East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 03 March 2016:
East
African Community Heads of State today launched the construction works
for the Arusha - Holili/Taveta road which will provide an additional
link between the Central and Northern Transport corridors.
The
launch of the Tanzanian section of the Arusha - Holili road which will
link up with the Taveta - Voi road on the Kenyan side comes in the wake
of the 17th Ordinary EAC Heads of State Summit which was held at the
Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge in Arusha on Wednesday.
Presidents John Magufuli (Tanzania), Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), and Second Vice Presidents Joseph Butore (Burundi) and James Wani Igga (South Sudan) officially launched the works at Tengeru Township on the Arusha - Moshi road. Rwandan President Paul Kagame was represented at the event by his EAC Affairs Minister, Ms. Valentine Rugwabiza.
The
Heads of State reaffirmed their commitment to facilitate intra-regional
trade by implementing the Community's ambitious 10-year Infrastructure
Development Strategy especially through the construction of a vast and
reliable road network in addition to ports, railways and power
generation plants.
Speaking
at the event, President Magufuli who is also the Chairman of the Heads
of State Summit, disclosed that the road would include the expansion of
the 14.1 km stretch from Arusha to Tengeru and the 28.3 km Arusha
by-pass which combined would cost US$1.3 million.
President
Magufuli thanked the Japanese government and the African Development
Bank (AfDB) for agreeing to provide financing for the project.
Dr.
Magufuli emphasized the need for building high quality roads noting
that in Tanzania 67% of cargo was transported by road. He urged the road
contractor to ensure the road was built to the required standards and
warned that cancelling contracts due to poor performance was not unusual
for him as a former roads minister.
He
said industrialization was also a priority for the region saying this
was the surest way to solve high rates of unemployment and poverty.
"We
produce cotton, wool and leather which are used for manufacturing
clothes and shoes. I don't see why our people should be wearing second
hand clothes and shoes. Why should we export leather as a raw material
and then import poor quality shoes which wear out within three to four
days?" he asked.
On
the EAC One Area Network which is now operational in Rwanda, Uganda and
Kenya, Dr Magufuli said it was regrettable that Tanzania was yet to
join the network due to rampant corruption at the Tanzania
Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
He
revealed that TCRA had lost TShs 400 billion ($183 million) in
irregular deals, adding that those involved had not only been sacked but
would also be investigated and prosecuted.
In
his remarks, President Kenyatta said East Africans were ahead of their
governments in the integration process, adding that the onus was on
governments to enable people do business by removing barriers to trade.
"Governments
should build roads, pool energy sources to ensure reliable power supply
across the region and build industries. We should abandon the
artificial borders put in place by the colonial powers which divided
communities and now pose barriers to trade and movement of people. Let
us eliminate these borders so that our people can move and trade
freely," President Kenyatta said.
President
Kenyatta said leaders in the region had resolved to work together in
order to create wealth, employment and build industries which will
promote exports.
"Value
addition and manufacturing will increase our share of trade on the
world market which is currently low," said the Kenyan leader, and
expressed optimism that the liquid petroleum gas from Tanzania would
soon be available for sale on the Kenyan market.
Speaking
at the function, AfDB's Eastern Africa Regional Representative, Mr.
Gabriel Negatu, said the completed road would reduce transport costs
between Arusha and Voi to facilitate cross-border trade, enhance
tourism, improve accessibility to markets and social services, thereby
contributing to poverty reduction.
"Already, trade revenue on both sides of the border has increased significantly," said Mr. Negatu.
Also
at the function were the Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers
Amb. Dr. Augustine Mahiga, Kenya's EAC Affairs and Labour Minister
Phyllis Kandie and Japanese Ambassador to Tanzania and the EAC, H.E.
Masaharu Yoshida.
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