•South Sudan is second after Uganda on the use of Kenya's Port of Mombasa , accounting for 9.9 per cent of total transit volumes.
•South Sudan joined the East African Community in April 2016.
The East African Business Council (EABC) has called on South Sudan to fully implement the East African Community Single Customs Territory to spur intra-EAC trade.
The Single Customs Territory, which Kenya and other member states have adopted, is aimed at facilitating faster clearance and improvement in cargo movement along the two corridors serving the region.
These are the 1,700 kilometre-long Northern Corridor that runs between Kenya, Uganda Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern D.R. Congo, with an exit and entry point at the Port of Mombasa.
The 1,300 kilometre long Central Corridor serves Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Eastern D.R. Congo, with an exit and entry point at the port of Dar-es- Salaam.
The two corridors facilitate export and import activities within the EAC region on a combination of rail, road and lake transportation networks.
South Sudan is second after Uganda on the use of Kenya's Port of Mombasa , accounting for 9.9 per cent of total transit volumes.
Uganda accounts for the lion share of 83.2 per cent while DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda account for 7.2 per cent, 3.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.
Among benefits of the SCT is the assessment and payment of duties at the destination Partner State while goods are still at the first point of entry.
During an EABC -Trade Mark East Africa public-private dialogue at the Elegu-Nimule One-Stop Border Post (the main border between South Sudan and Uganda), transporters, clearing and forwarding agents and traders said there have been delays on border movement.
This, they said is as a result of delays implementation of the EAC Single Customs Territory by South Sudan which is affecting clearance of cargo at the border.
According to transporters, trucks await clearance for up to two days in the parking yard.
South Sudan joined the East African Community in April 2016.
In 2020 South Sudan's export to the EAC Partner States amounted to $ 87million while imports were valued at $573 million.
In 2016 South Sudan export and imports to the EAC Partner States were $2.6million and $400 million respectively, indicating a drop.
Uganda imports from South Sudan amounted to $86 million in 2020 while exports were valued at $357 million (International Trade Centre).
The EABC urged the EAC Secretariat to mobilize more resources to support South Sudan to finalize the construction of the One-Stop Border Post (OSBP), and implementation of EAC protocols and commitments in order to facilitate trade.
The One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) concept is not operational due to the delays in the construction of the OSBP facility on the South Sudan side.
The Ugandan side of the OSBP facility hosts South Sudan’s customs agency officials only as the integration of other trade facilitation agencies is still pending.
Traders called for the adoption of technology and digitalization of the customs system to avoid manual processing of documents by South Sudan customs Officers delaying clearance.
High covid19 testing fees for small scale cross border traders, currently at $25 on a daily basis on the Ugandan side; inadequate knowledge on the customs procedures by the cross border traders and delayed construction of cross border market has also been cited as a challenge to trade.
Trade in perishable goods such as fish, bananas and cabbage has been heavily impacted.
Women in cross-border traders called for quick infrastructure improvement and a dedicated desk for them.
EABC manager policy and standards Lamech Wesonga has however commended South Sudan for waiving visa fees requirements for East Africans.
The EABC-TMEA public-private dialogue convened over 40 officials from trade facilitation agencies, importers, exporters, transporters and women cross-border traders to chart out solutions to ease the free movement of persons and cargo at Elegu Nimule OSBP.