…BUT DELAYS IN CARGO DELIVERY DUE TO DEBT RECOVERY

KPA suspended the release of cargo as a path to securing debt payment from shipping lines using the standard gauge railway to transport cargo to/from Nairobi. The action taken applied to debts that were overdue by over 30 days and had the objective of clearing these up prior to the end of the government’s fi nancial year which closed at the end of June.

The Kenya Transport Association responded to the situation by suggesting that at least in part it had come about as a result of government making use of the new standard gauge railway compulsory for container movements. It said: “The government has continued to…force railing of goods from Mombasa to Nairobi at higher rates than road transport rates and therefore making the SGR a monopoly.”