This archive report was first published on 3 December 2019.
Published on December 3, 2019, a directive by the Transport Ministry to transport all imported cargo via the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has sparked protests and a lawsuit by transporters.
According to the Kenya Transporters Association, the directive has been rescinded, but some State agencies are still implementing it. The association has filed a suit against the ministry, Kenya Railways Corporation, the Kenya Ports Authority, the Kenya Revenue Authority, and the Competition Authority to guard against such underhand moves.
Transporters and Container Freight Stations were hard hit by the directive, with some having to close shop. Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir said, “On paper, the policy was rescinded, but on the ground, it is being implemented.”
State agencies, however, insist that they have given the businesses that rely on importation of goods to the country a level field to compete with the railway by withdrawing the directive on SGR use by importers. Kenya Railways acting Managing Director Phillip Mainga blamed unnamed individuals and firms with an interest in the port business for instigating the protests.
A recent report by the University of Nairobi’s Business School said Mombasa’s economy could be starved of as much as Sh33 billion or 16 per cent of the economy should the government continue implementing the directive to have all cargo transported via the railway.
Coast Regional Commissioner John Elung’ata has in the past claimed protests were organised by transporters themselves so as to portray the government as insensitive even after it withdrew the directive.
