NORTHERN CORRIDOR TRANSIT AND TRANSPORT COORDINATION AUTHORITY FINAL COMMUNIQUE OF THE 26 TH COUNCIL OF MINISTERS THEME: SPEARHEADING CROSS-BORDER INTERMODAL CONNECTIVITY TO BOOST EFFICIENCY ALONG THE NORTHERN CORRIDOR GORILLAS GOLF HOTEL, KIGALI, RWANDA, 20 JUNE 2014 1196, Links Road, M/N Nyali PO Box 34068, 80118 Mombasa Kenya Tel. +254 41 4470734/729 923574/733 532485 E-mail: ttca@ttcanc.org
THE 26 th COUNCIL OF MINISTERS of the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority was held in Kigali, the Republic of Rwanda on 20th June 2014 with the theme being: Spearheading Cross-border Intermodal connectivity to boost efficiency along the Northern Corridor. The Council of Ministers was attended by Honorable: Minister of Transport, Works and Equipment, Republic of Burundi; Minister of Transport, Roads and Bridges, Republic of South Sudan; Minister of State in charge Transport, Republic of Rwanda; Minister of State in charge of Transport, Republic of Uganda; His Excellency, The Kenya High Commissioner to Rwanda; and Representative of the Minister for Transport and Ways of Communication, Democratic Republic of Congo. The Council of Ministers was also attended by the following regional Institutions and Development Partners: Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA), International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Intergovernmental Standing Committee on Shipping (ISCOS), Port Management of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMEASA), African Development Bank (AfDB), Communauté économique des Pays des Grands Lacs (CEPGL). 2 P a g e
OPENING OF THE COUNCIL OPENING SPEECH In her opening speech, the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, Hon. Virginie CIZA, Honorable Minister for Transport, Public Works and Equipment of the Republic of Burundi extended her warm welcome to the members of the Council of Ministers and expressed her sincere gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Rwanda for the warm hospitality and cordial atmosphere enjoyed by the delegates. She stressed that the Northern Corridor Transport route is a key route for promoting international trade and regional integration and urged all Member States to work jointly in developing transport infrastructure projects in order to achieve the key mandate of turning the corridor into a seamless development corridor. She concluded her remarks by inviting her distinguished colleagues to consider the resolutions of the Executive Committee and give guidance and direction towards the achieving the strategic vision for the corridor. WELCOME STATEMENT In his opening statement, the Executive Secretary, Mr. Donat BAGULA welcomed the Honorable Ministers, Executive Committee members and other distinguished delegates to the 26th Council of Ministers. He highlighted the performance improvements on the Northern Corridor resulting from the regular monitoring through the Transport Observatory Project, weighing of Transit goods only at points on entry and exit, implementation of the single customs territory, Cargo tracking system, Cargo clearance system, and removal of police roadblock. 3 P a g e
He emphasized the current ongoing trade and infrastructure development programs coordinated by the Secretariat aimed at facilitating trade and regional integration, that include; development of OSBP infrastructure, Road Side Stations project; and other ongoing road infrastructure preparations projects. Finally, he extended the appreciation of the Secretariat to the Council and the Executive Committee for their continued guidance and support. COMPOSITION OF THE BUREAU The Bureau for the Council was constituted as follows: Burundi Chair D R Congo Vice Chair Kenya 1st Rapporteur Rwanda 2nd Rapporteur Members Uganda South Sudan AFTER THE FORMAL OPENING OF THE COUNCIL, THE AUTHORITY; RECOGNISED and expressed gratitude to Hon. Virginie CIZA, Minister for Transport, Public Works and Equipment of the Republic of Burundi, for her excellent and steadfast leadership on the NCTTCA Bureau as Chairperson of the Council of Ministers. 4 P a g e
RECOGNISED and expressed gratitude to Hon. Virginie CIZA, Minister for Transport, Public Works & Equipment of the Republic of Burundi,, H.E. John MWANGEMI, Kenya High Commissioner, Rwanda, Hon. Dr. Alexis Nzahabwanimana Minister of State for Transport, Ministry of Infrastructure, Republic of Rwanda, Hon. Kwong Danhier GATLUAK, Minister for Transport, Roads and Bridges, Republic of South Sudan,,Hon. Dr. Stephen CHEBROT, Minister of State for Transport, Ministry of Works & Transport, Republic of Uganda and Mr. SAYIBA TAMBWE Patient For: Minister of Transport and Ways of Communications, Democratic Republic of Congo for their excellent and steadfast support to the NCTTCA programs. CONSIDERED AND ADOPTED the Report of the 39 th Executive Committee Report. ON TECHNICAL PROGRAMS NOTED the progress and the key recommendations and resolutions on program activities related to policy harmonization and advocacy programs of Transport Policy and Planning, Customs and Trade facilitation, Infrastructure Development and Management and Private Sector Investment Promotion as well as the proposed budget for the financial year 2014/15 and Administrative matters as adopted by the 39 th Executive Committee meeting. LAUDED the efforts and the progress made by member states in developing and improving regional transport infrastructure projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway and the Oil pipeline. APPROVED the Transit Routes and customs offices formally designated by the Republic of South Sudan under protocol Nos. 2 & 3 of the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Agreement (NCTTA). DIRECTED the Executive Secretary to communicate the amendments to all NCTTCA Member States 5 P a g e
