Stakeholders drawn from South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday, June 7, issued demands over the Northern Corridor linking Kenya.
Speaking in a meeting hosted in Nairobi, businessmen using the route to transport goods from the Port of Mombasa argued that they were exposed to losses and delayed deliveries due to stringent measures implemented along the Ksh22 billion highway.
They lamented that cargo clearance rules at border points affected businesses in the five neighbouring countries.
The Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) Executive Secretary Omae Nyarandi implored various presidents to leverage technology to address the challenges.
Omae argued that technology was key to reducing the time spent clearing cargo on various weigh bridges within the Northern Corridor.
"We need to see ways of leveraging on technology to be able to have seamless crossing on the border so that we reduce congestion at the border point," Nyarandi stated.
Besides adopting technology, the stakeholders asked the Heads of State to change rules relating to clearing goods.
Their proposal argued that once the cargo is cleared at the Port of Mombasa, it should be allowed to transit to the destined 5 countries.
They, therefore, asked the government to devise new ways of enhancing the intermodal transport system, which they noted was key to creating employment opportunities in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Northern Corridor was constructed at Ksh22 billion. It included the construction of two link roads, one from Morpus to Lokichar and the other from Lesseru to Kitale. The roads are 142 kilometres and 55 kilometres long, respectively.
According to businessmen, the full implementation of the project would aid the five countries in enhancing regional trade, creating employment and ensuring security for truck drivers plying the highway.
Their concerns came days after the Kenyan government addressed the cross-border trade impediments. On Saturday, May 27, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen vowed to address some challenges inhibiting cross-border trade, including delays in clearing of trucks.
"The Ministry will be exploring the best financing options to construct the 640M Outbound Lane at the One-Stop Border Post to enable the seamless movement of trucks," Murkomen maintained.
