beyond trade policy measures, as “cooperation between countries in trade, domestic regulations and policies, regional infrastructure, and other cross-border initiatives, including public goods [...] within a neighborhood of countries” (p. 260). It goes on to point out that “[t]here is no shortage of international agreements. But these agreements are often poorly implemented, [and] their effectiveness tends to be low” (p. 278). As an alternative to grand multilateral treaties, the report advocates small but concrete integration measures within “natural neighborhoods” (p. 279). The experience of the European Union, which started with co-operation agreements on specific economic activities among a small group of neighboring countries, is taken as a motivating example: “[i]nteractions between neighboring areas or cities across countries can [...] provide the base for broader integration – a form of transfrontier regionalism that could follow European models. Sub-Saharan Africa has many pairs of large cities that are near each other but separated by national borders. This carries hidden economic costs that can be overcome through cross-border agreements.” (p. 279). It is in this spirit that we seek to identify concrete interventions to facilitate economic exchanges across and along the river Congo. We focus mainly on DRC decision makers.

**It is generally recognized that considerable scope remains for trade facilitation in the Lower Congo region.** For the DRC, the World Bank (2010c) has identified a range of actions concerning statutory trade impediments as well as the implementation of trade policy that could serve to reduce trade barriers significantly.<sup>28</sup> New export opportunities for manufacturing enterprises in Kinshasa or the planned export processing zone in the vicinity of Kinshasa will critically depend on less costly linkages with regional markets and secure access to deep water ports, of which Pointe Noire is currently the closest.

# **5.1 General Cross-Border Transport and Trade**

We first formulate some policy recommendations that concern DRC policy in general, and are thus applicable in the Western region just as they are elsewhere in the country.

# _Regulatory and Administrative Measures_

**First and foremost, our analysis points to the importance of customs reform** . This has been spelt out very clearly in the recent DTIS (World Bank, 2010c). A central element of such a reform are the systematic implementation of single clearing and payment points for traders (“guichet unique”). A corollary of this is a significant reduction in the number of public or semi-public agencies (or even private agents) active at border posts and allowed (or at least tolerated) to collect fees from traders. The Presidential decree of 28 March, 2002, stating that only four agencies are allowed to operate at border posts, should be enforced.

**An area for reform of particular interest to the Western region is the organization of transit trade.** Leakage and fraud in transit trade should be minimized. Transit could be further facilitated by more intensive collaboration between DRC and RC customs offices, and the modalities of charging (and reimbursing) turnover tax (ICA), or the new value added tax that will replace the ICA, should be improved.<sup>29</sup>

> 28 Somewhat soberingly, the problems identified and policy recommendations made in World Bank (2010) are very similar to those of a comparable analysis carried out two decades earlier, in the final period of the Mobutu régime (Word Bank, 1991).

> 29 A law for creating a value added tax system has been passed in 2010.

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