EAC Calls for Smarter Border Reforms as Regional Trade Volumes Rise

What the report says

Nile Post reported that the East African Community is urging member states to begin a new round of technology-led reforms at One Stop Border Posts as trade and cross-border travel increase across the region. The push follows an EAC Secretariat monitoring and fact-finding mission to the Horohoro/Lungalunga and Namanga/Namanga border facilities on the Kenya-Tanzania frontier, where officials reviewed border performance and implementation of the Simplified Trade Regime for small-scale traders.

The mission was led by Annette Ssemuwemba, the EAC Deputy Secretary General for Customs, Trade and Monetary Affairs. According to the report, she said the OSBP system has helped cut delays by placing agencies from neighbouring countries in one location, but rising traffic now requires digitalisation, redesigned business processes, stronger coordination among agencies and wider use of risk-based controls. She also called for better staffing, infrastructure upgrades and faster automation of customs and clearance procedures.

The report said Namanga processed about 66,500 cargo trucks, 23,000 private vehicles and 48,400 export consignments over the past 12 months. Passenger clearance there averages about three minutes, while private vehicles take around 15 minutes, and the post offers round-the-clock passenger services. At Horohoro/Lungalunga, officials linked growth in cargo and passenger movement to improved cooperation between Kenyan and Tanzanian agencies and use of the Simplified Trade Regime.

Challenges identified included multiple regulatory approvals, staff shortages, limited truck parking, inadequate scanners and weighbridges, ageing facilities, poor waiting areas, sanitation issues and a lack of customer help desks. The EAC welcomed Tanzania’s planned Tsh600 million allocation in 2026/27 for a new truck parking yard at Namanga. Nile Post said the monitoring will continue at other OSBPs, with findings expected to inform future Customs Union and regional trade reforms.