The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) in collaboration with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and with assistance from the ECA AGCI Hub successfully launched the use of RADDEx to electronically exchange customs information among revenue authorities.

The launch, held on 26th October at the Serena Hotel in Kampala, was attended by the URA commissioner General, URA Commissioner of Customs and other URA officials, Rwanda Revenue Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority, Tanzania Revenue Authority, USAID East Africa, ECA AGCI Hub, the East Africa Community, the Uganda Manufacturers Association, and the Uganda Private Sector Foundation.

The launch involved an animation of the intricate workings of RADDEx and a live simulation of customs data exchange on consignments originating from Mombasa and destined for Kampala. This demonstration involved representatives from the KRA and the URA.

In his opening speech, the URA Commissioner of Customs Mr. Peter Malinga especially thanked the ECA AGCI Hub for continued support of revenue authorities in the region over the years. Other speakers including Mrs. Allen Kagina, the URA Commissioner General, echoed these sentiments and looked forward to further cooperation among countries in order to achieve sustainable development. Mrs. Kagina also called on customs authorities to utilize RADDEx in order for the business community to realize immediate benefits.

The ECA AGCI Hub's Chief of Party Dr. Ron Black commended Uganda and Kenya for their cooperation through KRA and URA, without which RADDEx would not have succeeded. He also encouraged the Rwanda and Tanzania revenue authorities to work with their counterparts from Uganda and Kenya in order to realize the same success.

The RADDEx solution will enable customs data to be communicated instantly from the point of transit origin, through all points of transit, to the point of destination. This advance notification will allow for streamlined processing of goods, increased transparency, increased accuracy in goods verification and risk assessment and will enhance overall efficiency including the avoidance of duplicate data capture at border posts.

This data exchange will also reduce customs clearance time which will be beneficial to not only Kenya and Uganda but the entire Eastern Africa region with benefits accrued by the private sector and revenue authorities alike.

. Black has, for the last 15 years, served as chief of party for a number of USAID projects primarily focused on private business sector development including improving enabling environments, strengthening business associations and association movements, increasing company and sector competitiveness as well as exports and conducting trade negotiations.

A major portion of this private sector development was devoted to strengthening agriculture and agro-based businesses. Most of this work required intense interaction with a broad range of government agencies and donor organizations.

Dr. Black has worked in East Timor, Zambia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines, Jordan and Yemen and brings to the Hub, a wealth of experience spanning over forty years. From 2000 to 2005, Dr. Black worked as Chief of Party for the Zambia Trade and Investment Enhancement Project (ZAMTIE) in Lusaka.

The ECA AGCI Hub, with the cooperation of our partners COMESA, the East Africa Community, the Transit Transport Coordination Authority, Government Ministries and Revenue Authorities, will carry on its activities under the leadership of Dr. Black.