EAC to launch Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 7th August, 2020: The EAC Deputy Secretary General, in charge of Productive and Social Sector, Hon Christophe Bazivamo has disclosed that all is set for the launch of the EAC Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System (RECDTS) in collaboration with the EAC Partner States National Focal Points on Covid-19 and TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).
Addressing a weekly online EAC Ad hoc Regional Coordination Committee meeting (EARCC) on Covid-19, the Deputy Secretary General confirmed that RECDTS will be launched at five border points of Rusumo (Tanzania/Rwanda) on 12th August, 2020; Mutukula (Uganda/Tanzania) on 14th August, 2020, and; Malaba border (Kenya/Uganda) on 21st August, 2020.
The RECDTS will also be launched in Namanga on the Tanzania/Kenya border on 28th August, 2020 as well as Kabanga/Kobero border (Tanzania and Burundi) on 31st August, 2020.
He informed the EARCC meeting that in a preparation for the launching of the application, the EAC Secretariat has distributed special terminals (tablets) procured with the support from TMEA to support operationalization of the system, adding that all selected borders will be equipped with the necessary terminals to allow easy movement of the truck drivers.
The tracking system is expected to be the key to the region’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After installation, users are to share their Covid-19 test results on the platform for easy information exchange along the Central and Northern corridors. The system will subsequently pass on the results using already existing systems used by the national revenue and health authorities in the region.
Hon. Bazivamo assured stakeholders that they will get optimal use of the tracking system. “It is one thing to have the system but it is another to make good use of it. And, on behalf of the EAC Secretariat, I want to commit to ensure that we get optimal use of the system,” he said.
The RECDTS will help in sharing of EAC Covid-19 Test certificate for cross border truck drivers/crews electronically, and facilitate easy information exchange along transport corridors within the EAC and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The RECDTS is directly linked to the national Laboratory repository for all COVID-19 results for each Partner State. Only the negative results are automatically linked to the application and information is shared across all transport corridors through a secure mechanism,” said Hon. Bazivamo.
Notes to Editors
On 25th March, 2020 the EAC Ministers responsible for Health, Trade and EAC Affairs held a Joint Ministerial meeting on COVID -19 responses by Video Conference which provided policy guidance for the region on the pandemic and resolved to facilitate the free movement of goods and services in the region. By this decision, the Ministers allowed the movement of trucks and vessels across the region. The EAC Secretariat was directed to develop an electronic surveillance system to facilitate implementation of the decision.
The EAC Secretariat with the assistance of Trademark East Africa (TMEA) has finalised the development of the EAC Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System (RECDTS) as mandated by the Joint Ministerial meeting of Ministers responsible for Health, Trade and EAC Affairs in their Video Conference in March 2020.
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For more information, please contact:
Simon Peter Owaka
Senior Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 768 552087
Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001: 2015 Certified
Tags: COVID-19