Museveni, Tshisekedi Agree to Construct 1,200km Road Network to Boost Trade

Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have agreed to jointly construct roads to facilitate cross border trade, Chimp Corps report.

The volume of trade between Uganda and DR Congo was estimated to be $ 531 million by July 2019, but this is largely informal.

During President Felix Tshisekedi’s trip to Uganda this past weekend, he agreed with his host, Yoweri Museveni, to fast-track the implementation of infrastructure projects to increase trade and investment between both countries.

During the meetings, Museveni and Tshisekedi said they noted “with concern the numerous trade restrictive measures and infrastructure bottlenecks, which increase the cost of doing business in the region.”

According to research by Uganda Bureau of Statistics, some of the major problems faced by traders while participating in cross border trade include forced bribery, ambushes and robbery,  confiscation or loss of goods to border officials and imprisonment or detention.

Museveni and Tshisekedi emphasised the importance of developing cross border infrastructure which is essential to facilitate trade between the two countries.

The two countries said they identified and agreed to undertake joint development key networks within 24 months.

These include Mpondwe-Beni road which is about 977 kilometres, Goli-Bunia road (181 Kilometres) and Bunagana-Rutshuru Road (24 kilometres).

Kutesa and his DRC counterpart sign bilateral deals in the presence of Museveni and Tshisekedi

Interestingly, this area is occupied by several rebel movements including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

The Congolese armed forces this past week announced a major military operation against ADF, killing 25 rebels on the first day of the attacks.

Routing the rebel movements would be a major requirement for the successful implementation of the infrastructure project.

Still, tarmac roads are necessary in Eastern Congo to allow security forces quickly respond to emergencies and even realize state presence.

Poor roads continue to undermine efforts to develop the area, creating a fertile ground for rebel movements to recruit and terrorize the region.

Tshisekedi and Museveni have now directed the Ministers responsible for Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure, Trade, Finance and other key stakeholders to “meet within two months and agree on implementation modalities for the road projects and how to deal with other bottlenecks to trade.”

The two leaders also reviewed the state of peace and security in the Greatlakes region and observed that the region still faces a number of challenges that hinder stability and development.

They agreed to work closely together including other countries in the region to address the issue of negative forces and other armed groups in the region, especially in Eastern DRC.

Earlier, Ugandan Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa said joint efforts must be “strengthened to deal with the negative forces and armed groups such as ADF that terrorizes the population. We believe that neutralizing such groups and denying them sanctuary to operate, will contribute significantly in creating a peaceful environment for trade and investment to thrive.”

Tshisekedi also agreed to use the Joint Business Forum as a “platform for the engagement of members of the two private sectors” and expressed their resolve to “facilitate the private sector to do business.”

During Tshisekedi’s visit, Museveni welcomed the application of DRC to join East African Community.

Both leaders emphasised the importance of regional integration and the critical role it can play in promoting regional peace and stability, prosperity and strengthening people to people contact.”