Optimism following resumption of activity on Rwanda-Uganda border

The official announcement of the reopening of the Gatuna border by the Government of Rwanda generated a lot of excitement from people in both countries.

The EAC commended the development, saying it was a major win for the integration agenda. 

It had been close to three years since activities on the border between Rwanda and Uganda were frozen subsequent to some serious concerns that could not allow cooperation between the neighboring countries to thrive.

Consequently, despite their highly inter-dependence status, trade and other interactions between the two countries were brought close to nil. It also prompted a momentary disconnect between the people. 

It is therefore justified that there was jubilation from both sides when the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the main border would be open at the beginning of February.

This decision was made courtesy of headway by Uganda in addressing Rwanda’s grievances, despite the fact that many of them are yet to be resolved and this begs the question; should there be hope that things will soon be back to normal between both countries? To some   extent yes, and here is why.

One of the quick wins of the border reopening is the resumption of the free movement of goods, services and people. For nearly three years, cargo trucks could not use the border, and goods were subjected to some level of restrictions. 

The sight of relief in most if not all business operators in Uganda and Rwanda, is to see the trade transactions growing back to at least what it used to be or even better. Their second expectation is to see the current pandemic easing so as to allow the free movement of people as a critical factor for small traders across the shared border. 

No one can deny the fact that the border reopening represents one crucial factor in the business and trade equations, starting by the market expansion element.

Countries always want to develop, to boost the wealth of their people, innovations and overall growth. The development process is a never ending course, there is always an extra mile to go. 

Countries always aim at resolving outstanding issues and pave ways for positive developments to take place. In the case of Rwanda and Uganda, the two countries are obliged to not only resolve the outstanding issues that imposed the trade blockage but to look at ways of catching up with the time lost. 

Perhaps the best way to catch up and to revamp trade between the two countries in a fashion that will see the trade figures between the two neighbouring countries shoot up is to reactivate the political will to drive the Northern Corridor Development Projects that will see all countries of this important corridor benefiting. 

The Northern Corridor connects the hinterlands of Rwanda, Uganda, DRC and Burundi to the Kenyan Port of Mombasa and this route was highly affected by the spec in the relations between Rwanda and Uganda.

Revamping economic activity on this corridor will inevitably ease trade within the region. The above forecast shall also deepen regional integration through political consultations and promote multilateral ventures for shared benefits. 

The biggest winners will definitely be the people of these respective countries. For this great initiative to materialize, there is need for the political will of each member state, and the need to translate the political will into concrete and corresponding actions. 

From the Rwanda- Uganda conflicts, one thing has to be noted by all parties concerned. No country is superior to another. All countries in the region are highly inter-dependent. There is no small or big country in our balance of inter-dependence. 

The people of Rwanda and Uganda have understood it, and most of them have had to pay some good price for this. Countries have made considerable losses.

 The unfortunate state of affairs between the two countries will serve as a lesson and a strong basis on which some great development can be built on, with mutual respect. 

The people of Rwanda and Uganda should support the efforts of the normalization of cooperation between Uganda and Rwanda if at all they want to keep their optimism for successful business and social interactions.