The opening of a liaison office for the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), scheduled on October 1, has been welcomed by Rwandan traders who will see their business get a lot easier.
During a recent visit to Rwanda, TPA director general Deusdedit Kakoko said that the office in Kigali could reduce the costs for Rwandan importers by up to 20%.
“We have been here for the last three days meeting exporters and importers to hear about their concerns. The cost of doing business through Tanzania is going to be lowered with the opening of the Kigali Liaison Office.
There are also many improvements taking place at the port of Dar es Salaam and the Central Corridor in a bid to offer efficient and better services to our Rwandan clients,” he said.
The liaison office, which will be located in M. Peace Plaza, will bring the port’s services closer to traders in order to reduce costs of doing business and hurdles in logistic and supply chain. Rwandan traders will no longer have to travel to Dar to clear their cargo.
Kakokoalso observed that security services at the port have been upgraded to combat theft, among other measures.
“We have also reduced the checking process from over 20 to 3 checkpoints, and consequently, transit is taking only three days from Dar to Kigali, down from the previous seven days,” he explained.
“Rwanda is a growing market and we are committed to facilitate our business partners. We vow to make sure that Kigali exporters and importers using Dar port will continue to enjoy the best possible services,”Kakoko added.
Rwandan traders have always decried non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in both the Northern and Central Corridor,even though through the East African Community efforts are being made to reduce them.
Fred Seka, the chairman of Rwanda Freight Forwards Association, said Rwandan traders welcome the liaison office.
“We had many challenges before,one of them being that it was difficult to report any problems quickly. With the TPA office nearby, we expect a boost to our business. We are also happy that there will be less delays of our merchandise now that the checkpoints have been minimized,” he said.
Sekaalso commended the efforts by TPA to improve security at the port, which he hoped would prevent theft or disappearance of goods,which some traders have experienced in the past.
Source: All Africa

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