NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 3- Transport and Roads Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen now says that his ministry is working to revert port operations to Mombasa with the support of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV, Murkomen commended KPA officials who were against the transfer of the operations from Mombasa.
“I am really lucky with this situation of the port that we have Kenyans who are patriotic. The board of management plus the management itself resisted the takeover of the city container terminal and they documented it in a lot of documents and I am very happy that they are still there and are now working with us to see how we will reverse the situation,” he stated.
The CS further pointed out that having been presented with all critical documents, he is working closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the transfer process will be smooth.
“So many people at the management of KPA did a fantastic job to resist including Kenya Railways board. So I have the benefit of having a trail of information that is well documented by patriots who are able to show us that, this is where we are, we were waiting for the government to come to the office so that we can correct this mess that is in place,” Murkomen said.
The direction to revert the operations back to Mombasa were given by President William Ruto during his inauguration saying the move will restore thousands of jobs to the people of Mombasa County.
During the campaign period, the Head of State asserted that the transfer of port operations to Naivasha was against the agreement made during the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
Ruto said the Naivasha dry port was put up to benefit a few individuals, in what dealt a blow to the Mombasa economy.
Port operations were moved to Naivasha by immediate former president Uhuru Kenyatta who handed over power to Ruto after serving for 10 years.
When Kenyatta moved the operations to Naivasha, leaders and local politicians from the coast accused the Jubilee government of neglecting the economic needs of Mombasa residents.
They said it was irresponsible for the Government to relocate the port of Mombasa to Naivasha rendering locals jobless.
In December 2019, Kenyatta flagged off a cargo train from Nairobi to Naivasha marking the start of operations at the Naivasha inland container depot.
In March 2019, the Kenya Ports Authority issued a directive that all cargo destined for Nairobi would have to be ferried on the SGR.
There were protests in Mombasa by shippers and transporters fearing loss of livelihoods. Coast politicians said that the Container freight station (CFS) economies were affected.
