Busia leaders have protested the National Government's plan to construct a dry port in Kisumu and make Malaba border an only transit point for the Standard Gauge Railway.
Eng Vincent Sidai, Teso North MP Oku Kaunya, Busia Women Representative Florence Mutua and businessman Fred Papa said all crucial inland port services will be handled in Kisumu via SGR, thus relegating Malaba to a ghost town.
Eng Sidai who brought the issue during a funds drive for the purchase of a bus for Katakwa Diocese Mothers' Union at St Thomas Amagoro Anglican Church, said the exchange of goods will be done in Kisumu.
"This means we shall have no business in Malaba. It is very unfair. Malaba is big and it's a border town. We don't want to see trains just pass with goods. We have jobless youth. If all work will remain in Kisumu what shall we do here? We want the National Government to tell us what facilities will be in Malaba when the SGR reaches here," he said on Sunday.
Teso North MP Oku Kaunya and Women Rep Florence Mutua said they will petition the state over alleged plot to deny Malaba inland port services at the expense of Kisumu.
Kaunya said he will push for an unland dry port in Malaba that will guarantee the youth jobs and boost the economy of the border town.
"You are aware of the One Stop Border Posts. The laws put by EAC member states saw the clearance of goods relocated to Uganda. This led to Kenyan clearing agents lose jobs and drastic drop in business in Malaba and Busia. With that experience we don't want a repeat of such. Plans for Export Processing Zone and trailer parks in Malaba and Busia were mooted three years ago."
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho raised an alarm last year that the SGR freight trains, the Naivasha dry port and Embakasi inland container depot would affect the multi-billion shilling container freight station business in Mombasa.
He said the projects would lead to either relocation of logistics and transport business to Nairobi or Naivasha or a complete shutdown, leading to massive job losses at the port city.
Joho said the construction of the Naivasha dry port and expansion of Embakasi ICD was Jubilee regime’s plan to weaken Mombasa’s economy and status as the region’s logistics hub, claims President Uhuru Kenyatta refuted.