State agencies at Mombasa port to sign new charter

By MACHARIA  KAMAU 

MOMBASA, KENYA: Trademark East Africa is pushing for a unified approach to business among State agencies at the Port of Mombasa.

Country director Chris Kiptoo said the organisation has prepared a charter to help the agencies harmonise their operations and reduce duplication of roles.

Trademark EA and the East Africa Shippers Council of East Africa in a process that Kiptoo said was in consultation with the different state organisations have designed the charter.

“The charter has key performance indicators (KPIs) for each institution that plays any role along the northern and their performance would be measured against these KPIs,” he said last week.

Kiptoo said that all players along the transport corridor would sign the charter.

The plan is expected to play a major part in removing non-tariff barriers in Kenya that have made doing business difficult for export oriented businesses.

With the new charter, State agencies at the Mombasa port and Northern transport corridor are expected to adopt a unified approach to doing business. This would help reduce the amount of time taken to clear goods at the port and transport them through the corridor.

Different government institutions — including Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Kenya Revenue Authority — are stationed at the port, with each agency operating independently, making it cumbersome for importers to clear goods.

According to the Shippers Council the agencies operate within different frameworks and without consultations, with the result of businesses going through unnecessary steps when clearing cargo at the port.

Port community

It noted that the charter would bind the port community to specific actions, collective obligations and timelines.

The charter also outlines the manner of identifying and assigning responsibilities of individual institutions to address the barriers to seamless trade at the port and the Northern Corridor.  The  Charter would ensure everyone ensures efficiency at the port.