The East African Business Council (EABC) has warned that objectives of an efficient transport mode in the region cannot be achieved or guaranteed unless supply chain security is "effectively addressed” on the Northern Corridor trade route.

This, according to John Bosco Rusagara, the regional body’s director of Infrastructure, Transport and Resource Mobilisation, is in light of increasing threats from global terrorism and other criminal activities, as well as civil disobedience throughout the supply chain.

Supply chain security in this respect refers to programmes, systems, procedures, technology and solutions applied to address threats to the Northern Corridor and related threats to the economic, social and physical well-being of citizens.

"An efficient programme ensures business continuity by reducing incidences of risk during movement of cargo, including catastrophes or other disruptive events to business operations, such as theft and crime,” Rusagara said.

A practical application of the supply chain, he noted, is the case of Middle East, where a GPS antenna is installed on the truck and a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) e-seal affixed onto the container.

The RFIDs (small electronic devices that consist of a small chip and an antenna) use electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects.

Accordingly, the GPS pings the RFID seal every 10 minutes and data is transmitted every 20 minutes by GPS, enabling the recording and remote reporting of the location of every vehicle that’s equipped with the system.

"Application of such a system in the East African Community (EAC) region would entail attributing a disposable numbered seal per container at the time of loading cargo. This seal number is then broadcast via SMS on mobile phones to the security staff along the transport route.

"Additionally, there are visual checkpoints along the transport route to ensure there is no deviation, and that the numbered seal matches the initial communication broadcast through SMS. At destination, the receiving agent confirms the numbered seal has not been tampered with, and that he has also received all SMS broadcast during the journey.”

Rusagara said since the Northern Corridor supply chain system is a crucial and unavoidable element of trade facilitation, it is imperative for member state countries to integrate all identified processes into a seamless transport mode early enough, in order to avoid unnecessary delays and cost that have to be incurred later.

"The initial costs involved are offset overtime through reliable, predictable and safe supply chain with reduced fraud cases. These improvements help to integrate countries and regions into better trading partnerships, thus bringing wider prosperity to the citizens,” he said.

"The successful implementation of Northern Corridor supply chain will, therefore, have a major impact to improving trade facilitation in the region.”

Geoffrey Kamanzi, the director of trade and business development at the Private Sector Federation (PSF), said some of the risks Rwandan traders and transporters had to contend with in the past included smuggling, fraud, dumping and corruption.

"Measures taken include ensuring that trucks and cargo use electronic cargo tracking system, use of insurance bond covering smuggling, theft, duty evasion, and others, by the clearing companies,” Kamanzi said.

Besides the use of One Stop Border Posts, he said, an SMS reporting platform was last year developed to help transporters in the event of an emergency.

"Another measure is frequent check on tonnage, axle loads and mechanical situation of trucks to ensure the cargo is secure. Those are some regulations issued by the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Authority.”

Meanwhile, risks associated with theft and crime during transport or supply of cargo are categorised into two main areas; criminal activities related to cargo theft, including maritime thefts and fraud estimated by UNCTAD at $50 billion a year worldwide vehicle theft; goods and human smuggling; tax and duty evasions; and attacks on transportation modes by criminals.

Transport, a major component in regional trade, Rusagara said, to a large extent determines the volume and value of trade conducted due to the impact it has on final cost of goods delivered to the consumer, among others.

Based on risks associated with terrorism and criminal activities on goods and conveyance vehicles during transport, there are key pillars to successful supply chain system that needs to be observed by Northern Corridor countries.

These include; the need to identify and understand threats, assess vulnerabilities, determine potential impacts and consequences; need to focus on how to detect, deter and mitigate threats; need to safeguard people, critical infrastructure, and property from criminal acts; and the need to manage and coordinate responses to criminal acts or other emergencies.

The need to manage efforts to restore operations after criminal acts or other emergencies have taken place is equally important.

The EABC, last week, again entreated the government of Kenya to compensate 16 Rwandan and Ugandan traders and transporters, whose properties worth $47, 557 081.00, were destroyed along the Nairobi-Eldoret-Kampala highway following Kenya’s 2007-2008 post-election violence.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw