Rwanda leading in Logistics performance

Rwanda has been ranked in the first position in logistics performance according to the east African logistics performance surveys with a score of 3.52, followed by Uganda in second place with a score of 3.07.

Tanzania comes in third with an average score of 2.89 while Kenya and Burundi are ranked at position 4and 5, with scores of 2.82 and 2.78 respectively.

Some of the indicators on which Rwanda ranks best include timely delivery of shipments, competence and quality of logistics services, percentage of shipment physically inspected, transparency in conducting customs valuations, manner in which trade disputes are handled and incidence of corruption and rent-seeking.

Rwanda also performed very well in areas such as security of cargo while in transit, communicating information when trade regulations change and quality of transport and ICT infrastructure.

“For a country to improve its ranking in logistics performance, measures have to be put in place to increase investments in infrastructure, improve services delivered by both private sector entities and State agencies involved in the goods clearance process and an attitude change in the level of preparedness of shippers to effectively fulfill their obligations in international trade transactions,” the report says.

The logistics performance of individual EAC Partner States is rated using 11 key indicators and individual country scores aggregated across all respondents, resulting in a single average score for each indicator.

For the region to become competitive, the report recommends development of regulations that facilitate and encourage private-public partnerships, especially for large regional infrastructure projects such ports and railroads. Global economy

There is need for a well-functioning specialized logistics infrastructure to ease freight handling, streamline inspection processes, and provide value-added services in areas closer to ports, airports and border crossings.

This report advances some recommendations that are critical to the improvement of the logistics performance of EAC Partner States and their related ability to promote international trade and spur economic growth.

The findings of this logistics performance survey for East Africa focuses on logistics drawn on a set of data collected over a period of four months beginning February to May 2014 from freight forwarding and Shippers companies in East Africa.

The survey tracks specific quantitative indicators of logistics performance in terms of cost, time and complexity of executing trade transactions which EAC countries can use to target policy actions to improve logistics and monitor their progress.