An old matter dating back to 2017 when Uganda took Tanzania to task over a non-tariff barrier it claims is exorbitantly out of kilter with what other partners in the East Africa Community (EAC) are paying, has again reared its head – with the potential to affect trade between the two countries.
At issue is the claim by administrators in Kampala that their counterparts in Dodoma are in contravention of an EAC Common Market Protocol because they’re charging Ugandan trucks a road user fee of $500.
In comparison Rwandan trucks pay $152 or three times less, on the face of it a blatantly unfair charge that is not in keeping with the spirit of trade facilitation across the EAC, Uganda argues.
Tanzania’s minister for Works, Transport and Communication, Isack Aloyce Kamwelwe, has since shot back at the complaint that Uganda has lodged with the EAC Council of Ministers.
“We want to standardise the charges because we’re charging $16 per 100 kilometres.”
He added though that there was tremendous infrastructural strain on traffic from Tanzania’s landlocked partners towards the Port of Dar es Salaam.
Oil exploration on the shores of Lake Albert and the transportation support it requires has also resulted in increased volumes passing through the border of Mutukula down south, seemingly justifying Tanzania’s decision to tax Ugandan trucks more than trucks from Rwanda.
Clearly irritated by the matter, Kamwelwe told The East Africa: “The tarmac also wears out like your clothes, and that is why we have the road tolls.”
Uganda though says the road toll is threatening trade bloc synergies across the EAC, widely regarded as Africa’s most successful common market area, especially given Dodoma’s disparate tariff policies for Kigali and Kampala.
Yet although the matter was first raised by Uganda in 2017, it’s still preferring the road of rapprochement, despite Ugandan Works and Transport minister Katumba Wamala accusing Tanzania of unlevelling the playground.
For the moment though Uganda has made it clear that it’s still hopeful that a resolution is possible, and that trade interests worth $171 million with Tanzania will not be compromised by the tariff dispute between Kampala and Dodoma.
