26 27ISSUE 003 APR - JUNE 2015 ISSUE 003 APR - JUNE 2015

Kent

rade

Kent

rade

Technology Technology

from money lost through these inefficiencies once the system is fully implemented.

There are several benefits of implementing a sin-gle window system. Traders are expecting to make numerous savings from an efficient system. These savings are expected to accrue from losses result-ing from wrong declarations, demurrages and inef-ficiencies in the logistics chain. This also means that manual submissions which are a big loophole in cost savings will be a thing of the past and eventu-ally reduce the cases of corruption.

Challenges: The implementation has not been as smooth as expected with several technical hiccups. The integration with different systems among other government agencies systems has presented even more challenges. Change manage-ment has also been a setback with many stakehold-ers and users initially being very resistant especially those who have been benefiting from the manual processes. Kentrade contracted Delloite, an audit and consultancy firm to conduct the change man-agement audit. In order to encourage use of the system, Kentrade has also been conducting sensi-tization workshops to the end users to build more awareness that should eventually ease resistance.

Another challenge an electronic system pres-ents is the physical verification of cargo which re-mains a purely manual process as the system is fully rolled out. To tackle this hurdle, other countries are introducing scanners and using dynamic risk man-agement systems which involve profiling of cargo.

Regional neighbours: There are various chal-lenges in the uptake and implementation of single window systems across the region. Kentrade is cur-rently lobbying the EAC to ensure that the system will eventually be rolled out to all member states. However, there has been progress towards achiev-ing single window status across the region. For ex-ample, Uganda is in the business process engineer-ing phase through funding from TradeMark East Africa (TMEA). Tanzania is yet to initiate the pro-cess while Rwanda and Burundi are currently using a customs system known as Asycuda. In reality, this is very different to a single window and will need to go through major improvements. There are no set deadlines for the region to achieve single window status but other member states should be encour-aged to accelerate their processes.

One of the main objectives of the single window was to reduce costs, time and complexities such as having to physically submit documents to all the government agencies. Previously, the entire process of application took between 5-7 days but is now done within a day or less to get an approval for clearance

was previously used for processing IDF. This implies that any trader who does a manual application in any trade facilitation government agency should be turned away. Currently, 50 per cent of IDFs are sub-mitted using the single window. All modules are ex-pected to be integrated in the system by June 2015.

More government agencies: The single window roll-out has continued to experience several chal-lenges but the feedback is quite impressive. With regional support at the highest level, the response from government agencies has been tremendous and more agencies have come on board after the launch. The system currently hosts 25 permit issu-ing agencies from the initial seven.

Time saving: Kentrade is cognizant to the fact that the response from users is instrumental to the successful uptake of the system. An example is the veterinary department which is already sub-mitting 100 per cent of their permits through the single window. One of the main objectives of the single window was to reduce costs, time and com-plexities such as having to physically submit docu-ments to all the government agencies. Previously, the entire process of application took between 5-7 days but is now done within a day or less to get an approval for clearance.

Payments: The single window has integrated the government agencies with a number of banks in the system through a payment gateway. This prompts the trader to choose a payment option either in the form of mobile money transfers, debit cards or direct bank transfers. The submissions once complete generate an e-slip (e-invoice) that will be sent to the respective government agencies. The system is linked to the KRA i-tax system. Pre-viously, the government agencies had to confirm receipt of money in the bank upon seeing a hard copy of payment receipt. The reconciliation pro-cess alone could take upto 3-4 days before a con-firmation from the agency is received. The system through the payment platforms now sends direct notifications to the government agencies which in turn give immediate confirmation of receipt of pay-ments. This process has been reduced to a maxi-mum of a few hours. Through the various this gate-way, 24 banks are already on board and the major mobile money transfer options in the country. Ken-trade is still working on improvement of these pay-ment platforms.

Reduced corruption: Initial estimates indicated that the through reduction of inefficiencies, imple-mentation of the Kenya TradeNet System will save the country approximately USD.250 million per an-num. However, KenTrade intends to conduct anoth-er study to determine the actual impact on savings

Kenya launched the National Electronic Single Window System in 2014 to facilitate cargo clearance. What is the status on implementation after the system was officially launched? TIMOTHY NGUOH finds out from Mr. AMOS WANGORA, General Manager-Operations at Kentrade.

TOWARDS FASTER CARGO CLEARANCE

Kenya took the regional lead in launching the national electronic single window system (Tradenet) in May 2014.The official launch was attended by regional Heads of States including President Uhuru Kenyat-

ta of Kenya, President Kaguta Museveni of Uganda, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, the Prime Minis-ter of Tanzania Mizengo Pinda and Gervais Rufyikiri, 2nd Vice President of the Republic of Burundi. This signified high level political goodwill by the regional leaders which was necessary for takeoff not only in Kenya but in the East Africa Community (EAC).

Kenya TradeNet System Modules: Mr. Wangora also highlighted that 17 out of 20 modules have al-ready been implemented. This was done in phases with phase one going live in October 2013. The first phase was the pre clearance module which involves lodgment of pre clearance documents such as Im-port Declaration Forms (IDF), sea manifests, per-mits for seven government agencies and ship ar-rival notices. The second phase was issuing permits for the eight government agencies that came on board and the risk management bodies. The final phase was issuing permits for the remaining bod-ies. The three remaining modules are the declara-tion submission module, exemption module and the out-bound (export cycle) module which are cur-rently being tested. Training for the last three mod-ules across the country is set to begin in April for a period of one and half months. Kentrade is current-ly in discussions with the respective government agencies to discontinue receiving manual applica-tions and cut off legacy systems such as ORBUS that