Kenya will address the delays and backlog of trucks at the border in a week’s time, Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina said of Industrialization, Trade, and Enterprise Development.
Nevertheless, trust issues surrounding Covid-19 tests remain at the border with Tanzania and Uganda, with drivers on both sides complaining about discrimination and lack of transparency in the processes.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, CS Maina said the government has expanded testing capability at its frontiers to ensure speedy truck driver clearance.
During a Webinar last week, the CS by consultancy firm Delloite assured government commitment to support cross-border trade.
“Nobody wants disruption of business,” the CS said yesterday in an interview, “We have increased capacity to clear backlog.”
However, she insisted drivers have to take tests before they start their travels.
Truck drivers test and collect Covid-19 results in a minimum period of 48 hours before continuing with their journey according to the guidelines in place.
“In the context of Covid, we must ensure we support the health ministry and that we conduct safe trade,” CS Betty said.
Most affected borders are the busy Malaba border between Kenya and Uganda, and the Namanga border between Kenya and Tanzania.
Delays at Malaba have caused a long queue with trucks stretching on either side for more than 50 kilometres.
Kenyan truck drivers once in their territory have accused Ugandan authorities of harassment, where they are denied access to amenities like toilets and hotels.
“They eat, sleep, relieve themselves in the trucks,” Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) chief executive Dennis Ombok said
There are at least 600-1000 heavy commercial trucks connecting Uganda, Rwanda , Burundi, South Sudan and DR Congo to the Port of Mombasa along the Northern Corridor.
At the border with Namanga, tension remains high with rigid Tanzanian authorities about clearing truck drivers from Kenya.
Tanzania said a fortnight ago that if it continues to break agreements, it can’t do business with Kenya 10 days after the two countries reopened the Namanga border.
The two countries decided to reopen their borders on May 22 after a tense week marked by the Covid-19 pandemic’s simmering trade conflict.
Tanzania claimed their truck drivers with certified Covid-19 test certificates are forced to retest before crossing the border.
Border delays have become a headache for Adan Mohammed, the Cabinet Secretary for the East African Community and Regional Development.
“Malaba border is the serious issue we are dealing with at the moment because of the delays we suffer through the corridor,” CS Mohammed said at a recent briefing.
The border delays have increased truck turnaround time with the CS noting that the time taken by truck drivers to transport goods from Mombasa to Uganda has doubled as a result of the measures introduced to curb the virus spread.
“During pre-corona days, it would ordinarily take three days for a driver to drive from the Port of Mombasa to Kampala and back,” Adan said.
It currently takes 10 days more than two weeks to make a round trip between Mombasa and Kampala, the biggest destination for transit cargo through the Port of Mombasa.
Data from the transport sector shows that around 800 and 500 trucks cross the borders of Malaba and Busia every day, respectively.
“We have seen significant delays in cargo clearance. While it used to take between four hours and 24 hours, now it takes 36 hours to 48 hours,” Kobo360 Kenya Country Manager Dennis Kathurima stated in an interview.
The African e-logistics firm notes in its latest report that truck drivers have experienced additional fuel costs, increased mileage per trip and even truck and cargo security, which have caused an escalation in the drivers’ monthly costs.
With an average annual transit traffic of 7.8 million tonnes, Uganda accounts for more than 83.2% of transit cargo to the hinterland through the Port of Mombasa.
South Sudan accounts for 9.9% while the DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda account for 7.2%, 3.2% and 2.4% respectively, statistics from the Kenya Port Authority indicate.
“Uganda remains our biggest transit destination,” KPA notes in its recent port performance report.
