TANZANIA resolved more than 40 per cent of non-tariff barriers (NTB) to trade registered in an online and SMS reporting system last year in efforts to boost intra- regional trade.

TradeMark Africa Country Director, Dr Josephat Kweka, said that 41.6 per cent of all registered NTBs had been resolved thanks to joint efforts by his organisation, government agencies and civil society organisations.

“Elimination of NTBs has been one of our inspirations,” Dr Kweka told reporters at an event to launch TMA Annual Report in Dar es Salaam.

TMA supports the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture through funding and technical assistance to develop and enhance mechanisms through which NTBs are identified, reported, monitored and eliminated to facilitate an easy flow of trade within Tanzania and East Africa.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and TCCIA support the online and SMS NTBs reporting system. The project was extended throughout the country to ensure reporting of the NTBs was effective.

A reported NTB complaint is followed up by NTB National Monitoring Committee (NMC), which updated the business community on the progress of elimination.

The committee meets monthly to discuss the new reported NTBs as well as those pending. “More than 40 per cent of NTBs have been eliminated and the most interesting thing is the way they were captured through SMS and an online system, translated and worked on by the relevant authorities,” he said.

Media reports from Rwanda last week had it that members of the business community in Rwanda were complaining that little has been done by Tanzania’s government to eliminate NTBs in the central corridor nearly a month after the two countries held bilateral talks on how to increase efficiency on the corridor.

The traders who were speaking during the third breakfast meeting between the private sector and Ministry of East African Community Affairs in Kigali, said the reluctance to eliminate NTBs had continued to cost traders millions of dollars and could become worse if the situation was not treated with a great sense of urgency.

Tanzania has taken steps to address the current challenges along the corridor after reducing the number of weighbridges from eight to three where one has been installed at Vigwaza, near Chalinze, in Coast Region and another two will be installed in Manyoni in Singida Region and Nyakahura in Kagera Region.

In his State of EAC Address to Assembly in Bujumbura, last March, President Jakaya Kikwete, who is the Chair of the Summit of EAC Heads of State, urged partner states to spare no efforts in eliminating NTBs to spur regional integration process.

He re-affirmed his commitment during his term as Chairperson of the Summit to ensuring total removal of all barriers to trade.

“The progress made so far at the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and on the Northern Corridor with regard to road blocks shows that it is possible to eliminate these non-tariff barriers.

Measures are being taken in earnest to reduce road-blocks on the Tanzania side of the Central Corridor. I am sure in the next few months we will notice a huge improvement,” President Kikwete said.

The TMA Country Director said the 40 per cent elimination of NTBs was not a mean achievement and noted there were optimistic of achieving more on that front in this year.

“We need to appreciate the 40 per cent that has been achieved. It is quite an improvement for the government,” he said.

Source: All Africa

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.