Take advantage of Kisumu port to boost income, residents told

Residents of the Lake Region Economic Bloc counties have been urged to prepare to take advantage of the Kisumu Port.

The port is being upgraded and will be commissioned next month. The government seeks to restore the once vibrant East Africa hub to its glory days. The renovation is meant to allow larger vessels to the port.

KPA managing director Daniel Manduku said they have started taking forklift trucks, mobile cranes and tractor-trailers to Kisumu.

“Currently, manual labour is used at the port to transfer cargo stored in the warehouse to vessels. Therefore, we need 15-tonne mobile cranes, forklifts trucks and tractor-trailers to support cargo handling,” he said.

LREB head of research and resource mobilisation Okoth Obora yesterday said residents must take up economic activities that will boost their incomes and improve their living standards.

The counties are Kisumu, Busia, Kakamega, Nandi, Vihiga, Kericho, Homa Bay, Kisii, Migori, Nyamira, Siaya, Bomet, Trans Nzoia, and Bungoma. They have a population of about 14 million people.

Obora, who is also in charge of the Maritime Transport and Associated Services in Lake Victoria, said residents should massively embark on agribusiness to generate goods to be transported to Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.

He cited production of cotton, sugar, rice, maize, livestock, coffee and horticultural crops for domestic use and export.

“We need to ask ourselves how to benefit from the available business and job opportunities at the port and the best way to positively exhaust them to economically grow,” Obora said.

“Our people must wake up and make good use of the port by ensuring they have products and services to transit to our neighbouring countries.”

It is anticipated that the port will create more than 10,000 jobs directly and indirectly.  President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to open the port alongside his Uganda and DRC counterparts Yoweri Museveni and Felix Tshisekedi.

The port has been idle for several years and the government has invested Sh3 billion in its revamp.

The Kenya Ports Authority is already transporting equipment to the Port ahead of the launch. The facility will promote local and regional trade, create jobs, and indirectly boost agriculture and industrial development around the region. 

It will also boost the lake shipping industry and its auxiliary services to benefit the East African Community.

Other opportunities include warehouses, and clearing and forwarding. Those who set up such facilities will reap big. The port project has also come with other benefits. Water hyacinth is being removed from the lake and a 63.1km canal is beeing created to Mbita.

The 216km Kisumu-Nakuru railway line will also be upgraded from 50 metres to 80m. Obora sought to assure residents that the bloc is committed to leveraging the economies of scale for better livelihoods.

Bloc CEO Abala Wanga said they are committed to achieving growth and launching the Sh2.8 regional bank so residents can access finances to take up projects that boost their economies. He said the development bank will be the best solution to the counties’ financial problems.

The bloc’s other flagship projects include the revival of the maritime transport and services on Lake Victoria. It intends to achieve sustainable development through resource mobilisation, and promotion, coordination,  innovation and enhancement of economic integration.

Transform Empowerment for Action Initiative executive director George Owuor appealed to the government to ensure 30 per cent of procurement jobs are given to residents. He said proper mapping of job opportunities should be done.

“We have to put in place a strategy, establish our potential areas and make full use of opportunities available. This will reduce unemployment and insecurity in Kisumu and its environs,” Owuor said.

Uhuru, AU envoy for Infrastructure and Development Raila Odinga, Transport CS James Macharia, PS Esther Koimett, Manduku, and other top government officials have on several occasions inspected the progress of the rehabilitation works.

Manduku said the port will be key to the industrial and commercial growth of the region. The project involves paving the open areas, putting efficient drainage and improving access roads for trucks, tractors, trailers and forklift trucks.

Interior CS Fred Matiang'i said, “The President has ordered that we pull out all the stops, including different authorities like Kenya Railways, Kenya Ports Authority, National Youth Service, and Kenya Navy, amongst others, so we clean up this place. It will be revamped and people will get employed.” 

The Lake Victoria cargo ferry has been grounded for years. But residents are optimistic that once it starts operations. The Sh1.9 billion oil jetty is complete and will start operations next month. 

Petroleum CS John Munyes said the facility is expected to evacuate 8.8 million litres of fuel through Lake Victoria daily to reduce the pressure on the road.

Already, the Ugandan government has put a 90 million-litre oil capacity depot at Kawoku in Entebbe.

The steel hull of the 1,000-tonne, 91-metre-long MV Uhuru cargo carrier is also expected to roar back to life as the dredging of the lake will make it possible for big ships to navigate through the waters.

(Edited by F'Orieny)