50327 - 19042010
Kenya Government has challenged the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to improve efficiency at the Mombasa port.
PM Eng. Raila Odinga took KPA to task over its failure to deliver goods to the importers on time. At the same time criticised the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over its failure to meet set standards of revenue collection. He said the slow pace at which the goods were being delivered to importers was worrying.
PM said he met Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwanda counterpart Paul Kagame recently and they complained of cargo delays at Mombasa port.
The PM said in other ports like Singapore clearance of goods takes five hours while in Mombasa it takes 14 days. He made the remarks in Mombasa during the silver jubilee celebration of Grain Bulk Handlers owned by Mohammad Jaffar.
The PM attributed corruption and inefficiency at the port as some of the reasons why the there was slow movement of the goods from the facility. He said Mombasa port’s inefficiencies are affecting the growth of the local economy and the region. He also said some KRA officials were harassing port users for bribes to release goods from the port. The officials attitude, he said was robbing the country revenue, besides making the taxman unable to meet its collection target.
Meanwhile, Dock Workers Union (DWU) has raised an alarm over an acute shortage of equipment and workers to move cargo to container terminals at the port of Mombasa. According to the union’s General Secretary Simon Sang claimed on Saturday KPA was operating at slightly above 50 per cent of the required terminal tractors and drivers despite an upsurge of containers.
Maersk Line, a shipping line had been forced to supply its own trucks to move containers to the storage area. He said such a trend could justify the privatisation of Mombasa port.
The union, which represents more than 5,000 workers at the port, has sought the PM Raila Odinga’s intervention to improve efficiency.
Kenya Government has challenged the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to improve efficiency at the Mombasa port.
PM Eng. Raila Odinga took KPA to task over its failure to deliver goods to the importers on time. At the same time criticised the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over its failure to meet set standards of revenue collection. He said the slow pace at which the goods were being delivered to importers was worrying.
PM said he met Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwanda counterpart Paul Kagame recently and they complained of cargo delays at Mombasa port.
The PM said in other ports like Singapore clearance of goods takes five hours while in Mombasa it takes 14 days. He made the remarks in Mombasa during the silver jubilee celebration of Grain Bulk Handlers owned by Mohammad Jaffar.
The PM attributed corruption and inefficiency at the port as some of the reasons why the there was slow movement of the goods from the facility. He said Mombasa port’s inefficiencies are affecting the growth of the local economy and the region. He also said some KRA officials were harassing port users for bribes to release goods from the port. The officials attitude, he said was robbing the country revenue, besides making the taxman unable to meet its collection target.
Meanwhile, Dock Workers Union (DWU) has raised an alarm over an acute shortage of equipment and workers to move cargo to container terminals at the port of Mombasa. According to the union’s General Secretary Simon Sang claimed on Saturday KPA was operating at slightly above 50 per cent of the required terminal tractors and drivers despite an upsurge of containers.
Maersk Line, a shipping line had been forced to supply its own trucks to move containers to the storage area. He said such a trend could justify the privatisation of Mombasa port.
The union, which represents more than 5,000 workers at the port, has sought the PM Raila Odinga’s intervention to improve efficiency.
