This archive report was first published on 20 July 2021.
Published on July 20, 2021
Clearing agents and importers have expressed concerns over the leadership vacuum at Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which they say is affecting the institution's stability.
The concerns come as the government has failed to appoint a substantive managing director and three other board members, including the chairman, since March last year.
According to Roy Mwanthi, chairman of the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association, the business community prefers working with a stable institution, and some might opt to use other ports, such as the one in Dar es Salaam.
The government's realignment of key parastatals, including KPA, Kenya Pipeline Corporation, and Kenya Railway Corporation, to comply with the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) three-year $2.4 billion financing package is cited as the reason for the delay in appointing a new KPA managing director.
As part of the package, the IMF team and the Kenyan authorities reached a staff-level agreement on a 38-month programme to help the country's Covid-19 response and stabilise its debt levels.
The ongoing restructuring of Kenyan ports, which includes the merger of KPA, KRC, and KPC under the Kenya Transport and Logistics Network, is also contributing to the delay in appointing a new KPA board chairperson and managing director.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has maintained that the delay in appointing a new MD is due to the ongoing restructuring of Kenyan ports, where three main ports will be headed by each managing director to make them autonomous.
