An information excahnge system that will allow East Africans to report non-tariff barriers (NTBs) via a short message service on their mobile phone has been developed by Uganda.
The lead adviser on Uganda’s national response strategy for the elimination of NTBs, Mr Sam Watasa, said the system set up at a cost of $100,000 (about Shs253 million), will provide a clear record of NTBs, and help the country assess progress in eliminating them.
“When you use the hard copy form and take it to the appropriate desk, it takes anywhere between one and three months before the matter is dealt with,” he said.
He said that under the new system, the message will reach the department that introduced the NTB immediately, which has not been the case. Previously, Uganda recorded NTBs manually on paper at border points, which partly explains why the country has the highest number in the region, according to the latest EAC report on the elimination of NTBs. Uganda has nine, compared with Kenya and Tanzania that have seven each; Burundi has five while Rwanda has four.
With the new system, a person experiencing a barrier sends an SMS to code 201, at a cost of Shs150 ($0.06). The ministries of Trade and East African Community Affairs, whose responsibility it is to ensure that Uganda does not create any impediments to trade, also receive the message, and are in turn expected to push the government department that introduced the NTB to remove it. The move comes at a time when the region is working to eliminate trade barriers as laid out in the Common Market Protocol, which allows the free movement of goods, labour, services and capital.
Source: Monitor.co.ug
