By Consesa John
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tanzania and Kenya have agreed to narrow the gap between their boundaries in the Indian Ocean to curb criminal activities taking place in the area.
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Original boundaries left a huge gap between the two countries, which provided criminals with a leeway. Piracy, illegal fishing and disposal of poisonous waste have become common in the international waters between the two frontiers.
Yesterday, the two countries signed an agreement in Dar es Salaam to narrow the buffer zone. Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Bernard Membe Kenyan High Commissioner to Tanzania Mutinda Mutiso signed the pact.
Under the agreement, each country will extend its frontier by 100km.
This will bring another 200km of the Indian Ocean area into direct control of the two countries.
“There have been illegal activities taking place in between the area which is not under the control of neither of the two countries. We have witnessed the capturing of ships, and these activities are done far away from the boundaries. Extending our boundaries will provide security in the area,” he said.
Mr Membe said that apart from safety and security, the agreement would enhance other development activities such as fishing, and added that Tanzania and Kenya had taken advantage of international laws allowing two neighbouring countries to enter into agreements on matters that enhanced peace.
He added that the agreement would be permanent, adding that the Africa Union (AU) would be notified.
The minister said they was a pressing need to sign the agreement in order to maintain order in the portions of the Indian Ocean that were under the control of the two countries.
The move by the two countries came about a month after it was proposed that they conduct joint naval patrols in the Indian Ocean to curb rising cases of piracy.
The idea was first floated Kenyan Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka’s visit to Zanzibar where it was noted that merchant vessels to the East African coast had been forced to divert more than 6,000 nautical miles, causing delays in cargo delivery.
It was further observed that as a result of piracy, shipping companies had increased freight charges by more than $30 dollars (Sh40,000) per 20-foot container.
“This problem of piracy is so serious and it is even now affecting the performance of our economy. We are requesting that Kenya and Tanzania participate in joint naval activities in the region,” Zanzibar President Karume was quoted as saying.
Mr Musyoka also expressed Kenya?s concern at the disruption caused by piracy off the Coast of Somalia.
He noted that pirates were a problem since they were operating on important shipping routes through which most of the imports and exports of the region pass through.
“We are concerned as a country and every effort must be put in place to deal with piracy decisively,” Mr Musyoka said.
It was during the meeting that Mr Musyoka hinted to President Karume on Kenya?s request to international maritime authorities for Kenya to be allowed to expand the limit of its territorial waters.
The visit and the proposal followed the revelation that increased hijacking of cargo ships by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean was threatening fuel supply to Tanzania.
Oil marketers said that unless the piracy was contained at the Gulf of Aden, Tanzania was likely to experience critical fuel shortages.
The effects of the hijackings have become apparent in the cancellations of trips to the East Africa by some bulk oil transporters.
More than 30 ships were by then hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, with hundreds of crew members taken hostage this year.
The Citizen was informed that some bulk oil transporters have cancelled their trips to the region due the heavy presence of pirates.
“The situation is fast becoming critical and we are expecting the worst to come in a short while,” an oil marketer with Chevron Tanzania Limited said.
“We have just received communication from the owner of some tankers, which were destined for the region, that they have cancelled their trip due to major security worries,” he said on condition of anonymity, and declined to name the vessels that called off their trips.
By then Kenya was reportedly experiencing oil shortages although officials said it was due to piracy. They said the shortages were mainly due to the repairs of the Mombassa-Nairobi pipeline.
Indications that Tanzania was also prone to Somali pirates manifested themselves in December last year when pirates targeted a Dutch-operated container ship in the vicinity of Tanzanian waters but their attack was foiled after an early warning saved the vessel, which outran the pirates.
Last year alone there were reportedly at least 11 actual and attempted robberies of ships near Tanzania.
Source: www.thecitizen.co.tz/newe.php?id=13362