Business Daily (Nairobi)
Ben Sanga
29 April 2008
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) regulations on transit cargo to non East African countries have been termed as suicidal to business activities between KPA and non East Africa community members.
And it is now emerging that even as KRA stands its ground to over charge transit cargo via the port of Mombasa to non-EAC, other nations in the community like Uganda exempts such cargoes destined for Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) such charges.
KPA is now questioning the KRA restrictions, saying that KRA was limiting its business to EAC whereas the port of Mombasa was a regional port..
Though no figures have been given, a DRC representative in a stakeholders meeting said that all cargoes destined for DRC are subjected to over charge on the pretext that they were headed to non-east African member state.
The representative, who declaimed to be quoted in the press, said that they had severally urged KRA to reconsider and lift the restrictions, as they were prohibitive to doing business with the Kenyan port.
"We can only term such harsh regulation against DRC importers as bide to force us (DRC) to be a member of the community. It is unfair that we are being penalised for not being in the community. And if that is not the case, then tell me why goods headed to Southern Sudan are not overcharged?" Posed the DRC representative.
DRC has been complaining over the issue and at one point it also regenerated into a diplomatic row between the two countries, but Kenya promised to look into the issue.
The KRA representative in the meeting said that such decisions made at the Commissioner General table or at the ministerial levels.
"The question has been raised severally but such decisions are well tackled at the higher levels and we urge the representative to forward the issue to his foreign affairs minister so that the minister can contact our minister," said the KRA representative who also wished not to be quoted stating protocol reasons.
Hajj Masemo, the personal assistant to the KPA managing director, noted that such restrictions were being misinterpreted and that the port was keen to serve the East Africa region because the port was a regional facility.
The same reaction was echoed by the Uganda representative Mr Kidima Lusaabya who complained that KRA's overtime charges at the country's exit points were being demanded at normal working hours. Various countries representative, Kenya International Freight forwarders Association (KIFWA) and Kenya Transporters Associations (KTA) complained over the conflicting tasks of government bodies operating inside KPA saying that they were the contributors of delays.
"It is unfair that cargo can be cleared by KPA and KRA and the next minute it is stopped at the exit by Kenya Anti Corruption Commission personnel demanding to inspect it though it has been verified by KRA," complained KIFWA Mombasa branch chairman Mr Peter Otieno.
At the same time KTA complained that due to incapacity of some of the CFS, transit cargos were being delayed at such stations for up to 12 hours. KTA says that some Container Freight Stations were ill equipped hence causing delays for transit cargoes.
"We are really experiencing delay problems with some of this CFS'. Our tracks sometimes stay overnight before they come out with a cargo. We are finding ourselves at logger heads with our clients from neighboring country every day as we try to explain why their cargos are not reaching them at the expected time," Observed KTA member Ibrahim Pasta.
The stakeholders also took issue with what they termed as double storage charge by KPA in collaboration with a CFS based within the port, which they claim is turning to be a port within the port of Mombasa.
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