Namanga Border
The research which was carried out by Ndemanyiswa Mbise in five border posts late last year shows that women from the survey areas perceive the EAC as an institution for high profile people in the governments only.
This was expressed by women at the border points of Namanga in Arusha Region, Tarime in Mara Region and Mtukula in Kagera Region.
As a result, the women fail to understand the operations of the institution and how they can benefit from it.
Mbise has called on the government to educate the women entrepreneurs on the functions of the EAC body and benefits associated with its market.
Commenting on lack of information, she said generally, women have low levels of education and they lack information on rules and regulations on the cross border trade requirements.
“They lack market information. Men are comparatively better educated and more knowledgeable of issues than women.
The officials at the border also stated that men were more knowledgeable while women were ignorant and timid and thus fell easily into the traps of corrupt individuals.
“Lack of knowledge on cross border regulations leads to women giving cash bribes at Namanga.
On credit barriers, she said women reported some reasons that hinder them from accessing loans.
She said awareness on availability of bank services has been cited by the women as the major constraint to credit accessibility.
Furthermore,due to lack of transparency on banking systems, some women are not quite aware of the availability of loans and how to go about getting them, she said noting that most of the women she met were not aware of cheaper financing institutions.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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