Two more State agencies will fully integrate their operations with the single online portal for lodging trade documents by the end of the month, raising hope for further improvements in the clearance of cargo.

Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade), the State agency charged with implementing the single electronic window system (SWS), said the Pests Control Products Board (PCPB) and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) will wholly shift to the platform that already hosts more than 25 public agencies.

“The process of integrating the Kenya TradeNet System with various systems of government agencies and uptake by users since its official launch in May 2014 is progressing well, with stakeholders already benefiting from implementation of the Kenya TradeNet System” KenTrade CEO Alex Kabuga said in a statement.

The sugar directorate also plans to integrate its systems with the online platform by the end of this month to help cut costs and time as well as enhance transparency in importation of the commodity.

This online facility enable parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardised information and documents with a single entry point to fulfill all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements.

For hardware and software, the system encourages interoperability in the systems of stakeholders involved in trade logistics.

Several agencies including the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) are already operating on the platform that has also been piloted by other East Africa Community (EAC) partner state, Rwanda.

The implementation of the Kenya TradeNet System started in 2012 and the system went live in October 2013. It was officially launched on May 2, 2014 in Nairobi by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda at the invitation of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

To date, 17 modules have been successfully implemented with only three still under implementation.

Source: Business Daily

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