Over 21 per cent of total export costs in the region are made up of bribery expenses, a new report assessing non tariff barriers (NTB’s) along the Northern and Central Corridors has revealed.

The report, based on a field survey carried out between July and November 2008, looks at the challenges of regional importers and exporters plying the two trade corridors en-route the seaports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.

It says: “Bribery expenses total about $891 (for one single truck) accounting for over 21 per cent of the total export costs.”

While the cost is even higher on the import side (quoted at $1,200 for one single truck), the report says among other NTBs, corruption, congestion at Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and unnecessary delays at border posts and weighbridges are costing exporters and importers to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Corruption along the two major transport corridors is very much in evidence. However, the margin is much higher in case of the Northern Corridor than the Central Corridors.

In all cases (police roadblocks, weighbridges, and border gates) an explicit bribe is never asked for—rather a small story is brought up that elicits the bribe,” the report says.”

Total petty bribery (on one truck) equalled $193.9 on the Ugandan side and $703.64 on the Kenyan side, on the export route alone,” it adds.

According to the report, there are 36 roadblocks in total on the export route alone. A significant number of roadblocks amounting to 78 per cent of the total road blocks attracted a bribe.

Weighbridges only accounted for 94 per cent of the total bribes from Kigali to Mombasa.

The report noted that it takes five times as long to move cargo from Mombasa to Kigali than to Japan with an additional 7 days spent at Mombasa port.

The report indicates that “along the Northern Corridor, over 57 per cent of the journey is spent at the roadblocks.”

The two corridors are the lifelines of the East African Community (EAC) member states.

The competitiveness of the trade bloc thus depends on how seamlessly trade flows along both routes.

Apart from the EAC partner states, the port of Dar es Salaam is also used by Malawi and Zambia, who directly benefit from the Central Corridor as well.

During the recent North– South Corridor conference in Zambia attended by Presidents Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Rupiah Banda, donors pledged $1.2 million to fund and upgrade roads, rail, ports and energy infrastructure along the trade routes.

The African Development Bank Group through its president, Donald Kaberuka, pledged to invest $600 million in the activities of the corridor in the short-to-medium term.

The Northern Corridor is responsible for carrying more than 80 per cent of Rwanda’s total import-export tonnage that is road-based. The rest is via the Central Corridor.

While lowering transport costs is imperative for a growth strategy based on exports, Rwanda is in a difficult position because 95 per cent of its main import-export route lies outside its direct policy jurisdiction.

“On the Northern Corridor, only 5 per cent of the segments is in Rwanda and the remaining 95 per cent is in Uganda and Kenya respectively, the same applies to the Central Corridor,” the report says.

“This in itself is testimony that Rwanda has little control of policy changes along these corridors. Therefore, Rwanda needs to push for the efficient functioning of the railway lines from Dar es Salaam to Isaka and truckloads from Isaka to Kigali,” the report says.