Technocrats from the Central Corridor countries of Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda meeting in Kigali, this week, commended the level of political will that has been demonstrated by the leaders of the regional countries to ensure the trade route’s efficiency.

It was noted that Tanzania had lately taken significant steps toward addressing longstanding Non-Tariff Barriers along the corridor, including ending cargo theft at the port of Dar-es-Salaam, an endemic phenomenon that had increasingly frustrated businesses from other countries, including Rwanda.

This, among other challenges like unnecessary weighbridges and corruption along the corridor, had forced many to turn to the Northern Corridor which links to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

Tanzanian officials also announced that they had taken a raft of measures to make the route more efficient, including putting in place infrastructure and services that would help cut transport costs.

That technocrats are already implementing the decisions taken at the Central Corridor presidential round-table in March, including acquisition of new wagons and commencement of block trains to facilitate faster movement of cargo from Dar to areas closer to respective destinations (neighbouring countries), is commendable and indeed encouraging.  

While the Northern Corridor, which serves Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi, has seen tremendous improvements in recent years, the Central Corridor had been heavily affected by endless trade barriers that only needed political will to address.

But recent developments along the corridor signal a renewed commitment to translate policies into real action.

In the end, if business thrives along both the Central and Northern corridors, it will be a win-win for the nations and peoples of this region.