much lower costs and better expertise so that you can focus on your main job.

James Saaka, the NITA-U Executive Director, told a press briefing last week the BPO industry is one of the key areas the Uganda government has identified as a long term solution to widespread unemployment among educated young people.

He said in financial year 2011/12, NITA-U was funded to develop and implement initiatives that would not only drive, but transform Uganda’s BPO industry into an internationally competitive one and consequently create jobs and income for the country.

The worldwide BPO market is forecast to generate almsot $210 billion by 2017 according to reasearch firm, IDC. In partnership with

MAST: Fees to operate a telephone mast of this kind have gone up and it is highly likely the telephone call cost will go up. File Photo

MARKETING OPPORTUNITY: Saaki (right) said the government has identified BPO as key in reducing unemployment while Kareebi cited the huge potential involved. the private sector, NITA-U was told to develop basic BPO infrastructure, brand and market Uganda as a preferred BPO destination and improve governance structures and framework to stimulate private sector activities.

Since then, NITA-U has been able to set up a 250 seater BPO incubation centre at Statistics House in Kampala and contracted three firms, Techno Brain, Dia-A-Service and Cameo Techedge Services Limited to manage the centre It has completed the review and update of the BPO strategy which provides an analysis of the current state of Uganda’s

BPO industry and developed an action plan to increase competitiveness.

It has also developed BPO incentives guidelines which provide a basis for the government to provide incentives as well as to determine the eligibility of prospective BPO operators to the BPO incentives.

NITA-U in partnership with Makerere University and Uganda Institute of Information and Communication Technology (UICT) ensured continuous capacity building and training of the youth in BPO skills.

“The government of Egypt has provided a team of experts to work with

NITA-U to train trainers who will in turn raise an impact group of 3,000 professionally trained BPO agents as a way of building the required pool of trained resources to support the growing industry,” Saaka said.

Rogers Kareebi, the Secretary General of UBPOA said they will use the East Africa Regional conference to sensitize not only Ugandans ,but also the world about Uganda’s potential in the outsourcing industry.

NITA-Uganda will also use the event to launch the BPO incubation centre, a critical milestone in the development of the sector.

7

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

LETTERS & PERSPECTIVE IMAGE OF WEEK

PERSPECTIVE

Asian Tigers, beware of Africa!

A

NEVER ENDING STRIFE: Congolese armed forces (FARDC) soldiers ride on their pick-up truck recently as they advance to a new position while battling M23 rebels in Kibati near Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The spillover of this conflict is causing tensions in the region.

Tanzania credit will be better

Lend more to Rwanda’s SMEs

Editor, Now that we have a credit reference bureau, I wonder how those who used to abuse the system will proper? Hopefully not!

The bureau will now allow lenders to access good customers and also for customers with good credit history to get better credit terms.

We had a situation in the past, where getting loans from the banks depended on which politician or influential person you knew. Many of the recipients often failed to pay back.

This is also one of the reasons why interest rates can remain stubbornly high, because of the large number of unperforming loans.

As a small businessman, I can now be reasonably sure that when I apply for a loan it will be handled in a fairer and open manner than before. I am also relying on the fact that those who have outstanding loans will be penalised and blacklisted do that we small people can get money to expand our businesses.

I wish Dun & Bradstreet all the

best in repairing the situation.

Editor, I wish to put forward my opinion on the recent performance of the financial sector in the country.

I read that non-performing loans (NPLs) led to many banks registering some losses or reduced profits.

On the other hand, it was also reported that the financial sector has increased lending to the small medium size enterprises (SMEs).

This is an indication that paints a positive picture on their loan books. But now how did the banks get affected by NPLs? I think it is due to the big loans that were given out to most of the larger struggling companies.

Maybe this is causing this huge increase in non-performing loans.

To me this shows that banks should be more careful lending to big companies and give more support to SMEs who are less likely to default because owners are desperate to succeed.

SMEs are flexible and can best handle the shocks of the economy that bigger firms.

Editor, The announcement last week that Fitch Ratings had revised Uganda’s credit rating is worthy of note.

It puts Uganda higher the pecking order when it comes to deciding who is worthy of being lent money or the saftey of foreign investments.

One has to commend the Central Bank for their efforts in doing all those things needed to keep the country solvent.

I remember a time when Uganda had to keep relying on the IMF for forex allocations and the very tough conditions that caused so much social pain!

Today, the fact that our credit rating has improved slightly is something to cheer about when you recall the not so distant past.

However, we must be cautious about feeling complacent. The cost of public administration remains very high.

That means a considerable amount of money that could go to services is bogged down in the bureaucracy of providing them.

Secondly, bureaucracy is one the things that fuels graft!

Joseph Mulemwa Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Alphonse Kayiranga Kigali, Rwanda

Obadiah Mukama Kampala, Uganda

Fitch rating puts Uganda higher

sian Tigers beware: there’s a new cat on the block. After decades of conflict, instability and mismanagement, Africa is breaking free from its troubled past. Countries like Tanzania, Ethiopia and Nigeria are leaping ahead, enjoying unprecedented growth and investment.

As they chart their own development paths, Africa’s “lion economies” are studying the tracks left by others. Asia’s economic modernisation – the fastest in history – offers one such path to prosperity.

Fifty years ago, Asia accounted for less than 15% of global output. China’s economy was smaller than France’s; South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) was less than Mozambique’s. But within a single generation, the most populous region on Earth became one of the most prosperous.

South Korea’s economy is now almost equivalent to sub-Saharan Africa’s. Asia produces 40% of global output, has a larger middle class than Europe, and is home to more billionaires than North America.

Economic development has been accompanied by political reform. A few decades ago, there were only a handful of free societies in Asia. Today, the Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia – between them, home to 400-million people – have joined the growing list of vibrant Asian democracies.

A decade ago, Africa resembled the Asia of the 1960s: a jumble of undemocratic regimes, broken by conflict and poverty, with few prospects for progress. Today it is one of the fastest-growing continents on Earth. Having been plundered before, Africa must wonder whether capitalism is any better than colonialism.

But this time things can be different. Done right, democratic and economic reform can enrich its citizens. African nations will choose their own development model. But by looking East they

can learn from Asia’s example.

In 2010, Malaysia began a programme of unprecedented economic reform: we combined targeted state support in key sectors alongside policies to open up our economy. Since then, our GDP has grown by 6% a year, and per capita income is up by 49%.

We have ended extreme poverty, and are on track to becoming a high-income nation by 2018 – two years ahead of schedule.

To emulate this emerging economies must do four things.

First, countries must allow open markets. Targeted liberalisation and a welcoming business environment can attract foreign investment – and build globally competitive industries.

By removing equity conditions, we unlocked our services sector; last year, the share of private investment to GDP increased to 15%, and Malaysia became the world’s 12th best place to do business.

Second, the state can play a catalytic role, directing investment into key areas for development, but the private sector should drive growth.

In Malaysia, we have begun divesting dozens of governmentlinked companies, yielding multibillion-dollar initial public offerings and creating space for private enterprise.

Third, countries should be un-afraid to pursue trade agreements and regional economic integration; not just to seek shelter from global headwinds, but also to create new markets and opportunities.

And fourth, transparency and accountability. In Malaysia, we have renewed our focus on corruption, and begun stripping away colonial-era legislation, halting a 60-year-old state of emergency and ending indefinite detention without trial.

By pursuing open economies, and learning from Asia’s development, Africa has the chance to write the story of the 21st.

Najib Razak is the Prime Minister of Malaysia

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT THE VIEWS HELD BY THE MANAGEMENT OF EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK Write your letters to the Editor East African Business Week, P.O Box 71771, Kampala, Uganda.

Telephone: +256-41-4531345/7 or +256-31-2275141.

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Bujumbura:+25779453132; 0r email them to info@busiweek.com editor@buiweek.com

8

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

TRANSPORT

RwandAir starts Juba

BY DIAS NYESIGA KIGALI RWANDA--The country’s national carrier, Rwandair will be flying the South Sudan skies three times a week officials have said.

Juba, the capital of South Sudan, becomes the seventh regional destination and the 15th since 2009 when the carrier started operations.

“All the operational issues that had earlier delayed the launch of Juba flights have been resolved,” the Airline chief Executive Officer, John Mirenge said in a statement.

The airline will be flying every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday with the carriers Bombardier CRJ 900 next generation and the return ticket is expected to cost over $350.

Recently, the airline has been expanding its fleet and opening up more

Citadel boosts RVR

BY JACOB OLUM

EXPANDIN WINGS: RwandaAir boss, John Mirenge said all the details have been finally worked out for Juba. destinations, to support business people seeking markets in Central Africa and West Africa.

Currently, RwandAir operates four Boeing 737 se-

ries aircraft two new Bombardier CRJ-900 airplanes, one Bombardier Dash-200 series. A Q400 is on the way to be used for business class on a domestic routes

by next year.

RwandAir flies LagosNigeria, Entebbe-Uganda, Bujumbura-Burundi, Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Libreville

Johannesburg-South Africa, Brazzaville, Dubai while Douala-Cameroon, Abidjan- Ivory coast routes are schedule to start before the end of the year.

Jubilee offers travel health package

BY HUMPHREY LILOBA NAIROBI, KENYA--East Africa’s largest insurance group, Jubilee and leading international healthcare company, Bupa International, have annouced a new regional health insurance product dubbed Explorer Health Plan.

Explorer will seek to provide health insurance services to the growing middleclass, mid-level executives, and expatriates living in East Africa and travelling in and around Africa, including those seeking treatment in South Africa, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The new healthcare insurance product will be available under the Business Explorer Health Plan for corporates and Explorer Health Plan targeting individual clients.

Jubilee Holdings Chairman, Nizar Juma said the partnership with Bupa will en-

able Jubilee Insurance meet the growing demand for international medical insurance products and provide a one-stop shop for medical cover to major corporations, private individuals and families in the region.

“Explorer is a regional plan from an international company designed to bring it within the reach of senior and middle executives specifically designed for the Africa market and it offers great value for money by providing both individual and corporate access to world class medical facilities,” Juma said..

Some of the unique benefits of Explorer Plan include a full range of health screening providing valuable early detection of conditions such as cancer, without lifetime limits for eligible treatment for chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, ensuring continued access to treatment for as long as a customer is on the plan.

NO FRONTIERS: Those who often travel cross-border need not fear about medical coverage.

KAMPALA-UGANDA. Citadel Capital, the major shareholders of Rift Valley Railways (RVR) have a five-year plan in place to turnaround the company Hassan Massoud, the Citadel Capital Vice President said in an interview recently RVR is quite unique in that it is a “turnaround infrastructure” deal. The company was in default vis-a-vis every single one of its stake holders — government, clients, banks, suppliers, customers and even shareholders — when we acquired it in 2010.

“Since then we have, with our partners, recapitalized the company, cured its defaults with all stakeholders, and kick-started a five-year plan to see the company more than triple volumes hauled,” he said.

Referring to plans

by Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda to build a new railway line, he said, “We are confident that all three governments will make decisions that are ultimately in the best interests of the region’s economies.”

He said, “Less than 18 months into our investment program, we have changed nearly 20% of the rails between Mombasa and Nairobi, added more commuter lines, rehabilitated over 600 wagons and 10 locomotives and are finalizing the installation of a stateof-the-art GPS-based train signaling system.

Overall, we are pleased with the progress.”

French consultant advises on Kigali airports

BY DIAS NYESIGA KIGALI, RWANDA-Building a vibrant aviation industry will help Rwanda position itself as the region’s logistics hub.

It will also consolidate its recent efforts to leapfrog the economy to being predomninantly servicebased.

Roger Forneris, the Project Director, Aeroports de Lyon said recently focusing at improving the airport and streamlining services within the sector will help boost the logistics of the country and serve its neigbours.

“Rwanda does not need huge and expensive airports, because they maybe costly due to low traffic but it can ensure that

the airport is flexible for expansion,” he said.

Forneris said Rwanda’s position at the centre of both East and Central Africa would grow as the region’s logistics hub, something that will see a boost in air traffic due to mainly increased trading links.

The government embarked on a plan to build a logistics hub last year

to tap into the logistics business within the region and cut down transport costs that impacts heavily on its Growth Domestic Product.

Aeroports de Lyon, a French-based airport management services company, is expecting to invest in Rwanda’s aviation industry.

Forneris said the company is ready to kick start their investment once talks

with the government and other paper work is done, The government is paying for a new airport at Busegera, south of Kigali City. The designs have already been approved and financing finalised.

The present Kigali International Airport has under gone upgrades to meet the demand of increasing traffic .

Construction of the new

airport is expected to take off this year and end in 2016.

According to statistics from Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority, the present airport handled 488,903 passengers last year, up from 377,327 in 2011 an increase of 30%.

The new airport will have one runway, but it can allow a second one to be added later.

9

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013 RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AGENCY MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL DEVELOPMENT

BID NOTICE UNDER OPEN DOMESTIC BIDDING

Grou p Personal Acci dent Insu rance

Procu rement Reference Nu mber: REA/SRVCS/13-14/00024 PROCUREMENT REFERENCE NUMBER: REA/SRVCS/13-14/00005 1 The Rural lectrification Agency (R A) of the Ministry of nergy and Mineral evelopment has allocated funds to be used for the acquisition of Grou p Personal Acci dent Insu rance for staff.

2. The Rural lectrification Agency of the Ministry of nergy and Mineral evelopment invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the provision of roup Personal Accident Insurance for staff.

3. Bidding will be conducted in accordance with the Open omestic Bidding procedures contained in the overnment of ganda’s Public Procurement and isposal of Public Assets Act, 2003, and is open to all bidders from eligible source countries.

4. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from Rural lectrification Agency and inspect the bidding documents at the address given below at 7(a) from 9 :00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Monday to Fri day.

5. A complete set of Bidding ocuments in Eng l i sh may be purchased by interested bidders on the submission of a written application to the address below at 7(b) and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of UGX 200,000 ( Ug anda Shi l l i ng s Two Hu ndred Thou sand) only. The method of payment will be by cash to the R A cash office and an official receipt issued.

6. Bids must be delivered to the address below at 7(c) at or before 11:00 a.m. ( l ocal ti me) on October 18 , 2013. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security of UGX 1,000,000 ( Ug anda Shi l l i ng s One Mi l l i on) only. Late bids shall be rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below at 7(d) at 11:15 a.m. ( l ocal ti me) on October 18 , 2013.

7. (a)Address documents may be inspected at Rural Electrification Agency Office Premi ses Procu rement and Di sposal Uni t

Pl ot 10 W i ndsor Loop, Kol ol o 2nd Fl oor, Hou se of Hope KAMPALA (b) Address documents will be issued from Same as i n 7 ( a) abov e (c) Address Bids must be delivered to Same as i n 7 ( a) abov e (d) Address of Bid Opening Rural Electrification Agency Office Premi ses, Boardroom . The planned procurement schedule (subject to changes) is as follows -

Item/ escription

Scheduled ates

Publish Bid Notice

September 10, 2013

Bid Closing ate

October 1 , 2013

valuation Process

Within Fourteen (14) Working ays from Bid Closing ate

isplay and Communication of Best valuated Bidder Notice

Within Five (5) Working ays from Contracts Committee approval of the evaluation Report

Contract Award and Signature

After e piry of the Best valuated Bidder Notice and S ’s clearance

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is not bou nd to accept any bi d THE EX ECUTIVE DIRECTOR

AVIS D’ APPELS D’ OFFRES ( AAO) TENDER REFERENCE: No 14/F/2013-2014/IO/RNP/DISTRICTS

TITRE DU MARCHE: FOURNITURE DE VEHICULES DE LUTTE CONTRE L’ INCENDIE ET LEURS ACCESSOIRES A LA POLICE NATIONALE

SOURCE DE FINANCEMENT: FOND DE DISTRICTS 1. La Police Nationale du Rwanda a des fonds pour financer le projet de fou rni tu re de v é hi cu l es de l u tte contre l ’ i ncendi e et l eu rs accessoi res à l a Pol i ce Nati onal e.

2. La Police Nationale du Rwanda sollicite des offres de la part de soumissionnaires ligibles et r pondant au qualifications requises pour fou rni tu re de v é hi cu l es de l u tte contre l ’ i ncendi e et l eu rs accessoi res à l a Pol i ce Nati onal e.

3. Les ossiers d’Appel d’Offres r dig s en Ang l ai s ou en Franç ai s peuvent tre obtenus au bureau de l’ nit charg e de passation des march s au sein de la Police Nationale, Tel 25 5 10335 3/ 07 8 8 3118 03, sise acyiru au Commissariat n ral de la Police Nationale du Rwanda, pendant les jours ouvrables d s le 10/09 /2013 de 7 heu res à 17 h30, sur pr sentation d’un bordereau de paiement d’un montant non remboursable de dou e mille cent francs Rwandai s ( 12,100 Frw) vers sur le compte N° 120.00.46 ouvert la Banq u e Nati onal e du Rwanda ( B.N.R) ; doi v ent apparaî tre su r ce bordereau l e nom du sou mi ssi onnai re, l e nu mé ro et l e ti tre du marché .

ci-dessus.

6. Les offres bien dactylographi es, doivent tre remises sous plis scell s et pr sent s en quatre copies dont un original au bureau de l’ nit de passation des march s l’adresse mentionn e ci-dessus au plus tard l e 31/10/2013 à 9 h30 ( Heu re l ocal e) . Les offres remises en retard seront rejet es.

7. L’ouverture des offres aura lieu en pr sence des soumissionnaires ou de leurs repr sentants souhaitant y assister, dans l a sal l e de confé rence de l ’ Uni té de passati on des marché s, l e mê me j ou r, l e 31/10/2013 à 10h00 ( Heu re l ocal e) . . Le titre du march doit tre clairement mentionn sur l’enveloppe e t rieure. . La validit des offres sera de 120 jours partir de la date d’ouverture des offres.

10.L’appel d’offres sera r gi par la Loi No12/2007 du 27/03/2007 sur les March s Publiques.

Ki g al i , l e 10/09 /2013.

4. Les offres doivent comprendre une garantie de l’offre 44,000,000 Frw ( l ot 1: Vé hi cu l e de l u tte contre l ’ i ncendi e et l eu rs accessoi res) et 4,5 00,000 Frw ( Cami on de transport d’ eau ) ou dans une monnaie librement convertible.

5. Toute demande d’information relative au pr sent appel d’offres peut tre adress e au bureau de l’ nit de passation des march s, l’adresse mentionn e

ITANGAZ O RY’ IPIGANW A NOMERO IRANGA ISOKO: No 14/F/2013-2014/IO/RNP/DISTRICTS INYITO Y’ ISOKO: ISOKO RYO KUGURIRA POLISI Y’ U RW ANDA IMODOKA Z IZ IMYA INKONGI Y‘ UMURIRO N’ IBINDI BIJ YANYE NAZ O.

INKOMOKO Y’ UBW ISHYU: AMAFARANGA Y’ UTURERE

1.Polisi y’u Rwanda ifite ingengo y’imari yateganyirije i sok o ryo k u g u ri ra Pol i si y’ u Rwanda i modok a z i z i mya i nk ong i y‘ u mu ri ro n’ i bi ndi bi j yanye naz o.

2.Police y’u Rwanda irahamagarira abacuru i babishoboye kandi bujuje ibisabwa gutanga inyandiko abo ’ipiganwa k u i sok o ryo k u g u ri ra Pol i si y’ u Rwanda i modok a z i z i mya i nk ong i y‘ u mu ri ro n’ i bi ndi bi j yanye naz o.

3.Igitabo gikubiyemo amabwiri a agenga iri soko kiri mu cyongere a cyangwa mu gifaransa kiboneka mu biro by’Ishami rishin we amasoko muri Polisi y’u Rwanda, Tel 25 5 10335 3/ 07 8 8 3118 03, biri mu kigo cya Polisi y’u Rwanda ku acyiru, mu minsi yose y’aka i guhera taliki 10/09 /2013 k uv a 7 h 00 k u g ez a 17 h30, hama e kwishyurwa amafarang a i bi hu mbi i cu mi na bi bi ri n’ i j ana y’ u Rwanda ( 12,100 Frw) adasu bi z wa ashyi rwa k u ri Konti N° 120.00.46 mu ri Bank i Nk u ru y’ Ig i hu g u ( BNR) ; i cyemez o cya BNR k i g omba k u ba cyandi tseho amaz i na y’ u wi fu z a g u pi g anwa, nomero n’ i nyi to by’ i sok o.

