East African Community, Arusha, Tanzania, 23rd January, 2021:The construction of the multinational Tanzania –Uganda Road Project of Masaka – Kyotera - Mutukula/ Mutukula – Kyaka and Bugene – Kasulo – Kumunazi is on the way after the conclusion of Feasibility Study and Detailed Engineering Design funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the NEPAD-IPPF facility.
The designs, done by M/S LEA International Limited from Canada in a joint venture with LEA Associates Asia Pvt Ltd from India, covered 89.5 kilometers of the Masaka to Mutukula road section in Uganda; a 30 km section from Mutukula to Kyaka linking to a 133 km Tanzania section from Bugene to Kumunazi via Kasulo.
OFFICE OF THE CHAIRPRERSON OF THE TRIPARTITE TASK FORCE
PRESS STATEMENT
TRIPARTITE SECTORIAL MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AFFAIRS ENDORSES LEGAL INSTRUMENTS FOR TRIPARTITE TRANSPORT AND TRANSIT FACILITATION
“Cross border road transport laws, regulations, standards and systems harmonized from Cape to Cairo”.
Following the consideration and adoption of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Vehicle Load Management Agreement (VLMA), the COMESA-EAC-SADC Multilateral Cross-Border Road Transport Agreement (MCBRTA) and five Road Transport Model Laws and Principles by the 2nd Meeting of the Tripartite Sectorial Ministerial Committee of Infrastructure (TSMCI) that took place in Lusaka, Zambia in October, 2019, the Tripartite Sectorial Ministerial Committee on Legal Affairs (TSMCLA) met on 18th September 2020. The TSMCLA met to legally scrub the following Draft Tripartite Road Transport Legal Instruments:
COMESA-EAC-SADC Multilateral Cross Border Road Transport Agreement;
COMESA-EAC-SADC Vehicle Load Management Model Law;
COMESA-EAC-SADC Cross Border Road Transport Model Law;
COMESA-EAC-SADC Road Traffic Model Law;
Draft COMESA-EAC-SADC Road Traffic and Transport Transgressions Model Law; and
Draft COMESA-EAC-SADC Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road Model Law
The instruments will be presented for consideration for final approval by the Tripartite Ministerial Council that will then recommend the Vehicle Load Management Agreement and the Multilateral Cross-Border Road Transport Agreement for signature, by the Heads of State and Government. The meeting of the Tripartite Council of Ministers is expected to be held before the end of this year (2020).
The COMESA-EAC-SADC Vehicle Load Management Agreement sets out the harmonized regulations and standards and the methodology for calculating overload fees with the purpose to retrieve the additional cost to the infrastructure caused by overloading, as well as the permissible load limits with the view to protect the road pavement as well as to ensure road safety. The Draft Agreement also provides the basis for cooperation between the Member/ Partner States of the Tripartite Free Trade Area regarding vehicle load management, law enforcement, information sharing, as well as mechanisms for dispute resolution.
The COMESA-EAC-SADC Multilateral Cross Border Road Transport Agreement, provides for a Tripartite legal framework for harmonisation of road traffic and transport related aspects, including vehicle registration documents, transport operator registration, vehicle fitness testing, driver training and testing, as well as driving licence categories based on appropriate international standards, including United Nations Standards.
Further, the Draft COMESA-EAC-SADC Multilateral Cross Border Road Transport Agreement provides for a framework for enabling a comprehensive cross border road transportation management system, which is based on quality regulation as opposed to economic regulation. The transport management system is supported by an electronic Tripartite Transport Registers and Information Platform System (TRIPS), which enables the exchange of data between the Member/Partner States, from their own National Transport Information Systems (NTIS) that consist of a number of modules, amongst others a vehicle system, a driver system, an operator system and a transgression system.
The draft instruments were developed through the Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP) of COMESA, EAC and SADC. The joint programme is funded by the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund.
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For more information, please contact:
Simon Peter Owaka Senior Public Relations Officer Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 768 552087 Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 19th June, 2020: The movement of trucks between the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Uganda at the Mutukula border has resumed after the two countries reached a consensus on measures to implement while mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Mr. William Mkenda, Customs Officer in Charge at Mtukula border (Tanzania), truck drivers will now have to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing in line with East African Community guidelines to tackle trans-border spread of the disease while minimising disruptions to cross border trade.
East African Community (EAC), Kagera, Tanzania, 16th June 2020: The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Eng. Steven Mlote paid a courtesy call on the on Regional Administrative Secretary (RAS) of Kagera, Prof Faustine Kamuzora today at the Regional Administrative Secretary Office in Kagera, Tanzania.
The two officials had a lengthy discussion on a number of issues including the on-going infrastructure projects in the Partner States coordinated by the EAC and the importance of Kagera region in the Great Lakes.
Arusha, Tanzania, 20th February 2020 – The New Partnership for Africa’s Development Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) held its 30th Oversight Committee meeting for the Special Fund at the East African Community Headquarters, in Arusha, Tanzania.
The meeting attracted more than 30 participants, including donors providing financial support to the NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund, representatives of the African Development Bank, African Union Commission, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Regional Economic Communities, Regional Power Pools, Corridors Authorities and Transboundary River basin organizations.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 6th November, 2019: The People’s Republic of China has made a commitment to give the East African Community 12 cars worth US$400,000 to be used in various capacity building programmes at the Community.
