Tanzania/Kenya one-stop border post delayed

Tanzania and Kenya's delay in signing a bilateral agreement on a one-stop border post (OSBP) has interrupted the start of operations, according to a press release on behalf of the East African Community (EAC) . Construction of the Holili border post on the Tanzania side was completed in December last year. But the US$5.7 million state-of-the-art structure has remained idle for three months as the two partner states still work on the legal text of the bilateral agreement. The construction of the Taveta OSBP on the Kenya side is expected to be completed within two months. But, according to the financiers, Trademark East Africa (TMEA), the operation of Holili could have continued without waiting for Taveta, had the two countries signed the agreement. According to TMEA director, Theo Lyimo, Tanzania had already approved the bilateral agreement and forwarded it to Kenya but the Kenyan side were waiting for the approval of the cabinet. The construction of the two OSBP projects at Holili and Taveta are expected to reduce total average time to clear cargo at the borders by 30%, which will in turn contribute to reducing transport costs and increase in intra-regional and foreign trade in EAC. According to TMEA, Holili border currently serves between 40 to 50 trucks a day but the volume of traffic is likely to significantly increase up to between 400 to 450 trucks once the Voi-Taveta part of the road is upgraded.