Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA)
support is needed in this area as delivery on
the federation’s mandate largely depends on
availability of resources including sustaining the
secretariats operations.
5. OPERATIONS AND ADVOCACY
4.0 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (KM)
4.1 EACFFPC brochures and supplement
The Federation with support from TMEA
published a supplement on the EACFFPC program
in the East African newspaper. The supplement
reflected key achievements attained through the
program across the region. This was part of the
communication and publicity activities started in
2013. In preparation for the launch of the sector
as a profession, 1000 copies of the EACFFPC
brochure were also printed.
4.3 Video documentary for the EACFFPC
Developing the EACFFPC video documentary
started with filming of different key stakeholders
on the contribution of the EACFFPC program
towards improving knowledge and skills’ levels
among Customs clearing and freight forwarding
agents in the region. By end of 2014, the
consultants had finished filming in Rwanda,
Burundi and part of Kenya. The stakeholders
included among others industry leaders, past
students, customs, shippers, other regulatory
agencies and TMEA. The last phase of filming will
be completed early 2015 and the documentary
published soon after. The documentary is being
done by Kwetu Film Institute based in Kigali
Rwanda.
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4.4 Printing the EACFFPC training materials
Work on the printing of the EACFFPC training
materials continued through 2014. Major tasks
included copyrighting the materials and doing
editing. Major adjustments were made on
the customs book. These delays pushed back
printing. The materials are expected to be ready
for distribution early 2015.
5.1 The EAC Single Customs Territory (SCT)
FEAFFA continued to work closely with the EAC
secretariat in ensuring successful implementation
of the EAC single customs territory. This was
through organizing forums to update the
industry on the progress being made as well as
monitoring and addressing relevant concerns
with respective authorities. Two particular
forums were organized; one in Kampala for the
whole region and another in Dar es Salaam for
Tanzanian operators. The Dar workshop brought
together about 60 members of TAFFA and other
stakeholders including customs authorities from
Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The workshop
was graced by Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for
Labour and Employment, FEAFFA President, EAC
Director of Customs, the Deputy Commissioner
of Customs and Excise from TRA. The secretariat
also shared key information on the SCT through
its various communication channels.
FEAFFA will continue representing the industry’s
concerns to ensure success of the SCT in the
coming year.
5.2 Advocate for rationalization of container
deposits
The Federation embarked on an initiative to
address the high cost of securing release of
containers by shipping lines to Customs clearing
and freight forwarders in form of container
deposits. Originally raised by ADR, FEAFFA
worked with other stakeholders in finding
alternative ways to address the concerns of
shipping lines without hurting clearing and freight
forwarding agents and their customers. Towards
this end, some meetings were held to consult
with various stakeholders including shipping
lines. The intervention is focused on setting up
a revolving container deposit fund and insurance
guarantees. FEAFFA is also pushing to have the
securities based on risk rating/prevalence.
ANNUAL REPORT 2014