Rwanda’s Rusumo border post – which sees about 95% of the country’s imports passing through from Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port – is set for a revamp of operations as the government explores infrastructure upgrades and a deployment of additional personnel.
Touring the facility over the weekend, governor for the Eastern Province, Fred Mufurukye, highlighted some of the challenges at the border post, including the slow flow of trucks caused by staff shortages and lack of adequate infrastructure.
With the Gatuna border post under construction, Rusumo is now Rwanda's busiest border with official statistics recording around 270 heavy-duty trucks passing through Rusumo border every day.
"Some of the challenges that were raised here include the slow pace of trucks that are cleared, and lack of enough staff from different institutions that work here," said Mufurukye.
He added that the acquisition of scanners to verify goods in containers, without the need to unpack the goods, was one of the first measures the government would implement.