4.Inyandiko ’ipiganwa igomba kuba iherekejwe n’ingwate y’ipiganwa ingana na 44,000,000 Frw ( l ot 1: Imodok a z i z i mya i nk ong i y’ u mu ri ro) na 4,5 00,000 Frw ( Ik amyo yi k orera amaz i ) cyangwa andi avunjwa nkayo mu mafaranga y’amahanga.

5.Ibisobanuro kuri iri soko biboneka mu biro by’Ishami rishin we amasoko ryavu we haruguru.

6.Abifu a iri soko basabwe kuba bagejeje inyandiko

7. ufungura amabahasha bi aba uwo munsi tariki ya 31/10/2013 saa i ne ( 10h00) mu cyumba cy’ inama cy’Ishami rishin we amasoko ryavu we haruguru. Inyandiko ’ipiganwa ikererewe i asubi wa ba nyira o. .Inyito y’isoko na Nomero iranga isoko bigomba kugaragara inyuma ku ibahasha ikubiyemo inyandiko ’ipiganwa. .Inyandiko ’ipiganwa igomba kuba ifite agaciro k’iminsi 120 uherereye ku itariki y’ifungura ry’inyandiko ’ipiganwa mu ruhame.

10.Ipiganwa rigengwa n’Itegeko N012/2007 ryo kuwa 27/03/2007 rigenga amasoko ya Leta.

Ki g al i , k u wa 10/09 /2013.

ACP J ean Mari e TW AGIRAYEZ U omiseri w’Imari mugenga w’Ingengo y’Imari w’Agateganyo

TENDER NOTICE ( TN) /INVITATION FOR BIDS ( IFB) TENDER REFERENCE: No 14/F/2013-2014/IO/RNP/DISTRICTS TITLE OF THE TENDER: SUPPLY OF FIRE FIGHTING TRUCKS AND THEIR ACCESSORIES TO RW ANDA NATIONAL POLICE

SOURCE OF FUNDING: DISTRICTS 1. The Rwanda Nati onal Pol i ce has received funds for supply of fire fighting trucks and thei r accessori es to Rwanda Nati onal Pol i ce and intends to apply a portion of the funds to eligible payments under the contract for which this Bidding ocument is issued.

2. The Rwanda National Police invites qualified bidders to submit bids for the supply of fire fighting tru ck s and thei r accessori es to Rwanda Nati onal Pol i ce as indicated in detail in the statement of requirements.

3. Tender ocuments in Eng l i sh or French may be obtained from the Office of Procurement nit, Tel 25 5 10335 3/ 07 8 8 3118 03, at the Rwanda National Police eneral eadquarters acyiru, on any working day from 10/09 /2013 from 07 :00 am to 05 :30 pm, upon presentation of proof payment of a non-refundable fee of twelve thousand one hundred Rwandan francs only ( 12,100 Rwf) to Account N° 120.00.46 opened at Nati onal Bank of Rwanda ( BNR) ; the bank sl i p mu st bear the name of the bi dder, the nu mber and the ti tl e of the tender.

4. All bids shall be accompanied by a Bi d Secu ri ty of 44,000,000 Rwf (lot 1: Fire fighting trucks & thei r accessori es) and 4,5 00,000 Rwf ( l ot 2: W ater tank tru ck ) or an equivalent in a freely convertible currency.

ACP J ean Mari e TW AGIRAYEZ U Commissaire charg des Finances et estionnaire Principal du Bugdet (a.i)

’ipiganwa anditse n’imashini mu gifaransa cyangwa mu cyongere a kandi ifun e ne a mu mabahasha ane (umwimerere na kopi eshatu) mu bi ro by’ Ishami ri shi nz we amasok o byavu we haruguru tariki ya 31/10/2013 saa tatu n’igice a mu gitondo ( h30).

5. nquiries regarding this tender may be addressed to the Procurement Office, at the mentioned

address.

6. Well printed bids, properly bound and presented in four copies one of which is the original must reach the Office of Procurement nit at the address mentioned above not later than 31/10/2013 at 9 :30 am. Late bids will be rejected.

7. Bids will be opened in the presence of bidders or their representatives who choose to attend at i n the conference room of Procurement Office at acyiru, on the same day 31/10/2013 at 10:00 am. . The Outer envelope should clearly indicate the tender name and title. . The validity of the offers shall be 120 days from the date of opening of bids.

10.Bidding will be conducted in accordance with the Law N° 12/2007 of 27/03/2007 on Public Procurement.

Ki g al i , 10/09 /2013

ACP J ean Mari e TW AGIRAYEZ U Acting Commissioner for Finance Chief Budget Manager

10

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

NEWS

Fake product influx worries Tz ministry

BY LEONARD MAGOMBA DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA--The government here has raised concerns over the increase of counterfeit or fake products in local markets and ordered the Fair Competition Commission (FCC) to crack down harder on the culprits.

Industry and trade minister, Dr Abdallah Kigoda was speaking last week during the launch the first FCC Workers Council.

“You need to deliver in order to save Tanzanians from counterfeits products and the economy in general,” he said.

Only recently FCC seized a stock of 728 counterfeit pipes worth of Tsh8.7 million ($5,438) from four out of seven shops inspected at Kariakoo Business District area in Dar es Salaam.

It is has been estimated the the government loses 15% to 25% due to the trade in counterfeit goods.

FCC is an independent government body established under the Fair Competition Act, 2003 (No. 8 of 2003), to promote and protect effective competition in trade and commerce and to protect consumers from unfair and misleading market conduct.

Dr. Kigoda said FCC plays a crucial role to the life of Tanzanians and economy.

“I urge the management and staff under your

KARIAKOO: Not long ago, the FCC seized 728 counterfeit pipes worth several millions.

Council to deliver the best to the battle against fake and substandard products which are the threat to the Tanzanian economy and consumers,” he told leaders of the FCC Workers Council.

Dr Kigoda said, “FCC is a very important organization, unfortunately, however, a big section of people in the country are not aware of its existence.”

He said the value of competition in the market

would be measured by implementation of good management measures, availability of opportunities for participating and the right to freedom of choice of products and services.

Dr. Kigoda said the government would support the newly elected FCC’s Director General Dr Frederick Ringo and his entire team.

Dr Ringo assured the Minister that the Commission would work on

all challenges facing them so as to save the country’s economy and people’s welfare.

Dr Ringo said under his new management the Commission has come out with long and short term feasibilty plans aimed at improving the fair competition in the market.

He said the Commission will promote competition in conformity with the market economy, as well as protect the consumer.

Rwanda Fund boosts SMEs

BY DIAS NYESIGA KIGALI, RWANDA--The Business Development Fund (BDF) has announced that it has disbursed Rwf 17.5 billion (about $26 million) in guaranteed loans to over 1,750 borrowers by August this year.

The fund was set up by the government to help small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) access credit from financial insitutions by providing guarantees.

According to sources, the agriculture sector has been the largest beneficiary with over 70% (Rwf 12.3 billion) of the funds going to projects involving tea, coffee, maize, livestock and poultry among others.

The remaining Rwf 5.2 billion went to the hospitality sector, manufacturing, education, artisans, real estate and transport.

But other small business owners are hesitant to try out the Fund thinking it is only for big corporations.

“It is hard for me with a small business to go for the Fund. First, the requirements are hard for me,” Emmanuel Byamukama, an owner of a shop in Remera said.

Alex Kanyankole, the Chief Executive Officer of Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) said the Fund helps the bank to be comfortable to lend out money to projects that are potentially profitable, but lack adequate security.

“Of course as banks there are some risks we cannot afford to take since we are in business and this is why such a fund is important to us as lenders,” he said.

In a bid to bolster the private sector as an engine of growth, the government made the fund autonomous from BRD in late 2011.

Meanwhile Rwanda’s card payments sector is showing rapid growth according RnRMarketResearch.com The number of cards in circulation increased from 12,045 cards in 2008 to 460,914 in 2012. This growth was primarily driven by banks’ aggressive marketing strategies and the central bank’s measures to increase the awareness of card-based payments among consumers. The number of cards in circulation is expected to increase from 690,967 in 2013 to 1.4 million in 2017. Despite card payments being at an early stage in Rwanda due the relatively low penetration of banking services, banks and card issuers are embracing new technologies to facilitate cashless payments.

Kenya wants more balanced trade with UK

BY HUMPHREY LILOBA NAIROBI, KENYA--Plans are underway to boost the balance of trade between Kenya and its colonial master Britain.

British High Commissioner to Kenya Christian Turner said recently this will be achieved through enhanced retail sector partnerships between the two countries currently enjoying a healthy exchange of goods and services.

“The plans will involve the provision of commercial liaison support to local retailers wishing to forge trade links with their

British counterparts and is part of a strategy to double the UK’s balance of trade with Kenya by the year 2017,’’ said the envoy.

According to Turner, the plan will see the balance of trade between the two countries increase to $3 million in the next five years in what will greatly improve Kenya’s fledgling economy.

Currently, the total trade volumes between Kenya and Britain stands at $1.5 million with the envoy confident that the existing bilateral ties will be strengthened to achieve the projected trade volumes.

Kenya has in the recent

times engaged in an aggressive trade and business relationship with the Far East with China leading a host of countries among them Singapore and Thailand.

The East Asian countries are seen as cheaper sources of several types of goods and also seen as more flexible in the way they do business.

China is now Africa’s leading trading partner and also provider of development aid.

This has not gone down well with established Western nations that have traditionally done business with Kenya. These include

Britain and the United States.

Currently, Britain still retains its position as Kenya’s second largest export market after Uganda.

In 2012 alone, Kenya exported goods worth over $700 million to Uganda.

The envoy was speaking during the official opening of a giant footwear mall which is a partnership between Nakumatt Holdings and British footwear giant Clarks.

“As part of our local work plans, we shall be encouraging further partnerships between retailers such as Nakumatt and several leading British

manufacturing companies wishing to expand their market reach,” Turner said at the event.

The partnership will see Nakumatt open such outlets in all countries in sub-Sahara Africa.

Nakumatt is the region’s top mass retailier with a presence in all the major East African capitals.

Clarks shoes are considered an English institution having been operating for nearly 200 years.

Meanwhile, mid this year, the trade balance went against Kenya when the UK government announced a ban on imports ofthe herbal stimulant,

miraa or khat.

Miraa is very popular among the Somali people, including those in the diaspora and is a source of livelihood for several thousand Kenyan farmers.

Last week Parliament Speaker Justin Muturi advised MPs, farmers and business people who are not happy with the UK ban to lobby the British authorities.

He said during a recent visit to the UK, he had talks with various British officials on this issue.

“The matter will be taken to the floor of the House and the UK Parliament.” Muturi said.

11

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

NEWS

More unit trusts join market

BY BAZ WAISWA KAMPALA, UGANDA-- The future of the non-bank financial sector in Uganda is bright after three key Unit Trust Funds products were put on the market by UAP Financial services, a regional financial services provider and member of the UAP Group most known for its insurance business arm.

The introduction of UAP Money Market Fund, UAP Balanced Fund and UAP Umbrella Trust Fund, coming after an extensive research on the needs of the market, makes UAP Group a frontrunner in provision of financial services in the region.

This comes at a time when the growth of the non-bank financial sector in the country has been slow, limiting people to only rely on lower return saving and investment plans.

Bank of Uganda reveals that minus NSSF, non-bank held only 3 percent of the total assets of all Uganda’s financial institutions in 2010, a growth described as disappointing. The entire financial system has been

dominated by commercial banks.

The Bank of Uganda governor, Emmanuel Tumusime Mutebile, in a speech read by his deputy at the launch, Luis Kasekende, says that consequently access to what should be important functions of the financial system outside of commercial banking, has remained limited in our economy.

“For example, long term finance for capital investment by the corporate sector is very scarce because there are few financial institutions which can mobilize for long term funds.

The lack of diversification is also an impediment to raising the domestic savings rate, which is a prerequisite for funding high rates of investment in sustainable manner over the long term,” the central bank official explained.

The financial sector regulator believes that the entry of UAP Unit Trust Funds into the Ugandan financial market marks an important milestone in the development of the financial services industry in two salient respects.

The first pertains to the diversification of the financial

sector, while the second pertains to the increasing regionalization within East Africa of the financial services industry.

The Unit trusts allow investors access to high priced markets that they would be limited to individually reach such as government bonds and offshore investments.

UAP FS General Manager, Patrick Ndonye said investors can take up the UAP Money Market Fund, which will invest in high yielding short-term interest bearing securities like bank deposits, Treasury bills or Commercial papers.

The UAP Balanced Fund will have a balanced portfolio, investing in both equities and fixed income securities - both listed and unlisted shares, Treasury bills and bonds with a bias on fixed income securities to lessen volatility.

The UAP Umbrella Trust Fund will target small to medium sized pension schemes and individuals seeking personal pension plans with a bias towards fixed income securities.

UAP FS General Manager, Patrick Ndonye said lumpsum

MARKET: A farmer selling his crops in the market. investments will require a minimum of Ushs3m while the regular investments will require an initial Ush1m with monthly top –ups of Ush100, 000.

“The Unit Trust products will provide a much needed boost in the stock market by increasing demand for shares which will ultimately result in better prices and returns for investors,” Ndonye said.

Standard Chartered Bank will be the Custodian and Trustee of the Unit Trusts, while PriceWaterhouseCoopers will be

the Auditors.

The company also recently got approval from the Uganda Retirement benefits regulatory authority to provide fun management services to pension schemes following the liberalization of the pension sector.“The approval enables us to launch products suited for small to medium sized pension schemes and individuals seeking personal pension plans to gain financial independence in old age,” says Dominic Kiarie, UAP Group Managing Director.

TENDER NOTICE N0 013/G/IOCB/MINISPOC/2013-2014

OPEN DOMESTIC BIDDING

TENDER FOR SUPPLY OF GENERAL MATERIALS FOR THE FY2013/2014 Procurement Reference Number BOU/SUPLS/13-14/00016 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Bank of Uganda has allocated funds within its budget for procurement of General Materials for the FY2013/2014.

Bank of Uganda now invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for supply of General Materials for the FY2013/2014 described as Lots 1 to 22 in the Bid Document.

Bank of Uganda will issue “Purchase Orders/Contracts” to the Successful Bidders for the purchase of specified quantities of General Materials.

Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from The Procurement and Disposal Unit, Bank of Uganda Headquarters, Ground Floor and inspect the Bid Documents at the said Unit from 8.30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m or at the Bank of Uganda Website: www.bou.or.ug The Bid document in English may be purchased by interested bidders upon payment of a Activity Bid notice Last day of Sale of Bid Documents Bid Closing and Opening Evaluation Process Announcement of Apparent Winners

non-refundable cash UGX.50,000 (Uganda Shillings Fifty Thousand only) at the Banking Hall Counter 13 at Bank of Uganda Headquarters. The Bid Documents are obtainable up to 3.00 p.m of Thursday 19th September 2013.

6. Bid submissions labelled “tender for supply of General Materials for the FY2013/2014” must be delivered to Bank of Uganda Headquarters, Procurement and Disposal Unit, Ground Floor at or before 11th October 2013 at 3:00p.m (local time). Late Submissions shall be rejected. All Submissions will be opened in the presence of bidders’ representatives, who choose to attend at the address below at 3:10 pm on 11th October, 2013.

7. The Planned Procurement Schedule (Subject to changes)is as follows; Date.

12th September 2013 19th September 2013 11th October 2013 14th October 2013 22nd November 2013.

Alterations shall be communicated to Bidders through Bank of Uganda website (www.bou.or.ug).

MANAGEMENT September 13, 2013

TITLE OF TENDER: STUDY FOR UPGRADING OF RUBAVU AND NYAMIRAMBO STADIUMS AND REHABILITATION OF AMAHORO NATIONAL STADIUM

The Ministry of Sports and Culture (MINISPOC) invites qualified bidders to submit proposals for feasibility study for upgrading of Rubavu and Nyamirambo stadiums and rehabilitation of Amahoro National Stadium.

Request for proposals may be obtained from the Procurement office of the Ministry of Sports and Culture from 16th September 2013, upon presentation of proof payment of non refundable fee of ten thousand Rwandan Francs (Rwf 10,000) to Rwanda Revenue Authority’s Account N°120-00-46 opened at National Bank of Rwanda.

Well printed proposals, properly bound and presented in four copies, one of which is the original must reach the Procurement Office at the address mentioned above not later than 31st October 2013 at 3.00 pm. Late bids will be rejected.

The bid shall be accompanied by a bid security of four million and five thousand Rwandan Francs (4,500,000 Rwf).

Bids will be opened on the same day in MINISPOC conference room at 4.00 pm in the presence of bidders or their representatives.

Bidding will be conducted in accordance with the Law N°12/2007 of 27/03/2007 on Public Procurement.

KALISA Edward Permanent Secretary

12

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16- 22, 2013

NEWS

IFAD recognises Star

BY BAZ WAISWA KAMPALA, UGANDA --Star Café has been recognized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for its efforts in supporting coffee farmers in Kapchorwa District.

IFAD has recognized Star Café’s effort under its wide campaign on securing of resource and land rights through small holder farmers-private sector investment partnerships.

More than 26 IFAD members who were drawn from different countries around the world visited coffee farmers in the region last week to learn how the farmers are benefiting from the partnership.

The local coffee processor supports small holder farmers in the Mt Elgon region by offering a ready market for their crop as well as training them on best farm practices to improve the quality of their coffee yield.

Elijah Kang’ara, the General Manager Star Café said their support has led to increased farm gate prices for the farmers while promoting increased women involvement and the preservation of land rights.

“This is a learning route, we want to learn the business model that Star Café is using while working with its coffee farmers in this region,” said Line Kaspersen, the associate professional officer of IFAD’s Uganda country office.

“It is an efficient training program and we would like to replicate it in our projects.”

Star Café supports over 365 small-scale coffee farmers who belong to Kabeywa United Coffee Farmers Association in Kabeywa County.

“At Star Café, our legacy is creating the ultimate coffee experience in every life we touch, this is through promotion of sustainable practice and shared value amongst the communities in which we operate,” Kang’ara said.

Throgh the partnership, Kang’ara said Star Café has established a direct relationship with small holder coffee farmers that today include more than 8,000 coffee growers countrywide.

With the partnership, the farmers have a ready market for their produce and are trained on quality control as well as post harvesting handling.

“Now I know what type of cherry I should pick, how I should dry and store my coffee after harvesting,” said John Willis Malinga, one of the coffee farmers. “ I have also learnt how to apply fertilizer in my coffee farm,” he added.

“Instead of storing and drying the coffee in a dirty place, I now know how to correctly store it,” said Fred Gidudu, another farmer.

“If I am to produce quality coffee and have a good price for it, I must follow the right farm practices that Star Café has been teaching us,” he said.

Poor quality coffee produce has been sighted as a hindrance to better returns from coffee exports. According to the Ministry of Finance, the earnings from coffee fell to US$440m in 2012 from $444.21m in 2011.

“Such direct collaborations with coffee farmers encourage responsible growing practices and improve the quality and size of their harvests. Ultimately, these

Tz sets up help for SME owners

BY LEONARD MAGOMBA

LEARNING: A major reason for Star’s success are the efforts to improve quality. efforts can help farmers earn better prices and become more resilient, long-term producers,”Kapersen said.

She said that such partnerships between private companies and the farmers should be encouraged to enable smallholder farmers have greater access to productivityenhancing inputs and technologies as well as ready markets for their produce.

According to the Uganda Coffee Federation Uganda is one of the world’s major Robusta producers. Some Arabica is also grown in different highland areas of the country, most notably on the slopes of Mount Elgon on the border with Kenya and on the slopes of the Mount Rwenzori, popularly known as the ‘mountains of the moon’ on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some Arabica coffee is also grown in the West Nile region in north western part of the country.

Whilst the economy as a whole has expanded and improved in recent years,

coffee remains of vital importance, earning on average just short of 60% of annual export revenues during the period 1996 to 2000. It is estimated that as much as 20% of the entire population earn all or a large part of their cash income from coffee.

Following decades of total state control of the sector, the coffee industry was fully liberalised between 1991 and 1992 and is currently entirely in private hands.

However, export quality control remains the responsibility of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) that grades, liquors and classifies all export shipments.

The intrinsic quality of Uganda Robusta has always been excellent and the on-going replanting programme using this locally developed clonal material is likely to result in a general revival of the country’s ability to supply good, neutral liquoring coffee.

Robusta in Uganda is grown at relatively high altitudes, some as high as 1,500 metres, making these coffees especially attractive for the fast growing espresso.

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA--The Country’s Standard firm, the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) last week introduced a special desk to be dealing with small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This is in a move for easy communication between the bureau staff and manufacturers.

