Author: BERNARD LUGONGO
AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIA plans to lift off road tolls levied to all Rwandan trucks except carrying cargo and coming from Dar es Salaam Port is underway.
Currently, unlike other trucks from other neighbouring countries, which pay 500 US dollar as road toll, all Rwandan Lorries entering Tanzania pay 152 US dollar.
According to the Works, Transport and Communication Minister Eng Isack Kamwelwe, the ministry will in the coming week issue a circular on the changes and would see into it that only trucks with loads from the port to enjoy the waiver
However, he noted that some Rwandan trucks have been misusing the waiver decrease for them.
Initially, the waiver was introduced at the berth number 1 and 2 at the Dar es Salaam Port, where the Rwandan trucks used to pick cargo under special agreement with the Belgium, but now the government has upgraded the two berths with its domestic sourced funds.
“We discovered that some Rwandan trucks misused the waiver as they come to Tanzania to carry other cargo not from the port. For instance, some trucks use the waiver to come to Tanzania to carry coal from Ngaka Coal Mine to Rwanda,” the minister said.
He said he would meet his counterparts in Rwanda to inform them over the plan of changes in road toll.
Adding: “We are even thinking of stopping charging only 152 US dollar on Rwandan trucks coming to the port and instead charge them also 500 US dollar, but this would be a subject of discussion with our colleagues in Rwanda.”
The Minister made the observation in Dar es Salaam, yesterday while visiting the port to assess progress of berth number 5, 6 and 7 constructions.
Recently, the Tanzania Truck Owners Association (TATO) raised concern over the on road toll fees when in 2013 Tanzania lowered the charges for Rwandan trucks from 500 US dollars to 152 US dollars.
In the wake most of the trucks were from the Rusumo border to Dar es Salaam, a charge that is similar to the one Tanzanian trucks pay when they drive through the border post to Kigali.
Commenting TATO’s chairperson, Ms Angelina Ngalula told journalists that: “Initially, the fee was supposed to be charged per kilometre but our government saw the importance of harmonising the business and reduced the charges for our counterparts, there should be fairness.”
