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KAMPALA, UGANDA – Tabloids in Uganda have made a killing after it was announced two weeks ago that one of the country’s monarch had at last fathered a son, capable of becoming his successor. The king (Kabaka) of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi (57) who is married to Lady Sylvia Nagginda has not had a son over their 12-year marriage, causing... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA – The power price increases that were proposed by the government of Uganda may fail to take off as they received strong resistance from manufacturers and legislators last week.The Uganda government through the energy ministry proposed new power tariffs saying it wants to save money and ensure more power production through construction of more dams. The government removed... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – The recent hike in power tariffs, threatens to raise the cost of industrial production  and gravely cut profit margins of businesses.The power tariffs, which became effective January 15, 2012, are a disincentive to new investors. Tanzania’s energy regulator,  – EWURA – approved an electricity price hike of 42.29%, which was far lower than it had... Read more

KIGALI, RWANDA – Base fuel prices at all filling stations in the capital – Kigali – have gone down by 6% effective January 16, the Minister of Trade and Industry François Kanimba said in a communiqué last week. The base price of petrol and diesel has gone down from Rf1, 000(US$1.68067) per litre to Rf940 ($1.57983. “This reduction is made... Read more

Emirates, will soon offer customers a quicker and more convenient link to Uganda, with the introduction of a direct service to Entebbe International Airport. Starting March 28, flight EK 729 will depart Dubai at 08, 25hrs each day, arriving in Entebbe at 12:35hrs. The return leg, EK 730, will depart Entebbe at 15, 40hrs and arrive in Dubai at... Read more

BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI–The Second Vice-president, Dr IGervais Rufyikiri last week officially launched the Frame of Dialogue Initiative for the public private sector. Dr Rufyikiri said the participation of a well structured, effective and efficient private sector is indispensable to the development of a strong and sustainable economic base. He said it was a source of wealth and job creation under a... Read more

KIGALI, RWANDA – Rwanda is projecting inflation rate to reach 7.5% this year as economic growth will be expected to slow at 7.6%, the Central Bank Governor said last week.The  country saw inflation reaching 8.3% in December 2011, exceeding initial projection of 7.5% and the second projection of 8.2%.  Rwanda’s inflation is mainly driven by costly imported goods and high... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA – Kampala Traders are now back to work after they ended a four day strike over high interest rates charged by commercial banks. Their strike that cost URA about Ushs40b ($16m) never yielded the desired result because the banks did not change their positions. The Traders wanted the interest rate on old loans to be taken back to... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has said the country’s national debt is sustainable despite ballooning to US$12.53billion, pushed up mainly by exchange rate fluctuations. In October 2011, the national debt stock increased by $186.4million in a single month, blaming it on exchange rate fluctuating and new disbursements. The Tanzania shilling hit a historical 11,840 to... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA- The Tanzanian Teachers Union has called off a national strike that was supposed to be staged countrywide this month before schools open, following the release Tshs 22.5 billion (US$7.8 million) to settle the teacher’s overdue arrears.Speaking with the East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam the President of the Tanzania Teachers Union, Gratian Mukoba, said... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – The Government is positioned to start cracking down on counterfeit imports into Tanzania as soon as the pre-shipment verification of conformity takes off at the end of next month – February 2012. To start with, the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) is organizing  sensitization with importers and dealers in the country on how it will... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA- The Uganda Revenue Authority registered an 18.8% growth in net revenue collections for the first half of 2011/12, a senior URA official told reporters over the weekend.Mr. Moses Kajubi, the acting commissioner general explained that the total collections amounted to Ush2927.50b compared to the Ush2462.77b that was levied in the first half of 2010/11.“First half performance against the... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – The Bank of Tanzania said it is assessing the impact of the rise in tariffs by 40.29 % from January 15, 2012 as announced by the Electricity Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) recently.The Central Bank said it would be focussed mainly on the  macroeconomic fundamentals, especially on prices of goods and services.The BoT’s Director of... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA- A report seen by the East African Business Week recently has showed some fairness in the proposed reconstruction costs for the Mbarara/Katuna road in south western Uganda.The 124km road connects Uganda to Rwanda. It is estimated to cost about 120million Euros, which is about 969,000 Euros per kilometer.The report that was conducted by Uganda’s works and transport ministry,... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA – Starting this week, Ugandans homes will have their electricity bills increased by 36% after the government of Uganda scrapped subsidies to the electricity sector. Energy Minister Ms.Irene Muloni confirmed the scrapping of subsidies citing the huge bill amounting to Ush1.2 trillion (US$500m)that the government has had to pay since to 2005.Domestic consumers, who use electricity for lighting... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA- The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has appealed to Ugandans not to wait for the last minute rush to register their SIM cards.“The only person who should be afraid of SIM registration, naturally, is the criminally-minded, who knows that their days are numbered after all existing SIM Cards are registered,” said the commission head of communication, Mr. Fred Otunnu.As... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – Efforts by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) to raise yield rate for a two-year treasury bond failed to generate the full amount it anticipated to rise during the lasy Wednesday auction.The Central Bank raised the yield rate to 17.85 % from 7.82 %, but managed to get about one-third of the required tender amount. The... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – Africa Eagle Resources, a development mineral exploration firm is set to receive US$5.5 million finance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) that will be injected into a bankable feasibility study for Dutwa Nickel Project in Tanzania.According to Tom Butler, the IFC Head of Mining the fund will be made available at the end of January... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – More international firms are eying on uranium mining in Tanzania despite worries and concern from the Tanzania general public, international environmental NGOs and western capitals over mining effects that could come with this activities.Last week, two mining firms, East Africa Resources Limited and Korea Resources Corporation (KORES) entered into US$3.5m investment pact that will see... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – The prospects for construction of the long-awaited new Kigamboni City section across Dar es Salaam harbor has been greatly boosted following the signing of a US$136 million (Tsh 214.6 billion) construction and funding pact between the Tanzania Government and two Chinese firms to construct a 680m bridge.The new bridge that has been on the books... Read more

