Coast Guard hit by inadequate funding, staffing

National Assembly Security Committee members from left Didmus Barasa, Chairman Paul Koinange, Halima Mucheke and Ahmed Kolosh addressing the media on the failure of Interior CS Fred Matiangi to honour their invites at Continental House, Nairobi, on Wednesday 21/11/18. [Boniface Okendo,Standard]

Poor funding and lack of staff have hampered operations of the Kenya Coast Guard Services (KCGS), a parliamentary committee has noted.

The Security and Administration Committee that toured KCGS offices in Liwatoni, Mombasa on Saturday, observed that the newly created agency lacked basic equipment to effectively man the country’s maritime territories.

Allocate land

Committee chairman Paul Koinange said Parliament would push the Executive to allocate land for the construction of KCGS offices.

Mr Koinange, however, said KCGS would not directly recruit its staff. Instead, other State agencies like the Kenya Bureau of Standards will be required to provide it with workers.

“For now, KCGS will not carry out direct recruitment,” said Koinange.

He said the committee would also push for a substantial budget allocation to the agency in the next financial year to empower it in meeting its mandate.

Apart from having its main offices in Mombasa, the agency will also be required to have a presence in Lamu, Kisumu, Lake Turkana and Baringo.

KCGS was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in November last year. It is tasked with combating insecurity and illegal trade on Kenya’s territorial waters.