MOMBASA: Poor technology and government bureaucracy have been cited as the main factors hampering cargo operations at East African ports. According to the 2015 East Africa Logistic Performance Survey, close to 31 per cent of the surveyed respondents feel that Government procedures are the biggest contributors to prolonged delays at the ports. About 25 per cent of those polled attributed the slowness to network and challenges in adoption mechanisms of Information Communication Technology, a factor that was ranked second, with others blaming multiple agencies at the port. "Some 13 per cent of the respondents perceived the presence of too many Government agencies and insufficient or faulty port infrastructure as the biggest contributor to the lengthy dwell time," read in part the survey. The survey sponsored by Shippers Council of East Africa (SCEA) interrogated 93 stakeholders in the cargo shipping business across the region in an attempt to measure the efficiency of road freight transport services in the region linking the ports. These included turnaround times (the average time it takes for truck to leave the port, deliver cargo to designated destinations within the EAC and return to the port), road conditions, weighbridges, checkpoints and traffic congestion within port cities. These. It notes, are some of the factors that are major contributors to slow turnaround times. "For example, in Mombasa, heavy traffic between the port exit gates and Mariakani causes a delay of up to six hours sometimes, a stretch that would ordinarily take 30 minutes to go through," indicated the...

Logistics company Spedag Kenya will spend Sh137.8 million ($1,346,074) to develop the Malaba Railway Yard into an intermodal cargo transfer facility, a first in the region. Half of the total project funding, Sh68.9 million ($673,037), is a reimbursable contribution, coming from Logistics Innovation for Trade, managed by Trade Mark East Africa. The 18 month project, expected to begin this February and be completed in June 2017, will improve storage, handling, and consolidating of cargo from rail to road and vice versa, to reduce costs of transport logistics for cargo. “The project will not only reduce transit times for cargos transiting through the Malaba Railway Yard, but reduce the transportation costs along the Northern Corridor route – the target being a 20 per cent reduction in transit times between Mombasa and Nimule by the project’s end,” said David Mitchel, the fund manager in an email interview. He said the project's funding is awaiting the board's approval. The project will enable movement of cargo by rail from Mombasa port, then later the cargo can be loaded to trucks for onward transportation to other destinations in EAC, he said. It will link Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan to the port through rail and road. Intermodal freight transportation is movement of freight using more than one means, and all parts of the transportation network are effectively connected and coordinated. Source: The Star

Transport costs have reduced by up to 40 per cent in the last four years across the East African Community (EAC), a new report has revealed. According to the 2015 East Africa Logistics Performance Survey, improvement of Mombasa Port operations and ongoing infrastructure projects in the EAC had contributed to the trend. The report says average transport rates between Mombasa and other major towns of East Africa had been on the decline from 2011 to 2015. The reduction has been attributed to efficient operations in handling of cargo that is going parallel with improved infrastructure. “The average cost of transporting a 40-foot container from Mombasa to Nairobi gradually reduced from a high of Sh130,000 per 40-foot container to Sh100,000. “The trend is replicated on the Juba route which registered a drop from a high of Sh980,000 to a low of Sh550,000,” read part of the report. The survey further attributes this to a plunge in fuel prices which in turn increased the number of fleet trucks that lead to cut-throat competition among truckers. Decline rate “The route with the highest rate of decline was Juba at 44 per cent while the least gainer was Bujumbura with a 14 per cent increase,” it added. However, this was quite the opposite of the Central Corridor which Tanzania is part of where on average the transport rate increased by 39 per cent over the same period; Kampala rates increased by 79 per cent while Bujumbura remained relatively stable at three per cent. “EAC...

Just before the December festive season got underway last year, East African Community (EAC) Secretary General, Amb. Richard Sezibera and Arancha González, the International Trade Centre Executive Director announced a joint project to boost intra-Africa trade. Note that intra-Africa trade is less than 15% of overall African trade, which makes this project important and worthy of strong support. Dr. Sezibera said the deal will contribute to improving the global competitiveness of the EAC region and to trigger sustainable economic growth. Implementation of the five-year $8.5 million TRIP for EAC project is set to begin this month. The government of Finland has also pledged to provide initial funding. According to the EAC Secretariat, the new initiative aims to strengthen existing efforts by East African countries for closer economic integration, including the East African Customs Union, and the 2010 establishment of the EAC Common Market. ITC is the joint agency of the WTO and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the UN Global Goals. The TRIP for EAC project also sets out to support the African Union's Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade and the recently agreed tripartite free-trade agreement among the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the EAC and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). ITC and the EAC will intervene at three levels to provide integrated solutions to...

The construction of the new Sh3.1bn (US$31m) Port Reitz project linking the newly constructed container terminal at the Port of Mombasa, Kenya, to the country’s main road system has been launched. The road project, which is expected to decrease congestion in the city of Mombasa and increase trade in the East-African region, includes the construction of a 6.4 km access road to the Moi International Airport from the new Kipevu West container terminal. The UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) will invest US$20m into the project through the development organization TradeMark Africa (TMA), while the government of Kenya will contribute with US$11m. The first phase of the construction plan is 20% complete with milestones achieved in the ongoing feasibility studies, and TMA reportedly pledged an investment of Sh1.9bn (US$18m) for the second phase, local media reported. In the period preceding the 2018 completion of the Mombasa Southern By pass project, which the government is currently constructing to support access to the Kipevu West container terminal, the Port Reitz road will be the only access to the new facilities. In a statement, TMA said: “An upgraded Port Reitz road is of economic importance to not only Mombasa, but also the wider East-African region as it will contribute towards improving access to and from the Port of Mombasa by improving the free flow of traffic and easing congestion in Mombasa town.” “Expansion will begin from the port gate to the junction with airport road, leading to the new Kipevu West container terminal,” the organisation...

