WFP Logistics – we deliver

Copyright: WFP/Tom Haskell

Overview
WFP Rwanda is delivering humanitarian assistance to refugee camps, schools and hospitals located in areas very difficult to access.

Team
There are 35 members of the WFP Logistics team in Rwanda, including international and national staff.

Activities
Port Operations
Rwanda is 1,500 km from the Indian Ocean and since Rwanda has no rail network, it relies on two main export routes to the Indian Ocean: one by lake and rail to Dar es Salaam, and the other by road to Mombasa. This route through Mombasa normally carries more than 70% of Rwanda's imports and about 80% of exports. Rwanda's external trade is highly vulnerable to fluctuations in economic and political relations with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Mombasa is located on the east coast approximately midway between the South African port Durban and major ports in the Red Sea and Middle East. Since it was first developed in the time of British colonial rule back in the late 19th century, the Port of Mombasa has provided a main gateway forKenya’s international trade. 

Today, Mombasa is the premier port of East and Central Africa handling about 14 million tonnes of cargo each year including 3 mt for transit cargo. 80 percent of Kenyan trade, in volume terms, is sea-borne. 

As Kenya’s biggest and busiest seaport, Mombasa is the gateway to a vast hinterland where people depend on agriculture and economic growth for their livelihood. It essentially serves Kenya, Uganda,Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Northern Tanzania.

Storage
Availability of warehouse facilities is limited except in Kigali the capital CO is using the strategic regional warehouse at Isaka, Tanzania and call forward as required.

As a services provider to the CO Programme, Logistics operations Unit is managing  warehouse facilities in Kigali and at Huye Sub-Office (130 km from Kigali), with a total warehousing capacity of 11,480mt. A Logistics Hub was recently established in Gisenyi at the border of DRC (160 km from Kigali) as contingency facility with regard to the crisis in Eastern DR Congo.

Road Transport
The total road network estimated at 14,000 km (2007 LCA) is only 10% asphalted while most routes used to deliver WFP food aid are secondary roads, generally of poor condition. Transport services are contracted to seven commercial companies out of twelve shortlisted transport companies. CO is also running a fleet of nine owned trucks.  Apart from some transporters who own limited number of long haul trucks used for international transport, no trucking company has the capacity to provide services to the difficult distributions sites which requires low capacity 4x4 or 6x6 trucks, the most useful trucks for WFP due to particular nature of WFP operations. The dispatch is rendered to over 1,000 delivery points.

Rail
There is no rail system in Rwanda but quantities of imported material does transit Kenya and Uganda with Rift Valley Railways from Mombasa and across Tanzania from the Port of Dar-es-Salaam by rail to the Inland Dry Port of Isaka.

Aviation
There are no aviation services in Rwanda.

Other Logistic Services
WFP Logistics in Rwanda is also providing Customs Clearance facility services to CO Burundi and CO DRC for cargoes crossing Rwanda. The office is also managing Customs Clearance Offices at the border of Uganda, Gatuna and Rusumo, Tanzania border. It also organizes transport contracting for other agencies like UNHCR for non-food items to DR Congo.