Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir says there has been significant progress in implementation of President William Ruto’s order reverting port services to Mombasa.

In a statement yesterday, Nassir noted that “excess bureaucracy and red tape at Kenya Port Authority (KPA) are proving to be major set-backs.  “President Ruto issued a directive last week on reversion of port services to Mombasa. I welcomed this move and held roundtable discussions with port stakeholders.

“There has been progress but there needs to be a concerted effort by KPA to limit bureaucracy and red tape,” Nassir said. Indeed, stakeholders have been accusing KPA of dragging its feet in implementing the directive.

Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa) officials, who were among the key stakeholders at the governor’s meeting on Monday, said KPA has been adamant to implement the directive.

Kifwa Mombasa chairperson Leonard Njiru said: “KPA must vacate a public notice it published in 2018, requiring all cargo imported through the Port of Mombasa be transported exclusively through the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).”

However, KPA head of corporate affairs Bernard Osero said they were burning the midnight oil to implement the president’s directive.

“The directive yet to materialize on the ground that’s why we are making advocacy with key decision makers like the governor who we have agreed that he should write to the Ministry of transport and the Managing Director KPA to ensure that the directive becomes operational,” Njiru said in an interview with People Daily yesterday.

Mandatory transportation of certain cargo through SGR, according to Kifwa, has been instrumental in  “killing’ investments” in the Port City of Mombasa.

“Initially, KPA directed shipping lines and the public through a public notice that they will not allow nomination of cargo other than the Port of Mombasa and that essentially meant that all cargo will be railed to Nairobi. So we want KPA to retract the initial statement and indicate to all shipping lines and all importers that they are at liberty to nominate cargo to be taken to preferred destination,” said Kifwa National chair Roy Mwanthi.

However, KPA head of Corporate Affairs Bernard Osero said the state corporation is ready to implement the directive.

“There is a lot going on as far as the implementation of the directive is concerned. It’s only that it’s a process that cannot be actualized in a single day. Concerned departments are burning the midnight oil to ensure that the directive becomes operational. We are going step by step and we will soon give a comprehensive statement on the same,” Osero told People Daily.

During his swearing in address, President Ruto said he will issue a directive to revert the Port operation service “to restore thousands of lost jobs in the Port City of Mombasa.”

It remains to be seen how and when the directive will be implemented in the coming days.