At last, local transporters can breathe a sigh of relief as the government finally gives the green light for the importation of Right Hand Drive (RHD) heavy duty trucks. While vehicles in Rwanda drive on the right hand side of the road, and therefore necessitating that all steering wheels be on the left, it was unreasonable to apply the same rule to cross border trucks for one simple reason: The trucks, either plying the Dar es Salaam or Mombasa route, travel a very, very short distance on Rwandan roads. Over ninety per cent of the journey takes place on the left hand side of the road. Local transporters also alleged that Left Hand Drive (LHD) trucks were more expensive, thereby shooting the transport bill sky high. Businesses preferred to hire the services of foreign registered trucks to transport their wares and, in the process, shut out local transport firms. There is no doubt that now the obstacle has been removed out of the way, local transporters will now be in a better position to compete with their regional peers who have monopolised regional transport for far too long.
