The East Africa Community (EAC) secretariat has promised to address infrastructural bottlenecks along the transport corridors to improve regional trade.

The announcement comes three weeks after the official commencement of the EAC common market agreement signed in Nairobi recently.

EAC Secretary General Juma Mwapachu said it was necessary to integrate all ports in the union to adequately respond to the rising cargo demand.

Mwapachu said this when he led a technical team from EAC on a fact-finding tour of the port of Mombasa and border points in Coast province last week, following the implementation of the EAC common market protocol.

At the Lunga Lunga border point, it was business as usual as customs and immigration officials were using old rules to transact business.

Many people lacked identification cards, making it difficult to clear them to enjoy free movement as provided for in the new EAC protocol.

“Development of these ports is vital and there is need to make a linkage with rilway, road and ports to improve the network serving the whole region,” said Mwapachu at the port of Mombasa.

Port challenges The EAC secretariat team was received at the port by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) acting managing director Gichiri Ndua.

Mwapachu was impressed with Mombasa port’s performance over the years and its relations with stakeholders, saying it was excellent to understand and learn challenges facing the port and work towards mitigating them.

He urged KPA and Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) to encourage complimentary roles between the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and maintain standard efficiency levels.

He also said the EAC was expected to fuel development of proper infrastructure and in the long run increase port traffic and enable the facility to serve the region better.

Mwapachu said the region could not achieve growth in its industry and agricultural sectors without reliable and robust infrastructure.

CAROL MUTHONDU