The Common Market for East and Southern Africa member states have now come up with a joint venture to reduce cost of doing business within the region. Comesa said is reviewing transit costs and simplifying custom procedures across borders. The move will see members pay bonds at only one stop instead of all the countries the goods pass through.

A study showed that transport and transit costs in Africa are high and the landlocked countries like Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC, whose businesses rely largely on transportation, are the hardest hit.

Speaking during a meeting attended by delegates from Comesa countries, Kenya Revenue Authority senior deputy commissioner of southern region Julius Musyoki said member states should come up with a trade facilitation instrument.

“The roll-out of operations of the Regional Customs Transit Guarantee (RCTG) scheme is indeed a historic event in the process of the COMESA economic integration as it is a key trade facilitation instrument that will easen the process of doing business,” said Musyoki.