Good evening…
TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) has continued to
show great progress this year. Several key results
have been achieved with our partners. The overall programme has matured and
many results have begun to be visible and are impacting positively on the lives
of millions of East Africans. This is against a backdrop of sustained economic
growth in the East Africa Community member states, a region expected to
continue as the continent’s most economically attractive. This is attributed to
robust investment in economic reforms as well as resilience to global economic
slowdown.
TradeMark East Africa has raised almost US$750
million to invest in projects from its development partners including Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the
United States. I’m proud to say that makes TMEA the biggest aid for trade project anywhere in the world.
The results are truly impressive. TMEA’s support
for the modernisation of ports in Mombasa and Dar, and its one-stop border
posts, are transforming trade and driving integration across the region. The time it takes to move goods from
Mombasa to Kampala has been halved, to six days. A container now moves through
the port of Mombasa in less than four days – it took more than 15 only a few
years ago. We have raised significant funding to develop the port in Dar es
Salaam. And by the end of next year, the programme will have helped increase
East Africa’s exports by at least 10%.
There have, however, been some challenges to our
programme implementation with regards to security in Burundi and South Sudan,
which has slowed down implementation. We are closely monitoring the situation
and hope for stability in the two nations.
Our management restructuring that took place last
year worked well by creating a serious technical team. This has ensured we
achieved a sharper focus in the quality of our programming, as evidenced by the
positive ranking achieved on the independent evaluation of our programmes.
Following on from last year, we have strengthened
the TMEA governance structure with the appointment of a team of highly
qualified professionals to the Board of Directors. These individuals bring a
wealth of experience in various sectors including the private sector,
government and non-profit. This wealth of experience is a major asset for TMEA.
Our investors have also formed the new TMEA council to support our work.
Confirmation was received of TMEA’s international
accreditation by the Chartered Institute
of Procurement & Supply. TMEA is only the second organisation in Africa to receive this prestigious accolade,
and the first in East Africa. This highlights our commitment to high levels
of procurement transparency, efficiency and fairness, and our belief in
continual self-improvement.
TMEA is in a transition phase with the completion
of projects under its first phase. In Strategy 2, we aim to use our knowledge
in understanding and managing complex projects and rigorous focus on value for money
for our investors. Strategy 2 has been built on partnership and trust that we have cultivated over the last six
years. We
will aim to contribute to increased trade by reducing trade barriers and
enhancing private sector markets. Strategy 2 is also putting women at the centre of TMEA’s focus. The Board has full
confidence that TMEA’s focus in Strategy
2, its leadership and staff will enable the organisation to sustain its high
performance.
I’d like to recognise
here the huge efforts of TMEA’s many excellent
partner organisations through which it works, and also TMEA’s employees and leadership across the whole
organisation.
We continue to strive for excellence - to ensure
the best opportunities for businesses in East Africa to create wealth, jobs and
to eliminate poverty - whilst providing the best possible value for money to
our investors.
On behalf of the Board, I thank our investors
warmly for their strong on-going support. I also would like to thank in a very
special way, the Governments of East Africa, the EAC Secretariat and private
sector and civil society who have proved to be excellent and motivated partners
of TMEA since its inception. The success we are celebrating this year would not
be possible without their active support and engagement.
We look forward to continued success in 2016.
Thank you.
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