KPA to audit containers heading to Uganda

Mombasa, Kenya: Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will audit Uganda-bound containers that have been lying at the Port of Mombasa for long.

In a telephone interview on Monday, KPA General Manager Operations Twalib Khamis told The Standard the audit will help the authority verify the actual number of Uganda-bound containers that have not been cleared.

Overstayed containers at the port have been cited as one of the reasons for cargo congestion at the facility that serves the larger East Africa region. Recent media reports in Uganda claimed that at least 1,600 Uganda-bound containers are stuck at the port.

The report added that that there was danger of goods still not collected attracting extra costs or getting lost through auction.

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Customs Commissioner Richard Kamajugo is quoted saying that there was a growing trend where traders fail to clear their goods and later complain when they are auctioned.

As a result, URA has been issuing notices to the traders since March to clear their goods to avoid extra costs.

"We would have gone ahead to classify and give details of the owners but because of the expenses, we can't afford," Mr Kamajugo said.

The URA notice to the traders shows that as of August 4, there were 1,616 Uganda-bound containers at the port.

Of these, 756 are 20-feet each while 857 are 40-feet each and all have stayed at the Mombasa Port between 0 and 90 days.

The notice further indicates that 1,332 containers have spent between 0 and 30 days, 57 between 31 and 60 days, 23 between 61 and 90 days while 204 containers have been at the port for more than 90 days. KPA gives nine days for all cargo to be cleared from the port.