With the launch of the Mutukula One Stop Border Post (OSBP), speed of doing business along the Uganda and Tanzania common borders should greatly improve the economies of the two countries. Time, it has been numerously stated, is so valuable; more precious than gold and diamond. No amount of money can buy back a moment wasted. William Penn, one of the earliest advocates of democracy and religious freedom, says although time is what human beings desire most, it is also what we use worst. This assertion is epitomised by the millions of shillings lost daily through wastage of time as a resource at our common border posts. For East Africa’s landlocked countries of Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, every precious resource must be fully utilised to maximise benefits of trade with other East African neighbours. That is why the launch of the Mutukula One-Stop Border (OSBP), brings joy and a major sigh of relief for traders, importers and exporters who use the Uganda/Tanzania border point. At last, they can smell prosperity through efficient and lucrative trade. Transit goods, passengers, travellers and exports exiting through Mutukula to Tanzania, will stop once on the Tanzanian side for clearance by Immigration and customs (as opposed to stopping twice on both the Ugandan and the Tanzanian side). The OSBP will also reduce the amount of paper work required among local traders during import and export procedures. By integrating the revenue authorities and various institutions and agencies, trade can literally grow faster. The OSBP follows in tandem with the November...

A second one-stop-border-post (OSBP) to be launched by the East Africa Community at Mutukula Town on the Uganda -Tanzania border will cut clearance time by one third, an official said. TradeMark Africa (TMA) says the OSBP will bring together immigration and customs officials from the two countries under one roof at the crossing point, doing away with need for trucks and persons to undergo clearance twice at both sides of the border. “This improves ease of doing business across borders,” said TMA communications manager Ann Mbiruru. “Increased efficiency in border controls boosts trade by cutting the time taken to clear goods and people between the two nations, thus contributing to a reduction in transport cost, whilst increasing volumes of transhipment cargo through the transport Corridor.” Ms Mbiruru cited a time and traffic survey at the Mutukula border which shows time spent crossing the border has reduced by over 50 per cent after the first OSBP was opened. It is expected that time to cross the border will reduce by at least a third. TMA through funding from the UK Department for International Development and Global Affairs Canada has funded the construction and operationalisation of the Mutukula one-stop border post. This is in addition to supporting other OSBP’s including: Busia/Busia; Malaba/Malaba; Kabanga/Kobero; Holili/Taveta; Elegu/Nimule; Mirama Hill/Kagitumba) across the region. These projects cost investments worth about $117 million, with an estimated return of $30 for every dollar spent. OSBPs complement other initiatives TMA is undertaking to reduce trade barriers. Source: The Citizen

A second one-stop-border-post (OSBP) to be launched by the East Africa Community at Mutukula Town on the Uganda -Tanzania border will cut clearance time by one third, an official said. TradeMark Africa (TMA) says the OSBP will bring together immigration and customs officials from the two countries under one roof at the crossing point, doing away with need for trucks and persons to undergo clearance twice at both sides of the border. “This improves ease of doing business across borders,” said TMA communications manager Ann Mbiruru. “Increased efficiency in border controls boosts trade by cutting the time taken to clear goods and people between the two nations, thus contributing to a reduction in transport cost, whilst increasing volumes of transhipment cargo through the transport Corridor.” Ms Mbiruru cited a time and traffic survey at the Mutukula border which shows time spent crossing the border has reduced by over 50 per cent after the first OSBP was opened. It is expected that time to cross the border will reduce by at least a third. TMA through funding from the UK Department for International Development and Global Affairs Canada has funded the construction and operationalisation of the Mutukula one-stop border post. This is in addition to supporting other OSBP’s including: Busia/Busia; Malaba/Malaba; Kabanga/Kobero; Holili/Taveta; Elegu/Nimule; Mirama Hill/Kagitumba) across the region. These projects cost investments worth about $117 million, with an estimated return of $30 for every dollar spent. OSBPs complement other initiatives TMA is undertaking to reduce trade barriers. Source: Business Daily

