Government has embarked on sealing revenue leakages, and Illicit trade at the Kisumu pier, by restructuring the management of the Inland waterways..
"Immediate former Kisumu port manager Mwalimu Disi will oversee the running of MV Uhuru.
“It is true I have been appointed as the MV Uhuru manager with effect from last month,’’ he told The Standard in an interview.
He will work closely with 23 technical staff in running the vessel’s day-to-day operations.
They include captains, naval engineers and other crew members. Mr Disi was redeployed from the Ministry of Transport in Nairobi. Kenya Navy and Kenya Railways Corporation engineers jointly carried out repairs on the vessel.
The return of the vessel is expected to boost Kenya Pipeline Company’s regional business by raising fuel exports from its Sh1.7 billion oil jetty.
The lakeside jetty is expected to supply petroleum products to the neighbouring Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, up to the Eastern Congo and parts of Tanzania.
Currently, there is massive work going on to repair the railway lane linking Kisumu port to the jetty.
“We have are already in business. We can ply the routes anytime,” said Mr Disi.
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001345872/return-of-famed-mv-uhuru-raises-hope-for-regional-trade
Assessment
The risk of revenue theft under KPA managment will be significantly higher, given that the KPA internal audit findings of periods 2017/18/19, and related recommendations have never been enforced, much as revenue leakages continue unabetted.
Auditor General has tabled evidence of impropriety at the Inland waterways, largely as a result of Structural weaknesses in KPA Operations.
There's are risks in KPA managing the Operations of MV Uhuru. In 2009 the vessel was bringing in 17 million shillings a month.
With the introduction of fuel exports through the pier, the numbers will be significantly better, it is this increase that auditors fear corrupt KPA officials deployed in Kisumu would steal.
It is important for the ministry to redeploy the former immediate port manager to manage Operations in Kisumu port, to mitigate increased risk of port Corruption, and organized crime.
