Tanzanian Foreign Affairs Minister January Makamba says the trade woes with Kenya which necessitated his country to ban Kenyan passenger flights will be addressed in due course.

In a statement, Makamba noted that he had spoken to his Kenyan counterpart, Musalia Mudavadi, with talks still ongoing to resolve the stalemate. According to the Minister, the matter should be addressed within the coming two to three days.

Makamba's statement followed the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority's (TCAA) announcement that it would not renew the licence of Kenyan passenger flights after Kenya failed to issue its national carrier with a cargo licence.

"I spoke to my Kenyan colleague Musalia Mudavadi. We agree that restrictions on air travel between our countries and from any of our countries to a third country shouldn’t stand.

"With relevant authorities, we’ve resolved to settle this issue, per existing agreements, within three days," the Minister stated. 

On his part, Mudavadi confirmed the talks adding that Tanzania was a key trade partner of Kenya hence the decision to resolve the statement fast enough.

The Prime Cabinet Secretary divulged that the respective aviation authorities were tasked with addressing the licensing issues.

According to TCAA, the Kenyan carrier was to halt its passenger flight operations on January 22.

The announcement was an indicator of Kenya's frosty relationship with Tanzania and its neighbours in the East African Community (EAC). 

Meanwhile, Uganda also sued Kenya after the latter filed a suit with the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) over an oil deal.

Kenya was accused of denying its neighbour a licence to operate as an Oil Marketing Company (OMC) after President Yoweri Museveni's administration started importing oils on its own. Uganda initially used Kenyan middlemen to import oil via the Mombasa Port.  By Washington Mito, Kenyans.co.ke