The move also aimed at helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to get standard mark license easily as compared to the past when majority of them had some difficulties in accessing licenses and the mark because of lack of proper procedures in getting it.

Addressing some 43 local SMEs owners who were receiving licenses for their local manufactured products in Dar es Salaam, the acting TBS Director General, Joseph Masikitiko said the license would enable them to sell their products in any market in the world.

“We want to simplify communication between TBS staff and manufacturers when it comes to license related matters,” he said. tTe acting DG, adding that there had been complains from some of the manufacturers that we have been delaying in processing and approving their licenses.

Now we think this desk will help a lot to reduce some of the cumbersome procedures in question,” he said.

National Insurance Corporation pays out to shareholders KAMPALA, UGANDA-- Ugandan Insurance giant, National Insurance Corporation (NIC) Limited, is paying out over 2 billion to her shareholders at 5 shillings per share for the financial year ended December 31, 2012 reports PAUL TENTENA. This was approved after the shareholders agreed to release dividends at NIC’s 12th Annual General Meeting held in Kampala. The Chairman’s resolution to pay dividend was unanimously approved by the shareholders in attendance.

Dr. Aliker on behalf of the Chairman Remi Olowude, presented the company’s

2012 Annual Report and Accounts, said the company’s Net Written Premium increased in 2012 from Ushs6.107 billion recorded in 2011 to Ushs6.672 billion as at 31st December, 2012 representing an increase of 9.25%. The decline in Gross Premium Income which was the trend in last two financial years was effectively halted as Gross Premium Income remained stable at Ushs7.827billion from Ushs7.83billion recorded in 2011.

NIC recorded modest achievement during the financial year which saw the Shareholders’ Fund grow significantly by 10.28% from Ushs24.123billion recorded

in 2011 to Ushs26.603billion in 2012. This is a testimony to the hard work and dedication of staff as well as the tremendous support received from the Board of Directors. Management hopes to consolidate on these modest gains whilst pursuing with vigor the greater objective of positioning NIC ahead of competition. In this task, Management will continue to focus energy towards improving service delivery and strengthening of the various distribution channels.

The Managing Director Bayo Folayan said “We shall remain focused on the implementation of strategies that will

keep our company ahead of competition in product innovation, service delivery and best practice, whilst delivering value to all our stakeholders.”

During the AGM, the shareholders ratified the decision by the Board of Directors to establish two insurance subsidiaries to respectively transact the general and long term insurance businesses currently being transacted by the Company in line with requirements of the Insurance (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2011. They also agreed to amend the Memorandum of Association after the subsidiaries have been established,

13

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

BUSINESS DIGEST

MobileTV: A fashionable trend

BY BAZ WAISWA KAMPALA, UGANDA--Classy, unique, expensive, sophisticated and functionable explains the atrributes of a smartphone must have. The love for these astute gadgets has seen the increase of broadband data, eased and diversified means of communication.

With a smartphone you can voice call, SMS, surf, play music and watch videos or television.

Forget the old wooden television sets or the latest flat screen TVs. We are talking about watching your favorite television channel while on transit, at office or leisure park using a diminutive mobile television set. From analogue to digital broadcasts.

First it was StarTimes, the Chinise pay television service provider that introduced the M35 and M50 mobile phones with digital television services. And the hand television set SF101 and the car television gadget GP501 and GP701.

On each of the above gadgets a subscriber can access eleven channels including free to air local channels at a monthly subscription cost of Ush10,000 ($3).

The M35 and M50 phones cost Ush149,000 ($56) and Ush215,000 ($81) respectively while the SF101 goes for Ush130,000 ($49), the GP501 costs Ush390,000 ($147) and the GP701 Ush490,000 ($184). Gadgets can be got at all Star Times dealer shops.

A year later the biggest pay television in the country Multichoice under their Dstv and GoTv franchise introduced DStv Mobile and GOtv Mobile.

Multichoice launched the Walka 7, Drifta and iDrifta all classy gadgets which are set to change the way people watch television.

You can get your mobile television handsets from Multichoice at a price of Ush326,875 ($123) for the Walka 7, Ush183,050 ($69) for the drifta and acquire the iDrifta at Ush169,975 ($64).

The Walka 7 is complete with a seven inch screen, it boasts 6 hours of battery life and audio is delivered via two 1.5 watt speakers. The device makes the perfect companion on your desk at work, or while waiting in queues.

The Drifta is a mobile TV decoder that receives a broadcast signal and relays it over WiFi to a range of WiFi capable devices; this includes laptops, PCs, tablets and smartphones. The device is compatible with an Android, BlackBerry, iOS, and Symbian smartphones and tablets, as well as Windows and Mac computers.

The iDrifta is a plug and play broadcast decoder dedicated to iOS devices. It enhances the mobile TV viewing experience of

UCC’s Director Patrick Mwesigwa (R) poses with ICT Minister, John Nasasira and Dstv officials displaying mobileTV handsets during the launch of the Dstv and GoTv Mobile service consumers with Apple mobile devices, including iPads, iPods and iPhones. The iDrifta is compatible with the iPod 4th generation, iPhone 4/4S and iPad 1/2/3.

Like it is with pay television, Multichoice subscribers are able to choose from three bouquets but, a DStv premium subscriber is able to access one DStv Mobile or GoTv Mobile subscription at no cost. Subscription stands at $4 a month if you are not a premium customer.

Charles Hamya, the General Manager Multichoice Uganda believes mobile TV is set to change the way we interact with television.

Simon Arineitwe, the Startimes Country Marketing Manager, says mobile television is a solution to people who love watching TV but are always away from their living rooms and end up missing their most loved programs.

“People want gadgets that are handy, imagine you want to watch a certain program say news but you are away from home, these are challenges people were getting with having decoders at home, the mobile Tv will supplement the existing Tv services,” Arineitwe explains.

One sure advantage that comes with mobile Tv is even when there is load shedding or electricity failure one can still be entertained.

According to Arineitwe people are buying mobile Tv services

but like his competitor in the business, Hamya of Multichoice, they are well aware of the need to expand their network to cover the entire country.

Currently Dstv and GoTv Mobile network covers 40 percent of Kampala but another mast is being constructed at Lubowa to push the coverage at 80 percent of the Great Kampala Metropolitan Area which stretches to cover Mukono, Wakiso and parts of Mpigi.

Startimes, according to Arineitwe boosts of 30,000 customers enjoying their services on mobile television scattered in the Great Kampala Metropolitan Area.

Kgosi Poonyane, the Marketing Manager, Dstv and GOTv Mobile at Mulitchoice South Africa says the technology has picked up and doing well in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia and now Uganda.

He says the future of technology is interesting since technology is moving to hand held gadgets.

“In south Africa mobile television has picked up well, people spend time traveling; they don’t want to miss the evening news or their favorite Tv programs. At home people don’t want to fight

for the remote, mobile television works as a second screen at home,” Poonyane says.

He says the mobile culture is a snatching culture including the way we watch Tv explaining that mobile Tv is made for the office person, that person who is always moving but wants to be updated all the time.

These are the increasing number of elite people or as Arineitwe puts it the middle class who want fancy, beautiful gadgets.

“We expect the number of mobile Tv users to increase especially now that the country is switching from analogue to digital television, this will attract more people to buy this digital technology enabled mobile Tv sets and services,” Arineitwe predicts.

Arineitwe believes as many people acquire mobile phones, if

Mobile TVs available on the market include the Drifta, idrifta, M35, M50, SF101, GP501 and GP 701

they can get voice calls, internet and television service, they will be attracted to buying these gadgets hence increasing their presence in the public domain and usage.

As things stand now the future for mobile television in Uganda remains open and presents a huge business opportunity for the gadgets and service providers faced with an eager and ready to consume market.

14

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK . SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

FEATURE

Clearing fraternity welcomes URA reforms

BY EMMA ONYANGO KAMPALA, UGANDA- “The proof of the pudding is in the eating” so goes an English saying. The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) will also hope that the business community benefits from the reforms that the tax body is introducing.

Great expectations alongside negative sentiments and uncertainty have been triggered off among especially the clearing fraternity as to how they will cope up once the Single Customs Territory (SCT) becomes operational.

Not only do they have to find a means to survive the ‘effects’ of the SCT, there is the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) World and the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) that were launched recentlyw to contend with.

According to customs officials at URA, the reforms were launched to ease faster clearance of goods and help reduce delays and transaction times that the business community has had to endure.

A section of the clearing fraternity believes the Single Customs Territory once operational will shift business to Mombasa leaving them jobless.

They also claim that ASYCUDA World that enables declarations, validation and lodging of entries to be done online from anywhere will eventually knock them out of business as businessmen will be able to do most of the work on their own.

Eunice Akwi, a clearing agent at the Malaba border post in Eastern Uganda fears for her job saying that the easing of the clearance process leaves them redundant with almost no work to do.

“I think business at Malaba is done… our company now thinks of slicing the number of workers and I don’t know whether I will still have a job in a few weeks to come,” she told the East African Business Week last week.

However, Mr. Kassim Omar, the National Chairman of the Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarders Association (UCIFA) argues that reforms like ASYCUDA World will actually help eliminate ‘briefcase’ agents and also help clearing companies cut costs on extra staff that are no longer needed.

“As UCIFA we’ve been involved from the word go in terms of registration of the directors of the companies plus their designate staff. We think that there is conformity and the upgrade in terms of system will help us a lot. It will help us with challenges where we have extra staff and the staff we don’t need for these particular activities.

“This is a process of modernization. Clearing agents are skeptical but that doesn’t mean

FACT FILE

The reforms at the border posts are meant to ease clearance of goods and reduce delays that the process will be reversed… we must move on. The world is moving very fast and so we cannot reverse that,” he said.

Mr. Richard Kamajugo, the Commissioner for Customs at URA explains that the transparency and online confirmations available on ASYCUDA World means that delays will be eliminated and clearance times reduced from an average of three days to just one day.

“Right now, once you capture, documents are sent to URA. The moment you pay to the bank and confirmation of payment is sent to URA online, immediately the clearance process starts. Because ASYCUDA World entry has a bar code, for one to validate they don’t have to bring a document and somebody captures it, just a scan with a reader will validate a declaration,” he said.

He also added that offices of agents, importers and exporters can have a terminal which shows the status of their declaration as it moves through the process meaning intermediaries (read clearing agents) who have been returning false information will no longer be able to do it.

Speaking during the launch of ASYCUDA World at the Customs Business Center in Kampala, Ms. Allen Kagina, the Commissioner General of URA revealed that it was difficult to initiate reforms because they were afraid to cede power to the clearing fraternity.

“We didn’t know that the more we delayed the goods and controls, the more we were losing revenues because we didn’t have time to verify all the goods. So it opened room for corruption because it

made it very ripe for things to go out of control and gave us a bad name.

“Today just to hear that goods can be released in four hours is very encouraging because in the past if you were released in 15 days you were lucky…to hear that we don’t verify everything, to hear that we sit with the business community and launch a product is very amazing,” Kagina said.

She added that once the SCT that becomes operational in October, 2013 commences, the business community in Uganda will be able to save $45m annually.

“We cannot remain as a small 34 million people market, we must expand and the only way to do that is to form these larger blocs and then begin to state terms to those who want to trade with us. If we do not do that, terms will be stated to us. So we are moving full system ahead and I believe by early October 2013, we will begin the operations of the Single Customs Territory. The ICT system is in place, the procedures have been

“

ASYCUDA World was upgraded with assistance from TradeMark East Africa which injected $8m into the system upgrade

done, we are in the process of staff deployment and we are ready.”

With the SCT, Information is picked from a manifest supplied by the ship; a declaration is made at the URA office in Kampala.

If there is payment or bonding, it is also done then URA sends a release to Mombasa for the cargo to be released.

ASYCUDA World was upgraded with assistance from TradeMark East Africa who injected $8m into the system upgrade.

Allen Asiimwe, the Country Director TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) while speaking at the launch also disclosed that TMEA also signed an agreement with the government of Kenya to upgrade Simba (Kenya’s Customs Management system).

“One of the pre-conditions that has been made as we partner with them is that this system must be linked to what Uganda is using and that there must be connectivity. We are also launching a $43m port programme at Mombasa to support efficiency reforms, IT connectivity, systems reforms at the Mombasa Port,” she said.

Asiimwe also added that TMEA is looking at several other ways of revamping infrastructure in the region so as to facilitate trade.

“One of the big dreams we are looking at is connectivity between Mombasa and Kigali. We are talking about a six to ten lane highway. It’s still a big dream but we are now going to focus on that in the next period in the coming year.”

With such reforms coming on board, the business community can only wait to reap huge benefits.

 The Automated Systems for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) was introduced to URA in 1997 and has been upgraded through a number of versions; starting with ASYCUDA 2.7 then ASYCUDA ++ (in 2004) to the current version which is ASYCUDA World.  ASYCUDA World is the web based version of ASYCUDA.  Being Web based, it will provide benefits such as 24/7 access to customs services from anywhere in the world provided one has internet access; Faster clearance through customs online submission and electronic transmission of customs declarations; Eliminating physical movements of documents Increased transparency of the customs department to the trading community; Compliant traders accredited under the Authorized Economic Operator will have access to the system to view their transactions, among other benefits.  ASYCUDA World is part of the Customs Business Systems Enhancement Projects codenamed Managing Compliance Programme scheduled to take URA through 2011 to 2015.  The goal of the programme is to enhance voluntary compliance through excellent client service delivery while leveraging a professional workforce and appropriate technology.  It is projected that as a result, URA performance will be enhanced to finance the Government of Uganda’s National Development Plan 2010/11 to 2014/15 and thereafter.  All stations will be covered by ASYCUDA World by the end of the year.  More than 90 countries use ASYCUDA World with about 50% of them being Least Developed Countries.  In Africa, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Liberia, Sudan, Seychelles, and Democratic Republic of Congo are using ASYCUDA World.  Other countries looking to join are Zambia, Guinea and Lesotho.

15

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK . SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

FINANCE

Tips for better Networking

BY HOPE WILSON, CPSM MARKETING MOXIE K A M PA L A , U G A N DA - - At a recent brunch in Kampala, a young business developer asked, “Hope, I’m having some difficulty with building professional relationships. I want to meet more people, and have good relationships with them. Can you write an article about how to expand your professional network?”

Today, I’m going to do just that.

Professional networking is the act of building relationships with people who can support your business endeavors. To build your network, it’s important to both meet people and to use that introduction to build a strong, long-term relationship with them.

How do you accomplish this?

Here are five tips to get you started.

Put away your business cards As I travel around the world, I continue to be surprised by the number of experienced professionals who quickly circulate through crowds at events, handing out their cards to everyone they encounter. Don’t do this. It sends the message that you don’t care about the other person; you are placing full responsibility for building the relationship on her/him. (When someone hands me an unsolicited card, it quickly finds its way to the dustbin!)

Instead, keep your business cards in the pocket of your suit jacket. Use a business card case to prevent them from becoming soiled or bent.

When you attend networking events, engage with people. Be so interesting and helpful that they will ask for your card.

Be a giver...

When I meet someone new, I always ask myself, “How can I help this person to succeed in

Marketing today is about relationship building by showing that you want to help and engage people on a regular basis

always asking for (free) help? their efforts?” Perhaps I can offer I am constantly looking for a little expert advice or make an ways to help people. However, if introduction to someone else. someone continues to take my Perhaps I can provide kindness assistance without responding and encouragement. If there’s in kind, I stop investing my time a way for me to help, I offer my and effort. Healthy relationships assistance. focus on mutual growth and This accomplishes three benefit. things: First, it keeps me focused on adding value to the other person, instead of only focusing on my own desires.

Second, it creates Professional networking opportunities for future is the act of building interactions. relationships with people who Third, it helps the other person to feel good about can support your business building a relationship endeavors. Meet people with me. and use that introduction A note: If you aren’t to build a strong, long-term sincere in your efforts, people will notice. Instead relationship of being seen as someone who cares, you will gain a reputation for being manipulative. …But limit your giving Networking is about helping each other to succeed. And these relationships are only sustainable if there is a relatively equal amount of give-and-take.

One way that I determine if I want to keep someone in my network is by noting if she is a giver or a taker. Does the person help me and others to discover opportunities and find solutions for problems? Or is the person

Nurture your network Recently, I had coffee with a professional who lamented about the lack of support she has from her network. “I know people from high school, university, work…I can’t keep track of them all. And none of them seem to help me.”

“If you can’t keep track of them, how can you expect them to keep track of you?” I asked.

As we continued our

discussion, I learned that my friend doesn’t enjoy social activities. She eats by herself, goes directly home after work each night, and she only leaves the house for church during the weekend.

It takes time and effort to build a strong network. But this doesn’t mean that you have to attend cocktail receptions every night.

Make an effort to spend coffee breaks and meals with people in your network.

Or find a shared interest.

I enjoy doing volunteer work with orphans. When my firm launched our “Hope and a Handycam” campaign to help orphans in Uganda, I contacted others in my network and invited them to participate. As we volunteer together, we strengthen our relationships while also benefitting the community.

Maximize social media Face-to-face interactions are essential to building a strong network. But between activities, we can use social media to supplement our interactions.

When it comes to social media, the biggest mistakes people make are 1) failing to engage and 2) sending the wrong message.

How often do you check your social media accounts? Do you regularly post updates, and respond to others’ posts? Be sure

to stay engaged in any social media platforms you use.

Pay attention, as well, to the types of posts you make. Do you only post updates when you’re upset? Do you post inappropriate photos? Are your posts full of spelling and grammatical errors?

These factors determine the way that your network will view you.

Bring your best self to social media.

Marketing today is about relationship building. By showing that you want to help people and engage with them on a regular basis, you can build a strong network.

“But I don’t think we’re using the best ways to tell that information. We don’t use any social media, for example.”

Hope Wilson, CPSM, is President of Wilson Business Growth Consultants, a firm that provides business strategy and communications consulting services. Specializing in infrastructure development.

Hope has received eight international awards for her work. She joins East African Business Week as our new marketing columnist.

Have a question about marketing?

Email: hope@wilsonbgc.com

16

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK . SEPT 16 - 22, 2013

PICTORIAL

President Jakaya Kikwete (L) shares a light moment with former Tanzania President Benjamin William Mkapa (C) shortly after opening the first National Human Resource for Health Conference in Dar es Salaam last week. Looking on at the right is the Minister for Health and Social Welfare Dr. Hussein Mwinyi.

Alexander Forbes Retirement Fund Board Member Dr. Eve Kasirye-Alemu congratulates Managing Director Busani Ngwenya on the Fund’s announcement of a 12% interest rate on savings in Kampala recently.

Leading international express and logistics company, DHL Express has identified East Africa and Uganda in particular as a key zone for growth with in SubSaharan Africa. The company is set to construct a $2million housing facility in Kololo a Kampala suburb as it tightens its grip on the Ugandan market. It will also train Ugandan local small and medium enterprises in global marketing of their products by the year 2015.

(L-R) Ethiopian Ambassador to Uganda, Degefe Bula, Djibouti Consular General, Eng Mohammed Majyambere, and Head Consular Affairs Eritrean Embassy, Essayas Ghebray, discuss regional trade issues during the African Group of High Commission and Ambassadors meeting in Kampala recently. The Ambassadors called for good trade relations within member states. Photo: Paul Tentena

Cassim Namugali (L), the KCB Bank Kampala Road Branch Manager hands over a Samsung Tablet 7.0 to Davis Lukhwili Shimba (R), one of the customers who won a gadget in the ongoing Big Wig deposit mobilization campaign by the bank.

Participants at the Association of Uganda Surgeons Conference queue at the registration desk at Akello Hotel, Soroti after a week-long surgical camp at the Soroti Main Hospital last week. The camp is supported by Umeme Ltd. Up to 518 patients were treated out of the 2,000 who turned up. Umeme also recently partnered with the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services to boost blood stocks across the regional centres. Up to 291 units of blood were collected.

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EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK . SEPTEMBER 16 -22 2013

FEATURE

Earning $260,000 from okra exports

BY BAZ WAISWA KAMPALA, UGANDA-It’s an open secret that Uganda largely depends on agribusiness for its survival.

The sector employs 80%of the adult population. Yet it remains ill-equipped and funded by a struggling private sector and the Government.

Even with inadequate funding, there are inventive people who are reaping big from what agriculture offers.

James Kanyije, the Managing Director and owner of KK Foods, a fruit and vegetable exporting company was inspired by his first job after completing school in 1996.

Kanyije, was employed by a fish company owned by Indians for five years. He used this to learn alot and decided to become self-employed and own a business.

