Mombasa can rise from the ashes after SGR blow

Because nature abhors a vacuum, the phrase “the king is dead, long live the king” was intended to convey continuity of the institution of the monarchy.

A king or queen would die and immediately be replaced by an heir. This was to forestall any crisis of leadership.

That Mombasa, Kenya’s port and the country’s second largest city after Nairobi, is in the throes of death is hardly figurative.

Tourism, one of its lifelines, has suffered a decline because of security threats from Al Shabaab, a terrorist organisation, and from marauding pockets of unemployed youth high on mind-altering substances.

The other lifeline, the Mombasa port has provided livelihood for thousands of Kenyans directly and indirectly. But not for much longer.

A directive by Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia dictates that all cargo arriving at the port for onward conveyance be transported exclusively on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

The will render jobless thousands of truckers and their employees. Also affected are owners and employees of Container Freight Stations (CFSs), who handle, clear and forward cargo off-loaded from ships.

The adverse effects of the directive are already evident.

A leading trucker with a fleet of more than 2,000 vehicles has had 300 of these seized for auction over an unserviced bank facility. He is just one of several.

Recently, thousands of those affected held a day-long demonstration in the port city, hoping to compel the government to rescind the CS’s decision.

It is doubtful the Government will withdraw an edict that is patently deleterious to its citizens. Having gotten an unwieldy railway whose procurement, construction and running is shrouded in opacity, it must now pay for the same by all means possible.

The governor of Mombasa County, whose voice is significant in this important national conversation, is strangely silent.

An erstwhile critic of the Jubilee administration’s excesses, he appears to be a beneficiary of the “hand-shake” between opposition chief Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta.

As one revenue stream dies by force majeure through the agency of a ministerial edict, another, though foundering, still remains.

Mombasa can still live through tourism and related activities even if port activities no longer provide the revenues that have previously sustained it.

Residents must now take matters into their hands and chart a path for themselves.

For starters they must see through the chicanery of leaders who pretend service with self-abnegation but in reality, only position themselves to be beneficiaries of change of government policy. 

Second, residents must be alive to the fact that the SGR is an idea whose time has come.

World-over the railway system is the cheapest and safest mode of transport for both passengers and goods.

The SGR is a necessity. Only that it has been executed in a manner that left a lot to be desired. 

That notwithstanding, residents must now come to terms with the fact that it is here to stay and to plan accordingly.

To that end, Mombasa can market itself as a gateway into the country and have tourists use the SGR to access parks in the hinterland.

Parks like Tsavo, Nairobi, the Mara and Nakuru are within easy reach from SGR terminals.

Third, Mombasa needs to define itself. It needs a character that it becomes known for.

Right now, its identity is amorphous. No one knows whether it is a cheap destination, like San Pedro Belize or whether it is intended for the up-market tourist, like Monte Carlo in Monaco.

One gets confused by pricey establishments that offer nothing more than full board with “all you can eat” buffets, cheap drinks and limited access to beaches.

Local culture

They wonder why they pay the equivalent of establishments on the South Coast with far less bang for the buck. 

Beyond the beaches, there is a vibrant local culture that is yet to be incorporated into the tourist circuit.

There is hardly any marketing of the local cuisine with such delicacies as Mahamri, Pilau or Biryani.

Not much is heard of kahawa tungu or kaimati, yet Cape Town streets are replete with wine-tasting ventures.

There is the Cape Town Jazz festival. Zanzibar has its Taraab Festival.

Even Lamu has a festival whilst Mombasa has nothing.

Only criminal gangs like Wakali Wao that give it an unsavoury reputation!

Critical thinkers are needed. One form of business is dead, another lives but barely.

Residents need to rise to the fore, lest the planned 450 million dollar Likoni bridge channels all business away from the island and render moot efforts to revive it.

Mr Khafafa is a public policy analyst