5,000 dock workers have been left jobless following the closure of 700 freight companies at the Port of Mombasa.
According to Mediamax, the freight companies have been pushed out of business by their colleagues from the East African Community member states.
"The move has been occasioned by the implementation of a new system to clear cargo known as Single Customs Territory (SCT), which demands payment of taxes on goods on transit at the port,” said Association of Importers of Kenya (AIK) Customs agent Peter Mambembe.
Mambembe said clearance agents from landlocked countries had flocked the Port of Mombasa to clear their state's cargo, pushing the local clearing and forwarding agents completely out of business.
“I will move to court if the kenyan government fails to safeguard its citizens' businesses and make regulations touching on the SCT implementation,” said Mambembe.