Mombasa, KENYA: Kenya Ferry Services Managing Director Bakari Gowa has said it’s very expensive to maintain a ferry at the Mtongwe channel.
Speaking to Baraka FM on the phone, Gowa said that the company spends about sh 12,000 per trip in Mtongwe compared to sh 10,000 per trip at Likoni Crossing channel.
He also stated that only a handful of passengers use the Mtongwe ferry despite KFS spending a fortune to ensure there is a vessel for them.
“Mv Likoni which has been operating in Mtongwe has a capacity of 3,000 people but in most cases, it has only carried 100 passengers in every trip,” said Gowa.
He said that the government is committed to ensuring that Mtongwe commuters benefit from the project re-launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in March 2017.
“Even though it’s costly but I want to assure commuters that we will resume our operations in Mtongwe this Month of July,” stated Gowa.
Mr. Gowa refuted claims that KFS employees owned Matatus operating in Mtongwe hence sabotaging ferry services on the channel.
President Kenyatta re-launched the Mtongwe ferry services in March 2017 but KFS has failed to sustain the services.
From February this year, there have been no services in Mtongwe since Mv Likoni operating in the area, was withdrawn and deployed to Likoni crossing channel.