Making the announcement, Mr. Liang Lin, the Political Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, said that China was keen on working with the EAC in, among other fields, education, infrastructure development, trade, prevention of Ebola, peace and security, and capacity building initiatives.
The Centre of Excellence for Information and Communication Technology in East Africa (CENIT@EA) organized the event ICT4Business on 18 July in Kigali, Rwanda. Around 40 participants from the private and public sector discussed their needs and requirements for digitalisation and how CENIT@EA can provide relevant skills, capacities and know-how to the private and public sector to enable them to reap benefits from the digital transformation.
In his opening remarks, Mr Karera, Chairman of the East African Business Council (EABC), emphasized the need for the industry to digitalise and use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their business processes. The Principal Information Technology Officer of the East African Community (EAC), Mr Murenzi, pointed out that digital transformation is a priority of the EAC’s 5th Development Strategy. The Senior Systems Officer of the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), Mr Ruhinda, added that CENIT@EA is a very important regional initiative providing skills and know-how for the success of the digital transformation. Ms Focken, Cluster Coordinator for EAC, pointed out in her opening remarks that a continuous exchange between industry and academia is crucial for developing needed skills and support the use of technology and innovation in East Africa.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 4th July, 2019: A total of 35 out of 286 projects identified by the East African Community Heads of State as priority infrastructure development projects have been completed and are now operational.
The EAC Heads of State Joint Retreat on Infrastructure and Health Financing and Development held in Kampala, Uganda on 22nd February, 2018, approved a set of 286 priority infrastructure projects in various sectors for joint promotion and coordinated implementation by the Partner States.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 20th May, 2019: The 45th East African Community Consultative Meeting aimed at improving Air Transport in the region concluded on Friday 17th May, 2019, at Lake Naivasha Resort in Naivasha, Kenya.
The EAC Consultative meeting on facilitation of Air Transport is a forum for discussion on issues that affect Air Transport in the region in order to comply with Annex 9 (Air Transport Facilitation) and Annex 17 (Aviation Security) of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. The meeting refers to the ICAO international standards and recommended practices and proposes appropriate recommendations to be implemented by the Partner States at the various EAC international Airports. It is hosted by EAC Partner States, twice a year on rotational basis.
East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 2nd December, 2018: The construction of two major trans-national road infrastructure projects within the East African Community are set to take off in 2019 with funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Mr. Gabriel Negatu, the Director General of AfDB’s Eastern Africa Regional Hub, disclosed that the Bank’s board had approved US$322 million to Burundi and Tanzania to finance the Rumonge-Gitaz and Kabingo-Kasulu-Manyovu road-upgrading project.
Mr. Negatu further said that the funds would also go towards the construction of the One Stop Border Post at Manyovu-Mugina on the Tanzania/Burundi border. Mr. Negatu said the bank would also finance the construction of the Malindi-Mombasa-Lunga Lunga/Horohoro-Tanga-Bagamoyo highway that straddles the coastlines of Kenya and Tanzania.
The AfDB official said that the bank was highly encouraged by the benefits of some of the infrastructure projects it had undertaken and cited the Athi River-Namanga-Arusha road, which had reduced from one day to four hours the journey from Nairobi to Arusha.
Mr. Negatu was speaking during the commissioning of the Namanga OSBP by the Tanzanian President Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta. Mr. Negatu said the construction and operationalization of OSBPs was in line with the Bank’s integrated approach to infrastructure development.
“This approach entails mainstreaming ‘soft’ components, such as trade facilitation measures in physical infrastructure projects to enhance their efficiency and developmental outcomes. In this context, the Bank availed US$8 million for the construction of the Namanga OSBP on the Kenyan side of the border,” he said, adding that the OSBP on the Tanzanian side had been built with funding from the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The AfDB official disclosed that the Namanga OSBP was part and parcel of the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River road construction project which was carried out with funding of approximately US$147 million comprising US$79 million from AfDB, US$49 million from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and about US$8 million from the governments of Kenya and Tanzania.
In his remarks, EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko said that the Namanga OSBP was born out of an agreement between Tanzania and Kenya to upgrade the facilities at the border post in order to facilitate free trade through the efficient movement of goods and people across the border.
“The construction of the Namanga OSBP was part of the completed works for the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River road. The project on both sides was virtually completed end of 2016 with piloting phase taking about one year,” said Amb. Mfumukeko.
Amb. Mfumukeko thanked AfDB and JICA for financial support that had enabled EAC to develop and implement soft infrastructure at the OSBP including interconnectivity, training materials and enabling laws which comprise: The East African OSBPs Act, 2016; The East African OSBPs Regulations, 2017, and; The EAC OSBPs Procedures Manual.
The Secretary General said that research had confirmed that in addition to enhancing Government revenue collections, the OSBPs had considerably reduced the overall dwell times across the EAC borders by between 50% and 70%.
Also present at the function were EAC Ministers Hon. Dr. Augustine Mahiga (Tanzania), Hon. Adan Mohammed (Kenya), East African Legislative Assembly Speaker Hon. Ngoga Martin, East African Court of Justice Judge President Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, EAC Deputies Secretary Generals in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Eng. Steven Mlote, and of the Political Federation Mr. Charles Njoroge. The EAC Director General Customs and Trade, Mr. Kenneth Bagamuhunda was also present.
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For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 784 835021 Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
OFFICE OF THE CHAIRPRERSON OF THE TRIPARTITE TASK FORCE
