The government of Uganda through the National Task Force for Covid-19 has gazetted Mukono ICD as a holding area to manage truck drivers in an effort to control the spread of corona virus. Truck drivers have in the recent past been identified as a weak link aiding trans-border spread forcing the Partner State to adopt stringent measures to tackle further spread.
Uganda Railway Corporation (URC) owns and operates the facility located at Kyetume area. All trucks entering the facility shall be required to pay UGX. 20,000 as a parking fee and associated charges per day.
“The chargeable fees are to enable the ICD operators to provide the necessary services to the truck drivers and other service users,” Uganda Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba said in a communication to industry players on 20th of this month.
East Africa Community (EAC) heads of state on 12th May this year directed ministers responsible for Health, Trade, Transport and EAC affairs to finalize and adopt an EAC digital surveillance and tracking system for drivers and crew on covid-19 for immediate use by Partner States.
They took note of efforts by partner states in undertaking bilateral engagements to address cross-border challenges and the EAC secretariat mission that assessed the situation on clearance processes at the borders during the pandemic period.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia directed that drivers loading cargo at the Mombasa port and Nairobi Inland Container Deport (ICD) be tested for Covid-19 and be issued with a certificate 48 hours before accessing the loading points.
Following high infection rates of Covid 19 across the borders, Arusha region decided to put in place a system of collecting the samples for testing inbound truck drivers crossing Namanga from Kenya at National Laboratory in Tanzania.
The government of Rwanda, on its part has announced a raft of measures that transporters and clearing agents will use to prevent the spread of Covid 19. The Ministry of Infrastructure issued a public notice recently in line with the discussion that the Heads of State of the Partner States held on 12th of May this year.
All incoming cargo destined for Rwanda shall be offloaded at border entry points of Kiyanzi and Kagitumba. For cargo that cannot be offloaded at designated areas, transshipment services where containers are exchanged from one truck to another is recommended and availed, the notice said.
For cargo that cannot be offloaded or transshipped such as petroleum or perishable goods, trucks will be escorted to their destination at no cost and drivers will be allowed to stop at only designated rest areas for health breaks. They will operate between 6 am and 6 pm.
In the event that offloading is not done within the stipulated time, the drivers will be accommodated at designated areas at importers cost and these facility will guarded to stop any virus spread. The country will also make available mandatory testing facilities.
Rwanda also agreed to provide customs services as well as Inland Container Depots and warehousing facilities at the border entry points to ensure the safety of the drivers, trucks and the cargo.
Goods are supposed to be cleared in one day and in case this is not done in 3 days, the cargo is supposed to be transported to Kigali warehouse at importer’s cost. Importers are encouraged to do pre-clearance on the Single Custom Territory (SCT) framework and declaration document sent to custom electronically.
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