Uganda to get rid of work permit fees for Kenyans and Rwandans

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[h=1]Uganda to get rid of work permit fees for Kenyans and Rwandans[/h]

(From right to left) President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda during the Infrastructure Integration Summit at the Office of the President, Urugwiro Village in Kigali, Rwanda. Uganda will abolish work permit fees for Kenyans and Rwandan citizens from January 1, 2014. PHOTO | PSCU


Uganda will abolish work permit fees for Kenyans and Rwandan citizens from January 1, 2014.

This is one of the several reforms East African leaders launched on Monday to reduce the cost of doing business and speed up the movement of goods and people.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya met in Kigali yesterday to sign off on a Single Customs Territory (SCT) for the three countries.

President Salva Kiir of South Sudan also attended the event, which followed earlier infrastructure summits in Kampala in June and Mombasa in August.

President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi did not attend yesterday’s meeting.

Under the SCT,, tax on goods imported into the three countries will be paid at Mombasa and trucks weighed only on crossing the border. The roadblocks from Mombasa to Kigali will also be eliminated and the weighbridges reduced from nine to three at most.

The summit heard that a reduction in the number of roadblocks and weighbridges had reduced the time and cost of transporting goods from Mombasa to the interior.

Transit time for containers from Mombasa to Kampala and Kigali has dropped from 18 days to five and from 22 days to eight respectively. This is expected to fall farther.

The cost of transporting a 20-foot container from Mombasa to Kigali is also expected to drop by half due to increased efficiency.

“There is still a long way to go,” host President Kagame said, “but we are encouraged by the progress made so far.”

President Kenyatta, who has pushed for reforms at Mombasa Port and along the highway to Malaba, said Kenya is committed to the effort.

STANDARD-GAUGE RAILWAY

“Today is a very happy day for me,” he said on his first visit to Rwanda as President. “I am very excited about the progress made in such a short time.”

The summit heard that ground-breaking for construction of the standard-gauge railway from Mombasa to Kigali will take place next month although details about final cost and source of funds are still to be hammered out.

Kenya has finalised financing for the Mombasa-Nairobi leg but Uganda’s Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka said the total cost of the project will be computed and money pooled with each country paying for its part of the railway.

A spur to Juba, South Sudan, will be added to the project once South Sudan confirms its interest.

Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda were expected to announce the launch of a single tourist visa as early as next week at the World Travel Market tourism fair but the announcement is now expected at the next infrastructure summit – potentially in Juba, South Sudan – although the start date is still expected to be January 1, 2014.

Uganda’s decision to waive work permit fees follows similar moves by Kenya and Rwanda. Citizens of the two countries will still need to apply for permits but they will be issued free-of-charge.

South Sudan was formally admitted to the Coalition of the Willing – as the core of the three East African member states has come to be known – and President Salva Kiir said on Monday that East African citizens will now receive visas on arrival.

President Kiir indicated his country’s interest in building alliances away from Sudan by asking for a quick resolution of South Sudan’s application to join the East African Community, which will be discussed at next month’s Heads of State Summit.

He said President Omar Bashir’s recent visit to Juba was driven by the economic hardships in Khartoum sparked off by disputes over oil revenue sharing and trade between the two countries but South Sudan’s foreign economic policy will continue to evolve southward.

“We left them with their commodities and came to East Africa,” Mr Kiir said. “Our commitment [to the infrastructure projects is real and we will do our best; I hope we will not be the ones to slow things down.”

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  wamithangar • 6 hours ago
  
  
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  we weee tanzania will have to play catch-up wametudrag for many days, ati 'coalition of willing...' I am not an economist but I want to believe wat these three guys are doing will be for the benefit of all citizen in the three states otherwise tukihit a dead head, watanzania watajingamba videadly. As we reduce the weighbridges let there be measures to protect our roads coz if not tutalilia kwa choo na maoil levy!!
  
  
  
  
  
  

 

[reandle]

Ningependa tu kuwashauri viongozi na watendaji wa Tanzania kwamba wa-stand firm. Hawa jamaa hivi sasa watafanya kila jambo ili mradi tu kuturusha roho ili tuone wanatuacha na kisha tufanye faster faster. Hii ni planned psychological pressurizing initiated by Kenyatta. What our decision makers need to do is to stand firm and focused kisha wawe na viable plans to beat the threat. Nishalieleza hili kwa kina kwenye moja ya thread zangu. Miaka ya nyuma haikuwa ajabu hata kidogo kuona Watanzania wakitumia bandari ya Mombasa, seuze Mnyarwanda au Mganda kutumia bandari ya Dar es salaam endapo kutakuwa commercially viable conditions as compared to Mombasa-Nairobi-Kampala-Kigali route!?

