The state is committed to turn around the moribund Government Clearing Agency (GCA) into a profit-making institution within the next two years.
Principal Secretary (PS) in the State Department for Shipping and Maritime Affairs, Shadrack Mwadime, says the agency is capable of generating revenue worth Sh500 million annually through provision of clearing and forwarding services.
“We are out to revamp the GCA and restore it to its original status in line with current realities,” he said, adding that it would be repositioned to contemporary international standards.
While touring the agency’s head offices at Shimanzi area of Mombasa, Mwadime said revamping the agency operations will result in significant savings to the government in the form of demurrage charges and penalties which the government currently pays to private clearing agencies for its imported goods.
Mr. Mwadime said the move to revamp the clearing agency will also ensure safety and confidentiality in clearing of sensitive government cargo.
The PS noted that the priority of the government is to resuscitate and revitalize institutions that have the capacity to contribute to the economy of the country and thus uplift the lives of Kenyans.
The GCA was a department meant to clear government cargo for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Unfortunately, over the years, this function has been underperformed as MDAs decided to clear their goods through private clearing and forwarding agents due to ineffectiveness from GCA.
Mwadime disclosed that in the current government administration, the functions of GCA have been transferred from the National Treasury and domiciled in the State Department for Shipping and Maritime Affairs.
The functions involve the clearing and forwarding of ocean, air and land cargo principally being offered only to government interest cargo.
By Hussein Abdullahi and Andrew Hinga
