This book brings together a collection of papers that look at the nature and impact of barriers to trade within Africa. The varied contributions draw attention to a wide range of constraints, distortions and abuses, and unveil the complexity of the reform agenda that is necessary to address them. The chapters have been written in a non-technical language, with the explicit intention of promoting dialogue about integration amongst policy makers, regulators, entrepreneurs, consumers, academia, and the broad international development community. Behind each chapter lie more detailed technical reports that are available on the trade website of the World Bank’s Africa Region.

The promotion of good governance in all its aspects remains a major concern of the Government of Burundi. It is for this reason that since 2005, efforts are being made visible on the consolidation of peace and democracy, human rights, good governance, reconciliation, sine qua non conditions for the realization of other initiatives in social and economic development matters. It is thanks to these achievements that the Burundian people of Burundi have been able to focus on economic activities in all in various sectors.

This note outlines the approach taken by the Long Term Technical Assistance (LTTA) team of Trade Mark East Africa (TMA), implemented by Imani Development, within the Rwandan Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) to providing capacity building and technical assistance. The approach is built around an understanding that the Ministry of Trade, and specifically, the external trade department, is just one player in a broader network of actors required to develop evidence-based trade policy. A system geared toward good trade policy development includes technical leadership of the process, the ability to harness expertise and inputs from a range of stakeholders, and the ability to get to agreement at political level. The LTTA has therefore focused on strengthening the system rather than focusing on a single department or on individuals.

Trade facilitation efforts in the East African Community (EAC) have led to faster customs clearance

[vc_row][vc_column][custom_inner_menus select_menu="project"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][single_project_block_1 heading="Holili OSBP IBM" implementor="The Kenya Revenue Authority and Tanzania Revenue Authority are the lead agencies implementing this project, jointly with the Kenya and Tanzania bilateral National OSBPs Steering Committees (NOSCs)." target_group="The border agencies officials and all border posts users, especially importers and exporters and informal traders." project_value="US$ 600,000" implementation_period="2011 - 2017" download_btn_text="Download Project PDF" download_btn_link="#url"]The Mombasa – Voi – Taveta – Arusha road is one of the alternative transport corridors in the EAC region, which links the Northern Corridor at Voi, 160 kilometres East of Mombasa, to the Central Corridor at Dodoma and Singida via Arusha. Holili border post serves traffic to and from Northern Tanzania and the sea port of Mombasa. With the current traffic volume crossing Taveta / Holili border posts and the anticipated significant increase in traffic volume once the Voi-Taveta part of the road is upgraded, efficient movement of goods and people through the two border posts is very critical to facilitate trade within the EAC region. The increase is likely because the distance by road from Mombasa port to Himo junction in Tanzania is much shorter (about 472 kilometres) compared to the much longer distance from Dar es Salaam port to the Himo junction (about 935 kilometres). What: The project focuses on setting up the institutional and legal framework necessary for increasing collaboration in border management at inter-agency and bilateral levels, reviewing and implementing one stop border post procedures, training border agency officials, and installing ICT networks, hardware, furniture and equipment. How: TMA...

[vc_row][vc_column][custom_inner_menus select_menu="project"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][single_project_block_1 heading="Mutukula (Tz) OSBP Construction" implementor="Tanzania Revenue Authority" target_group="Importers and exporters in our target countries" project_value="US$ 4,500,000" implementation_period="2011 - 2017" download_btn_text="Download Project PDF" download_btn_link="#url"]418 vehicles a day pass through the Mutukula border point, with trucks taking over a day on average to process through customs from Tanzania to Uganda. This delay imposes serious costs on traders. They must wait longer for their import or export, pay for the truck to wait at the border, risk perishable goods losing their value and manage unpredictable transport times. What: A one stop border point is being constructed at the Mutukula border point.  This project is related to other TMA supported projects that provide: •  Improved IT infrastructure at border post; •  Harmonised working procedures on both sides of the border; and • Training for border agency staff, freight forwarders and traders. How: TMA is providing funding for the construction of the OSBP and is supporting the lead agencies to implement the project on time and ensure quality.  The project is implemented in coordination with other ongoing initiatives of the World Bank, JICA, USAID, the African Development Bank and the European Union. Contact: Israel Sekirasa: israel.sekirsa@trademarkea.com Click here to learn more about One Stop Border Posts Program[/single_project_block_1][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id="desired-result"][vc_column][single_project_block_2 heading="Desired Results" image_1="42676" image_2="42678"]Improved physical border infrastructure, harmonised working procedures, faster customs processing and information sharing will reduce waiting times at the Mutukula border point. This will contribute to reducing trade costs in East Africa.[/single_project_block_2][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element="yes"][vc_column][project_single_ele_3_container heading="More Project Insights." sub_heading="Projects Highlights From A Glance" slide_1="info...