Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) ingoring Ruto's port directive, South Sudan traders say

The chairman of the South Sudan community in Mombasa Emmanual Kachuol addresses journalists outside the port of Mombasa (Image: LABAN WALLOG)

The South Sudan Business Community in Mombasa has faulted Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) for failing to implement President William Ruto's port directive.

This is on reverting of port clearing services to the coastal city from the Nairobi Inland Container Depot(ICD), as directed by the President last month. 

Led by their chairperson Emmanuel Kachoul and secretary Thon Gai, the members said KPA is yet to make the necessary changes.

On September 13, after being sworn in as the fifth President of Kenya, Ruto issued an executive order directing that all clearance of cargo and attendant operations revert to the Port of Mombasa.

This was in accordance with the promise he had made to the coastal people during the campaign period.

On September 26, KPA acting managing director John Mwangemi issued a notice vacating the 2018 notice to operationalise the directive.

This meant that the president's directive could be enforced.

The directive, the South Sudanese Business Community said,  delivered the freedom the logistics industry has been yearning for, by giving importers the freedom to choose their preferred place of clearance of cargo.

It also allows importers both in Kenya and transit markets to decide the mode of transport to be used in delivering their orders.

However, they said, the directive is yet to be implemented for the cargo destined for South Sudan.

"As key Mombasa Port stakeholders, we are shocked and dismayed that the presidential directive has not been fully implemented as ordered, especially concerning cargo destined for South Sudan," they said in a statement read by Kachoul.

According to the business community, there was a stakeholder meeting on September 30 where issues around the directive were discussed, but KPA management has since denied them an audience to iron out pending concerns.

In the meeting, all the stakeholders made their presentations and called for full implementation of the presidential directive, without exemptions. 

The community said it scheduled a consultation meeting with KPA management but has been postponed several times.

"These are delaying tactics and justice delayed is justice denied," they said.

Mwangemi on Friday declined to comment on the issue when contacted by the Star.

“I will just say no comment,” he said on phone.

The South Sudanese Parliament had in July deliberated on a directive that required all cargo destined for the country be cleared in Nairobi, and by specific firms.

The lawmakers reached a verdict that moving volumes by the Standard Gauge Railwa(SGR), before being hauled by trucks to South Sudan was more expensive, resulting in rising commodity prices in the country. 

On June 15, Koul Athian Mawien, Minister of Trade and Industry in South Sudan, through the Embassy of South Sudan wrote to the Kenyan Foreign Affairs ministry, reversing the directive.

In the letter copied to Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia,  the South Sudan government requested that goods destined for the country instead be collected from the Port of Mombasa ,pending further consultations.

"The government of South Sudan is in the process of acquiring the land title deed of the Naivasha land designated for South Inland Container Depot therefore, our goods will remain in Mombasa until the Naivasha project is developed for storage of all South Sudan cargo," the letter read in part.

The members further said KPA continues with the forceful evacuation of South Sudan cargo (to Nairobi)  against the will of the South Sudan government and the business community.

South Sudan is second after Uganda on the use of the Port of  Mombasa , accounting for 9.9 per cent of total transit volumes. 

Uganda accounts for the lion share of 83.2 per cent while DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda account for 7.2 per cent, 3.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

meanwhile, the business community has raised concerns over the loss of cargo at ICDs.

They said they are having cases of short-landed bulk cargo at Nairobi Freight Terminal and no one takes responsibility or issues a short landing certificate. 

"You cannot tell whether the cargo is lost at the port, with SGR or at NFT. Importers end up charging clearing agents for the lost cargo they don't know where it was lost," they said.

They have also poked holes in the recent deal that allowed only six clearing agents to handle South Sudan volumes, yet there are more than 15 Container Freight Stations and more than 1, 000 clearing agents operating in Kenya who can handle their goods.

This, they said, has created a cartel of unscrupulous entities to disenfranchise Kenyan SMEs from business, leading to job losses and livelihoods.

They have since asked President Ruto to intervene and end " illegal operations" at the port.

The community demanded that KPA implements President Ruto's directive on the operations of the port without exemption.

Further, they urged the port management to stop issuing any more pick-up orders for all South Sudan cargo and forcefully rail them via SGR to Nairobi.

They also want KPA directed to allocate cargo equally to all licensed CFSs without bias whether local or transit, containerised or bulk cargo.

Also on their list was the demand that shipping lines and any other stakeholder, be restrained from introducing new charges for cargo nominations by importers as directed by the President.

They also asked Ruto to form a task force to investigate and make recommendations on how to best manage and make the Port of Mombasa more affordable, efficient and competitive.

"As it is now, the port is being held hostage by those currently defying the Presidential orders and their surrogates," they said in their statement.

Failure to do this, they said, the port of Mombasa risks losing business to neighbouring ports, mainly Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Djibouti.