Uhuru and Museveni launch Busia one-stop border post

What you need to know:

  • The border post combines the traditional two stops for border processing into one.
  • It also consolidates other border control functions in shared spaces between Kenya and Uganda.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Ugandan counterpart on Saturday launched the Busia one-stop border post to enhance efficiency at the Kenya-Uganda border.

The border post combines the traditional two stops for border processing into one.

EFFICIENCY

It is meant to improve efficiency in immigration clearance and ease the movement of goods and people.

The customs facility comprises offices and space for immigration processes and verification; warehousing and cold rooms for the goods traded across the border; and facilities for expediting trade.

The first one-stop border post to be commissioned under the East African Community integration plan was at Taveta/Holili on the Kenya-Tanzania border.

The one-stop border posts aim at easing trade in the region and reducing the time it takes to move goods across the EAC.

The region plans to set up similar facilities in all border points.

COOPERATION

President Kenyatta said the commitment of the region’s leaders has led to progress in the integration process.

“I am glad that the people and the leadership of the East African Community have taken this point to heart. Wherever I go in the region, I find a new appreciation of the importance of integration, and a new commitment to bringing the people of East Africa together,” he said.

President Museveni said economic integration will bring prosperity, security and unity in the region.

Leaders who attended the event included Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong, Senator Amos Wako, EALA Speaker Martin Ngonga, CAS nominee Ababu Namwamba, and CSs Monica Juma (Foreign Affairs), James Macharia (Transport) and Peter Munya (EAC).