RUTO’S DIRECTIVE ON SGR TAKES EFFECT

Kenya Ports Authority has executed President William Ruto’s directive on reverting clearance of all goods and other operations from Nairobi and Naivasha Inland Container depots to Mombasa.
In a notice shared on Monday, Kenya Ports Authority acting Managing Director John Mwangemi revoked the 2018 order that restricted importers from choose where they would like to clear their goods.

The vacated order also compelled importers to use the Standard Guage Railway as a mode of transport to ferry their containers.
“This is, therefore, to notify all Shipping Lines that importers’ documentation of place of clearance and mode of transport for their goods shall be at their choice.

“Shipping Lines are hereby, advised to facilitate importers’ nomination of place of clearance including Port clearance, Kenya Revenue Authority’s Licensed Container Freight Stations (CFSS) and Kenya Ports Authority’s Inland Container depots,” read the notice.

Earlier in September, truckers reported that President Ruto’s directive had not been implemented, since KPA was yet to make the policy shift.

“To operationalise this directive, Kenya Ports Authority needs to vacate and reverse the illegal and unconstitutional order that they gave to the shipping lines in 2018 directing the shipping lines not to allow importers to nominate where they want their consignments cleared.

“This is to forestall the expected delay in the execution of the executive order on grounds that KPA has not received official communication in writing and cannot act on social media and TV reports,” Kenya Transport Association chairman Newton Wang’oo, said in a statement on September 13, 2022.
The Kenya Transport Association has severally clarified that truckers have not been asking for road transport to be favoured, but for importers to be allowed to choose between road and rail.
They argued that the competition between rail and road transport should be left to market forces to determine the better option.

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