NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5- Tanzania President Samia Suluhu on Wednesday called on Kenya’s lawmakers to use their position in enhancing the relationship between the two countries and mend any existing rift.
While addressing a joint sitting of The National Assembly and Senate, Suluhu said the two countries are dependent on each other and their relationship should be protected at all cost.
“We depend on each other in good and in bad times. When there is drought in Tanzania, famine is always around the corner in Kenya. When industries are affected in Kenya, goods become unavailable in Tanzania therefore we need each other for our own survival and economic benefit,” said Suluhu.
Suluhu arrived in Kenya on Tuesday for a two-day trip to thaw relations between the neighbours, after years of disputes over trade and border issues.
She is hoping to renew the all-important alliance with Nairobi, which came under strain during the tenure of her predecessor John Magufuli, who died suddenly in March.
Once close allies in the regional East African Community (EAC), Tanzania’s participation in the bloc faded under Magufuli because of economic rivalry and accusations of unfair trade practices.
On Wednsday, Suluhu called on leaders from both countries to work together and ensure Tanzanians and Kenyans engage in business smoothly devoid of unnecessary restriction which are a result of policies instituted by lawmakers that lead to unhealthy competition.
“You have the mandate to establish laws and advise the government on the way forward and how those who elected you will be led. Your role in boosting the relationship between our two countries is vital on how we are going to achieve economic and political development,” Suluhu added, when she addressed MPs after meeting the Tanzanian business community in Kenya jointly with her host President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kenyatta said Tanzanians will nolonger require business visas or work permits.
Suluhu, 61, landed in the capital, Nairobi on Tuesday and was received by two ministers before heading to the presidency, where she inspected a guard of honour and received a 21-gun salute.
She then held talks with President Kenyatta.
“Your visit has given us the opportunity to renew our relations,” Kenyatta said at a joint press briefing with Suluhu.
Kenya would work with Tanzania to ensure the nations’ unity “will continue to grow and be strengthened for the benefit of our people”, he added.
The two leaders announced the signing of a deal for the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas from the port city of Mombasa to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s economic capital.
Such deals were irregular under Magufuli, who was seen as favouring other regional trading blocs.
– Hassan’s new approach –
Nairobi is the main investor in Tanzania from the six-nation EAC bloc, and the fifth-largest from the continent.
Magufuli, nicknamed the “Bulldozer” for his uncompromising leadership style, in 2016 declined to be part of Kenya‘s diesel-powered Standard Gauge Railway project, choosing instead to unveil a plan to build an electric railway.
That same year he declined to invest in a Nairobi-driven road project to link Kenya with Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan.
A series of rows followed in 2017 and 2018 when Tanzania burned alive more than 11,000 chicks imported from Kenya, and seized hundreds of cattle that had wandered across the porous frontier.
Disagreements over border closures and flight bans during the Covid-19 pandemic also heightened tensions.
“We have agreed that our health ministers chart a plan to ease border crossing and checks to hasten service delivery,” said Suluhu.
The visit, almost five years since Magufuli came to Kenya, comes as Hassan moves away from the policies of her autocratic predecessor.
On Monday she announced a series of Covid-related restrictions on travellers arriving in Tanzania. Magufuli long denied the presence of the disease in the country, saying prayer had spared the nation from the disease.
This is Suluhu’s second foreign visit since she took power.
She became the second visiting Head of State to address Kenya’s joint Parliament sitting after Former Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete who had the same privilege on October 6, 2015
Suluhu stressed that during her era, she will strive to strengthen historical ties that exist between the two countries particularly on economic cooperation.
“As you are aware in the current world, relations between nations are based on economics. All other issues will naturally fall in place because of our blood relations but economically we need to lay out sound policies to build strong economies,” the Tanzanian leader said.
In their private talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta, they agreed on the need to create a conducive environment for the private sector to thrive and participate fully in economic development.
President Suluhu expressed gratitude to President Kenyatta for encouraging her to be strong and take the mantle of leading Tanzania.
“I have also come to introduce myself to Kenya since immediately after the death of our President, I took over the leadership as stated in our Constitution, that the Vice President takes over as Head of State when the President dies in office. This is why we had smooth transition from one President to another because we honour what our constitution says,” she said.