............East African Commmunity to help member states ............benefit from AGOA   By Reuben Olita AFRICAN nations doing business with the USA under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) have resolved to take a new approach on regional trading blocs in their quest for a bigger share of the American market.This has come even as passionate calls are being made for African countries to increase trade among themselves.   Kenya’s prime minister, Raila Odinga said Africa must focus strongly on building regional trade which he noted remains so pitifully small.   “We must re-orient our export strategies to focus strongly on Inter-Africa trade. That is where there is immediate growth. Before we even think of AGOA, it’s possible to trade with ourselves,” he stressed. Despite hosting the eighth AGOA forum in August, Kenyan exporters are still faced with numerous challenges-just like other sub-Saharan African countries.   The scenario is attributed to the ever-rising US market standard rules for various products. It emerged during the recent AGOA forum that for horticultural products, except flowers, to access the US, Kenya has to do Pest Risk Analysis (PRA). Applications for PRA had been done for 14 crops while 10 others remain. The US is yet to give the way forward on carrying out the PRA on the other crops.   Kenyan Trade Minister Amos Kimunya said the US should undertake measures to fast track the PRA process for approval of exports from Sub-Saharan Africa. He said the US government should provide resources for capacity building in agriculture, particularly in the areas of research and training. Other areas include agricultural infrastructure, productivity, marketing and technology.   Many African nations are hesitant to participate in the US-Africa trade programme since they do not know for how long they will be eligible. African Union chairperson, Erastus Mwencha said many investors will always be hesitant to participate in Agoa when they do not know for how long they will be eligible.   The pact, which is part of the US legislation and is meant to liberalise market access to the country, initially covered the eight year period from October 2000 to September 2008. Amendments signed into law by former President George W. Bush in July 2004 further extended it to 2015.   “Agoa should be investment friendly and predictable to encourage investors to take advantage of the opportunity it presents,” Mwencha said. He urged the US to assist Africa to diversify its export products which would in turn enable the continent to further penetrate the American market.   Efforts to diversify and add value to eligible African countries’ products have borne fruit, with the 2008 figures showing US imports under Agoa standing at $66.3b, about 30% higher than 2008. The primary objective of Agoa is to help increase both the volume and diversity of US trade with Sub-Saharan Africa. Agoa also promotes economic co-operation and trade among the countries by encouraging Inter-regional trade.   Meanwhile the East African Community is expected to help its five member states, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi all of which are beneficiaries under Agoa.   “Many countries that qualify for Agoa have not been able to fully exploit the opportunities the Preferential Trade arrangement offers,” Peter Kiguta, the EAC Customs and Trade director said.   Regional economic organisations are going to increasingly get involved to deal with the challenge. The commonly cited constraints to Africa’s export trade to the US are lack of direct flights and limitations in sea transport, strong standard requirements, inadequate financing for exporters and lack of value addition.     ............Regional Leaders vow to enhance regional trade The East African Community (EAC) leaders have vowed to enhance cross-border trade despite the global economic recession that is threatening to erode some of the gains the region has made in the last few years. The leaders from Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Zanzibar and Uganda ’s First deputy Prime Minister, Eriya Kategaya were speaking in Nairobi recently during the opening of the second East African Community Investment Conference that attracted 2,000 participants.   President Yoweri Museveni said East Africa would remain unshaken and an ideal region for investment despite the global economic recession that had realised an economic downtown to most world economies. In his speech read by Kategaya, who is also the Minister for East African Affairs President Museveni said the five member states of the EAC were committed to boost investment in the region.   He said the establishment of the Common Market protocol was a big opportunity for the region’s 140 million people, adding that an economically powerful region would lift people out of poverty. Museveni said there was need to introduce a regional investment authority and tax incentives to spur economic development that would subsequently make markets competitive and improve the investment climate.   Foreign direct investment from EAC member states led to 2,643 new jobs in 2005, 5,379 in 2006, 2,605 in 2007 and 1,428 last year. The East African bloc has a combined Gross Domestic Product of $60b (Ush132b). Already it has a customs union with a common market expected in January next year. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said the global challenges have led to inward looking policies among multinational corporations that were hitherto making inroads in the region. Kibaki said African economies were yet to attract a fair share of global capital inflows that had seen the African continent able to attract only 3% of total global capital inflows.   President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said despite the economic and financial crisis, Africa was in the middle of its strongest economic performance in the past 40 years.   “We are guided by a vision of transforming the EAC trade bloc to be part of the emerging markets,” Kagame said, adding that the linkage across borders to access other regional economic communities creates market access and inter-regional integration which is a strong point for the African continent.   Kagame who is also the chairman of the summit of the EAC said they had not closed the doors on new members. Burundi President, Pierre Nkurunziza said their move to join the regional bloc had opened up investment opportunities for the landlocked nation. He appealed to citizens of member countries to go to Burundi and invest there.   Zanzibar President Dr. Amani Abeid Karume urged leaders to show serious commitment in raising investment levels in the region. Karume, who is also the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania noted that cross border trade, was a must if the region has to match other world economies.