Private Sector to have more voice in the Northern Corridor Policy Organs
Article 8 (d) of the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Agreement provides for a Public Private Partnership Committee (PPPC) composed of public and private sector stakeholders dealing with matters of trade and transport along the Northern Corridor. The PPPC was started by the Commissioner General Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) as the Northern Corridor Stakeholders Consultative Forum to resolve the challenges being faced by Stakeholders at the Port of Mombasa and along the Kenya Northern Corridor transit section. The Commissioner General KRA since then bore the responsibility of chairing Forum.
According to the Ag. Executive Secretary of the NCTTCA, Mr. Fred TUMWEBAZE, the functions of the Public Private Partnership Committee include identifying challenges being faced by stakeholders in their areas of operations along the Northern Corridor and proposing solutions to these challenges. The NCTTCA Secretariat on its part consolidates the views of the PPPC for onward submission to the NCTTCA Executive Committee for review and consideration by the Council of Ministers.
“They shall also facilitate implementation of decisions of the Organs of the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority”, said the NCTTCA Ag. Executive Secretary.
More than 50 delegates from Member States of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda attended the first meeting of the Northern Corridor Public and Private Stakeholders Committee on 8th March 2017 at Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya, with the aim to inaugurate the re-invigorated Committee and bring economic operators to update one another on the status of collaboration between the private and public sectors.
The meeting also aimed at presenting to the stakeholders the Guidelines adopted by the Policy Organs for the operationalization of the Northern Corridor Public and Private Partnership Committee and electing its Bureau.
The Guest of Honor at the event; the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing & Urban Development; Mr. Nyakera Irungu reminded participants that the current Northern Corridor Agreement institutionalized the Public Private Partnership Committee as one of the Policy Organs of the Authority in order to strengthen private sector participation in the Authority’s decision making.
“The Policy Organs have also resolved to have members of the Private sector represented on the Executive Board”, added Mr. Nyakera.
The Principal Secretary challenged the private sector to seize this opportunity to advance their grievances and make a contributions towards solving the challenges they face.
The outgoing Chairman of the Northern Corridor Stakeholders Consultative Forum and Commissioner of Customs and Border Control Kenya Revenue Authority; Mr Julius Musyoki, thanked the Policy Organs and Member States to have resolved the issue of private sector participation in the decision making process.
“This is expected to increase the voice of the private sector in the transport corridor development and working with public sector on issues affecting doing business in the region,” added Mr. Musyoki.
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The first meeting of the Northern Corridor Public and Private Stakeholders Committee ended with the election of the Democratic Republic of Congo as Chairman of the Committee, South Sudan as the Vice-Chair and the NCTTCA Permanent Secretariat as the Secretary of the Committee.