NATIONAL TREASURY SIGNS USD 13,020,000 FINANCING AGREEMENT WITH TRADEMARK EAST AFRICA

The Cabinet Secretary for The National Treasury Mr. Henry Rotich today signed a financing agreement of USD 13.02 million with Trademark East Africa ( TMA ), to support the Implementation of a new Customs Management System (CMS), which is a vibrant and intelligent based solution that will allow pre-clearance of goods using risk-based approaches. This will ultimately lead to administrative efficiency and speedy cargo clearance, thus making the cost of doing business in the region more competitive while making goods more affordable.

Formal engagement with TradeMark Africa (TMA) dates back to November 2010 when the Government of Kenya through its Finance and EAC Ministries then, entered an MOU with TradeMark Africa (TMA) which set out the latter’s objective of delivery of strategic support in line with Article 87 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. It is against this backdrop that KRA and TradeMark Africa (TMA) agreed to collaborate to improve trade facilitation as well as enhance the efficiency of regional trade corridors.

National-Treasury-signs-USD-13020000-financing-agreement-with-Trademark-East-Africa2 — Cabinet secretary, Treasury Mr Henry Rotich (second right) shakes hands with Mr Frank Matsaert, CEO TradeMark Africa, ( TMA ) during the signing ceremony of the financing agreement. Looking on are the High Commissioner to the UK, Dr. Christian Turner (left) and KRA commissioner General, Mr John Njiraine.

The KRA Commissioner General Mr. John Njiraini listed the anticipated benefits of the venture as:

Reduction of transit time from 4 days to less than 2 days
Ensure pre-lodgement of more than 80% of customs documents
Significant reduction of system downtime
Creation of linkages with The National Single Window System and other players in the trade supply chain, including other Revenue Authorities in the Region.
Improved compliance level and enhanced revenue collection to meet set targets.
Improved data collection and enhanced integrity of information and operational capacity

TradeMark Africa CEO Frank Matsaert said the funding will facilitate implementation of a vibrant and intelligence based Customs Management System. He further observed that TradeMark Africa (TMA) has the advantage of a regional approach to trade facilitation and this focus is necessary to steer benefits from a national CMS implementation in Kenya, to achieve regional results.

The total grant for the project has been secured by TradeMark Africa (TMA) from DFID. The funds go towards purchase of hardware and software for the projects, (US$11.9M) with the balance going to business and capacity development, and project advisory costs.

Source: TradeMark Africa(TMA)

TradeMark Africa (TMA) is an aid-for-trade organisation that was established with the aim of growing prosperity in East Africa through increased trade. TradeMark Africa (TMA) operates on a not-for-profit basis and is funded by the development agencies of the following countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, UK, and USA. TradeMark Africa (TMA) works closely with East African Community (EAC) institutions, national governments, the private sector and civil society organisations.