Three East African neighbouring countries are set to introduce an electronic system to moni- tor goods in transit as part of efforts to boost trade and plug tax evasion loopholes.

Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have announced that, from June, all cargo in transit from the port of Mombasa to the Ugandan capital city of Kampala and onwards to Kigali, in Rwanda, will be monitored in real time by an electronic cargo tracking system (ECTS).

The initiative is aimed at improving tax collection, enhancing the enforcement of cargo handling regulations and employing advanced technologies to facilitate better reporting and data-mining capabilities for operational deci- sion-making.

“Goods moving along the northern corridor will be monitored in real time, curbing dumping, theft and other vices,” says Uganda Revenue Authority customs commissioner Dicksons Kateshumbwa.

When the system goes live, Kenya and Uganda will jointly attach electronic seals onto cargo at the Port of Mombasa to guarantee that no goods disappear en route. More importantly, rapid-response teams will be deployed at various points along the 1 700 km corridor route, the key trade link for landlocked Uganda and Rwanda.

The new system is expected to lower the cost of doing business, reduce transit times and curb theft and the diversion of goods destined for the two countries.

Traders using the northern corridor have been losing millions of dollars owing to rampant theft, forcing some to resort to using the longer central corridor route from the Port of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.

The ECTS comprises satellites, a monitoring centre and special electronic seals fitted on cargo containers and trucks that give the precise location of goods in real time.

The system triggers an alarm when there is diversion from the designated route or an unusually long stopover or when someone attempts to open a container.

The system also helps to seal loopholes that have seen the countries lose huge sums in revenue through underdeclaration of the value of exports or theft.

“The system provides real-time information on the location and status of the cargo to trans- porters and cargo owners or their agents. Until now, one could only know the location by calling the driver,” says Kateshumbwa.

Of the 13-million tons of cargo that Mombasa port handles, three-million tons is transit cargo destined for Uganda, Rwanda and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.