NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – Kenyan President William Ruto and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni are set to launch a one-stop border post at the Suam border point in Trans Nzoia along the Kenya-Uganda border in the coming weeks.
This joint effort aims to bolster trade between the neighboring states.
The upgraded border post will consolidate immigration, customs, security, and sanitation checks under one roof.
“In a couple of weeks, President Museveni and I will be launching a one-stop border post in Suam,” he said.
The project is is funded by the African Development Bank and supported by the governments of Kenya and Uganda, as well as the China State Engineering Construction Corporation.
President Ruto, speaking on Tuesday during the official opening of the 3rd sitting of the 3rd session of the 5th East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), emphasized the significance of this initiative in facilitating the movement of people and goods within the region.
Ruto attributed the project’s success to the policies and legislation championed by EALA, which have addressed barriers hindering regional integration.
“Our customs union is on the move, with this Assembly creating legislative frameworks to establish a common external tariff, uniform customs rules and procedures, and common rules of origin,”
He highlighted the Assembly’s role in establishing frameworks for a customs union, uniform customs rules, procedures, and rules of origin, as well as the elimination of non-tariff barriers.
Furthermore, Ruto praised EALA for its contributions to concluding the COMESA-EAC-SADC tripartite free trade area, signing the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, and adopting the EAC e-commerce strategy.
Ruto noted that the implementation of one-stop border posts has led to significant reductions in truck turnaround times along transport corridors, as well as an 84 per cent decrease in clearance times at border crossings, enhancing trade efficiency in the region.
“This is why intra-EAC trade is the highest of the trading blocks in our continent at 25%.,” he said.
With a collective GDP of $350 billion, a population of 350 million, and an area of 5 million square kilometers, Ruto stated that EAC member states present an attractive investment destination.
Ruto highlighted that EAC’s total trade in 2022 stood at $74 billion, with Africa accounting for 44% and 25% of EAC’s total exports and imports, respectively.
President Ruto lauded EALA for enabling the implementation of the common market protocol, facilitating free cross-border movement of persons, labor, services, and capital.
He emphasized the importance of standard identification systems, harmonized travel documents, mutual recognition of qualifications, and harmonized labor and social policy frameworks.
“Visa fees for cross-border movements have mostly been eliminated, and cross-border communities now enjoy free movement,” he said,
“Students can enroll and transfer with greater ease, and regional institutions now implement mutual recognition agreements for various professional qualifications.”
To realize the East African Monetary Union by 2031, Ruto urged the Assembly to provide the necessary framework for the full implementation of customs union and common market protocols.
This includes establishing vital organizations such as the Monetary Institute, Bureau of Statistics, financial services, surveillance, and enforcement commissions, as well as facilitating the convergence of criteria for macroeconomic governance and harmonizing fiscal and monetary policies.
