NAIROBI: Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner General John Njiraini told a media briefing in Nairobi that Kenyan border points are facing a challenge of smuggling of counterfeits.
“Some of the interventions include the operationalization of the Border Control and Coordination Committee (BCCC),” Njiraini said during celebrations to mark the International Customs Day, which is celebrated annually in recognition of the role that customs authorities play in facilitating global trade.
“We expect the operations of the new committee to result in benefits to Kenyans through enhanced risk management with fewer but better targeted intervention,” he said, adding that the BCCC will be in place by the end of February.
“This will ensure that there is a coordinated approach among all agencies operating at the country’s points of entry and exit,” Njiraini said.
Njiraini said national security should be paramount even as the customs officials make it easy for traders to clear goods at the borders.
He said that currently the main challenge is that government agencies at the border points all operate under different legal framework, besides having their own management and control structures.
“This has lead to uncoordinated operations with the risk that a coherent picture on border security management may fail emerge,” Njiraini said, adding that this may in turn create gaps that end up compromising border integrity and in the process provide opportunities that get exploited by terrorists and smugglers.
KRA Commissioner of Customs Services Beatrice Memo said Kenya is a signatory of the World Customs Organization SAFE Framework of Standard that introduced the concept of Coordinated Border Management (CBM).
