President Paul Kagame said significant progress had been made in
the five clusters that Rwanda has been co-ordinating under the Northern
Corridor Infrastructure Projects (NCIP) scheme.
The
president who was in Nairobi on June 26 for the 14th Summit of NCIP,
said governments, businesses and investors were working to implement the
programmes in immigration, tourism, trade, labour and services.
“There
is always going to be a lot of work to do but this moment provides an
opportunity to re-examine what has been done and what we still need to
do,” he said.
President Kagame was accompanied by Infrastructure Minister Claver Gatete, Defence Minister James Kabarebe, Director-General of Immigration and Emigration Anaclet Kalibata, and representatives of other ministries.
President Kagame was accompanied by Infrastructure Minister Claver Gatete, Defence Minister James Kabarebe, Director-General of Immigration and Emigration Anaclet Kalibata, and representatives of other ministries.
Mr Kalibata said
that while free movement of people was guaranteed among member states,
free movement of labour and services had not been achieved yet. Rwanda
requested member states to implement these agreements, although no
deadline was agreed on.
The biggest achievement in free
movement of people is that citizens have been using national
identification cards to travel between Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda since
2014.
Partner states also waived work permit fees for
citizens. However, certain jobs in member states are restricted to
nationals on the basis of promoting local skills.
On tourism, Rwanda oversaw the launch of the East African
Tourist Visa in 2014, allowing travellers to visit Kenya, Rwanda and
Uganda using a single visa over a 90-day period.
On
trade, Rwanda and Uganda implemented one-stop-border posts at Cyanika
and Kagitumba borders, significantly easing the movement of trucks and
goods.
Rwanda’s docket also involves overseeing the
implementation of the Single Customs Territory. Although the SCT has
been praised for reducing the cost of imports, Rwanda said exports also
need to be cleared more quickly.
A deadline of September 2018 was agreed on for member states to fully roll out export-support mechanisms under the SCT.
Rwanda
also noted that inefficiencies at the Mombasa port need to be dealt
with to ensure faster clearance and movement of cargo.
The
country also spearheaded airspace management in the Northern Corridor.
The delegation urged member states to hasten the implementation of
liberalised air service agreements that will lead to reduced travel
fares for citizens.
Currently, no significant progress has been made on lowering air travel costs in the region.
Protectionism
among national carriers is blamed for exorbitant airfares, which have
made travel in the region expensive, according to a survey by research
firm InterVISTAS.
The survey showed that liberalisation
of East Africa’s airspace would contribute $200 million to the bloc’s
annual GDP, increase passenger traffic by 46 per cent each year and
create 46,000 new jobs.
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