Solutions Sought In Fast Clearing Of Goods At Railways Yard, Govt Says

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 12- The government is seeking more ways of speeding up cargo clearance time at the Kenya Revenue Authority’s National Cargo Deconsolidation Centre (NCDC) in Nairobi. This is aimed at among others enhancing growth of small-scale businesses.

It follows a directive issued by the National Development Implementation Technical Committee (NDITC) chairman Karanja Kibicho that all counterfeit goods be stopped from entering the country at their point of origin.

Kibicho Thursday led a team of his colleagues including Paul Maringa (Transport), Jerome Ochieng (ICT), Peter Kaberia (Industrialization) and Ali Noor Ismail (Cooperatives) alongside Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner (KRA) General Githii Mburu, Kenya Bureau of Statistics (KEBS) Director General Macdonald George Obudho, traders and consolidators on a visit to assess the operations at the yard.

Kibicho said the genuity of goods must be checked at source to avoid delays and consequent harassment of traders by government officials.

“There have been complaints from small scale traders about some harassment from different agencies and we have been very emphatic that if there is a violation of the standards of our goods, it must be dealt with at the source be it Dubai or China and not from here,” he said.

“As long as goods are here, the small scale traders are innocent. The people who are supposed to stop them didn’t stop them so they are not supposed to come to harass small traders here. If there is any disciplinary action that should be taken, it should be to the institution responsible for verifying the goods’ standards.”

The traders have been complaining over increased cost of importation of the goods courtesy of briefcase consolidators and cartels seeking to make extra money along the value chain.

The committee held a meeting with the traders and consolidators to iron out challenges affecting the small scale importation business.

NCDC is housed by Kenya Railways, operated by KRA and sublet to licensed consolidators who help small scale traders who cannot afford bulk imports ferry shipments from abroad with one container carrying items for 30 to 40 traders.

“We started with just one container in November last year but the establishment has grown, we can now clear 10-15 containers in a day which translates to about 300 traders collecting their items on any day,” said Mburu.

Once a container is towed to the centre, its cargo is deconsolidated and the goods are entered in a warehouse bearing their respective owners identities.

“The consolidator then pays sh2.2M tax for each container before the goods are released to the traders in their own time,” the KRA boss.

Mburu added no trader has complained of losing their goods or receiving tampered ones since the centre began its operations.

Licensed Consolidators of Kenya Chairman Raphael Kapai called on more traders and individuals wishing to ship items from abroad to trade with them.

“This centre has revolutionised this business. We will show you where to buy your items abroad, transport them for you and deliver the shipment safely,” he said.