ARUSHA, Tanzania – Dr. Ronex Tendo Kisembo, a contestant for the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), has declared that Africa’s long-sought prosperity will only be achieved through a three-pronged strategy: local production, value addition, and strategic security.
However, Dr. Kisembo warned that a major obstacle stands in the way – Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) – which he described as the “elephant in the room” for the East African Community (EAC).
Speaking to stakeholders ahead of the EALA elections, Dr. Kisembo argued that the continent cannot rely on raw commodity exports if it hopes to create jobs and build wealth.
“Africa’s prosperity lies in what we make, not just what we dig from the ground or grow on our farms,” he said. “We must prioritize local production, aggressive value addition, and strategic security to protect our supply chains. Without these three pillars, our economies will remain vulnerable to external shocks.”
But the EALA hopeful quickly pivoted to the core challenge threatening the EAC’s internal market: the persistent and often invisible web of NTBs.
Dr. Kisembo did not mince words, pointing out that while the EAC has made progress in reducing customs tariffs, non-tariff barriers continue to suffocate regional trade.
According to the candidate, these barriers – ranging from excessive roadblocks, police checkpoints, and weighbridge delays to arbitrary rules of origin and bureaucratic permits – are inflicting severe damage on the region’s economy.
“These NTBs increase transaction costs, disrupt supply chains, weaken private-sector confidence, and critically, undermine the credibility of the EAC as a rules-based market,” Dr. Kisembo stated.
He noted that truck drivers moving goods from Mombasa to Kigali or Dar es Salaam to Kampala still face unnecessary delays and unofficial charges, making locally produced goods more expensive than imports from outside Africa
Warning that the status quo is no longer acceptable, Dr. Kisembo urged all EAC partner states to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete, collaborative action.
“Addressing these challenges is critical to unlocking the region’s trade potential,” he emphasized. “This is not the job of the EAC Secretariat alone. It requires genuine political will and hands-on collaboration from every partner state.”
He called for rapid digitization of trade documentation, harmonization of product standards, and an independent mechanism to penalize member states that erect new NTBs.
“If a businessman cannot move his goods from Nairobi to Arusha faster than he can ship them from Guangzhou to Mombasa, then we have failed as a Community,” Dr. Kisembo added.
As the EAC seeks to deepen integration and expand its economic footprint, Dr. Kisembo’s message is clear: production and value addition are the destination, but eliminating NTBs is the only road that leads there.