Having saved a little and with both local and international connections with clients at the fish company, he quit his job.

“At that time, I interacted with foreigners at the fish company, one of them wanted a supplier of Okra, a locally grown vegetable. I managed to ship 300kgs. Within 2 years I was exporting five tonnes of okra.” Kanyije narrates.

Kanyije says he started in the year 2000 with a saving of $200 dollars. He consulted a friend, Paul Byansi, who accepted to financially support him. Byansi is currently a fish enterrenuer in Kalisizo, Masaka District.

Kanyije’s company, KK Foods is worth $3m and still growing.

“These people who avail the market don’t dig, they only buy. So the market is big and increasing,” he explains.

Years have since passed and business has grown to involve millions of dollars and thousands of farmers who depend on the benefits of KK Foods.

Today, KK Foods exports 150 tonnes of both fruit and vegetables locally grown by more than 15,000 farmers in western Uganda. The farmers grow the produce on a substance level.

The company earns about Ush685 million per month. 15 percent of the accrued revenue is remitted back to the farmers.

About Ush100 million is given back to out-growers.

The farmers continue to grow the produce and supply it to KK Foods for export to England, France and Netherlands.

Kanyije said: “We are going to triple that output because we got funding from aBi Trust to increase our production and meet market demand. We are training farmers and soon

we shall construct a factory to process hot chilly for local market.”

Kanyije’s firm exports hot pepper, green pepper, eggplant, matooke, apple banana, ground nuts, sweet potatoes, avocados among other farm products. The company exports 16 products but will expand to 28 products once they acquire more seed varieties from Kenya.

Eighty percent of their exports end up in England while the rest is jetted to France and Netherlands where they have gained a household name because of their quality Ugandan produce.

Kanyije speaks with a tone of a successful entrepreneur, deriving his contentment from the noticeable impact he is having on the economy and those who have benefited from the enterprise.

He said: “I have been able to mobilize thousands of farmers who are now earning a living.

I am selling Uganda abroad through our brand. The developing world now knows of the quality vegetable and fruits from Uganda and with support from aBitrust we are going to achieve our objective of adding value to our products.

We will be able to sell within the country as well.”

He says farmers have developed confidence in the company, a thing which is good for the growth of the business especially in the long term.

He says the future is bright for Uganda agro produce on the European market. KK Foods has put in place the right equipment to start adding value before they export.

According to Kanyije Ugandan products have good taste and quality compared to similar products from countries.

Challenges Like any entrepreneurship venture Kanyije has had his share of challenges that threaten the existance of the

“

KK Foods exports about 150 tonnes of both fruit and vegetables to England, France and Netherlands. More than 15,000 farmers supply the company with the vegetables and fruits.

company. He singles out the poor state of the country’s roads as a challenge that is affecting his operations and the farmers.

“The roads are impassable, some farmers are going to lose out because we can’t reach them,” he said.

Transporting fresh fruits and vegetables requires air transport which is costly. The cost of flight of fresh produce is $1.5 per kilo. Transport costs consume about 70 percent overall costs incurred.

The farmers are not financially able to facilitate tehmselves. They cannot afford to purchase the mechanised tools.

He said the Government should avail input in form of free or subsidized farm kits including hoes, pangas and gloves.

“Say a kit worth Ush500,000.

If the farmer gets these items, will be able to increase their output and earn more. If the Government uses this method, the farmers will benefit,” He advised the Government to work with companies who are on ground and have contact with farmers to enrich the poor farmers in rural areas.

“Government has been advocating for household poverty eradication through agriculture. There are many companies working with farmers. The Government should look out for them to reach these farmers.”

He said the Government should be involved in helping these companies access markets and put in place enabling economic environment for them to operate. For instance subsides

air transport, farm ABOVE: KK Food emplyees selecting and input, agricultural packaging food items for export loans and other costs.

BELOW: James Kanyije the proprietor of He said: KK Foods “Government should put money were there are returns.

We are competing with countries that are giving farmers and agro exporters subsides, then why not Uganda.

This will help us to compete on a world stage.”

The Agricultural Business Initiative Trust (aBi) Trust is supporting agribusiness development in the private sector to achieve the objective of the Government of Uganda’s Competitiveness and Investment Climate Strategy.

The Trust is a multi-donor entity jointly founded by the Governments of Denmark and Uganda. Other Development Partners include USAID, EU, Sweden, Belgium, UKAid, Netherlands Embassy and KfW.

18

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK . SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

FEATURE

Southern Africa hit by climate change

BY SAMUEL NABWIISO KAMPALA, UGANDA- The southern region of Africa could be the hardest hit by rising temperatures. The scourge brings a challenge of food shortage, new report from the International Food Policy Research Institute has warned.

The new report on Southern Africa Agriculture and climate change offers an analysis of the impact of climate change in areas of Agriculture in the countries of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho Swaziland and Malawi According to the findings, most Southern African states will register a decline in maize production. Maize and sorghum yields, on average, will decline.

Some areas are bright spots and will see a rise in agricultural production. Such as southern Mozambique. Crop yields might struggle to keep pace with anticipated population growth, but this could be offset by a projected doubling of incomes across the region.

Tim Thomas, a research fellow at IFPRI in the report observed that because of climate change most countries in the region will also experience Migration patterns. People might migrate away from areas hard hit by climate change to cities or to areas favoured by climate change.

As result of this migration patterns some will be forced to leave Agriculture and venture in other businesses thus affecting food production in the region

Heat waves and floods may increase in the Sounthern African states He advised the Southern African countries to establish one data center where most countries can share information about climate change.

He said: “Having data available in one place will provide national and regional policymakers with the necessary information to inform policy and decisionmaking on matter related to climate change.”

IFPRI is an American Food policy research Institute which seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI was established in 1975 to identify and analyse alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting the food needs of the developing world, with particular emphasis on low-income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries.

The report noted that if Governments in those countries do not come up with strong mitigation measures to mitigate climate change then their economies will experience a slowdown in development. This may led to increase in price for food both in Southern African states and the rest of Africa.

Climate change is among the big challenges world but lacks

viable solutions to avert the scourge.

One of the realistic solutions is the development of Genetically Engineered crops that are resistant to dry spells and mature in short period of time.

Southern African Agriculture and Climate Change is one of a three-part series examining climate change and agriculture in three regions of Africa: West Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa.

The same organisation launched the same report concerning climate change and Agriculture for the West African Countries in April the report for the East Africa will be launched in Burundi at the 2nd Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa General Assembly and Scientific Conference in December 2013 But although the report of the East African region ihas not been released most countries in the region are experiencing the effects of climatic change.

In Uganda is often hit by prolonged drought. The country experienced shortage of supply of food items and livestock products like milk. Shortage of food supply due to prolonged dry spell led the country’s inflation to rise up to 7.1% Apart from affecting the food production, changes in the weather also led to some places in the hilly areas to have abnormal rain leading to flooding in most parts of the country like Kasese in western Uganda and the Bugisu.

Housing new frontier for investors

BY PAUL TENTENA KAMPALA, UGANDA--Africa’s residential property market offers potentially lucrative opportunities for investors with the capability and experience to develop and manage quality housing stock in the continent’s booming urban centres, says Standard Bank.

Rapid urbanization in response to population growth and sustained economic expansion is boosting demand for residential rental stock in Africa, where home ownership remains elusive due to the dearth of long-term mortgage financing in parts of the continent, says Mr Gerhard Zeelie, Head of Real Estate Finance for Rest of Africa at Standard Bank.

Mozambique’s economy will grow by 7.7% next year followed by Tanzania (7.1%), Ghana (7.0%), Nigeria (6.9%),

Kenya (6.2%) and Uganda (6.1%), based on Standard Bank estimates.

“As African economies continue to expand and people become wealthier so the demand for formal housing stock will grow,” says Zeelie.

He said: “Although we have seen a lot of activity in African commercial property, particularly in the retail sector, the residential market has not attracted as much interest due of the lack of welldeveloped home loan products on the continent. However, this barrier to home ownership could be an opportunity for investors looking for new frontiers in the rental market.”

Zeelie says potential investors in Africa’s residential rental market must have the expertise to construct quality housing stock as well as the management capability to collect rents and conduct ongoing maintenance on their investments due to the lack of property management firms on the

continent.

The greatest demand is likely to be for one or two bedroom units priced at rents of between US$800 to US$1,800 per month.

“Standard Bank definitely considers this as an opportunity to finance residential property developments in Africa but investors must have the ability to manage the entire process from construction right through to rental management and maintenance,” says Zeelie.

“You can generate a very attractive yield with this sort of investment while also enjoying the added benefit of being able to sell the asset one day at a potentially attractive price.”

Another consideration for prospective investors in the African rental segment is the fact that developers will need to invest in water treatment plants as well as power generators for every residential complex they construct due to the poor

provision of these services across much of the continent.

The lack of end-user mortgage finance may also impact on investors’ ability to sell residential units in the short-term, although Zeelie says this is likely to change over time.

“There are challenges to investing in residential property in Africa but there are massive opportunities as well, particularly in booming centers like Accra, Lagos and Nairobi,” says Zeelie.

“Standard Bank is more than prepared to finance this sort of investment; it is just a matter of backing the right deal and partnering with investors who have the necessary capabilities.”

With an on-the-ground presence in 18 African countries, Standard Bank understands the risks, challenges and dynamics of doing business on the continent and is uniquely positioned to partner with investors wanting to do business in the region.

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EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

TOURISM

Kenya ready for ecotourism talks

BY HUMPHREY LILOBA NAIROBI, KENYA--Kenya is scheduled to host the international ecotourism conference that will among other things discuss sustainable tourism.

The conference that will take place in the last week of September is expected to attract over 300 participants drawn from some 38 countries across the world.

According to East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie the conference is expected to reinforce the importance of environmental conservation to the sustainable growth of tourism activities.

“As a region, we plan to use this conference to draw impetus to the fact that East Africa has come of age in regards to sustainable tourism activities. We will use it to market the region,” Kandie said.

Tourism, which currently contributes about 15% of Kenya’s GDP is a major plank in the country’s development aspirations as captioned in the national Vision 2030 development blueprint. The sector is one of the few that the government has narrowed on in regards to quick win development projects that will generate the revenue to power the blueprint. Other sectors are ICT, horticulture, manufacturing and mining.

Kenya currently has over 100 private and community conserved areas (conservancies). Most of these are popular tourist destinations and heavily contribute to the nation’s tourism earnings.

In essence an estimated 70% of

Tourists hiking led by a Masai in the forests of Kenya.

Kenya’s wildlife lives in the private and community conserved areas making them the single biggest contributors to the sector’s earnings.

Over 50 guest speakers are lined up to give presentations at the conference that will be preceded by a gathering of stakeholders in local tourism sector with events mark Kenya Night. This will showcase Kenya’s unique and diverse cultural practices. Kenya Night also seeks to celebrate historic Kenyan experience and help the delegates experience the best Kenyan delicacies, music, and heroes.

Kandie said a new legal framework in the pipeline that will lay

emphasis on environmental conservation among tourism players.

It will among other things demand of these players to ensure community development in their areas of operation.

“Product diversification is also a major area of concentration in the new legal framework that is aimed at further streamlining the industry to increased earnings while at the same time conserving the environment,” she said.

This new framework is expected to be unveiled during the launch of the industry’s five-year strategic plan expected in the coming weeks.

BA to add more Entebbe flights

BY PAUL TENTENA KAMPALA, UGANDA-British Airways is set to add an additional frequency to Uganda to offer four weekly flights effective from 30 March 2014.

The new Uganda schedule will see flights depart Terminal 5 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays at 12:20 and arrive in Entebbe at 22:50 the same day. The return flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays will depart Entebbe at 01:00 and arrive at Terminal 5 at 07:50, which will give customers a full day in London or plenty of time to make connections to other flights.

The schedule will be amended to offer better connections to other international services through Terminal 5.

The airline meanwhile is growing its African frequencies, improving connectivity through London Heathrow and introducing its latest products.

In West Africa it will increase its daily services to Ghana by three a week from 27 October using Boeing 767s to complement the existing Boeing 777 flights, bringing the total number of weekly services up to 10.

From summer 2014, a larger four-cabin Boeing 747 aircraft will replace one of the current Boeing 777s

currently on the route. It will also add a fourth weekly service to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

North African services have been bolstered by a fourth weekly flight to Tripoli.

South African customers are already able to make bookings for the A380, the airline’s largest and most modern aircraft, which begins flying to Johannesburg on 12 February.

This is only the third A380 route to be announced after Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

Services to Cape Town will double from the current daily service to a doubledaily operation over the busy South African summer season. British Airways is the only airline which flies directly from Cape Town to London year round.

It is also investing in its lounges and by the end of the year the Cape Town and Johannesburg facilities will be upgraded to reflect the customer experience at in the Terraces lounges in the award-winning Terminal 5.

“We continue to consider the continent as an important growth market and the acquisition of bmi, our fleet renewal programme and Terminal 5 have enabled us to grow frequencies, introduce new products and provide more convenient connections for our African customers,” says Ian Petrie, Regional Manager Africa.

Sunderland signs up Tanzania partnership DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA--Sunderland AFC (SAFC), a Barclays Premier League club, has signed a groundbreaking business partnership with Tanzania, which sees the country become the ‘Official Destination Partner’ of Sunderland AFC. Premier League football is watched in over 200 countries, with accumulative audience of a phenomenal 4.7 billion, making it the most watched sporting league in the world.

SAFC has already developed close links with Tanzania, through providing technical and practical support to the development of the football academy project, the first of its kind in the country. The project will see thousands of youngsters benefit from a joined up approach combining football, education and community engagement, harnessing the knowledge and expertise of Sunderland AFC and its own successful Academy.

Sunderland AFC Chief Executive,

Margaret Byrne, said: “We are delighted to further strengthen our links with Tanzania with this exciting new partnership.

“We are very much looking forward to working with the people of Tanzania to promote their beautiful country to a wider audience and to also support the development of its football infrastructure.”

Amb. Khamis S. Kagasheki, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, said: “Tanzania is delighted to be partnering with Sunderland AFC in this exciting partnership, promoting Tanzania as a place to visit. Tanzania enjoys some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes and is proud to be the home of three of Africa’s natural wonders, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. This partnership will provide an unrivalled opportunity for us to showcase Tanzania to the world.”

Managing Director of the Tanzanian Tourism Board, Dr. Aloyce Nzuki, said: “The Tanzanian Tourist Board is pleased

West Brown celebrating a goal with his Sunderland collegues. to be working in partnership with Sunderland AFC, a club with a growing reputation in Africa. We recognize the power of the Barclays Premier League in terms of

global reach and aim to utilize this passion to showcase Tanzania and what we have to offer.”

Agencies

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

20

ENTERTAINMENT What are the stars doing?

Secret diary of Michael Jackson Forget life as a pop megastar - what Michael Jackson really wanted was to be immortalized as a big-screen idol after his death.

The late entertainer admired song and dance stars from the golden age of Hollywood, including his heroes Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, and wanted to emulate their success.

The 50-year-old singer revealed his deepest desire in his secret diary, writing: ‘If I don’t concentrate (on) film, no immortalization.’

Nicki Minaj sued

Nicki Minaj is being sued for copyright infringement over her hit song Starships.

Musician Clive Tanaka has filed a lawsuit against the rapper, producer RedOne and songwriters Carl Falk, Wayne Hector and Rami Yacoub.

He claims they copied ‘substantial portions’ of his song Neu Chicago for the chart-topping single, which reached number two in the UK last year.

What a Scandal!

He’s best known for playing one of fixer Olivia Pope’s ‘Gladiators’ on TV show Scandal but it seems as if Columbus Short could use some help to sort out his own personal life.

The 30-year-old actor’s spouse Tanee McCallShort filed for divorce in Los Angeles on Wednesday and is seeking sole custody of their 19-month-old daughter Ayala, according to RadarOnline.

Isaiah electrifies Kampala KAMPALA - Uganda jazz lovers came in plenty to listen to their very own Jazz Pioneer, the talented Isaiah Katumwa during the much anticipated TML 100 Club Jazz Concert held at the Serena Hotel recently.

The self-taught saxophonist, not only gave the audience a taste of his earlier songs off the 2009 album “Another Step” but also performed a host of new songs like ‘I’ve been there’ and ‘Swahili Breeze’ that had Jazz lovers buzzing with excitement.

Set in an exclusive setting and with a creative and well set up stage, TML 100 Club members got to enjoy contemporary Afro Jazz played with a complete set of two bands, percussionist and three background vocalists to complete the elaborate and well thought out performance.

The two acts introduced the main one with a powerful one minute performance and when Isaiah Katumwa finally got on stage passionately blowing his soprano saxophone to the tune of “Nakupenda Sana”, the fans who were eagerly waiting welcomed him with applause.

Katumwa took his fans through his musical journey that truly reflected the essence of TML 100 Club concerts – smooth Afro jazz and soul in an exclusive setting with like-minded people. And as the tempo rose, Isaiah and his band members occasionally teased each other with their instruments clearly displaying the musical talent we have in Uganda.

He told his story before each song and brought to the fore his journey as a jazz artist to the reputable artist he is today.

However, this was not a solo musical performance. Isaiah brought out each member of his band to perform a solo, a unique display of mentorship that was applauded by the audience. The night could not go a miss without a surprise performance from another Ugandan Legend Micheal Ouma, whom serenaded the crowd with his guitar.

Uganda and TML 100 Club members will be eagerly waiting for the next African music legend to

be rocking the country even as the weekly Jazz Nights continue in various locations around Kampala celebrating our own homegrown talent.

home girl Cindy who firmly reminded her fans why she was among the winners of Coca-Cola pops stars in 2004.

The Thatch Gardens was transformed into a beautiful spectacle of music and soccer as Bell Fiesta’s thrill, Human Table Football, left the hundreds that had thronged the venue asking for more after an unforgettable experience.

The wet ground from the previous day’s rain did not stop revelers from engaging in the Bell Fiesta activities with fans excited at the prospect of winning Bell Lager merchandise by scoring.

When Cindy finally got onto the stage, revelers could not stop chanting and singing along to her songs, a demonstration of how much backing she has from the Eastern town of Mbale.

She did not disappoint as

she belted out sweet tunes to her hit singles like Total Satisfaction, Mungu Bwasalawo,Selecta and Nkoye Amateeka.

The crowd was further on entertained by the Bell Magic dancers and Mbale’s own local talent Kenny Yo and the pool side assassins who curtain raised for the main act.

Speaking after the Bell

Fiesta in Mbale, “The Bell Fiesta will continue with its nationwide tour with the mega extravaganzas in the different parts of the country. Today we are here to bring a unique party experience of the Fiesta to the fun loving people of Mbale and we have done so the Bell Lager way” said Bell Lager brand Manager Robert Nsibirwa.

Uganda’s Miss tourism quest on

BY WINNIE MANDELA KAMPALA, UGANDA- The search for a Ugandan beauty that will become the tourism ambassador is on. The search that started way back in July has come to its climax with 15 contestants who are expected to be screen until Miss Tourism 2013/14 is identified.

The three month event has so far run across the different regions of Uganda and the finals will held on the 5th of October in Kampala

“this year, the regional stages were brought to Kampala with a call for country wide participation that culminated into auditions that ended on the 31st of august which saw over one hundred applicants” state minister for Tourism Hon. Maria Mutagambwa said.

The 15 remaining contestants will be taken for a country film tour and visit of the main tourism sites in the country and will thereafter be challenged in various tourist activities. These will embark on a regional tour and it is during this

THE STYLE NETWORK CITY GIRL DIARIES (Season 1) Five beautiful 30-something best friends are taking viewers on a high-class journey through their fast paced New York City lives.

Despite their drastically different personalities and busy careers, these women remain inseparable as they navigate old friends, new beginnings and awkward situations. This month, Marianne does her first stand-up comedy set about the girls, who are less than entertained and Leila begs her former publicist to take her back.

Starts 17 September, and airs Tuesday’s 20:15 on The Style Network (GOtv Channel 26).

Isaiah

Mbale’s Kadodi’ meets Bell Fiesta MBALE, UGANDA – After touring various parts of the country, the Bell Fiesta finally landed in the mountainous Mbale, an area famed for its cultural practice of ‘imbalu’ a cultural ritual of initiating a boy into manhood.

The Bell Fiesta continues is a thematic campaign carried out by Uganda Breweries under its flagship brand, Bell Lager and combines music and soccer with entertainment from various artists and revelers enjoying challenges in Human Table Foosball, a first in Uganda, Inflatable Goal Penalty Shootouts and Table Foosball.

