Revenue authority blames importers for port gridlock

Kenya Revenue Authority has blamed importers on the current congestion at Mombasa Port, stating that a lot of containers have been cleared but still lie uncollected.

“We have cleared over 9,000 cargo units but the owners are yet to pick them up,” KRA’s outgoing Commissioner General Michael Waweru said on Tuesday adding: “The owners should ferry the cargo and stop using the port as a storage facility.”

He said unspecified number of containers have been lying at the port for many years due to unresolved court cases while others have expired goods, which should be disposed of.

“We are working with the National Environmental Management Authority on disposal mechanisms of the unclaimed cargo whose goods have gone bad. We have also put up others for auction but no one has shown interest at the moment,” he said.

The revenue agency will launch a hundred-day Rapid Results Initiative at the port starting on Wednesday to address congestion that has caused a lot of losses to many businesses.

The initiative will include joint cargo verification by the revenue collector and other agencies and the possibility of opening up additional lanes to allow ease of cargo movement from the port.

Congestion at the Port of Mombasa has been hurting tea and other exports, as ships can neither load nor offload cargo.

This has also prompted many traders from neighbouring countries to turn to Dar-es-Salaam Port — losing Mombasa port billions of shillings in revenue.