President William Ruto yesterday said his government has no intention to privatise Mombasa and Lamu ports but a concession plan would  be undertaken to make the facility competitive.

Speaking at Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa during an inter-denominational prayer service, Ruto said the State is in control of the ports and no individual will be left to run the entities.

“We have agreed with Coast leaders that Mombasa and Lamu ports matter, that there is no port that will be privatised. I promised to return port operations from Nairobi and Naivasha to Mombasa and that was the first job I did,” said Ruto.

He, however, clarified that there is a need to have a port development plan that involves concessions to investors so as to make the facility more competitive.

The President was responding to Coast region leaders who complained that they were being sidelined on port affairs.

“But returning port operations alone is not enough. We need a whole port development plan, and that’s why we have announced how we will have a concession plan. We have announced how we will involve our port with special economic zones,” said Ruto.

Ruto also issued a warning to companies and individuals who he said were sneaking in their names for Dongo Kundu project compensation plan. He said the government will only compensate genuine land owners.

“I was given a list of Dongo Kundu squatters who are to be compensated and I was shocked it has people from far flung areas in Kenya. I suspected it was doctored. We have agreed that the only beneficiaries will be the people from the region,” he said.

Absentee landlords

After a meeting with Coast region governors and Members of Parliament at State House, the President said they had forged a unity of purpose to deliver development to the people of the region.

The cooperation, he said, was centered on improvement of agriculture, education and blue economy sectors and address historical land injustices.

He said Sh1 billion had been set aside to settle people on land belonging to absentee landlords.

Ruto said thousands of squatters will be resettled in Kwa Bulo land in Bombolulu.

He also promised to relocate Bombolulu squatters who will be affected by the dualling of Mombasa-Malindi road.

“We had three hours and half meeting with Coast governors. We deliberated about development of this region, and we have agreed we will meet again. And we have agreed that in one accord we promise that we will work with every leader for the benefit of the country,” said Ruto.

Blue economy

The President said there is a 350 teacher deficit at the Coast even as the region has many trained teachers who are unemployed.

He further promised to revitalise the blue economy by investing in the training of youth.

Part of the government’s plan is to build Technical and Vocational Training institutions (TVETs) and colleges that train more teachers and train on a blue economy.

“We get about Sh15 billion from the blue economy. The potential is between Sh120 and Sh150 billion every year. The reason why we are unable to attain that is lack of training,” said Ruto saying the government will build a college in Kwale for blue economy training at the cost of Sh1 billion.

The President said the meeting agreed to make the Coast a food-sufficient region by improving agriculture.

He said government sponsored irrigation schemes will be funded to ensure the Coast region becomes a net exporter of food products.

Hard decisions

Ruto declared that he will work with all leaders in the country irrespective of their political affiliation so as to achieve the government’s agenda.

“I will work with all leaders without looking at party affiliation for the benefit of the country. There is no region in the country that will be left behind because of their political affiliation,” he said.

Senate Speaker Amason Kingi defended Kenya’s taxation regime saying the government had to take hard decisions to avoid sinking into a debt hole.

He asked Kenyans to be patient as the Ruto administration realigns the economy.

“Even if they call you Zakayo, even if they continue putting sufurias on their heads, continue fixing the economy, because ultimately, at the end there will be celebration because the economy is stable,” said Kingi.

Kingi further asked the church to pray for the Kenya Kwanza administration, in the quest to deliver to Kenyans its development agenda.

Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya said the Coast region will rally behind Ruto in the next election owing to development benefits the region has reaped.