President William Ruto on Saturday, June 10, secured cheap maize days after Tanzanian Government, headed by President Samia Suluhu, detained more than 500 lorries from getting back into the country.
In a statement, Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, under instructions of the President, reached out to his Tanzanian counterpart to solve the stalemate.
Through the intervention, all lorries held up at the Namanga border were granted entry from Saturday night, June 10.
"This evening (Saturday) I held a virtual meeting with my sister counterpart from the United Republic of Tanzania, Hon Ashatu Kijaji.
"On the instructions of President William Ruto and his sister President Samia Suluhu Hassan, we have agreed that all maize and other good stuff trucks that were held up in Namanga and Holili Border Posts will be granted entry from tonight," CS Kuria stated.
The Trade CS, however, directed all Kenyan importers to apply online for export permits to avoid future altercations.
"All Kenyan importers of Tanzanian foodstuff are reminded that they must apply online for export permits to avoid inconveniences.
"Our two sisterly nations are committed to eliminating all trade barriers in the spirit of East African Cooperation. We are grateful to Presidents Ruto and Suluhu for upholding this spirit," his statement read in part.
On Wednesday, June 7, the Tanzanian Government detained the lorries after accusing their owners of lacking valid permits to import the grain.
The traders, however, refuted the claims during the protests and insisted that they possessed valid permits to conduct the business.
“When we get to Namanga, we are usually given permits that authorise us to get into the country (Tanzania). We pay all our dues including the Tanzanian tax.
“However, when we get to the border, the authorities bar our lorries from returning to Kenya. People are hungry back home and they need this food,” one of the businessmen told the press.
Further, they lamented that they had to pay Ksh13,915 for every day that they stayed at the border.
The impasse led to the Kenyan traders staging a protest by blocking the Namanga border and parking their lorries simultaneously to block the traffic.
They cited that the lack of intervention by the Kenyan government led to them making insurmountable losses after hitting roadblocks at the border.
