As the budget draws near, The New Times will, for the remaining days, publish views and expectations of ordinary Rwandans, experts, traders and academicians  about the budget that will be presented to Parliament by the finance minister on June 12.

Today, importers and exporters tell us why they expect a pro-industry budget. The government should prioritise the manufacturing sector in the new financial year in order to promote local production and reduce the country’s trade deficit, traders have said. 

Rwanda’s trade deficit was at $564.6m during the fourth quarter of 2013, down from $689.3m in the second quarter. The country imported goods worth $415.5m, while exports fetched just $121.5m.

According to local traders, Rwanda imports almost every product used in the country, which they said poses a big development threat.

Mohammed Mazimpaka, director of Chamber of Commerce and Industries at the Private Sector Federation, said the country’s manufacturing sector is still weak and needs a lot of government support to grow and become competitive.

"You can’t develop without industries. Therefore, the coming financial year, the government should focus on industrial growth to promote trade within the country and the region,” he said.

"Because we import almost everything, we need to support the local manufacturing sector to enhance its performance. Besides, it’s the government’s responsibility to help develop the sector,” he noted.

Mazimpaka, who is also a foodstuffs importer, pointed out that most local industries operate on a small-scale and, therefore, cannot create a lot of employment opportunities for Rwandans. He said only a few industries, including Inyange Industries and Bralirwa, were performing well. 

Mazimpaka said imported foodstuffs could be sourced locally if Rwanda’s industrial sector was strong.

High taxes

Jeanne Bayera, a trader and also the chairperson of the Gatuna Crossborder Trader’s Co-operative, wants government to reduce taxes for the traders to operate effectively. She argued that high taxes are also regarded as some sort of trade barriers, adding that it is imperative to consider tax cuts across the board in the 2014/15 financial year budget.

"I used to import 10 tonnes of beans from Uganda and I could pay Rwf120,000, but now I pay over 300,000. This is too much...Let’s hope the government considers tax cuts in the next budget,” she said.

Bayera added that the high taxes have affected business. 

"The number of trucks bringing in mangoes and other foodstuffs has decreased from 50 trucks a day to about eight trucks,” she pointed out.

She noted that officials from the Rwanda Revenue Authority recently visited border areas and promised traders that they would handle the situation, but nothing has been done.

Other traders said there are some non-tariff barriers on both the Central and Northern corridors that need to be eliminated to facilitate free movement of goods and services. 

"The government should put emphasis on advocating for removal of all the non-tariff barriers that continue to affect our operations,” they said.

John Bosco Gakuba, a truck driver, is happy a lot has been done to reduce trade barriers on the Northern Corridor. He, however, said the Central Corridor still faces numerous challenges, which affect free movement of goods and people. 

"It would be important in the next financial year for government to engage its Tanzanian counterparts to ensure all the barriers are removed,” he said.  

The Central Corridor links Rwanda to Dar port in Tanzania while Northern Corridor connects Kigali to Kenya’s Mombasa port.

Under the northern corridor initiative, movement of goods and people has improved. 

Presently, it takes about four days for trucks to move from Mombasa to Kigali compared to 22 days previously, thanks to the political commitment to address these challenges that affect trade between Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya.