Tanzania and Rwanda to hold fresh talks over on cargo drivers' row
What you need to know:
Truck Drivers Association says the government should review talks with its neighbours to enable them work without hitches.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania government has said they will hold talks with Rwanda in an effort to end border crossing nightmare for cargo drivers that was triggered by coronavirus outbreak, Transport and Communication minister Isack Kamwelwe has said.
“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 told The Citizen yesterday.
He did not state when the meeting will be held but maintained it would be held soonHis response followed a concern by the Tanzania Truck Owners Association (Tatoa), who said yesterday that the ongoing border rows pitying as countries up their fights against Covid-19 pandemic was bad for the economies.
Tatoa chairperson Angelina Ngalula said yesterday that the government should review talks with neighboring countries to enable them work in a friendly envi-ronment.It was reported three weeks ago that East African neighbors Rwanda and Tanzania have reached an agreement that puts an end to the impasse between long-distance truck drivers and authorities at the border..
Kigali employed mandatory tests of truckers at its borders mainly at the Rusumo border with Tanzania to curb the spread of the virus through long-haul truck drivers moving goods across the region, a.It also mandated a relay system that would see Tanzanian drivers hand over their trucks to Rwanda’s, an idea the former rejected.
Tatoa said it was unfortunate that some countries in the region were rejecting Covid-19 clearance certifi-cates issued by the Health ministry and urged governments to ensure that they get recognised at the bor-ders without difficulty.Ms Ngalula said drivers who possess clearance certificates should be allowed to cross the borders to the final destination.
“We recognise the efforts of our truck drivers who have been on the forefront in ensuring Covid-19 pro-tective gears and other important facilities reach clients in neighbor-ing countries despite being discrim-inated and stigmatised,” she said.
She appreciated the government’s efforts to end cross border wran-gles at the Tunduma, Horohoro, Namanga and Rusumo borders. ”... but still truck drivers face numerous forms of harassment and stigmati-sation,” 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 procedure, Tanzanian trucks are required to end their route at the borders expect for those carrying essential goods.Drivers say Rwandan trucks are allowed to travel 1,000 km to Dar es Salaam to take cargo to their destination, creating unequal balance of trade between the two countries .
It is said that importers now prefer Rwandan trucks because they are allowed to transport cargo to final destination with no hitches.
On costs, she said Rwanda has poor offloading infrastructure and storage faculties that is causing Tan-zania trucks to stay long in the country, leading to an extra container charges of up to Sh120,000 on daily basis for delaying the containers.
She said that, despite an agree-ment reached between Tanzania and Kenya for drivers to be screened and awarded clearance certificates that allow them to cross the border, the Kenyan government suddenly rejected the certificates, causing drivers to continue being stranded, with perishable goods rotting away.
