[ad_1]
Busia. Some of the decisions made by some member countries within the trading bloc have a negative impact on small traders, doing cross-border business throughout East Africa.
As a result, they are unable to make the most of the presence of the Common Market of the East African Community (EAC-CM), which provides for the free movement of goods, works, capital and services.
Speaking here during a training of trainers on the simplified guide for cross-border traders and women's service providers within the EAC this week, shopkeepers said that decisions on changing tariffs and the repeated prohibition of trade between Member States was now the main obstacle. do business in the area.
The German Development Cooperation (GIZ) supports awareness of the simplified guide to help the EAC realize its strategic vision of building the capacity of cross-border micro and small enterprises.
"Women entrepreneurs and disadvantaged groups are very entrepreneurial and should be the main beneficiaries if the EAC increases awareness of the cross-border laws in the EAC. Women are the nucleus of the agricultural labor force, they own and operate the majority of informal sector enterprises, especially border posts, "said Dr Kirsten Focken, coordinator of the GIZ cluster in charge of agriculture. CAE.
According to Dr. Focken, the cross-border capacity building program launched at Busia this week was an important initiative to bridge the gap between the income inequality between women and men for more than two decades within the EAC .
According to Sacco's Kenyan president, Busia, a cross-border merchantwoman, Florence Atieno, when decisions are made by some member states, the information arrives too late for traders, who eventually lose money.
Ms. Atieno, who chairs a 600-member Sacco Savings and Credit Corporation, said governments should inform small cross-border traders in advance before making decisions that will have an impact. about their activities.
Ms. Joyce Ndossy, Kilimanjaro Regional President for the Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce (TWCC), shared the same sentiments, reporting on the suffering of the country's maize farmers (Tanzania) due to a brutal ban on exports of corn.
Currently, a bag of maize in Tanzania costs between 18,000 and 25,000 shillings, but according to Ms. Ndossy, this would not have happened if the government had not banned exports.
"As soon as our government announced the ban, Kenyan traders turned to the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). They imported maize from Malawi, Uganda, and Zambia … When we realized we were losing, the price of one sack of corn dropped by 70,000 shillings each, "she said. .
Although the ban may have been motivated by real reasons, the lack of information from the traders puts them at a loss.
Small traders lose when countries embark on trade wars, including Tanzania's decision in November 2017 to burn 6,400 chicks worth 12.5 million shillans illegally imported into the country.
This was followed by unrest at the Holili / Taveta one-stop border post with Kenyan traders complaining of being harassed by the Tanzanian authorities. Some time later, Tanzanian traders were reportedly arrested by the Kenyan authorities under allegations of conducting their undocumented business in good standing.
"It's not right with the integration program," Ndossy said. According to the president for the Ugandan part of the Association of Busia Cross-Border Shopping Women, Ms. Mariam Babu, Kenya's ban imposed in 2017 on poultry products from Uganda devastated them. Fifteen months later, a full analysis was undertaken to establish that Uganda had become free from the avian influenza disease that had precipitated the ban.
"We were happy when the ban was lifted and after verifying that Uganda was free from the disease, but later we were told that lifting the ban did not occur. applied only to three Ugandan companies. This brought us another blow, "said Ms. Babu.
The three companies were Hudani Manji Holdings-Rainbow, which sells wholesale and retail products in Uganda, South Sudan, Congo and Rwanda, as well as SR Afrochick and Kukuchic.
With limited education and lack of awareness of their rights, most small traders are also exposed to harassment that forces them to confer some form of corruption, including sexual incitement, to border security officers.
"It's very common at the Busia border and involves security officials from both countries," said Ms. Babu, whose association has 1,200 members. Members are grouped according to the type of products they export, including fruits and vegetables, cereals and poultry products.
A Ugandan Revenus Authority (URA) customs officer, Reagan Basoga, asked women to ensure that they file their grievances against security officials with the relevant authorities so that they can be dealt with. once for all.
"Through a joint program of the World Bank and Comesa, a handbook has been developed for the training of cross-border traders and officials, so that every player knows their limits," he said, pointing out that 39, it was one of the best border companies, they have a chance to deal with many forms of complaints from traders.
Ms. Françoise Uwumukize, member of the East African (Eala) Legislative Assembly of Rwanda, said she would seize the challenges outlined for the regional legislature, confident that its lawmakers would give these issues all the importance they deserve.
"What these discussions tell us is that not all governments in the region have been able to meet the aspirations of cross-border traders … I will bring these issues to the gender caucus. Eala and will ensure that challenges are discussed and addressed, "said Ms Uwumukiza, member of Eala's General Affairs Committee.
Source link
