Kenya has broken ranks with its East Africa Community counterparts over plans to adopt harmonised gross vehicle weight limits by August.
Officials at the EAC Secretariat said Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi have agreed on 56 tonnes axle load (weight per tyre).
In October 2008, President Mwai Kibaki issued a directive reducing the number of axles allowed on Kenyan roads from four to three, lowering the limit of the gross weight of a truck to 48 tonnes. Now Kenya says it can only go up to 52.
Burundi and Rwanda both have an axle load limits of 53 tonnes while Uganda and Tanzania have theirs at 56 tonnes. The variance could frustrate efforts towards integration.
Article 90 of the EAC Treaty provides for the adoption of common axle-load to facilitate transit transport in the region, which is a key pillar of integration.
Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi have harmonised their axle-load limits in line with those of Comesa, while Tanzania has harmonised its axle-load limits in line with the Southern Africa Development Community countries.
According to PADECO, an international development consulting company that recently conducted a study on transport infrastructure in the region, the EAC will save about $7 million per year if axle load is controlled. Also, that transit time for vehicles carrying goods from one partner state to the other will reduce by an hour.
EAC’s director of productive Services and Infrastructure Alfred Kisoro, said consultations on the implementation of a harmonised weight and axle limit are in top gear. “The lack of a harmonised axle load is among major factors impeding efficient transport in the region as vehicles on transit are delayed for several hours at weighbridges,” said Mr Kisoro.
In most East and Southern Africa countries, enforcement is hampered by the lack of harmonised rules on axle load limits and vehicle specifications. Also to blame for poor enforcement of the rules and regulations is the fact that most implementing authorities are ill-equipped for their work. On the other hand, corruption among public officials manning weighbridges has led to a lack of faith in the systems used in different countries.
Reports indicate that cross-border transport is three to five times more expensive in Africa than it is in Asia and Latin America. For example, truck transport from Mombasa to Kampala over a distance of about 1,100 km takes five days, of which 19 hours are spent crossing borders and at weighbridges.
EAC Secretary General Richard Sezibera described the efforts to harmonise vehicle weight limits as critical if EAC partner states are to improve transport infrastructure in the region. This, he said would spur efficiency and lower the cost of doing business.
“If we can ensure efficiency in the transport sector, we shall be able to reduce the cost of doing business by over 50 per cent which will boost the competitiveness of the East African Common Market,” said Dr Sezibera.
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