Source: Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
The government of Djibouti has given a deadline of January 15, 2014, for challenging the manner in which cargo is released from its ports. The new rules will state that no cargo inbound to Ethiopia will be released until the clearing agent in Djibouti produces a note from banks stating that foreign exchange to pay for transport, transit and forwarding services has actually been transferred.
A circular instructing offices in Djibouti to this effect has been distributed by the government, according to diplomatic sources in Djibouti.
The decision will alter the status quo, whereby a clearing agent in Djibouti pays for the services from their own account and bills its Ethiopian counterparts later on. Indeed, there is a port utilisation bilateral agreement that the two countries signed in April 2002, which allows Ethiopian forwarding companies to transfer funds two weeks after the cargo of their clients has been released from the port.
However, Djiboutian transit and forwarding companies have been complaining about delayed payments from their Ethiopian counterparts, while the latter blame the Central Bank for its failure to provide them with foreign currency on time. Read more …