The cancellation of multibillion-shilling tenders at the Kenya Ports Authority has rattled some staff and businessmen who have now pointed their guns on the authority’s Managing Director Daniel Manduku.
The cartel which includes KPA Staff and influential businessmen tried to sway seven multibillion tenders, raising concerns which culminated in the cancellation.
The tenders include a Sh7 billion headquarters construction, Sh3 billion terminal operating system, Sh3 billion purchase of land at the Nairobi Inland Container Depot and a Sh2 billion dredging tender.
Other cancelled deals are a Sh2 billion port equipment tender, supply of a tug boat at Sh1.7 billion and a Sh800 million pilot boat.
“The seven were cancelled after tenderpreneurs and some staff tried to collude to influence the outcome,” a top manager within the authority told the Star yesterday.
Following the cancellation, some of those affected have launched attacks on Managing Director Daniel Manduku whom they accuse of all manner of things.
"Most of the thing you are reading about KPA are from people who are unhappy with the changes that have been introduced. Others are unhappy that their contracts have been cancelled," said a board member.
SPECULATIONS
Yesterday, the KPA corporate affairs department urged the public to stop speculations and allow relevant scrutiny to take place.
“Our attention has been drawn to adverse media reports by a section of the press relating to ongoing investigations at Kenya Ports Authority. The ongoing investigation by relevant arms of the government is an important exercise that is poised to review our adherence to laid down processes,” KPA said in a statement.
“To ensure that we continue upholding fairness, honesty and transparency, we have accorded the investigators the requisite cooperation to probe,” the authority said, even as it decried calculated efforts towards a pre-determined cause by invoking speculations “in the court of public opinion”.
“We are aware of vast interest created by the type of projects we undertake. The process and outcomes of the procurement process have in the past elicited varied reactions. In the recent past we have cancelled up to eight high profile tenders,” the management said.
According to KPA, competing interests around procurement have in the past not been in agreement with its decisions.
The authority has in the past been rocked by protests by local and multi-national firms who have failed to secure lucrative tenders at the port, including the operationalization of the second container terminal.
Speaking in Nairobi yesterday, Manduku said the authority remains focused on improving port efficiency while developing other facilities such as the Lamu port and Shimoni.
The developments are covered under the comprehensive ports master plan which covers 2018 to 2047.
The port of Mombasa has been experiencing steady growth in container traffic and cargo for the last 10 years. It is estimated the port will handle 47 million tonnes in the next ten years, from the current 30 million and eventually 111 million by 2047.
“This, therefore, underscores capacity expansion as one of the most crucial variables in port efficiency and cargo movement,” Manduku told stakeholders at a luncheon in Nairobi.
Construction of the second phase of the Second Container Terminal is underway. Upon its completion in the next three years, it will give an additional capacity of 450,000 TEUs per year. This will bring the total port capacity to over 2 million TEUs by 2022.
REHABILITATION OF KISUMU
The ongoing rehabilitation of Kisumu Port is expected to open up the western Kenya market and further boost regional trade.
“Preparations are also underway to construct Shimoni Port as a fishing port, a move that will boost the sustainable exploitation of the blue economy,” Manduku said.
Increased capacity at the Mombasa port has seen year-on-year growth in throughput, which grew to 30.92 million tonnes in 2018 from 30.34 million in 2017.
The increased cargo volume was mainly driven by containerized cargo which posted a notable increase of 10.0 per cent, accounting for 41.0 per cent of the total throughput in 2018.
The performance saw a significant contribution by the number of containers handled rising from 1.19 million TEUs in 2017 to 1.30 million TEU’s in 2018, representing an annual growth of 9.6 per cent.
In the transit market, a notable growth of 11.2 per cent from 8.64 million tonnes in 2017 to 9.60 million tonnes in 2018 was realised.
Uganda cargo continued to dominate the transit market at 82 per cent of the total transit throughput.
The landlocked country remains the predominant transit destination through the port of Mombasa with a total transit traffic of 7.89 million tonnes in 2018 up from 7.11 million tonnes in 2017. This was an increment of 776,148 tonnes in two years.
South Sudan has emerged as a new key transit destination, taking second place after Uganda, with a total traffic of 734 000 tonnes in 2018 up from 674,000 tonnes in 2017.
This accounts for 7.6 per cent of the transit traffic in 2018.
DRC takes the third position with a total of 471,000 tonnes up from 360,000 tonnes in 2017. This represents 4.9 per cent share of the total transit traffic in 2018.
Tanzania recorded a total of 248, 000 tonnes in 2018 down from 272, 000 in 2017 even as it accounted for 2.6 per cent of the total transit market share.
Rwanda recorded a total of 231,000 tonnes in 2018 up from 180,000 tonnes in 2017. This represents a 2.4 per cent share of total transit traffic in 2018, while Burundi posted a total of 22,000 tonnes.
Transport CS James Macharia has affirmed the government’s commitment in infrastructure development while improving cargo delivery to Nairobi through the SGR and clearance at the Inland Container Depot in Nairobi.
“We have solved most of the teething problems experienced during the commencement of operations of the SGR, and the expansion of ICDN. As a result of these and other initiatives, the average train turnaround time has reduced from 10 hours to 7.5 hours, whilst the truck turnaround time has declined from 9 hours to 5 hours,” Macharia said.
