The government of Ethiopia and Kenya recently signed the Moyale One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) operational procedure manual. The Ethiopia Customs Commission and Kenya’s Operation Coordination Committee signed the manual at an event attended by key private and public sector players from both countries.
The Moyale–Moyale One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) was inaugurated in December last year and started operations in June 2021. With the OSBP operations manual, border clearance processes will be easier, faster, and cheaper for traders, transporters, and travelers, while maintaining the border regulatory requirements of both counties through coordinated border management operations.
The two governments discussed the opportunities available for traders to use the OSBP at a consultative workshop attended by representatives from various public and private sector organisations from both Ethiopia and Kenya.
“The signing of the procedure manual will guarantee that all processes have been reviewed and harmonised. This will ensure that trading and cooperation between Kenya and Ethiopia is efficient and effectively facilitated,” Kennedy Nyaiyo, Kenya’s head of delegation and the Secretary of Kenya’s Border Management Secretariat said.
Debele Kabeta, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Customs Commission, said that the trading connectivity between the two countries has been quite insignificant compared to the potential that exists.
Debele further explained that the volume and diversity of goods traded between Ethiopia and Kenya are growing at a higher rate, expressing optimism that the operationalization of Moyale One-Stop Border Post will boost trade relations and free movement of people between the two countries.
The commencement of Moyale OSBP operations was realised through the cooperation of the Governments of Ethiopia and Kenya, represented by Ethiopia Customs Commission, Ethiopia Roads Authority, Kenya National Highways Authority, Border Management Secretariat (Kenya) Kenya Revenue Authority, and the other border regulatory agencies, supported by TradeMark East Africa with funding by the United Kingdom. The construction component of Moyale OSBP was funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Governments of Ethiopia and Kenya.
Moyale OSBP began was launched in December last year. This was after Trademark East African (TMEA) facilitated Ethiopian and Kenyan governments in reviewing and harmonising Moyale OSBP legal framework and operation procedures to ensure its optimal use and increased trade.
The support enhanced security and removal of non-tariff and technical barriers to trade to encourage the private sector not only to utilise the corridor but also the OSBP.
Moyale is a key gateway to Kenya and Ethiopia and is along the emerging Nairobi-Moyale-Addis Ababa, and the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor. It is a strategic entry point for Kenya into the Ethiopian market, with a population of over 100 million people.
Serving as a critical regional interconnectivity node and a transit link from Ethiopia to the ports of Mombasa and Lamu, the corridor will enhance EAC – Horn of Africa (Ethiopia) economic integration.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last year inaugurated the 500-Kilometers Hawassa-Hagere Mariam-Moyale road which is part of the Trans African Highway and a key segment of the Mombasa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa transport corridor
It envisaged that the LAPSSET project is an immediate project for landlocked Ethiopia, which has over the years been desperately seeking connections to more sea routes. Its direct line of sight with Addis Ababa allowed for the shortest road link between Addis and Lamu. Ethiopia’s dependence on imported goods had shifted 98 percent of its traffic to the Djibouti port, which was about 85 percent of the whole port’s traffic in 2009.
The other 2 berths of the Lamu Port, constructed by the China Communications Construction Company, were commissioned in May this year.