The OSBP will bring together immigration and customs officials from the two neighboring countries under one roof at the border crossing point, eliminating double clearance of trucks and persons on both sides of the border. TradeMark Africa, with funding from UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Global Affairs Canada, has funded the construction and operationalisation of the Mutukula OSBP. This is in addition to supporting other OSBP’s including: Busia/Busia; Malaba/Malaba; Kabanga/Kobero; Holili/Taveta; Elegu/Nimule; Mirama Hill/Kagitumba) across the region, an investment of approximately $117Million, with an estimated return of $30 for every dollar spent. Construction of the border post was undertaken by Coil Ltd and Nasr General Construction Company Ltd JV in August, 2013 and was completed in February last year. The other funding was contributed by the Government through the Ministry of Works and Transport through the VAT component of the contract and land acquisition. According to a statement from TMA, infrastructure that was constructed at the border post includes freight building, warehouse and cargo inspection shed, parking yards for trucks and passenger buses/cars, light vehicle inspection sheds, power house, scanner yard, entry/exit gates, access roads, external fencing and staff quarters. Information from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) indicates that from the time the border post became operational, they have registered an 83% reduction in border clearance time for cargo and passengers crossing from Tanzania to Uganda. While a 55% reduction in border crossing time has been realised for cargo and passengers travelling in the opposite direction, surpassing the...

According to Magufuli, the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) for one has collected an extra 380.5 million/- since it opened an office at the then newly-established Mutukula OPBP in November last year. TBS is one of several government agencies that have offices at the post, a move that is believed to have helped reduced corruption at the border to a large extent. “While Tanzania has managed to increase its revenue in this way, I’m told that Uganda has also increased revenue collections by 110 per cent,” Magufuli remarked during yesterday’s official launch of the Mutukula OSBP, which was also attended by President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Outlining other benefits, Magufuli said the World Food Programme (WFP) has been using the post to get 400 to 600 trucks to South Sudan carrying much-needed food aid each month. The Mutukula OSBP has also significantly reduced delays in border clearance time that often tends to hinder intra-African trade compared to trade with Asian, North American and European countries, he added. Clearance time for travellers has been reduced from 10-30 minutes to 2-3 minutes since the OSBP started operations, while inspections of passenger goods are now completed in just 30 minutes to one hour, compared to 4-5 hours required before, he further noted. “Previously, trucks carrying containers required more than one day to complete inspection and immigration procedures. But currently, an average of 30 minutes to one hour is required, which is a significant achievement,” Magufuli remarked. The Mutukula OSBP was built at a...

Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) in partnership with TradeMark Africa have launched an online portal in a quest to provide investors in the country with up to date data on the sector. The centralized business portal will provide industry stakeholders and potential investors with information on economic and legal environment, industrial and trade statistics relevant to the manufacturing sector and its sub sectors. Speaking during the launch, Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, State Department of ICT and Innovation Principal Secretary, Mr. Victor Kyalo noted that the ICT sector is envisaged to transform Kenya into knowledge and information based economy. “ICT sector is the catalyst for competitive and dynamic economies. Kenya is considered the leading technology and innovation hub in Africa. The development of a large-scale telecommunications infrastructure in Kenya, capable of delivering efficient and affordable info-communications services is recognized as a critical prerequisite for the country’s economic growth. The Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology is therefore keen to partner with KAM to mainstream innovation in industries,” added Mr. Kyalo. KAM Chairlady, Ms. Flora Mutahi noted that the information shared through the portal will provide investors with the necessary data needed to map out areas of investment and potential sectors for businesses to scale into. “Kenya moved a notch higher in e-commerce following the recent launch of the devolution portal which seeks to provide an interactive platform for information sharing between the Business Membership Organizations County Governments and Constitutional Implementation Bodies. Another key milestone for industry has been the...

And in common with other container ports around the world, the number of vessels serving those trades has dropped as the average teu has increased to a record 4,400 teu. Even after removing distorting wayporting calls, the trend is still for less ships of larger sizes. This has clearly placed pressure on ports serving these African trades, where private ownership is very much the exception rather than the rule. Dynamar’s in-depth study of the East & Southern Africa Container Trades (2017) finds that the Far East and the Middle East vie for the lion’s share of East and Southern Africa container trade. With a forecast growth of 12% in the overall region’s economy to 2019, East African trades seem to offer better prospects to those of Southern Africa, according to the report. Dynamar even goes so far as to predict that East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands might supplant Southern Africa as the larger container trade in the future. The Study features an interesting summary of ESAF ports and their respective capacities, highlighting 24 ESAF ports that appear on the schedule of intercontinental liner services. Seven are in East Africa, eight are in the Indian Ocean Islands and the remaining nine are in South Africa. Interesting developments cited include: Mombasa’s capacity now being at a level that puts it into second place behind Durban; Dar es Salaam inching up to just behind Ngqura and the rise of Port Reunion as a hub thanks to its increased use by CMA...

