The government has started acting tough on selfish cartels keen on frustrating the use of the efficient SGR to transport goods to Nairobi from the port of Mombasa.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has given a deadline of two days to resolve all Standard Gauge Railway logistical issues so that all unnominated cargo set for Nairobi can be carried by train.
“The things being raised about the SGR are logistical issues. I’m therefore directing the directors responsible [Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Railways Corporation] to fix all the loose nuts and bolts within the next 48 hours,” the CS said on Thursday.
Cartels who own the clearing and forwarding service (CFS) companies in Mombasa have been fighting the use of the SGR, which is cheaper, reliable and more efficient, in transporting the goods.
The CFSs, which tend to hold containers for too long in Mombasa so that they charge a premium in storage fees, usually take at least two days to transport a container to Nairobi. And they do it at not less than Sh100,000 per container. The SGR, on the other hand, only takes just over four hours for the goods to reach Nairobi at a flat rate of Sh35,000 for a 20-foot container now.
When the cost of transporting goods is lower, that always reflects on the reduced price of products for Kenyans. CS Macharia says he is keen to ensure customers buy goods at a cheaper price, courtesy of the public-funded SGR project.
“We cannot allow people entrenching this project for their own personal businesses. The SGR is not an individual’s investment, hence, we need to come together and support it,” Macharia added, as quoted by Business Daily.