Ruto Returns to Naivasha Port to Serve DRC and EAC Markets

Ruto Returns to Naivasha Port to Serve DRC and EAC Markets

Ruto Returns to Naivasha Port to Serve DRC and EAC Markets

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a central African nation that has  been admitted to the East African Community (EAC), and the Kenya Ports Authority  (KPA) is looking to the Naivasha Inland Container Depot to handle cargo headed for  the DRC. KPA stated that it has invested at the Naivasha port during a meeting with the DRC  representative to Kenya, Ambassador Nyakeru John, in order to handle the  anticipated increase in Congolese cargo.

According to a KPA statement, “To meet the needs of this important emerging market, KPA has invested in the Naivasha Inland Container Depot to ensure faster movement of DRC cargo.”The port authority also announced that its staff was establishing a liaison office in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Similarly, DRC made a suggestion that it might open a consulate in Kenya.

However, it is noteworthy that President William Ruto decommissioned the aforementioned Naivasha Depot last year, months after succeeding his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Standard Gauge Railway needed assured revenue to pay back the Ksh450 billion debt it had incurred to create the port, which was Kenyatta’s idea.As a result, in 2019, Kenyatta moved Mombasa’s port operations to Naivasha, a decision that Deputy President Ruto vehemently opposed.According to Ruto, the port was constructed to benefit a select few people and would deprive Mombasa citizens, who depend on the clearing and forwarding sector at the port, of much-needed income and employment.Thus, when President Ruto returned the port operations to Mombasa Port as soon as he was elected to government in September 2022, it was not unexpected.

“I will be giving orders this afternoon for the clearance of all products and other related operational matters to return to the port of Mombasa. This brings back thousands of jobs in Mombasa, the man said at the time.But this latest KPA development raises the possibility that Ruto’s order will be overturned.