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{
    "id": 419997,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/419997/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 390,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "In the long-term, it will be necessary to do the standard gauge railway we have been talking about. In this country, we are in the habit of talking but no action at the end of the day. The time has come when we must be serious in implementing projects. We must be serious in improving the welfare of our people. We also noted that there are a lot of challenges affecting the operations of the Port of Mombasa. One of the major ones has been highlighted by hon. Mwakulegwa which is the irregular power supply. There are far too many power outages disrupting operations and forcing operations to be very expensive. This is a major setback which, as a nation, we must find a way of resolving. It is affecting, not just the KPA but many other operations. It has become a bottleneck to the growth of the economy. We also think that the quality of clearing agents is not good. There are far too many clearing agents involved in the process in Mombasa. Some of them are not facilitating the work of KPA. Many of them are small operators with limitations. They do not have the financial capacity to complete the assignments given by their clients. When there is a pile of cargo to be cleared from KPA, then they do not have the financial resources to clear. They cannot pay duty or clear the goods because their operations are limited by lack of resources. Therefore, time has come when we should think in terms of introducing a legal framework that will set certain minimum threshold so that those who do not meet that threshold in terms of financial capacity and quality of staff are barred from operating as agents. If we had strong efficient clearing agents, they would help KPA to improve their turnaround. This is one of the bottlenecks we saw. Going forward, I happened to be a Member of the delegation that visited the Port of Dubai a week or so ago. We saw the huge volumes that they handle. The used cars trade has become the centre of the world. People are travelling from all over, from West Africa, for example, to go to Dubai to buy second hand cars. They come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria, and Senegal and from South Africa. You begin to wonder why we have not taken advantage of this. We are going all the way to Dubai simply because this is a free port. As a result, the economy of Dubai is thriving. If we are talking about hosting one million tourists, then Dubai hosts millions and millions of tourists because of that facility being a free port. We should take advantage of that and start by declaring Mombasa a free port for used cars. We will be taking great advantage of that. We also visited the Kenya Petroleum Refineries. This is an old refinery built to the capacity of refining 80,000 barrels of oil per day. This facility is handling between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of that. It is not meeting the expectations of Kenyans. This facility cannot compete with modern refineries because it is far too small and it is operating on the basis of outdated technology. This results in expensive products that are not of international standards. They do not even meet the environmental specifications and yet we are allowing that plant to operate. What is the justification? This is a plant that in 28 months, as Sen. Mwakulegwa told us, incurred losses to the tune of Kshs13 billion and a further Kshs1.5 billion in demurrage. This money has to be borne by the Kenyan taxpayer. What is the justification of operating a plant like that for all this period of time? The way forward, in my view, and in the view of the Committee, is to build a modern The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}