Two of Mombasa Port terminals have been secretly handed to private company, Kahawa Tungu can authoritatively report.
Lease documents in our possession show that the agreement between Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Portside Freight Terminals Ltd (PFTL) came into force in 2018, two years before the agreement was signed. The agreement was signed on May 19, 2020 and took effect on December 7, 2018, to hand over berth number 7 and eight to the private company.
Interestingly, PFTL would pay Ksh4,160,460 every quarter, and would be free to construct a conveyor system on the Authority’s land. For the fact that the agreement is renewable after ten years upon agreement, and that it was executed even before an agreement was signed, it means the berths in question could be in private hands for longer.
The aforementioned berths are the best and most productive, according to highly placed sources.
The berths make billions in revenue, therefore it raises eyebrows why a company would be charged such a small amount for leasehold.
The 10-page document further reveals that the company will be paying a way leave fee of Ksh87,000 every year, subject to review by the Ports Authority.
The agreement was signed by Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho’s kin, Abubakar Ali Joho, and Hussein Hamid Hamisi on behalf of PFTL.
Read: Dock Workers Embroiled In A Tussle With KPA Over Privatisation Of Port Of Mombasa
In May 2020, the Dock Workers Union protested the privatisation of berths number four and seven. Kahawa Tungu could not establish the fate of berth number four, but documents show that 80 percent of operations at berth number seven and eight have been handed to the company.
According to the workers, berth number four takes a huge part of business of the Port, hence its takeover would leave the Port of Mombasa with little of the much required revenue for expansion and maintenance.
Other companies associated with the takeover include Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd and Merchantile Company Ltd. The planned takeovers were made during the time of the former Managing Director Daniel Manduku who was forced out due to corruption allegations in the body.
Labour for verification at the inland Container Deport (ICD) Nairobi was also outsourced from Merchantile Trading Company, a company associated with Abdulswamad Nassir, the Chairman of Public Investment Committee in Parliament.
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