Economy

Kick agencies out of ports to ease cargo delays- ministry

adan

Adan Mohamed, the Cabinet Secretary for East African Community (EAC) and Regional Development. FILE PHOTO | NMG

EAC ministry wants most state agencies kicked out of customs units at major ports and border points to ease delays in cargo verification and clearance, saving investors tens of millions of shillings in demurrage costs.

Adan Mohamed, the Cabinet Secretary for East African Community (EAC) and Regional Development, said only four “critical” certification bodies should be retained at the port of Mombasa, Nairobi’s Inland Container Depot (ICD) as well as major airports and border points such as Busia and Malaba.

Key agencies, he told a forum in Nairobi on Wednesday, are Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Railways Corporation which oversees freight operations on the standard gauge railway (SGR).

Mr Mohamed said he will be writing a recommendation to the Cabinet to cut the agencies involved in customs processes, with the rest called up on need basis.

“Our experience trading across the borders for goods coming in and out of the country has been extremely painful. This is because of … 27 agencies operating at the port today all wanting to do checks and inspect things,” Mr Mohamed told reporters in Nairobi.

“Sometimes we try to use a hammer to kill a fly because all these agencies are basically jumping onto containers.”

Kenya has struggled to streamline SGR freight operations between the port of Mombasa and ICD, causing persistent congestion and delays, resulting in increased storage costs and demurrage charges for investors.