Cargo scanner breakdown paralyses trade at Katuna
Trucks in a queue at Gatuna border, Rwanda. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Trucks exporting goods to Rwanda were not affected as they are not required to be scanned at Katuna. Twenty cargo trucks entering Uganda were, however, affected. This forced customs officials to manually verify cargo that was offloaded.
Clearing agents at Katuna border in Kabale District want a resident engineer to offer timely repair and maintenance services of the cargo scanner stationed at the Uganda-Rwanda border.
The demand comes after several trucks crossing from Rwanda to Uganda were stranded at Katuna border this past week after the cargo scanner was plagued by technical glitches.
“In the last three weeks, it experienced the same and clearing agents were stuck with cargo trucks,” Mr Stephen Kiwanuka, the vice chairperson of Katuna Clearing Agents Association, said on Friday.
Trucks exporting goods to Rwanda were not affected as they are not required to be scanned at Katuna. Twenty cargo trucks entering Uganda were, however, affected. This forced customs officials to manually verify cargo that was offloaded.
“Because of the urgency, some cargo trucks under the transit goods arrangements have been given e-seals and allowed to proceed to their destinations,” Mr Kiwanuka revealed, adding that “trucks under the home consumption category have not been allowed” since “offloading and loading after manual verification is not only expensive but tiresome.”
However, Mr Stephen Ojambo, the officer-in-charge of Uganda Revenue Authority supervision services in western region, rubbished claims that the cargo scanner at Katuna border was malfunctioning.
“For the last few days we have been doing system upgrades on our cargo scanner and by Friday morning, we were almost done with the tests,” he revealed, adding, “As we waited for the cargo scanner to stabilise, some cargo trucks were issued with e-seals to proceed to their planned destination.”
He proceeded to note that the inconvenience notwithstanding, a “system upgrade of this machine was very important” to guarantee optimal performance.
Some of the goods imported from Rwanda to Uganda include hides and skins, scrap metal, coffee, and black tea. Elsewhere, exports to Rwanda through the Katuna border are dominated by manufactured goods and agricultural produce.
