Kenya, hosting the WCO ESA ROCB, joined the world in celebrating the 2017 International Customs Day, on 26th January, 2017. The year is dedicated to promoting data analysis under the slogan “Data Analysis for Effective Border Management.” Celebrations in Kenya were led by Mr. Zachary Mwangi, the Director General of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. As the Chief Guest, Mr. Mwangi thanked the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for recognizing the importance of data management for economic prosperity and their collaboration in managing the data quality, gaps, sources and strengthening capacity to generate data. He gave an assurance that Kenya would continually improve on its use of the internationally agreed manual in the generation of statistics, and congratulated KRA for mainstreaming the management of statistics. He urged the equipping of data collection officials with internationally recognized standards to ensure high quality data for onward processing, and envisioned successes in cross border management.
The KRA Commissioner General, Mr. John Njiraini, shared examples of the huge volumes of data the Authority deals with. He underscored the need to focus on trade facilitation in as much as revenue collection remains critical, while efficiently utilizing the available data. He shared on the Authority’s focus on developing skills and providing tools for effective data and risk management. Other measures implemented for data management included technology interventions, development of a data warehouse system, and a data management infrastructure.
The Commissioner of Customs & Border Protection, Mr. Julius Musyoki underscored the importance of data analysis for effective border management. He shared the strides by the Authority’s Data Analysis unit, including the setting up of a data warehouse, particularly meant to buttress data management.
The ROCB Director, Mr. Larry Liza, pointed out the importance of statistics management as one of the key roles of Customs. He called on Kenya to leverage on its huge databases for effective border management, taking into account Kenya’s strategic positioning, higher numbers of air passenger travel, and the in and outflow of goods at the port of Mombasa.
Mr. Zachary Mwangi (Director General of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics)
From Left: Mr. John Njiraini (Commissioner General KRA), Mr. Zachary Mwangi (Director General of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics), Mr. Julius Musyoki (Commissioner of Customs and Border Control Department, KRA) and Ms. W. G. N’gan’ga (Commissioner Legal Services, KRA).