Reconsider Port Privatization, Coast leaders urged

By EUGENE OMILO

Transport minister Amos Kimunya has challenged Coastal leaders to reconsider their stand on the suspended port privatization process.

Kimunya said was it is of no benefit for local leaders to boast about ownership of an asset that is largely idle and unprofitable.

The minister was speaking at the port’s container terminal recently during the commissioning of the dredging of the Kilindini channel and the construction of berth 19.

Mr. Kimunya said the government wants to increase the port’s cargo handling capacity by 100 per cent, a feat he said would not be realized without involving the private sector.

 “We need to look at things positively, as we finish the dredging and the expansion of the container terminal, let us ponder about what we want to do with our port in future,” he advised.

The port privatization plan was put on hold last May after it elicited a politically polarized debate among stakeholders in the region.

Local Political leaders and employees’ representatives had put up a spirited campaign against the port’s privatization claiming the move would only benefit a few businessmen at the expense of locals. 

The government has since been forced to retreat politically on the privatization process though the official notice on the privatization process has not been degazetted. 

“Our intention is not to sell off the port and stash the cash in our pockets as claimed. Our aim is to improve the efficiency of the port through privatizing its operations for the benefit of trade in the country and the region at large,” said the minister.

He said the move to privatize the port was not calculated at victimizing a certain section of employees saying he was envisioning receiving proposals from the workers union wishing to offer manpower services to the port as a private entity in the event their services are privatized.

The two projects are flagship projects under the Kenya Vision 2030 which are aimed at increasing the port’s cargo and ship handling facilities to meet increasing demand.

The two year project will be undertaken by Chinese and Dutch contractors and will entail the deepening of the Kilindini channel by minus 15 metres and widening of the turning basin to 300 metres at its narrowest point.

It also includes the extension of the container terminal by 160 metres to provide a total quay length of 760 metres that can berth up to three second generation container vessels measuring 235 each at a go.

KPA MD Mr. Gichiri Ndua said the port of Mombasa, like other international players in the maritime arena, has not been spared from the pressure to expand its handling facilities to meet the demand to accommodate larger vessels. 

“Globally, we are under immense pressure to deliver quality services. To benefit from economies of scale, major shipping companies are either merging or deploying mega vessels into the market to save on cost,” said Mr. Ndua.

Mr. Ndua also paid tribute to his two predecessors at the helm of the port Mr. Jonathan Muturi who was responsible for undertaking the last expansion phase at the port in 1980 and Mr. Brown Ondego who conceptualized the idea of the current expansion. 

Transport PS Dr. Cyrus Njiru said the government was committed to realigning the transport sector even with the scarcity of financial resources as it is the key booster of the country’s economic growth.

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