A push for more scrutiny on about 600 containers entering the country daily is behind Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) new push to procure cameras for its staff at borders, exposing mistrust that has engulfed the taxman.
KRA plans to buy 350 the verification gadgets that its customs officers at border points will use to record videos and photos as they scrutinize containers suspected of concealment and misdeclaration, with the gadgets sending images to Times Tower real-time.
The ipad-like gadgets will be carried by officers located at release points in customs offices and will have an app enabling real-time communication with KRA’s central system for scanning consignments, the iScan.
The procurement is being made through a three-year contract with Chinese security inspection systems firm, Nuctec Hong Kong Company Limited, as the taxman seeks to seal loopholes that smugglers and tax evaders have exploited to dodge taxes, largely through collusion with corrupt KRA customs officers.
A KRA official has now disclosed that KRA resolved to have its staff use the verification gadgets during inspection of suspected cargo to protect the quality of information customs officers provide to the headquarters after inspection.
“One area where we may have a disconnect is getting feedback from the release points. When the person verifies, imagine if he ends up giving you the wrong information and you feed it into the system. It’s very dangerous,” said KRA’s Chief Manager, Scanner Management Unit, Albert Atambo.
The planned procurement of digital verification gadgets follows another decision in March to purchase 350 body cams, a server for the body cams, 20 external cameras and 60 data collection devices for its staff.
KRA processes about 2,900 consignments entering the country daily, out of which 20 percent have to be verified physically by customs officers at different borders when scanners that scrutinize cargo detect possible concealments and misdeclaration.
KRA contracted the Chinese firm for a three-year Sh2.38 billion contract in October 2024, with the firm also charged with enhancing KRA’s system for handling data managed from scanners (iScan).
“These gadgets will be mobile, something a person carries and it has an integration with the iScan system. It can take video and photos so that as KRA officers verify the gadgets are taking videos and photos and all these will be stored in a centralized location,” Mr Atambo said.
Other than the verification gadgets, the Chinese firm is also charged with creating a repository of images of different products KRA processes, to facilitate operations of its proposed artificial intelligence (AI) line once rolled out.
This will see the taxman acquire two petabytes (about 2 million Gigabytes) of storage space to handle data from scanners and the body cams.
Under the contract, KRA also wants the Chinese firm to procure CCTV cameras for border points that have not been equipped, and to enhance storage of CCTV cameras from the current period of three months to six months.
“We have problems with storage because CCTV videos are very heavy. At the moment we are holding the footage for a maximum of three months and then it overwrites them. But because of the nature of customs operations we need the length of time to maintain the CCTVs to solve various issues such as collusions by someone trying to smuggle something,” Mr Atambo said.
The taxman is banking on the longer storage of CCTV footage to nab more corrupt officials and smugglers.
The Chinese firm will service and enhance 13 of the 26 scanners used to scrutinise goods entering into the country. The scanners were acquired from the Chinese government and ChinaAid.
It will also train 3,000 customs officers, and deliver two training centres in Nairobi and Mombasa equipped with 30 working stations, Mr Atambo said.
In the year to June 2024, KRA collected Sh627.5 million in fines from companies and individuals caught concealing goods.
