Cargo importers have raised the alarm as additional costs due to delays in solving tax disputes erode gains accruing from reforms at Mombasa port.

It takes more than two weeks for the customs officers to clear goods at the port as they await directive from their seniors in Nairobi, according to port users.

“As this happens, storage costs continue to go up. A case in point is the loose cargo where Customs officers can never make a decision on the spot,” said Keynote Logistics managing director William Ojonyo.
The delays imply a rise in warehousing costs even as time set for clearing goods at the port remains constant at four days. This shortcoming defies a charter signed by regulatory agencies on Northern Corridor to improve efficiency of the route.

The main agenda of the Mombasa Port Community Charter, endorsed by President Uhuru Kenyatta was to eliminate cargo delays at the port by 2016.

READ: Agencies pledge to speed up cargo clearance at Mombasa port

The signatories of the pact signed in June 2014 were drawn from government agencies, civil society, private sector and interest groups.

Mr Ojonyo proposes that setting specific timelines for handling tax disputes could help in improving efficiency at the port. “This will attract lower costs for doing business thereby making cargo handlers more competitive in the market,” he said.

The charter, is a binding pact aimed at improving efficiency at the Mombasa was signed by 25 agencies. The signatories of the pact include the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Kenya Maritime Authority, the Kenya National Police Service and Kenya Private Sector Alliance.

A lack of synergy among stakeholders has for the longest time been blamed for the delays in clearing cargo at the port.

The Mombasa port plays a pivotal role in the region’s economy as it is the key cargo point for road and rail trade along the Northern Corridor.

The Northern Corridor links markets in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, parts of Tanzania, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Analysts say reducing delays at the port would cuts costs of doing business, given that the facility handles 30 per cent of goods destined to regional land-locked countries.

Source: Business Daily

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