Ministry lines up drastic measures to revamp KFS

Change of management, restructuring and a systems audit will be the on top of to-do list for the new Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) board, as the government pushes for an efficient ferry operator.

The government’s push for a change in the management of the ferry agency comes days after its entire board was sent home following the Likoni Channel tragedy that caused the death of a mother and her daughter.

In an exclusive interview with the Nation, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said they want individuals with the right expertise.

“As a government, we will demand change from the new board. We will make sure we get a board whose first task will be to recruit professional managers to run the agency,” Mr Macharia said.

The KFS has been on the spotlight following the September 29 incident when a vehicle slipped off a ferry and sank into the Indian Ocean. The bodies of the occupants - Miriam Khigenda and Amanda Mutheu - were retrieved two weeks later.

BOARD DISBANDED

The agency was accused of laxity and a pedestrian approach to the incident before the government took charge of the recovery operations.

Last Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta disbanded the KFS board chaired by former Taita Taveta Senator Dan Mwazo, who had only served for four months.

In a gazette notice dated October 17, President Kenyatta revoked the appointments of the five members. The other members were Ms Daula Omar, Ms Naima Amir, Ms Rosina Mruttu and Mr Philip Ndolo.

“We have agreed to realign several line department budgets as we seek for funds to support this agency before we push for a supplementary budget. But this will only be presented once the new team is in place,” said the CS.

Mr Macharia added that they will increase the agency’s allocation in a bid to help it meet its mandate.

REVENUE

This comes even as the government expects the new management to seal all revenue leaks. In 2018, the agency returned a profit of Sh43 million from a loss of Sh84 million in 2017.

The firm saw its expenditure rise by 15 per cent to Sh1.2 billion last year from Sh1.1 billion in 2017.

Last year, the government allocated it Sh505 million to supplement its recurrent budget and Sh409 million for development.

The new board will also be expected to champion the Likoni car cable project given that that is the short term feasible alternative the government has. The tragedy exposed KFS’s inability to deal with emergencies.