THE East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) finally passed the EAC Vehicle Load Control Bill, 2012 during its plenary sitting in Kampala, Uganda yesterday.

Accordingly, trade facilitation in the region is expected to shift a notch higher following the passing with amendments of the Bill. If assented to, the law shall be a hallmark in maintaining the region’s road infrastructure.

The Bill moved by the Chair of Council of Ministers, Shem Bageine, envisages control of vehicle loads, harmonised enforcement and institutional arrangements for the Regional Truck Road Network for the Community. The Bill sets the permissible maximum Gross Vehicle weight at a metric tonnage of 56. At the same time, the vehicles shall have a maximum of seven axles.

The tabling of the Bill was preceded by a report of the Committee on Communications Trade and Investments (CTI) which held public consultations on the subject with various stakeholders in the Partner States in March 2013.