KENYA Revenue Authority anticipates less paperwork and faster clearance for transit goods once the new electronic cargo tracking platform is completed in June. Commissioner general John Njiraini said work is also underway to upgrade customs systems to the integrated cargo management system. Both systems are fully funded and implemented by Trade Mark East Africa. “We went for a completely new platform that will give us flexibility in dealing with customs issues including valuation, risk profiling to verify cargo, handling customs functions and online real time customs auctions,” he said yesterday, during the International Customs Day. The system will be gradually rolled out to replace the current Simba system, and should be fully functional in three East African countries in the next 18 months.

It will replace the current Simba 2014 platform which was upgraded last year from the original Simba platform that had been in use since 2005. Njiraini said the new system will provide a better link between Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda which will operate on the single customs clearance platform. There are plans to extend the same to Juba, South Sudan later. Trade Mark East Africa started work on the new system this month after winning round one of a court battle over the tendering process in December 2015, said Njiraini. He said the authority will revamp its official website and social media platforms to engage customers better through asking feedback about the company’s products, handling of concerns and other services. Njiraini said the the new initiative will increase the number of social media users that interact and get solutions through their pages.

Source: The Star

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