Mombasa, KENYA: Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has threatened to sue the government for allegedly transferring port operations to Naivasha.
Speaking in Tudor on Thursday, Joho claimed that the move will result in job losses especially to Mombasa youths.
“I’m contemplating going to court. Our young people suffering from joblessness which will lead to them becoming criminals,” said Joho.
He said his warnings about the transfer of port operations to Naivasha have come to pass.
“When I said it, people made a mockery of me. They laughed at me. It’s now happening,” he added.
Joho also alleged that clearing and forwarding clerks are being sacked following the move.
“How can a government compete with its people? How? You are supposed to facilitate so that citizens can prosper.” Said Joho.
Joho was speaking while launching a maternity theater and youth-friendly center in Tudor, Mombasa.
Together with Dr. Abbas Gullet, Secretary General of the Kenya Red Cross, governor Joho commissioned the newly built and fully equipped Maternal Theatre and a Youth Friendly Centre at the Tudor Sub-County Hospital.
The theatre is expected to enhance access to quality maternal healthcare services especially for those in the informal settlements surrounding the facility.
Meanwhile, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has dismissed claims that the building of a dry port in Naivasha will sabotage Mombasa County’s economy.
Speaking last week during the opening of a parliamentary select committee on Transport, Macharia said it was not practically possible to move the Mombasa port because Naivasha does not have access to the sea.
He said the government is investing more in Mombasa, citing the construction of phase II of terminal II at the Port of Mombasa.
“We are putting more investments, not withdrawing. In fact, we are creating more jobs. We are even building more terminals. We completed and launched terminal II phase I last year. We are actually doing phase II with the support of Japanese government in the next one year,’’ Mr Macharia said.
