Temporary relief as State lifts SGR cargo order

A Cargo Train carries wagons with Containers headed to Mombasa from Nairobi, the SGR Trains have eased cargo transportation in the Country making movements of good easy from Mombasa to Nairobi. [Phillip Orwa/Standard]

The Government has insisted that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) must be the priority route for imported cargo even as it suspended an earlier order making it compulsory for importers to use the service.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Tuesday evening withdrew the order, which was to take effect yesterday, pending further consultation with relevant stakeholders.

Cargo operators had accused the Government of creating a monopoly out of the SGR despite lack of commitment by custom agencies to improve efficiency at the Mombasa port and Embakasi Inland Container Depot (ICD).

At the same time, the operators and importers said restricting cargo clearance through a centralised channel would lead to job losses affecting thousands of people directly and indirectly.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia yesterday came out to defend the earlier order, insisting the SGR is central to the country’s cargo transport and linked to the success of the port of Mombasa.

“We have invested heavily in the SGR which is a competitive advantage for the port of Mombasa and a gateway all the way to the great lakes, and deep into Central Africa,” said Mr Macharia while launching KPA’s five-year strategic plan.

“Some of these ships can bring 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and the SGR can only take 15,000 TEUs each day so we are talking about partnering with our colleagues in trucking to complement each other.”

The CS further argued that channelling all cargo through the SGR would reduce the cost of doing business on the part of importers and traders, with additional jobs created from KPA’s landing stations currently under construction in Kisumu, Naivasha and Lamu. “We need to ask ourselves why we constructed the SGR.”