The Bell Fiesta last weekend thrilled Mbale residents with not only Balls, Beats and Beers but an exhilarating performance from their

This Week on GOTV

that an elimination process driven by public and judge votes will take place to produce the nine semifinalists that will compete for the crown “Our objectives of holding the beauty pageant are rooted in the desire to show case the cultural values of a true African queen, to educate and show case the country to our domestic audience “ she said According to her, the new face of Miss Tourism Uganda is expected to be one that will positively represent and promote the country in various forums.

Brain Games Brain Games returns with 12 half-hour episodes exploring the inner workings of your brain with interactive games you can play at home, as well as experiments on the streets of a city as complex as your brain -- New York. Guiding you through the twists and turns of your grey matter is Jason Silva who will be joined by top experts in the fields of cognitive science, neuroscience and psychology who will give you the “why” behind the “wow.” GOtv Plus channel 51, Wednesday 18 September at 20:55.

BIG RICH ATLANTA Enter the world of an exclusive Atlanta country club, where outrageously wealthy mothers and daughters do whatever it takes to stay on top of the social scene and in control of the action. This month, Ashlee schemes to get Kahdijiha arrested and enlists the help of Meyer. Thursday’s, 21:10 on The Style Network (GOtv Channel 26).

21

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK . SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

EAC

April date for South Sudan fate

BY BAZ WAISWA KAMPALA, UGANDA -South Sudan will know if their application to become a member of the East African Community (EAC) is granted

by April 2014. Shem Bageine, Uganda’s minister of state for East African affairs, also chair of the EAC Council of Ministers, said negotiations on the admission of South Sudan have been concluded and a decision is expected to be made by the EAC heads of state.

Similarly a final verification report will be submitted to the council of ministers by August 2014 to decide if Somalia can join the EAC community.

In November 2012 the Summit of Heads of State directed the Council of Ministers to commence negotiations with both the Republic of South Sudan and Somalia after the two nations had expressed interest in joining the community.

Bageine said: “There are criteria that must be fulfilled before a country is admitted into the Community. By and large, South Sudan fulfills the criteria and the Council of Ministers will look at the report and then submit it to the heads of state for final approval.”

South Sudan and Somalia have been ravaged by armed conflicts. Applications by both states to join the EAC have been pending. During the 27th meeting of the East African council of ministers a decision was made to start talks with the Juba Government.

“All the steps and process have been undertaken to negotiate and study the application visà-vis the treaty provisions on the criteria of joining the EAC

BY PATRICK KISEMBO

JOIN EAC: Negotiations have taken place to admit South Sudan into the EAC community

and a decision is expected to be announced during the April 2014 Extra-ordinary Summit of Heads of state,” Bageine said.

A high level negotiation team has been setup and the secretariat will convene a meeting in October to embark on the job of verifying South Sudan before a position is taken on its admission into the community.

According to Article 3 of the EAC Treaty: The Partner States may, upon such terms and in such manner as they may determine, together negotiate with any foreign country the granting of member ship to, or association of that country with, the Community or its

participation in any of the activities of the Community.

The matters to be taken into account by the Partner States in considering the application by a foreign country to become a member of, be associated with, or participate in any of the activities of the Community, shall include that foreign country’s:  Acceptance of the Community as set out in this Treaty;  Adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice;  Potential contribution to the strengthening of integration

within the East African region;  Geographical proximity to and 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.

The EAC boosts of five member states including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi and a combined population of over 130million people with a GDP of over $84.7billion.

When approved, South Sudan and Somalia will take the tally of EAC membership to 7 member states.

Election of EALA members queried KAMPALA, UGANDA -- East African Court of Justice First Instance Division, has heard a case concerning the election of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) members from Uganda.

The case was filed by Hon. Abdu Katuntu the shadow Attorney General for the opposition in the Parliament of Uganda.

Katuntu represented by Mr. Ladislaus Rwakafuzi conceded that the Secretary General was wrongly sued in this matter and abandoned all issues that were alleged against him. However he contended that in any case he was an interested party who would have applied to become a member because this matter

EAC gets $2.9m to support integration

concerned the Community and it was necessary for him to provide guidance in the dispute.

The Applicant, is seeking the declaration by the Court, that the rules of procedure of the election of members of EALA adopted by the Parliament of Uganda are contrary to the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, under Article 50 (1). It provides the procedure to the National Assembly on the Election of Members of the Assembly.

Katuntu submitted that the rules of the parliament of Uganda exclude the independent parties and the minority groups which contravene the provisions of the Treaty.

Rwakafuzi said EACJ has the jurisdiction to give a proper interpretation of the principle of proportional representation of EALA Members under Article 50 (1) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC. The Attorney General of Uganda represented by Ms. Robina Gureme Rwakoojo the Commissioner, Civil Litigation Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, contended that the Court’s jurisdiction is only limited to the interpretation and application of the Treaty for EAC. She said the rules of the parliament of Uganda were amended as EACJ has set out the requirements in the

judgement of Democratic Party (DP) and Fred Mukasa Mbidde.

She therefore asked Court to dismiss the case.

Hon. Wilbert Kaahwa, representing the Secretary General of the East African Community argued that the Applicant should have struck out the SG in this matter as he had no role to play in EALA election process on 30th May 2012.

He however questioned the interest of the Katuntu in this case and emphasized that the Applicant must follow the rules of procedure of the East African Court of Justice.

EAC Secretariate

KAMPALA, UGANDA -- The East African Community recently received a contribution of EURO 2.9m to support various activities to accelerate EAC regional integration agenda.

The confirmation was made by the Belgium ambassador to Tanzania, Koenraad Adam. He said his government has already contributed EURO 900,000.

The ambassador of Finland to Tanzania, Sinikka Antila also confirmed that her country has contributed EURO 2m to the EAC regional projects and programmes.

The Deputy Secretary General Mr. Nsengiyumva underscored the importance of the EAC Partnership Fund noting that the boost would support few priorities, which will yield tangible results to impact on the lives of the East African people.

He made the commitment while receiving the confirmation that EAC Secretariat will continue strengthening the financial management of the Partnership Fund to ensure more accountability. He emphasized EAC’s preference for budget support as opposed to projects approach because this gives EAC flexibility.

The Deputy Secretary General, who was accompanied by the Head of Resource Mobilization Unit at the EAC Secretariat, Dr James Njagu, said the Fund had in the past supported core priorities towards integration mainly negotiation and implementation of the Common Market Protocol, sensitization and awareness programmes, key studies and capacity building of the EAC Secretariat.

On their part, the Ambassadors reiterated their governments’ continued commitments to the EAC integration agenda noting that EAC is one of the high performing and result oriented regional economic community in the continent.

In February last year, the East African Community Secretariat received US$7,315,000 through its EAC Partnership Fund to support four key priority areas in the integration agenda during the financial year 2012/2013.

22

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK . SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

AGRICULTURE

EU, FAO call for $100m to combat cassava disease

BY PATRICK KISEMBO NAIROBI, KENYA--Cassava, one of Africa’s most promising and climate-resilient crops, may be under threat if efforts to combat diseases affecting the plant are not implemented. The alert was issued by the European Union (EU) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at a regional event in Nairobi, last week.

The workshop; ‘Upholding cassava’s potential in Africa,’ was attended by over 70 regional cassava professionals.

In a statement availed to EABW last week, the two international bodies made a call for renewed investments of $100 million by governments and partners.

While Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) is being contained, Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) is rapidly spreading, posing a major threat in the region of over 135 million people.

The initiative was rolled out to support farmers and value chain actors in their efforts to mitigate, manage and prevent the spread of CBSD. Seven countries; Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda were involved in the fouryear project, which will end in October 2013.

The FAO says a minimum of $100 million is needed to support clean farm production, disease surveillance and research, and market and microfinance development across the cassava production chain.

Under the project, which was coordinated by FAO Subregional Emergency Office for Eastern and Central Africa, disease-tolerant or resistant cassava varieties were grown and clean planting materials made available to farmers.

BY HUMPHREY LILOBA

UNDER THREAT: A farmer returning from a garden with cassava.

The accessibility of surveillance information was improved and newly established national cassava commissions now ensure movement of cassava is better regulated.

The acting head of the FAO in eastern and central Africa, Luca Alinovi said: “In Nigeria, where the government has invested massively in the crop, cassava has already demonstrated its potential. Doing right or wrong on cassava has a huge impact on the food security of the people in this region. We tend to forget it because it appeared in a kind of technical discussion. And I want to bring to your attention that, although it is a technical issue it requires knowledge and requires research.”

Patrick Seruyange, Operations Officer Delegation of the European Union to Uganda said: “By building the resilience of small-scale farmers the Regional Cassava Initiative contributed

towards cassava’s future as a widely traded commodity in Africa. Cassava is moving up the national policy agenda. Uganda has already identified the plant as a priority crop under the development strategy investment plan of the ministry of agriculture.”

He said: “We are now calling upon all Local Governments and development partners to support interventions along the value chain.

At least half of all plants in Africa are affected by cassava diseases. If not achieved CBSD is likely to reach Nigeria, the biggest cassava nation in Africa, and its impact on food security will be immense. Without renewed commitment cassava’s future potential in Africa is under threat.

Over the past four years the Regional Cassava Initiative, has restored cassava yields and improved the food security of over 500,000 people in East and Central Africa.

Star café wins IFAD award

BY BAZ WAISWA KAMPALA, UGANDA--Star Café has been recognized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for its efforts in supporting coffee farmers. Star cafe’ is a local coffee precessor in Uganda.

IFAD recognized Star Café’s effort under its campaign on securing resource and land rights through small holder farmers-private sector investment partnerships.

Over 26 IFAD members drawn from countries around the world visited coffee farmers in the region last week to learn how the farmers are benefiting from the partnership.

Star Café supports small holder

Kenya Bt Cotton target an uphill task

farmers in the Mt. Elgon region , in eastern Uganda, by offering a ready market and training them on best farm practices to improve the quality of coffee.

Elijah Kang’ara, the General Manager Star Café said their support has led to increased farm gate value and promoted women involvement and the preservation of land rights.

“This is a learning route, we want to learn the business model that Star Café is using while working with farmers in this region,” said Line Kaspersen, the associate professional officer of IFAD’s Uganda country office.

He said: “It is an efficient training program and we would like to replicate it in our projects.” Star Café supports over 365 small-scale coffee farmers who belong to Kabeywa United Coffee

Farmers Association in Kabeywa County. It has a direct relationship with over 8,0000 small holder coffee farmers.

With the partnership, the farmers have a ready market for their produce and are trained on quality control as well as post harvesting handling.

Poor quality coffee produce is a hindrance to better returns from coffee exports. According to the Ministry of Finance, the earnings from coffee fell to US$440m in 2012 from $444.21m in 2011. “Such direct collaborations with coffee farmers encourage responsible growing practices and improve the quality and size of their harvests. Ultimately, these efforts can help farmers earn better prices and become more resilient, long-term producers,”Kapersen said.

NAIROBI, KENYA--Kenya is unlikely to meet the 2015 global deadline for the commercialisation of a new genetically modified cotton variety, researchers have said.

To ensure optimum gain, the country needs to put in place the required institutional and market structures.

Over the past four years the Regional Cassava Initiative, has restored cassava yields and improved the food security of over 500,000 people in East and Central Africa.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton is a genetically modified variety of cotton producing an insecticide. The bacterium naturally produces a chemical harmful only to a small fraction of insects, most notably the larvae of moths and butterflies, beetles, and flies, and harmless to other forms of life.

Dr. Charles Waturu, the Center Director of KARI -Thika and Principal Investigator of the Bt cotton project said there is need to produce the Bt seed locally so it can adapt to the local conditions. “There is a need for the government to facilitate a negotiated price for domestic cotton buyer established by the stakeholders and updated regularly,” Waturu said.

KARI will later this year be making an application to the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) for open release for Bollgard II. Waturu said: “The pointers are good but will have to gather more research work and monitor our data.”

The commercialisation of Bt-cotton is critical to address the collapse of cotton production, reduced pest control and tackle the African Bollworm, which can cause 100 percent yield loss if unchecked.

Africa Harvest is a member of the Bt cotton task force, which was formed in July 2010 to oversee commercialisation of Bt-Cotton. It comprises 12 members, representing stakeholders from the public and private sectors. The commercialisation process entailed a three-phased plan comprising initiation, strategy and implementation. During the five years the taskforce has been in existence, major achievements have been made.

According to Waturu, the taskforce has formed an outreach and stewardship secretariat and identified business partners, seed production areas, acquisition/production modalities and acreage for initial planting. It has drawn up tentative business models for seed multiplication, processing and distribution. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mali, Cote D’Ivoire, Benin and Senegal are some of the countries growing Bt cotton on the continent.

Bt cotton is vital for production and pest control

23

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22 2013

INVESTMENT

Hoteliers give Africa keen look LONDON, UK--FROM Lagos to Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Nairobi, the world’s bestknown hoteliers are targeting Africa’s growing capital cities to benefit from a rising number of business travellers and a huge undersupply in available rooms.

Senior Vice-President of development for Hilton Worldwide, Europe and Africa, Patrick Fitzgibbon in an interview he granted an international cable television recently said, “There’s a growing demand in those capital cities because they are the centers of business, of government and of commerce — all of which have hospitality needs”.

“We have a very bullish feel for these markets and we are very excited about the opportunity Africa presents. I think that for the next 20 years we are going to have our hands full with opportunity.”

According to a recent survey by Lagos-based consultancy, W Hospitality Group, some 40,000 new rooms in 207 hotels are planned in the continent’s under-served cities, up almost one third compared to 2011.

Hilton, which operates nearly 11,000 rooms in 37 properties in Africa, says it has some 5,200 rooms and 17 hotels in the pipeline across the continent.

Carlson Rezidor, which recently opened a Radisson Blu in Port Harcourt, its eighth hotel in Nigeria and 49th in the continent, is targeting 12 new hotel deals this year. French group Accor, owner of the Novotel and Ibis brands, has some 5,000 rooms in the pipeline, according to the W Hospitality survey.

“The vast majority of those hotels are businessoriented,” explains Trevor Ward, Managing Director of W Hospitality. “If you look at where those hotel chains are primarily going, it’s the capital cities or the major commercial cities of Africa where the business traveller is going,” he adds.

One of the leading tourist destinations in the world, South Africa is a bustling country filled with beauty, mystery, sophistication and cultural diversity, everything you could possibly want in a holiday destination.

From the business powerhouse of Johannesburg, to the trendy cosmopolitan lifestyle of Cape Town,

HERE WE COME: Mega carrier, British Airways is growing its African frequencies improving connectivity through London Heathrow Airport. the big five of the Kruger National Park, and the sprawling beauty of Mpumalanga and the Garden Route, South Africa is a world in one country.

Thanks to an awesome combination of natural charisma, world class facilities and services, and a diverse and fascinating cultural heritage, travellers around the world are choosing South Africa as their dream destination.

South Africa is fast becoming a leader in the tourism industry, with hotel accommodation available to suit all. Here you will find everything, from five star luxury and world class spa resorts, to family friendly establishments, casino resorts, conference hotels, and even special interest lodging like hotels catering to extreme sports lovers, fishermen and golfers.

According to STR Global, South Africa saw revenue per available room (RevPAR) increase by 13.6 percent for the first two months of this year, reaching ZAR542.07.

However, hotel owners are looking to increase their investments in Africa, as the race for the continent’s promising long-term growth prospects intensify.

With limited opportunities for expansion in SA, a slew of hospitality players are eyeing the rest of the continent, where an undersupply of quality hotels and upbeat economic growth prospects are fuelling the scramble.

An educational tour put together

by Protea Hotel Group to Johannesburg shows clearly that the brand is consolidating its foothold not only in South Africa but the entire continent where it sees great opportunity and quick return on

investment.

Some of the Protea Hotels visited in Johannesburg are Protea Hotel Balalaika, Sandton, Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport, and Fire and Ice, all four star hotels with the exception of Melrose Arch.

Located in Northern Johannesburg’s new and trendiest area, the Melrose Arch development, this Superior Deluxe hotel is close to the M1 highway, offering easy access to all the city’s suburbs.

Sandton is just 6 kilometers away whilst Johannesburg International airpoprt is a 40 minute drive (26 km\s).

The hotel is surrounded by shops and restaurants. These bright, stylish, modern rooms have extra large beds that face a wall of pine floor to ceiling cupboards.

The cupboards house a flat screen TV with DVD player and in-room choice of 6 complimentary DVDs. There are also snacks and mini-bar as well as a safe hidden by a picture (Of a safe breaker).

Rooms are open plan and have large opulent baths separated from the room entrance by a wall of glass bricks. There is also a separate shower.

Guests can watch the food being prepared and cooked in the tandoor and wood fired oven and choose from a fine menu boasting European and South African delicacies.

An excellent choice of wines and cocktails is also provided.

Modelled on a blend of New York, Miami and San Francisco properties the melrose Arch has a library where guests can enjoy a drink as well as a game of pool.

Meanwhile, Protea Hospitality Group has signed a deal that will

see it moving into its 10th African country, Rwanda, the company.

Chief Executive Officer, Arthur Gillis said recently that the company had hotels under construction in Zambia, Ghana, SA, Nigeria and Uganda with a total value well in excess of $100m and it was in the planning stages of expansion into at least three more countries within the next couple of years.

According to him, “Africa currently has far more base development potential than just about anywhere else in the world. Numerous African economies are expanding rapidly and it’s encouraging to see GDP (gross domestic product) projections of between 6 per cent and 8 per cent becoming reality on the back of political stability and a burning desire to create wealth for many rather than just a select few”.

It is not all rosy for these hotel brands as they face quite a lot of challenges. The challenges rage from overcoming several infrastructure and logistics obstacles in their bid to hoist their flags across the continent.

As a result of these problems, hotel rooms in Nigeria are said to be at a cut-throat and very incomprehensible.

They often have to be selfsustained, depending on satellite connectivity for fast wi-fi and generators for backup power, as well as having to provide their own clean water. These are real challenges.

Yet, despite these hurdles, hotel groups remain very positive about their future in Africa as the continued rise in demand and undersupply in hotel rooms offer strong occupancy rates and high profitability margins in short periods of

time.

“These challenges we face, we quickly forget about them the day the hotel opens,” says McLachlan.

“Normally, we would say the hotel takes 1,000 days from the day it opens to stabilize but in a lot of these African markets it can take a couple of months to stabilize because of the high demand for hotels.”

Mega carrier, British Airways is growing its African frequencies, improving connectivity through London Heathrow and introducing its latest products.

In West Africa, the airline would increase its daily services to Ghana by three a week from October 27, 2013, using Boeing 767s to complement the existing Boeing 777 flights, bringing the total number of weekly services up to 10.

The carrier disclosed that from summer 2014, a larger four-cabin Boeing 747 aircraft would replace one of the current Boeing 777s’ currently on the route. It is expected to also add a fourth weekly service to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

In East Africa it would add an additional frequency to Uganda to offer four weekly flights. The schedule will be amended to offer better connections to other international services though Terminal 5.

North African services have been bolstered by a fourth weekly flight to Tripoli.

South African customers are already able to make bookings for the A380, the airline’s largest and most modern aircraft, which begins flying to Johannesburg on February 12, 2014.

Agencies

24

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

INVESTMENT

BATU dominates trading at USE

BY EMMA ONYANGO KAMPALA, UGANDA – In spite of announcing it expects profits to drop by over 20% this year, British American Tobacco Uganda (BATU) has continued dominating trading at the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).

The cigarette manufacturer that recently closed its Uganda plant has traded at an average of Ush4,000 per share from an average of Ush2,600 only a few weeks back mainly supported by increased demand from institutional investors.

During the week’s trading at the USE, BATU dominated trading last week posting a turnover of Ush160.7m ($62,000). Demand for the company’s shares was mainly pushed by institutional investors while retail investors who mainly look at short term returns opted to exit the stock.

As expected, power firm Umeme Limited that has often dominated trading at the USE also had good activity but there were no material price movements on the stock. The counter traded at an average of Ush365 per share. The counter recorded a turnover of Ush129.4m ($50,000).

Stanbic Bank Uganda traded mostly at Ush25 per share though it closed the week slightly higher at Ush26, an indication that there might be an appreciation in the price of the stock in the short term as the bank proposed a special dividend of Ush0.5 per share. The bank realized a turnover of Ush103m ($40,000) during the week.

The bourse recorded a total turnover of Ush393.6m ($151,000) during the week.

