Various One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) across the East African neighbours have come into sharp focus as the region seeks to address non-tariff barriers that affect seamless flow of the cargo and trade between Member States.
East Africa Business Council (EABC) has taken lead in promoting efficiency across the OSBPs in the region. The council has visited a number of border posts and this week, it was the turn for Rusumo border between Tanzania and Rwanda where EABC called for the harmonization of charges by trade facilitation agencies.
The council said that the US $ 35 levied on every truck crossing the border post as a facilitation fee for accommodation and refreshment for truck drivers in Covid 19 isolation centres was making the route more costly.
The business community also asked for the harmonization and reduction of quality inspection fees charged on goods by the Food and Drugs Authority in Rwanda and fast tracking of issuance of chemical permits by Tanzanian authorities to reduce transit time at borders.
Recently, EABC called upon South Sudan to embrace the use of the National Identity cards as a traveling document across the region.
South Sudan was put on a spotlight for charging visa entry fees on residents of the other East African Partner States
“As it is now, South Sudan still charges visa fees to EAC citizens from EAC Partner States which do not have a bilateral agreement with the country. We also urge South Sudan to join Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to use National IDs as travel documents,” EABC CEO, Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki said.
This followed a visit by the Council at the Nimule – Elegu One-Stop Border Post (OSBP). The Nimule-Elegu OSBP is the main border post between South Sudan and Uganda and the busiest land border in South Sudan where most goods imported from Uganda are processed. The OSBP has been recording an average of 160 trucks crossing the border daily.
EABC in collaboration with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and the South Sudan Chamber of Commerce held a meeting with the Joint Border Management Committee, deliberating on sustainable solutions on issues affecting the flow of goods and movement of persons at the border post.
Early last month, EABC called upon East African Community Partner States to allow movement of persons across border posts, lifting the restrictions currently in place.
Some border posts such as the Taveta- Holili and the Isebania – Sirare border post (Kenya – Tanzania) were still not allowing movement of persons despite travelers having Covid-19 certificates.
In a meeting with the Taveta-Holili Joint Border Management Committee (BMC), Dr. Mathuki noted that only truck drivers and emergency cases for persons are allowed to proceed; encouraging illicit trade through porous borders.
While visiting the Lunga Lunga- Horohoro border post, (Kenya-Tanzania) Dr Mathuki noted that the movement of persons had declined sharply.
“There is urgent need for the re-opening of border posts which are currently not allowing movement of persons. This will also see resumption of the existing Ujirani Mwema markets situated in both Kenya and Tanzania and in turn reboot cross border trade,” said Dr Mathuki.
Dr. Mathuki also urged Kenya and Tanzania to fast-track the operationalization of the One Stop Border Post at Lunga Lunga – Horohoro border. “The OSBP will expedite the turnaround time of clearance of cargo and persons,” Dr. Mathuki said.
A report by the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) that gave recommendations based on its first 14 observatory reports offered a raft of measures for free movement of goods across the region, which included expansion of a list of goods cleared through the Single Custom Territory.
To address the delays at Malaba border post, NCTTCA report recommended full implementation of Single Customs Territory.
Malaba has in the recent past recorded higher border crossing time. The report recommended scaling up efforts to explore the idea of opening another border station between Kenya and Uganda, preferably located between Busia and shores of Lake Victoria to ease flow of goods between the two countries.
“These delays reverse the gains made by OSBP and SCT initiative calling for enhanced systems connectivity and provision of enough parking yards at the border to reduce congestion,” the report said, adding that there is need to do border audit to identify any bottlenecks affecting the flow of traffic and if need be, review the standard operating procedures and removal of duplicate procedures.
Since 2010, TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) has partnered with the East Africa Community and its member states including Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan to implement 15 One Stop Border Post and adopt Integrated Border Management Systems.
