Africa-Press – Uganda. More than 1,000 trucks loaded with merchandise are stuck at the Busia border after the non-intrusive cargo scanner broke down on Friday.
By Saturday morning, no trucks ferrying fuel or dry cargo had been cleared to enter the country from Kenya.
Across the border in Kenya, the queue extended past Korinda on the Kisumu-Busia Road, which is more than five kilometres, according to Mr Eric Ojambo, a Kenyan national.
“The congestion caused by the huge number of trucks has made it hard to access Kisumu and Bungoma, and our work has been hit because accessing passengers has become very hard too,” Mr Ojambo said in an interview at the weekend.
Mr Abdul Karim, a truck driver, said the breakdown of the scanner has caused delays, increased costs and inconvenienced the truck drivers.
“Since Friday, I have been here at the Busia border waiting and spending a lot of money on food and accommodation; otherwise, I could have already crossed into Kenya by now,” he said.
Mr Ukasha Kiseka, a clearing agent at the border, said at least seven trucks carrying tomatoes coming from Kenya and destined for Uganda had not been cleared by the weekend, raising fear that they might get rotten as he waits for the scanner to be repaired.
Mr Yahaya Kamba, another clearing agent, said Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) brought an emergency mobile scanner, which he says reportedly “failed” to work.
Mr Kamba, who said he had seen seven trucks carrying perishable food due for clearance, added that since Friday, the owners of the goods have been calling demanding to have them delivered, but that has not happened.
“We tried speaking with the URA supervisor, but we were told the cargo scanner was a ‘security issue’ and no truck, whether loaded or empty, was allowed into the country without going through it,” Mr Kamba said.
URA speaks out
Mr Geoffrey Balamaga, the URA manager for eastern region, said they have deployed a mobile emergency cargo scanner as they repair the main scanner.
“There is no way we are going to allow trucks to enter the country without going through the scanning process, and that is why we have deployed an emergence scanner,” he said.
Clearances
It is estimated that on average, the border records between 750 and 1,000 trucks from Kenya on a daily basis, meaning any delays have a huge impact in terms of traffic congestion, especially on the Kenyan side of the border.
Busia border lies on the Northern corridor and is a main supply route for fuel into Uganda and other great lakes countries, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.
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