Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday narrated of a time when corrupt officials forced him to beg to get goods processed at the port to be transported to the landlocked country.
Speaking at State House during a joint press conference with President Uhuru Kenyatta, Museveni recalled that during previous administrations, port officers would drag their feet when handling goods destined for Uganda.
He commended his counterpart for instituting corrective measures and streamlining systems at the port to ensure efficiency.
"Before President Uhuru’s time some of the people at the port said they were doing Uganda a favor by handling our goods and so we had to come and beg them, Tafadhali, Please, tafadhali, tafadhali...
"Not knowing they were sabotaging Uganda and at the same time Kenya," he stated.
Museveni further noted that trade was growing between the East African countries and measures taken by Uhuru at the port were contributing factors to the growth.
"The efficient handling of cargo in the port and the hinterland is good for the economy of Uganda and Kenya. The more business we do, the better for all of us," he stated.
He added that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) would reduce the transit time between Mombasa and Kampala to 24 hours.
"In the coming years, a lot of cargo will move from the roads to the railway and fuel will move from the roads to the pipelines," he added.
On his part, Uhuru affirmed his Ugandan counterpart's call for the need to strengthen ties within the region.
"I believe the fruitful discussions our delegations have had will be work towards promoting trade, free movement of goods, services and people across our borders
"We need to ensure we increase the number of boarders post along our common borders so that our border communities don't have to travel too far thereby encouraging illegal movement, we need to build more for them to have easier access to each other countries," he stated.
Here is the video:
Museveni will, on Thursday, become first visiting President to travel on the SGR when he makes a trip from Mombasa to Nairobi.
