According to the report titled
Bribery as a non-tariff barrier to trade; a case study of East African trade corridors,
Tanzania’s regulatory authorities ranked worst at USD 12, 640
(Kshs. 1,074,400) followed by Kenya at USD6, 715 (Kshs. 570,775), Uganda
was third at USD3, 672 (Kshs.312, 120) while Rwanda ranked fourth at
USD 679 (Kshs. 57,715) and Burundi had the lowest
at USD293 (Kshs. 24,905).
The survey
conducted in collaboration with Transparency International chapters
in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Transparency forum in Tanzania
further indicates that bribery costs in Tanzania per
year consisted of about 18.6% of the value of goods transported.
Speaking during the launch, Mr.
Richard Sindiga the Director of Economic Affairs
in the EAC Ministry,
said: “By reducing or eliminating tariffs and working to minimize
non-tariff barriers across the EAC, the governments in partner states
can ease the flow of people and goods across borders.
This will create larger markets, enable economies of scale, and promote
local, regional, and global trade, which, in turn, will foster a
dynamic environment for economic growth across the entire region from
which Kenyan and East African businesses will benefit.
However, the problem of non-tariff barriers in the EAC is widespread
and requires joint effort to eliminate them.”
Mr.
Sindiga said that the Kenyan Government is doing everything possible to
eliminate the barriers but also concedes that the war is far from being
won. He said the
ministry is finalizing a survey to find out, why NTBs persist even
after the council of ministers had directed partner states to eliminate
them and also get the opinion of the stakeholders on what could be done
to eliminate the persisting NTBs.
Transparency
International Kenya Executive Director, Samuel Kimeu commented on
bribes as a non-tariff barrier to doing business in the region.
“Corruption serves as an unnecessary cost of doing
business and as an additional burden to the consumer. Left unchecked,
the vice will make this region uncompetitive.” He also noted that the
full benefits of integration will not be achieved unless decisive
efforts are put in place to confront corruption in
the trade and transport sectors.
TradeMark East Africa which funded this study was represented by Lisa Karanja, Director of Private Sector and Civil Society.
“Regional integration is gaining pace but existence of non-tariff
barriers continues to be a deterrent in the full implementation of the
various protocols. TMEA commissioned this study with a view to enhance
the advocacy for the elimination of non-tariff
barriers. We expect a comprehensive dialogue between state and
non-state actors to address the key issue highlighted by this report. A
resolution of the identified issue will lead to a more competitive
business environment which will result in increased trade
and ultimately prosperity for East Africans”.
Follow the link below to access the report from the TradeMark East Africa website:
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