Mombasa Port could easily lose business to neighbouring ports if nothing is done to arrest the negative publicity it is getting right now, Mvita MP Mohamed Machele has said.
He said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission should get to the bottom of the claims to clear the air.
“Let us not turn that authority into a political cannon. That port serves the whole of East and Central Africa. If we continue like this, we will be knocking down not only the MD, but the whole authority and our neighbours will surpass us and steal our clients,” Machele said.
He spoke at RG Ngala Primary School, where ICT CS William Kabogo commissioned an ICT Hub.
KPA has recently been in the headlines over alleged grand looting with billions said to be missing over procurement flaws.
The authority has, however, dismissed the allegations. In a statement on Saturday, the authority reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and accountability, adding that all processes were conducted according to the law.
Machele said Tanzania, Djibouti and other neighbouring ports are hellbent on stealing business from KPA.
“So, when we play around with such issues, we are not only risking an individual’s future but the future of more than 10,000 workers and their dependents,” the MP said.
He pointed an accusing finger at unnamed businesspeople, who he said are frustrated because the loopholes and avenues they used to get the multi-million shilling tenders have been sealed.
Machele said using the media to bash a hardworking and honest executive is stooping too low. He said in his short stay at KPA, Ruto has overseen a remarkable turnaround of the Mombasa Port, which is now recording efficiency never seen before.
“He has a great relationship with the workers, a crucial factor of production in any business-oriented entity,” Machele said.
Workers at the port also condemned what they called witch-hunt by frustrated corruption cartels. Led by former Dock Workers Union official Paul Abisa, they said the allegations are the work of disgruntled cartels.
“They are now using local newspapers to assassinate the impeccable character, stature, profile and reputation of Ruto through wild allegations, misinformation and disinformation,” he said.
Abisa spoke outside KPA headquarters and was accompanied by workers Wycliffe Baraza and Edwin Mageto. He said the falsehoods also targeted “competent and very hardworking senior officers in charge of engineering, supply chain management and infrastructure”.
The workers said KPA has a superior, robust, open and competitive tendering process and procedure, which stand out for constructive scrutiny by the public and relevant authorities as required by law.
“Avenues for settling disputes are also available, but for one to disregard these procedures and resort to the press without even seeking court’s intervention is a serious case of indiscipline,” Abisa said.
“Please, let KPA not be the battle ground for settling political scores whereby Captain Ruto will end up being the collateral damage under the guise of procurement protocols.”
On Tuesday, Edwin Mageto, a KPA employee who works at operation gantry department, said such kind of business or political rivalry are dangerous to the 10,000 workers.
“They are putting the lives of more than 10,000 people at risk. Because the workers here have families and dependents who will go hungry should KPA lose business to rivals because of political shenanigans,” Mageto said.
He called on all investigative authorities to probe those behind the
allegations and get to the bottom of
the matter.
