NKASI district in Rukwa is out to market Kabwe port to its neighbours across the Lake Tanganyika in a bid to boost cross border business.
The District Council said plans are underway to stage a good neighbourhood meeting with the governors of Moba and Kalemiè provinces, on other side of the lake, in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The 7.5bn/- Kabwe port was officially opened last year and strategically lays between the mineral rich towns of Moba and Kalemiè. Nkasi District Commissioner (DC), Mr Peter Lijualikali told the ‘Daily News’ recently that the meeting is meant to seize the opportunity of having the newly constructed Kabwe port to boost cross border trade with DRC.
“The meeting between us and governors from provinces from Eastern part of DRC is on pipeline,” Mr Lijualikali said.
The people from DRC side depend on Nkasi for cereals-such as rice, maize and sugar as well as cement and other building materials. “The port acts as a gateway opportunity for traders as well as small farmers to supply goods and services to Moba and Kalemiè,” the DC said.
Geographically, Moba port lies about 24 kilometres from Kabwe port and 78 kilometres from Kalemiè port Kalemiè is linked by air and train with Lubumbashi in Katanga Province, which is the third largest city of DRC. Katanga is mineral rich province. Some traders and farmers in Nkasi expressed their hopefulness that the construction of Kabwe port will boost cross border business, especially with the two provinces.
Mr Nassoro Shibiby , who owns several small cargo vessels plying on Lake Tanganyika told this paper that the construction of the port has rapidly increased cargo trade from Nkasi to Moba and Kalemiè. “Now traders are no longer traveling all the way to Kigoma to ferry our produces to DRC,” he said.
Nkasi’s cereals trader, Tophilo Mwendakwao, said: “the port surely has boosted income to the citizens and the economy in general.” Also some Congolese traders crossing the lake to Kabwe to buy supplies told the ‘Daily News’ that they prefer obtaining goods at Kabwe to Kigoma since it takes less than six hours to sail from here to Moba port if the weather is good.
“We are optimistic the new port will further facilitate trade between Tanzania and DRC,” said a Congolese Tausi Mbamba.
Another Congolese, Jean Marie-Marie Mikolomingi said previously they were relying on Kasanga port in Kalambo district – the largest terminal in Rukwa region to transport their goods to Moba, which is along the route, as it takes 48 hours to sail between the two ports.