The World Bank is set to unlock $600 million for an infrastructure project to facilitate trade in East and Central Africa and provide an alternative route to the sea for Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "We are talking about improving infrastructure along the Central Corridor, specifically Lake Tanganyika," said East Africa Community Secretary General Liberat Mfumukeko. It will improve the transportation of goods coming from Dar es Salaam by railway to Kigoma, from where "it can be shipped to Bujumbura or Kalemi and Uvira. This project will improve infrastructure in Tanzania, Burundi and DR Congo," he added. According to the EAC Secretariat, the new infrastructure project will cut the cost of transporting goods from Dar es Salaam port by 40 per cent. More than 50 million people living around Lake Tanganyika are expected to benefit from the new project. For instance, 80 per cent of Burundi's imports come through the Central Corridor from Dar es Salaam. "It was the aspiration of the people of East Africa to come together and tackle the problems of their people by providing the necessary facilities," said Kirunda Kivejinja Uganda's Second Deputy Prime Minister and the chairman of the EAC Council of Ministers. The Community is expected to invest more than $10 billion within the next 10 years, mainly in infrastructure projects. The standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi is already complete. When fully complete it is expected to join up Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Alternative routes of transporting goods...

Rwanda and Kenya were the only economies in the region to record improvements in the Ease of Doing Business Index released last week, as new laws, inability to repatriate funds, and business registration saw the other countries fall in their ranking. Kigali had the biggest jump, improving 15 places from last year's rank 56 to rank 41, followed by Nairobi, whose attractiveness to investors improved 12 places, buoyed by improvements in regulations for starting a business, trading across borders, getting electricity, access to credit and the payments of taxes. However, slow registration of property and issuance of construction permits remain the biggest hurdles to ease of business. Since the start of Ease of Doing Business Index ranking 15 years ago, Rwanda has implemented the most reforms at 52, followed by Kenya at 32 and Mauritius at 31. Kenya's Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed said that Kenya was happy with the ranking, adding that the country would strive to involve the private sector. "This is the country's best performance in 15 years and reflects continuous improvement, which is a good indicator for international investors. It will now help us attract more investments into the country. Last year, we delivered the highest number of business-related reforms on the continent," Mr Mohammed said. Kenya According to the report, Kenya made starting a business easier by removing stamp duty fees required for the nominal capital, and memorandum and articles of association. The country also did away with requirements to sign compliance declarations...

Stakeholders in the transport sector have warned that sustained anxiety resulting from the long electioneering period in Kenya might have devastating effects on Mombasa port’s performance and the Northern Corridor. Data from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) indicate that although imports have been flowing into the harbour normally, off-take of cargo has slowed down during the period. “The imports are normal but the challenge has been experienced in picking up the goods,” said Mr Bernard Osero, KPA head of corporate affairs. Former Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) chief executive Alfayo Otuke said most transporters had withdrawn their trucks from the roads, fearing for their safety, especially after the opposition boycotted the presidential election rerun. While normally more than 3,000 trucks ply the northern corridor route each day, the number has reduced to less than 2,000, said Mr Otuke. The corridor is the artery that feeds landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo with goods imported through Mombasa, and disruption of the route as witnessed when Nasa supporters protested immediately after the August elections and before the repeat presidential poll, disrupt delivery of cargo. Becoming risky Lately, Rwanda, Burundi and DRC have turned to the Central Corridor that runs from Dar-es-salaam port. “The northern corridor is becoming risky for transporters who fear to lose their investments and have withdrawn their vehicles from the roads. They have cut down on the fleet that they are operating because of the political uncertainty,” Mr Otuke, who was the CEO...