Port rolls out 24-hour duty roster

Mr. Mwaruwa

Mombasa Port has started clearing transit cargo around the clock to decongest the facility, managing director Abdalla Mwaruwa has said.
The 24-hour rule also allows cargo to be transported to the KPA’s inland container depots in Nairobi, Kisumu and Eldoret for collection.

Mr Mwaruwa said all cases of cargo delayed due to post-election violence had been considered for a waiver of storage charges. All other pending cases, he added, would be reviewed on a case by case basis.
He assured Ugandan importers that all efforts were being made to ensure that their cargo moved smoothly.
Meanwhile, Transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere has rejected a Sh1,700 fee levied by the Mombasa municipal council on every container at Mariakani. He said the levy must be scrapped as it had no legal basis.

The minister, who was leading a Kenyan delegation to the Kenya/Uganda bilateral consultations on trade and transport in Kampala, said operations had returned to normal at the port and all cargo was being cleared on a 24-hour basis.

“It’s sad that post-election violence in Kenya disrupted business transactions with Uganda, which is also Kenya’s top trading partner, ” the minister said.
He described the experience as a wake-up call for Kenyans. He said it had taught them to be aware of the consequences of strife on the economies of not only Kenya, but also of all landlocked countries.

Uganda’s acting Transport minister John Byabagambi praised the power-sharing deal in Kenya and said it was an assurance that normal business could continue.
“Kenya is an important country in terms of the performance of other regional economies. Its descent into chaos was a big worry to neighbouring countries,” he said.

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Story by ABDULSAMAD ALI

Publication Date: 3/14/2008