Waturi Matu is a Kenyan and serves presently as director, business environment at TradeMark Africa but has before now served in different capacities in different organizations within the travel industry and is popular for her strong views and advocacy for united Africa front when it comes to developing and promoting the travel industry. She speaks with ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA on her life’s trajectory and engagement with the industry What attracted you to the travel industry? The universe conspired. I returned from a year’s stay in South Africa, and a board member of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) reached out to me as they were looking at hiring a chief executive officer. At that time, I knew nothing about the travel and tourism industry apart from being a ‘traveller and tourist.’ However, business issues are largely the same. So, I decided to give it a shot and to learn the particulars with regards to policy and regulatory matters in travel and tourism, governance and business support services for membership organizations. I worked at KATA for four years before joining the East Africa Tourism Platform where I did three years. Both bodies left me richer (not money wise of course) than they will ever know. However, I left the organizations with stronger revenue bases, policies and financial systems to ensure their long-term sustainability. What was the motivation for all the years you worked in the various organizations where you have left indelible prints especially at EATP? The travel and tourism...

The end of one year and the beginning of another always induce mixed feelings. On the one hand, one is glad to have crossed into the new year. On the other, even for the most irrepressible of optimists, as the new year begins, questions arise as to what the next 12 months will bring. Within my local community, the passing of the previous year is celebrated as though it was a virulent disease, as implied in the greeting “Gukulike, omwaka!” (Congratulations; you survived it!) For me, as 2016 kicked in, existential pre-occupations were far from what was on my mind. It was firmly fixed on matters political, and kept shifting from national to regional to continental issues. What did they mean? In what has for long qualified as one of Africa’s violence “hotspots,” the Great Lakes region of East Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, traditionally its “islands of stability,” remained pretty much off the headlines. Beneath the surface, however, in Tanzania questions continued to loom large over the “Magufuli effect,” one of them being whether the path the country’s new president had chosen, of literally turning things upside-down in pursuit of a clean government, represented a permanent turning point or a mere blip before sleaze returns in full force. For Kenya, only a few years ago, many East Africans were worried sick about the country imploding and pulling the rest of us down with it. You need to live in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan to appreciate the importance of...

Kenya and Rwanda will replicate Uganda’s Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) this year, to reduce the cost of transporting cargo on the Northern Corridor. This follows a directive by the Northern Corridor Heads of State Summit in Kigali that the procurement process of the ECTS be finalised to address the issue of cash deposits and overstayed cargo in Mombasa. The new system is expected to lower the cost and time of doing business and curb theft and diversion of goods destined for its market through the port of Mombasa. According to Uganda Revenue Authority commissioner for Customs Richard Kamajugo, the system will improve the efficiency of Customs processes resulting in higher revenue collections. “There will be a pre-arrival clearance of goods way before the ship arrives at the port of Mombasa and the containers, which will save time,” said Mr Kamajugo, adding that the system will also provide realtime information on the location and status of the cargo in transit. Before the introduction of the technology, one could only know the location of transiting cargo by calling the driver. “ECTS triggers an alarm whenever there is diversion from the designated route, an unusually long stopover or when someone attempts to open a container,” said Mr Kamajugo. The system also helps to seal loopholes that cause the country losses in revenue through suspected under-declaration of the value of exports or theft of cargo. He said that the electronic tracking system had helped traders in Uganda cut the cost  and time of doing...

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday launched the Sh2.7 billion road project, a key link between the port and the airport. The construction of Port Reitz/Moi International access road is a crucial link that will provide the necessary connection to the newly constructed second container terminal. Another Sh2.5 billion has been set aside to compensate people who have been moved to create room for expansion of the road. Speaking during the launch, Uhuru said when completed the road will increase investment and trade opportunities in the East and Central Africa region. He said apart from decongesting Mombasa city, it will also facilitate the growth of tourism. “When the number of visitors to this city grows, more job opportunities will be created and the youth will benefit,” Uhuru said. The project is jointly funded by the British Government through TradeMark Africa and the Government of Kenya. The British Government will fund the construction at Sh2.7 billion, while Kenya will pay Sh2.5 billion for the compensation of land owners. Uhuru thanked the British Government for working with the government on the project and lauded the Japanese government for funding an ongoing expansion project at the Mombasa port. Uhuru pointed out that the port expansion would not be enough if roads within Mombasa city were not in good shape. Other road projects within the coastal city, Uhuru said, include dualling of the Mombasa-Mariakani Highway, Dongo Kundu Bypass and Mombasa Northern Bypass. Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho said the project is among key development projects aimed...

CHANGAMWE, Mombasa, Jan 9 – President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday launched the Sh2.7 billion road project, a key link between the port and the airport. The construction of Port Reitz/Moi International access road is a crucial link that will provide the necessary connection to the newly constructed second container terminal. Another Sh2.5 billion has been set aside to compensate people who have been moved to create room for expansion of the road. Speaking during the launch, President Kenyatta said when completed the road will increase investment and trade opportunities in the East and Central Africa region. He also said apart from decongesting Mombasa city, it will also facilitate the growth of tourism. “When the number of visitors to this city grows, more job opportunities will be created and the youth will benefit,” said the President. The project is jointly funded by the British Government through TradeMark Africa and the Government of Kenya. The British Government will fund the construction at Sh2.7 billion, while Kenya will pay Sh2.5 billion for the compensation of land owners. He thanked the British Government for working with the government on the project. The Head of State also the Japanese government for funding an ongoing expansion project at the Mombasa port. The President pointed out that the port expansion would not be enough if roads within Mombasa city were not in good shape. Other road projects within the coastal city, the President said, include dualling of the Mombasa-Mariakani Highway, Dongo Kundu Bypass and Mombasa Northern Bypass....