John Bosco Kalisa, chief executive officer for the East African Business Council (EABC) said yesterday that Kenya’s imports from Tanzania stood at $501m and exports reached $403.9m, on the basis of EAC customs data.

At an EABC trade facilitation forum at the Namanga one-stop border post (OSBP) he applauded presidents Samia Suluhu Hassan and Uhuru Kenyatta for eliminating the nauseating barriers, at the forum

supported by the German development cooperation group GIZ, which operates the ‘Supporting East African market-driven and people-centred integration’ (SEAMPEC) programme.

The Namanga OSBP Kenya o station manager said the number of trucks cleared daily at the border has increased threefold to 250 compared those crossing the border in May 2020.

However, leaders of the freight forwarders association urged the separation of the Import Declaration Form (IDF) from the Integrated Customs Management System (ICMS) for Kenya and set up a permanent cargo scanner at the border to facilitate rapid clearing of vehicles.

Daniel Wainaina, the chairman of the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA), said the clearing cost of cargo on the Kenyan side has increased by 70 percent due to multiple processes and departments. For 20metric tonnes of cargo, the clearing cost is approximately $200 which results in lower competitiveness, he stated.

Gerald Masila, the East African Grain Council CEO, said the council spearheaded the development of EAC harmonized standards on grains and cereals, common standards on sampling and testing, to boost cross-border trade of cereals.

The traders called for more staff to be deployed at the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) of Kenya to facilitate approval of pre-applications of maize import from Tanzania and joint testing of aflatoxins to be undertaken preferably in Arusha to reduce the number of rejections at the border.

Paloma Fernanda, the Cereal Millers Association CEO, urged for a joint campaign on tackling aflatoxins from farm level and post-harvest losses.

Sarah Keiya and Alice Lemowo, chairpersons of Women Cross Border Traders, urged the Tanzanian government to allow the use of national identity cards as travel documents, set up a daycare center for children, sensitization and capacity building on customs procedures plus exports of beaded jewelry to overseas markets.

Peter Musiba of the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) said that TBS is tackling aflatoxins whereas it has established testing centers in several areas across the country such as Dodoma, Shinyanga and Singida regions to facilitate trade in cereals.

Dr Irene Musebe, an official of the Ministry of East African Community and Regional Development in Kenya, said that Kenya and Tanzania have strong trade ties. The ministry is setting up a community market near the Namanga border post to support cross-border trade, he stated.

Women cross-border traders shall have a stall at the market, she stated, while Eugenia Mwesiumo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation said that the EAC Common Market is alive and well with improved trade facilitation, underscoring the role of border agencies in easing trade flows.

Challenges facing traders at the Namanga OSBP include lack of mutual recognition of product standards, system failures leading to delays in issuance of C4 documents, multiple roadblocks on both sides and cargo scanner failures leading to cargo trucks traffic jams, participants noted.

The forum recommended regular joint border management committee meetings, simplification and publication of customs procedures, a trade information desk for women cross-border traders, capacity building programs to tackle aflatoxins and transform aflatoxin-infected cereals into ethanol and industrial glue.

The forum was attended by around 70 delegates from the EAC affairs ministries, trade facilitation agencies, importers, exporters, transporters and freight forwarders, the Kenya National Chambers of Commerce and Industry, women cross-border traders and GIZ.

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