In Summary

• The app will follow the trajectory of the truck and detect any smuggling or short-landing.
• The app is expected to be launched within two weeks.

Truck drivers have welcomed a decision by the government to introduce an application through which they can access coronavirus test results.

EU ambassador to Kenya Simon Mordue said Friday they are partnering the government to release the app in two weeks.

The cargo transporters said on Sunday the app will limit the frequency of travel to Covid-19 test centres to pick their results.

They also said the development will hasten the delivery of test results to individual drivers thus reducing the time they spend queuing on the roads.

Mark Kibet who plies the Mombasa-Tororo route transporting clinker to the Tororo Cement Industry in eastern Uganda said he was ready to download and use the app.

“That is a good decision because that app will help us when our samples have been taken. We will only be returning to our vehicles and wait for the results to come out through our phones,” he said in Amagoro.

Results take two to three days and when they are released, drivers have had to travel again to Malaba to pick them, he said.

Truck drivers are screened for the coronavirus after every 14 days and it has been cumbersome for them to travel to test centres to collect result certificates.

Abdallah Boru who plies the Mombasa-Kampala and Mombasa-Juba routes said developers of the app deserve commendation.

It will ease the cargo transporters’ jam along the Bungoma-Malaba and Kisumu-Busia highways, he said.

“When we get it, even when we travel and police ask for results we will be able to produce them online. It is much better than the certificates we have been carrying,” he said.

Boru said the development will also help reduce the long traffic snarl-ups along the road as drivers wait for clearance to cross into Uganda.

He, however, proposed that drivers whose results come out first should be allowed to travel irrespective of whether they are locked in a jam or not.

Boru said there are truck drivers whose results are out but cannot proceed with the journey because it is mandatory for them to follow the queue until they reach the border.

Peter Muraya who travels from Mombasa to Kampala said the introduction of the app will play an instrumental role in reducing Covid-19 transmission.

“With the certificates we have been using, one can easily transmit the virus because we keep on handing them to police and other officials along the way. A police officer you show the certificate might be coronavirus positive. He hands over the certificate to you and you get infected,” he said.

Muraya spoke to the Star hours after his samples were picked at the Malaba Port Health Department located at the One Stop Border Post.

When the results are out he will be required to travel back to the border town to pick his certificate.

“If I had the app I would not be required travel to Malaba,” he said.

On Friday, Ambassador Mordue toured the Busia One Stop Border Post accompanied by Health CAS Rashid Aman.

The UE envoy said the app has a regional electronic cargo driver tracking system that will help track the Covid-19 status of individual drivers.

“In the next two weeks, the app will be up and running. It will be possible to follow the trajectory of the truck that will also help detection of any smuggling or short-landing,” the ambassador said.

“The EU through Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) will also establish safe trade which will allow close space zone for women, small scale traders to continue operating their businesses as the border remains closed.”

Truck drivers have since the beginning of screening been waiting for at least three days for their results to be released.

(edited by o. owino)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.