By Abdullahi Jamaa
The import industry in Kenya is in a deep crisis orchestrated by agencies that are relentlessly disregarding internationally accepted regulations on shipping and freight forwarding.
This week just as it did the beginning of the year, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) issued a public notice that importers will no longer be allowed to nominate their cargoes for delivery at Container Freight Stations of their choice.
This latest controversial notice comes hot in the heels of the government’s hidebound directives to rail containers to Nairobi’s Inland Container Depot (ICD) against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of stakeholders.
KRA has issued yet another notice warning importers of using Mombasa addresses. Containers are internationally nominated Through Bill of Lading (TBL) which among other details dictates the final destination of consignments. The owner of the goods in this case, the importer, has the authority to nominate where his/her goods should be delivered.
The cargo belongs to the owner, the buyer, the Kenyan importer who is groaning under the weight of protracted business inefficiency- a catalogue of roadside or inefficient boardroom decisions affecting business empires built over decades. Already every import business in Kenya is up against a brick wall, many counting loses while others shut for good.
The directive to forcefully nominate cargos to CFS or carry consignments to Nairobi via the railway for a reason that the address is in Nairobi is a clear violation of international shipping regulations and much more an infringement of the right of the owner of the goods.
Over the last few years, the import sector in Kenya has suffered relentlessly from a series of uncontrollable red tapes that routinely emanated from Nairobi. There seems to be a brazen confusion regarding the management of this important sector, many times affecting the operations of the port of Mombasa chocking logistics and resulting in an eternal blame game.
The Kenyan government is casually handling an important sector so casually that it seemingly doesn’t have an engraved blueprint policy or a vision to manage the sector. This partly explains why every week there is a notice of new rules even before the old ones take shape and form confusing importers. This year alone, KPA suffered from an impromptu ministerial reshuffle; the latest is the sacking of the port’s managing director following a huge backlog of containers at the port.
But there is more to that. There is a contestation on the effectiveness of SGR in efficiently handling transfer of containers from the port to Nairobi in the current setup. Importers whose consignment have been delivered in Nairobi are counting loses through delays.
While some Mombasa importers are stuck because their containers were delivered at ICD against their wishes, some companies that are operating in Mombasa have woken up to the reality of paying more than they used to pay ordinarily. They are forced to pay transport fees of about 800 USD to bring back an empty container to Mombasa.
The Kenya port authority, Kenya Maritime Authority, Kenya Railway cooperation and Kenya Revenue are intent on functionalizing the SGR in a melodramatic approach seen by stakeholder as cruel to the business environment. Markets forces are countered through non-productive military-style economic measures.
Unfortunately, the importers who are facing this crisis are the same ones who financed a great deal of the SGR project through payment of Railway Development levies that are 1.5 percent of customs value. From 2014 until today Kenyan importers are still paying these levies.
Already Mombasa is groaning under the weight of an economic inactivity as its port-the largest in East and Central Africa-is transforming into an empty docking bay for commercial vessels. Its residents especially business populations are seething with anger and frustration.
The port city’s economic landscape may no longer be the same. Container Freight Stations, transport companies and fuel dealers are some of the sectors that will have to brave for tough times in the next few months. Thousands of Mombasa residents will be rendered jobless occasioning a livelihood crisis as the port city their economic lifeblood becomes a town with stubbornly high unemployment rates.
Every business in Mombasa is on the verge of collapsing, stagflation hitting it hard and for the last few years increasing bureaucratic measures in the import industry have forced many entrepreneurs to close shop and move elsewhere.
Mombasa governor is seemingly tired of talking about the port any longer these days, with no one to support him. For so long he was the only one concerned, protesting against the transformation of Mombasa port into a shell. Mombasa residents are seemingly unaware of the economic hard time that looms large in their eyes.
Editor’s note: The opinion expressed here are of the author’s and doesn’t represent veiws of The Plu Media.
