Mombasa’s privatisation plans hit worker flak

Plans by the Kenyan government to privatise the Port of Mombasa, the second largest port in the continent terms of tonnage and containers handled after Durban, is heading for stormy waters. Kenyan Transport Minister Amos Kimunya last week called for calm as anger spread over the plan. He said the initiative had been suspended for a while because “the timing was not right” and all parties should be involved in any deal. Speaking at the Port of Mombasa when he launched the dredging at the Kilindini channel and the construction of berth 19, the Minister said consultations over privatisation had not been finalised. Kimunya said privatisation had its merits and demerits, and that critics must engage constructively in the debate to privatise port operations. One of the solutions proposed by Kimunya was that Kenya Ports Authority’s (KPA) 7 000 employees form a company, which could then participate in the privatisation. “Auxiliary services at our international airports are in the hands of private entities. Our revamped railways will also have the same. These have created additional jobs,” Kimunya said. The privatisation plan comes as Kenya – along with several other East African nations – is facing economic meltdown, with food security becoming a full-blown crisis.