East Africa’s private sector is pushing Rwanda and Tanzania to dismantle the remaining trade barriers.

Importers and exporters alike say the barriers are negatively affecting the competitiveness of the Central Corridor by increasing transport costs as a result of delays.

These sentiments were voiced at a roundtable organised by Ministry of East African Community about the removal of non-tariff barriers along the Central Corridor.

The corridor is a major import and export route for Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

On average, it costs $4,990 to import a 20-foot container into Rwanda but less in Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

Some of the high costs have been blamed on Rwanda. The country, seen as the champion of seamless flow of goods and movement of people, has been singled out for having many police check-points.

Besides, the authorities have been accused of stopping cargo trucks from entering Kigali City from 4pm to 9pm, which has reduced the turnaround time of cargo transport and contributes to supply gaps.

It is estimated that Rwanda has 15 police check-points while Tanzania has eight. Rwanda National Police spokesman Celestin Twahirwa however said the police checks were in good faith.

Bureaucracy in Tanzania has remained a concern to business community, which says it impedes the free flow of goods and services. Critics say indecisiveness of Tanzania costs the Dar es Salaam port a lot of business opportunities as loyal clients go elsewhere.

The port, which used to handle 80 per cent of goods to Rwanda, has seen a systematic dip in cargo before settling at 60 per cent last year, signalling importers and exporters are nervous about the impediments to trade.

However, the cost of moving cargo through the corridor could drop as countries along the route move to break the barriers to trade.

Rwanda’s Minister of East African Community Affairs Valentine Rugwabiza said Rwanda and Tanzania will continue to engage both at the bilateral and at regional level to address the challenges traders who use the corridor face.

Tanzania had removed 53 police roadblocks, which had become bribery points, by last December and reduced weighbridges by one to seven.

Earlier, it reduced road toll from $500 to $152 per truck per trip. It also removed the requirement of cash bonds for transportation of sugar to Rwanda.