daily news tanzania

ARBITRARY suspension of commodity exports, illegal fees and lack of co-ordination among authorities at borders have been listed as snags to trade within the East African Community (EAC).

East African Business Council (EABC) Communications Officer Godwin Muhwezi Bonge, said here crop export bans by Tanzania and Kenya have denied producers of the access to markets that would otherwise guaranteed them higher returns.

In Tanzania, foreign-registered vehicles involved in transporting cargo pay 500 US dollars to the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) on each entry on top of annual fees of 600 US dollars.

In Burundi, goods often undergo tedious clearance procedures from numerous agencies which include immigration, security, anti-corruption and customs department.

Traders in Burundi would like to see the Customs Department take up its rightful role of clearing consignments of goods.

Rwanda Revenue Authority does not recognise EAC Certificate of Origin particularly on goods originating from Uganda for electro-welded black tubes, while Uganda Revenue Authority and Uganda National Bureau of Standards continue to issue different requirements regarding standards on Pre-Export Verification of Conformity.

We have written to all government institutions and agencies concerned requesting them to abolish or suspend the reported barriers," said Ms Agatha Nderitu, the Executive Director of EABC.

"We want to encourage all businesses to continue reporting such trade barriers," Ms Nderitu said.

Unco-ordinated activities among border agencies involved in quality assurance and certification such as bureaus of standards, food and drug inspection agencies as well as plant health inspection agencies have resulted in duplication of efforts, causing further delays in clearing of goods.

"Activities of agencies involved in clearing of goods should adequately be coordinated and brought together under one roof to hasten the clearing process," Ms Nderitu said.

Offloading and reloading containers for verifications at all border posts also leads to unnecessary delays and material loss due to breakages.

"There is need to continue on the path of harmonizing and ensure single data capture that would reflect at all other border points," Ms Nderitu said.

Continuous presence of numerous road-blocks and weighbridges which, in most cases, act as conduits for corruption, add to the overall cost of doing business for traders. Ms Nderitu said in the past we have and will continue to urge responsible ministries to reduce the road blocks and weighbridges to a minimum.

In efforts to raise revenue, local councils have turned to levies on goods transiting through their territory. Most notorious are local council at Kajiado in Kenya, Longido in Tanzania and others in Uganda.

"The fact is that local council fees are negotiable and raises questions as to whether it is an official government levy or imposed on traders at the whims of the local authorities," Ms Nderitu said. "Such fees should be scrapped all together."

The EABC is the umbrella organization of the private sector in East Africa. Established in 1997, EABC is at the forefront of facilitating private sector participation in the integration process of the East African Community (EAC).

EABC works closely with East African Community Secretariat, East African Legislative Assembly, governments, regional economic communities, multilateral groups and the business community to improve the region's trade and investment climate.