More losses for importers as Kebs sticks to mandatory inspection

An aerial view of the Inland Container Deport (ICD) in Nairobi where are over congested thus forcing the management to store some of the containers in a Custom Bonded Wharehouse, Sept 23, 2018. [PHOTO: GIDEON MAUNDU/STANDARD].

Importers have started feeling the heat of a Government directive requiring all goods arriving at Kenya’s entry ports to undergo mandatory inspection.

Acting Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) Managing Director Bernard Nguyo released the rules.

The previous rules required that goods at ports or entry points be subjected to random checks. This meant lower freight and demurrage charges.

The new rules require importers to get written approvals from the Trade Cabinet secretary ascertaining that the cargo underwent all proper inspection processes in the country of origin.

The Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa) protested at the decision, saying it had caused delays at ports and airports, leading to losses.

He said there were no consultations before the directive was issued. “Importers have started incurring losses as some have shipments incurring storage charges of up to Sh25, 000 a day,” read the statement.

“Clearing agents and importers are also stuck on where to find the Cabinet secretary for Trade to make such approvals owing to the urgent nature of such shipments and limited time for clearance.”

Cargo clearance

Kifwa Chairman William Ojonyo said the new regulations were bad for trade and negate the efforts made to hasten cargo clearance. Mr Nguyo, however, cited the need to first reform some importation guidelines dubbed pre-export verification of conformity (PVoC) before Kebs reverts to the old method of inspection.

Under PVoC, goods are inspected and tested in accordance with the quality standards set by Kebs in their country of origin before they are shipped to Kenya.

Kebs has contracted inspection firms to verify the goods and ascertain their quality. But since the sub-standard sugar importation scandal, it has reviewed contracts with firms and insisted on making its own mandatory tests.

“We are making reforms concerning PVoC and reviewing contracts with the firms that handled our inspection in the countries of origin,” said Nguyo.

"This was necessitated by what happened with the sugar issue. We have made progress towards that."