The President made the call yesterday while launching the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) at Mutukula, in Misenyi District in company of his Ugandan counterpart, President Yoweri Museveni, of the Republic of Uganda. He said the people in EAC region should properly utilise the OSBPs positions to enhance trade relations for the benefit of all in the bloc, adding that in his leadership, trade and bilateral relations between Tanzania and other EAC nations are paramount. Dr Magufuli thanked the United Kingdom through Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) and other development partners for funding the construction of the OSBP at Mutukula border post and the infrastructure. He said the project that would cost a total of 160bn/- upon completion was a good gesture of the cordial relations existing between them, adding: “We cordially thank the UK and other development partners for funding the project. The government highly appreciates the timely assistance.” The president further said opening of the OSBP at Mutukula border post, has made revenue collections increase to 380.5m/- from November 2015 to-date with the assistance of Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) as the watchdogs. Tanzania has nine OSBP facilities, but only four of them named as Kabanga, Mutukula and Rusumo in Kagera Region and Holili, in Kilimanjaro Region operate in full capacity. Some OSBP which operate below capacity due to lack of sufficient infrastructure in the country include Kasumuro (Mbeya), Sirari (Mara), Holoholo (Tanga), Tunduma (Songea) and Namanga (Arusha). During the occasion, the president also emphasized how Tanzania and...

Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli has called on the investors involved in the 1,445km construction of the crude oil export pipeline from Hoima, in mid-western Uganda to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean port of Tanga, to fast-track its construction process. Magufuli noted that the 3-year timeline provided for was too long and means should be devised to reduce it. Magufuli who is in Uganda on a three-day visit, also lay a cross-border mark stone at Luzinga Village for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and addressed a rally in Kyotera. “Why should we wait for the proposed competition date of 2020 and yet you the investors have the money? The experts are here. You can hire as many contractors as possible and give each of them a section of the pipeline to construct or ensure you have both day and night shifts. After all you know that when we start pumping the oil you will get back your investment and returns,” Magufuli said. Addressing hundreds of people who turned up at the official opening of the Mutukula one stop border post in Rakai district on Thursday, Magufuli thanked President Yoweri Museveni for accepting the pipeline to go through Tanzania and assured him of security. Magufuli and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni later commissioned the one stop border post at Mutukula. Magufuli noted that other countries in the region wanted the same pipeline but that Museveni had listened wisely and opted for Tanzania. Construction of the oil pipeline that is expected to commence early...

The Presidents of Uganda and Tanzania, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and John Pombe Magufuli respectively have today launched the Mutukula One Stop Border Post (OSBP). OSBP is an integrated border system that leads to improved efficiencies through streamlined, coordinated and harmonised procedures under one roof/structure. In Mutukula, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) officials jointly serve importers, exporters and travellers. This facilitates trade and quick movement of passengers. President Museveni urged East Africa Community member states to put emphasis on agriculture, industrialisation, information communication technology and public service a tools of economic growth. Trade facilitation, he said, would lead to prosperity for all by enabling border communities to do business. President Magufuli concurred. TradeMark Africa, with support from UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Global Affairs Canada, funded its construction and operationalisation at sh19.1bn. Other OSBPs in Uganda are Mirama Hills connecting Uganda to Rwanda, Busia & Malaba connecting Uganda to Kenya. TradeMark has injected over $117m OSBPs in the region. Customs initiatives like OSBPs and the Single Customs Territory (SCT) have catapulted growth in volumes of goods cleared through Mutukula from sh384bn in 2013 to sh617bn in 2017 and exports from sh93bn to sh251bn over the same period. In Tanzania, sh27,776,716,217.00 ($12m) was collected from August 2016 to June 2017, the time during which the Mutukula OSBP has been operational compared to the 2014/2015 when sh18,646,417,015.00 ($8.1m) was collected. Customs initiatives like OSBP, SCT, Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) and the Uganda Electronic Single Window...

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

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...

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...

THE announcement by the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Yang Youming that the three governments of China, Tanzania and Zambia have reached an agreement on the revival of Tazara is great news. Tazara should never be allowed to collapse. It is an important institution directly linked to how the country has developed since independence and the friendships it has been able to cultivate with the outside world. The railway line was built out of necessity. A year and few days after Zambia’s independence, Ian Smith unilaterally declared independence for Southern Rhodesia, which he renamed as Rhodesia. It was a coup against the British Crown. The declaration of independence for Rhodesia was a big blow to the new Zambian nation. Since the start of the twentieth century, its trading system was tied to southern Africa. Its external trade depended on the Rhodesia Railways and was routed through the ports of Durban, Port Elizabeth and Beira and imports were mainly sourced in South Africa. This was the case until the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was established, when the Southern Rhodesian industry developed and became the main supplier on the Zambian market. But products not available in South Africa and Rhodesia still continued to transit through the ports of South Africa and Rhodesia. Yet, six weeks after UDI, Zambia’s access to these routes was cut off. The British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and American President Lyndon Johnson declared economic sanctions against Rhodesia. This greatly hurt Zambia’s economy. In fact, the sanctions hurt Zambia...

Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the businesspersons from Zambia, who are currently on a familiarisation tour of the port’s activities, said there has been a remarkable improvement in terms of performance, from cargo handling at the port to transportation. “We do appreciate efforts being made by the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) in improving service delivery at Dar es Salaam Port. The port remains the best gateway for Zambia,” said Michael Nyirenda, President of Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who led the delegation. However, he called for more measures to be taken between relevant authorities in Tanzania and Zambia to expedite cargo clearance upon reaching Tunduma border from Dar es Salaam. According to Mr Nyirenda, there is much delay of cargo upon reaching Tunduma border post on its way to Nakonde on the Zambian side. Acting TPA Director of Marketing, Ms Lydia Mallya said Zambia transported 1.248 million tonnes of cargo through the Dar es Salaam Port between January and September 2016, but following improvement in various areas the cargo increased to 1.478 million tonnes between January and September, this year. Ms Mallya told the 10-man delegation that TPA was open for suggestions and proposals from Zambian business community on how best to improve service delivery. Zambian traders are the number one TPA’s transit customers. Acting Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Director General, Lazaro Jacob assured the delegation that TPA and other stakeholders in the transport sector would continue supporting and improving service delivery. “I would like to inform you...