Uganda logistics industry players have taken back on track the development of the bill to regulate the freight forwarders in the country after a brief hiatus caused by Covid 19 pandemic that stopped the process in February this year.
The Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA), the apex body of clearing and forwarding agents in EAC region, said that the country is currently engaging with the relevant government agencies for review and input.
Once these views are accommodated, the industry will work closely with the Ministry of Works and Transport in Uganda to introduce the draft bill for discussion and a possible enactment into law by parliament.
In June 2020, a stakeholders’ virtual meeting was held in Uganda to validate the draft freight logistics practitioners’ bill 2020. The meeting was organized by FEAFFA in collaboration with the National Logistics Platform (NLP), Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and the national associations of custom agents and freight forwarders in the republic of Uganda.
The meeting gave the stakeholders an opportunity to interrogate critical aspects of the draft bill including among others the role of the government, membership to the society, the role of the national associations after the enactment of the bill, size of the board, inclusion of other stakeholders such as shipping lines, harmonization of qualifications, liability issues among other key issues of interest.
The initiative on self-regulation of customs agents and freight forwarders is being supported by Trademark East Africa (TMEA) under the EAC Logistics Skills enhancement program. Through the program, TMEA is supporting the enactment of national laws meant to govern operations of the freight logistics industry in the republics of Uganda, Burundi and United republic of Tanzania.
“Having engaged some of the key industry stakeholders who among others include representatives from the Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA) members, Uganda Clearing Industry and Freight Association (UCIFA), Federation of Uganda Customs Agents and Freight Forwarders (FUCAFF), Regional Lorry Drivers and Transporters Association (RLDTA), Uganda Cooperative Transport Union (UCTU), Shippers Council of Uganda among others, we are now glad that we have moved towards the end tail of receiving views from government agencies among them Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), Ministry of Works and Transport, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of trade and any other relevant government partners,” said FEAFFA President Fred Seka.
Kenya and Rwanda have already made remarkable progress on the enactment of the law. Kenya has just concluded stakeholders’ validation meetings with key players in Nairobi and Mombasa who gave a nod to the draft law and is at an advanced stage of receiving views from the remaining few government agencies to have the bill being presented to parliament.
In Rwanda, which piloted the project, the proposed draft is currently being reviewed by the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) before it is taken to parliament. Burundi has a draft document and the country is currently engaging stakeholders. The revenue authority in the republic of Burundi (OBR) is coordinating the process.
In Tanzania, the steering committee consisting of representatives from the Mainland and Zanzibar finalized a draft that is ready for validation by the industry stakeholders.
The journey to professionalize the freight forwarding industry has made remarkable success in recent years. This initiative has been spearheaded by FEAFFA, which has worked closely with other regional agencies to professionalize the sector.
The new law will regulate individual practitioners, firms providing freight forwarding, trainers and institutions delivering freight forwarding training.
One of the key proposals in the Bill is the creation of a competent regulatory board in each partner state of the East Africa Community (EAC) to ensure registration and professional licensing of customs clearing and freight forwarding practitioners. This law intends to create a competent authority that will regulate practice and conduct and ensure professionalism of the industry through registration.
Currently, the revenue authorities in East Africa are mandated under the East Africa Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA) to license agents and collect revenue on behalf of their respective governments.
Although the role of regulating clearing agents and revenue collection are clearly outlined under the East Africa Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA), other important aspect touching on the professional development of customs agents and freight forwarders in the region are not addressed under EACCMA.
The member countries are yet to develop regulations to operationalize the practicing of freight forwarders, exposing the industry to malpractices, corruption, lack of standards and compromised professionalism.
High competition in the market, according to drafters of the bill, leads to unfair pricing and practices which affect the integrity of both the customs and industry practitioners.
Some of the benefits of self-regulation include enhancement of quality service delivery by introducing the professional code of ethics and supplementing government regulations by filling up regulatory gaps.
Others include benefits include elimination of rogue agents through member registration and the creation a database of professional practitioners and protect the cargo owners, consumers of customs clearing and freight forwarding services and the Customs agents and freight forwarders by re-defining the existing liability clauses.
If properly regulated, the industry will uphold standard through the implementation of standard trading conditions; enhance ties with other regional National Customs authorities for increased trade; conserve government resources spent on dispute resolution by setting up an internal dispute resolution mechanism under the law and lower cost of doing business through overall industry compliance and professionalism.