Amid the ongoing global battle against the novel virus, some countries have opted to close borders and enforce lockdown measures to impede the transmission.
Closing borders would mean banning movements of people from one country to another, and this would involve banning transportation of goods, which is improper when it comes to both social and economic growth.
Tanzania, through its Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara ports, provides a gateway to neighbouring countries, which are land-linked.
According to the World Bank, the Dar es Salaam Port alone provides a gateway for 90 per cent of Tanzanian trade and is also the access route to six land-linked countries, including Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
At the same time, the same neighbouring countries use Tanzanian ports especially the main Dar es Salam Port, for exporting agriculture and other products from their countries.
