The Kenya Maritime Authority has denied claims by members of the Civil Society that the authority was mismanaging public resources.
This comes after members of the Civil Society held a peaceful demonstration outside KMA offices in Mombasa on Monday, calling on the directors of KMA to be disbanded over corruption allegations.
Led by the programme director of Genesis for Human Rights Commission (GHRC) Caleb Ngwena, the group claimed that the directors have been irregularly and illegally awarding multi million shillings tenders.
KMA, in a press release signed by Acting Director General (DG) Cosmas Cherop on Wednesday, defended itself saying that all tenders at KMA are handled according to the public procurement and assets act.
“All tenders at the Kenya Maritime Authority are handled prudently according to the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act. We advice that such tenders complaints be forwarded to the Public Procurement Oversight Authority or the Public Procurement Review Board by referring to the specific tender,” read part of the statement.
KMA also refuted claims of favoritism in recruitment of staff saying the process is guided by the core values of transparency, integrity, accountability and professionalism according to the constitution and the KMA act.
Mr Ngwena on Monday claimed that the KMA board violated a court order which stopped them from recruiting workers.
He claimed there were plans by KMA board members to employ relatives to fill 17 positions including those of coxswains, boat technicians, supervisors and deckhands.