Trade volumes at the official Holili border crossing with Kenya have picked up despite persistent smuggling through 'panya' routes.
Trucks carrying goods increased by 73 percent last year to 33,000 from 19,000 in 2020, a sign of recovery and resilience against Covid-19 impact.
During 2018 and 2019, a total of 23,500 and 26,000 trucks crossed the border respectively, statistics by the East African Business Council (EABC) indicated.
"The message is clear. There is a rebound in our economies", said John Bosco Kalisa, the EABC executive secretary during a trade facilitation forum held at the shared border last week.
Although most of the goods are traded between the two neighbours (Tanzania and Kenya), others are on transit to the land-locked countries within the region.
Mr. Kalisa said that Holili/Taveta One Stop Border Post (OSBP), constructed at the cost of $12million, was key to regional trade because it links the northern and central corridors.
"It has high potential to transform into a leading trade hub in the continent", he told traders,transporters,freight forwarders, and officials of trade facilitation agencies from both countries.
He added that the Holili/Taveta border crossing - located 36km and 265km from Moshi and Mombasa respectively - was an alternative to the northern corridor.
Several challenges, however, were raised during a day-long meeting which attracted 60 delegates, key among them those from the revenue authorities of the two states.
Top among them are levies charged on goods - both on transit and those originating from the East African Community (EAC) states - which the speakers want them reviewed.
Other hurdles raised are testing and retesting of products by Bureaux of Standards which business stakeholders see them as unnecessary and cumbersome.
Domicien Genandi, a Tanzanian freight forwarder based at the border town, warned that the Holili/Taveta border was still notorious for smuggling of goods.
He said governments of the two states could be losing millions of shillings each year in revenues due to illegal trade through hundreds of 'panya' routes.
He said although there was commitment among the two countries to boost trade, it has been difficult for industrial/processed goods from Tanzania to penetrate the Kenyan market.
He cited the cereal trade, saying Kenya prefers importation of maize rather than flour.
Mr. Genandi said some officials from a host of border regulatory agencies often demanded 'kitu kidogo' (bribe) in order to allow some goods into another territory.
Ms Neema Shayo from Tanzania noted that there has been a high demand for the perishables on the Kenya side for consumption there as well for onward shipment to the markets abroad.
However, she said at times trucks carrying the perishables were stuck at the border for days awaiting clearance risking the products to decay.
This happens mostly due to the failure of the electronic clearance systems. The shared border post also does not have a scanner.
Her remarks were echoed by representatives of the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) and Taha Fresh who called upon the customs agencies to offer priority clearance to perishable goods.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment