(Mombasa) – Operations at Mombasa Port have been significantly impacted by a system outage affecting the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over the past five days. This disruption has led to the accumulation of tea consignments valued at over Ksh 3.25 billion ($25 million) that remain stuck at various port facilities. The system failure, which involves the KRA’s Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS), has created major bottlenecks for businesses across different sectors, particularly in the import and export of goods.
KRA’s iCMS is the only system used for processing customs documents for goods entering or leaving the country. The system’s downtime has left traders unable to complete necessary documentation, resulting in significant delays. The Kenya Revenue Authority issued a notice acknowledging the ongoing technical challenges and advised traders to suspend any new submissions until the system is fully restored. “We apologise for the inconvenience caused and kindly request your patience as our technical team works to restore normal operations,” the notice said.
One of the sectors hit hardest by the outage is the tea export industry. At the Mombasa Tea Auction, traders were unable to export the tea they had traded last week, leading to substantial financial losses. Some shipments that were scheduled to leave have been missed due to the system failure. Arthur Sawe, Chairman of the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA), stated that further delays in tea exports would likely harm the prices at the Mombasa Tea Auction. “The KRA system downtime has resulted in enormous losses for tea exporters, and any additional disruptions may depress prices, which had recently shown improvement following the removal of government-imposed tea reserve prices,” he said.
The potential economic impact could be significant, with Mr. Sawe warning that Kenya could lose billions of shillings in exports if the situation is not swiftly resolved. The Mombasa tea auction, which involves trade between nine countries, may also lose its reputation as a reliable trading hub if the system is not restored soon.
Tea Buyers Association Chairman Peter Kimanga reported that several vessels have had to return to their destinations without cargo due to issues with the KRA clearance system. George Omuga, Managing Director of EATTA, echoed concerns about the long-term effects, noting that Kenya’s reliability as a supplier is at risk. “We are incurring additional storage costs since cargo cannot be cleared from warehouses, and goods at the port cannot be loaded due to the documentation issues,” said Mr. Kimanga.
In light of these disruptions, the EATTA is calling for the establishment of an alternative cargo clearance system to avoid similar issues in the future. Omuga emphasized the need for better coordination between the various government agencies involved and suggested that monthly billing could help ease some of the financial pressures. The tea export sector, a critical part of Kenya’s economy, is urging the government to resolve the situation urgently to prevent further financial strain and maintain the country’s position as a major exporter.