According to economic commentators, institutional investors are looking at medium to long term returns as they expect BATU to perform very well going forward because of the firm’s restructuring process that has involved closing the Uganda plant and that explains the increased demand.

In June this year, the company announced that it was decommissioning its 74-yearold factory and switching its manufacturing operations to Kenya.

A local daily reported that the company’s plant in Kampala had become too old and installing a new one would cost in excess of $75m which wouldn’t have made economic sense.

“Investing in a new plant would not have also made economic sense because it has an installed capacity to process 50 million kilogrammes of tobacco each year yet BATU on average buys 15 million kilogrammes annually,” reported the paper.

Arthur Nsiko, a Securities Analyst at African Alliance told the East African Business Week that retail investors who are mainly short term investors are exiting the market whereas institutions are looking to buy into the company.

“It is not really that BATU exited Uganda, I think they are trying to strategize in a way that they think could be more efficient for them to make money. That includes the sale of some assets they feel are not making money for them at the moment and only concentrate on more in areas where they think they can do best.

“So definitely most of the retail investors are mostly short term investors but if you look at

The grading line at BAT Uganda in the West Nile district of Arua. The cigarette firm has dominated trading at the Uganda bourse despite announcing that is was closing its manufacturing plant in Kampala. institutions, they are medium to long term investors and they don’t look at only one year. But the reason for the drop in profits this year is mainly because of court cases which are short term issues,” he explained.

In June, BATU lost a case challenging payment to farmers for the value of the tobacco it declined to purchase despite being delivered to its buying shed in 2004.

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal with costs citing lack of merit stating that there was sufficient evidence to establish that the farmers were contracted by the cigarette maker and that

the High Court and Court of Appeal were justified in their earlier decisions.

The Court held that BAT was liable to pay the farmers the value of tobacco that was delivered to the marketing sheds with an interest rate of 26% per year.

However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by BATU and set aside the 26%interest to substitute it with 15%.

The Ministry of Finance during the reading of the 2013/14 budget proposed to increase excise duty on cigarettes from Ush22,000, 25,000 and 55,000 for Soft cup (whose local content is more than 70% of its constituents), other soft

cup and Hinge lid respectively to Ush32,000, Ush35,000 and Ush69,000 which is expected to earn government about Ush3.2 bn.

Matters have not been helped as Health advocates and environmentalists have, among other things, blamed tobacco firms for rapid soil degradation through excessive use of chemical fertilisers; deforestation for leaf curing; encouraging child labour on farms and the rise in tobaccorelated diseases. Parliament is considering a draft law that outlines stringent measures of production and sale of tobacco products, making it hostile and riskier to invest in the sector.

RVR to upgrade line to transport oil

BY EMMA ONYANGO KAMPALA, UGANDA – Rift Valley Railways (RVR), the concessionaire of the Uganda and Kenya railway lines plans to inject $15m into part of Uganda’s network near the oil fields in preparation to offer services to oil companies.

The Malaba – Pakwach line that has not been operational for over two decades launched operations last month but additional investment is needed so as to increase its capacity to handle.

Speaking to the media in Kampala last week, Mr. Sammy Gachuhi, the General Manager Concession at RVR revealed that by the time Uganda starts oil production in 2016, the line will be ready to meet the capacity needed by the oil companies.

“The first stages are now done and the line is ready for operations, we’ll then put in $15m for ballasting the line and that will increase capacity. We shall then upgrade the line from what it is now to about a 90

poundage line. So we are in tandem with the operations that are going on in terms of oil exploration activities,” he said.

He said that the timeline for the upgrade of the line is 24 months (2 years) after government approves the plan.

“Our immediate plan was to ensure that the Tororo – Pakwach line is fully operational and have trains moving.

Currently we are able to do about six wagons very comfortably up to the north.

We have already presented our plans to the government and we are waiting to see if they accept it or not. The question as to whether we shall be ready by the time the oil exploration starts, the answer is yes.”

Gachuhi also disclosed that RVR was carrying out feasibility studies on the Kasese line (western Uganda) in regard to the business opportunities that are available in the area.

“The Kasese Line is still considered; it’s part of the assets that were given to RVR. We’ve carried out quite a number of feasibility studies to see the costs that we would incur in rehabilitating the line.

We have also been looking at the business opportunities. Currently there have been prospects of Iron ore coming from the northern side. So we are looking at all that and once we are ready and have the plans in place, we shall be able to reveal,” he explained.

According to Gachuhi, RVR invested $2m to restore the 311-mile stretch of track from Tororo, near the Kenyan border, to Pakwach at Lake Albert, which had been idle for over two decades.

The investment on the section network is part of the of the company’s $287m turnaround plan that started in January 2012 to rehabilitate the infrastructure that had not received investment in many decades.RVR that won a 25-year concession to manage the Uganda and Kenya rail networks in 2006 was found wanting in some areas in the first four years of the concession after they failed to secure adequate capital to invest.

RVR was at the time owned by South Africa’s Sheltam and the company had defaulted on concession payments. This

necessitated that RVR had to find new shareholders and in came Egypt’s Citadel Capital with a 51% stake, Bomi Holdings 15% and TransCentury 34%.

“Four years of the concession were wasted,” concedes Cosma Gatere, the Director External Affairs RVR. “The concession has in real terms been only functional for three years; August 2010 – August 2013 and the actual investment program started in January 2012…about 20 months of investment,” he adds.

He disclosed that RVR had so far invested $156m (to June 2013) and was planning to invest an additional $131m in the next two years. This according to Gatere will enable the company revamp its 2300km of rail including branch lines as well as increase the number of locomotives and double its wagon fleet by 2015.

He stated, “We have placed an order for 20 locomotives which will begin arriving in January at an interval of three per month.

Our workshops are churning out 90 wagons per month. So we think that we are on the right track in that regard.”

25

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK - SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

BUSINESS INFO Financial Markets

Nairobi - N.S.E Security

Agricultural Eaagads Ltd. Kakuzi Kapchorua Tea Co. Ltd. Limuru Tea Co. Ltd. Rea Vipingo Plantations Ltd. Sasini Ltd. Williamson Tea Kenya Ltd. Automobiles and Accessories Car & General (K) Ltd. CMC Holdings Ltd. Marshals (E.A.) Ltd. Sameer Africa Ltd. Banking Barclays Bank Ltd. C.F.C Stanbic Holdings Ltd. Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Ltd. Equity Bank Ltd. Housing Finance Company Ltd. I&M Holdings Ltd. Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd. National Bank of Kenya Ltd. NIC Bank Ltd. Standard Chartered Bank Ltd. The Cooperative Bank of Kenya Ltd. Commercial and Services Express Ltd. Hutchings Biemer Ltd. Kenya Airways Ltd. Longhorn Kenya Ltd..

Nation Media Group Scangroup Ltd Standard Group Ltd. TPS Eastern Africa (Serena) Ltd. Uchumi Supermarket Ltd. Construction and Allied Athi River Mining Bamburi Cement Ltd. Crown Berger Ltd. E.A. Cables Ltd. E.A. Portland Cement Ltd. Energy and Petroleum KenGen Ltd. KenolKobil Ltd. Kenya Power & Lighting Ltd. Total Kenya Ltd. Umeme Ltd. Growth Enterprise Market Segment Home Afrika Ltd. Insurance British American Investments C.F.C Insurance Holdings Ltd. CIC Insurance Group Ltd. Jubilee Holdings Ltd. Kenya Re-Insurance Corporation Ltd. Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Ltd. Investment Centum Investment Company Ltd. Olympia Capital Holdings Ltd. Trans-Century Ltd. Manufacturing and Allied A. Baumann & Co. Ltd B.O.C. Kenya Ltd. British American Tobacco Kenya Ltd. Carbacid Investment Ltd. East African Breweries Ltd. Eveready East Africa Ltd. Kenya Orchards Ltd. Mumias Sugar Co. Ltd. Unga Group Ltd. Preference Shares Kenya Power & Lighting Ltd. 4% Kenya Power & Lighting Ltd. 7% Telecommunication and Technology AccessKenya Group Ltd. Safaricom Limited Date

Company

Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013 Sept 12, 2013

TOL TBL TATEPA TCC SIMBA SWISSPORT TWIGA DCB NMB KA EABL JUBILEE KCB CRDB NMG ABG PAL

Opening Price Closing Price (Tsh) (Tsh) 0 305 3740 3740 0 650 0 7100 0 2360 2320 2320 2700 2700 500 500 1880 1860 0 166 0 5500 0 4860 0 820 270 270 0 5780 0 4320 0 475

Price as at Sept 12, 2013 (KShs)

Previous Price

% Change

Ord 1.25 Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 20.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 1.00 Ord 5.00

25.25 85.00 122.00 490.00 27.75 13.60 250.00

25.25 84.00 122.00 490.00 26.75 13.55 250.00

0.00 +1.19 0.00 0.00 +3.74 +0.37 0.00

Ord 5.00 Ord 0.50 Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00

25.00 13.50 11.50 4.80

25.00 13.50 11.50 4.85

0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.03

Ord 2.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 4.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 1.00 Ord 1.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 1.00

17.05 70.00 173.00 33.25 25.00 90.00 44.00 20.75 58.50 296.00 16.00

17.00 70.50 174.00 33.25 25.25 90.00 44.25 20.75 58.00 295.00 16.10

+0.29 -0.71 -0.57 0.00 -0.99 0.00 -0.56 0.00 +0.86 +0.34 -0.62

Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 1.00 Ord 2.50 Ord 1.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 1.00 Ord 5.00

4.00 20.25 9.30 14.00 314.00 62.00 26.25 49.50 19.60

3.90 20.25 9.05 14.50 314.00 62.00 27.25 49.75 19.45

+2.56 0.00 +2.76 -3.45 0.00 0.00 -3.67 -0.50 +0.77

Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 0.50 Ord 5.00

71.00 209.00 62.00 16.35 57.50

70.00 210.00 64.50 16.10 58.00

+1.43 -0.48 -3.88 +1.55 -0.86

Ord 2.50 Ord 0.50 Ord 2.50 Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00

16.65 8.10 14.95 18.00 13.00

16.70 8.20 15.00 18.35 13.00

-0.30 -1.22 -0.33 -1.91 0.00

Ord 1.00

9.20

9.10

+1.10

Ord 0.10 Ord 1.00 Ord 1.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 2.50 Ord 5.00

8.00 11.70 4.60 263.00 15.05 60.50

8.00 11.80 4.45 264.00 15.15 61.50

0.00 -0.85 +3.37 -0.38 -0.66 -1.63

Ord 0.50 Ord 5.00 Ord 0.50

24.50 4.00 31.50

24.25 3.65 31.50

+1.03 +9.59 0.00

Ord 5.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 10.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 2.00 Ord 1.00 Ord 5.00 Ord 2.00 Ord 5.00

11.10 125.00 575.00 146.00 299.00 2.65 3.00 3.70 16.50

11.10 125.00 575.00 146.00 299.00 2.65 3.00 3.75 16.50

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.33 0.00

Pref 20.00 Pref 20.00

8.00 5.50

8.00 5.50

0.00 0.00

Ord 1.00 Ord 0.05

9.55 8.05

9.55 8.05

0.00 0.00

High (Tsh)

Low (Tsh)

0 3740 0 0 0 2320 2700 500 1880 0 0 0 0 270 0 0 0

0 3720 0 0 0 2320 2700 500 1860 0 0 0 0 270 0 0 0

Date

Company

September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013

All Share Index (ALSI) British American Tobacco (U) Ltd. (BATU) Bank of Baroda Uganda Ltd. (BOBU) Centum Investment Company Ltd (CENT) Development Finance Company of Uganda Ltd. (DFCU) East African Breweries Ltd. (EABL) Equity Bank Ltd. (EBL) Jubilee Holdings Ltd. (JHL) Kenya Airways Ltd. (KA) Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) National Insurance Corporation. (NIC) Nation Media Group (NMG) New Vision Ltd. (NVL) Stanbic Bank Uganda (SBU) Uganda Clays Ltd. (UCL) Uganda Energy Distribution Network (UMEME) Uganda Securities Exchange Local Company Index (USE LCI) TOTALS

Last 12 Months (Rwf) Todays prices (Rwf) High Low High Low Closing Sept 05, 2013 BOK 200 118 183 180 180 Sept 05, 2013 BLR 900 315 860 855 855 Sept 05, 2013 KCB 175 135 175 Sept 05, 2013 NMG 1,200 1,200 1,200 Exchange Rate: September 05, 2013 (1 US$ = Rwf 650.22 - 1 Kshs = Rwf 7.55) Date

Security

Dar es Salaam - D.S.E Turnover Number (Tsh) of Deals 0 0 7626800 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 4155120 10 318600 5 494000 13 11810000 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 38911860 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kampala - U.S.E

Outstanding Share bids 52000 77900 200 9200 0 3200 0 0 423700 0 0 0 0 2048400 0 0 0

Shares Traded

0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 8 0 17

0 25,420 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 620,900 1,000 35,000 0 682,320

Nairobi (KSh) Mean 87.4528 138.0687 116.0094 8.7630 29.2117 18.3828 7.4056 17.4483 23.8090 0.8775 1.3704 23.3176 14.2932 Dar es Salaam (TSh) Mean 1,610.2289 2,545.1294 2,137.7407 16.1759 25.3859 162.1414 438.3960 429.3313 18.3921 0.6247 1.5398 Kampala (USh) Mean 2,575.2600 4,048.3100 25.6400 3,416.0800 29.4350 136.2000 3.9390 1.6755 1.5915 12.8270 259.8250 Kigali (RwF) Mean 651.8046 106.5354 866.7046 1,030.5682 6.5587 0.4311 34.9482 7.5725 0.4143 0.2575 175.7749 10.1391 172.1422 64.9585 Bujumbura (FBu) Mean 15.3966 2,428.7314 1,539.1200 2,042.0275 17.5899 154.4022 0.9524 0.6000 2.3570

US Dollar Pound Sterling Euro S.A Rand Ksh/Ushs Ksh/Tshs Ksh/RWF Ksh/BIF UAE Dirham J Yen Indian Rupee Saudi Riyal Chinese Yuan

US Dollar Pound Sterling Euro J Yen Indian Rupees SA Rand UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal Kenya Shilling Uganda Shilling Burundi Franc

US Dollar Pound Sterling J Yen Euro Kenya Shillings Ethiopian Birr Rwanda Francs Burundi Francs Tanzania Shillings Sudanese Dinars South African Rand

US Dollar Chinese Yuan Euro Pound Sterling J Yen Burundi Franc Ethiopian Birr Kenya Shilling Tanzania Shilling Uganda Shilling UAE Dirham Indian Rupee Saudi Riyal South African Rand

J Yen Pound Sterling US Dollar Euro Kenya Shilling SA Rand Tanzania Shilling Uganda Shilling Rwanda Franc

Outstanding Shares offered 0 0 0 0 55300 0 34400 40200 0 0 0 0 0 219800 0 0 15200

No. of Deals

Kigali - RSE Total Shares Traded Previous Today Previous 183 1,014,300 42,100 855 2.800 3,800 175 2,800 1,200 1,000

Forex (Central Bank Rates)

Number of shares traded 0 2040 0 0 0 1791 118 988 6300 0 0 0 0 144118 0 0 0 Price (Ush) High Low 0 0 4,000 4,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 25 30 30 365 365 0 0

Equity Turnover (Rwf) Today Previous 182,599,600 7,622,500 2,395,500 3,232,000 490,000 1,200,000

Market Capital (Tsh) Billions 11.35 1103.03 11.61 710.00 150.26 83.52 485.79 33.91 930.00 247.67 4349.26 291.09 2435.68 587.66 1089.77 1771.57 76.22

Foreign holding 5.84% 67.63 47.60 75.00 62.50 72.00 69.25 0.07% 38.57 N/A N/A N/A N/A 15.47 N/A N/A 34.13

Turnover (Ushs) Closing 1,504 4,000 120 693 1,030 8,732 988 7,965 277 1,328 35 9,145 605 26 30 365 241

0 101,680,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16,077,000 30,000 12,775,000 0 130,562,000

Total Deals Change in Rwf Today Previous Today 5 4 -1 2 3 -5 1 5 Source - Rwanda Stock Exchange

Buying 87.6361 138.3911 116.2703 8.7976 29.3873 18.5357 7.5126 17.7136 23.8595 0.8796 1.3746 23.3671 14.3241

Selling 87.5444 138.2300 116.1400 8.7803 29.2995 18.4593 7.4591 17.5809 23.8343 0.8786 1.3725 23.3424 14.3086

Buying 1,602.2178 2,532.1450 2,126.9442 16.0978 25.2656 161.4000 436.2507 427.2125 18.3111 0.6196 1.5340

Selling 1,618.2400 2,558.1138 2,148.5372 16.2539 25.5062 162.8827 440.5412 431.4501 18.4731 0.6297 1.5456

Buying 2,571.3400 4,042.1500 25.6000 3,410.8800 29.3900 135.9900 3.9330 1.6730 1.5890 12.8070 259.4200

Selling 2,579.1800 4,054.4700 25.6800 3,421.2800 29.4800 136.4100 3.9450 1.6780 1.5940 12.8470 260.2300

Buying 645.6124 105.5233 858.4709 1,020.7778 6.4964 0.4270 34.6162 7.5006 0.4104 0.2551 174.1051 10.042818 170.506846 64.341429

Selling 657.9967 107.5474 874.9382 1,040.3586 6.6210 0.4352 35.2802 7.6444 0.4183 0.2600 177.4448 10.235462 173.777548 65.575641

Buying 15.2734 2,409.3015 1,526.8070 2,025.6912 17.4492 153.1670 0.9448 0.5952 2.3381

Selling 15.5198 2,448.1612 1,551.4330 2,058.3637 17.7307 155.6374 0.9600 0.6048 2.3759

Food - Market prices (Wholesale) US$ Uganda

Tz

Rw

Bdi

Nbi

Msa

Kla

Lira

Dar

Kigali

Buja

Bananas Apple (Ripe) - Bunch (14kg)

7.17

8.36

8.11

18.93

-

-

-

Bananas (Cooking)

- Bunch (22kg)

7.76

5.97

3.48

7.73

-

-

-

Beans (Rosecoco)

- 90kg

76.45

-

90.39

62.58

92.13

39.77

57.86

Beans (Yellow)

- 90kg

-

-

97.34 79.96

-

-

-

Beef

- 1 kg

-

-

1.74

-

-

-

Cassava (Flour)

- 90kg

-

-

34.76 34.76

-

-

Cassava (Fresh)

- 99kg

-

-

11.47 11.47

-

-

-

Chicken (Local)

- live bird

-

-

9.66

7.73

-

-

-

Chicken (Exotic)

- live bird

-

-

3.48

3.86

-

-

-

Cow Peas

- 90kg

-

-

-

-

-

Eggs (Local)

- Tray (30 eggs)

-

-

3.86

4.64

-

-

-

Eggs (Exotic)

- Tray (30 eggs) 3.82

-

2.90

3.48

-

-

-

Fish (Nile Perch)

- 1 kg

-

-

3.09

2.90

-

-

-

Fish (Tilapia)

- 1 kg

-

-

1.04

5.79

-

-

-

Green Peas

- 51kg

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Ground Nuts

- 110kg

168.18 157.67 148.71 118.97

-

-

-

Irish Potatoes (White) - 110kg

40.61 27.47 42.49 63.73

-

-

-

29.56

33.14

36.17

Commodity

Package

Maize Grain

- 90kg

Milk (Unprocessed) Millet Grain

Kenya

3.09

111.25 156.44

-

-

34.76

24.34

- 1 litre

0.54

-

0.31

0.46

- 90kg

52.56 96.75 62.58 45.19

Onions (Red)

- 13kg

8.36

10.15

-

Pineapples (Dozen)

- 13kg

-

-

9.27

Rice

- 90kg

94.60

-

Sorghum Grain Soy Beans Sweet potatoes

- 98kg

Tomatoes

-

-

-

83.77

70.38

-

-

-

-

-

11.59

-

-

-

86.91 79.96

89.36

86.32

77.16

- 90kg

40.61 47.78 52.15 14.95

69.80

33.14

45.80

- 90kg

58.05 38.70 62.58 36.50

-

-

-

33.44 38.22 18.93 18.93

-

-

-

- 64kg 69.28 57.33 Sources: farmgainafrica.org, ratin.net, infotradeuganda.com

-

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013 EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK SEPT 16 - 22, 2013

2626

TENDERS, JOBS & CONSULTANCIES TENDERS

TENDERS

Bank of Tanzania invites sealed bids from eligible suppliers for the supply of x-ray inspection machines and walk through metal detactors at Arusha and Mbeya Branches. Contact: Secretary, BOT Tender Board, BOT HQ, Mirambo Street, 2nd Floor, South Tower . Deadline: October 4, 2013.

