By Mulengera Reporters
On Friday, traders and key players in Uganda’s cargo and logistics industry gathered in Kampala to assess a new digital cargo consolidation system that is expected to make it easier for importers to track their goods, prepare customs requirements in advance and cut the time taken to clear merchandise.
Known as BeezyLCL, the system was presented and demonstrated during a consultative meeting at HBT Hotel, Kiseka Market, where traders, clearing and forwarding practitioners, business associations and technical representatives discussed how the technology can respond to some of the difficulties experienced in the import and cross-border trade sector.
Rather than waiting for goods to arrive in Uganda before beginning the clearance process, the system is intended to allow traders to provide the necessary information and documentation ahead of time.
It will also give traders the ability to monitor their consignments from the country where they purchased the goods through their journey to Uganda.
This advance preparation is expected to tackle one of the biggest frustrations among traders and that’s the amount of time their merchandise can spend waiting to be cleared by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
The promoters of the system envisage a situation where, once goods arrive and the necessary documentation has already been processed, clearance should take no more than four days.
For traders, this could make a significant difference, particularly those whose businesses depend on getting imported merchandise onto the market within a specific period.
Traders have for years complained about cargo clearance delays, saying some consignments can remain stuck for exceptionally long periods. In some cases, according to complaints from the trading community, goods have taken two years or more to be cleared, by which time the trader may have lost the market for the merchandise.
For importers dealing in perishable products, the consequences can be even more damaging, as prolonged delays can mean goods are already spoilt by the time they are released.
Mr Sulaiman Matovu, the deputy spokesperson of the Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA), said that the traders had welcomed BeezyLCL because of the relief it could bring to businesses that have struggled with the clearance process.
“This system will help the traders a lot. They have welcomed it with open arms,” Matovu said.
Beyond the question of time, the system is also expected to address concerns surrounding the amount traders pay when their goods are cleared.
Some importing traders have complained that their foods are sometimes subjected to higher taxes than they expect, while others say they have been forced to make payments more than once during the clearance process.
The new digital approach is intended to give traders greater visibility of their consignments and the information being used in the clearance process, helping them establish what they have imported and what they are expected to pay.
Matovu said this could help traders avoid unnecessary payments and make the process less vulnerable to manipulation.
He also raised concern about people who operate around the URA clearance process and allegedly present themselves to traders as agents capable of securing faster clearance.
“Currently, there are very many brokers at URA who dupe traders, pretending to be URA agents and promising to help them get their goods cleared very fast,” Matovu said.
He said traders can end up paying such individuals while also making payments through the legitimate clearance process, creating situations where an importer pays more than once for the same consignment.
Matovu said KACITA had therefore joined hands with the promoters of the system to take it to traders and other stakeholders through sensitization so that they understand how it works and how they can use it.
The Friday meeting was part of consultations intended to gather views from the people who actually use the cargo and customs system before BeezyLCL is finalized.
The organizers said the discussions were aimed at identifying practical gaps and making the platform responsive to the realities faced by traders, particularly small and medium-sized businesses dealing with the high cost of logistics, poor visibility of cargo movements, fragmented information and delays in clearance.
Technical representatives demonstrated the proposed platform to participants and sought their views on how it can improve tracking, information flow and coordination among the different players involved in moving goods into Uganda.
The system is still being refined, with recommendations from traders and other industry stakeholders expected to inform its further development before it is finalized. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
