East African Gazette Reporter.
As a commitment to facilitating commerce for Ugandan traders, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has is to reduce the container deposit of $3,000 (about sh12 million) per container carrying Ugandan goods at Mombasa Port.
KPA has been charging $3,000 per container, which the Ugandan business community has always opposed, saying it increases import costs, which affects the cost of doing business.
This was revealed by the KPA Managing Director, Capt. William K. Ruto Afni, during a meeting with the Ugandan Foreign Affairs Ministry led by Permanent Secretary Vincent Bagiire in Mombasa and the Secretariat Northern Corridor of Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA).
Bagiire was accompanied was Ambassador Richard Kabonero, the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIPs) Coordinator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Paul Mukumbya, the Consul General of the Uganda Consulate in Mombasa, Ambassador Moses Mpungu, and Aggrey Dhamuzungu, the First Secretary at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in charge of NCIPs, among the others.
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The delegation discussed several issues with the KPA boss, and Dr. Elias Leornado Leju, Acting Executive Secretary of the NCTTCA.
During the meeting, Ruto (KPA chief), noted that with more exports and imports going via Mombasa, Uganda continues to be a significant trading partner for Kenya.
According to KPA, handling port and transportation fees account for about 50% of the prices faced by the majority of Ugandan traders, meaning that if the costs are reduced, price levels would fall significantly.
Importers pay $40 (about sh130000 ) daily for 15 days from the time their goods reach the country, besides the $3000 (about about sh10m) deposit paid to the shipping line. This is forfeited when the cargo is not cleared and collected in the specified time. Unfortunately, traders often have goods awaiting clearing and transportation for months.
Uganda accounts for 83.2 per cent of transit cargo through the port of Mombasa, into the hinterland via the Northern Corridor, South Sudan taking up 9.9 per cent. DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda account for 7.2 per cent, 3.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.
Easing cross border trade
A deal was also made between the Ugandan delegation and the Secretariat NCTTCA to reduce trade barriers along the corridor.
Uganda has been pushing for the complete removal of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), as well as a reduction in the quantity of weigh bridges, checkpoints, and the time needed for cargo clearance at the Northern Corridor.
The Northern Corridor route connects Kenya’s Port of Mombasa with the East African Community (EAC)’s landlocked nations of South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi.
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The corridor still experiences difficulties with cross-border trade, which allegedly slows down commerce and rattles economies that are already battling to recover from a number of issues.
It is expected that this development will also improve the actualization of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIPs) in a seamless interconnected digital communications platform for customs.
The delegation also visited the Mariakani weighbridge station on the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ office of the NCIP’s Coordinator.
The delegation’s leader, Bagiire, emphasized the need for Member States to continue investing in regional transportation infrastructure since doing so will foster commerce and regional integration.
The remaining non-tariff trade barriers would be removed as a result of the cooperation and commitment, which he said will make the region more attractive for business and investment.
He stated that the region will profit from trade as a result of the states improving the infrastructure and facilities for seaports, inland ports and waterways, highways, trains, and pipelines.
Bagiire also recalled the 2013 Summit Directives of the Partner States of NCIPs that agreed to, among others, undertake infrastructure development projects in coordinated mechanisms within the Northern Corridor countries for the economic growth and development of the region.
He emphasized the accomplishments and developments of NCIPs, including the start and expedited standardization of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) network among the Partner States, One Network Area, collaboration in the provision of air services and electricity, and the creation of a single East Africa tourism visa.
He underscored the commitment to reviving the NCIPs with the scheduled holding of the 15th Summit, which had been postponed because of difficulties in the political and economic spheres.
Bagiire emphasized the need of working together with the NCTTCA, which provides practical expertise and a framework for implementing the NCIPs.
NCTTCA’s Leju indicated the Authority’s readiness to facilitate the hosting of trans-boundary meetings on the construction of the roads of; Mpondwe-Bunia (Uganda/DRC), Moroto-Lora (Uganda/Kenya), Kaya-Yeyi (Uganda/South Sudan) and SGR (Uganda/South Sudan and Uganda/Kenya/Rwanda) among others.
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During a guided visit to the Mariakani weighbridge station, the Ugandan delegation appreciated the efforts to reduce/remove Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), including the reduction on number of weigh bridges, roadblocks and time for cargo clearance (with now only one weigh bridge between Mombasa and Nairobi).
Standardized calling rates
The regional communication heads also decided to strive for the standardization of phone charges during another two-day regional summit, meeting held in Kigali, Rwanda, to ensure effectiveness of communication.
This would entail the revision of the much-desired One Network Area (ONA) framework on roaming charges in order to cope with the goal of ensuring more affordable call rates and communication in order to support the convenience of doing business within the region.
Dr. Aminah Zawedde, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of ICT and National Guidance in Uganda, and chair of the ICT Infrastructure Development Cluster under the NCIPs, said the meeting agreed to engage operators on how to deal with emerging issues in a joint statement released by the regional heads of communication.
“We have agreed that we are going to go back to the operators and engage them in our countries, and then get to know what their experiences are about this (ONA) framework,” she explained.
All of the member states, including Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda, are putting the framework into practice, according to Zawedde, albeit there are some reporting issues.
Because all the operators are operating in the same market and need to be provided a level playing field in order to compete effectively within the area, she emphasized that focusing on one country at a time will only result in silo concerns being solved.
Eng. Irene Kaggwa-Sewankambo, Executive Director of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), noted that Uganda has fully implemented the framework.
“In terms of what has really been achieved, the roaming calling rates have almost 90% reduced. The traffic and trade in the region have also increased because now people are more comfortable to roam. Once you have communication, life becomes easier,” she added.
She outlined how people, particularly traders, would no longer need to first obtain a new SIM card when traveling to another nation but instead could use their phones and make calls from anywhere in the region.
She stressed that ONA seeks to remove obstacles to communication.
The officials also resolved to evaluate the framework in light of the various tax systems and other difficulties, such as grey traffic that degrades call quality and reduces revenue to local economies.
ONA requires mobile network operators to renegotiate and reduce wholesale tariffs and a waiver of excise taxes and charges on incoming voice traffic while establishing wholesale and retail price caps on outbound ONA traffic.
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Richard Kabonero (NCIPs coordinator at the Ministry of Internal Affairs) said the harmonisation of call rates will help to expedite the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA).
He said that the NCIPs include a number of other initiatives in addition to the ONA Framework that aim to increase competition and improve access to affordable and secure ICT services.
He noted that NCIPs aim to hasten regional economies’ integration while also drastically reducing the cost of doing business by promoting the area as a top investment location.
“We have made progress on the roaming charges plus the cost of communication, but we are not satisfied. We think there should be integration of payment systems in other areas,” he noted.
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