 

[bornagain]

Hivi tukisema tunajitoa East Africa tutakuwa tumemiss nini hasa, mbona ilishawahi kuvunjika mwaka 1967 na maisha yaliendelea tu

 

[Balacuda]

Hivi tukisema tunajitoa East Africa tutakuwa tumemiss nini hasa, mbona ilishawahi kuvunjika mwaka 1967 na maisha yaliendelea tu

Viongozi wetu ndo wanatuangusha hasa Sitta siasa za nje haziwezi kabisa, eti wanwaandikia barua kuhoji kwa nini TZ haohusiswi? panic za kijinga

 

[Money Stunna]

Hivi tukisema tunajitoa East Africa tutakuwa tumemiss nini hasa, mbona ilishawahi kuvunjika mwaka 1967 na maisha yaliendelea tu

kuvunja community ni gharama kubwa pia ni utoto sababu ipo siku tutataka kujiunga tena.

kuna miradi mingi tulikopa pesa kama jumuiya mfano barabara ya namanga arusha na namanga kwenda nairobi.

sasa tukivunja muungano itakuwaje.

sasa hivi unaenda nchi yoyote mwanachama bila kulipia visa. sasa tukivunja itakuwa shida kwa wanaosafiri.

wengi mnaosema ivunjwe safari zenu ni za mikoani tu umu mijini na mitaani tu amjui faida zake atuwez kuwalaumu sio makosa yenu.

Mkiwa mnavuka boda mtaona faida. polen sana

 

[mzurimie]

Watanzania badala ya kufikiria nao wafanyeje wataishi kulalamika eti tuone sijui wataenda wapi, khaaaaaaa wenzenu wanaendelea mnasema hawatutishi sijui nini. Viongozi wanakula wao kujitengenezea pesa za pension hamlalamiki shuti kutetea eti kama vile nchini kwetu viongozi wanajua kujituma au kujaribu mambo.

Acha waendelee na nawaombea kwa Mungu wasonge nasi tule raha kwenye nchi hizo. Kaeni kulalamika wakati hamfanyi kitu ufisadi unazidi bila maendeleo.

 

[Cynic]

Zambia, DRC, Burundi, Malawi .. wanatutosha. Hawa waendelee na Mombasa yao (ambayo hata hivyo Mombasa Republicans wanadai ni yao)

 

[bona]

sasa fee ya working permit inahusika vp na maendeleo ya business??? ivi federation ni mpaka kuwe na watu wanaenda kufanya kazi nchi nyingine? si watu wakae nchini kwao kama business sawa lakini issue ya working permit ina kazi gani?

 

[bornagain]

kuvunja community ni gharama kubwa pia ni utoto sababu ipo siku tutataka kujiunga tena.

kuna miradi mingi tulikopa pesa kama jumuiya mfano barabara ya namanga arusha na namanga kwenda nairobi.

sasa tukivunja muungano itakuwaje.

sasa hivi unaenda nchi yoyote mwanachama bila kulipia visa. sasa tukivunja itakuwa shida kwa wanaosafiri.

wengi mnaosema ivunjwe safari zenu ni za mikoani tu umu mijini na mitaani tu amjui faida zake atuwez kuwalaumu sio makosa yenu.

Mkiwa mnavuka boda mtaona faida. polen sana

Eti kuna barabara ya Namanga Nairobi tumejenga kwa mkopo, mkopo kitu gani.Mbona jumuia nyingi zinavunjika kila mtu anachukua chake.Kama ni barabara mbona tumekopa sana.Eti visa viza kitu gani bwana kwani inazidi $ 50 kwa nchi za Africa mashariki,kama una uwezo wa kukata tiketi ya PW am KQ kwa $ 500 utashindwaje kulipia $50 ya visa

 

[Koborer]

Eti kuna barabara ya Namanga Nairobi tumejenga kwa mkopo, mkopo kitu gani.Mbona jumuia nyingi zinavunjika kila mtu anachukua chake.Kama ni barabara mbona tumekopa sana.Eti visa viza kitu gani bwana kwani inazidi $ 50 kwa nchi za Africa mashariki,kama una uwezo wa kukata tiketi ya PW am KQ kwa $ 500 utashindwaje kulipia $50 ya visa

Very well, what are the complaints for? Why don't you let the other countries do what they like? How is this affecting you if you don't want to join in?