Karugu: One-stop border posts leading fight against EAC trade barriers

Principal Secretary for EAC Affairs Caroline Karugu before the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations in Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Kenya has activated its border offices at One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) as the frontline against non-tariff barriers choking regional trade within the East African Community (EAC).

Principal Secretary for EAC Affairs Caroline Karugu told the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations in Nairobi that the offices now serve as the first point of call for reporting and eliminating the trade barriers.

"We have made great strides in operationalising the EAC border offices located in the One Stop Border Posts as the first port of call in the reporting and elimination of the non-tariff barriers which hamper our regional competitiveness," said Karugu.

The disclosure comes as Kenya intensifies pressure on EAC partners to dismantle trade bottlenecks across key corridors.

The country has, in recent weeks, engaged county governments along border regions, including Migori, Taita Taveta and Kwale in separate drives to ease the flow of goods into Tanzania, Uganda and beyond.

Non-tariff barriers, ranging from customs delays and administrative bottlenecks to regulatory inconsistencies, have long been cited as among the biggest drags on intra-EAC trade, raising costs for businesses and consumers across the bloc.

Kenya chairs the EAC under President William Ruto, a position the government says has added urgency to its push for barrier-free regional trade.