Kenya’s Port of Mombasa could lose to the Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania if the pre and post-August election period is not well managed, shippers have warned.
Affected will be transit cargo to Uganda, Rwanda, DR Congo and Burundi, which are landlocked.
The EAC region is served by two major corridors with the main one being the 1,700 kilometre long Northern Corridor that runs between Kenya, Uganda Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern D.R. Congo, with an exit and entry point at the Port of Mombasa.
The 1,300 kilometre long Central Corridor serves Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Eastern D.R. Congo, with an exit and entry point at the port of Dar-es- Salaam.
The two corridors facilitate export and import activities within the EAC region on a combination of rail, road and lake transportation networks.
In an interview with the Star on Thursday, the Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA) chief executive Gibert Langat called for peaceful elections and smooth transition of power.
He further called for the securing of the corridor by both the national and county governments to ensure smooth flow of transit cargo, with hotspots being mapped out for enhanced security.
Some of the hotspots identified by transporters include Naivasha, Nakuru, parts of Uasin Gishu among them Burnt Forest, Maili Saba, Webuye and Malaba.
During the 2007-2008 post-election violence, the cargo transport sub-sector was loosing about Sh5.3 billion monthly according to the Kenya Transporters Association, mainly from hijacking and looting of trucks by criminals.
“We don’t want that to happen again. The government must secure the corridor and give the business community confidence that their goods are safe, and in deed the flow of cargo remains smooth even if we are in an election,” Langat said.
His sentiments gel with local manufacturers who were equally hit as exports stopped.
“Our expectation is we hold a peaceful election. We should not be slowing down every five years because of elections. We have already slowed down in the past two years because of Covid,” Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO Phyllis Wakiaga told the Star in a separate interview.
Disruption pose a challenge to Mombasa port which has in recent years lost Burundi- bound transit volumes to to Dar es Salaam, with annual volumes dropping to below 2,000 tonnes.
Dar has also captured about seven per cent of Uganda volumes from the Northern Corridor.
It is cheaper to move cargo from Dar es Salaam to Burindi and DR Congo through the Central Corridor, SCEA notes, but Kenya can capitalise on the Taveta border into Tanzania and finally Burundi to remain competitive, as it cuts the distance by about 412 kilometres.
“Last year, volumes to Uganda went down by about six to seven per cent,” Langat notes.
However, transit cargo to Rwanda through the Northern Corridor grew 89 per cent, mainly petroleum products, which is also among Rwanda’s biggest export commodity to DR Congo.
Uganda and Rwanda petroleum exports are served by Kenya Pipeline Company’s Eldoret and Kisumu depots.
On overall, Uganda accounts for 83.2 per cent of transit cargo through the port of Mombasa. South Sudan takes up 9.9 per cent while DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda account for 7.2 per cent, 3.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.
Efficiency at the port and the Northern Corridor have continued to give Mombasa an edge over Dar es Salaam but shippers have warned the neighbouring port “is catching up.”
Port dwell-time at Mombasa is about 2.5 days compared to Dar es Salaam’s eight days which is making it more attractive.
This is the amount of time which cargo or ships spend within a port. It is a key indicator of how efficiently a port is operating, how quickly cargo is flowing through its terminals and how long a ship is spending in port.
The recent border delays at Malaba however saw a number of importers ponder an alternative route, which is Dar es Salam transporters say.
“There should be no back log at the border because if there is free flow between Dar es Salaam and the neighbouring countries, Kenya will lose. Cargo owners will go where it is cheaper and efficient,” Langat noted.
Traditionally, landlocked neighbours have always stocked up mainly on fuel, industrial raw material and imported merchandise to prevent disruption on their economies incase of instability in the country during elections.
