Summary
·
The
ongoing cost of living protests backed by the opposition in East Africa's
largest economy are having a ripple effect in the entire region as businesses
are disrupted amid uncertainties over lasting resolution
· Local transporters and commodity exporters are still worried over the deteriorating situation in Kenya caused by persistent anti-government protests
Arusha. The flow of cargo trucks looked uninterrupted yesterday as
was movement of tourists vans at the Namanga border
town.
However, local transporters and
commodity exporters are still worried over the deteriorating situation in Kenya
caused by persistent anti-government protests.
Some Arusha-based transporters
suspended sending their lorries to Kenya this week for fear of being caught up
in the chaos.
"We suspended trips to Nairobi
for three days from Wednesday", said Ms Zainabu Mnjela, the CEO of Sunvic
transport company.
She said when reached out by The
Citizen on the crisis: "We could not risk and instead ordered that our
trucks parked at the border."
The lorries from Sunvic which are
often hired to transport foodstuffs and other raw materials were parked at the
Namanga and Holili border posts.
"We feared they could be caught
up in the chaos. We did not want to take the risks," she said, adding that
the situation has normalised as from yesterday.
Ms Mnjela, who is the chairperson of
a transporters association, noted that they were not sure of the situation in
the neighbouring country.
Sunvic like other transport firms in
Arusha and the northern regions had been worried on the safety of their
vehicles transporting goods to Kenya for months.
Tanzania's northern neighbour plunged
in chaos from March this year over the rising cost of living and a host of
other grievances by the opposition.
Demonstrations, which are allowed
under the Kenya's Constitution, have this time around proved to be more
destructive and deadly since they were orchestrated.
Reports had it that at least 30
lives have been lost in different parts of the country, including the capital
Nairobi, the destination of many lorries loaded with goods from Tanzania.
Besides deaths, the violent protests
have impacted heavily on the economy with one business group claiming at least
$21 million is lost each day.
Traders interviewed said they had
been closely following the trends in Nairobi solely for the safety of their
drivers, vehicles and cargo in case of such protests.
Although Namanga is one of the five
official border crossing between Tanzania and Kenya, it is seen as key trade
route in the East African Community (EAC) region.
The expansive town hosts a unified
and shared One Stop Border Posts (OSBP) which, analysts say, has boosted cross
border trade between the two states.
The busy border crossing has, at
times, defined the competition and rivalry among traders and business people of
the two countries.
Namanga often had its fair share of
'mini riots' mainly by hawkers on the Kenyan side that were associated with
trade disputes between Tanzania and Kenya.
The two neighbours and largest
economies in the EAC bloc, however, agreed to cement their trade and investment
ties in May 2021.
Trucks heading to Kenya from
Tanzania are often loaded with maize and other foodstuffs and lately by coal
and timber from the southern regions.
Those originating from Nairobi to
Arusha and other destinations in Tanzania are chiefly loaded with the
merchandise.
The symbiotic relationship between
communities of the sides of the border is seen with people doing their daily
purchases at will.
Although traders from Tanzania had
been worried by the recent clashes in Kenya, Kenyans would suffer the same fate
in case of a border closure as a result of the skirmishes.
The mayhem in the EAC largest
economy would, according to analysts, have a wider impact in the region due to
Kenya's status as a trade and transport hub.
However, a senior lecturer at the
Centre for Foreign Relations in Dar es Salaam, Mr Innocent Shoo said Tanzania
would not necessarily suffer much from political disturbances in Kenya.
"It is true Kenya is the
largest economy in the EAC. But Tanzania is not that far behind," he told
The Citizen on phone.
He said the two countries are close
competitors in tourism, travel and maritime industry. The countries likely to
suffer most are Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda.
The director of the Arusha-based
Jackpot Safaris and Tours, Mr Andrew Malalika said the unrest in Kenya can
impact on the flow of tourists to Tanzania.
Some of the visitors to the country
cross overland from Nairobi but, according to him, he has not heard of
complaints after this week's protests.
He said he was optimistic that
Kenyans would sort out their political differences before spilling and impact
the economies of the EAC partner states and beyond.
His remarks were echoed by a local
maize trader, Mr Lucas Mtenga who said maize exports to Kenya continued
unabated for the better part of this week despite earlier fears.
"I have not heard cases of
lorries being stopped from carrying maize into Kenya. We are still monitoring the
situation," he pointed out.
Although the situation at the busy
border crossing was calm this time around, it was a bit different at the start
of protests called by the opposition leader Raila Odinga early this year.
During the maiden protests in March,
several lorries from both sides of the borderline were stranded for fear of
violence which rocked several towns.
"There were no trucks loaded
with goods crossing the border at that time. There was tension on the Kenyan
side," said Ismael Abdi, the chairman of the Tanzania Freight Forwarders
Association at Namanga.
There had not been any reports of
protests on the Kenyan side of Namanga by yesterday as traffic has been flowing
smoothly.
Namanga is not only the busiest
cross border trade routes between Tanzania and Kenya but also linking Tanzania
with the countries beyond Nairobi.
At different times in recent years,
the town has been characterised by long queues of stranded lorries, especially
from Tanzania, carrying fresh produce to Kenya.
The border line was plunged into
confusion during the height of Covid-19 pandemic as traffic movement was
restricted, impacting on the maize exports from Tanzania.
The EAC secretariat has to date not
issued any statement on the tense situation related to the disputed General
Election held last year in its founder member state.
The only regional organisation that
sent its emissaries to Nairobi this week is the African Court on Human and
People's Rights (AfCHPR), a continental judicial organ based in Arusha.
The team, led by the President of
the court, Lady Justice Imani Aboud, the former Judge of the High Court of
Tanzania, went there for a different mission but with a bearing on democracy.
The high-powered delegation was in
Nairobi to convince the leaders of the East African nation to allow its
citizens to file cases directly before the court.
The delegation is scheduled to pay
courtesy calls on various dignitaries in Kenya including President William Ruto
and others but no reports have confirmed if, indeed, the meeting took place.
Kenya is among many African
countries which - despite having signed the protocol that established the court
- is yet to accede to a provision that allows its nationals or NGOs to file
cases before it.
Currently, only eight states have
deposited the Declaration allowing individuals and NGOs direct access to the
Court. They are Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau,Malawi, Mali,
Niger and Tunisia.
Tanzania, the Court's host nation,
as well as Rwanda, Cote d'Ivoire and Benin which had earlier signed the
declaration, pulled out between 2016 and 2020, citing a number of reasons.
The mission to Nairobi this time
around, however, came at a time of protests by the opposition over the rising
cost of living and alleged inconsistencies in last year's General Election.
Scores of people have lost lives,
many more injured and properties worth millions of shillings destroyed since
the protests spearheaded by the opposition leader, Raila Odinga began in March
this year.
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