ACKNOWLEDGED the strategic partnerships and collaboration initiatives with Development and Regional Partners towards mobilization of funding for regional project preparation and implementation such as One Stop Border Post, regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System, and other trade related infrastructure projects. DIRECTED the Secretariat to make closer follow up in assisting Member States to secure financing for infrastructure development initiatives in the region. CALLED UPON the Member States to involve the Permanent Secretariat to participate in the various Summits of the Heads of States on Northern Corridor Infrastructure Development so as to monitor more closely the on-going development in Member States. COMMENDED the initiative for the development of the Road Side Stations and Rest Stops as part of the initiatives in improving transport infrastructure services; DIRECTED that the Investor s Conference for marketing the Road Side Station program be officiated by Member States at Ministerial Level. DECLARED that the Country hosting the Investor s Conference for the Road Side Stations program shall assume the chairmanship and invite their respective counterparts from the other Member States. RECOGNISED the improvements in the Northern Corridor performance and directed the Secretariat to pursue the Corridor monitoring and advise Member States on issues for action. DIRECTED the Permanent Secretariat to intensify its efforts in benchmarking Best practices and knowledge sharing with Member States on Infrastructure Development and Management, Transport Policy and Planning, Customs and Trade Facilitation and Private Sector Investment Promotion. 6 P a g e
ON FINANCE AND BUDGETARY MATTERS NOTED the issues raised in line with arrears of contributions by Member States to the NCTTCA and urged all member States to pay off all their outstanding arrears to enable the Authority to fulfill its mandate. Took note of the concern by Burundi who requested the waiver of part of its arrears that coincided with the period of crisis that was caused by the civil war which took place in the country. DIRECTED the Secretariat to review and submit the revised sharing formula for contributions in order to align all the Member States taking into account the volume of traffic along the Corridor. APPROVED the NCTTCA Budget for the financial year 2014/15. ON PERSONNEL & ADMINISTRATION NOTED that the Executive Committee had revised and approved the Personnel and Financial Rules as well as related Procedural Manuals aimed at streamlining the operations of the Secretariat. RESOLVED to hold the 27 th Council of Ministers in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo in June 2015. CLOSING OF THE COUNCIL CLOSING SPEECH In her closing Speech, the Chairman of the Council congratulated the Council for the successful deliberations and completion of the 26 th Meeting of the NCTTCA Council of Ministers. 7 P a g e
She reiterated the need for the Member States to strengthen collaboration efforts towards the ultimate vision of transforming the Transport Corridor into a seamless Development Corridor by elimination of NTBs, investment in infrastructure, promoting safety, competitive transit & transport services, stimulate investments, harmonization of customs procedures, documentation and use of ICTs thereby stimulating economic and social development in the region. Finally, she thanked the host, the Republic of Rwanda, for the warm welcome and cordial hospitality extended to them and their respective delegations during their stay in Rwanda. VOTE OF THANKS Hon. Kwong Danhier GATLUAK, Minister for Transport, Roads and Bridges, thanked the Republic of Rwanda for hosting the Council of Ministers and the warm reception and hospitality accorded to the Members and congratulated his colleagues and fellow Ministers for the cordial discussions. He pledged the commitment of his Government to support the Northern Corridor programs. The Council of Ministers convened in a warm and cordial atmosphere. DONE IN KIGALI, THIS 20TH DAY OF JUNE 2014, IN BOTH ENGLISH AND FRENCH LANGUAGES. Hon. Virginie CIZA Minister for Transport, Public Works and Equipment Republic of Burundi Mr. Patient SAYIBA TAMBWE 8 P a g e
For: Minister of Transport and Ways of Communications Democratic Republic of Congo H.E John MWANGEMI High Commissioner, Kenya High Commission, Rwanda For: Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure Republic of Kenya Dr. Alexis NZAHABWANIMANA Minister of State for Transport, Ministry of Infrastructure Republic of Rwanda Hon. Kwong Danhier GATLUAK Minister for Transport, Roads and Bridges Republic of South Sudan Dr. Stephen CHEBROT Minister of State for Transport, Ministry of Works & Transport Republic of Uganda 9 P a g e