Kenya and Uganda are working together to crack down on unethical merchants who utilise illicit channels to smuggle goods into the country and avoid paying taxes.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has so far increased its efforts to combat smuggling along the Kenya-Uganda border.
KRA Malaba One Stop Border Post (OSBP) Manager Kimani Kang’ethe, said the joint patrols had paid off, with KRA now receiving 100 percentage income at the border.
The efforts, he continued, have resulted in a revenue increase from Sh962 million in 2012 to Sh4.2 billion in 2021, thanks to the establishment of the OSBP, which has brought all government organisations in charge of cargo and persons clearance between the two nations under one roof.
KRA expects to collect Sh5 billion by the end of the financial year, thanks to increased surveillance along the border and interior along the Eldoret-Malaba highway, he said.
KRA, he continued, has begun educating the business community, small-scale traders, and women involved in cross-border trade about the need of using the OSBP.
“We are sensitising them on the importance of taking advantage of the East African Community (EAC) treaty where they are exempted from paying duty for goods. They only pay Value Added Tax (VAT),” he said.
Pamela Ahago, KRA Western Regional Coordinator, said the investment in the OSBP has decreased cargo clearance turnaround time during a visit of the facility by journalists from the western area over the weekend.
She noted that as a result of the increased efficiency, the number of tracks cleared every day has increased from 1,300 to 2,300.
Ahago went on to say that plans were in the works to finish the loop road connecting the OSBP to Uganda, which would improve the free flow of inbound and outbound rails and cars.
She claimed that a multi-agency government team had conducted a feasibility study on expanding the OSBP to increase its capacity, and that structural designs were in the works.
Kenya Railways, she added, was in the process of establishing a transit shed at the border to facilitate smooth movement of goods ferried on the revamped Nakuru-Malaba Meter Gauge line.
“This is set to boost our capacity to handle cargo at this OSBP. Once the construction is completed, KRA will deploy staff at the shed to facilitate the exercise,” she said.
