Shippers want Kenya Revenue Authority and Kenya Railways to “urgently intervene” on scanner breakdowns affecting cargo clearance at the Port of Mombasa and the Nairobi Inland Container Depot.
The Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA), which represents interests of importers, exporters and other stakeholders in the logistics and shipping industries across Eastern Africa, says the breakdowns are significantly impacting trade facilitation, port efficiency and the overall competitiveness of Kenya as a regional logistics hub.
For the past two months, the rail-mounted cargo scanner at the Port of Mombasa has been out of service, SCEA has noted.
Consequently, all containers loaded onto the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and transported to ICD Nairobi are not being scanned at the port of departure.
This malfunction has caused substantial delays in the cargo clearance process and has shifted the entire scanning burden to ICDN upon arrival.
The situation has been further compounded by existing challenges at ICDN. Of the four drive through scanners available at the facility, two have been out of service for an extended period, leaving only two operational units to handle the full volume of inbound cargo.
With containers from Mombasa now bypassing the initial port-based scanning stage, all units arriving at ICDN must undergo scanning on arrival, significantly increasing the workload on already strained equipment, SCEA chief executive Agayo Ogambi says.
Ogambi who has written to both KRA Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga and Kenya Railways managing director Philip Mainga, said while the two agencies are working around to enhance cargo evacuation, it is not sustainable hence the call for expediting repair of the rail scanner at Port Reitz.
The inspection and clearance processes have experienced severe delays including longer truck queues, extended cargo dwell times, increased operational costs for importers, clearing agents, logistics companies and even KPA, and general slowdown in the cargo evacuation cycle, threatening efficiency along the Northern Corridor, he noted.
“Given the cross-agency implications and the substantial impact on trade facilitation, we respectfully request the intervention of your offices to one, fast-track the procurement and replacement and or repair of the rail-mounted scanner at the Port of Mombasa to restore scanning capability at the point of departure and two, repair or replace the two non-operational drive-through scanners at ICDN,” Ogambi says ion his letter.
SCEA has also called for the establishment of a sustainable maintenance and operational framework to prevent future disruptions.
“Restoring full scanner functionality at both Mombasa and ICDN is essential not only for efficient port operations but also for safeguarding national security, revenue and maintaining customs integrity. We appreciate your urgent attention to this matter and remain available for any further engagement or clarification required,” he said.
The Port of Mombasa has in recent months experienced congestion on the back of high cargo throughput, with traders calling for a top on clearance processes within the port to allow for decongestion.
They want cargoes cleared at Inland Container Deports and Container Freight Stations.
by MARTIN MWITA
