Kenya on Wednesday launched a regional electronic cargo tracking system to monitor transit cargo in real time within its borders. Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner General John Njiraini told journalists in Nairobi that Nairobi joins Uganda and Rwanda who are already using the system. The new system represents a key milestone in the drive to cement East Africa cooperation by promoting cross border trade. The new system replaces the existing Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) where monitoring is done independently through stand-alone platforms. The initiative will integrate the transit cargo tracking platforms of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda which form the Northern Transport Corridor. There are currently plans in the offing to rollout the system to South Sudan, and Tanzania and ultimately to destinations out of East African Community bloc especially Democratic Republic of Congo. Njiraini said that by integrating the transit cargo tracking platforms, the three countries aim to achieve seamless operations across borders. "The overall aim is to make custom border checks redundant and in addition to eliminate opportunities for cargo diversion that existed due to border changeover processes when each country uses separate cargo tracking systems," he added. The KRA chief said that by having customs administrations systems in three countries tracking the same cargo on the same platform, it eliminates the opportunity for collusion between importers and custom officials in a bid to evade taxes. The taxman noted that cargo tracking is necessitated by the fact that transit cargo forms 40 percent of cargo cleared from the...

Our fascination with Europe and Brexit is perhaps obscuring the two greatest changes and opportunities in global trade. These are happening neither in European nor Anglo-Saxon countries, but in China and Africa Next week Britain will host a Commonwealth Trade meeting in London. This is the time to start resetting the tone of Britain’s engagement with the world, post-Brexit. Pre-Brexit, many businesses from Commonwealth countries used Britain as a front door to Europe. The reasons for this were simple: there is a common language, a common legal system and Britain is inside the trading block. Soon Britain is to leave. What happens next? I did not support Brexit. Indeed I actively campaigned for Remain, however “Brexit means Brexit” and we must make this change work. To make Brexit work, we must now turn our minds to creating opportunities for post-Brexit Britain. Many have said that Britain can now “look outward” again and “re-engage” with the world. While Britain was neither inward-looking nor disengaged from the world, we must focus Britain in a global context, not just a European one. Our fascination with Europe and Brexit is perhaps obscuring the two greatest changes and opportunities in global trade. These are happening neither in European nor Anglo-Saxon countries, but in China and Africa. Firstly, in 2012 President Xi of China announced China’s One Belt, One Road policy, which is a massive multi-trillion dollar infrastructure and trade boosting program linking East Africa, Persia, South Asia and China, with an almost after-thought side route...

Forty per cent of cargo imported through the port of Mombasa will be cleared at the Nairobi Internal Container Depot, Kenya Revenue Authority has said, as the government moves to secure business for the Standard Gauge Railway. Kenya Ports Authority is upgrading the ICD at Embakasi which will increase container handling capacity to a projected 450,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units from the current 180,000 TEUs. This comes as the government moves to secure cargo for the Sh327 billion SGR expected to become operational on May 31, a move that will help repayment of the loan from China’s Exim Bank which has funded 90 per cent of the project. “At least 40 per cent of the cargo previously cleared in Mombasa will now fi nd its way to Nairobi for clearance, with signifi cant attendant benefits including speedier and cheaper cargo delivery, reduced road damage and road carnage and less pollution,”KRA Commisioner General John Njiraini said. “The ICD is therefore a key component in the overall government strategy to deliver tangible trade benefits through the SGR project. SGR’s success is therefore highly dependent on an effi cient ICD, off ering speedy cargo evacuation in order to avoid clog up of the cargo supply chain.” The taxman said it has drawn up a comprehensive ICD business strategy. It includes a dedicated team that will undergo special training “to equip them for the task ahead”. “The ICD business process will be confi gured to ensure minimum clearance delays through green channeling, pre-arrival clearance and...

