This archive report was first published on 24 August 2019.
August 24, 2019
Kenya is set to pass the East Africa freight Bill, a move that will bring order to the logistics sector that has been operating without legal backing for decades.
The Kenya Customs Agents and Freight Forwarders Management Bill 2019 will be tabled in parliament soon, following the domestication of the regional East African Customs Agents and Freight Forwarders Management Model Bill 2017.
According to Roy Mwanthi, the chairman of the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association, the final draft of the Bill is awaiting input from government departments before it is submitted to the National Assembly House committee.
Once the Bill becomes law, the association will be transformed into a society governed by a national council elected by freight and Customs agents bodies.
The society will set professional standards for the sector, provide certification and registration, as well as a code of conduct including how to solve disputes among members.
Elias Buluku, programme manager of the Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations, praised the move by the countries to come up with a regional law, saying it will change how the logistics sector is run.
