Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) have set up camp at the Namanga One-Stop-Border Point (OSBP) in a concerted effort to address trade disputes between Kenya and Tanzania.

The MPs are engaging with traders, cross-border business community and government officials to assess the current and emerging challenges affecting business at this bustling border point.

Kanini Kega, who represents Kenya at the EALA and is leading the 11-member special committee, emphasised their commitment to promote seamless trade, fostering unity among member states, and improving communication on new policies to prevent diplomatic conflicts.

The team aims to evaluate the 24-hour effectiveness of the Namanga border point to ensure an uninterrupted flow of people and goods, given its significance as a central and major entry point for East African states.

“We have witnessed numerous diplomatic disputes at this border point. These conflicts have a detrimental impact on businesses, resulting in multimillion-dollar losses, especially for perishable goods,” Kega said.
Agricultural produce, the EALA member said, is particularly affected due to its short shelf life. We are seeking to engage all relevant government stakeholders to ensure smooth trade moving forward.

However, Kenyan traders have raised concerns about the challenges imposed by Tanzanian authorities, affecting business at the border point.

They are advocating for fair and transparent issuance of maize permits and expressing dissatisfaction with the restrictions on Kenyan small businesses in Tanzanian territories.

“Our neighbours conduct business here freely, but as Kenyans, we face harassment from their authorities. We hope this joint meeting will yield positive outcomes,” commented Joel Sumbo, a trader at the border point.

Recently, Kenyan traders faced disruptions as their multi-million- shilling cargo was held at the Malawi-Tanzania border following Tanzania’s ban on the importation of soya beans from Malawi.
Tanzania Authority had halted the clearance of soya beans, either for entry into its territory or transit to neighbouring countries.

A clearing agent said they did not understand the action because the goods on transit, didn’t affect the Tanzanian territory as they were only coming thorough Tanzania to Kenya, The three-day consultative meeting is scheduled to conclude tomorrow.