MTN has arguably been the market leader in providing mobile money services in Uganda, however recent glitches in the system has left pundits wondering whether it can handle the increased capacity. MTN’s dominance has existed despite the presence of Uganda Telecoms M-sente and Airtel’s Airtel Money. Warid Telecom is the latest entrant in the mobile money frenzy as at the... Read more

Many things may be lacking in Africa but there are two which are abundant and free all over the continent – wind and sunlight – and Kenya’s Anthony Kiptoo Ng’eno decided to turn them into a profit. In 2001 he and his partner Michael Chavanga formed a company, Winafrique Technologies Ltd, with the goal of taking advantage of the opportunities... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA – Over 10,000 people in Uganda’s western district of Masindi have been connected to the national grid after power distributors Umeme, installed two transformers valued at $30,000.The two transformers were energized the same day according to Umeme. The Bunyoro region has been facing frequent outages in recent weeks caused mainly by faults on the Mutundwe Substation but also... Read more

Ms Joan Namukasa, a Drilling Engineer at Tullow Oil speaks to over 30 science and mathematics secondary students at Makerere University Kampala during an academy workshop. Looking on is the Founder and Chairman of African Gifted Foundation (AGF) Tom Illube which is undertaking the academy programme at the university. Kampala, Uganda -In an effort to build a broad talent pool... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – The interbank cash market mid last week recorded a downward trend on  overnight borrowing rates after dropping to 27.42 %, thanks to liquidity stance easing in the market.The rate hit the ceiling in the previous week after reaching 34.11 % following the Central Bank tough money measures to curb the Tanzania shilling free fall and... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA- The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has appealed to Ugandans not to wait for the last minute rush to register their SIM cards.“The only person who should be afraid of SIM registration, naturally, is the criminally-minded, who knows that their days are numbered after all existing SIM Cards are registered,” said the commission head of communication, Mr. Fred Otunnu.As... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA- Under the Female Future Programme conducted by the Federation of Uganda Employers, over 30 women managers graduated last week with the requisite skills to head multinational organizations world over.They were trained to be future Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors and Executive Directors.According to Mr. Martin Kasekende, the chairman of the Federation of Uganda Employers, they have for a... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA – Remittances by Ugandans working abroad have gone down by at least $10million dollars over 2010, Uganda’s central bank governor told reporters in Kampala.Mr. Emmanuel Mutebile said Uganda recorded about $760 million in 2011, a decline from $778 million in 2010.He attributed it to the economic situations that hit the world. The world was hit by high inflation... Read more

KIGALI, RWANDA – Rwanda’s Central Bank is designing a financial instrument that aims at attracting the country’s nationals living abroad to invest in the economy.The ‘Diaspora Bond’, according to Central Bank Governor Claver Gatete should be rolled out this year. “We want to make it really a competitive bond,” Gatete said in an interview late last year, adding, “We are... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA- For the second month running, the Bank of Uganda has  maintained its central bank lending rate as inflation continued to succumb to its monetary policy for the year ending December 2011.According to the Bank of Uganda governor Mr. Emmanuel Mutebile, the central bank rate was maintained at 23% in January 2012, as inflationary pressures on the economy continued... Read more

ARUSHA, TANZANIA- Up to 8 million Tanzanians should have access to better health services up to 2015 following the World Bank approval of $100m for the basic health services project. The new project is designed to build on Tanzania’s success in improving access to health services, which has helped to cut infant and child mortality rates by nearly half over... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA- The Electoral Commission has warned political parties, political leaders, aspiring candidates and residents  not to conduct elections of local council leaders as it came to their knowledge that some villages are conducting elections illegally.The commission chairperson Mr Badru Kiggundu told reporters in Kampala that people who assume an elective office without going through an election organized and conducted... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA- Customers of one of Uganda’s newest telecom service provider Warid Telecom have come out to complain that they are being fleeced by the company through unsolicited messages and calls that reduce their credit.The customers say that the company first calls them through numbers 168001, +151, 0182, 157 and others, and when they receive these numbers, the system starts... Read more

BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI – Before closing his forex bureau in 2006, Pierre Claver Hakizindavyi, a Burundian entrepreneur, had made profit and decided to reinvest it in the company to increase its capital. As the law requires, he published the decision in the official gazette of the Government, which is signed on by the Head of State. When time to pay taxes... Read more

A New York man is suing Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM for $10 million for injuries he says he sustained while helping to stop the so-called “underwear bomber” from blowing up a plane on Christmas Day 2009.In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday, Theophilus Maranga says he “risked his life” by jumping on the would-be... Read more

ARUSHA, TANZANIA – The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) last year  was the first winner of the ‘Best Presented Financial Statements Awards’ under Government Institutions Category by the National Board for Accountants and Auditors (NBAA).The award was presented during the Accountants’ Annual Dinner in Arusha. The NBAA introduced these Awards requiring entities to submit their financial statements to NBAA for evaluation... Read more

Kampala, Uganda – The high lending rates by commercial banks have raised complaints from consumers and traders who have called on the intervention of the lawmakers and regulators to reign in on the rising rates. However last week Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile the Bank of Uganda Governor clarified that the central bank cannot intervene for the banks to reduce the rates.... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA-Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Abdirahin Abdi has attributed the current drought in the Horn of Africa to lack of closer working relationships between Parliamentarians and scientists. “It is unfortunate that the drought we are experiencing in the Great Horn of Africa, which is the worst in over six decades, had long been predicted before it... Read more

Kampala, Uganda – The economic outlook for the East African region looks less grim in 2012 than in 2011 according to economist’s projections. There was as economic slowdown in 2011 right across the region due to inflationary pressures and rising high fuel prices. IMF projections for the region in 2011 have reduced regional growth by about 4% due to these... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – An estimated 50,000 Dar es Salaam city residents who commute daily by ferry between Magogoni and Kigamboni have been irked by the Government’s move to hike fares by 100 per cent.The ire of the residents of Kigamboni, area east of Dar port, has turned into a political affairs instead of financial following protests by the... Read more

KIGALI, RWANDA – Algeria’s biggest sugar producer Civital Group has tasked the Rwandan Government to provide 20,000Ha of land to grow sugarcane as a pre-condition to set up a sugar milling plant in Rwanda with the capacity to produce 200 Metric Tonnes( MT) annually. The plant is only a portion of about US$250m the group has earmarked to invest in Rwanda... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – Christmas and New Year seasons have been a hard holiday period with biting costs on food commodities due to inflation to meet the people’s demands of family presents, food and new clothes. A random survey by the East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam at Kariakoo, the city’s biggest market last week, revealed a sharp... Read more

KIGALI RWANDA - Rwandan teachers in public schools are set to get housing loans after their cooperative secured a mortgage financing deal with the Rwanda Development Bank (BRD). Under the deal, the teachers’ Savings and Credit Cooperative (Umwalimu Sacco) will borrow Rf1.5 b ($2.6 m) from BRD which it will also lend to its members. The loan, which is expected to see 600... Read more

  KAMPALA, UGANDA- Anamariya Nattabi, 52, sold her plot of land at Ush15 million (about $6250). She opened up an account in one of the major banks in Uganda, such that the buyer of her land can make all payments through the bank and, for safety reasons. Never did she know that her money would either not be safe. After making three... Read more

BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI – Brarudi S.A. which is partly owned by Heineken NV has announced an increase in the price of all drinks by 50 Burundi Francs (BIF) (USD 0.04). This was revealed in a press release in Bujumbura last week. According to the press release, this increasing is due to a rise in production’s costs. The company has, nevertheless, promised to invest... Read more

ARUSHA, TANZANIA-President Mwai Kibaki has said that the Kenyan economy could survive challenges it’s undergoing if Kenyans reduce purchasing foreign made products to promote  locally produced goods. He said that the country has of recent faced economic challenges which have led to the high cost of living, fuel price increases and inflationary pressures. “We must however, draw lessons from the economic... Read more

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – The European Union (EU) last week disbursed, through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, some Euro 48 million (Tshs. 97 billion) in budget support for Tanzania’s 2011/12. The funds were released under the General Budget Support (GBS) facility intended to help Tanzania to reduce poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). That also follows what the EU... Read more

KAMPALA, UGANDA – With Uganda’s mobile phone subscribers currently believed to be at 10 million, the telecom companies are jostling to out compete each other in the battle for more customers. This has caused most of the companies to offer customer friendly services and prizes in an effort to woo more customers. The price wars that earlier on characterized the sector had... Read more

Kampala, Uganda – Umeme has released its seven year tariff review of distribution parameters to the public. The review that aims at introducing pre-payment meters and increasing customer connections was unveiled at a public hearing organized Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) in Kampala recently. Speaking at the hearing, Umeme MD Charles Chapman said they increased the new connections by 220,000 against a... Read more

Kampala, Uganda – Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) has advised government and other stake holders to invest in aquaculture as the best solution to the depreciating fish species in Uganda’s fishing bodies. The Programme Manager Policy Analysis and Advocacy in ASARECA, Dr. Micheal Waithaka,  said the only way to meet the increasing demand for fish... Read more