President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed the newly appointed Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) managing director Catherine Mturi-Wairi to curb corruption at the Port of Mombasa.
Speaking during an Infrastructure Summit at State House, Nairobi, President Kenyatta tasked Wairi with restoring the port's reputation.
“There is corruption at the port and we know it. Don’t stop there. Let us work together to identify the thieves, but you must first of all make sure that they don’t have access to your port,” said Kenyatta, as quoted by the Nation.
On her part, Wairi said ending corruption at the port was every stakeholders responsibility, adding that they had put up efficient measures to curb tax evasion.
“As an institution, we will hold ourselves to high standards, but we also urge all the stakeholders to make sure that they uphold the same standards because corruption is two-way,” she said.
This comes a few days after KPA launched a tax evasion probe, where 21 freight and transport companies operating at the port were suspended.
The investigations were launched following the release of 104 containers worth Sh100 million between June and July, 2016 without payment of tax.