The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim) has activated a Sh1.54 billion ($15 million) credit line for Kenyan SMEs to finance capital goods imports from the Sub-continent. The Indian lender signed the financing agreement with the government in July last year during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country, and it came into effect on February 17 to run for five years. The Sh1.54 billion is being channelled through the Industrial Development Bank. Under the terms of the credit, SMEs will have to source two thirds of the goods or services under purchase from India, which will add to Indian exports to Kenya which stood at Sh208.4 billion in 2016. “The goods including plant machinery, equipment and services including consultancy services from India for exports under this agreement are those which are eligible for export under the foreign trade policy of the government of India,” said India Exim bank chief general manager Deepak Kumar in a circular issued last week. “Out of the total credit by Exim Bank under this agreement, goods and services of the value of at least 75 per cent of the contract price shall be supplied by the seller from India and the remaining 25 per cent of goods and services may be procured by the seller from outside India.” In addition to the credit line for SMEs, the Indian government agreed in July last year to open similar financing facilities for power transmission line projects being executed by Indian companies to the...

In the past, the world was clearly split into developing and developed countries – with the latter boasting the most advanced logistics ecosystems. Today, the emerging markets of Africa are challenging this divide in the fields of transportation and logistics, and in some cases leapfrogging ahead of more mature markets. From a connectivity perspective these developments are giving rise to a new image of the future for Africa – one which is very different from today. Let’s explore three key highlights from a transportation and supply chain perspective and the implications for Africa in 2030. Open skies Owing to current aviation infrastructure in Africa (or the lack thereof), what should be a three-hour journey between Algeria and Cameroon, in fact takes 24 hours, with the flight touching down in Istanbul and Turkey en route. A single air transport market for Africa is key to unlocking the opportunities the continent presents. Today, transporting goods in and out of Africa, as well as within the continent, is prohibitive in terms of both time and cost. The restrictions it places on the movement of people also makes for a highly fragmented continent. A study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast that if another 12 African economies opened their skies to each other, fares would become 35% cheaper, enabling 5 million more people to take to the skies, creating 155,000 new jobs and adding $1.3 billion to GDP. The benefits have been clearly witnessed in South Africa, where an agreement to...

The Electronic Cargo Tracking System will check dumping and deviation of goods from their final destination. PHOTO | FILE Business owners in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda are expected to save on the cost and time of transporting cargo on the Northern Corridor following the launch of a joint electronic cargo tracking system. The $4.4 million Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTs) will enable the three countries to track movement of goods along the Northern Corridor from the port of Mombasa to Kampala and Kigali. The system is expected to reduce transit time, cargo theft and diversion of goods in transit, which will then reduce the cost of doing business along the corridor. RECTs will also eliminate the need for physical escorts and monitoring of sensitive cargo, such as batteries, fuel and cigarettes. The system was officially launched by revenue authorities of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda in Kampala and will be free as the tax bodies will meet all operational costs. “The system will help us monitor goods from end to end; it will ease cargo handling, improve revenue collection and reduce diversion of untaxed goods into the market. It will lead to improved fair trade as goods that have not been taxed will not be diverted to distort the market. This will benefit our traders and assure potential investors of a level playing field in our region,” said Uganda Revenue Authority Commissioner-General Doris Akol. The system comprises tracker satellites, central command centres in each of the revenue authorities in Nairobi,...

South Sudan’s government said it will appoint six members of its parliament as representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly in an attempt to fulfil its obligations of becoming a full member of the regional bloc. South Sudan foreign affairs spokesman Mawien Makol Ariik, told Radio Tamazuj that once a membership fee of one million dollars is paid, the representatives will be sent to represent South Sudan at the regional parliament. “South Sudan government is almost becoming a full member in the East African Community and we just need to pay our membership fee. This month, we are expected to choose six members to represent South Sudan to East African parliament,” he said. East African heads of states agreed to admit South Sudan as its sixth member state last November during a summit in Tanzania. However, there have been concerns raised by South Sudanese after the government decided to join the East African Community which includes Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Some claim that South Sudanese will benefit from the exemption of visa payment and educational services in the region, while others who are against the decision say South Sudan has little to offer the region. Source: Radio Tamazuj  

