Govt told to buy four more ferries to ease transport crisis at Likoni crossing channel

The Parliamentary Committee on Transport has recommended that the government purchases four new ferries to help address the transport crisis at the Likoni crossing channel at the Coast.

The committee’s chairman Maina Kamanda warned that the appalling state of the five old ferries operating on the Likoni crossing was a disaster in waiting, adding that there was urgent need for four more new ferries to be bought.

He said although the government had budgeted Sh1.3 billion for the purchase of two new ferries, they would not be able to tackle the transport crisis facing the South Coast.

Mr Kamanda added that his committee had recommended to the government to set aside Sh700 million to be used as a deposit settlement for two more new ferries.

He said that the Sh700 million for the two more ferries should be included in the 2015/2016 budget to enable the purchase of four new ferries.

“The Kenya Ferry Services is facing its worst moment as the five old ferries are in pathetic state and can longer cope with the massive number of commuters and vehicles.

“The government should now buy four new ferries in order to avert a disaster on the Likoni crossing,” he said.

Speaking on the side-lines of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport meeting at Travellers Beach Hotel in Mombasa, Mr Kamanda said the members discussed at length about the ferry woes.

FREQUENT FERRY BREAKDOWNS

Mombasa Woman Representative Mishi Mboko who is also a member of the committee said residents of Mombasa and Kwale counties had suffered for long due to frequent ferry breakdowns.

She added that most often commuters had to spend long hours waiting to cross either to Mombasa Island or the Likoni side when some of the ferries are withdrawn for maintenance.

“Time has come for the government to listen to the plight of hundreds of commuters who cross the Likoni channel as the old ferries are in deplorable condition.

“Many a times, people travelling abroad miss flights while thousands of workers report to work late owing to the intolerable delays,” she said.

Ganze MP Peter Shehe who is also a member of the committee called on the government to urgently purchase four new ferries to address the crisis which has crippled tourism in Diani.

Mr Shehe said although Diani has gained global recognition due to its beautiful beaches, tourists were avoiding the resort town due to transport woes on the Likoni channel.

FERRY CRISIS AFFECTING TOURISM

“Apart from the challenge of insecurity which has hurt tourism, the ferry crisis is also to blame for the industry’s downturn on the South Coast,” he said.

Last week, the Kenya Ferry Services managing director Musa Hassan Musa said more than 300,000 commuters cross the channel daily while vehicle traffic was also on the increase, with more than 30,000 vehicles using the channel daily.

“The huge amount of traffic has resulted in the ferries being overworked, hence the current problems,” said Mr Musa.

“We have serious problems in managing the ferries as most of them are old and require regular servicing, thus their maintenance has proved to be quite costly,” he added.

The channel is experiencing an unprecedented crisis due to frequent breakdowns of the ferries.

Queues extending several kilometres on both sides are a common daily sight as crowds of commuters throng the ramps.