'Corruption affecting cross-border business'

By Francis Emorut and Carol Kasujja                

Corruption has been the main impediment of doing business across the border posts, clearing and forwarding agents have said.

The concern for many traders is that unless you bribe officials, chances of your goods being cleared are greatly reduced.

“Unless you give kitu kidogo [a bribe] to the Police and revenue officials, your goods will not be cleared,” some complain.

The business people feel there is need to remove the bottle necks as far as non–tariff trade barriers is concerned in the East African Community (EAC).

Alfred Nuwamanya, an official from National NGO Forum, noted that traders are suffering as it has now become a norm to pay a bribe in order to conduct a business, a vice he said the latter should resist.

He was speaking during the Micro-justice Stakeholders meeting at Hotel Africana in Kampala this week.

“Please don’t accept to pay bribes to any customs official or Police,” he told traders, adding: “simply just say no to corruption.”

The officials advised the traders to name and shame the corrupt officials before the concerned agencies in charge of fighting graft.

He was backed by Angella Acheng, an official from the ministry of trade and industry.

“These people who demand for bribes should be exposed,” she said.

The Thursday meeting which targeted business people who operate across the border posts aimed at identifying the non-tariff trade barriers between the partner states in the region.

On top of corruption, traders also complained about poor roads, citing the Northern Corridor and numerous check points of weigh bridges as barriers to conducting business.

“Why should a truck driver carrying goods for trade make several stop-overs at every weigh bridge as if the tonnes of goods loaded into the truck keep changing?” Lino Icila, the secretary general of Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association wondered.

Although the EAC recently adopted a policy to have transit trucks only stop at one weigh bridge at Busitema, it is yet to be implemented.

“Having so many weigh bridges wastes time and increases the cost of doing business afterall the weight of goods on a truck doesn’t change,” another trader pointed out.

Micro-Justice officials Alice Angwech and Niki Frencken implored the traders to cooperate with civil society organisations to fight for the elimination of non-tariff trade barrier across the borders.