New reforms set to restore efficiency on the Northern corridor
Africa
By
Noel Nabiswa
| Apr 22, 2026
Kenya, through the State Department for East African Community (EAC) Affairs, has outlined new reforms aimed at revitalising the Northern Corridor.
Speaking during a high-level consultative meeting that brought together stakeholders from the Kenya Revenue Authority, National Police Service, and Kenya Ports Authority, Principal Secretary for the State Department for EAC Affairs, Caroline W. Karugu, warned that Kenya is rapidly losing its competitive advantage in the region. She said the country cannot afford to watch as inefficiencies drive trade to competing routes such as Dar es Salaam.
These findings follow a December 2025 monitoring exercise that identified critical systemic bottlenecks undermining Kenya’s position as the premier gateway to East Africa.
In response, the department has unveiled a bold strategic roadmap aimed at eliminating persistent non-tariff barriers that have turned the Northern Corridor into a bottleneck for regional commerce.
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The proposed reforms include reducing roadblocks from the current 22–27 stops to the five gazetted points, cutting RECTS response time to less than one hour from the current 4–6 hours, and reducing transit time to 36–48 hours from the current 76–80 hours.
The urgency of these reforms is underscored by the corridor’s role as an economic lifeline. It currently handles over 35.84 million metric tonnes of cargo annually and facilitates more than 80 per cent of Kenya’s transit trade.
“The Northern Corridor remains the vital lifeline of regional trade, handling over 35.84 million metric tonnes of cargo annually and accounting for more than 80 per cent of Kenya’s transit trade. However, inefficiencies are driving cargo diversion to competing routes like Dar es Salaam, with Kenya losing 5 to 8 per cent of high-value transit cargo year-on-year. Malaba OSBP processes approximately 2,000 trucks daily, while Busia OSBP handles about 1,500 trucks daily,” said Karugu.
Despite its importance, the December 2025 monitoring exercise revealed a troubling decline in reliability, with Kenya losing between 5 and 8 per cent of high-value transit cargo annually.
Karugu noted that the delays are not merely logistical challenges but a direct drain on national revenue and a driver of higher costs for essential goods across the region.
Among the most significant hurdles identified is the proliferation of police roadblocks, currently numbering between 22 and 27 along the corridor, far above the regional target of fewer than five.
This over-enforcement, coupled with frequent ICT system failures and security response delays, has nearly doubled transit time between Mombasa and Malaba from a target of 48 hours to an average of 80 hours.
According to the State Department, the economic gains from successfully implementing these reforms could reach up to $54 million.
Transporters could save up to $360 per trip if transit delays are halved.
To ensure implementation, the State Department has established a strict action matrix with clear deliverables and timelines, pledging that the initiative will not become another “talk shop.”