RURA now invites bids from eligible bidders to provide the following services: SUPPLY OF DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION MONITORING EQUIPMENTS. Enquiries regarding this tender may be addressed to the Procurement Office of RURA, P.O. Box 7289 Kigali, Tel. (+250) 252 584562, Fax. (+250) 252 584563.A tender security of 2% of the total quoted price, provided by a recognized bank or insurance institution should be submitted in the bid. Well printed bids, properly bound and presented in three copies and one original must reach the Procurement Office of RURA at the address mentioned above not later than 24/10/2013 at 10:00 a.m., local hour.

Bank of Tanzania invites sealed bids from eligible suppliers for the supply of sapre parts, installation, testing and commissioning of Tura Quarry Plant. Contact: Secretary, BOT Tender Board, BOT HQ, Mirambo Street, 2nd Floor, South Tower . Deadline: October 18, 2013.

Bank of Tanzania invites sealed bids from eligible suppliers for the supply and installation of desalination Unit. Contact: Secretary, BOT Tender Board, BOT HQ, Mirambo Street, 2nd Floor, South Tower .

Deadline: October 4, 2013.

Tanzania Revenue Authority invites sealed bids from eligible and qualified bidders for the supply of office furniture, computer hardware and software and machines for Horohoro and Sirari Border post sites.

Contact: Commissioner General, TRA, TRA HQ, rOOM nO. g 15, Ground Floor, Sokoine Drive, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Tel: +255 22 2119591/4, +255 222119638, Fax: +255 22 2119595, email: secretarytratender@tra.go.tz, info@tra.go.tz Deadline: Oct 3, 2013.

The Ministry of Water invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the construction of sludge disposable facilities for Bukoba Municipality.

Contact: Secretary Ministerial Tender Board, Ministry of Water, Block L, Room No. 4, Maji, Ubungo, along Morogoro Road, opposite TANESCO Headquarters, P. O. Box 9153, email: pmumow@gmail.com. Deadline: Sept 17, 2013.

The Rural Electrification Agency invites sealed bids from eligible and qualified bidders for supply and installation of medium and low voltage lines, distribution transformers and connection of customers in unelectrified District Headquarters and other rural areas in Mainland Tazania on Turnkey basis. Contact: Office of the Secretary, Rural Energy Agency, Tender Board, Mawasiliano Towers, 20 Sam Nujoma Road, 14414 Dar es Salaam, Procurement Management Unit Office, Room No. 214, 2nd Floor, from 8.00 to 15.000 hours local time.Deadline: Oct 2, 2013.

The Rural Electrification Agency invites sealed bids from eligible and qualified bidders for procuring, installing, commisioning, providing maintenance services and spare parts and conducting training of end users and off takers for public facility solar photovoltatic systems and street lights in 8 districts. Deadline: Sept 28, 2013.

Tanzania Revenue Authority invites bids for the design, development, supply and installation and configuration and commissioning of hardware and software for the new integrated domestic revenue administration system. Contact: Commissioner General, Tanzania Revenue Authority, TRA Headquarters, Room No. G15, Ground Floor, Sokoine Drive, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Deadline: Oct 3, 2013.

The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology invites bids for supply, delivery, installation, training and commissioning of labaratory equipment and accessories. Contact: The Vice Chancellor, Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, P. Box 447, Old Moshi/Nelson Mandela Road, Arusha, Tanzania. Deadline: October 2, 2013.

The Ministry of Water invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the supply of analytical laboratory chemicals and reagents for 16 water laboratories. Contact: Secretary Ministerial Tender Board, Ministry of Water, Block L, Room No. 4, Maji, Ubungo, along Morogoro Road, opposite TANESCO Headquarters, P. O. Box 9153, email: pmumow@gmail.com. Deadline: Sept 20, 2013.

EAC/LVBC

CONSULTANCIES

UNITED NATIONS

RWANDA

TANZANIA

The Ministry of Defence invites qualified bidders to submit bids for the following tenders: a. Supply of stationery; b. Supply of IT & electronics equipment; c. Supply of Generator Consumables and Spare parts; d. Supply of printing consumables; e. Supply of kitchen utensils; f. Supply of spare parts; g. Maintenance of swimming pool; h. Supply and installation of window blinds.

Deadline: Oct 2,2013.

The Rwanda National Police invites qualified bidders to submit bids for the supply of different Police uniforms and their accessories for the year 2013-2014 as indicated in detail in the statement of requirements. All lots of this tender were arranged as follows: Lot 1: Operation uniforms, Lot 2: Police jungle boots, Lot 3: Pips, Lot 4: Other uniforms΄accessories and Lot 5: Rwanda and police flags. 4.

All bids shall be accompanied by a Bid Security as follows: lot 1 (Operation uniforms): 3,611,000 Rwf; lot 2 (Police jungle boots): 5,338,000 Rwf; lot 3 (Pips): 101,000 Rwf; lot 4 (Other uniforms΄accessories): 5,790,000 Rwf and lot 5 (Rwanda and Police flags): 2,082,000 Rwf or in any foreign convertible currency.

Deadline: 10/10/2013 at 9:30 am The Rwanda National Police invites qualified bidders to submit bids for the supply of fuel and lubricants to Rwanda National Police in the year 2013-2014. 3Tender Documents in English or French may be obtained from the Office of Procurement Unit, Tel 255103353/ 0788311803, at the Rwanda National Police General Headquarters Kacyiru, on any working day from 06/08/2013 from 07:00 am to 05:30 pm, upon presentation of proof payment of a non-refundable fee of seven thousand and nine hundred Rwandan francs only (7,900 Rwf) to Account N°120.00.46 opened at National Bank of Rwanda (BNR); the bank slip must bear the name of the bidder, the number and the title of the tender.Well printed bids, properly bound and presented in four copies one of which is the original must reach the Office of Procurement Unit at the address mentioned above not later than 26/09/2013 at 9:30 am.

CONSULTANCIES The Rwanda National Police intents to hire a qualified consultant/consultancy firm, to design, develop and implement a Drive License and Vehicle Safety Information Management System.

The consultants/Consultancy firm must indicate their interest in providing the software solutions, equipment and all associated services to deliver a working solution. To qualify, the interested consultant/ consultancy firm must provide the following information: • A minimum of five (5) years of experience in the field of web application development, and at least two (2) years in mobile application development and shall provide a brief summary of proven experiences and capabilities in developing solutions of similar nature, size and scope; • Provide CVs of any key staff with concrete evidence of previous experiences held in implementation of any similar solutions.

- Submission Deadline: 10/10/2013 not later than 9:30 AM local time, at the Rwanda National Police Headquarters, Police Procurement Office

The East African Community/Lake Victoria Basin Commission invites proposals: Consultancy for provision of spill training on prevention and control of oil and toxic chemical products spill in Lake Victoria. Contact: Executive Secretary, Attn: Secretary Tender Committee, Lake Victoria Bsin Commission, Re-insurance building, 6th Floor, P. Box 151040100, Kisumu, Kenya, +254 572026324, email: tenders@lvbccom.org. Deadline: Sept 16, 2013.

Rwanda Development Board invites proposals from both national and international competent consultancy firms to conduct a survey on private sector employment creation. Well printed proposals, properly bound presented in four copies one of which is the original must be submitted in sealed envelopes not later than 26/09/2013 at 3:00 pm local time to the address below:RWANDA DEVELOPMENT BOARD ,PROCUREMENT OFFICE; FOURTH FLOOR, P.O. Box: 6239 Email: procurement@rdb.rw GISHUSHU NYARUTARAM ROAD KIGALI/RWANDA

Source: East African Business Week & The EastAfrican

Source: East African Business Week

JOBS The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is looking for talented and enthusiastic individuals to realise UNECA’s transformative vision and to strengthen its specialization in the region. Positions available in the following areas.

Statistics Economic statistics and national accounts Demographic and social statistic Geo-information and sectoral statistic Data collection and analysis Strategic Planning Micro economic policy Development planning Industrial Policy Governance and public sector management Public Information and Knowledge Management External Communications Media Relations Audio Visual Social Media Climate Policy, Land and Mineral Development Natural resource contract negotiations Climate, climate adaption, climate change governance Agricultural Economics, forestry, land policy Mineral development policy Social Development Policy Population and youth Gender and Development Economics of urbanization Employment and labour market For full details of these positions go to:new.uneca.org/About ECA/Opportunities.aspx

UGANDA

TENDERS The Rural Electrification Agency invites sealed bids from elible bidders for the supply of assorted IT Equipment. Contact: REA Offices, Plot 10 Windsor Loop, Kololo, 2nd Floor, House of Hope, Tel: +256 312 318100, Fax: +256 414 346013, email: procurement@rea.org.

Deadline: Oct 11, 2013.

Bank of Uganda invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for supply of drugs and medical supplies.Contact: Procurement and Disposal Unit, BOU HQ, Ground Floor. Deadline: Sept 19, 2013.

The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited intends to pre qualify Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractors for the Nkenda-Hoima transmission line construction works including but not limited to: Cosntruction of approximately 54km of 220 Kv double circuit transmisison line from the existing Nkenda substation to the proposed Fort Portal Substation.

Construction of approximately 172 Km of 220 Kv double circuit transimission line from the proposed Fortportal substation to the proposed Hoima substation via Kabaale, where a thermal power plant will be installed in future.

Contact: Principal Procurement Officer, Plot 10 Hannington Road, Ground Floor, Procurement Office, P. Box 7625, Kampala. Email: procurement@uetcl.com. Deadline: 27/9/2013.

CONSULTANCIES The Rural Electrification Agency invites sealed bids from elible bidders to provide consultancy services to undertake way leaves acquisition for 33kv Distribution Power Lines. Contact: REA Offices, Plot 10 Windsor Loop, Kololo, 2nd Floor, House of Hope, Tel: +256 312 318100, Fax: +256 414 346013, email: procurement@rea.org.

Deadline: Oct 4, 2013.

The Rural Electrification Agency invites sealed bids from elible bidders for provision of consultancy services to design, install, train and commission an Electronic documents and records management system. Contact: REA Offices, Plot 10 Windsor Loop, Kololo, 2nd Floor, House of Hope, Tel: +256 312 318100, Fax: +256 414 346013, email: procurement@rea.org. Deadline: Oct 18, 2013.

Source: East African Business Week & The EastAfrican

27

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

Belgians unveil satellite solutions for ATMs

BY HUMPHREY LILOBA NAIROBI, KENYA--Belgium-based satellite service provider, SatADSL has launched new solutions for supporting deployment of nation-wide ATM networks in East Africa at the on-going AITEC Mobile Money Conference, COMESA being held in Nairobi.

The new solution will allow Automated Teller Machines (ATM) operators and banks to deploy cash machines in small urban areas in East Africa where terrestrial communication services are either not available, unreliable or too expensive.

SatADSL offers specialized products and services that are aimed at boosting the operations of financial institutions in Africa independently from any terrestrial infrastructure.

Speaking at the conference, SatADS Chief Operations Officer Caroline De Vos said the new solutions are specifically tailor-made for the African banking and financial community. The company is also in the process of recruiting partners distribute its products and services in the region.

“Financial institutions often offer excellent service in the main cities where adequate telecommunications means are available: fiber connections, WiMax, etc.

However, in remote locations where the population is less dense, telecommunication links may not be as reliable and are much less adapted to the requirements of financial institutions. That is where SatADSL comes in with specialised services to support the financial institutions’ remote offices as well as cash machines in performing according to their customers’ expectations,” she said.

Though traditional VSAT services, Caroline De Vos noted that the company is in a position to offer similar technical solutions at much cheaper rates and higher reliability than fiber connections and WiMax which are typically much more expensive and obviously secure enough for ATM networks.

The new service has been successfully demonstrated and is now commercially in use in three West African countries by several African banks that are planning large scale ATM deployments over the continent. The company is currently leading three new pilot projects for ATM deployment with banks in Ghana, Cameroon and Zambia.

The service allows for financial transactions to be carried out over satellite link in a reliable, secured and cost-effective way.

SatADSL service connects the client applications in remote offices to the servers located in the company headquarters and other servers located in Europe and the US. SatADSL corporate service offering is built around SES Broadband service platform which provides high-speed broadband internet via satellite.

SatADSL is already offering reliable and low-cost satellite networking solutions to more than hundred money transfer offices of Express Union and EMI Transfer that are located in remote areas, bringing those financial services closers to African citizens.

According to Caroline De Vos, the company prioritizes the business-critical transactions with the guarantee that these transactions will always go through, with a

ABOVE: A customer is enjoying the services of an ATM machines BELOW: Kampala Commercial Bank customers inside the banking hall being attended to by the tellers

reliable and financially affordable solution in both investment (CAPEX) and operational (OPEX) costs.

The DEMO Africa conference will be held in Nairobi Kenya from 24 to 25 October this year, feature 40 entrepreneurs hailing from Cape Town to Cairo presenting their innovative technologies. They’ll be pitching to a mix of everyone from investors and fellow entrepreneurs to the tech media. So, what can we expect to see?

The 40 startups listed below are the ones that have made it through a series of screening processes out of a total of 300 submitted applications this year. The five categories for the conference are Mobile Technology, Social Media, Consumer Products, Cloud Services and Enterprise Technologies.

DEMO Africa part of LIONS@frica‘s flagship initiatives. LIONS@frica (Liberalizing Innovation Opportunity Nations) is an initiative by the US Department of State, in collaboration with Microsoft, DEMO, USAID, and Startup Weekend, that

aims to further public-private alliance to enhance and deepen the startup and innovation ecosystems of targeted fast-growing African economies.

DEMO Africa points out some positive growth indicators of the African continent. For example, real startups are being created on the continent where the poten-

tial for growth is massive — population figures in Sub-Saharan Africa are set to grow by 5% this year and Africa is home to about 15% of the world’s population. It further points out that DEMO Africa Alumni have managed to raise over US$8-million in just one year.

28

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK . SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

HEALTH

HIV vaccine reported to be successful in trials done by Canadian university

BY SCOTT SUTHERLAND Researchers at the University of Western Ontario recently completed Phase 1 human trials of a new preventative HIV vaccine, and the results give hope that they may be on track towards a commercially viable vaccine that will protect against HIV. The vaccine, called SAV001-H, was developed by Dr. Chil-Yong Kang and his team at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

So far, SAV001-H is unique in being the only preventative vaccine to use a geneticallymodified version of the whole virus (similar to vaccines for polio, influenza and rabies, to name a few).

“We infect the cells with a genetically modified HIV-1,” Kang said in an interview with Ontario Business Report.

“The infected cells produce lots of virus, which we collect, purify and inactivate so that the vaccine won’t cause AIDS in recipients, but will trigger immune responses.”

This will hopefully make the vaccine not only effective, but easy and cheap to produce.

Now, Phase 1 trials (which started in March of 2012) are specifically to test if the vaccine is safe, and to identify any side effects (if any). It’s not until Phases 2 and 3 that the actual effectiveness of the vaccine is truly put to the test.

However, it seems that SAV001-H passed its Phase 1 trials with flying colours, since no adverse effects were reported in any of the patients that participated in the study.

With this success, it now opens the doors for Kang and his team to continue on with Phase 2 trials, where they’ll test the vaccine’s ability to produce an immune response and its overall effectiveness.

Dr. Kang’s team announced the first and only preventative HIV vaccine. INSET: SAV001-H vaccine

Advance community health worker practice

BY PATRICK KISEMBO DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA-- Policy makers and health practitioners have been advised to work with frontline health workers who live and relate directly with their communities.

The call was made by the President and CEO of the IntraHealth International, Pape Gaye at the first ever National Human Resource for Health (HRH) Conference held at the Nyerere International Convention Center. The conference: “Health Workforce: Crucial to Meeting Development Goals.” was held from 3 to 5 September.

Gaye said it is important to make use of the traditional health workers like midwives.

They provide the critical link to health service delivery and directly affect health outcomes of the people they serve.

He said trials in Africa, Asia and Europe have demonstrated the participation of outreach workers, community midwives, village health workers and trained birth attendants collectively reduced neonatal

DELEGATES: The Conference was coordinated by Benjamin William Mkapa Foundation deaths by an average of 24%.

Gaye said according to the World Health Report of 2013 the same cadres managed to reduce stillbirth by 16%, perinatal mortality by 20% and maternal illness by a quarter.

“Per-urban, rural and remote areas are extremely vulnerable with limited access to physicians

and facilities. This is an enormous opportunity if we want to work towards universal health coverage,” he said.

USAID Mission Director, Sharon Cromer pointed out the shortage of qualified health workers especially in rural areas.

“This is a challenge and much has to be done to ensure equitable

access to quality health care,” she said.

She advised the Government to adapt country-based and country lead strategies geared towards ensuring every family has access to a motivated, skilled and supported health worker.

According to the Minister of Health, Dr. Hussein Mwinyi,

Tanzania has a ratio of 0.52 skilled clinical health workers per 1000 people.

Mwinyi said the HRH in Tanzania has improved from a shortage of 68% in 2005 to 52% in 2011. “The government recognizes the challenge and a number of initiatives have already been deployed.” he said.

He said through the country’s primary health care development programme, there has been an increase of students enrollment in health institutions from 4,000 in 2007 to 7,050 in 2012.

Dr Mwinyi said the output of doctors from medical schools in the country has increased from 50 per year to current levels of almost 600 per year.

“We are committed to address the HRH crisis and between 2006 and 2012 we allocated 40,364 vacancies to the health sector and managed to retain 80% of health workers who were posted to various areas between 2007/2008 and 2009/2010,” he said.

He revealed that already 310 health staff houses have been built between 2011 and 2013. More construction and renovation of staff houses within health centers and dispensaries is underway.

29

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16- 2, 2013

DEVELOPMENT

Sino-Africa links cause jitters

BY KAYLA ROUX JOHANNRSBURG, SOUTH AFRICA-Whether you’ve read it in a news report or heard it during a semienlightened braai-plek discussion, you must have come across the idea before.

China is taking over the world, and the first thing on its itinerary is to buy Africa and exploit it for all it’s worth. Right?

The Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA) recently launched a survey to gauge perceptions about Chinese companies doing business in Africa across 15 African countries.

The survey aims to address the negative global perceptions surrounding China’s economic activities in Africa.

Chinese trade and investment in Africa have been on the rise, especially in the last couple of years: total Sino-African trade volume has quadrupled since 2005, and China is now Africa’s largest trading partner.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - where companies buy shares in African companies, expand their activities on the continent, build new facilities, and reinvest profits - from China has increased over the past 10 years in tandem with increased trade.

More than 2 000 Chinese companies and countless individuals are doing business on the continent. This flurry of economic activity has attracted great atten-

FRIENDLY: China’s Xi Jinping on his recent visit hosted by President Jakaya Kikwete. tion - and suspicion.

A closer look at the facts and figures making up this important relationship, however, prove that none of it is as clear-cut as it seems.

Sino-African economic relations receive a staggering amount of reportage: you would be excused for think-

ing Chinese investments in Africa have long eclipsed those of the US based on this coverage.

But inflows from countries such as Europe and the US still far outweigh those from China.

Although figures differ, FDI from developed

countries is still thought to make up a staggering 70% of FDI in Africa.

China’s FDI to Africa also remains marginal in terms of China’s total outward FDI flows (less than 10%, in fact).

It is consistently measured on a completely

different yardstick: very seldom is money from anywhere else in the world viewed with the same consistent paranoia and overstatement. FDI is usually seen as the most desirable of economic interactions, and can stimulate the local economy, create jobs and improve infrastructure.

“FDI is always welcome,” says Reg Rumney, Director of the Centre for Economics Journalism in Africa.

“Except when it comes from China!”

According to Rumney, this negative perception is fuelled by what seems like a mixture of racism and economic jealousy, especially in the US and Europe - Africa’s traditional trading partners.

Rumney says this bias betrays a sense of economic insecurity on the part of these global giants - who fear that their foothold in the resource-rich continent is under threat. “One must concede that China has made a positive and very visible impact on Africa’s infrastructure, with many of the big projects across the continent funded by that country,” says EthicsSA CEO Deon Rossouw.

Chinese investment in Africa might have improved infrastructure and brought affordable goods to our doorsteps, but it is time for bilateral trade and investment to address the continent’s biggest problem: unemployment.

First, one of the criticisms of Sino-African trade that is based in real-

ity needs to be addressed: whereas China exports raw materials from Africa, it imports cheap final goods to our shores. This offshore production means less economic value, fewer factories and fewer jobs are created in Africa.

