Tanzania has most trade barriers in EAC- report!!!

Mzalendo452 said:

Hapo kwenye purple kuhusu vikwazo au protectionism, ni jambo la kawaida. Right now china is facing hardships nchini SA na policies rais Zuma ameweka kuhusu cheap imports from China. And at a certain level protectionism inakubalika wakati unajaribu kuprotect a weak and ailing industry na bidhaa zake. Tuna controversies especially kuhusu exhorbitant permit fees. Hata hapa kwa mijadala, inasemekana sekta ya utalii tanzania imepita ile ya kenya sijui kama ni ukweli figurewise. This being the case kwanini fees za permits ziongezwe maradufu? Au ni unfair competiton?!! tena tambua the improvement is based on high or low season. Nilitarajia kuwa ikiwa sekta ya utalii inafanya vizuri, kwamba kutakuwa na increased waiver of permits based on the number of tourists arriving. Naweza conclude kama ulivyosema hapo juu that such protectionism is self serving or to satisfy egos.

On the ICC tuanze na lubanga issue in the hague, Thomas Lubanga had masterminded what we called crimes against humanity for a decade now, amekuwa in hidng na ICC inafanya what we call hasty prosecution verdicts to keep up with time as events unfold. Wakati wa kufa kwa nyani huonekana wazi! DRC refugees are fleeing to Uganda especially sehemu za North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I was expecting yule ana mastermind this process awe ana tafutwa. Mimi sina pingamizi wacha the guilty in ICC waende to court, let wale walitenda au kuruhusu uuaji wakakamatwe.

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BUBE said:

Mzalendo and others

Usually I prefer working on one thing at the time. I think we better be focused if we want mjadala huu kuwa na maana zaidi. I understand there are many issues on barriers -unfortunately Tz is the one featuring in here but what other countries (Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya). Would it be possible to discuss one barrier after another? Can we focus on a specific commodity/service and crash it based on informaion we have from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

It is good to give examples/references based on our own experience, but whenever we do that, we should be able to go back to the main aim of the thread. Barriers! Mambo ya KQ nilitumia mimi wakati naongelea uzalendo. Suala la muhimu hapa ni vitu gani tunasema ni barriers and who defines national interest...is it the foreigners or nationals? Who is best placed to argue? I mean can we have optimal discussion where on fair grounds and with open-mind we trash out the inherent factors that contribute to poor performances of our economies?

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Mzalendo452 said:

Why dont we come with a flat figure? If you see it fit to use Ksh 17,000/= , then the county council at namanga should also increase their fees from 2,500/= to 17,000/=. This can work well and good but after wide consultation.

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BUBE said:

Mzalendo!!!!!!! Hii ni ngumu sana! Kwa kuwa EA countries have different levels of economic development, and if we are seriously looking for regionalization we can not come with flat figures we got to work on some issues hii ni pamoja na kutoa consessions kulingana na kiwango cha maendeleo ya nchi. Hizi consessions huwa graduated pole pole and zote zinakuwa na same figures. But then ni kawaida (fanya research pia) lazima nchi iweze kudefine its sovereignty hinged on specific products that are 'untouchable'. Mfano, kama Tz wanasema land is a major issue for us and cannot be included in the community' basi ni lazima kuheshimu jambo hilo kwa kuwa livelihoods za watz zinakuwa defined hapo. Hii hata kwenye rules za wto zinaweza kukubarika. Ndo maana unaona mazao kama sugar toka nchi/bara mbalimbali yanawekewe tariffs tofauti yanapoingia europe. Hii ni kwa sababu hakuna maana kuprotect muungano/urafiki on the expense of your own people. Watakula nini? So suala la flat figure ni zuri but applicability yake nina mashaka. Naweza kukubaliana na tariffs ambazo ziko wazi ili iwe rahisi kupigia hesabu kuliko zile non-tariff barriers ambazo mwisho wa siku ziko costly and might not give the best offer to producers and traders alike!

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Mzalendo452 said:

Really @ BUBE, Differnet levels of economic development huh! According to WB tanzania is growing at a rate of 7.8 p.c. only being passed by rwanda at 9.0 % na kenya is growing at 4.5 p.c . What can we focus on as the shortfall for Differing levels? Why don't you see that the only thing is for A standardized currency to work and then whenever such issues arise there can only be one solution. And also be watchful not to head the path fo Greece. Given the nature of the proximity between kenya and tanzania and the upswing of crossborder trade, eventually such desicisons will work against you guys. Katika maswala ya ardhi sioni how the communities wanaeza achwa from key desicion making, lakini there should be issues addressed wakati Serikali imepanga kuweka land into mass productivity kongeza mapato (N.B. i.e if ime amua).

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BUBE said:

Nadhani Mzalendo umechanganya vitu viwili. Labda sijaeleweka. Economic growth rate ni tofauti na economic develompment. Wakati the US and most European countries uchumi wao unakuwa kwa less than 2% (annual growth of GDP) bado ni nchi zenye maendeleo makubwa kiuchumi. Kwa maana nyingine Rwanda, and Tz might be having the higher economic growth rate, but still poor because inachukua decades of sustained growth kupata maendeleo! Jiulize Rwanda & Tz wameanza lini if not the last two decades! Sidhani kuna mantiki kuharakisha kuwa na A standardized currency, kwa sasa hasa kufuatana na background za nchi zetu. Nijuavyo hata European countries hawakuja na Euro kwa wakati mmoja. Na bado zipo nchi zimeendelea kushikiria msimamo wa kulinda currency zao (kama nilikupata vizuri).

There is a danger of applying the same approach on EA countries. Have we harmonized our political, social and economic context? The fact that we are majirani haina maana kuwa muktadha upo sawa kila nchi, na hili linahitaji gradual process ya intergration
Btn, huwa nina matatizo ya takwimu za WB. May be that is my personal problem but hata criteria zinazotumiwa na WB kufanya assessment ziko contexted!

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