Rwanda and Uganda are seeing a significant surge in trade nine months after the two neighbours moved to assuage tensions, it has emerged.
Trade between the two landlocked East African nations had taken a hit from three years of border inactivity before Rwanda reopened the Gatuna border crossing as ties improved.
According to new figures from Rwanda Revenue Authority, at least 160 trucks are cleared between the common borders a day, with some 1000 people crossing.
The data was shared with a delegation from the East African Business Council (EABC), the apex body of businesses in the East African Community (EAC) on Thursday, November 17.
The delegation, led by EABC chief executive John Bosco Kalisa, praised recent reforms undertaken by Kigali, which they said "ignited economic recovery and growth at 10.9 per cent Gross Domestic Product.”
In March this year, data from Uganda&039;s Ministry of Finance had indicated that exports to Rwanda averaged 826.2 million Ugandan Shillings (about $220,000) monthly, a sharp drop from the 62.6 billion Ugandan Shillings ($16.6 million) monthly average in 2019.
‘A level playing field’
Thursday’s discussions between the EABC team and Pascal Bizimana Ruganintwali, Commissioner General, Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), "centered around taxes, elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers for increased facilitation of trade across East African borders”, according to an EABC statement.
Speaking during "the high-level dialogue”, Kalisa, called for "harmonised road toll fees by EAC Partners States in order facilitate the ease of doing business for transporters,” the statement adds.
Rwanda has a fixed rate of $76 and $152 for small and large trucks, respectively, while Uganda charges $10 per 100km, it says.
Kalisa also urged harmonisation of domestic taxes across the EAC region to "avoid distortion and create a level playing field for businesses”.
He also urged fast-tracking issuance of import permits and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) certificates to importers into Rwanda, the communiqué says.
On his part, Bizimana said RRA had "strategised to undertake digital transformation for better service provision.”
Uganda to ‘deploy trade facilitation agencies’
Tax contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Rwanda was at 15.9 per cent, Uganda at 11.9 per cent and Tanzania at 11.6 per cent, he’s quoted in the statement as saying.
The RRA boss further recalled that the EAC Secretariat and respective Ministries had been tasked to hasten harmonisation of road toll fees in the region.
"Denial of preferential market access for products enjoying duty remission schemes and the implementation of East African Standards (500 grade) by Rwanda on steel bars and cement have been misinterpreted as a Non-Tariff Barriers," Bizimana noted, according to the statement.
Matia Etedu, from Uganda’s Ministry of EAC Affairs, said his country looked forward to "deploying trade facilitation agencies to the Rwanda side of the Gatuna border” once construction of a one-stop border post on the Uganda side of the Gatuna/Katuna border is finalised.
Rwanda completed construction works on its side of the crossing back in 2019.