China’s size, strength and willingness to invest make it indispensable to developing countries in Africa. But, for China to be a responsible economic partner to Africa, countries on the continent need to focus on restructuring trade, adding value to their exports and minimising their reliance on manufactured imports.

‘Value-added trade’ can be created using a series of legislative and trade moves to protect and promote African industry, keeping money and jobs on the continent.

By promoting valuecreating manufacturing activities and placing trade restrictions on final goods, economic policy can be used to create a friendly environment for African manufacturers to flourish.

While the economic future shared by China and Africa is uncertain, it’s clear that many of the fears surrounding the ‘invasion’ are simply unfounded.

The results of the EthicsSA survey could go a long way in dispelling some of the myths surrounding Sino-African relations, bringing to bear the opinions of those who matter most: the people who live in Africa.

Stockbroking becomes fashionable in Africa HARARE, ZIMBABWE-- A few minutes before ten on the morning of August 6th, some two dozen smartly attired men and women slowly assemble on the fourth floor of 101 Union Avenue in downtown Harare. They gather in a small room around a chain of wooden tables waiting for the start of the day’s trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE). In front of each trader is a numbered green rectangle, which marks his or her spot on the trading floor. At some unseen signal—a bell sits unused on a table midway down the room—the trading begins.

African stockmarkets have been hot this year in part because of growing interest from rich-world investors who want exposure to the continent’s fast-growing economies. Zimbabwe has one of the largest of Africa’s so-called frontier markets, even though only a half-dozen or so of the 70-odd listed companies are big enough to interest foreign investors.

The market’s volumes do not warrant an expensive electronic-trading system or, for that matter, a long trading day. So each weekday morning a small group of brokers gather around the tables for about an hour to trade stocks the old-fashioned way, by calling out “buy” or “sell” orders

face to face. Another retro detail is the fixed trading commission, of 1%. A broker who matches one of his buyers with one of his sellers (a so-called “booked-over” trade) can get two lots of fees.

Murray Lynton-Edwards has been trading stocks in Harare for almost two decades and now runs his own firm.

When he began his career there were only four or five firms trading on the ZSE, he says.

But as the inflation rate in Zimbabwe exploded into the squillions in 2008, locals used equities as a store of wealth in place of banknotes that quickly lost their value. The number of brokers grew to handle the extra trading.

The adoption in 2009 of the US dollar as Zimbabwe’s main currency cured inflation and drew in foreign investors for locals to sell to. For a while this helped to support market turnover. But now the pickings are slimmer and have to be shared between 19 registered brokers on the exchange.

On this Tuesday morning there is a notable absence of bull-market fever. The previous day the main index had fallen by 11% as foreign investors sold stocks in response to the weekend’s news that Robert Mugabe (not known for his careful stewardship of the economy) had won

Zimbabwe’s presidential election by a thumping margin.

Trading is brisk but not frenetic. There is enough interest from buy-the-dip investors to keep today’s fall in the main index to just 1.7%.

Each trader comes to the stock-exchange floor with orders to buy or sell that have been placed by clients either earlier that morning or after the previous trading day’s close. There are no telephones.

Traders are entrusted to get the best possible price for their clients, although often they will have been given strict price limits: an instruction, say, to sell Delta (a brewer and one of the largest stocks on the market) for not less than $1.20.

Prices are set by auction. A trader calls out: “I’ll sell Meikles at 32 [cents]”, testing the market for shares in a conglomerate that owns Zimbabwe’s second-largest retailer. Onard Mazorodze, the trader for Lynton-Edwards Stockbrokers, sees his chance. “I’ll buy at 26.”

The offers fall, first to 27.75c, and then lower. Mr Mazorodze senses he is the only buyer and sticks to his 26c bid.

Economist

30

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

LIVING

At Awake local furniture gets noticed

BY WINNIE MANDELA Imported furniture to many Ugandans has always been the answer to the distressing furniture trend in the country that has forced many of them to opt for either Chinese or Indian furniture not withstanding if it will live to see the taste of time It’s for this reason that Evelyn Zalwango proprietor Awaka furniture decided to venture into the furniture business as a way of exhibiting the fact that Ugandan furniture too can be of great quality just like any other imported furniture.

Her dream to fulfill this came true in 2004 when she decided to leave her long term job as the public relations manager “Go Lotto” and decided to venture into the furniture business which according to her was still wanting by the time she started it She said that “the concept of customized furniture forced to me to venture into furniture making so that Ugandans too would enjoy the fruits of the strong and quality timber in the country which most of them didn’t know about” With a capital of shs60million she decided to open up a show room in Muyenga a Kampala suburb where her clients could come to see the kind of furniture produced and its from this that the number of clients started increasing because surely the quality of wood proved stronger than any other imported one.

From her small show room in Muyenga, she decided to move to Bugolobi yet another city suburb as a result of business growth which forced her to move to a much bigger place.

From there she could be able to show her clients the strong kind of furniture wood she uses in making her furniture She said “my furniture is sold at higher prices because of the intensity in production and quality of wood used” According to her, her factory sells all household furniture that range from kitchen, living room, dining room, bedroom, bathroom and outdoor furniture “My beds sell at prices ranging between shs1.5m to shs2.5m well as the prices of the chairs also

range between those same prices depending on what a customer desires. My office furniture is however more expensive”, Zalwango said.

For the past nine years of existence, customer interest and business has managed to thrive through thick and thin with a turn current customer turn up of 80% compared to the previous 30% which shows a big growth in business In my opinion, sticking to quality, standards and being true to clients is what has kept her business growing, the standard of material we use on our chairs, coffee table, and the others we make have turned many homes into nice havens to live in Besides that, the local furniture we make here is of hard wood yet imported ones are majorly made out of compressed sow dust therefore the strong quality of furniture produced by this company has seen increased customer turn up “Awaka furniture now earns over shs500m because of the quality furniture it produces and it is fascinating to observe how fast the furniture has worn hearts of many households in Uganda” Zalwango explains.

Since most people today look for things that will last for long, the company has also worked hard in ensuring that customer demand and quality is maintained.

Like any furniture, hers too has gone through a lot of challenges which range from the love for imported furniture by Ugandans who would rather buy imported Chinese furniture rather than buy locally made furniture which has been crowned of low quality “Ugandans should start buying their own products, well as there are a lot of substandard goods on the market, standard ones are also available therefore they should look out for the standard ones” she said.

The carpentry industry in Uganda according to her needs to also be worked upon because most of the carpenters available are not creative and stick to the rudimentary designs which makes them remain unreliable and incompetent Besides that, the expensive nature of wood and timber in the country as a result of diminishing of trees in most parts of the country are causing a

number of restraints to the growth of the business.

Lack of skilled personals in the industry is another major problem that she believes is lagging the furniture industry in Uganda behind.

She plans to expand her furniture business to all East African countries and to the globe at large so that

people out there can know that a lot of quality staff can be produced in Uganda.

“My target now is to penetrate the East African market so that the quality of Awaka furniture can be seen by many people.”

31

EAST AFRICAN BUSINNESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

SPORTS

UK soccer club to build sports complex in Dar

BY KENAN KALAGHO DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – English Premier League side, Sunderland AFC have signed a deal with the Tanzanian government that will see the construction of a sports complex in Ilala District in Dar es Salaam.

Mr. Gary Hutchinson, the Commercial Director at Sunderland said in Dar es Salaam last week that that construction of the state of the art complex commences in a few weeks.

The agreement is part of a fulfillment made to President Jakaya Kikwete while touring the UK based soccer club in July with the Premier League club promising to help build and nurture football in the country.

The president while on the visit to Sunderland said that he would ensure that the club’s investment in football helps train Tanzanian youth and encourage them the development of soccer in the country.

According to a press statement from Sunderland AFC, phase two of the project will see the creation of an elite academy programme and facilities to support Tanzania in the development of youth footballers.

Hutchinson added that the club will

ENGLISH FOOTBALL – PREMIER LEAGUE Mon,16Sep

Swansea vs. Liverpool

20h30

SS3/SS3N

Sat,21Sep

Norwich City vs. Aston Villa

13h00

SS3/SS3N

Sat,21Sep

Liverpool vs. Southampton

15h45

SS3HD/SS3

Sat,21 Sep

West Ham United vs. Everton

15h50

SS5HD

Sat,21 Sep

Chelsea vs. Fulham

18h00

SS3N/Maximo2

Sun,22 Sep

Arsenal vs. Stoke City

14h00

SS3N/Maximo

Sun,22 Sep

Crystal Palace vs. Swansea City

14h20

SS7/SS7N

Sun,22 Sep

Man.City vs. Manchester United

16h30

SS3HD/SS3

Cardiff City vs. Tottenham Hotspur

16h55

SS2HDA

Sun,22 Sep

SPANISH FOOTBALL – LA LIGA Mon,16Sep

Athletic Bilbao vs. Celta Vigo

21h55 SS5/SS5N

Sat,21 Sep

Rayo Vallecano vs. Barcelona

19h55 SS5HD/SS5

Sat,21Sep

Real Valladolid vs. Atletico Madrid

Sun,22 Sep

Real Madrid vs. Getafe

Sun,22 Sep

Valencia vs. Sevilla

21h55 SS3N/Maximo 18h55 SS5HD/SS5 20h55 SS3N/Maximo

ITALIAN SERIE A

Mr. Gary Hutchinson, the Commercial Director at Sunderland. provide Tanzania with technical and practical support to the development of the football academy project.

According to the Tanzania Tourist Board Managing Director Mr.

Mon,16Sep

Parma vs. Roma

20h40

SS6/Maximo2

Sat, 21 Sep

Chievo vs. Udinese

17h55

SS5HD

Sat, 21 Sep

Genoa vs. Livorno

20h40

SS7/SS7N

Sun,22 Sep

Sassulo vs. Inter

12h25

SS5/SS5N

Sun,22 Sep

Roma vs. Lazio

14h55

SS2HDA

Sun,22 Sep

Milan vs. Napoli

20h40

Maximo360

Aloyce Nzuki, the construction of the state of art sports complex in the city would to a greater extent help in promoting tourism in the country.

Mountain Dew Xtreme Gamers embark on Uganda competition

BY BAZ WAISWA Following the successful media launch of the Xtreme Gamers Tour, Crown Beverages Limited under its brand, Mountain Dew, has since embarked on taking the competition to the public across the country.

The public activations started on a high at Wandegeya early last week and it attracted a mammoth crowd at Ham Towers, the home to Tuskys Supermarket.

Many fans from all walks of life expressed their joy at experiencing the Tour after they were asked to play games like FIFA’13, Tekken and racing. Knowledge about the games never mattered as some people looked like first-timers behind the PlayStation pads.

The tour has since been taken to other Kampala townships of Bukoto, Kamwokya and Nakawa and the Old Taxi Park.

Forget entertainment springing from musicians, the launches have seen skaters, talent scouts, powerisers, prominent motocross bikers Ahmed Tamale and Michael Kig-

LIVE TV GAMES

GERMAN FOOTBALL – BUNDESLIGA Fri, 20 Sep

Borussia M vs. E.Braunschweig

20h00

SS3N/Maximo2

Sat, 21 Sep

Nuremberg vs. Borussia Dortmund

15h25

SS7/SS7N

Sat, 21 Sep

Schalke vs. Bayern Munich

18h25

SS7/SS7N

Sun,22 Sep

Stuttgart vs. Eintracht Frankfurt

17h25

Maximo360

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Tue,17Sep

Man.United vs. Bayer Leverkusen

20h00

SS3/SS3N

Tue,17Sep

Galatasary vs. Real Madrid

20h00

Maximo2

Tue,17Sep

Bayern Munich vs. CSKA Moscow

20h00

SS6HD/SS6

Tue,17Sep

Viktoria Plzen vs. Manchester City

20h00

SS7/SS7N

Tue,17Sep

Benfica vs. Anderlecht

20h15

Maximo

Tue,17Sep

FC Kobenhaven vs. Juventus

20h40

SS8

Wed,18Sep

Barcelona vs. Ajax

20h00

Select 1

Wed,18Sep

Marseille vs. Arsenal

20h00

SS5HD/SS5

Wed,18Sep

Milan vs. Celtic

20h00

SS6HD/SS6

Wed,18Sep

Chelsea vs. Basle

20h00

SS7/SS7N

Wed,18Sep

Austria Wien vs. Porto

20h30

Maximo

Napoli vs. B. Dortmund

20h40

SS8

Wed,18Sep

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE One of the skaters showing off his skills. gundu and the crowds creating their own fun.

Mountain Dew has injected Shs700 million into the tour that will have activations in bars, nightclubs, malls and schools.

The Xtreme gamer’s challenge is set to expose the playful and daring

child in everyone as the tour sweeps through all the regions of Uganda.

The grand finale of the tour is November 2 at Kololo Independence Grounds with the winners walking away with a collated cash prize of shs100million among other prizes.

Thu,19 Sep

Fiorentina vs. Pacos de Ferreira

18h30

Maximo

Thu,19 Sep

Valencia vs. Swansea

18h55

SS3/SS3N

Thu,19 Sep

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bordeaux

18h55

SS5/SS5N

Thu,19 Sep

PSV Eindhoven vs. Ludogorets

18h55

SS7/SS7N

21h00

Maximo

Thu,19 Sep

Razgrad Guimaraes vs. Rijeka

Thu,19 Sep

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Tromso

21h00

Select2

Thu,19 Sep

Real Betis vs. O.Lyonnaise

21h00

SS2HDA

Thu,19 Sep

Estoril vs. Sevilla

21h00

SS7/SS7N

32

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK • SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2013 Unveiling Opportunities - www.busiweek.com

Rwanda, Tanzania nod new truck levy charges

BY PATRICK KISEMBO DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – Tanzania and Rwanda have resolved their border entry levy dispute, one week after Rwanda announced higher charges to equal those demanded by Tanzania.

Besides boosting trade among the two East African countries, observers hope the move will persuade Rwanda to still use Dar es Salaam port .

The two countries’ ministers for Finance from Tanzania, Dr William Mgimwa and Rwanda, Ambassador Claver Gatete agreed on a harmonized user transit charge of $152 per truck plying between the two countries down from $500.

Lower charges will also ease the burden facing business people from both countries.

The available statistics show that about 200 and 300 trucks were crossing to Rwanda while just 20 to 30 trucks enter Tanzania from Rwanda, according to Mgimwa in this case, it is likely that our traders would suffer mostly.He said further that the $500 would have forced local transporters through the central transport corridor to increase charges and thus rendering them uncompetitive against their counterparts in the northern corridor using the port of Mombasa in KenyaThe Rwandan government two weeks ago raised road toll to $500 entry charges per truck up from the previous $152, maintaining that the charge corresponds to how much Tanzanian government charges

DEAL: The new levy will help ease tensions and business for transporters.

Rwandan trucks entering the country through the same border.

Rwanda had from September 1, this year, increased by over three times road toll for Tanzanian registered trucks from$152 to $500 from September 1, this year.

Rwanda has been complaining on higher charges by Tanzanian authorities. At first, Rwanda used to charge $16 per 100km in reciprocal with Tanzania, before it introduced a flat rate of $152 and eventually the new rate of $500.Mgimwa said Tanzania charges vehicles from all countries as per the Tanzania Revenue Act of 1995, insisting that the Rwandan trucks were charged depending on km from the Rusumo border.“It is only 139 km from Rusumo to Kigali, but it takes 1,350 km from the same border to Dar es Salaam. But our colleagues want to have the rates harmonized without considering the

distance their trucks cover on our roads,” he added.

On September 9 this year, Rwanda announced to increase road toll fees on Tanzania trucks, making the fees equivalent to that charged in Tanzania.Last EABW reported that until the announcement made by Rwanda, Tanzania trucks were being charged $152 for using Rwandan roads.Rwanda’s Executive Director of Rwanda Long Distance Truckers Association, Mr. Theodore Murenzi was quoted by EABW saying their trucks had been facing a challenge of competition with their counterparts in the region due to high charges along the highways.

Rwanda’s ambassador to Tanzania, Dr Ben Rugangazi said before the two government compromise on fees last week that his country decision to raise road toll charges was meant to level the playing field.

Kenya to triple power output

BY HUMPHREY LILOBA NAIROBI, KENYA--Kenya Power, the official state-owned power distributor, may shift attention from supply to demand.

The power utility firm has been reeling under serious supply constraints that have slowed new connections to the power grid.

Kenya Power Managing Director, Ben Chumo told an industry conference in Nairobi last week, the firm will be seeking to concentrate new connections among industries to adequately exploit a planned 5,000 megawatts addition to the grid.

Chumo, while addresssing delegates at the just concluded East African Power Industry Convention said they will be looking to increase annual power connections from the current

300,000 to a possible 500,000 over the next two years.

“We are looking at creating more demand in view of the increase in supply. In this quest, apart from the domestic consumers, we will be going heavy on industries to fully exploit the 5,000 megawatts addition,” Chumo said.The conference was organized to bring together various stakeholders in the local power sector to discuss challenges and opportunities at a time when Kenya is facing serious energy constraints that have driven up the cost of energy.

Currently, slightly over 30 per cent of the Kenyan population is connected to electricity. The situation is especially worrisome in the rural areas. In mitigating this challenge, the government launched the Rural Electrification Authority specifically charged with encouraging

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connections in the rural areas and other hinterlands.

Kenya, through a raft of measures, plans to triple its electricity generation over the next five years.

A plan to this effect has already been launched by the Ministy of Energy.

Kenya currently has a total installed power generation capacity of about 1,600MW out of which 700 megawatts are hydro power considered expensive and vulnerable to adverse weather conditions. Since independence, little effort has been made to increase this installed capacity at a time when demand is at an all-time high.

“We are confident that in the next four years, the power situation in the country will have drastically changed.

With the expected increase in installed capacity and a growth in the rate of new connections, it can only get better,” said Chumo.

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Food pushes up Rwanda inflation

BY DIAS NYESIGA KIGALI, RWANDA--High food prices have pushed the country’s inflation rate during August.

According to the National Insititute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR), the Rwanda’s Consumer Price Index, grew by 0.52 % to 4.04 % in the month of August up from 3.52 % in the month of July.

NISR said price increases in food and non- alcoholic beverages, which are major items in the consumers food basket, lowered the purchasing power of most households.

‘In annual change, the increase in the general index of 4.04 is mainly due to the rising prices of Food and nonalcoholic beverages (4.90) and Education (35.18) which contributed +1.88 and + 1.28 respectively,’ the statement reads in part.

Analysts said this will affect the purchasing power of consumers and cause a slowdown in economic performance.

“This means people will be spending more buying the same goods they have been buying previously,” Job Opar, a consumer consultant said.

But the National Bank of Rwanda announced last week that the economy is stable despite the rise in inflation.

“In terms of a global outlook, inflation is to remain moderate explained by falling oil prices and weak global demand. But in Rwanda, it can be explained by good economic performance, well-coordinated policies, as well as helping ease inflationary pressure on trading partners, factors which we will continue,” Central Bank Governor, John Rwangombwa said when presenting the latest monetary policy statement.

Accordingly, the increase of 2.79% in prices of Food and non alcoholic beverages is primary attributable to the increase of 6.11% of vegetables Meanwhile, ‘local goods’ increased by 4.38% on annual change with a monthly change of 1.34%, while prices of the imported products increased by 2.66% on annual change with a monthly change of 0.45%.

Tz state miner wants partners

BY ANDREW ZABLON MWANZA, TANZANIA-- Tanzania’s State Mining Corporation (STAMICO) is offering seven mineral properties for joint venture projects.

These are located in Manyara, Mbeya and Shinyanga regions.

The mineral properties are Digri Chromite Prospect under prospecting license No. 5227/2008 in Kiteto district, Manyara region that covers an area of 20.37 square kilometres.

In Mbeya region, the mineral project for joint venture is the Ileje PGM Prospect with an area of 8.28 square kilometres under prospecting license No. 6956/2011. It lies within the Palaeo-Proterozoic terrain in the Ileje district.

STAMICO preliminary exploration work show that there is a possibility of striking an ore body of platinum and its associated metals.

One STAMICO official said he could not know exact status with regards to the response from would be partners, but confirmed the seven mineral properties were up for joint venture with Stamico.

STAMICO Managing Director, Gray Mwakalukwa was unavailable for comment.

In Shinyanga there is Isaka Pospect, under prospecting License No. 3137/2005 with an area of 9.25 square kilometres.

This mineral property lies within the Lake Victoria Goldfields.

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