Clearing agents lobby for regulatory bill

Clearing and forwarding agents are pushing parliament to come up with self-regulatory bill to bring sanity in the sector.

Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA) National Chairman Roy Mwathi said being the umbrella body of clearing agents they have resolved to remove brokers in the clearing business once the bill is enacted.

He insisted the bill aims at eliminating brokers in the sector who have penetrated the business as clearing agents.

“Apart from the clearing sector the bill will also eliminate brokers in the transport industry,” he added.

Roy disclosed the bill, if it sees the light of day, will also bring order in the sector in Kenya.

He was addressing the media after holding a port stakeholders’ forum at Mombasa beach hotel in Nyali constituency, Mombasa County.

The KIFWA National Chairman said the bill will ensure the brokers pay their income revenue.

Roy, who was flanked by KIFWA Mombasa branch chairman Leonard Njiru and the association board member Clement Ngala, told the media the bill will remove brokers who don’t make their tax returns to the government.

He added that to make matters worse the middlemen pay their association members peanuts when they render services to them.

“The middlemen end up acquiring wealth from the association members but decline to pay taxes to the government,” he pointed out.

The KIFWA boss told the media that their forum is a follow up of the July port stakeholders’ meeting on 21 agenda items which was chaired by President William Ruto at the Kenya Ports Authority [KPA] premises.

Roy disclosed that Kenya has 1,200 registered clearing agents and services associated to logistics.

He pointed out that in this regard the association which is a member of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association is a non-governmental organization representing freight forwarders worldwide.