A Sh575 million ($6.4 million) Tanzania-Burundi one-stop border post currently under construction will cut the time for shipping Kenyan goods to Bujumbura through Namanga border by one third. The border point will be completed by mid next year, officials have said. Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunzinza last week launched construction of the border post that seeks to house immigration and customs officials from Tanzania and Burundi under one roof at Kobero-Kabanga crossing. Its completion by mid-July is expected to reduce the time it takes to clear goods from three days to one. TradeMark Africa (TMA), the multi-donor agency financing the project, says the Nairobi-Namanga-Bujumbura route is about 400 kilometres shorter than hauling the goods to Burundi’s capital through the Malaba-Kampala-Kigali route. “We are committed to supporting trade facilitation efforts in Burundi geared to realising regional integration through trade,” said TMA chief executive Frank Matsaert. A pilot one-stop border post is currently in operation at the Kobero border on the Burundi side, and statistics show that about 60 trucks are cleared daily, mostly originating from Kenya and Tanzania. Kenyan exports to Burundi comprise of goods such as cement, building materials like iron and steel, dairy products and processed foods such as canned food and sausages. The border project is a big win for traders who will stop only once for customs formalities instead of twice. The move to ease trade flows to EAC member countries will be further boosted once another one-stop border project is completed at the Kenya-Tanzania border by March...

EAST Africa is making significant progress in their economic integration agenda with a focus on trade and transport facilitation to improve its competitiveness. Heavy investments in road and railway infrastructure as well as modernization of port services are helping to boost intra-regional trade, the springboards for growth and prosperity in the region. However, a major undoing for the five partner states of the East African Community (EAC) - Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi - is the high costs of cross-border trade. Costs of trading to most of African countries are stubbornly high making it difficult for potential African exporters to compete in global and even in regional markets. Costs related to trading in the region are among the highest globally and are 50 per cent higher than in the United States and Europe, according to the World Bank. This is the result of gaps in infrastructure, lengthy border delays, red tape, poor regulation and lack of interconnectivity among systems used by the various government departments. It is even worse for landlocked countries of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda with transport costs rising to 75 per cent of the value of exported goods. According to the 1999 World Bank Paper Infrastructure, Geographical Disadvantage and Transport costs, if East Africa reduced its transport costs by 10 per cent, trade could increase by more than 20 per cent. It is against this backdrop that the Burundian President, Pierre Nkurunziza urged for improved efficiency by customs and immigration officials at border posts to reduce...

Kobero — IT is a big relief to traders at the Burundi and Tanzania border as time for cargo clearance has significantly been reduced, thanks to a pilot project of One Stop Border Post (OSBP) at the Kobero and Kabanga border points. The OSBP pilot project set up by the TradeMark Africa to ease transit cargo clearance at the border post has shortened cross-border procedures for cargo to a single day when everything works perfectly. The project began operations in June, this year at the Kobero and Kabanga border, which is a gateway for transit cargo for Burundi and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Tanzania. It handles about 70 per cent of all cargo transported by road to a landlocked East African Community (EAC) member state. Under the project, border control activities by Tanzania and Burundi authorities are combined under one roof to simplify procedures and save time for transit cargo clearance. A Customs Officer of Burundi government revenue collection agency, Office Burundais des Recettes (OBR), Mr Emmanuel Niyongabo, said here over the weekend that it takes a single day to clear cargo at the OSBP pilot project when traders submit proper documents and the system is working well. "Traders coming from Tanzania come here directly and it takes one day only to clear transit cargo," he told reporters on a site tour of One Stop Border Post facilities which are being built by TMA at Kobero and Kabanga to ease cross-border trade by reducing cargo clearance time....

The common tourist visa, was much applauded when launched a year ago at the World Travel Market 2013. It was then delayed by several weeks when the logistics were not in place on January 1, 2014. So how has the selling of this visa been doing since then? According to information received, sold less than 1,000 times since the system became operational, a figure which, if correct, and the source is not known to dish out fictional figures, would be disappointing. Two Ugandan safari operators confirmed also that the visa is only recommended by them to such clients actually traveling to all three countries, as the cost, when visiting only two countries, is the same and less bureaucratic. “Right now very few tourists actually have a three country itinerary. Two countries is more common, yes, but not all three. Those who visit three are still the exception. Therefore, the common visa does not make sense for them, and we only recommend it when it gives them a financial advantage. They pay once, but when crossing the borders they still have to queue at immigration and then show the page of the passport where the sticker has been put or they might risk being charged single visa fees. “What we need to do across East Africa, at least across the three countries which cooperate over the new visa, is to push for longer safaris and then cover the key attractions in each of them. How this will work we have to...

After 12 years of divisive negotiations toward Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), the East African Community (EAC) last month became the latest African region to agree to a bilateral trade deal with the European Union. Concluding the talks was not easy, and sticking points among stakeholders remain, particularly around key African exports like Kenya’s horticultural products. The final deal has far-reaching consequences for East Africa’s economic development—not all of them good, as alternatives to such economic liberalization pacts, which critics contend favor the EU, emerge. Following the Cotonou Agreement in 2000 between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states, which aimed to eradicate poverty in those regions and integrate them into the global economy, there was a definitive shift in the nature of the EU’s trade relations with all three regions. Since the 1970s, a preferential trading system had been in place, informed by the idea that such states should be protected from trade liberalization to assist their development. In 2002, however, negotiations toward EPAs began with what eventually became seven subregions of the ACP states. These were justified by the European Commission as a necessary change in order to satisfy World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on Regional Trade Agreements. It was also argued that they would act as a driver of development through the removal of trade barriers. ... Source: World Politics Review

More items have been added to the list of goods that will be cleared at the Dar es Salaam port under the Single Customs Territory system. The new list of goods, released by Rwanda Revenue Authority Customs Department includes cement and salt. Rice and sugar imported outside Tanzania have also been added, bringing the total number of items to six after fuel and wheat were piloted in July this. Rwanda has prioritised these items partly because they are categorised as low risk. This means that importers have shown high level of tax compliance but also essential. The new development announced by Commissioner Customs Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) Raphael Tugirumuremyi heightens competition between ports of Dar es Salaam port and Mombasa. “Increasing the list of items to be cleared under the SCT makes Dar es Salaam port and the central corridor attractive which for importers giving Mombasa a run for its money,” a statement from RRA said. There is hope among Kigali-based importers who have have been waiting for the full implementation of SCT clearing system along the Central Corridor. Earlier efforts to add more goods to be cleared under the SCT system suffered a setback because Tanzanian authorities were not ready. September 15 had been set to be the date when all goods destined to Rwanda imported through Dar es Salaam port would be cleared under CT for the first time. With the customs reforms under the East African Community, intra-regional trade has been deepened. Official figure from East African...

Tanzania’s government is seeking at least $600 million from private investors for the construction of a standard gauge railway line from Uvinza, Kigoma in western Tanzania to Musongati in Burundi. The development comes after Burundi announced last month that it will start exporting between 1.5 million and 3 million tonnes’ worth of nickel per year in the next two years. Burundi has discovered about 10 million tonnes of nickel deposits. Shaaban Mwinjaka, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, said the planned railway, which will have an estimated operating route of 200km, will help transport the chemical, adding that the two countries had already signed a deal. “We are in talks with the Burundi government for a preliminary study for the railway line. We are looking for investors,” the PS said. Big Results Now He added that the new railway line would effectively lower the cost of imported goods in the region. The project falls under the Big Results Now (BRN) initiative modelled on the Malaysian development strategy. Mr Mwinjaka said Tanzania was also planning to upgrade the Kigoma port to cater for the anticipated increase in cargo traffic. “We expect to achieve sustainable socio-economic development and integration by unlocking the underdeveloped potential in Tanzania and Burundi,” he said. He said the government was planning to develop the Kabanga and Dutwa nickel mines in Tanzania. Transit cargo between Tanzania and Burundi is expected to increase to at least 12.8 million tonnes by 2030. Mr Mwinjaka said the government is seeking...

