NEWS | | REVIEWS | ANALYSIS Port set for online ojncileg clearance EXTECHNOLOGY Virtual one-stop cargo clearing shop at Mombasa harbour starts end of month BY DAVID HERBLING ae Kenya is turing to online clearance ‘of goods cut by two-thirds thetime ‘takes to move imports through the port of Mombasa and reduce the cost ofdoingbusiness. ‘The government will from October ‘mates that uch delays costs shippers between $10,000 and $12,000 per day indemurrage fees increasing thecost ‘of doing business which is ultimately passed on to consumers, Theplatform willallow traders to lodge import and export trade docu- ‘ments eletronicallyforprocessingand 21 dkplyaneestone cro cou approval andto pay tou tucemstematiheportiorepethe annelésuch ask wre unter mana te, hopin to sodden. caibecearncotinetom —— tremeva to bead to threedays. ache of bulky paperwork ‘The Kenya Trade Net. Systemwill yy automating the entire ‘work Agency (KeniIrade), enhance service process and making it fhebodychargedwithrol atthe port anspatentwhereonecan {ngoutthe virtual one-stop ‘monitor progress through, Cppcessgson carte ANCA Sonate srkags Saenvilsmetheccme. competitiveness. sd ystraaunguot ty Sai5 biln (59. ofthe Northem dun ordeuiagepas annually from delays nef and government officials ficiencies and corruption. corridor on the Electronic Single “Thesystemwillenhance ,,M%™ Window System, ‘service at the Mombasa port and increase the competi- ‘tiveness of the Northern corridor by ‘reducing cargo dwelltimeatall ports ‘of entry” said Kenrade chief execu ‘ive Alex Kabuga ‘A study by the World Bank esti- ore cme occu ‘KeniTrade said the on- Une solution will reduce ‘cargo clearance at the Jomo Keny- atta International Airport (JKIA) to a maximum of 24 hours and eut the ‘argo dwell timeforboth transit and intraregionaltrade consignmentstoa ‘Theportof Mombasa Kenyaissettostartonline clearance of goodstocutby two- thirds the time takes to moveimpors through theharbour. ‘maximum ofonehout: TheSingle W dow system willbe rolled outin phases and sexpected tobe fully operational byAprilnext year In the initial phase, the platform will allow freight agents to seek per- mits online from seven regulatory agencies including the Kenya Plant “Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis), Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDAY, the Tea Board of ‘Kenya, Pharmacy and Polsons Board, Veterinary Department and the Port Health office ‘The digital clearance portal inte- grates the taxman's Simba manifest system and the port's Kilindini Wa- ‘erfront Operations Systems (Kwatos) platform toenable freight dealers cleat so0dsat the touch ofa button, This isthe latest government at tempt to reform Kenya's business regulatory framework to spur trade ‘and atract investors In August, President Uhuru Kens- atta commissioned a new berth at theportof Mombasa that allows the ‘world’s largest ships to dock at East Afica’sbusiestseasport The Shs. il. lion facility doubled the capaciyofthe Port to 500,00020-fot equivalent con- ‘ainer units (TEUs) and willhelp ease congestion by docking bigger shipsand redueingturn-aroundtimes, david @ ke nationmedia.com