Traders forced to change routes

By Emmy Olaki

THE continuous violence in Kenya has forced Ugandan traders to seek alternative routes for importing and exporting their products.

Issa Ssekitto, the spokesman for the Kampala City Traders Association, said about 10 trucks destined for Uganda from Mombasa had been looted or burnt down in the last seven days, making the route unviable without tight security.

“Importers bringing in goods through Mombasa are becoming very desperate, yet it is not easy to re-route what has already been ordered through another sea port.”

He said they were encouraging traders to transport their goods through Dar-es-Salaam in order to reach Uganda through Mutukula. “The cost implication wouldn’t be so high except that the road is almost impassable, which causes delays.”

“Nothing has been done about our request to the Government to have a convoy of security personnel escorting our goods.”

Kassim Omar of the freight forwarders association said the Kenyan government and the Kenya Revenue Authority had refused to offer escorts for goods coming to Uganda.

“The Government is, however, looking at alternative routes, one of which is the Dar route. The other option is the force of East African Community security people to escort the cargo,” Omar said.

A trade ministry official said the business community should explore the option of using Dar-es-Salaam. “This route has been used by some traders as way back as 1992. Trade there is not as big as Mombasa, but it’s an alternative. The problem in Kenya is very recent.”

He said it was advisable to transport the goods by train from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, and then by cargo ferry to Port Bell. “It is much cheaper.”