{UAH} Explain why this Ug. Road / Highway in the Foto is below standard

Uganda urged to pick more interest in central corridor
Publish Date: Feb 14, 2015

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
• 
• 
  

newvision

By Billy Rwothungeyo                                            

KAMPALA - There are principally two corridors that lead to Uganda from the coast of East Africa – the northern and central corridors.

The northern corridor, which moves through Kenya to Uganda and other landlocked countries of Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, is the busier of the two.

The central corridor which passes through Tanzania brings in far lesser volumes of goods to Uganda. In fact, less than 2% of the cargo handled in Dar es Salaam nowadays is Uganda-bound.

Rukia Shamte, the chief executive of the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency says this trend should change, arguing that it should be in Uganda's interests to use the corridor.

"Mali is a landlocked country and it uses four corridors, but the main corridor, which handles almost 70% of the volumes, is through Ivory Coast. When unrest broke out in Ivory Coast a few years back, it was almost impossible to use this corridor. Mali did not falter – they just turned to the other corridors," she said.

Speaking at a dialogue organised by the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency and members of the Uganda Shippers Council in Kampala on Friday, Shamte said the central corridor has been vastly improved, with the road from Mutukula to Dar es Salaam now paved, and with the railway service to Mwanza operating.

The longer distance to Dar es Salaam port when compared to Mombasa has been working against the central corridor, but she said that Tanzania is now offering special rates to Uganda to make up for the extra miles.
 

Charles Kareba, the chairman of Uganda Shippers Council (USC) urged the Ugandan government to speed up the delivery of wagon ferries on Lake Victoria so that Ugandan cargo owners can benefit from the improvements in Tanzania.

"If you come through Mwanza, the 600km is no longer an issue. It becomes 600km if you are going by road via Mutukula. The missing link is the wagon ferries on Lake Victoria. The moment these are put back in place, definitely people will go back to Dar es Salaam."

Further still, unlike the Mombasa Port, Dar es Salaam does not levy terminal handling charges.

Uganda has also in the past paid a heavy price for largely depending on the Kenyan coastal port of Mombasa.

The post-election drama in the aftermath of the 2007 Kenyan polls greatly disrupted the movement of cargo along the northern corridor.

There have also been accusations thrown at the Kenya Ports Authority of introducing arbitrary charges at the port.

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or Abbey Semuwemba at: abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com.