KRA intercepts 5 lorries exporting scrap metal to Tanzania
A scrap metal dealer. The export of scrap metal is prohibited in Kenya.
What you need to know:
- Although the export of scrap metal is prohibited in the country, some traders have been taking advantage of the porous borders Kenya has with its East African counterparts, especially Uganda and Tanzania, to smuggle the commodity.
- There have been accusations and counter accusations between the police and the Scrap Metal Council on who is responsible for the increase in the export of the commodity to Uganda and Tanzania.
The Kenya Revenue Authority has in the last one week intercepted five lorries exporting scrap batteries to neighbouring Tanzania through the Taveta border, with players in that industry calling for tougher penalties.
KRA officer in charge of the station, Peter Kiilu, said that his officers have intensified surveillance along the Kenya-Tanzania border but called for concerted efforts by security personnel to fight the vice.
Mr Kiilu urged other agencies, including the county government, to help the KRA in the fight against illegal smuggling of scrap metals.
“It has become a very serious problem here. unscrupulous traders operate with impunity and export the prohibited materials like there is no law in Kenya,” he said.
Although the export of scrap metal is prohibited in the country, some traders have been taking advantage of the porous borders Kenya has with its East African counterparts, especially Uganda and Tanzania, to smuggle the commodity.
There have been accusations and counter accusations between the police and the Scrap Metal Council on who is responsible for the increase in the export of the commodity to Uganda and Tanzania.
Law enforcement authorities have accused the council of failing to effect the requirement for the licences of those found exporting scrap metal to be cancelled. They have also accused the police of lethargy in arresting those found transporting the commodity.
Battery Manufacturers Association spokesman, Peter Wafula, has called on Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria to disband the council, saying it has failed in its core mandate.
“The council is toothless in curbing the illegal trade. It is high time the CS stamped authority and disbanded the council,” Mr Wafula said.
He also urged Kenyan authorities to cooperate with their Tanzanian counterparts to curb the illegal trade of scrap batteries so that local businesses can thrive. Thousands in the scrap metal industry will be rendered jobless if the vice continues unabated, he warned.
“People are smuggling scrap metals as if there is no law. The council should move in and cancel the licences of those involved. It should have, by now, cancelled the licences of all the traders whose trucks were intercepted - who were charged in court."
The director-general of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), Mamo Mamo, said they are collaborating with security agencies to end the vice.
“This approach has really worked and has truly borne fruit, with the arrest of offenders dealing with hazardous waste along our porous borders,” Mr Mamo said.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2022 imposed a ban on the scrap metal business following a surge in vandalism of critical national assets including power transformers.
In May last year, the government issued strict regulations that require licensed scrap metal dealers to transport their cargo between 6.30am and 6.30pm.
Under the Scrap Metal Act, those found exporting the commodity pay a fine of Sh10 million fine or spend three years in jail.
