Rwanda has launched the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), connecting with Uganda and Kenya in reducing the cost of cargo transportation along the northern corridor.
The northern corridor is the transport corridor linking the landlocked countries of Uganda and Rwanda with Kenya’s maritime port of Mombasa.
The country on Friday joined its East African neighbors of Uganda and Kenya by unveiling a cargo tracking system that seeks to reduce the cost of trade and check tax evasion.
Speaking at an event held at Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) premises in the country’s capital Kigali, Francois Kanimba, Rwandan minister of trade and industry and the East African Community affairs said that the system will enable a real time tracking of transit cargo from Mombasa port to its destination through an online platform monitored in the three countries.
“This is a landmark to our country towards improving regional trade through increased security of cargo and enabling traders to monitor their cargo.
This tracking facility will enable RRA to deliver high quality service to importers and exporters by giving capability to monitor fleets and cargo,” he added.
He stated that the regional electronic cargo tracking system is part of deepening trade within the East African Community (EAC) countries through improved land transport security, reduce dumping, ensures cargo does not deviate from designated route and improve tax collection.
RECTS allows revenue authorities in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya to jointly and electronically track and monitor goods (whose taxes have not been paid) along the northern corridor from loading (Departure) to destination within the three countries, according to RRA.
The system comes three years after a July 3, 2014, EAC Heads of States Summit in Kigali, which directed the three member states to adopt e-monitoring for seamless flow of goods.
It involves fitting of an e-seal with a 60-day power capacity, monitored under the GPRS platform.
Richard Tusabe, commissioner general of RRA said that the e-cargo tracking system will make cross-border EAC trade smoother besides reducing opportunities for tax evasion.
“I strongly believe the RECTS is going to enhance the integration agenda of the EAC.
“It’s a cost cutting tool as it replaces the multiple tracking systems on the northern corridor,” he emphasized.
Tusabe noted that any violation of the cargo system throughout the journey is immediately detected because all routes have been geo-fenced using Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
RECTS replaces the existing electronic cargo tracking system where monitoring was done independently through stand-alone platforms.
It allows centralized monitoring of trucks from the port of entry (Mombasa) in Kenya to Kampala, Kigali and other destinations in the three countries.
Transit cargo constitutes 40 percent of imports that land at the Port of Mombasa.
Source: Coast Week

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