Mpondwe border post to boost trade

Government with funding from the World Bank has established a one-stop border point at Mpondwe to promote cross border trade and facilitate movement of goods and people between Uganda and DR Congo.
Mpondwe is one of the busiest border points due to its drastic growth in the volumes of trade in the last five years.

Government said the border point will also enhance revenue collection for both countries.
While visiting the area last Friday, Ms  Amelia Kyambadde, the Minister of Trade and Cooperatives, said the transit volumes have exponentially grown from Shs196.8 billion in 2015 to Shs1 trillion last year.
She said the transit is two-fold – with  goods being imported to DR Congo from Mombasa port or Dar-es-Salaam and other goods from Congo destined to international markets.

Export volumes
Ms Kyambadde said export volumes have grown by 52.5 per cent from Shs199 billion in 2015 to Shs304 billion in 2020 while import volumes have grown by 12.7 per cent from Shs3 billion in 2015 to Shs 3.3 billion last year.
Other constructed border points are Malaba, Mutukula, Busia, Elegu, Mirama Hills, Bunagana, Ntoroko and Goli.
Ms Kyambadde said government aims at constructing 18 border points before 2026.

She said Mpondwe was one of the six land border stations. Others are Bunagana, Busanza, Butogota, Ishasha River and Busunga. Other port stations such as Ntoroko, Butiaba, Kaiso and Nsonga on Lake Albert also border Uganda and DR Congo.
Ms Kyambadde said Mpondwe clears goods such as crude palm oil, timber, motorcycles and  makeup products. 
“We envisage holistic border management where all border agencies will harmonise their controls and roles to increase efficiency thus reducing the high transaction costs and delays that have been the case,” she said.

Mr Asan Kigozi Kisubi, the assistant commissioner field officer at Uganda Revenue Authority, said the authority is the lead agency in the construction of the border point.
“This point will facilitate our traders to grow the economy because it will ease trade since all government agencies will be found under one-stop centre,”  Mr Kigozi said.
The Minister for Works and Transport, Gen Katumba Wamala, urged the contractors to include the water hydrants at the facility given the past experience of fire that destroyed people’s properties.
The Mpondwe–Lhubiriha town council chairperson, Mr Selevester Masereka Mapoze, urged government to establish a fire brigade to protect lives and properties, saying three incidents of fire have been registered in the town council. “We know that once this facility is complete, it will attract many people with valuable goods that must be protected but the challenge is the fire brigade in the area,” Mr Mapoze said.