Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong has blamed the decline in local revenue collections to the One Stop Border Post and cheap products from neighboring Uganda.
Addressing the press in his office, the Governor said the OSBP at Malaba and Busia had impacted negatively on the economy of the border County.
“The East African Community Single Customs Territory means that clearance of goods shall be done at the destination country while the goods are at the first point of the entry. This has led to thousands of clearing agents losing their jobs at the border points of Busia and Malaba. Business operations at the border have also been affected due to the treaty that bars trucks on transit from stopping on the Kenyan side of the border,” he said.
Ojaamong said EAC treaties need the involvement of the residents, County and National Governments instead of allowing member states to sign treaties which have negative consequences on frontier counties.
The Governor said lower taxes in Uganda had led to infiltration of cheap products from Uganda, thus reducing the consumption of high cost Kenyan products.
He said although goods produced in the region are not subjected to import duty when transferred to another partner state for meeting the rules of origin, they should be subjected to domestic taxes, where applicable, imposed on international trade upon arrival at the internal borders.
