This archive report was first published on 8 May 2021.
Kenya and Tanzania Renew Relations ¶
Kenyan and Tanzanian officials have started implementing decisions made during President Samia Suluhu's maiden State Visit to Kenya in May 2021, marking a significant step towards easing trade barriers between the two countries.
President Suluhu's visit, which took place on May 8, 2021, was a crucial moment in thawing relations between Kenya and Tanzania. The visit resulted in several agreements, including the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Natural Gas Transport Project to Kenya.
Kenya's Trade Principal Secretary, Mr Johnson Weru, stated that Nairobi was already drafting letters of intent to send to Tanzania to draw up timelines for the implementation of the agreed projects. He emphasized that the government had received 'marching orders' to start working on the projects and was ready to proceed.
President Suluhu and President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed to improve cooperation in various sectors, including trade and investment, mining, energy, livestock, transport, defence, and security. They also agreed to harmonize health certifications for COVID-19, ease immigration rules, and plan a main highway from Malindi to Bagamoyo.
However, observers have noted that the pace of key changes and the implementation of these agreements will depend on the political will and the adoption by each side's bureaucrats. Leonard Wanyama, coordinator of the East African Tax and Governance Network, emphasized that both sides must deal with 'nationalist hardliners' who still lament the initial collapse of the East African Community (EAC).
With pressure to deliver from the Kenyan and Tanzanian executives, plus demands from citizens of the two countries to access gains from recent declarations, officialdom will have to come up with solutions quickly. Mr Weru stated that Kenya had asked the business community to provide a list of non-tariff trade barriers they have experienced in dealing with Tanzania.
The list of barriers included immigration conditions and work permit fees, mismatch in COVID-19 certificates, levies on cigarettes, truck blockade and levies, mismatch in quality standardization, refusal to accept professionals from Kenya, and levies on coffee, hygiene conditions, and health on animal products.
Experts have emphasized that both sides should be tougher by removing from office officials who won't support bilateral trade policies. Dismas Mokua, a political risk analyst for cross-border trade in Nairobi, stated that Kenya and Tanzania's bilateral arrangement must be anchored on cooperation rather than competition.
Tanzania is traditionally one of Kenya's biggest trading partners in Africa, worth about Sh45 billion a year in volume of trade between them. With tensions between them, however, issues of work permits and other targeted restrictions have made it harder for Kenyans to do business in Tanzania. President Suluhu vowed to reverse the trend.
