Clearing firms hope to process more cargo, grow businesses

A number of clearing and forwarding firms and customs agents have closed or scaled down their businesses due to the high cost of operations and strict compliance issues. However, a new deal with a Swiss firm, Viaservice, a subsidiary of Viatrans, is seen as a positive development. This deal aims to address the burden of container deposit guarantees, which has been a major hurdle for small businesses.

The Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Associated (Kifwa) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Viaservice, which will take responsibility for the container deposits. This is expected to help struggling freight forwarders grow and also address congestion at the port of Mombasa, as firms will no longer need to spend days raising these deposits.

The pact was welcomed by Kifwa's more than 1,000 corporate members, who noted that small and medium-sized businesses can take up to four days to organize container cash deposits. Viaservice will now handle the container deposit, demurrage, and damage, allowing clearing agents and cargo owners to use the freed-up money for port charges and other business costs. The deposit for a 20-foot container for the domestic market is $500, and $1,000 for a 40-foot container. For transit containers, the charges are between $1,000 and $5,000. Last year, the Mombasa port handled about two million containers.

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According to Kifwa National Chairman Fredrick Aloo, this logistics solution will address port congestion and reduce delays. He described the MoU as a "game changer" that will free up capital for small and medium enterprises, increase their volume of business, and ensure faster movement of cargo through the ports of Mombasa and Lamu. Kifwa National Secretary Musa Mbira added that this will allow clearing agents to clear more containers as the burden of raising deposits is taken off their shoulders.

Viaservice Regional Managing Director John Mathenge stated that the partnership comes at a time when Kenya is positioning itself as a regional logistics hub. He noted that the Viaservice Container Solution (VCS) offers a sustainable approach to the container deposits challenge. Viaservice launched its service in Tanzania in 2018 and has now expanded to Kenya, where it landed in June of the previous year. It has already signed pacts with the Kenya Ships Agents Association (KSAA), Shippers Council of East Africa (SCEA), and Kifwa. After its success in Tanzania and Kenya, Viaservice plans to expand to other African countries, including South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Morocco, and parts of West Africa.