The EAC Regional Electronic Cargo and Drivers Tracking System was to be officially launched on August 12, 2020 but it came to a standstill with Tanzania's request that the process first be enlightened by various EAC bodies, including the Council of Ministers, to get it approved.
After a long wait, the EAC via Twitter said that the technology will be officially launched on September 8, 2020.
The East Africa Community Secretariat and its Partner States will hold a virtual event to officially mark the roll out of RECDTS that will issue jointly recognized EAC COVID-19 digital certificates. Event starts at 12.00PM.
The EAC developed the app with funding from European Union, Global Affairs Canada, Danida, Finland, Netherlands and United Kingdom through TradeMark East Africa and in accordance with the mandate given by the 1st joint ministerial meeting of EAC ministers responsible for Health and EAC Affairs.
The App provides a surveillance system to monitor long distance truckers crew health and enable contact tracing. It allows partner states to electronically share truck drivers' COVID-19 test results; therefore, minimizing need for multiple COVID-19 tests in a single trip.
The reliance on manual certificates and delayed test results at the borders has been reported as one of the main reasons for costly long delays at border points.
It is expected that RECDTS will contribute to protecting lives, support health related protocols and facilitate safe trade. RECDTS will be in use in all partner states and will eventually be extended to EAC neighboring countries, particularly Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
RECDTS will be overseen by the EAC Secretariat, which is supported by four other countries, namely Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and the Nimule border in South Sudan.
Nicole Kamanzi M.
