Government of Tanzania has said they will hold talks with Rwanda in an attempt to end border crossing nightmare for cargo drivers that has been caused by coronavirus outbreak, said Minister of Transport and Communication Isack Kamwelwe.
“We understand the challenges that truck drivers have been going through and we are working on them… We will be holding a meeting with Rwanda anytime to discuss the challenges,” Mr Kamwelwe said
He did not state when the meeting will take place but maintained that it would take place soon. His response followed a concern from the Tanzania Truck Owners Association (Tatoa), which said yesterday that the ongoing border rows pitying as countries up their struggles against Covid-19 pandemic were bad for economies.
Tatoa president Angelina Ngalula said yesterday that the government should review talks with neighboring countries to enable them to work in a friendly envi-ronment. It was reported three weeks ago that East African neighbors Rwanda and Tanzania reached an agreement that puts an end to the impasse between long-distance truck drivers and border authorities ..
Kigali had been using compulsory trucker tests at its borders, mainly at the Rusumo border with Tanzania, to curb the spread of the virus by long-haul truck drivers moving goods across the region, a. It also mandated a relay system that would see Tanzanian drivers handing their trucks over to Rwanda, an idea the former rejected.
Tatoa said it was unfortunate that some countries in the region rejected Covid-19 clearance certificates issued by the Ministry of Health and urged governments to ensure that they are easily recognized at borders. Ms Ngalula said drivers with clearance certificates should be allowed to cross borders to the final destination.
She appreciated the efforts of the government to end cross-border wrangles at the boundaries of Tunduma, Horohoro, Namanga and Rusumo. “… but still truck drivers face numerous forms of harassment and stigmatisation,” she added.
“Our drivers are stranded at Rwanda and Namanga borders for long periods as well as at Rusumo border waiting to offload cargo while others wait to transport cargo to Congo amidst lack of adequate social services,” she said.
Under the current practice, Tanzanian trucks are forced to end their journey at the border except those carrying vital goods. Drivers say that Rwandan trucks are permitted to travel 1,000 km to Dar es Salaam to take cargo to their destination, creating an unfair trade balance between the two nations.
Importers are said to prefer Rwandan trucks now because they are allowed to transport the cargo to the final destination without any hitches.
On cost, she said Rwanda has poor infrastructure and storage faculties that cause Tanzania trucks to stay in the country for a long time, resulting in additional container charges of up to Sh120,000 per day to delay the containers.
She said that despite an agreement reached between Tanzania and Kenya to screen drivers and grant clearance certificates allowing them to cross the border, the Kenyan government suddenly rejected the certificates, causing drivers to continue to be stranded, with perishable goods rotting away.
