Let us address all non-traffic barriers under EAC protocol

President Museveni recently directed Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to oversee the immediate removal of all roadblocks along the country’s highways, saying they interfere with the free movement of goods and services across member states of the East African Community (EAC).

The President’s directive is quite timely. The roadblocks, especially along the Kampala-Malaba highway had turned into an unacceptable trade barrier under the East African Community and major inconveniences to travellers along our biggest route to the sea port.

It is, however, important that government holistically addresses non-traffic barriers. We should look at weigh bridges, the road network and other systems of transport.

The Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) operates fixed and mobile weigh stations that are used to ensure that vehicles are of the right dimensions and loads. Ensuring so helps it to guard against damage to the road network and other overhead infrastructure such as bridges, pedestrian walkways and power lines. Their importance cannot be overemphasised, but those weigh bridges have since turned out to be major inconveniences.

Travellers on the Jinja-Iganga highway always endure a torrid time at the Unra weigh bridge in Musita where long queues of trucks often form. We can have an extra lane constructed at Musita if we are to end the disruption of traffic. We should consider checking the vehicles for the right loads and dimensions at the border crossings in Malaba or Busia if an extra lane is deemed unacceptable.

Customs electronic scanners were installed at all border entry and exit points, but that has never stopped the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) from mounting checkpoints at various points, the most notorious of which have been in Busitema and in Jinja shortly before one crosses the Source of the Nile Bridge towards southern and western Uganda.

While at it, government should be paying more attention to the many transport challenges that users of the main Kampala- Jinja highway face. 

Failure to develop the railway and water transport means that we are heavily reliant on road transport and a single narrow road. That interferes with the movement of goods and services. It needs to be addressed promptly.

Most important of all, we need to focus on developing railway transport. Uganda was the first country in the EAC to announce plans to replace the metre gauge railway with an electric standard gauge railway, but it is lost at sea, lagging behind Tanzania and Kenya. We can find an alternative funder if China is not coming along.

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