A surge in fuel imports and increased Customs revenues are the results of the rollout of the Single Customs Territory in February, reflecting the benefits of reduced trade barriers. However, the depreciation of the Uganda shilling has denied consumers price discounts. Reduced turnaround times on the movement of fuel, cement and clinker, wheat, used clothes and beverages have spurred significant growth in import volumes. “This Customs arrangement offers local businesses huge benefits in moving goods and raw materials across borders at a lower cost. “But some of these cost savings have been eroded by the depreciation of the Uganda shilling against the dollar, and this has constrained local businesses from passing on new cost benefits realised in the Customs value chain,” said Richard Kamajugo Uganda Revenue Authority’s Commissioner for Customs. The Uganda shilling fell by 2.9 per cent against the dollar during the first quarter of 2014/15. Results from a survey conducted jointly by the Uganda Revenue Authority and the Rwanda Revenue Authority show that the average time spent clearing and transporting cargo from Mombasa to Kampala dropped from 18 days, two hours and 27 minutes to an average of four days and 15 hours after implementation of the Single Customs Territory system. Similarly, clearance and transportation of cargo from Mombasa to Kigali dropped from an estimated 21 days to an average of five days and two hours. The cost of transporting goods from Mombasa to Kigali decreased from an average of $5,200 to $4,200 per trip, and the number...

Tanzania Railways Ltd has embarked on an ambitious Tsh230 billion ($130 million) plan to modernise its infrastructure, to be financed through a commercial loan. TRL board chairman Severine Kaombwe said the firm also plans to digitise its operations and buy new equipment that will attract more hauliers to transport bulk cargo to upcountry destinations and landlocked countries through the railway network. “We are finalising a few things with the Tanzania Investment Bank so that the money can be approved, hopefully before the end of this year,” Mr Kaombwe said. The money will be used to equip TRL with modern locomotives and a cargo tracking system. Mr Kaombwe told The EastAfrican that a global positioning system (GPS) would be used to track all transactions and cargo movements. “With the GPS it will be easy to track progress and see the location of the train. TRL will be operating the way airports work,” he said. He said the railway has customers who transport large amounts of cargo from Dar es Salaam to Isaka 962km away, so the digital system will attract more business. He noted that one of TRL’s potential customers, Said Salim Bakhresa, transports cargo from Dar es Salaam through Isaka to Burundi or Rwanda. Independent sources told The EastAfrican that Said Salim Bakhressa and other businesses using TRL were considering using road transport because the railway was becoming unreliable. They also said cargo was frequently lost and not compensated for by TRL. Mr Bakhresa transports wheat flour, wheat bran pallets,...

From mid-2013 to early 2014, what the East African media called the Coalition of the Willing (a phrase that upsets EAC Secretary General Richard Sezibera very much) had the region all excited. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and his counterparts Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, seemed to have become wary of the East African Community becoming another African talking shop, and broke out. There was a flurry of activity: The standard gauge railway to run all the way to Kigali was launched, so was the Single Tourist Visa (a first in Africa), the opening of a new berth at Mombasa port and, to the credit of President Kenyatta, a reform that got rid of most the red tape that delays transit of goods to Uganda and Rwanda from the Coast. For a while it looked as though the Coalition of the Willing (CoW) threatened the EAC, with Tanzania and Burundi feeling isolated. Thankfully, it seems a lot of the ill feelings have now been soothed, and Tanzania threw up a pleasant surprise when a survey by the Society for International Development and Twaweza found that a whopping 85 per cent of the country approved of greater regional integration. Tanzanians, my friends never tire of telling me, are slow burners — slow off the blocks, yes, but still in the marathon race when fast-paced Kenyans and Ugandans have long fallen by the wayside. However it seems that though CoW took the cow to the water, it could not get it...