The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Boards have announced several measures aimed at ensuring seamless port operations to boost revenue collection and optimize port performance.
President William Ruto last month issued a raft of orders among them 24-hour operations by the two and other State agencies, reducing weighbridges along the Northern Corridor (Mombasa-Malaba) and addressing red tape on cargo verification.
In a Communique after a joint KPA and KRA board meeting on Friday, KPA Chairman Benjamin Tayari and his KRA counterpart Anthony Mwaura have announced that the bureaucracy around bunkering is resolved.
They say this follows the president’s directive in which he had issued a two-week ultimatum for the corporations to resolve bureaucracy issues on bunkering.
Bunkering is the refueling of cargo vessels – an activity that is performed daily at ports all around the world. Typically, barges carrying fuel will be moved alongside a vessel with the assistance of tugboats.
Further, the KPA and KRA boards resolved that with immediate effect, transshipment cargo will not be verified. This is aimed at attracting more transshipment cargo business.
It was also decided that verification of export cargo shall be undertaken outside the port with immediate effect.
The two bodies have also announced that there are plans for the acquisition of modern scanning equipment through public-private initiatives and a meeting is scheduled today, Monday, to discuss the way forward.
