The Communication Authority and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority have ten days to comply with a government directive seeking to integrate state agencies with the national trading system.

In a move to speed up trade facilitation and seal graft loopholes at ports of entry, all government agencies are required to automate their services and ensure they interface with the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade)’s Single Window System.

This comes in line with the kicking out of 24 state agencies from the ports , mainly Mombasa, where duplication of processes, multiple interventions and personal interests by state officers have been blamed for the delay in clearing of goods.

KenTrade, a state agency under the National Treasury is mandated to facilitate cross border trade and establish, manage and implement the National Electronic Single Window System (Kenya TradeNet System).

Chief executive Amos Wangora yesterday said 36 of the required 38 agencies have complied with the directive issues in July by Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua.

The Star has established the two are yet to comply ahead of the September 1.

“We are in the final stages with the integration and expect those who have not come on board to do so by September 1,” Wangora told the Star on the sideline of a media round-table in Nairobi yesterday.

KCAA director general Gilbert Kibe said he was not aware of the directive.

“I am not aware of that directive but also, we are a regulator we are not directly involved in trade,” Kibe told the Star.

CA had not responded to our inquiries by the time of going to press.

Leading agencies in the process include Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA) which is also implementing its Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) as it moves to phase out the old Simba system, while interfacing the new system with the Kenya TradeNet System.

The national single window system is a one-stop shop for shipping lines, agents, importers, exporters, clearing and forwarding agents, consolidators and all other parties related to international trade to get the necessary government approvals and facilitation for trade.

Meanwhile, the government has kicked out 24 state agencies from the port despite resistance by some. The decision according to authorities is to reduce the tedious clearing process to facilitate faster movement of goods.

Only two– Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) and KRA will be directly involved with cargo inspections. The rest will only be brought on board when need be and they have to seek approval.

State officers have been said to ask for bribes before clearing “suspicious” cargo, a move that has led to congestion of cargo.

“This is a game changer for us in terms of cargo clearance,” Wangora said.

KenTrade Chairman Suleiman Shahbal has lauded the move saying it will make Kenya competitive as clearing processes will be reduced.

“We cannot punish the rest of the traders who are genuine because of a few unscrupulous people. KRA will deal with them,” Shahbal said.

Agencies kicked out of the port include Pharmacy and Poisonous Board, AFA Horticultural Crop Directorate, Directorate of Veterinary Services, Kenya Dairy Board, Radiation Protection Board, AFA Sugar Directorate, Pest Control Produce Board, Directorate of Mining, Kenya Wildlife Services and the National Biosafety Authority.

Others are Veterinary Medical Department, AFFA Tea Directorate, Central Firearms Bureau, NEMA and AFA Fibre Crop Directorate.

The move has however led to an inter-agency row with fears of sabotage in state processes.

The National Single Window System which went live in 2013 has so far attracted 12,000 users with 600,000 transactions annually, KenTrade data shows.

A world Bank report indicates the system has to date saved the country Sh24 billion which could have been lost to malpractices.

Source : The Star

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.