The reforms to allow seamless flow of transit goods and speed up clearance time have not yet translated into a significant reduction in cargo transportation costs.

The recently concluded Northern Corridor Summit in Kampala, according to Rwanda’s Minister for Trade and Industry Francois Kanimba, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda are to commission a study on the impact of the reforms meant to ease of doing business in the four countries.

The planned study comes at a time importers in Kigali claim they still pay between $5,300 and $5,500 to transport a 40ft container from the port of Mombasa to Kigali, Rwanda.

And if they are to use the shorter Dar es Salaam port in Tanzania-Kigali route, they are charged about $4,000 for 40ft container, the same transport amount they were paying before the Single Customs Territory and Northern Corridor Integration projects came into force.

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Mr Kanimba said: “The study will inform Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda about the impact of the reforms and what needs to be done to bring down the cost of doing business further.”

“I do not know the real problem responsible for the high transport costs until scientific study is carried out,” he said.

As a result of high cost of transportation, prices of goods and services in Kigali have remained high.

When importers are asked to explain the high prices they say: “We are forced to factor in transportation costs which are passed on to the final consumer.

Trade analysts say transport costs in the region account for 40 per cent of the cost of imports and were optimistic that reduced waiting time and drastic reduction in numbers nontariff barriers would result in a drop in cargo transport costs.

“Naturally with the Single Customs Territory, reduction of non-tariff barriers and improved clearance time at borders points and ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, the transport costs would have reduced,” said John Bosco Kalisa, project co-ordinator at Trade Mark East Africa Rwanda.

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According to Trade Mark East Africa, the cost of transport is directly related to the time taken for the journey.

For instance, a stationary truck will lose $200 to $400 a day, which translates into $600 to $1200 if it spends three days.

Delivery time improved

Rwanda Revenue Authority Commissioner-General Richard Tusabe said it takes five days for a truck from Mombasa to deliver goods in Kigali as compared with 21 days in the old system.

“The cargo delivery time has been improved because multiple weighbridges and check points have been removed along the corridor to facilitate seamless flow of cargo to the destinations,” said Mr Tusabe.

But Sharat Sachdeva, a commercial and marketing manager for the Kenya based Freight Forwarders, said despite reforms like clients charter signed by the Mombasa ports authorities, they still experience longer waiting times at Customs due to slow IT system.

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The complaint from forwarders comes, even as Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda use automated systems to collect revenues and clear goods. The systems have been interlinked to ensure efficiency.

Kenya uses the Simba Customs software while Uganda and Rwanda use the Automated System for Customs Clearance platform.