Rwandan cross-border truck drivers have expressed optimism that the soon-to-be launched electronic cargo tracking system will not only improve the safety of Rwanda-bound consignments from the east African coast but also avert possible conflicts between drivers and traders. Issa Mugarura, vice-president of Rwanda Truck Drivers Association (ACPLRWA), who was speaking to The New Times on Tuesday following reports that Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) is set to commission the Rwanda Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) this month, said he was confident it would be a game changer. A similar system was commissioned by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) last week in Kampala. It enables interested parties to receive fulltime and real-time updates on their mobile phones. “It is a good system that ensures security of cargo and truck seeing that one will be monitored on the network, wherever they go. You cannot steal. And there is no need for going through many weigh bridges as nothing will be changed or tampered with along the way,” Mugarura said. The acting Chief Advocacy Officer at Private Sector Federation (PSF), Donatien Mungwarareba, said that in the past “not everyone was allowed” to check and monitor cargo in transit and people were not happy about this. Mungwarareba said: “Kenyan authorities could monitor but cargo owners could not. Now, our traders will have access to the system and this helps as regards transparency. There will be no room for deceit and, instead of estimating we shall now know the actual time cargo takes to move from Kigali...

Kampala — Uganda's Finance minister Matia Kasaija and his Kenyan counterpart are yet to get confirmation of the specific dates for further negotiations and possible financial closure from China's ministry of Commerce which supervises EXIM Bank, the prospective financier of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), Daily Monitor has learnt. Technocrats from ministries of Finance and Works as well as the SGR project led by Mr Kasaija had been scheduled to travel earlier-on for the meeting on February 27 (yesterday), but the arrangement suffered setbacks. The Ugandan team was supposed to travel with the Kenyan delegation to Beijing, China. Mr Kasaija, yesterday, said they will travel any time but confirmed that they are yet to get the requisite clearances. "It is true we did not travel; first, because we have not yet got confirmation from China's ministry of Commerce about the date of meetings, and secondly we are waiting for clearance from their ministry of Foreign Affairs which did not come through--because as you might know this is a government-to-government meeting." The meeting is expected to reach a final understanding regarding the financing of the multi-billion dollar railway from Nairobi to Malaba on the Kenya side, and Malaba to Kampala on the Uganda side. The stretch from Mombasa to Nairobi is complete and is expected to be commissioned this June. If the discussions are fruitful, Uganda expects an advance of $2.8b (Shs8 trillion) or 85 per cent financing for construction of the Malaba-Kampala stretch (273km). Each kilometre will cost $8.4m (approximately...

Kenya has joined East African neighbours Uganda and Rwanda to launch a common cargo tracking system intended to reduce the cost of trade and check tax evasion. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Wednesday launched the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System, which enables real time tracking of transit cargo from Mombasa port to its destination through an online platform monitored in the three countries. KRA commissioner general John Njiraini said the new system would be operational by the end of the month to replace the current tamper-prone Electronic Cargo Tracking System. “Unlike the current system where we use multiple vendors to install the tracking and which we can only trace up to the border point, this one allows three countries to monitor the cargo in real time hence limiting the opportunity for any collusion to evade tax. It is a game changer in the cross border trade and will go a long way to safeguard Kenya as a major transit point for cargo in this region,” said Mr Njiraini. Kenya began piloting the system with 1,500 gadgets so far. Uganda and Rwanda, which have both launched the system have the same number of devices although it requires at least 7,000 such gadgets to fully monitor cross-border business. There are also plans to roll out the system in South Sudan, Tanzania and ultimately to destinations outside the EAC bloc, including DRC in a bid to eliminate customs border checks and deal with cargo diversion that existed due to border changeover processes....