The role of integration and coordinated approach among the East Africa states came into sharp focus in the wake of COVID 19 pandemic as the region seeks to enhance seamless movement of the cargo along the corridors.
Both the private and public sectors have taken a harmonized approach bringing together transporters, freight forwarders, ministries of health, East Africa Community (EAC) to form a joint Covid19 Taskforce that has spearheaded follow-up and implementation of issues agreed upon by the industry players.
The Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA), with the support of the Trademark East Africa (TMEA) has provided a platform through which Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) being applied in the supply chain were developed.
This initiative is being rolled out in collaboration with transport associations in the region.
“The SOPs will continue to guide to all day-to-day activities to ensure seamless movement of goods and services across the borders, support efforts by EAC Partner States in harmonizing regional approaches against Covid19 as well as support the regional and global protocols to tackle the pandemic’’ FEAFFA President Fred Seka added.
There have been interventions to reduce transport costs in the wake of pandemic. FEAFFA wrote to Kenya and Tanzania ports authorities asking them to reduce free storage period.
“The review of an addition to the current mandatory free storage period shall be assessed and considered favorably on merit basis depending on the nature of individual cases separately,” Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) conceded in May in a letter addressed to FEAFFA president.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), on the other hand, gave a blanket extension of free storage period starting on 20th May for an initial 90 days period. Domestic export containers were to enjoy a free storage period of 15 days compared to 9 days granted earlier.
Transit import containers at the port and Inland Container Depot in Embakasi got a 4 days free storage period from 9 days with transit import containers in Naivasha enjoying 30 days. Transit export containers got a 20 days free storage period from the current 15 days. However domestic import cargo four days free storage period remained unchanged.
“This is in line with our deliberate and continuous efforts of cushioning our customers of the Covid-19, which has affected the entire logistics chain,” KPA acting Managing Director Rashid Salim announced in a public notice.
Shipping lines operating through the Mombasa port were ordered to extend the empty container return period in a move that was geared towards reducing high costs associated with delays along the Northern Corridor, after industry players intense lobbying.
Transit and domestic cargo got an extension of 7 and 3 days respectively. Importers were earlier supposed to return containers to designated yards in Mombasa within 14 days for domestic cargo and up to 45 days for transit goods, failure to which they start accruing storage charges or what is technically known as demurrage.
“Under the prevailing circumstances, it is important that delays associated by the cargo clearance and return of the empty containers prior to Covid 19 reflect the circumstances on the ground,” a notice signed by former Kenya Maritime Authority Maj (RTD) Director General George Nyamako reads in part.
The extension period of the return of the empty containers, which took effect on 1st July were to stay throughout the period of Covid 19, according to the KMA notice.
Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC) issued a similar directive.
The order extended the period of return of the empty containers for Rwanda through the Rusumo border from 35- 55 days and DRC through the same border from 55 to 80 days. Cargo to DRC through the Tuduma border had seen the return of empty containers extended from 55- 65 days with cargo Zambia enjoying an extension by 10 more days from 40 to 50 days. This was to be effected on all the containers whose delivery order was issued on 15th March 2020.
In September this year, Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System (RECDTS) was launched by the East Africa Community (EAC) Secretariat and its Partner States.
The system will be used in all the EAC Partner States – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda – and extended to EAC neighboring countries particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
The task of ensuring that imported goods reach consumers lies in the hands of truck drivers; and as the coronavirus spread in the region, the transit corridors were identified as conduits for the spread of infections. In efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, the health authorities developed protocols requiring truck drivers to be tested.
RECDTS is meant to resolve some of the challenges that were being experienced in execution of health protocols including: Multiple testing of truck drivers at border crossing as there lacked a framework of mutual recognition; Documentary fraud; where truck drivers would forge national certificates and use them to cross borders.
RECDTS is designed as a mobile phone application and is meant to enable the issuance of the EAC COVID-19 digital certificates that are mutually recognised by Partner States, thus eliminating the need for multiple testing as well as contributing to alleviating ongoing congestion at East Africa border crossing points.
